Final Fantasy Squadron Tactics [A fan concept]

[SaitoHikari]

I figured that among all the doom and gloom threads, it was probably time to share something I spent an absolutely shameful amount of time working on for the past month (that will obviously never happen at that), just for a change of pace. While all of this may be ultimately futile in the end, I hope it at least inspires someone in some way.

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This is more or less a mock-up of what it might look like if players could take their Squadrons out for missions that used the FFT combat system. For close to a decade now, FFT series fans have been clamoring for a sequel. As far as anyone knows, none are in the works, so introducing it in FFXIV would achieve the dual purpose of having something new in the game that makes complete sense narrative-wise, and allowing FFXIV players to demo/gauge demand for a FFT-style sequel down the road.

(I will fully admit, however, that I've never had the opportunity to play FFT since it never had a proper PC release, though I was able to play FFTA/A2 back in the day. Still, I've heard stories about FFT and it does seem like quite the intriguing game, especially in regards to how some of the mechanics in that game worked that the sequels lacked.)

The missions each player gets initially depends on their enlistment in one of the three Grand Companies. Most are story-based and must be done one by one, but are repeatable for the sake of replay-ability/practice. After the player is done with the story missions assigned by their own Grand Company, their squadron gets the option of accepting an invitation to handle matters pertaining to the others, unlocking access to their story missions as well.

There would also be optional missions that are more or less designed to teach players advanced concepts, such as using knock back skills to knock enemies off of high ledges to inflict fall damage, pushing obstacles around to break enemy line of sight, or manipulating field conditions to your advantage. Of course, there are challenge missions as well, which would provide rewards on first time completion like glamour items, mounts, minions, and job stones for squadron members. Most optional missions are NOT locked behind choice of GC enlistment, and would be considered a joint effort for the entire Alliance.

Grand Company story overview:

Immortal Flames:
The Immortal Flames story juggles three different plots, since there isn't a singular point of interest in the surrounding regions proper, but a lot to look into within Ul'dah itself.

- The first is a mysterious fire at a house belonging to a prominent friend of a Syndicate member (something the Flames have largely put off investigating as it was deemed not important to matters of regional security, but said syndicate member is now threatening to pull funding from the Grand Company).
- The second consists of a pest infestation outside of the city gates leading to the discovery of an ancient expanded underground aquifer system that may pre-date the founding of Ul'dah. Of course, said ruins are teeming with monsters, and maybe something else besides - and the wealthy elite are complicating matters by sending in mercenaries to search for treasure or anything else that will bring them fame without any findings being inspected by the Immortal Flames first.
- The third consists of protecting the various settlements outside of the city from Amaljaa attacks seeking to create an army of slaves, along with assessing the state of Castrum Centri bordering Northern Thanalan and Mor Dhona - still teeming with Imperial soldiers of the XIVth Legion.

The Malestrom:
The Maelstrom's story largely revolves around maintaining the security of the nearby seas. While this sounds simple, it is much more complicated than it sounds. The Malestrom at its core is largely a collection of former pirates united under the Admiral's banner. This alliance is shaky at best, and often only raw intimidation keeps some of the more rowdy crews in line.

- Consider that in the game's lore, the Arcanist guild is largely responsible for inspecting cargo that enters Limsa Lominsa. One of the squadron's roles is to ensure that all ships, local and foreign, adhere to that regulation.
- The seas are incredibly dangerous. From the Sahagins, a stray Siren here and there, discoveries of eldritch abominations unknown to the Three Great Continents, Garlean ships assessing Eorzea's naval strength from a distance, the slave trade attempting to reach contacts within Limsa, and foreign ships whose intentions are always in question, a Squadron Commander's judgement must often be made without any guidance from any supporting units.

Twin Adders:
The Twin Adders deal with far more immediate threats compared to the other two Grand Companies, being actively at war with the Ixial on top of the Imperial presence in Gyr Abania. In recent times, the Imperial presence has been greatly diminished as the Alliance helped Ala Mhigo win their independence, but that was only one piece of the puzzle that the city-state of Gridania finds itself in.

