Combat

**Combat** in For The King is a turn-based, cooperative system that allows you and your friends to confront the many evils of Fahrul as a unified team.

## Description

Combat is based around randomly generated numbers in the form of damage, which deplete a target's life points. The damage done by both enemies and party members alike is primarily determined by their stats, skills, and equipment, although other factors (such as Scourges or current weather conditions) can have an ulterior effect on combat.

Aside from equipping appropriate weapons and armor, players can further influence their effectiveness in combat in many ways, such as by boosting their combat skills by using consumables or devotion, or by lowering their enemy's stats with debuffs and status effects. There are also some items that offer special buffs to combat.

Combat lasts until all participants in either the attacking or defending party flee, are killed, or are otherwise removed from battle.

## Adventure difficulty

Enemy Health

Main article: Difficulty
For the most part, adjusting an adventure's difficulty won't directly affect combat. However, enemy health will vary depending on the selected adventure and difficulty level.

Also note that a  master-level Lost Civilization campaign will scale enemy health to 115% (instead of the usual 110%).

## General combat effectiveness

For The King has a variety of playable character classes to choose from, and also many different weapon types, so it’s wise to use skills and equipment that complement both your chosen class's stat proficiencies and your own personal playstyle while in combat.

### Stat checks

Main article: Stat
Stat checks are an integral part of combat in For The King, and a character's proficiency level in a specific stat will help to determine how powerful and effective they can be while attacking or using special weapons and abilities. Additionally, these checks can be "perfected" at the cost of focus points, thus securing certain success while attacking.

### Combat skills

Main article: Skill
Many characters have special skills that can be used while in combat. Some provide a boost to damage or combat stats, while others will benefit individual allies or even the entire party. These include but are not limited to:

### Equipment

It should go without saying that being properly prepared with appropriate gear is important to a successful battle strategy. Play to your chosen character's strengths and find equipment that will benefit your party's composition and playstyle.

#### Weapons

Main article: Weapon
Most weapons come equipped with numerous abilities that can alter the flow of combat. Some can deal out heavy or area-of-effect attack damage, while others will ignore an enemy's armor or resistance stats. Still other weapons can inflict useful elemental effects or powerful debuffs on your foes.

Some things to note:

* While any character is capable of wielding any type of weapon, their proficiency level can greatly help or hinder an attack's effectiveness.
* If a character uses a weapon they are unskilled with, it is less effective in combat, and will do less damage. On the contrary, a character with high stats that is using a weapon they are perfectly suited to will be able to focus its effects with greater efficiency.

#### Armor

Main article: Armor
Armor is used to reduce damage taken from enemies. There are different kinds of armor tailored for different stats; however, like weapons, there are no restrictions on which types of armor an adventurer can wear. Armor can also sometimes influence a character's skills or abilities, and grant certain buffs such as immunities or damage reflection.

## Initiating combat

Combat is initiated when a player enters an enemy hex or is ambushed by an unseen enemy in the Overworld. Additionally, entering a dungeon, cave, or arena will precipitate a dungeon encounter, leading to a lengthier series of battles, generally one right after the other.

Characters may also find themselves in a combat situation should they fail to meet certain requirements during an encounter.

### The battlefield

See also: Combat Range

When a character's path crosses through an enemy-controlled hex, the game will display the combat range map overlay. The battlefield is demarked with red hexes and shows which characters or enemies will be involved in the upcoming battle. Characters within this red hex range will take part in combat regardless of where they are on the map (e.g., in a town, in another realm, or even onboard the air balloon!). Up to 3 enemies in the same highlighted range will also be pulled into battle as combatants.

Support Range is a passive skill that extends a supporting character's combat range by an additional hex on the map (highlighted on the outside edges of the combat range overlay in orange). This effectively allows them to join another party member in initiated combat from farther away than normal, making it more feasible to split the party if desired while traveling the Overworld.

### Engagement options

See also: Ambush and Sneak
When a character moves onto the enemy's hex, they will be presented with the following options:

Combat Options
 **Retreat** | Will stop your movement and avoid combat.

\**Note: A failed ambush results in the enemy winning initiative and getting a free attack.*

Slot roll outcomes will also be provided for Ambush and Sneak options, determined using a character's awareness and talent stats (respectively). While these stat checks can be improved at the cost of focus, it may occasionally be the more prudent route to retreat and allow another character with better odds to attack by ambush, as the situation requires.

Characters who can use either Elite Ambush or Elite Sneak will have the relevant option highlighted in gold.

## The order of combat

Provided neither party has any kind of immediate combat advantage (i.e. nobody was ambushed), the character or enemy with the highest speed stat will generally take the initiative in a battle, and will appear first in order on the combat timeline. Speed will also determine how often a combatant will be able to take their turn during combat rounds.

### The combat timeline

See also: Time

The order of combat is displayed on the combat timeline at the top of the battle screen, with the current combatant's turn denoted at the far left in a slightly bigger sized icon. The ensuing order is determined by each combatant's speed stat, although there are a variety of effects that can disrupt or alter the currently displayed order. Generally, a combatant with a higher speed stat will be able to take their turn more often than one with a low speed stat.

Once all combatants have taken a turn, a new round begins and the battle continues on as indicated on the timeline.

### Calculating turn order

This can be further extrapolated by using the following formula, with the combatant with the lowest result appearing farthest left on the combat timeline:

(
[
C
u
r
r
e
n
t
R
o
u
n
d
]
÷
[
S
p
e
e
d
]
)
×
100

{\textstyle {([CurrentRound] \div [Speed]) \times 100}}

Hence, the combatant with the lowest result will take priority, and be allowed to take their turn first during a given round. Barring any outside effects, turns will continue in the same order for the remainder of a round, potentially allowing speedier characters to "double up" on their turns.

Once a combatant has ended their turn, their icon will be returned to the rightmost end of the timeline, correlating with the above-mentioned calculations. The next character in line will then be allowed to take their turn. The battle will continue on in this manner until either all attackers or all defenders have been defeated (or are otherwise removed from combat).