Main Gameplay

## Main structure

You are always in some kind of room, broken into square cells, up to 7x7 field. While out of battle, you may interact with different environment objects, like doors, treasure chests and other. Walking into a room with enemies starts a battle. You control 1-4 characters, each one has the following stats:

* ❤ - health points, base health for all characters is 3. Losing all ❤ knocks out a character, until resurrected
* 🠞 - endurance points, all characters have different base 🠞. It is used for moving (1🠞 per cell), interacting with objects, pushing enemies and using some items
* ◆ - action point, all characters have a base of 1◆, it is used for main actions, especially for attacking.
* 🟊 - training points (or experience), used to upgrade techniques. Main source of 🟊 are completing blitz tasks, introduced after chapter 2, reading Be Better books and resting at big camps.

Some characters, based on their techniques, may also have additional stats:

* † - karma points, used by monks (Light Prayer and Moon Cry), with a maximum of 6†. Maximum can be increased by cave upgrades. They're gained by commandments and lost by sins and using prayer abilities.
* 👁 - inspiration points, used by characters with copycat, with a maximum of 10👁. They are gained by copying enemy abilities and are used for copied abilities.
* 𝅘𝅥𝅮 - note points, used by Lilith for lute abilities (musician technique). They are gained at the end of each combat and are used for songs.
* 🔥 - fired up, used by War Soul (bad weather technique) with a maximum of 1🔥 or 2🔥 if bad weather is upgraded. It is gained by using any firearm's special option or by receiving fire damage. It is used for bad weather actions.
* There is also concentration, which almost exclusively belongs in Shooter technique. Concentration is used identically to ◆, but only for firearms.

#### Inventory

Also each character has an inventory with 12 slots capacity. 2 of the slots are hands - placing equipment there allows to use it during combat (weapons, for example). 2 of the slots are accessory slots - placing trinkets there gives passive abilities. Other slots are for storage only, though trinket slots can be used for storage too. Playing on hard difficulty gives character -1🠞 to their maximum, if inventory is filled with 11 or 12 items. While in battle moving items between inventory slots or transferring them between 2 characters costs 1🠞.

Each character has 2 techniques, mostly unique to them. They differ in their usage, some are passive, some are active. You can learn about them here. Werner doesn't have any techniques at the start, but has a unique mechanic of learning other's techniques.

#### Hit

All characters also have a basic action Hit, which deals 1 damage to adjacent cell and costs 1◆ and 2🠞 (1🠞 on easy difficulty). It can be modified by different upgrades and trinkets.

#### Game Saving

Saving the game is a resource in Mycelium. Main source of stable saving are Mushroom Beds, which can be found all around the cave. Here are all the ways to save the game:

* Mushroom Beds, single time use
* Hidden Mushroom Beds, work the same as usual, revealed by having a Shroom Knife
* Mushroom Paw and Paw Necklace, acquired through Taxidermy upgrade
* Auto saves (those are rare)
* Small Camps and Resting Places
* Play the Memory Song
* Challenge Doors provide free save before trying Challenges, but only on Easy Difficulty.
* Anytime by pressing F5 after unlocking it with To The Mega achievement

#### Difficulty

You can learn about difficulty control and Suffering Modes here.

## Battle structure

Every battle consists of rounds, and each round is made of 3 phases - Defense, Enemy Attack, Attack. Rounds follow one another until all characters are knocked out or all enemies are defeated. There are 4 types of actions used in battle:

* Active actions, that use ◆ and can only be used in Attack phase
* Free actions, that use 🠞 and may be used during Defense and Attack phases
* Stance actions, that use ◆, they are set up during Defense and trigger during Enemy Attack
* Passives, they are always in effect

Here are in-depth description of phases:

#### Defense

During defense your characters may not use active actions (like using weapons or some techniques). All you can do is move, interact with objects, use free actions (some items and techniques). Also in this phase you may set up stances for usage in Enemy Attack. Characters, that have react status, may act in this phase just like in Attack phase.