- The Shroud was hit the hardest by Dalamud's fall, the largest fragment of the moon crashing and obliterating the former West Shroud. There have been many attempts to reclaim the region and to find what has been lost, but all have ultimately failed for numerous reasons, ranging from Allagan monstrosities, Imperial units scouring the ruins for research purposes, and bands of poachers and bandits with little respect for law and culture. On top of that, the Conjurers of Gridania are finding it more difficult to discern the intentions of the Elementals, who ultimately decide the fate of everyone that lives in the city-state.
- Complicating matters are the damnable Lambs of Dalamud, whose fervent prayers to the fallen Moon (and by extension, the dread wyrm Bahamut) are causing fears that they may awaken something that can lay waste to Gridania. The forests have always been under attack by cultists of all sorts, who have already awoken monstrosities dating back to the War of the Magi...
- The Ixial constantly assault the Shroud for resources to build their war balloons with, along with their deity Garuda being famously vicious and short-tempered. If the Twin Adders are unable to keep them in check, none in the forests may be spared from their wrath. Thankfully, the Ishgardians are now able to assist as they have formally rejoined the Alliance and are no longer occupied with the Dragonsong War, but the extent of their commitment is unknown.

[SaitoHikari]

Character Overview (player characters and squadron members, jobs/classes):

The player character (as in, the commander of the squadron, the Warrior of Light) is a special individual. For most scenarios, the player character is the only character in the team that has access to job stones, and will thus have more abilities to use at their disposal compared to squadron members of the same base class. Some jobs are outright exclusive to the player character at first, generally those without a base class tied to it (the Heavensward and Stormblood jobs). They are also the only character in the team that can utilize Limit Breaks (available at turn 8 if a battle has not concluded before then, although they can be used sooner during special missions). The majority of them are completely changed from the base game.

However, as the player character is the leader of a Squadron, there is one rule that must be kept in mind at all times: if an enemy scores a KO against them and they are not revived within 3 full turns, or if the main character is KOed a total of 3 times in a single fight, the mission is considered a failure (on top of normal mission-specific failure conditions, if any).

Once other squadron members gain the ability to use job stones in later missions, the player character may gain access to a special solo mission that can unlock the unique ability to change classes/jobs mid-battle upon completion. Switching classes uses all primary actions for the turn, though the player character can still move beforehand. Note that the player character needs to level the relevant job to at least 70 in the main game in order to use said job in Tactics mode.

For information on combat mechanics, skip to the Tactical Mechanics section.

Healer class overview:

Healers have three role skills that are shared among all three classes:
1) Esuna: Can be used as a movement or a primary action. Beyond that, I trust this doesn't require an explanation.
2) Rescue: Pulls a target ally to the caster's side. Note that both characters must be within a 6 tile radius/2 elevation levels of each other.
3) Raise: Exactly what it says on the tin. Note that Raise is one of the few spells with a cast time, taking until the beginning of the caster's next turn for it to go off. If the caster is silenced, moved out of maximum cast range, the line of sight is broken, or the caster is afflicted by a status effect that renders them unable to act, the action is interrupted.

Conjurer/White Mage:
A fairly straightforward healer with no gimmicks attached to their ability to heal. However, they can dish out a lot of pain in the best of circumstances once they become a full fledged White Mage. Making use of their offensive skills requires tactical knowledge, for their wind-based skills can fan embers near enemies into blazing fire or inflict frostbite with the presence of chilling snow, and their Stone IV can throw enemies into the air, among other tactics. Alas, any time spent attacking is time that they are not healing, so Conjurers should exercise extreme caution.

