Battle System

HEARTBEAT is an indie adventure game made with RPG Maker MV, and uses the classic JRPG turn-based battle system.

Hit Points are exchanged for Pulse, and Magic Points exchanged for Beat. By building up the heart meter, playable characters are allowed to do their special attacks– each having different status effects depending on the characters. Eve in particular is able to do her core special attack solely through heart.

Besides it being vital stats in the game, the terms "pulse", "beat", and "heart" also have importance to the plot.

When you first enter into a battle there are three options: choosing to Fight, Transform, or Escape. Fight continues the battle, Transform allows Mott to change DNAs and thus, abilities. Escape gives you the possibility of leaving the battle– there is always a chance it can fail.

## Actions Overview

When you first enter into battle, you can only see the Pulse, Beat, and Heart meters for all the characters on the bottom bar. Only by clicking "Fight" will the action menu appear, divided by Physical Attacks, Skills, Guard, and Items. Eve has a another section for Cores, accessible later on in the game after a certain key plot event.

The names for the physical attack and skill sections are personal and changes depending on the character– attack alludes to the weapon, and skill relates to an aspect of their personality. Below is a table of all the variations of names.

## Pulse

Pulse is the amount of hit points a party member has. Pulse will be decreased when a party member is hurt by an enemy or afflicted by some status effects. Pulse can be restored with Cupcakes, Sugar Buns, Brownie Bites, and Caramel Custards.

## Beat

Beat is the amount of points party members can use to perform skills. Skills other than a normal attack will cost Beat (unless they cost Heart) to perform. Some status effects can drain Beat. Beat can be restored with Kitten Pix, Familiar Perfume, Child's Drawings, and Thank You Notes.

## Heart Meter

The Heart Meter is a global third bar that can be filled up, and is only visible during battle. Almost all actions in a battle from or directed toward party members will raise the Heart Meter, such as being attacked, receiving a status effect or buff, attacking, etc.

At certain amounts, such as 100, 50, or 33, certain party members can use powerful abilities that decrease the Heart Meter instead of their own Beat meter. Additionally, Eve's Starlight skill can charge the Heart Meter by 50 and Love Letters fill it to 100.

## Cores

Cores can be used by Eve and the usable ones are collected from party members. A core can be used for 50 Heart, which changes Eve's Elemental Affinity. Upon using a core, Eve's Star Piledriver and Galaxy Spin will be replaced with two Core-specific Abilities. This will last for 5 turns.

## Drops

When defeated, enemies may drop Materials for use in Alchemy or Jams that can be fed to Mott. The type of Material or Jam dropped often depends on the enemy that it comes from. Higher-level enemies will drop more potent Jams and more powerful Materials.

Difficulty does not affect how much of an item drops at a location. It is recommended to go to Easy difficulty for grinding, as you'll receive the same amount of drops at the same location on Easy as on Hard.

## Experience

Below contains the experience needed to get to the next level, not the accumulating experience required. Each character has a set level they enter the group as, instead of determined by the average party level.

## See Also

* Elemental Affinities
* Status Effects
* Mott Gameplay