Village combos

Village combos

A combo is a string of presses that ends in a strong finisher. A style's skill level teaches its combos, and each combo ranks up as the player makes it. Anyone can make the basic combos. The hardest combos need each press on the beat.

Each style has ten combos: two basic, three advanced, three expert and two master. Most finishers also have an effect, such as a wound that bleeds or sparks that leap to other foes: see Effects.

The module is extensions/village/combos.mojo. See Village fighting styles for the styles, and Village skills for the levels.

The keys

Each press of the fight is a ComboKey:

Key	Letter	Press
LIGHT_KEY	L	The light attack
HEAVY_KEY	H	The heavy attack
DODGE_KEY	D	The dodge
JUMP_KEY	J	The jump
GUARD_KEY	G	A tap of the guard

A ComboTracker keeps the last 8 keys of the string. A key more than a second after the key before it starts a new string. A special breaks the string.

The beat

A key pressed as the move before it lands is on the beat. For an attack, the beat is from 0.06 seconds before the end of its active part to 0.16 seconds after it. For a dodge, the beat is its last 0.22 seconds. See on_beat.

An attack pressed on the beat does 10 percent more damage, in a combo or out of one. ON BEAT flashes over the combo counter. A jump that cuts an attack's recovery short is on the beat.

The finisher

When the string ends in a combo that the player knows, its finisher starts in place of the key's own move. The finisher does the combo's power times its damage, and spends no special points. The note names the combo.

ComboBook.match chooses the combo by these rules:

1. Of the combos that the string ends in, the longest wins. So a short combo can end a long string.
2. Of two combos as long, the one with more keys on the beat wins. So L L* H* on the beat makes RIVER OF STEEL, not RISING STRIKE.
3. A longer combo that the string is on its way to holds a shorter one back. Its first keys, beats and all, must be at least as many of the string's last keys as the shorter combo has. So D L* inside THOUSAND CUTS does not make DASH CUT. Off the beat, D L still makes DASH CUT.

Each combo can be made from its own keys: a test makes all 60 of them.

A heavy finisher in the air is a plunge. A finisher that cannot start, as in a stagger, leaves the string as it is.

The tiers

ComboTier says how hard a combo is:

Tier	What it asks	Levels	A style has
BASIC	Two or three keys, none on the beat	1 and 2	2
ADVANCED	A dodge, a jump or a guard among its keys	3 to 5	3
EXPERT	Keys on the beat	6 to 8	3
MASTER	A long string, nearly every key on the beat	9, in the specialty only	2

The catalog

In a pattern, a key that ends in * must be on the beat. The power is the finisher's times its damage at rank 1.