Skill examples:
- Stone family: The basic Stone spell will cut the target's movement and jump range by 50% if they do not have the 'airborne' trait. If they have the 'airborne' trait, the attack instead knocks down the enemy, replacing the 'airborne' trait with the 'grounded' trait for 1 turn. II and III upgrades damage inflicted. As a projectile spell, this attack can strike at airborne enemies up to 5 elevation tiles higher than the caster.
- Stone IV: This spell is separate from the rest because it has more tactical applications. This spell can be targeted anywhere without requiring line of sight because it adds an additional effect: The ground beneath the targeted tile is raised by 2 elevation level for 2 turns, the effect stacking to up to 4 levels of elevation higher than normal for successive uses. When targeting a tile submerged by water, it will instead raise the tile above water for characters to jump across without impeding movement. The spell will still inflict damage equal to Stone III if targeted underneath an enemy's feet, though it will obviously not reach airborne enemies that are flying high enough out of reach.
- Aero family: All of the Aero spells inflict a light damage over time effect. Aero II causes enemies that are currently burning to immediately take burn damage while lowering their debuff duration by 1 turn. Aero III causes the spell to affect adjacent targets as well, along with pulling nearby burning fields onto the target to burn them and causing enemies standing on or near snow/ice surfaces to become frostbitten (or upgrading to frozen).
- Fluid Aura: Modified to fit a tactics setting. Knocks an enemy of Light weight class 1 tile away while afflicting them with the Bind status effect. The knockback effect is ineffective against Heavy or Titanic weight class. The attack also drenches the enemy, causing enemies standing on snow or ice to become frostbitten or frostbitten enemies to become frozen, but will immediately dispel burning.
- Stoneskin: Allows the target to ignore damage up to 15% of their maximum HP for up to 2 turns. While the effect is active, the target's weight class is upgraded to Heavy. (There can be some rather unconventional uses of this spell... An example being that casting this on enemies with the 'airborne' trait will cause them to crash and become grounded for the entire duration of the spell.)
- Limit Break: The commander fully heals and cleanses all allies of debuffs in a 6 tile radius, as well as reviving all KOed party members at 50% health.

Arcanist/Scholar:
A healer that focuses on mitigation and wearing down enemies with an array of status effects. Their magicked barriers can also block damage over time effects from taking hold, if the barrier has enough strength remaining after the initial attack. Their Eos or Selene, once they become a full fledged Scholar, will immediately heal struggling party members at the beginning of a Scholar's turn, allowing the Scholar to pursue other goals. The fairy can even be moved away to cover healing duties on the other side of the battlefield. No situation is beyond a true Scholar's control!

Skill examples:
- Bio family: All of the Bio spells inflict a damage over time effect. The regular version lasts for 4 turns, while II ugprades the effect to inflict total damage of the regular version over 2 turns instead. The attacks have no effect on enemies affected by magicked barriers that cannot be overcome.
- Miasma: Another damage over time effect, additionally rendering the target completely unable to heal unless cured for 2 turns. This also cuts the target's movement range by 2 tiles and jump range by 1 tile while in effect. The spell has no effect on enemies affected by magicked barriers that cannot be overcome.
- Adloquium and Succor: They still provide their barriers, but with one additional effect. The barriers will immediately dispel burning affliction from allies.
- Chain Strategem: Marks a target enemy's weaknesses for 2 turns. All attacks against the target recieve a +10% bonus to critical hit rate. Additionally, all attacks also have a barrier-piercing property if one is present, and attacks against that target cannot be blocked (though they can still be parried).
- Eos and Selene: The fairy takes their turn immediately after the Scholar's turn. As a being capable of flight, the fairy has the 'Airborne' trait, and can fly to a maximum of 5 flight elevation off of the ground beneath their feet. They have all of their usual skills, but with one additional quirk: If the fairy is not ordered to cast their basic 'Embrace' heal during their turn, then players have the option of having the fairy pre-emptively heal a nearby ally (or herself) right before an enemy character is about to attack them. This can only be done once between each Scholar turn. Obviously, there's a limit of one fairy at a time.
- Limit Break: The commander fully heals and summons a shield on all allies in a 6 tile radius, rendering them completely impervious to attacks except those with the barrier-piercing propery until the end of each ally's next turn.

