Editing Combat

'''Combat''' is Winds of Valen's core fighting system: seven skills that work together to decide how hard you hit, how well you survive, and what gear actually helps against a given enemy.

[[File:SkillIcon_Attack.png|100px|thumb|right|Combat]]
== The Seven Combat Skills ==
Three skills deal damage, three defend against a specific attack style, and Health backs up all of them.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Skill !! Role !! Notes
|-
| [[File:SkillIcon_Attack.png|24px]] [[Attack]] || Offensive (melee) || Trained by fighting in melee stance
|-
| [[File:SkillIcon_Archery.png|24px]] [[Archery]] || Offensive (ranged) || Requires an equipped bow and arrows
|-
| [[File:SkillIcon_Magic.png|24px]] [[Magic]] || Offensive (elemental) || Deals damage with elemental effects
|-
| [[File:SkillIcon_Defence.png|24px]] [[Defence]] || Defensive || Resists '''Heavy''' attacks
|-
| [[File:SkillIcon_Evasion.png|24px]] [[Evasion]] || Defensive || Resists '''Quick''' attacks
|-
| [[File:SkillIcon_Warding.png|24px]] [[Warding]] || Defensive || Resists '''Mystical''' attacks
|-
| [[File:SkillIcon_Health.png|24px]] [[Health]] || Survivability || Passively gains 25% of every combat skill's XP
|}

== Shields: Matching the Attack ==
Every attack falls into one of three styles, and each has a shield type that counters it. Equip the wrong shield and you're not getting the defensive benefit.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Attack Style !! Color !! Shield Family !! Example
|-
| Heavy || Red || Shield || [[File:T_SteelShield_Icon.png|30px]] [[Steel Shield]]
|-
| Quick || Green || Parry Shield || [[File:T_BronzeParryShield_Icon.png|30px]] [[Parry Shield]]
|-
| Mystical || Blue || Ward || [[File:T_AdeptWard_Icon.png|30px]] [[Adept Ward]]
|}
See {{ShieldList}} for the full shield lineup in each family.
If an enemy's attacks are split evenly between two styles, either matching shield works, so pick whichever also covers your other stats.

== Reading Enemy Weaknesses ==
Weapons also carry a physical damage type, '''Pierce''' or '''Slash''' (shown on every weapon's stat block), which armour resists separately from the Heavy/Quick/Mystical system above. The short version: check an enemy's defence stats and hit whichever number is lowest.

* '''Piercing weapons''' exploit low '''Pierce Defence'''.
* '''Slashing weapons''' exploit low '''Slash Defence'''.

== Accuracy & Defence Rolls ==
Whether an attack lands comes down to comparing two rolls, your accuracy against the target's defence, both built the same way:
{| class="wikitable"
! Roll !! Formula
|-
| Max Accuracy || (Attack level + 8) × (Equipped Accuracy + 32)
|-
| Max Defence || (Defence level + 8) × (Equipped Defence + 32)
|}
The higher your effective level and gear stats relative to the target's, the more often your hits connect.

== Experience ==
Combat XP splits every time you land a hit:
* '''75%''' goes to whichever offensive skill you're using (Attack, Archery, or Magic).
* '''25%''' goes to [[Health]], regardless of style.

Total XP earned also scales with the enemy's level, higher-level enemies are worth more, with the scaling curve easing off past level 100.

== Quick Reference ==
* Match your shield to the enemy's attack style '''before''' engaging, not mid-fight.
* Target the enemy's lowest defence stat (Pierce or Slash) with the matching weapon type.
* Account for travel and respawn time when estimating real XP/hour, not just per-hit numbers.

[[Category:Skills]]