Cog Battle

The fun-loving Toons are the natural enemy of the evil robotic Cogs, who seek to turn Toontown into a corporate dystopia. A **cog battle** allows Toons to battle the Cogs, whether on the streets of Toontown to drive them back from neighborhoods, or inside a looming Cog building or facility.

Toons use a variety of items at their disposal to move, interact with objects, and attack Cogs either through Gags, ToonTools, Gear or other devices such as through SOS Toons or Unites. Toons and Cogs take turns to move and attack respectively in a cog battle.

Winning a cog battle involves defeating all Cogs in a cog battle, and grants Toons Gag Experience and/or progression bonuses for their Cog Disguises such as Merits or Jury Notices. Losing a cog battle involves losing all Toons' Laff, causing the battle to end prematurely and sending all sad Toons back to the playground without their Gags.

## Mechanics

### The Basics

#### Entering a Cog Battle

Toons in Cog Facilities automatically enter battle when they approach a certain distance of Cogs, at which point they battle within the preset area.

Toons on streets, however, have to walk up to a Cog in order to initiate a battle, at which point the Cog says a starting phrase before the battle begins. The battle then takes place on a separate "Battle Map" separate from the main street.

Other Toons witnessing a battle on a street will see it as a comical dust cloud with various signs of a scuffle. Mousing over this dust cloud will show you details of the battle: the number, level and types of Cogs in the battle, as well as the Toons currently in battle with these Cogs. Clicking on the Join button on the interface will allow the Toon to join the battle, taking them off the street and into the same Battle Map.

#### The Battle Map

If Toons are on a single-instance area: e.g. in a Cog Building or Cog Facility, the Battle Map is exactly the same as the regular map.

Otherwise, on the streets, the Battle Map is generated as a separate instance of the map that the Toons are currently on: i.e. if Toons are near the Toon HQ on Loopy Lane, Toontown Central, the map generated will look almost identical to the surrounding area in Loopy Lane, Toontown Central. The only difference is that certain terrain modifiers can now be interacted with such as Jump Tiles, or obstacles such as crates and barrels may now be attacked by both Toons and Cogs.

### Laff

*Main article: Laff*
Laff is the indicator of a Toon's health in battle. Cog Attacks or other environmental interactions such as Goons or Sprockets deal damage to a Toon's Laff, while Toon-Up gags restore lost Laff. If a Toon's Laff dips to 0 or less, they are unable to battle, turn sad, and are forcibly sent back to the nearest Playground.

If Toons are sent back to the Playground this way, all of their Gags are confiscated by the Cogs. They do, however, keep all remaining ToonTools, Gear, Jellybeans and other items.

### The Cogs

*Main article: Cogs*
Cogs are the main enemies of Toons, as foul-tempered corporate robots. In a Cog Battle, Toons work together to defeat all Cogs currently in battle. Typically, Cogs move and attack after the Toons (with the exception of a few Cog Attacks that let them move faster than Toons).

#### Cog Level

Each Cog has a level attached to their name, which is a rough indicator of how strong the Cogs are in battle. Generally, higher-leveled Cogs are harder to battle, possessing more health and dealing more damage with their Cog Attacks.

#### Cog Health

Each Cog has a set amount of Health that determines how long they can fight in battle, which is seen through a visual indicator on their chest piece that flashes in different colors depending on their remaining health. Higher-leveled Cogs always have more health than a lower-leveled Cog.

When a Cog's health is reduced to zero, they are destroyed and are unable to battle.

#### Cog Attacks

*Main article: Cog Attacks*
Cogs will attempt to eliminate Toons on their turn through a variety of Cog Attacks. While most deal damage through direct hits, some possess special effects to alter the battlefield terrain, or provide beneficial effects to fellow Cogs such as allowing them to move first, restoring Health or promoting them by a few levels.

## Turn Order

Battles in *Toontown Tactics* are completely turn-based, and every battle has a specific turn order which determines when Toons can move or attack.

Toons have 45 seconds, collectively, on both their Movement Turn and two Action Turns to decide where to move and act.

 2
* Run / Pass
* Doodles' Tricks
* ToonTools
 3
* SOS Toons
* Fires
* Gags
 4
 5
* Cog Attack
* Any Extra Movement

### 1. Toons' Movement Turn

*Main article: Movement*
First, Toons have 15 seconds to decide where to move in battle. During the Movement Turn, green Squares indicate areas where Toons can move to, while red Squares indicate areas that Toons cannot. Once a Toon has locked in an area to move to, their icon will appear on that Square (at which point Toons cannot move to the same Square).

Toons typically have a 4 Square movement range unless special modifiers are used (e.g. the Silly Soda ToonTool or Speedy Shoes Gear).

If a Toon does not decide where to move in 15 seconds, it does not move and starts its Action Turn.

### 2. Toons' Action Turns

After all Movement Turns are made, Toons will run over to their designated locations and begin their Action Turns. Toons have 30 seconds to decide what actions to take on both Action Turns.

The user interface will pop up, allowing Toons a choice of using Gags, ToonTools, Gear, SOS Cards (if the player has rescued any SOS Toons previously), Inventory, Fire (if the player has any Pink Slips), Run or Pass. When a Toon has decided on an action, a thought bubble appears above its head with an icon of the Gag, ToonTool, Gear etc., as well as a green arrow determining the target Cog, Toon or location, or a green circle determining the target area of effect. This remains until the Action Turn ends and all actions are taken.

