Gameplay (codex entries)

The Gameplay section of the Codex is located under the Lore tab, and has 18 entries. To see other sections, see Codex. This sections of the codex is also unique in that it is the only part not narrated by Cicero. Next to when it is found there is a number indicating what order they may be found in.

Entries:

#### **1. Customising AI**

 Pressing [B] will bring you to the AI customisation page, where you will be able to customise the behaviour of your party members when controlled by an AI. To change the behaviour of a certain skill, simply click on the drop-down menu beside the pertinent skill and select the situation you wish the AI to use the skill in. If the situation does not meet the requirements set, the skill will not be used, and the AI will proceed to determine if the next skill down the list should be used.
In this respect, the order of the skills is important, and placing a skill higher up in the list will prioritise its usage. To move skills up and down the list, click on the up and down arrows beside each skill. The only skills that the AI cannot be commanded to use are the Mask Ultimate Abilities.
Adjusting the slider for the ‘Mask Charge Threshold’ will instruct the AI not to use any more abilities should the character’s Mask Charge fall below the indicated level. This is useful for ensuring that your party members always have a reserve of Mask Charge should you wish to swap out to them and use them tactically in combat.
For those who wish their party was never controlled by AI, the option to disable AI control completely is also available; the box beside the option simply needs to be checked.

#### **2. Elemental Tags and Effects**

 Certain abilities have the capacity to apply Elemental Tags. These tags, when applied, do nothing by themselves, but when they are activated by other skills, inflict upon the host of the tag various effects. The combinations of the elements that are used to apply and activate the tags are important: activating a tag with the same element deals a burst of damage, but activating a tag with a different element results in a status effect. The tags, if left inactivated, remain on the host for 10 seconds.

The combinations are as follows:
Air + Earth: Blinds the enemy, reducing their damage output by 50% for 5 seconds.
Air + Water: Chills the enemy, reducing their movement speed by 50% for 5 seconds.
Air + Fire: Silences the enemy, preventing them from using abilities for 2.5 seconds.
Earth + Water: Roots the target, preventing them from moving for 5 seconds.
Earth + Fire: Shatters the target, increasing the damage they receive by 50% for 5 seconds.
Fire + Water: Smothers the target so they cannot move or attack for 2.5 seconds.

#### **3. Focus**

 All Masquerada begin each fight with a focus shield, the durability of which is determined by focus points. When attacked from the front, damage is applied to the focus instead of the character’s health, allowing the character to stand for longer in battle. Focus, like health, does not regenerate by itself in combat, though certain skills can change this. Likewise, after each fight, focus is restored.
Enemies that are not humanoid in nature or that do not possess a Mascherine do not have focus shields, and all damage is dealt directly to their health.

#### **4. Focus Arcs, Flanking, and Backstabbing**

 All characters with focus shield are defended byt the shields from the front. These shields, however, are not encapsulating – though Pavisierres have the broadest focus shields, followed by Dirges, and then Sicarios, none of these shields protect the characters from the back.

Attacking areas uncovered by a focus shield resulting in flanking – damage done while flanking is directly applied to the target’s health instead of focus. In this manner, it is fully possible to defeat an enemy while their focus shields are at full capacity; one need only be fastidious about battle positioning in order to achieve such a feat.

Sicarios, however, take flanking to another level. When Sicarios flank, not only do their attacks ignore the focus shield of their target, the Sicario’s basic attack does twice as much damage compared to if they fought the enemy head on, making the Sicario a deadly force in battle if positioned well.

#### **5. Health**

 All characters in combat have health points, which denote how much more damage a character can take before they are knocked out of combat. Health points by default do not regenerate by themselves in combat, though this can be augmented with certain skills. After each fight sequence, however, the health of all the party members gets restored.

#### **6. Hold Command**

 If you feel that party members move too much while out of your control, simply swap to them and press the [H] key to command them to hold their position. While in this state, the party member will remain stationary and only attack enemies that are within range.