Style	Combo	Tier	Level	Keys	Finisher	Power	Effect
Sword	RISING STRIKE	Basic	1	L L H	RISING_EDGE	1	LAUNCH
Sword	CROSS CUT	Basic	2	L H	HEAVY	1.25	BLEED
Sword	TEMPEST	Advanced	3	L L L H	WHIRLWIND	1.2	SHOCKWAVE
Sword	DASH CUT	Advanced	4	D L	LIGHT_THREE	1.5	MARK
Sword	RIPOSTE	Advanced	5	G L	LIGHT_THREE	1.8	SUNDER
Sword	RIVER OF STEEL	Expert	6	L L* H*	GROUND_WAVE	1.6	BLEED
Sword	SKY BREAKER	Expert	7	L L* J L H	PLUNGE	1.8	SHOCKWAVE
Sword	CRESCENT	Expert	8	D L* H*	WHIRLWIND	1.9	LAUNCH
Sword	HEAVEN'S EDGE	Master	9	G L* L* J H*	PLUNGE	2.8	SUNDER
Sword	THOUSAND CUTS	Master	9	L L* L* D L* L* H*	WHIRLWIND	2.6	BLEED
Hand to hand	UPPERCUT	Basic	1	L L H	RISING_EDGE	1	LAUNCH
Hand to hand	BODY BLOW	Basic	2	L H	HEAVY	1.3	DRAIN
Hand to hand	FLURRY	Advanced	3	L L L L	LIGHT_THREE	1.5	MARK
Hand to hand	SPINNING HEEL	Advanced	4	D H	WHIRLWIND	1.3	SHOCKWAVE
Hand to hand	PALM STRIKE	Advanced	5	G H	HEAVY	1.5	SUNDER
Hand to hand	RISING DRAGON	Expert	6	L L* L* H*	RISING_EDGE	1.9	LAUNCH
Hand to hand	EARTHSHAKER	Expert	7	J L H*	PLUNGE	1.7	SHOCKWAVE
Hand to hand	TIGER CLAW	Expert	8	D L* H*	GROUND_WAVE	1.8	BLEED
Hand to hand	STORM OF FISTS	Master	9	L L* L* L* L* L* H*	WHIRLWIND	2.8	DRAIN
Hand to hand	THUNDER PALMS	Master	9	G L* L* L* H*	WHIRLWIND	2.8	CHAIN
Axe	CLEAVER	Basic	1	L L H	HEAVY	1.2	BLEED
Axe	HEWING ARC	Basic	2	L H	WHIRLWIND	1
Axe	TIMBER	Advanced	3	H H	HEAVY	1.5	SUNDER
Axe	HEADSMAN	Advanced	4	G H	HEAVY	1.6	MARK
Axe	REAVER SPIN	Advanced	5	L L L H	WHIRLWIND	1.4	BLEED
Axe	BLOOD ARC	Expert	6	L H* L*	RISING_EDGE	1.7	BLEED
Axe	SPLITTER	Expert	7	D H*	RISING_EDGE	1.8	LAUNCH
Axe	TIMBERFALL	Expert	8	J H*	PLUNGE	1.9	SHOCKWAVE
Axe	BUTCHER'S WALTZ	Master	9	D L* L* H* H*	WHIRLWIND	2.8	BLEED
Axe	WORLD SPLITTER	Master	9	L L* H* H*	GROUND_WAVE	2.6	SHOCKWAVE
Mace	BONEBREAKER	Basic	1	L H	HEAVY	1.25	SUNDER
Mace	BELL RINGER	Basic	2	L L H	RISING_EDGE	1	MARK
Mace	CRUSHING BLOW	Advanced	3	G H	HEAVY	1.6	SUNDER
Mace	QUAKE	Advanced	4	H H	GROUND_WAVE	1.4	SHOCKWAVE
Mace	IRON TIDE	Advanced	5	L L L H	WHIRLWIND	1.3	LAUNCH
Mace	THUNDERCLAP	Expert	6	D H*	GROUND_WAVE	1.8	SHOCKWAVE
Mace	PILEDRIVER	Expert	7	J H*	PLUNGE	2	SHOCKWAVE
Mace	SKULLCRACKER	Expert	8	L H* H*	HEAVY	1.9	MARK
Mace	JUDGMENT	Master	9	L L* H* G H*	GROUND_WAVE	2.8	SUNDER
Mace	MOUNTAIN FALL	Master	9	G H* J H*	PLUNGE	2.8	SHOCKWAVE
Magic	SPARK CHAIN	Basic	1	L L L	SPELL_BLAST	1.2	CHAIN
Magic	ARCANE RING	Basic	2	L H	NOVA	1
Magic	BLINK BLAST	Advanced	3	D L	SPELL_BLAST	1.3	SHOCKWAVE
Magic	WITHERING HEX	Advanced	4	H L	SPELL_BLAST	1.3	MARK
Magic	SANCTUARY	Advanced	5	G H	MEND	1.4
Magic	CHAIN LIGHTNING	Expert	6	L L* H*	SPELL_BOLT	1.7	CHAIN
Magic	STARBURST	Expert	7	L L* L* H*	NOVA	1.9	SHOCKWAVE
Magic	SOUL SIPHON	Expert	8	G L* H*	SPELL_BLAST	1.8	DRAIN
Magic	COMET	Master	9	L L* D L* H* H*	SPELL_BLAST	3	SHOCKWAVE
Magic	STORM CALLER	Master	9	D L* L* H* H*	NOVA	3	CHAIN
Archery	PINNING SHOT	Basic	1	L L H	AIMED_SHOT	1.2	MARK
Archery	SCATTER	Basic	2	L H	VOLLEY	1
Archery	EVASIVE SHOT	Advanced	3	D L	LEAP_SHOT	1.3
Archery	HUNTER'S MARK	Advanced	4	G L	QUICK_SHOT	1.4	MARK
Archery	PIERCING GALE	Advanced	5	H H	AIMED_SHOT	1.5	BLEED
Archery	SERPENT ARROW	Expert	6	L H* L*	AIMED_SHOT	1.7	BLEED
Archery	HAILSTORM	Expert	7	L L* L* H*	ARROW_RAIN	1.6	SHOCKWAVE
Archery	BURSTING VOLLEY	Expert	8	D H*	VOLLEY	1.8	SHOCKWAVE
Archery	HUNTER'S MOON	Master	9	L L* D L* H*	AIMED_SHOT	3	MARK
Archery	RAIN OF RUIN	Master	9	G L* L* H* H*	ARROW_RAIN	3	SHOCKWAVE

