Kalin no Tsurugi/Combat

Basic Combat
Understanding the basics of combat is vital to your success. Combat begins when the player bumps into a monster on the map screen. Once you engage in combat, you can not escape until all of the enemies are defeated. This means once you engage in combat, either you must defeat all the enemies, or they will defeat you. Combat can only be avoided by dodging the appearances of the monsters on the map screen.

Once combat begins, you will be shown a blown up section of the map where you are fighting. You will appear at the top, bottom, left, or right side of screen, depending on which direction you were facing when combat was initiated. At that time anywhere from one to several instances of the enemy that you encountered on the map will appear as well.

To do battle with an enemy, all you must do is walk up to them, and push into them. You can only fight one monster at a time, and you can only fight a monster that you are facing. You will be attacked by any monster that is facing and touching you. Therefore, it is possible to be ganged up upon by two or more monsters. For this reason, the position in which you fight is very important.

Terrain
There are many terrains that you will fight on, but they all fall under one of two categories: open and populated. The only two terrains which are populated are mountains and forests. In these two terrains, mountains and tree dot the landscape that you fight in. They can be used to your advantage. In open terrains, monsters are free to come at you from any direction unless you are standing against a side or a corner. In populated terrains, you can also use the trees or mountains to cut down on the number of directions you are vulnerable to attack. For this reason, it is a good idea to limit combat against new and stronger enemy to forests and mountains so that you have an advantage against more powerful foes.

In the diagram to the right, you can see how the mountains can be used to get the jump on your enemy and avoid taking damage. In the first panel, the enemy walks down the narrow space created by the mountains and the side of the screen. In the second panel, the player rushes in to attack the enemy just as its feet are exposed below the mountain. By the third panel, the player has defeated the enemy without taking any damage because he was able to attack first.

In contrast, the image to the right shows the dangers of fighting in an open terrain. In the middle of the screen, the player has absolutely no defense against enemies that approach him from any direction. Two enemies are attacking from above, while a third attacks from below. In this situation, it is important to follow two rules: always attack the enemy that stands between you and the fastest escape from the situation, and never switch from attacking on enemy to another, as this will only delay how long you must stand there and take damage.

Initiative
Many times, your success or failure in battle is determined not by your strength, but by your speed and ability to attack first. While stronger enemies can interrupt your attacks, most enemies become stuck in a state where they are unable to retaliate while you attack. For this reason, it is important that you be the first to attack, and remain on the offense until the enemy is defeated. If you hesitate or get attacked by someone else, you will lose the initiative and your enemy may retaliate.

In the diagram to the right, the player approaches the left monster in the first panel. In the second panel, the right monster shoots a projectile at the player. This projectile strikes the player in the third panel, stunning him, and causing him to lose initiative against the left demon, which will take advantage of the situation by attacking the player while he is stunned.

Healing
Staying alive during and between battles is another important aspect of the game. As enemies strike you, you are bound to lose hit points. Knowing the best way to restore your health is critical, especially early on in the game. Getting healed costs 10 units of gold for every level of experience you have (e.g. a level 12 player must pay 120 gold). Heal Potions cost 30 units of gold, and you may only hold a maximum of 5. And finally, the White Idol may be used as a healing item at the cost of some magic points. Therefore, your strategy should be as follows:
 * Prior to level 7: Level up near the town just north of the castle. A man in the town can heal you.  Since you will typically need two potions to fully heal, which costs 60 gold, you might as well just pay 10 gold times your level to quickly heal.
 * Level 7 and beyond: Until you get the White Idol, you will need to stock up on Heal Potions. Since you should never need more than two potions to reach a safe level of health, 60 gold is the most you should spend to heal.  It's a good idea to keep a full supply of 5 Heal Potions on you as often as possible.
 * Once you obtain the White Idol: It's actually not too difficult to obtain the White Idol past level 7. Once you have it, you will be able to use it to heal anywhere from 10 to 20 hit points at a cost of 5 magic points.  Use it as often as you need to until you run low on magic points.  Than either revert to using Heal Potions until your magic regenerates, or use a Magic Potion to restore some of your magic immediately.

Monster spawning
The following information only applies much later in the game, when you are exploring castles and caves that contain monsters. In these type of areas, rooms are prepopulated with monsters (although more can wander in, but this happens far less frequently than in the outdoors, due to limited means of access). When you arrive in a new room, examine the types of monsters that you are likely to encounter. If you determine that the make up of the monsters in the room seems particularly difficult or they are positioned such that many are in the way of your destination, simply leave the room and re-enter. This will cause the game to repopulate the room with new monsters chosen and situated randomly. If this new arrangement is easier to deal with, enter the room and proceed on your way. If the conditions are not more favorable for you, exit the room and immediately re-enter, and repeat this process until the population of the room is more to your liking.