Meta, General Combat Rulings of the

by **Information Moogle** Sat Jul 02, 2016 6:17 pm

As more and more members get into in character conflict on Mirage Hearts, there are bound to be times when one person thinks another should have taken a hit, or they think they should have been hurt more, or that something should have happened a certain or different way. Technical staff exists not only to grade abilities, but to preserve a sense of fairness in combat with their rulings governing who is correct- in situations where they are needed, of course. If members can resolve something without staff intervention, that's awesome, But sometimes, that doesn't happen.

The following are a few things to keep in mind during combat. These will help members avoid negative situations that would otherwise affect their experience. There are more than what will be listed here, and hopefully those incidents will be covered here as time progresses.

Magic is one of the most powerful forces in MH. Taking a lot of time to master, Magical Prowess is the only statistic that can not be increased or decreased, as it is based on what has been learned versus what has been earned. That said, using magic requires concentration and know how, as well as a comfortable state of mind. Knocking somebody senseless, inflicting fear on them, or otherwise clouding their mind not only disrupts these, but can keep them from using magic. This is a situational occurrence though, as a character used to these will still be able to function normally. Staff can determine whether the character can or can not cast magic during this phase. Often, even powerful magicians will find it difficult to launch any simple magic, though they have a better shot.

In order to react to something, you need to meet two criteria first. You have to know what it is, and you have to see it coming. There are two methods of reacting to something: Speed, and Magic, with each one reacting to a different thing.

Speed reacts to physical stimuli. A person with great enough speed has learned to read muscle movements on their foes, and can react to them accordingly. A huge requirement to this is that the person is paying attention, and a general implication of this is that the person is looking at them. Knowing their location without seeing them will not clue you into what they are doing, and while you can react to something that enters your field of awareness, your reaction will not always be the appropriate one because you have to guess. A person you can not see who is attacking you from range would be difficult to react to no matter how fast you are.

High magic allows a person to see the very composition of spells that are not protected from that ability. This allows the character to discern exactly what a spell is capable the moment it is cast (or if it is being charged). Detecting spells that automatically occur, such as targeted effects, is not impossible. However, detecting time magic is difficult and must be done creatively. Using this high magic, a person can prepare for and react to spells and abilities being used against them. Unless you have a method of detecting magic that would allow you to break down its components, this ability relies purely on sight (unless another method is indicated due to an idiosyncrasy of the character).

A reaction does not involve a dodge or an attack all of the time. In some instances, the best a character will ever be able to do is skirt some of the damage. For instance, lightning magic travels at the speed of lightning, and over short distances hits nearly instantly. Even a character with T5 in speed and magic would be hard pressed to evade this type of attack believably. It's more probable that they could erect a small but powerful barrier to stop the lightning. The reaction should be appropriate to the kind of attack.

Damage resistance, while related to Endurance, is still treated as a separate mechanic. Raising a character's END will slightly raise their native damage resistance. END defines how much damage a character can take. DR defines how much damage gets through to begin with. Damage Resistance and END are different methods to the same end, which can be combined to great effect. However, DR only affects traditional forms of damage. Things such as poisons would completely ignore Damage Resistance., whereas END means that the person is more resilient to these things.

Characters with high strength are insanely powerful. A fight between two characters of high enough magnitude would probably hurt them both pretty badly, as well as cause major damage to the surrounding areas. It should be noted that there is no statistic that increases a character's weight. So, if a T5 STR character punches a person with T5 END, the person with T5 END can easily take that hit but will still be sent flying. A person with T5 strength is capable of uppercutting small amounts of weight straight into the stratosphere.

How long does a post last? Out of combat that's variable, but in combat the amount is fixed. Combat goes on a round-to-round basis. A round consists of how many posts it takes for the topic to cycle back to the original poster. Within that round, all posts take place in the exact same space of time: six seconds. Each round, and subsequently each post, lasts for six seconds. Keep this in mind when having dialogue in combat. You have six seconds to talk. And while talking, it is assumed by staff that in most situations, if you have time to talk, you're either defending or you are vulnerable. You do not want to be vulnerable.

This gives us a good length of time to understand how abilities work. An ability with a cool down of six posts is an ability with a cool down of thirty six seconds. Obviously, when indicating abilities that take a post to charge, you refer to your posts alone unless you state otherwise. Further, unless stated otherwise, an ability may not be cast multiple times per post. If you cast fire in one post, you can not cast it again in that same post. This is to prevent higher level characters from picking a power 5MP ability and spamming it to the point of being utterly broken.

How does END work? The most powerful of all stats, END is what provides your character with the ability to take a licking, and keep on ticking. That said, there are limits to what END can do. A person with END T1 or T2 would not be able to withstand a T4's or T5's single physical or magical attack (depending on the content of the magic). A person with T5 END can withstand roughly 1000 MP worth of cumulative Magic Damage from another T5.

What is the difference between a Player Character (PC) and a Non-player Character (NPC)?

A PC is a character controlled by one of the writers on Mirage Hearts. This character functions independently of other players and thus acts completely within the control of the person that uses them. An NPC usually relies on players to determine their actions, much like a typical PC would, but are much more fluid in who controls them. In terms of mechanics, NPCs are not different than PCs. NPCs at tier one are equivalent to a PC at tier one barring the player character has skill trees and a more in-depth thought process. Heartless, Nobodies, Dream Eaters, and other Somebodies are all considered NPCs.

Staff is here to help! We are referees for combat. If you have any questions regarding combat concerns do not hesitate to contact technical staff!