#### **7. Inks and Engravings**

 Speaking to the Twins outside the Astiguary will allow you to equip the various inks and engravings that you find during your travels around the Citte. In order to harness the effects of either an ink or an engraving, one must be paired with the other.

The chosen engraving increases the character’s base damage by a specified percentage, while at the same time determining the probability that an auto-attack will trigger the effects of the chosen ink.

#### **8. Interacting with Icons**

 Throughout your time in *Masquerada: Songs ans Shadows*, you will come across various opportunities to interact with the world. These opportunities come in the form of brightly coloured beams of light. To interact with them, navigate your character over to the beam and either press E, or move your cursor over the floating icon above your character’s head and click on it.
There are three types of interactions that you will come across, represented by different coloured beams of light: Golden beams are story related, and are not always compulsory. Purple beams are always optional, and yield a variety of rewards, ranging from codex entries to new Mascherines. Green beams allow you to leave the scene.
*{wiki note: the green icons might look more like blue on some screens}*

#### **9. Mascherines and their Ultimate Abilities**

 Of vital importance in combat are Mask Ultimate Abilities, which are powerful abilities that have the potential to tilt the battle in your favour. Mask Ultimate Abilities function the same way as normal abilities, but are considered more powerful and should be used with discretion. The default button to select a Mask Ultimate Ability is [Q].
The difference between Mask Ultimate Abilities and the other skills, apart from their effects, it that Mask Ultimate Abilities do to expend Mask Charge. Instead, a Mask Ultimate Ability is charged up by *using* other skills; only once enough Mask Charge has been expended, can a Mask Ultimate Ability be used. Different Mask Ultimate Abilities require different amounts of Mask Charge to be spent in order to be able to be activated.

#### **10. Mask Charge**

 In order to use skills, the controlled character needs to have sufficient amount of Mask Charge. When a skill is used, the appropriate amount of Mask Charge is depleted and must be regained in order for skills to continue to be used. Using up Mask Charge charged up a Mask’s Ultimate Ability.
Mask charge regenerates differently for each class, and the behaviours are as follows: Pavisierres regenerate Mask Charge passively, but also regain extra Charge proportional to the damage they take. Sicarios regenerate Mask Charge when moving about the battlefield and attacking enemies with their basic attack. Dirges regenerate Mask Charge while standing still.

#### **11. Movement**

 To move around the world of Ombre, right-click on the space you wish to move to, or use the [W, A, S, D] keys to move your controlled character around.

#### **12. Movement in Combat**

 Moving in combat is similar to moving out of combat – right-click around the battlefield to move a character. A key difference, however, is that right-clicking on an enemy unit will command your controlled character to attack it. If your character’s default attack is a melee attack, this command will order your character to run up to the enemy before engaging it in melee combat.

#### **13. Pausing**

 Pressing the [SPACEBAR] key or left-clicking the pause button beside the skill bar during combat pauses the game, allowing you to observe the battlefield and plan tactics with ease. While paused, you enter tactical view, which frees up the camera and allows you to move it by pressing the [W, A, S, D] keys or pushing your cursor against the edges of the screen.
The tactical view is incredibly useful in helping slow down the battle and positioning your units correctly, before resuming the game and watching your tactics devastate enemy ranks.

#### **14. Reviving Fallen Party Members**

 Sometimes in combat, party members run out of health and are disabled from battle. These disabled party members can be brought back into the heat of battle, but they must be actively revived by a healthy party member. In order to revive a fallen ally, either right-click on their body, or move close to it and press the [E] button. Its will take a period of time to revive your fallen companion; during this time, moving your character (or having your character be moved by enemy abilities) will interrupt the process of revival, and it must be started anew.

