Combat System

Masters of Raana features an advanced combat system where you’re able to use many different strategies to overcome your enemies.

Movement and Distance

Each participant can place themselves in either Distant or Close combat. Distant combat is better for certain weapons, such as rifles, while a shotgun and a handgun are more efficient in Close combat. Melee weapons require the wielder to enter Close combat before he's able to use them.

Moving between Close combat and Distant combat takes up one action. Charging or Withdrawing makes you unable to fire or attack during the same round you’ve moved.

Having a Melee skill or Dexterity above 79 enables you to choose a Close starting position in the combat room - before the actual battle begins.

Note that you cannot withdraw from fights once started.

Combat Actions

You can attack your enemy using either Ranged weapons or Melee weapons. It's possible to fire Ranged weapons from both Distant and Close combat, while Melee weapons are only usable in Close combat.

When firing a gun or crossbow, your Ranged weapon skill determines the chance to hit - modified by certain situations such as distance to the enemy, type of weapon, if you're mortally wounded, and so on.

When wielding close combat weapons such as fist, great sword or power katana, your chance to hit is partly determined by your Melee weapon skill, but is also modified by the target’s DEXTERITY (i.e., ability to dodge) and their armor's weight (how slow and encumbered they are).

There’s always a 5% chance to score a Critical hit. A critical hit seldom fails to hit its target, even if it’s an untrained girl’s fist aiming for a melee master’s face. The critical hit will cause an additional 15 pts. of damage on its target and raises the skill of whoever executed the attack by one point.

The type of weapon determines how much damage the enemy receives. Every weapon has a unique damage value that adds itself to a random dice roll (1-20). The attacker’s STRENGTH will also modify damage if he's using a melee weapon, meaning a weak girl will cause less injury than a normal man, and a strong warrior will, in many cases, deliver an even harder blow to his opponent. This is Damage Bonus, and a character starts receiving this bonus when his STRENGTH reaches 50.

Note also that many ranged weapons do different damage at different ranges, and this will be an important part of you choosing what range to get to for which character. If a weapon's damage value is given as xx/yy, xx is the damage at Distant range, and yy is the damage at Close range.

Special Actions: Power Strike, Aim and Hold

If choosing to make an attack rather than move, FIRST decide whether you want to make a special attack. There are two special attacks available to you and your followers. (*The exact effects will get tweaked as the game evolves, plus details may vary between different weapons and armors, so use this as a rough guide only.)

Power Strike

You sacrifice accuracy in favor of increased damage, with either a ranged or a melee weapon. You take a -20%-ish* chance to hit, but get an extra damage dice (maybe +1D20*). Additionally, Slow melee weapons such as Sledgehammer and Great Sword do an extra +5 damage with a Power Strike.

Aim

You spend an action just aiming, sacrificing an attack, but when you do attack later it will be with increased chance to hit (+25%*) AND greater damage (+5-20*). Note: hunting/sniper rifles and grenade launchers do extra additional damage when Aimed, if fired from Distant range.

Notes

So, both Power Strike and Aim are useful for punching through an armor's Soak value - but with Aim you miss an attack then probably hit, but only from Distant range; Power Strike you can do each round, but may miss. Other notes:

• You can Hold an Aim.
• You can Move while Aiming - so you can Aim at one range, and use it at the other.
• There is no benefit from Aiming for more than one round.
• You can Aim a Power Strike.
• You can Power Strike with a Ranged as well as a Melee weapon.
• You can Aim a Melee as well as a Ranged weapon.
• You can only Power strike from Close range.

Combat Action Summary:

So each character, each round, can do one of the following:

Fire At Enemy = make a Ranged attack, from Close or Distant range.

Strike Enemy = make a Melee attack, from Close range only

Power Strike + [Fire At Enemy or Strike Enemy] = less chance to hit but more damage, and you don't lose an action.

Aim = lose an action to increase chance to hit AND damage on next attack.

Charge = move to Close range (to get higher damage with some ranged weapons, or to make a Melee attack).

Pull Back = withdraw to Distant range (to get higher damage from some ranged weapons; note though you can't make Melee weapon attacks from Distant range, thay can still be made on you if the enemy has closed with you).

Hold = skip an action without moving, attacking or Aiming.

N.B. in most cases, instead of Holding, you might as well Aim - then if you do subsequently Attack, it will be with increased Chance and Damage. You'll maybe only ever need to use Hold if you have already Aimed, and want to wait another round before launching the attack for some reason. Or that character wants to stand back and let the others get the combat training.

