Witch/Attacks & Abilities

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## Enemies

This page demonstrates **Witch's Attacks and Abilities** in Dragon Marked For Death.

If you are looking for other details about Witch, please see the following subpages:

* Witch Overview
* Witch/Elemental Contracts
* Witch/Basic Tech
* Witch/Advanced Tech
* Witch/Recommended Builds

## Button Inputs

***Note:** This page follows the Default Controls for the Nintendo Switch controller:*

* Magic Bullet = Y
* Jump = B
* Dash = L
* Dragon Surge = A
* Incantation = R
	+ Bottom face button is B
	+ Left face button is Y
	+ Top face button is X
	+ Right face button is A

*Condense and Homing spells cancel each other out, and Spells can be Powered-Up to Level 3. Based on your Elemental Contract, you can skip the Level 2 charge.*

Witch Button Inputs
 Magic Bullet / Activate Stocked Magic
 Familiar
 Dragon Surge
* Combining Spells (Magic Combo): Empty the magic stock → Activate Dragon Surge → Begin Incantation 1 → Enter command 1 → Begin Incantation 2 → Enter command 2 → ... → Cast final magic

## Incantations

Witch's **Incantations** are her primary form of attack. Incantations are cast as magic spells and deal **Physical or Magical damage** depending on the Weapon properties. Generally, Witch's playstyle changes slightly when swapping between Weapons: Tomes are usually for *offensive* play, while Foci are usually for *supportive* play. Depending on your goals and build, you can bring two of one type of Weapon into a Quest, or you can take advantage of both weapon types and switch between them during the Quest.

### Tomes VS. Foci

Witch has 2 types of Weapons: Tomes and Foci.

**When you have a magic stock, you cannot switch to a different Weapon type.**

* The sound of changing Weapons will be heard, but it will not actually switch while the magic is being held.
* If the incantation fails even when the button input is correct, stop and check what Weapon you are holding.

#### Tomes

Tomes are available starting from **Level 1**. Tomes specialize more in damage-dealing with more power to your attack spells.

* You can use the Heal, Condense, and Homing spells. You are also able to use the Power-up spell 2 times in a row.
* However, you do not have access to the Regen, Cure Ailment, and Status Boost spells.

#### Foci

Foci are available starting from **Level 25**. Foci specialize more in supporting Witch and her allies with Regen spells that refill health over time and Status Boost spells that increase party members' stats.

* You gain access to the Regen, Cure Ailment, Homing, and Status Boost spells.
* However, you can only use the Power-up spell 1 time, and you do not have access to Condense and Heal spells.
* The power of attack spells is lessened overall.
* LUC will affect the durations of Witch's Regen and Status Boost spells.

### Beginning Incantations

By pressing R while *on the ground* or *on a platform*, Witch will enter the **Incantation** state. This changes the face button (B, A, X, Y) controls into spell input commands. While in the Incantation state, Witch cannot move, jump, or turn, and if the floor underneath her feet disappears, the Incantation state will be automatically canceled.

* The Incantation state ends upon inputting 1 successful Incantation or upon pressing the R button again, after which the spell can be activated, or the Incantation state can be re-entered to combine or replace the current magic stock with additional magic.
* Entering a wrong command will cause the Incantation state to end without stocking any magic, but will have 3 balls of light fall around, dealing slight damage to enemies.
* Taking damage will cause the Incantation state to end, so it is important for Witch to skillfully find gaps between enemy attacks and chanting, or to complete the chant quickly within the timeframe. It is also possible to prevent the Incantation from being interrupted when using equipment with the Super Armor effect.
* In addition, Witch's surroundings will also be illuminated by the slight glow around her while the Incantation state is active.

### Magic Spells

* Combining Spells (Magic Combo): Begin Incantation 1 → Enter command 1 → Begin Incantation 2 → Enter command 2 → ... → Cast final magic

**Magic Spells** are Witch's primary attack, and a variety of modifying and support spells can also be used and combined via Magic Combo (AKA the stacking and combination of stored spells).

* In order to use magic, you must first enter the correct face button commands while in the Incantation state.
* After the input is successful, the Incantation state ends, and the corresponding symbol of the spell is displayed above the character, at which point the current magic can be activated or the Incantation state can be entered again.
* Some spells can be combined to produce stronger spells. To combine spells, you must re-enter the Incantation state and enter new commands, which forms a Magic Combo.
* There is a time limit for using magic, and the time meter will always decrease from the beginning of the chant to the time the magic is activated.
	+ The length of time is related to PIE.
	+ The time can be reset by entering a new magic spell.
	+ If the time limit is exceeded, the completed magic will disappear, and 3 balls of light will be generated and dropped around, dealing slight damage to nearby enemies.

## Imbuements

### Elemental Imbuements

 Ice | X X X X |   | X button (up face button) for Super Famicom Controller is blue.
 Fire | A A A A |   | A button (right face button) for Super Famicom Controller is red.
 Thunder | B B B B |   | B button (bottom face button) for Super Famicom Controller is yellow.