#### **15. Stances**

 The Inspettores of Ombre are trained in various Media and Cicero, as one of them, has the ability to shift between the classes by changing his stance. With a default stance of a Sicario, pressing [Z] will swap it out to the stance of a Pavisierre, and pressing [Z] again will allow him to act as a Dirge. Other than pressing [Z], you can also manually select the stance by left-clicking on it with the cursor. The stances are on the left of his skill bar, and his selected stance is highlighted. The different stances grant him various benefits, which are as follows:

Sicario: Cicero’s focus arc as a Sicario is the smallest out of his stances, rendering him slightly more vulnerable to attack; what he loses in defense he gains in agility, however, with an increase in his movement speed in combat. Mask Charge regenerates as he moves around and uses his auto-attack. As compared to his other stancs, Cierco’s auto-attack does more damage while in this stance, though it maintains its melee range. As a Sicario, he has the ability to backstab enemies, doubling the damage he does to them with both his auto-attack as well as his elemental blade skill.

Pavisierre: Cicero gains the broadest focus arc of the stances, which allows his focus shield to defend him from greater angles. Mask Charge regenerates passively, with additional charge being generated in proportion to the damage he receives. His auto-attack deals a moderate amount of damage, and has melee range. Though he loses the ability to benefit from backstabs, Cicero’s auto-attacks have the capacity, in this stance, to hit multiple targets in a large arc in front of him.

Dirge: Cicero’s focus arc is of average size in this stance, and Mask Charge regenerates for him only when he is standing still. Though his auto-attacks deal moderate damage, in this stance they become ranges and he can hit enemies from a distance. As a Dirge, Cicero also loses the ability to backstab enemies with his attacks.

#### **16. Skill points**

 As you progress through the game, you will acquire skill points that can be used to upgrade each character and their abilities. Pressing [C] will bring up the character menu, and will indicate the skills available for learning and/or upgrading.
The first skill tree for each character is a passive skill tree – points in this tree automatically strengthen the character as a whole, rather then an individual skill. The rest of the abilities are all active and need to be cast in battle to be effective. Remember, each character can only hold up to four active skills in their skill bar at any one time!
To spend points is a skill, either double-click on the node that you wish to upgrade (if all prior nodes have been invested in), or select the node and select the ‘upgrade’ button below the upgrade’s description.
You can cycle through your party member and spend their skill points as well by clicking on the arrows at the bottom of the character menu, though skill points can only be spent outside of combat. Each character has an independent pool of skill points.
It is in this screen that you can customise the skills that appear in a character’s skill bar in combat. To set a skill to a specific position in the skill bar, simply select the character from the arrows at the bottom of the page and drag the desired skill into the desired slot in the skill bar.
The skill points of all the characters can be reassigned by visiting the Training Grounds outside the Astiguary, in which you can test the skills of your party members freely.

#### **17. Switching Characters**

 The experience of combat has been designed to cater to those who wish to barrel through with little concern for tactics, as well as those who prefer to micromanage their party. For those interested in dissecting the flow of battle, we highly encourage swapping between party member. This can be done by pressing the [F1, F2, F3] buttons that correspond with the lineup of your party, as seen in the arrangement of the skill bars at the bottom of the screen during combat.
When swapping characters, it is vital to remember that any character not actively controlled will be taken over by the AI, which can be customised to suit various play styles.

#### **18. Using Skills**

 The bread and butter of combat in *Masquerada*, skills can be used either by clicking on the skill in the skill bar itself, or pressing the [1, 2, 3, 4] number keys, which correspond with the ability’s position on your controlled character’s skill bar. The skill bar is located at the bottom of the screen, and only appears once combat has begun. If you accidentally select a skill, right-click to unselect it.
Once a skill is selected, it must be cast in order for it to take effect. To cast a selected skill, move your cursor to your intended target and left-click to issue the command. If the skill can only target the caster, a simple left-click will do. If it suits your play style, you may turn on smart casting in the options menu, which automatically casts a skill in the direction of the cursor when it is selected.
All skills expend a resource known as Mask Charge, and if your controlled character depletes their reserve of Mask Charge, skills can no longer be used. Mask Charge recharges over time, in ways that are dependent on the controlled character’s class.