#### Enemy Attack

Enemies act during this phase, one by one. Their order is random. If you have 1 or more active stances activated (like rune reading or moon cry), you pick their order. Stance usages alternate with enemy turns. You may learn enemy order while using stances if you have a hunter technique.

#### Attack

After all enemies and stances took their turn, you may use your characters again. They can do everything they could during Defense phase (besides activating stances), but also may use active actions (like weapons and some techniques).

#### End Of Round

Ending the round resets all 🠞 and ◆ of all characters and starts the next round in Defensive phase.

#### Sand Timer

Starting from the middle of Chapter 2, battles introduce sand timer. It ticks while you think and do your actions, but not when mini-games or enemy attack happen. It is reset each time phase changes and can be disabled by changing difficulty to Easy. When timer runs out, something chaotic and random happens, often it will mess up your plans. After it triggers, it still gets reset after phase change.

## Camps

After chapters 2, 4 and 6 a big camp happens (Resting Place), while small camps occur in chapters 3-6 mid chapter. All camps allow you to spend character's 🟊 to upgrade their techniques, also they fully heal your party and save progress.

#### Small Camps

After going through a certain amount of battles during the chapter, you may create a small camp to rest for a bit. Besides general camp utilities, small character specific events occur.

#### Resting Place

These are the big camps. Besides general benefits, big storyline events occur here. At the end of Resting Place you choose 2 parties of 4 characters, they will go separate ways (and participate in 1 of the next 2 chapters). Resting place also allows 2 characters to rest (and receive +20🟊) and gives opportunity to shop from Deaf Trader, buying his items with bullets.

## Terminology

#### Damage and heal

Dealing damage removes ❤ from characters and enemies. Enemies who have no ❤ left disappear (are defeated), while characters are knocked out. Healing ❤ restores health back for characters, but no more than their maximum ❤. Enemies don't have maximum ❤.

#### Fire Damage

More rare type of damage, that works just the same as usual damage. It deals 1 additional damage if target is a Plant. Several effects are triggered by fire damage (Flame Sword, Bad Weather). Dealing fire damage to a cell containing any kind of Puddle transforms it into Steam.

#### Resurrect

Resurrecting is bringing back knocked out character back into play with some ❤ and 🠞, but without any ◆.

#### Magic Defense (⛊) and Piercing Damage

⛊ provides extra health points for enemies (characters cannot have ⛊). Piercing damage works like usual damage, but ignores ⛊ and goes straight to ❤. Damage from environment is always piercing. There are also some effects that fully dispell ⛊ (like Eagle's Song, Dispell, etc.).

#### Purify

Purifying removes all status effects from targeted enemy or character (negative and positive).

#### Poison

Poison damage removes ❤ in a special way, they will be marked in different color and cannot be healed. There are separate ways to remove poison (antidote bottle, antidote copied ability, etc.). When knocked out, all poison is removed and replaced with usual damage. Enemies do not receive poison and are damaged instead.

#### Exhaustion

Character may be exhausted or not exhausted, which can be tracked by the color of ◆. There are some actions, that require character to not be exhausted, while also making them exhausted after usage (Intercept, Hammer Weapons, Spider Claw, Chain Hook, etc.)

#### Familiar

Sometime you can make enemy fight on your side, which means they became your ally. When you spawn familiars, they fight on your side by default. They still work just like enemies, but target other enemies and never target you.

#### Illusion

Illusions are introduced in Chapter 5. They are copies of other enemies and when they are spawned, their places get shuffled with the owner. Illusions are as valid as other enemies, but always disappear from 1 damage. Your characters can have illusions too.

#### Blitz

All characters have a list of blitz tasks. Each task requires something to be done by character and rewards them with 🟊. Only 3 blitz tasks are available at the same time. Lilith's blitz list is much shorter than other characters, having only 2 blitz tasks for the whole game. Werner does not have any usual blitz tasks, instead he receives a special one each time he starts to learn a new technique. Completing such task unlocks the chosen technique for Werner. Paulo's Pilgrimage occupies a blitz slot, so there are only 2 usual blitz tasks available for him.

