Battles are initiated by walking into a monster. When you are moving near them, they may chase after you. If you stand still, they won't react to you, but they may randomly wander into you. When you become much stronger than the monster, they will react by fleeing from you. When a monster has wandered around after a set amount of time, they will disappear and a new one will randomly spawn.
Battles are turn based. Turn order are determined by each character Agility from the highest to the lowest. Character with highest Agility will attack first. At the start of a round you have the following options:
- Fight
- Examine
- Flee - If successful the battle will be canceled. No experience or gold coins received if the battle canceled half way.
- Misc.
Selecting fight will give you more options:
- Attack - Consecutive attacks apply bonus damage with each attack: 1.2%, 1.5%, 2.0%.
- Abilities - Some abilities such as Toxic Dagger require MP to perform.
- Spells - Each spells require MP to perform.
- Items - Allow you to use items carried by your selected party member. Items carried on the bag are not available to use.
- Defend
- Coup de Grâce - Vocation specific. Becomes available under certain situations.
During battle you may be affected by various status effects. They include:
- Asleep
- Confused
- Inactive
- Paralysed
- Poisoned
At the end of a battle your party receives experience, gold, and possibly items. Each party member will always receive experience regardless their involvement in the battle. When you return to the overhead view, new monsters are randomly spawned.