# Combat

Combat in **Echoes of Valor's** takes place on an isometric grid and plays out in turns, similar to classic tactics RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre and modern CRPGs like Divinity: Original Sin.

Battles are initiated in the open world, either by approaching an aggressive enemy, through a dialogue option, or initiating “battle mode” outside of combat and making a pre-emptive strike. This allows players to position their party strategically prior to initiating a battle.

The order of battle is then determined by each participant's INITIATIVE attribute. The character with the highest INITIATIVE goes first, second highest goes second, and so on.

On each turn, players receive an amount of Action Points (AP) and Movement Points (MP) depending on their attributes. MP determines how far the character can move, with one MP always representing one unit on the grid. AP allows characters to use skills, which can include everything from a regular sword slash to calling an ancient dragon to blow fire on a group of enemies. All characters, including the player character, party members, and enemies, play by the same rules and with these same restrictions.

<figure><img src="https://200910382-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FOo9XYVTSKi2wMkaSJeDW%2Fuploads%2FJ06MBWrTNj3PmTIvkwYh%2Fimage%20(3).gif?alt=media&#x26;token=cf1b5c6f-d195-45ec-9b34-863390677ad5" alt=""><figcaption><p>An important tool in the Archer's arsenal is their Dog companion. Dogs have the "Spotter" skill, which applies a status that makes the target more vulnerable to critical hits from bow skills.</p></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="https://200910382-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FOo9XYVTSKi2wMkaSJeDW%2Fuploads%2Fv6Zt9ntauXJCxsl3vAg9%2Fimage%20(4).gif?alt=media&#x26;token=4089de10-c48e-46e5-aa4a-a1a166740657" alt=""><figcaption><p>Two AI/enemy characters take turns targeting a slime. The Enforcer first poisons his blade, then attacks, and finally applies a defensive buff in anticipation of the Archer's turn</p></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="https://200910382-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FOo9XYVTSKi2wMkaSJeDW%2Fuploads%2FJi01OziiG8YvKgSTXfzW%2Fimage%20(5).gif?alt=media&#x26;token=46f0cbd0-a88b-4d2f-b4ab-7b685d6e690f" alt=""><figcaption><p>Many skills are not offensive or defensive, but rather provide creative ways to navigate the battlefield. Here, an Engineer spawns two portals so that his allies can flank the enemy.</p></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="https://200910382-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FOo9XYVTSKi2wMkaSJeDW%2Fuploads%2FRHUDKLFjGmtfQocXb2j0%2Fimage%20(6).gif?alt=media&#x26;token=e9088841-b08d-43b3-9fca-46dfb9bdf846" alt=""><figcaption><p>A Rogue breaks the target's armor so that the Warrior can execute the "Disorienting Strike" skill and apply the status "Dizzy", incapacitating the target for 2 turns.</p></figcaption></figure>

Skills are acquired by consuming a skillbook and can be slotted in and out of the player's stock of active skills. More powerful skills will use more AP, while basic skills will use less. Skills are not simple isolated spells--they are meant to be used tactically, with a view to the target enemy type, and combined with other skills where appropriate for added effect. Each skill has a set cooldown, which determines how many turns must pass before it can be used again.

During battle, players must be attentive to a multitude of considerations, including:

* Action Point and Movement Point Gauges, to plan movement and skill execution effectively.
* Statuses: Hundreds of statuses exist in Guild Saga, providing for significant gameplay variety that calls for changes in strategy from one battle to the next. Statuses can be positive or negative, may be inflicted by skills or the environment, and are in almost all cases limited by a set turn duration. For example, BURNING inflicts fire damage each turn, STRENGTHENED increases the STRENGTH attribute, INVISIBLE renders a player undetectable by enemies, and FROZEN inflicts complete incapacitation resulting in a turn skip.
* Battlefield statuses: Battlefield statuses, such as Dark or Cold, apply unique effects to the battlefield and all its participants. For example, a rogue will receive certain buffs in battles that take place at night, while a hydromancer's skills will be less effective in hot weather conditions.
* Terrain: Certain areas in a battle may become wet, engulfed in fire, or covered in poisonous ooze. Stepping on tiles with these properties will (in most cases) inflict a negative status, such as POISONED. However, they also provide an opportunity to enhance skills: perform a pyromancer skill on an oil surface to create an explosion and large fire surface, or cast a teleporting skill and move an enemy into a pool of electrified water, stunning them.
* Armor and Magic Barrier: If a skill inflicts a negative status, the target of that skill will typically first need to have either their Armor or Magic Barrier fully depleted; otherwise the status infliction will be defended.
* Damage types: there are 9 different damage types in Guild Saga: Physical, Piercing, Earth, Fire, Poison, Water, Air, Dark, and Light. Physical damages Armor, piercing goes through both Magic Barrier and Armor, while the remaining damage types target Magic Barrier.
* Resistance levels: Characters also have a resistance level to each damage type. For example, a Fire Elemental with a -50% resistance to Water damage will be far more susceptible to Water-based skills, while a Water Elemental with a 50% resistance to Water damage will be very strong against Water-based skills.
* Party: Players can come to battle with a party of up to 4. It will be important to find complementary builds and archetypes within your party to be able to take on different challenges.
* Summons: In addition to party members, characters can summon additional characters to the battlefield with summoning skills.

Combat in **Echoes of Valor** is intended to provide a fair challenge to players in order to reward strategic gameplay and thoughtful character builds, as well as to ensure earning potential is skill-dependent.