#### Challenge Rooms

There are 15 Challenge rooms spread through the whole game. Only 2 characters may enter a Challenge room, while the other 2 will chat and improve their Social Links. Each room has special rules, written to the side, and always rewards with a big treasure chest. Completing all 15 challenges unlocks Challenge! achievement. Risks of Challenges differ, based on difficulty.

## Status effects

Status effects passively affects enemies and characters during battles. All status effects are removed at the end of every battle.

#### Ethereal

Characters with ethereal status cannot receive or deal any damage. They still can do everything else, as well as remove ⛊ with dispell effects. Ethereal is removed at the end of next round after the round it was inflicted.

#### React

Characters with reaction may use active actions during Defense phase. React comes from a lot of sources - feeling safe social link, strange medalion or some upgrades.

#### Dream

Characters under dream status initiate a special mini-game when chosen. Failing it stuns character and removes dream, succeeding it does nothing but removes it. The mini-game is memory-based, you need to memorize an icon pattern and repeat it after. Each character has a unique icon variety.

#### Silence

Silenced characters may not create any sound, which blocks their ability to use following techniques: Charm, Rune Reading, Light Pray, Moon Cry, Musician. Only way to prevent silence is Mind Health upgrade.

#### Stun

Stunned enemies skip their next turn. When a familiar is spawned, they are usually spawned stunned. When character is stunned, they lose all 🠞 and ◆ (which can trigger athletics main passive ability).

#### Shock

Shocked characters and enemies are immune to abilities, that inflict shock. Basically it makes it so any target may be affected by a Shock ability only once per battle (though shock may still be purified or removed by other methods). Any abilities and attacks that inflict shock can be chained to multiple targets through Puddles and Wet targets.

#### Bubble

Bubble status prevents next wave of damage (any amount inflicted at once). It is removed right after blocking this wave of damage.

#### Grave

Grave is triggered at the end of the next round after the round it was inflicted. When it triggers, it deals 5 damage to bearer and is removed. The only source of grave status is Grave prayer.

#### Root

Root prevents enemies and characters from moving on their own (They still can be pushed/moved). Root is removed at the end of Enemy Attack.

#### Wet

Wet characters and enemies have -1🠞. They also help to chain Shock inflicting abilities.

#### Rush

Rush gives enemies +2🠞. Characters may not have rush.

#### Confuse

Confused enemies remove 1◆ instead of dealing damage next time they attack. After that, the confusion is removed. Characters may not be confused.

#### Capturable

If enemy has this status (looks like a triangle), it means they can be captured with Capture Sign and added as a new summon sign.

#### Flying

When enemies or characters are flying, they can move over pits and stop right on them. Enemies cannot be pushed into pits for instant defeat. Flying targets Ignore some floor properties, like puddles and coal piles (but not activated signs).

## Enemy tags

#### Big

Usually enemies may pass through each other's cells without trouble. But they can't move through cells occupied by Big enemies.

#### Agile

Usually enemies may not pass through your characters. But if they are agile, they can.

#### Strong

Mainly used for Intercept, as Strong enemies prevent ignoring of exhaustion through different upgrades. Mostly Bosses are Strong, but some common enemies still can be Strong.

#### Spider

The only thing they do just by being a spider is being immune to poison damage, fully preventing it. Some effects rely on target being a spider.

#### Plant

Plants receive 1 additional damage from fire damage. All plants have an individually unique effect when they become wet and then lose wet status after.

#### Mech

Mechs receive 1 additional damage when they become wet (and lose wet status). Mechs also receive 2⛊ when they are shocked (and lose shock status after that)

#### Unholy

Unholy enemies don't have any additional properties, but a lot of effects (especially praying) relies on target being unholy.

#### Weight

All enemies wheigh some numerical amount. It is used for calculating pushing and throwing enemies. To push enemy you need to stand on adjacent cell and interact with them. Pushing an enemy costs 1❤ and amount of 🠞 equal to their weight. You may also throw them to the sides if you upgrade Throw Athletics. Upgrading Nerve Health removes ❤ cost and upgrading Weightlifting lowers 🠞 cost.