Followers

Fighting alone can be tough, especially if several enemies attack you at once. In game, you can build a troop consisting of a maximum of five combatants, including yourself. If you own two slaves, you can arm both with whatever combat style you’ve decided to train them in. If this isn’t enough, or if you just want to keep your slaves safe at home, you’re also able to hire two mercenaries and add them to your force. Mercenaries are hired with a one-time contract fee, and a daily upkeep wage. These amounts will vary greatly depending on equipment and skill – from poorly equipped ruffians to near-invincible senior space marines.

Armor

Armor is a lifesaver. Almost every soldier and adventurer uses it – if they can afford it. Masters of Raana features several different armors, from extra-light, low-tech padded armor, to high-tech Stealth suits, to the almost-unobtainable, self-powered and environmentally self-contained H.U.L.C. suits.

Armors have a unique value called Soak. The Soak value automatically absorbs damage that you receive from an opponent. The subtraction is easy - a Heavy Leather Armor with Soak Value 14 will reduce the damage of every incoming hit by 14 points. Note though that some melee weapons and many ranged weapons have the "armor piercing" property, and will bypass some of tis Soak value - typically reducing it by 20%.

Armors also have a Condition value. If you receive damage that penetrates your armor, the armor has a 20% risk of getting its Soak value decreased by a small amount. Make sure you repair your armor at an Armor store before heading out on adventures! A broken armor (Soak reaches 0) will be permanently removed from your inventory.

Armor is great – but a heavy armor will make you an easier target when someone attacks you with a melee weapon. All armor will decrease the wearer's DEXTERITY and his ability to dodge incoming attacks.

Ammunition

Ammunition is expensive in Masters of Raana, making the use of melee weapons a good alternative if you face smaller opponents or want to save your hard-earned cash.

Every weapon has a special type of ammunition that you can buy in most gun shops throughout Ikaanos. The Remington rifle uses .30-06 bullets, the shotgun 12-gauge shells, and the crossbow demand a supply of bolts. You spend ammunition every time you attack an opponent with a ranged weapon, and if you deplete your ammunition, the associated firearm becomes useless. Always make sure that you’re carrying at least a reliable combat knife as a backup!

Ammo count applies to the player and his slaves. Mercenaries always stock themselves with enough ammo if they use ranged weapons, so that's nothing the player needs to worry about.

Experience

When you or your slaves score a Critical hit, the weapon's related combat skill (Ranged or Melee) will immediately increase by 1. Another way to raise your Ranged and Melee skills is through training outside of actual combat. While at your house, check out the section Improve skills to learn more.

Death

Your slaves and mercenaries will never permanently die in combat, unless you choose "Iron Man" option (see below). When their health reaches zero, the unfortunate servant becomes incapacitated. An incapacitated slave or mercenary will however suffer a permanent -1 STR and -1 DEX penalty, unless resuscitated with the help of a Doctor's Kit.

The same applies to the player. An enemy cannot permanently kill you (but see below).

However, the damage to your physical attributes will take several weeks to recover from, and there’s also a high risk that the victors will plunder your valuable possessions. This makes combat dangerous while also removing immersion-breaking forced restarts from an earlier save if you lose a battle.

NOTE: If you choose Iron Man mode (Options > Game Settings > Page 2 > Mods) these penalties are doubled or quadrupled, and death is permanent below -15* Health Points (0 to -15* count as Unconscious). Characters going below -15* will be removed from the game.

* As with may other of the details of this game, the exact value of this variable is being tweaked as gameplay repercussions are balanced, so use this figure as a guide not an absolute.

Recoil and weapon speed

A weapon's recoil can negatively affect your ability to use it.

• None: Success chance modified by +10. This recoil state can only be achieved by using stabilizers or certain high-tech weapons.
• Low recoil: No modifications.
• Medium recoil: Success chance modified by -3 until Ranged weapon skill reaches 40.
• High recoil: Success chance modified by -6 until Ranged weapon skill reaches 70.

A melee weapon's speed can affect your enemy's ability to dodge an incoming attack.

• Fast: Success chance (Dodge) modified by -3.
• Medium: No modifications.
• Slow: Success chance (Dodge) modified by +5.

Note that modifications apply to all slaves, mercenaries and enemies as well.