Astrologian:
The Astrologian calls upon the stars to heal and grant blessings to party members. They may not boast much offense or raw healing ability compared to the other two healers, but they can make up for it by enhancing the abilities of other party members. Astrologians also have numerous abilities that can circumvent the normal movement and primary action restrictions per turn, as described in the examples below.
(Note that in a Tactics setting, Astrologians probably shouldn't have access to Nocturnal/Diurnal sect along with the Aspected Benefic/Helios. Their cards may already be more than enough.)

Skill examples:
- Draw/Shuffle/Spread/Royal Road/Minor Arcana: Drawing a card can count as either the movement action or primary action for the turn. Shuffling to a different card, spreading it, or sacrificing the card for a Royal Road or Minor Arcana effect counts as a *free action*. A held card (without spread) will last until the end of the following turn unless played or another card is drawn.
- Playing a drawn card: The actual playing of the card, however, will always count as a primary action. All cards have a base duration of 2 turns. An extended card lasts for 3 turns. An enhanced card has its effects increased by 50%. An expanded card will affect all allies within an 8 tile radius of the Astrologian, but the card duration will be reduced to 1 turn (along with Balance and Bole's effects being halved). All card effects will overwrite each other.
- Spear/Spire/Arrow/Ewer: Some cards need to be adjusted to fit in a Tactics setting. Spear guarantees that the next primary action that the target character performs will always result in a critical hit (unless the target enemy is using a defensive ability that nullifies critical damage). Spire will allow the target character(s) to take two movement actions per turn while in effect. Arrow will allow the target character(s) to use two primary actions per turn while in effect. Ewer shortens cooldown timers by 1 turn. A royal road Enhance will have no effect on these cards, and will not be consumed by playing them. Note that the total amount of movement and primary actions allowed in a turn is capped at 2.
- Lord/Lady of Crowns: The playing of either effect can count as either a movement or primary action for the turn.
- Lightspeed: Using this ability allows the Astrologian to use two primary actions immediately in the same turn. This ability would have a 5 turn cooldown.
- Gravity: This spell is notable in that this is one of the few abilities that does not have a maximum elevation restriction. The spell has 100% accuracy against airborne enemies and will strike adjacent targets standing within 2 elevation levels of the initial target, and will immediately send them crashing to the ground.
- Limit Break: The commander calls upon the power of the stars, blinding all enemies on the map for 2 turns along with stripping them of beneficial status effects. Blinded enemies suffer a -50% penalty to accuracy, evasion/block chance, maximum attack range, and jump height.

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Tank class overview:

Tanks have two (or three, if you count shove) role skills shared among all three classes.
1) Provoke: The target character will be forced to move into melee range and make a standard attack at the provoking character during their next turn, attacking the tank from the front or the side if possible. If the targeted character cannot attack the tank, they will simply end their turn after moving as close as possible.
2) Awareness: Converts the first three critical hits directed at this character to regular damage for up to 3 turns. The effect is canceled early if the character is afflicted with a status effect that causes them to skip their next turn(s).
3) All tanks also have the ability to shove enemies as well as allies of Light weight class as a primary action.

It is also important to note that, to fit in a tactics setting, Tank actions do not generate emnity along with a lack of tank stances. That means the standard ranged opener for all three tanks (Shield Lob, Tomahawk, and Unmend) are only really there to target flying enemies with. Shield Lob has the lowest vertical range (up to 3 elevation levels), while Unmend has the highest (5 elevation levels). Also, tanks are by default considered Heavy weight class, due to the armor they wear.

Gladiator/Paladin:
The tank adept with a shield, they can block and shrug off a wide variety of attacks, sporting the highest block/parry rate of all three tanks. Their primary weakness is that they have a default -1 penalty to Jump stat and lack a gap closer. Their Shield Swipe is modified for a Tactics setting, acting as a special version of the shove primary action that can damage enemies.