A mend's power heals more. SANCTUARY heals 1.4 times as much as a plain mend.

The combos added after the first 39 come last in default_combos. A saved progress keeps each combo's mastery in that order, so an earlier save still reads.

Effects

ComboEffect is a type with is_valid. A combo's effect acts once, on the first target that its finisher lands on. Its word shows over the target in violet, and a flash of light shows how it acts.

Effect	What it does	Its light
LAUNCH	Throws a bandit or a wolf up at 7 meters a second, to juggle it	A white streak that rises
SUNDER	Breaks a foe's guard, and empties its stamina. A boss loses 300 poise	Blue shards that burst out
BLEED	A wound bleeds 60 percent of the blow's damage over 4 seconds. A number shows each half second. A wound does not fell a target	Red drops that fall, and a drop that pulses on the target
DRAIN	Heals the player by 35 percent of the blow's damage	Green motes that run to the player
SHOCKWAVE	Strikes each other target within 3.5 meters with half the blow	A gold ring that spreads over the ground
CHAIN	Sparks leap to up to 3 other targets within 8 meters, each with 60 percent of the blow	A crooked violet arc to each target
MARK	For 6 seconds, each blow on the target does 1.25 times its damage, from any member	A gold ring that closes, and a gold reticle that turns over the target

The effects are in extensions/village/battle.mojo, and their light in extensions/village/effects_hud.mojo.

Mastery

ComboBook holds every combo, which ones the player knows, and each one's mastery. Each finisher made gives 2 mastery, and each that lands gives 3 more. A combo's rank rises from 1 to 5. Rank r needs rank_mastery(r): 20 times r - 1 times r.

Rank	1	2	3	4	5
Mastery	0	40	120	240	400
Power	1 times	1.1 times	1.2 times	1.3 times	1.4 times

The note says when a combo ranks up, such as RISING STRIKE RANK 2!, and RISING STRIKE MASTERED! at rank 5. It says NEW COMBO: and the name when a level teaches one.

Perks

A combo's rank also upgrades its finisher. A perk acts when the finisher lands.

Rank	Perk
3 and 4	The finisher gives back the stamina it spent.
5, mastered	The finisher gives back its stamina, and gives one special point.

So a player who masters a combo can chain finishers and specials for longer. The book shows MASTERED for a combo at rank 5.

What shows

Over the combo counter, the display lists up to three combos that the string is on the way to. A combo's keys done are gold, the next is white, and the rest are gray. A key that must be on the beat has an orange dot under it.

The book button shows the combo book: each combo of the player's style, its tier, its effect, its keys and its rank, or MASTERED. A combo not yet learned shows the level that teaches it, or SPECIALTY for a master combo of another style.

Control	Gamepad	Keyboard
Show the combo book	Hold the left trigger, and press the back button	K

Limits

• The game keeps each combo's mastery from one game to the next: see Village walk. The combos learned are not kept, because the levels teach them again.
• A finisher is one of the existing moves. A combo has no clip of its own.