Like we’ve said multiple times,
battles are one of the most important features in Temtem. Our vision for battles is to make them
100% based on skill and strategy, removing every trace of RNG that we can.
In this update we’re going to talk about how we’re dealing with that decision, and what
features we’re implementing and modifying in order to achieve it. But let’s start with the basics…
What is RNG?
RNG stands for
Random Number Generation. RNG is used every time the game has to roll the probability of a certain outcome.
Critical hits? RNG.
Accuracy? RNG.
Evasion? RNG. And a long, long etcetera.
A bit of RNG makes games more fun because you always have that
unexpected random factor that could happen at any time. But a lot of RNG can stop a game from being fair and
can undermine your skill and strategy in favor of an uncontrollable random choice.
RNG is commonly used to balance attacks. With RNG, you can have one Water-type attack that does 30 damage and has 100% accuracy and another Water-type attack that does 150 damage but has only 30% accuracy. In Temtem, we’re removing this type of balance and
we’re introducing three new game mechanics that will help us balance out all our Techniques.
The 7th stat: Stamina
Alongside HP, Speed, Attack, Sp. Attack, Defense, and Sp. Defense, Temtem will feature a new stat:
Stamina.
Each Temtem will have a base Stamina value that will increase with each level.
Stamina represents how many Techniques the Temtem can handle using during a battle.
Instead of having a limit on how many times a Technique can be used,
each Technique will have a Stamina cost. When a Temtem uses a Technique, its Stamina cost
will be subtracted from the Temtem’s Stamina bar. If the Stamina bar reaches zero, the Temtem will start hurting itself each time it uses a Technique due to
overexertion.
More powerful Techniques will have a higher Stamina cost, so they can only be used a couple of times before you start to hurt yourself. On the flip side, less powerful Techniques will have a lower Stamina cost, so you will be able to use them more frequently.
Each Temtem will
recover a bit of Stamina at the end of each turn, and they will gain
extraStamina if they don’t participate in the battle in that turn. Also, Tamers will have the option to order a Temtem to
Rest instead of using a Technique, so the Temtem can gain
more Staminathat turn.
When the battle ends, all Temtem will recover full Stamina and will be ready for the
next battle.
Hold
Stamina helps us balance most of the Techniques, but there are some
super powerful Techniques that require an extra step before being used. The
Hold mechanic is here to solve those cases.
Techniques with Hold will require a Temtem to be
active in battle a certain number of turns before using them. And after they’re used, you’ll need to wait that amount of turns before using them again.
At the end of each turn, the Hold value for each Technique will be increased by one, and when the value reaches the Technique’s Hold requirement, the Technique will be ready to use. You will be able to use the Technique whenever you want, and, once the Hold value is full, it won’t change until the Technique is used.
Synergy
Since battles in Temtem are
2vs2, we’ve decided to introduce a new mechanic that will favor
certain team compositions, giving bonuses for some Techniques when you have a
Type-specific ally.
When a Temtem uses a Synergy Technique,
it will check the typing of its current battle ally. A Technique with Fire Synergy, for example, will check if the allied Temtem has Fire as one of its types.
Since it’s easier to explain with an example, here are a couple:
- Slow Down is a Mental Technique that will reduce the speed of the target Temtem by one stage. If the attacking Temtem’s ally is also Mental, the Technique will sleep the target. Both effects will be chained if the Synergy succeeds, so the target Temtem will have its speed reduced and also will be put to sleep.
- Aqua Stone is a Water Technique with 80 base damage. If the attacker’s ally is Earth-type, the Technique will have a base damage of 104 instead of 80.
Status Conditions
As some of you already know, Temtem will have Status Conditions (remember the Paharo sleeping in the Kickstarter trailer?).
Each Temtem will be able to have up to
two Status Conditions at the same time. The Status Conditions will occur in a
FIFO queue (first in, first out), meaning that each time a new Status Condition is applied, the previous ones will be moved up in the list, and if the Temtem already has two other status conditions, the oldest status condition will be removed.
All Status Conditions in Temtem are non-volatile. This means that Statuses can't be removed by swapping Temtem, and will be kept even when you exit combat.
Each Status Condition will have a turn counter when it is applied.
The turn counter will vary by the Technique used, meaning that one Technique could apply Sleep for two turns, and another Technique could apply Sleep for four turns. The turn counter will be reduced at the end of each turn, even when the Temtem is on the bench. The effects of Status Conditions will also be applied if the Temtem is on the bench (i.e. a Temtem will keep losing health if it has been Poisoned).
Currently, we have
14 different Status Conditions planned, from Poisoned to Asleep, and even some positive ones like Invigorated and Regenerating.
Final words
Please, take into consideration that some of these features
may not be present in the initial Alpha release. Also, we’ll be
tweaking these details a lot in the upcoming months according to your feedback and our data until we reach perfect harmony between the different mechanics.
We hope this update resolves some doubts about the combat in Temtem, and we hope you all enjoy the new systems we’ve put in place.
Ich hätte Bock.