Gameplay

Gameplay in *Her Name Was Fire* is centered around its 2 basic actions: **Cast** and **Dash**.

Playing as Fire, you must use these two mechanics to fend off waves of enemies, collect EXP orbs, draw cards, and defeat bosses to clear 5 stages.

## Game Modes

There are two basic game modes available. The game mode is to be selected before the round starts.

## Stage Layout

There are 5 stages in total, corresponding to the Five stages of grief.

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

### Enemy Types

There are 4 types of enemies.

* **Mob**: The most common enemy type.
* **Elite**: Large enemies with high health.
* **Server**: Immobile sub-bosses. In each stage, 2 Servers spawn in Descent and 1 in Eclipse.
	+ Each Server's health depends on its spawn order and stage.
	+ Each spawns 1:30 after the previous Server/Allegory kill in Descent, and 0:40 in Eclipse.
* **Allegory**: Bosses. In each stage, 1 Allegory spawns at the end in its chamber.
	+ Each Allegory's health depends on the game mode and stage.
	+ Each spawns right after the 2nd Server (Descent) or 1st Server (Eclipse) is defeated.
	+ Allegories spawn in an isolated room called an *Allegory Chamber*.

## Player

### EXP

Killing an enemy drops EXP, shown as white orbs. Different enemy types drop different amounts of EXP upon death:

* **Mob**: 1 EXP with 100% chance (below level 8) or 60% chance (level 8 and above)
* **Elite**: 20 EXP
* **Server**: 15-33 EXP (depending on its spawn order and the stage)
* **Allegory**: 39-84 EXP (depending on the game mode and stage)

### Leveling

Picking up enough EXP causes you to level up. You begin at level 0, and can increase it up to level 50.

The EXP requirement for a level is calculated using the formula below.

# EXP

{

6
×
LV
2
,

for
0
≤
LV
<
7

8
×
LV
1
,

for
7
≤
LV
<
12

12
×
LV
,

for
12
≤
LV
<
20

15
×
LV
,

for
20
≤
LV
<
25

20
×
LV
,

for
25
≤
LV
<
51

{\displaystyle \text{EXP}=\begin{cases}
 6 \times\text{LV}+2, & \text{for } 0 \le\text{LV}<7 \\
 8 \times\text{LV}+1, & \text{for } 7 \le\text{LV}<12 \\
 12\times\text{LV}, & \text{for } 12\le\text{LV}<20 \\
 15\times\text{LV}, & \text{for } 20\le\text{LV}<25 \\
 20\times\text{LV}, & \text{for } 25\le\text{LV}<51
\end{cases}}

### HP

By default, you begin with 3 Health Points (HP). Getting hit causes you to lose 1 HP.

* Certain Essences and Cards modify your max HP.
* Defeating a Server drops 1 HP. At the start of each stage, your HP is also fully replenished.
* Upon losing all HP, you lose the round, and the summary screen is displayed.

## Magic

### Sorceries

*Main article: Sorcery*
Sorceries are the means of attack. Each Sorcery has a unique function.

Only one Sorcery may be selected per round.

### Essences

*Main article: Essence*
Essences are modifiers you may equip before starting a round. Each of them corresponds to an astrological sign, and benefits you in a different way.

Only one Essence may be selected per round.

### Cards

*Main article: Card*
Cards are modifiers that you select upon leveling up. These are important to increase your damage output to keep up with the waves of enemies.

* On level up, you are offered 3 random cards from a set based on your Sorcery. You can choose a card, Skip, or Redraw.
* Selecting Skip forgoes your choice for that level.
* Select Redraw swaps out the 3 cards for a different set, but you have to select a Penalization after.

## Actions

### Aiming

**Aiming** is how you target enemies for attacks. Aiming only determines a direction, and distances cannot be controlled.

### Cast

**Casting** is how you trigger attacks. The mechanics when casting depends on the Sorcery used.

* When holding the cast button, a cast meter begins to fill, and becomes filled after 1 s.
* When the cast meter is at 100%, charged Sorceries are automatically launched and the meter resets. This results in a *Full Cast*.
* When the cast meter is between 30% and 100%, you can interrupt the cast by releasing the button early or dashing. This results in a *Partial Cast*.

### Dash

**Dashing** is a maneuver you can perform. When used, you move quickly in the direction of movement.

* Certain Essences and Cards modify the dash cooldown.
* You are not invincible during or after a dash.
* The base dash cooldown is 1.2 s.

## Scoring

Upon dying or clearing all stages, your final score is calculated based on several factors below.

* **Enemies Defeated**
* **Current Stage**: encoded as 0 for Denial, 1 for Anger, etc.
* *If the round was beaten:*
	+ **Clear Bonus**: 1000
	+ **Time Left** *(Eclipse only)*: in minutes, rounded up

Your score is calculated with the formula below.

⌊

Enemies Defeated
1.5

⌋

500
×
Current Stage
Clear Bonus
200
×
Time Left

{\displaystyle \left\lfloor\dfrac{\text{Enemies Defeated}}{1.5}\right\rfloor+500\times\text{Current Stage}+\text{Clear Bonus}+200\times\text{Time Left}}

Only your high score in the selected game mode is displayed in the summary screen.

### Silver

Silver is the currency in *Her Name Was Fire*. Its symbol is the pentacle.

* Silver is used to purchase Essences and Allegory cards.
* The amount of Silver earned in a round is equal to your score.
* Even if your score is not a high score, it is indicated in the summary screen as the Silver received.