When using Gags, ToonTools, Gear or SOS Cards, valid targets for these respective items (once selected) are determined by a green Square, while invalid targets (either blocked by Line of Sight, out of range, or the player is unable to use the target item on them) is determined by a red Square.

Toons will take their actions in the following order:

* On Action Turn 1, Toons can either call their Doodle, use ToonTools or Gear. Alternatively, they can Run from battle or Pass here.
* On Action Turn 2, Toons can choose to either use SOS Toons, Fires or Gags, and if they have any remaining Movement, also decide whether to move after using these items. This applies even if Toons have done any action (except Run or Pass) in Action Turn 1.

### Free Actions

Free Actions do not consume an Action Turn, and can be used at any time (with certain limitations). Free actions include:

* Chatting, either with SpeedChat or SpeedChat Plus.
* Running from Battle using the Run function.
* Using Inventory Items.
* Using Unites (subject to their cooldown).

#### Running

Toons can run from battle at any time if they are not within a Cog Building or Facility, ending the battle prematurely for the player Toon to prevent it from taking any more damage to its Laff, or lose any further Gags on being sad.

If a Toon runs from battle, they do not gain any rewards from battle.

#### Passing

Toons can either pass their turn by using the "Pass" button on the Action interface, or by not performing any action within their allocated 15 second Action Turn. When passing with the "Pass" button, an icon will indicate that the Toon has passed.

Passing can have some advantages, such as passing when a Toon is unable to perform satisfyingly to defeat a lured Cog, or when a Toon cannot hit any Cogs in range. Other advantages include avoiding getting hit due to the Cogs more likely to attack the Toon that has dealt the most damage.

However, passing also has some disadvantages: when a Toon passes the entire cog battle, they will not receive ToonTask credits. Further, when a Toon passes too often, they may be mistaken for greening. If a Report has been filed against a player for greening or trolling, their battle log may be recorded to determine if they are passing in battle too often.

#### Toon Priority

Where actions do not occur simultaneously (usually for use of ToonTools, SOS etc), the order of priority for actions among Toons is determined by the following:

1. Order of entering the battle (if a street battle): The first Toon to enter the battle acts first, followed by the second, third etc.
2. If all Toons enter the battle simultaneously, the leftmost Toon when the battle first begins acts first for the rest of the battle, followed by the second, third etc.

### 3. Toons' Second Movement Turn

After the Toons' Action Turn has ended, any Toons with remaining movement have 5 seconds to determine where to move to. The same rules as the Toons' Movement Turn apply.

### 4. Cogs' Movement Turn

Once all Toons have moved and attacked, the Cogs will make their movement turns. Generally, all Cogs will move in sync.

### 5. Cogs' Action Turn

If the Cogs are in range of a Toon or another Cog, they may then use one of their Cog Attacks. After all Cogs have done so, the Turn fully ends.

Generally, the highest-leveled Cog attacks first, followed by the next highest-leveled Cog, and so on. If all Cogs are of the same level, the leftmost Cog when the battle first begins will move first.

The exception to this is when there are specific Cog moves dictating that a Cog attacks before all Toons' movement turns (such as Panic Buy, or if a Cog is under the effects of Overclock).

## Ending a Battle

### Winning a Battle

The Cog battle is won once all Cogs in the battle area are defeated, and there is at least one Toon remaining in the battle area. All Toons remaining receive rewards: Gag experience determined by the number and types of Gags used, as well as any Cog Disguise Rewards (known as Cog Rewards) such as Merits or Jury Notices.

Toons that have fled from battle or have gone sad do not gain any end-of-battle rewards, nor do other remaining Toons gain their rewards in their place. They do, however, leave the battle with any lost Laff or items consumed such as Gags or ToonTools.

#### Reward Screen

The reward screen is the conclusion to a successful Cog battle. It displays all of a Toon's Gag progression meters, as well as his or her Cog Disguise meters. If a Gag is used and successfully hits the cog or cogs, the Gag progression of the gag will increase, depending on the amount of skill points earned; this also applies to the Cog Disguise meter, earning the Cog Rewards from defeating the corresponding Cog type (e.g. Merits from defeating Sellbots).

If a Toon has a ToonTask to recover an item from cogs, the Reward Screen will also display whether the Toon has obtained the object or not.

The reward screen can be skipped by pressing the blue button on the bottom right of the GUI or by pressing the ESC key on the keyboard. If there are two or more Toons in battle, the Toon can click the skip button multiple times. Skipping cannot be used while inside a cog building or a boss battle.

### Losing the Battle

On the other hand, if all Toons leave the battle or go sad because they have run out of Laff, the Cogs win the battle instead. The battle instance ends, and any Cogs remaining do their victory dance before flying off if they are on a street, or returning to their usual patrol if they are in a Cog Facility or building.

Unlike Toons exiting a battle, Cogs exiting a battle are restored to full HP.

## Cogs Joining the Battle

If the battle takes place on a street or in a wide area with numerous Cogs patrolling around (e.g. the Sellbot Headquarters Courtyard), Cogs may sometimes join the battle, up to a maximum of four Cogs.

Players in the battle screen will be alerted to an incoming Cog joining the battle by seeing the phrase: "A new Cog is joining the battle!"