Skill examples:
- Shield Bash: Stuns an enemy, as usual.
- Bulwark: Until the start of the Gladiator's next turn, all physical attacks made to the Gladiator's front will be blocked at a 100% rate. Attacks made to the flanks will suffer the same (base) penalties as attacks to the front. The effect is canceled early if the character is afflicted with a status effect that causes them to skip their next turn(s).
- Sheltron: Until the start of the Gladiator's next turn, all magic attacks directed at the Gladiator are subject to block/parry chance, stacking with any relevant buffs. The effect is canceled early if the character is afflicted with a status effect that causes them to skip their next turn(s).
- Cover: The Paladin erects a magical shield over a party member until the end of the Paladin's next turn. All attacks directed to the targeted party member during this time period is redirected to the Paladin, including any debuffs attached to the attack. Damage calculation will always assume the attack is launched towards the Paladin's front, and will also take into account any relevant defensive buffs. The effect is canceled early if either party member does not remain within a 5 tile radius/3 height levels from each other, and/or line of sight is broken.
- Divine Veil: Summons a protective veil that shields all party members within a 3 tile radius with a barrier that absorbs damage up to 10% of the Paladin's maximum HP. The barrier persists for up to 2 turns and does stack with a Scholar's barriers and Dark Knight's Limit Break.
- Fight or Flight: Until the end of the Paladin's next turn, the Paladin's melee single target attacks will inflict two hits instead of one. Accuracy and critical chance is rolled once for both hits.
- Requiescat: Until the end of the Paladin's next turn, the Paladin is granted the ability to cast Holy Spirit and Clemency as movement actions if they so choose. Has a cooldown of 6 turns.
- Limit Break: The Paladin gains total invulnerability for 2 turns with all debuffs cleansed, along with having the ability to use 2 movement actions and 2 primary actions per turn while this effect is active. All abilities can additionally be used as movement or primary actions during this time period.

Marauder/Warrior:
The tank that charges in to inflict maximum carnage while being able to take a beating themselves. Many of their abilities can strike at all enemies directly adjacent to them, or an enemy directly in front while striking at any that may be standing in the three tiles in the row or column behind them. They are also very well suited for destroying field obstacles. Their one major weakness is that, compared to the other two tanks, they are incapable of completely blocking attacks and have the lowest parry rate.

Skill examples:
- Unchained: Adjusted for a Tactics setting, using this skill automatically removes the Bind status effect. The character also cannot have their HP drop below 1 until the end of their next turn (effect moved from Holmgang). If this ability is used to free the character from a bind effect, it will be treated as a free action for the turn.
- Onslaught: Can be used as a movement or primary action. Rushes at a target up to 5 tiles away with such force that it pushes them 2 tiles away if they are of light weight class, and 1 tile if they are of heavy class. If the target is knocked into a wall or obstacle, or the target is of Titanic weight class, they take additional unblockable damage equaling to 15% of their maximum HP.
- Fell Cleave: The attack is especially suited to breaking through magicked barriers and obstacles, inflicting 300% of regular damage against obstacles and 200% of regular damage against barriers. If this ability is used against an enemy with a barrier protecting them and the attack successfully shatters said barrier, the target will take full damage from the attack as if they did not have a barrier beforehand.
- Raw Intuition: The Warrior can parry all attacks from the front at a 100% rate until the start of their next turn, including spells. Their base parry rate is converted to block rate. However, the first attack to the flank, if any during this time period, is treated as an attack to the rear. The effect is canceled early if the character is afflicted with a status effect that causes them to skip their next turn(s).
- Anticipation: For two turns, all attacks made against this character to the flank and rear are treated as attacks to the front. This also confers Raw Intuition's defensive bonus against attacks from the front to all sides, overriding its defensive penalty to the flank. The effect is canceled early if the character is afflicted with a status effect that causes them to skip their next turn(s).
- Vengeance: For the next 2 turns, the Warrior will immediately counter all attacks directed at them from enemies in melee range with a basic attack of their own. The effect is canceled early if the character is afflicted with a status effect that causes them to skip their next turn(s).
- Holmgang: Adjusted for a Tactics setting, the 'HP cannot go below 1' effect is moved to a different skill, and the reeling chain can also be used to target an ally to pull them out of harm's way without inflicting Bind on said ally. This cannot be used on characters with Titanic weight class, and both characters must be within a 5 tile radius and 2 elevation levels from each other.
- Limit Break: The Warrior slams their axe into the ground with such force that it causes the landscape in a 3 tile wide/5 tile long range to shift up to 3 levels of elevation down or upwards (player's choice). The change in elevation lasts until the end of the battle. The attack also immediately destroys all destructible obstacles. All enemies in the area of effect of Light or Heavy weight class are throw into the air by 6 elevation tiles from the changed elevation (taking unblockable fall damage if applicable), and are also knocked down for their next turn. Enemies of Titanic weight class instead have their defense reduced by 50% for 2 turns.

