Battle Points
Battle Points are three counters that build during combat and can activate special effects. They are displayed above the player's HP bar as Swift, Lethal, and Defensive symbols.
Battle Points are separate from Action Points. Battle Points create a chance for a special effect; Action Points determine how many ordinary actions a battler can take during a side's phase.
Point types
| Type | Symbol | Eligible trigger | Effect on activation | After activation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swift | Spiral | An enemy attack begins | The attack sequence misses the player. | Swift resets to 0. |
| Lethal | Sword | The player begins a normal attack, Skill, or Ritual attack | The attack deals double damage. | Lethal resets to 0. |
| Defensive | Heart | The player's action ends | Restores 25% of maximum HP and 25% of maximum MP, rounded to whole points. | Defensive resets to 0. |
Defensive can activate after the player's final attack has defeated every enemy because its check occurs at the end of the action.
Activation chance
The activation roll is an integer from 1 through 25. The effect activates when the current point total is at least the roll:
Activation chance = min(points ÷ 25, 100%)
Each point therefore adds 4 percentage points.
| Points | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chance | 0% | 4% | 8% | 12% | 16% | 20% | 24% | 28% | 32% | 36% | 40% | 60% | 80% | 100% |
The counters can be raised above 10 by some items. No lower universal cap than 25 is needed: at 25 points the next eligible trigger is already guaranteed, so additional points provide no further activation benefit.
Individual and cumulative chance
The table above is the chance on one eligible trigger. If the player gains one point after each failed attempt, the cumulative chance of having activated by a later point is higher.
| Current point after consecutive misses | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chance on this trigger | 4% | 8% | 12% | 16% | 20% | 24% | 28% | 32% | 36% | 40% |
| Cumulative chance since point 1 | 4.00% | 11.68% | 22.28% | 34.71% | 47.77% | 60.31% | 71.42% | 80.57% | 87.56% | 92.54% |
This cumulative row assumes a trigger at every listed point total and that the counter rises by exactly one after each miss. It should not be used when points are gained in larger jumps or no trigger occurs between gains.
Gaining points
Skills, Rituals, food, battle items, weapons, armor, and accessories can add Battle Points. Examples include:
| Source | Points |
|---|---|
| Precision Strike or Frenzy Slash | +1 Swift |
| All or Nothing, Dark Blast, or Light Blast | +1 Lethal |
| Lesser Mending or Greater Mending, Dark Shield, or Cosmic Premonition | +1 Defensive |
| Moonbeam of Gatis | +1 Swift and +1 Lethal |
| Combat Drink | +3 Swift, +3 Lethal, and +3 Defensive |
| Swiftroot | +25 Swift |
| Strange Fruit | +25 Lethal |
Many weapons have a 25% or greater chance for Basic Attacks to add a specified point. Weapon and armor effects that add or remove points use their stated trigger and probability; they do not change the universal 4%-per-point activation formula unless they explicitly say so.