By entering the corresponding commands, you can attach **Elemental Imbuements** to magic and unleash powerful attack magic. Witch can use 4 Elemental Imbuements, except for Poison (Poison attacks can only be from the Poison Contract Familiar). To find the elemental weakness of an enemy, see the enemy status bar displayed in the upper right corner of the screen.

* Use attacks with Elemental Imbuements that are stronger than the enemy's element.
	+ Fire > Thunder > Wind > Poison > Ice > Fire
* If the Element is stronger than the enemy's, the hit rate will increase and the damage will become **1.2x**
	+ Damage color **yellow** = Element is stronger.
* If the Element is weaker than the enemy's, the hit rate will decrease and the damage will become **0.8x**
	+ Damage color **blue** = Element is weaker.

When using Foci, Regen spells can be combined with Elemental Imbuements to create Status Boost spells.

To use Elemental Imbuements, you need to reach a certain level. Each Element can give enemies the corresponding Ailment.

Imbuements Unlocked per Level

### Power-Up Spells

* Max. levels for Wind / Fire / Ice / Thunder spells = **3 (Power-Up x2)**
* Max. levels for Heal spells = **3 (Power-Up x2)**
* Max. levels for Regen spells = **2 (Power-Up x1)**
* Max. levels for Status Boost spells = **2 (Power-Up x1)**

Used in conjunction with other magic spells, **Power-Up** spells increase stored magic by 1 level.

* Spells from Tomes can be increased by 2 levels, while spells from Foci can only be increased by 1 level.
* For different spells, different effects are produced. There are also some spells that cannot be affected, such as Levitate and Shine.
* While in Dragon Surge, you can increase a spell to the maximum level with only 1 casting of Power-Up.
* After entering a Power-Up spell, the cast time limit will be significantly shorter.
	+ It is recommended to put the Power-Up spell at the end of your Magic Combo.

### Condense Spells (Tomes Only)

Used in conjunction with other magic spells, **Condense** spells give a Condense effect to stored magic.

* Only Tomes can cast this.
* Attack magic condenses, no longer disperses, and becomes more powerful. Heal spells become continuously regenerating magic areas. There are also some spells that cannot be condensed, such as Levitate and Shine.
* After successfully inputting, the cast time limit is slightly shorter.

### Homing Spells

Used in conjunction with other magic spells, **Homing** spells give a chasing effect to stored magic.

* Attack magic automatically chases enemies, and support magic automatically tracks players, but both have limited range. There are also some spells that cannot be homed, such as Levitate and Shine.
* After successfully inputting, the cast time limit is slightly shorter.

## Other Abilities

### Familiar

The **Familiar** is shot directly forward from the direction that Witch is facing. When the Familiar hits an enemy, it will unleash an additional attack, dealing **Holy damage** and a chance to inflict the Status Ailment associated with its Element. Depending on the Elemental Contract, the behavior, appearance and associated Element of the Familiar will change.

* Although is a Dragon Skill, it does not consume DP, but it also does not increase your DP.
* Without special Equipment, such as Dinosaur Statue +3, it cannot be used as your main form of attack. However, it can be used to cause enemies to briefly flinch.
	+ Depending on the Contract, the the Familiar deals additional hits, allowing you to stall for chanting time.
* You cannot summon more than 1 Familiar at a time.
* While Dragon Surge is active, the size and damage of the Familiar increase.

### Dragon Surge

* Combining Spells (Magic Combo): Empty the magic stock → Activate Dragon Surge → Begin Incantation 1 → Enter command 1 → Begin Incantation 2 → Enter command 2 → ... → Cast final magic

**Dragon Surge** is an ability that allows Witch to activate the currently stocked Spell repeatedly until the DP bar runs out or Dragon Surge is deactivated. While active, it **gradually consumes DP**, and the size and damage of the Familiar increase. **Each time magic is casted, the DP bar is further reduced.** The Spells *do not* deal Holy Damage, and instead deal **Magical or Physical damage** depending on the Weapon properties.

* ***You cannot activate Dragon Surge when you currently have a magic stock, so you must empty your magic stock before doing anything.***
* While active, the magic stock does not run out after activating the chanted magic, so the same Spell can be used repeatedly.
* The Spell can be changed or combined in Magic Combo while Dragon Surge is active.
* Regardless of the current Elemental Contract, 1 Power-Up Spell immediately powers up the current magic to Level 3.
* DP is consumed even when no Spells are stocked.
	+ If you take a long time to input commands, it may be difficult to take advantage of this ability, so it is sometimes more efficient to not include Condense or Homing in your Magic Combo.
* About **2 DP** is consumed when casting magic. About **1.5 DP** is consumed when casting magic that matches with your Contract.
	+ Make sure your positioning is correct before casting magic to avoid wasting the DP bar.
* During multiplayer, if another party member is generating DP, it is possible to maintain Dragon Surge for a long time and continue casting magic consecutively.
* When Dragon Surge ends, the current magic stock still remains for 1 more spellcast.
* Once the Dragon Sphere is activated, you can choose to enable Dragon Surge permanently until the Dragon Sphere effect ends.
* ***If Witch is inflicted with Paralysis during Dragon Surge, the input cannot be canceled because the command input is blocked.***