Dark Knight:
A rather balanced tank class, they excel at striking from range, surprising enemies that believe themselves capable of out-manuevering a tank. As such, many of their ranged abilities will actually target the enemies' magic defense stat instead of physical defense, despite said attacks running off of the Dark Knight's physical attack stat. Their abilities potentially allow them to restore HP as fast as they lose it.

Skill examples:
- Plunge: Can be used as a movement or primary action. Leaps at a target with a downward swing of the greatsword, inflicting damage that ignores 25% of the target's defense stat. The target must be within 5 tiles and no more than 2 elevation levels higher than the Dark Knight.
- Dark Passenger: Unleashes dark energy in a 3 tile line, additionally blinding enemies that are hit for 1 turn (refer to Astrologian Limit Break to see what the Blind status effect does). Magicked barriers will not block the blind effect unless the barriers grant total invulnerability.
- Abyssal Drain: Leeches energy from a target up to 4 tiles away, affecting enemies directly adjacent to the target as well. No HP is restored if damage inflicted is absorbed by magicked barriers.
- Carve and Spit: The Dark Knight executes a series of brutal melee swings that drains 100% of damage inflicted from the target, completely bypassing all defenses except for total invulnerability.
- Blood Weapon: Adjusted to fit a tactics setting. For the next 3 turns, all attacks will target the lowest of enemies' physical or magic defense. All ranged attacks will also count as either a movement action or primary action.
- Living Dead: For the next 3 turns, the Dark Knight's HP cannot go below 1. In the event that the Dark Knight's HP hits 1, the buff timer is refreshed, but the Dark Knight must be healed back up to a total of least 50% HP before the buff timer expires, otherwise they are automatically KOed. Usable once per battle.
- Limit Break: The Dark Knight shrouds all allies in a 8 tile radius with a concealment barrier that absorbs damage up to 20% of each party member's HP for up to 3 turns. Unlike other barriers, party members also recieve a +30% bonus to evasion rate while the barrier holds. (While barrier-piercing attacks may be able to strike through the barrier itself, they still must contend with the bonus to evasion, unless something causes the attack to have 100% accuracy anyway.)

[SaitoHikari]

Melee DPS class overview:

[Section under construction. I already have a clear idea on how they'll play, but actually typing everything out takes quite the amount of time.]

Lancer/Dragoon:
A rather versatile class, their attacks have a 2-tile attack range instead of the standard 1 of the other melee classes, and they can strike at flying targets more easily as well. Moreover, their signature Jump skills completely ignore height and line of sight requirements, though usage of such skills will immediately end their turn.

Puglist/Monk:
An agile class that excels at striking enemy weakness, though they lack any means to strike at flying enemies and only have one ranged attack. Their abilities include attacks with guaranteed critical hit rate if launched at an opponent's rear, attacks to enemy flanks that are treated as attacks to the rear, knockbacks, and abilities that send enemies flying. Alas, their primary weakness is that they have low defense along with an average at best evasion rate that cannot compensate for that.

Rogue/Ninja:
This class has the longest movement range and are most often able to utilize two movement actions in one turn, as well as the ability to inflict an array of debilitations on their target. They also have the highest evasion rate of all classes and have an innate +2 bonus to jump height only for the purpose of calculating fall damage. However, they have the lowest defenses of all of the melee classes.

