TCoS - Combat
The combat system in TCoS is made to increase the effect of tactical choices made by the player during combat. Furthermore there are too many games that use a combat system that is too dependent on damage outcome using formulas and percentages that sort of take away player control. For instance if a combatant wins due to a lucky streak of critical hits or by using a weapon which does random bonus damage, the outcome is not based on player skill but on sheer luck.
Targeting System à la FPS
One of the things that is very different about TCoS in comparison to most other MMOGs, is the targeting system. The game has no auto attack combat where a player can target an opponent and click the attack button once and wait until the opponent is defeated. Instead TCoS will let you hit where you swing by actually keeping your opponent manually targeted using your targeting 'crosshair'. So if a player wins a battle, it means your choices and reactions made the difference, not dice rolls and luck.
Skills
If a player has to aim and make tactical choices during combat it is not the idea to swamp the player with tons of spells and skills, at least not all at the same time. Players will have access to a large number of different skills they can use during combat, but never more than a handful are displayed on screen at any time.
The Skillbook
All the skills a character has learned during play are kept in their Skillbook. Characters learn new skills as they advance in level and by exploring the world of Spellborn. Skills learned at the early levels of advancement are by no means weaker skills which have no use when the character becomes stronger. The damage and the effects of a skill are related to the power of the character that uses them and thus remain useful throughout the game. They grow stronger as the character levels up. Which skills a character can learn depends on their chosen archetype and discipline. Warriors can learn melee skills such as Impale while a Runemage can learn magical skills like Ring of Fire.
The Skilldeck
Players select several skills from the Skillbook and place these into the character's Skilldeck. The Skilldeck can be compared to a deck of cards as seen in many collectible trading card games. It consists of 6 rows (called tiers) with 5 skill-slots per row. Each skill-slot can be filled with a chosen skill, as long as the skill was learned and is available in the character's Skillbook. The players are completely free to experiment and create their own fighting styles and tactics. Teams can coordinate the composition of their Skilldecks to increase their battle performance.
Combat
The Skilldeck appears as a kind of cylinder with the 5 Skills of one row visible at a time. When the player executes a skill, the cylinder will turn and reveal the next row. Players can compose the skills on the deck as they like and combine them into effective sequences or organize them to unleash powerful combos.
With the mouse wheel or the 1–5 keys, the player chooses which skill he wants to execute. By pressing the mouse key, the selected Skill is executed and the Skilldeck turns to the next position, where another skill (or the same) skill waits. Once used, the skill takes effect in the area where the player is aiming.
Combos
In addition to this combat system, skills can form combo-chains. All skills have a combo type and these combo types initiate certain bonuses if they are used in the correct order. For instance a skill can be labelled as an opener, which means that it starts a possible combo-chain. A skill labelled as a finisher ends the combo-chain and will do increased damage (or provide additional positive effects for the character, or negative effects for their opponent) depending on the skills used in between the opener and the finisher.
This icon indicates the Skill is a Combo Opener
This icon indicates the Skill is a Combo build-up
This icon indicates the Skill is a Combo Finisher
Being prepared is just half the work. A focused Skilldeck with flexibility to adjust against various types of opponents will greatly improve a character's battle performance. Players are free to play around with their Skilldeck and adjust it as much as they like to. They can change skills at any time (except during combat) in order to defeat a previously too difficult enemy.
