Quick Start

1. Pick Fighters. Choose You (Fighter 1) and the Opponent (Fighter 2).
2. Set Options. Choose a Difficulty and a Battlefield (terrain).
3. Fight! Click an action (⚔️ Attack, ⬆️ AtkBuff, ⬆️ SpdBuff, 🛡️ Defend, or a status move like ☠️ Poison).
4. Win the Battle. Reduce the opponent’s HP to 0 (accounting for any evolutions) to win.
5. Rematch. After a win, hit 🔄 Rematch to reset with the same matchup.

Turn Flow

1. Start-of-Turn Effects: Ongoing damage or one-time triggers (e.g., Poison, Burn DOT). Recover/Corrupt are immediate when used, not here.
2. Player Action: Your selected action resolves right away.
3. Evolution Check (Opponent): If the opponent hits 0 HP and can evolve, they morph now.
4. AI Action: The opponent acts (unless frozen this turn).
5. Evolution Check (You): If you hit 0 HP and can evolve, you morph now.
6. KO & Winner: If a fighter with no evolution left reaches 0, the battle ends and a winner banner plays.

Actions & What They Do

• Attack (⚔️) — Deals damage based on ATK vs DEF, your style advantage, and terrain bonus.
• AtkBuff (⬆️) — +15% ATK per use (max 3 stacks).
• SpdBuff (⬆️) — +15% Speed per use (max 3 stacks). Helps you act before the opponent in various tie-breaks.
• Defend (🛡️) — Halves incoming damage from the next enemy attack this turn. Resets right after they attack.
• Poison (☠️) — Applies DOT to the target (a small % of Max HP each Player turn).
• Burn (🔥) — DOT plus a one-time ATK reduction on the burned fighter.
• Freeze (❄️) — Target loses its next action; 10% chance to thaw instantly on the frozen turn.
• Recover (💖) — Immediate heal of 30% of your Max HP (consumed on use; not a DOT).
• Corrupt (💀) — Immediate HP cut on the target equal to 50% of their Max HP and a small ATK debuff (one-time).

Status Effects (Details)

Note: Immediate effects (Recover/Corrupt) happen right away and do not repeat next turn.

Terrain & Attributes

Some terrains boost or nerf certain attributes for Fighter 1’s damage multiplier.

Attributes are displayed as badges (e.g., 🔥 Fire, ❄️ Ice, 🌊 Sea, 🌪️ Wind, etc.).

Fight Style Advantage

Some fighters have styles that counter others:

• Brawler > Speedster (×2 damage)
• Speedster > Tactician (×2 damage)
• Tactician > Brawler (×2 damage)

The inverse matchups reduce damage (×0.5).

Abilities & Ailments

Fighters may have an Ability that can:

• Buff their own key stat (e.g., ATK/DEF/SPD/HP/Mind) by a flat amount.
• Debuff the same stat on their opponent.
• Optionally apply an affliction at the start (e.g., Burn, Freeze), depending on the ability.

Additionally, fighters may have innate capabilities (can_poison, can_burn, can_freeze, can_recover, can_corrupt) that enable the corresponding status buttons during the fight.

Evolutions (Morphs)

Some fighters have a one-time evolution when they hit 0 HP.

• Thresh Drake / Thresh - Dracon ⟶ Thresh the Undead — When HP reaches 0, he resurrects as Thresh the Undead, clears negative effects, swaps art and stats, and returns with full Undead HP (per rules).
• If the evolved form reaches 0 HP later, the battle ends normally.

When a morph triggers, the screen swaps the name, art, attribute, ability badge, and stats live — no extra input required.

Difficulty Modes

• Normal: AI selects at random from legal moves (including status moves it can use).
• Hard: AI uses simple heuristics:
  • Defends if it predicts your next hit will chunk hard.
  • Recovers under ~35% HP if available.
  • Uses Corrupt whenever it’s advantageous and available.
  • Freezes if behind on HP or you’re stacking buffs.
  • Buffs Speed/Attack if it’s slower or weaker and has stacks left.

UI, Bars & Icons

• HP Bars: Green > 50%, Yellow 26–50%, Red ≤ 25%.
• Status Icons: ☠️ Poison, 🔥 Burn, ❄️ Freeze, 💀 Corrupt.
• Action Feedback: Attack lunge, glowing buff, shield pulse, etc.
• Winner Banner: When the fight ends, a victory banner animates across the screen with the winner’s name and a rematch button.

Tips & Strategy

• Use terrain. Pick a battlefield that favors your fighter’s attribute.
• Stack wisely. Three AtkBuffs or SpdBuffs can swing the match; Hard AI responds to this.
• Time Recover. Use it before lethal range; the 30% heal is immediate.
• Corrupt at the right moment. Halving Max-HP-based damage is massive — especially against tanks or just before an evolution trigger.
• Freeze at clutch times. Stopping a lethal counterattack or buying a free turn can seal a round.

FAQ

Q: Why didn’t the battle end at 0 HP?
A: Some fighters (e.g., Thresh Drake) evolve at 0 HP. If the evolved form reaches 0 later, the battle ends.

Q: Why didn’t Recover/Corrupt show until next turn?
A: They resolve immediately on use. If you don’t see it, check the log and bar updates — it should reflect this turn.

Q: Why did my attack do less/more damage?
A: Damage varies with ATK/DEF rolls, style advantage, and terrain multipliers. Defend also halves the next incoming hit.