Samurai:
A fearsome fighter, no one wants to face one in combat without any backup. Their signature attack can break through defensive buffs and has a damage bonus against magicked barriers, along with a variety of counter skills to retaliate against any attackers. While they don't have the defenses that a Dragoon has, they have the highest parry rate of all of the DPS classes. Their techniques are also very well suited for breaking through obstacles.

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Ranged Physical DPS class overview:

The ranged classes have two (or three) role skills shared among them, both adjusted to fit a Tactics setting.
- Tactician: The character is granted two primary actions for their next turn.
- Refresh: Can be used as a movement or primary action. Shortens the character's cooldown timers by 1 turn.
- They have the ability to shove allies of Light weight class one tile forward. They cannot do this to enemies (and should probably run the hell away from them instead)

Archer/Bard:
The bow wielding class that happens to know how to perform song that can bolster the morale of allies and demoralize enemies. Compared to Machinist, Archers can arc their arrows over obstacles, lowering obstacles' elevation level by 1 for the purposes of establishing line of sight to strike at enemies behind them. However, their base maximum range is shorter (6 tile radius compared to a Machinist's 7), as well as their ability to strike at flying enemies or foes standing on higher ledges (up to 5 elevation levels compared to a Machinist's 6).

It's important to note that all songs are adjusted to fit a Tactics setting, and all can be cast as a movement or primary action. The Bard is also unable to sing or maintain any of them while under the Silence status effect, with the exception of Warden's Paean. All songs are permanent unless the Bard is silenced or the Bard switches songs.

Skill examples:
- Mage's Ballad: All allies within a 6 tile radius of the Bard that come under attack by enemies are granted a +20% bonus to evasion chance against attacks coming from the front, and +10% evasion chance against attacks coming from the flank. Attacks from the rear are unaffected. Cannot be used with Army's Paeon, Wanderer's Minuet, or Foe Requiem.
- Army's Paeon: All allies beginning their turn within a 6 tile raidus of the Bard is granted a +2 bonus to their movement range and +1 bonus to jump height. Cannot be used with Mage's Ballad, Wanderer's Minuet, or Foe Requiem.
- Wanderer's Minuet: The Bard's personal critical hit rate is increased by +5%, and they are also granted the ability to use Pitch Perfect. Cannot be used with Mage's Ballad, Army's Paeon, or Foe Requiem.
- Foe Requiem: Enemies within a 6 tile radius of the Bard will take an additional 10% damage from all attacks. Cannot be used with Mage's Ballad, Army's Paeon, or Wanderer's Minuet.
- Battle Voice: While song-related, this can only be cast as a primary action. All allies within a 7 tile radius of the Bard is granted +30% accuracy for 2 turns. Any accuracy overflow is converted to critical hit chance, capping at a +15% bonus.
- Pitch Perfect: Modified to fit a Tactics setting. This ability is only available during Wanderer's Minuet. Launches a powerful arrow that can knockback a Light weight class target by 1 tile.
- Barrage: Until the end of the Bard's next turn, all of the Bard's attacks will inflict two hits instead of one. Accuracy and critical chance is rolled seperately on each hit.
- Windbite/Venomous Bite: Inflicts damage over time over 5 turns. The damage over time effect will not take hold if the initial attack is blocked (though it will still take hold if parried) or is unable to overcome a magicked barrier.
- Empyreal Arrow: The Bard jumps, using the momentum to launch a barrage of magical homing arrows that completely ignores elevation level and does not require line of sight. The attack cannot be executed if the Bard is afflicted by Bind.
- Limit Break: The Bard gives a dazzling performance, firing an arrow into the sky that rains a storm upon all enemies in a straight 3-tile wide line that extends all the way across the map, ignoring line of sight and height requirements. Additionally, all allies in a 5 tile radius from the Bard that currently have abilities on cooldown will have their timers shortened by 1 turn, and any casters in range that are currently casting a spell that requires them to wait until the beginning of their next turn will have their cast times immediately finished.

Machinist:
Machinists boast the longest range of any class in the game, potentially being able to strike across entire maps when they find high ground. They can also deploy their turrets at any point in their maximum range within their line of sight (while Arcanists initially summon their pets on adjacent tiles), though the turrets are quite fragile. Some of their attacks are rather explosive as well, making them well suited for destroying obstacles from range. Their attacks also have the ability to ignore magicked barriers under certain conditions.

Skill examples:
- Rook and Bishop Autoturret: Summoning a turret can count as either the movement or primary action for the turn. Turrets will attack at the end of a Machinist's turn. Rook will target the same enemy that the Machinist attacked earlier, if applicable - otherwise, it defaults to the lowest HP enemy within its 4 tile radius range. Bishop will attack all enemies in a 2 tile radius, and will electrify any standing water in its area of effect. There is a limit of one turret at a time.
- Hypercharge: Modified to fit in a Tactics setting, the turret will now attack twice at the end of a Machinist's turn instead of once. This effect lasts for 2 turns, unless the turret is redeployed at a different location or destroyed.
- Rook and Bishop Overload: Commands the active turret to execute two attacks at 150% of normal strength before exploding, each attack having 100% accuracy. Has a cooldown of 6 turns.
- Gauss Barrel: Modified to fit in a Tactics setting, attaching a Gauss Barrel to a Machinist's gun will give their bullets explosive properties that can be used to inflict 250% of regular damage to obstacles and 150% damage to magicked barriers. This effect lasts for 3 turns.
- Ricochet: Launches an attack that can hit up to 3 obstacles and/or enemies. All three must be standing within a 2 tile radius of each other.
- Reload: Can be used as a movement or primary action. Until the end of the Machinist's next turn, all of their attacks will ignore 25% of the enemy's physical defense and additionally ignore enemy magicked barriers. Does not stak with Quick Reload.
- Quick Reload: Can be used as a movement or primary action. The next attack will ignore 25% of the enemy's physical defense along with granting the attack the barrier-piercing property, ignoring enemy magicked barriers. Does not stack with regular Reload.
- Limit Break: The Machinist uses all of the gadgets that they have at their disposal, summoning an array of machines that strike at all enemies in a 8 tile radius, ignoring line of sight and height requirements. The attack is treated as coming from the rear against all targets, and ignores magicked barriers. Additionally, enemy abilities currently on cooldown will have their timers increased by 1 turn.

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Caster DPS class overview:

[Section under construction. I already have a clear idea on how they'll play, but actually typing everything out takes quite the amount of time.]

Arcanist/Summoner:
Summoners operate much like Scholars do, except obviously with more offensive capabilities. Moreover, their summons are capable of changing field conditions, such as Ifrit being able to set enemies ablaze, Garuda being able to strike at flying enemies and summon tornadoes that launch enemies into the sky/can be used as springboards that allow allies to leap up high cliffs, and Titan changing tile elevation and stunning enemies.

Thaumaturge/Black Mage:
Thaumaturges emphasize pure destruction over a wide area of effect, and ironically synergize offensive strategies very well with White Mages. Almost everything they do inflicts some type of debilitation on an enemy and/or alters the field in some way, whether it be electrocuting water, freezing the ground, or setting fields ablaze. Their most powerful spells are all area of effect and do not require line of sight as they aren't projectile-based, but also have a cast time in most situations.

Red Mage:
They boast extreme versatility, being able to fight at range and in melee, along with being able to heal if needed. Some of their spells can be cast as free actions, as long as their initial attack lands. Their primary weakness is that compared to the other mages, they do not have any abilities that can alter the field in any way.

[SaitoHikari]

Tactical Mechanics:

As described in the class overview, there are a number of mechanics to keep note of that a tactician must be aware of at all times.

Be aware that I haven't yet decided if abilities should use a cooldown or resource system, or both.

Movement and Primary actions:
Under normal circumstances, each character gets 1 movement and 1 primary action per turn. Movement is exactly what it says on the tin, and Primary actions concern attacking, using an item, and so on. Some abilities and status effects can alter the amount of movement or primary actions a character can take per turn, particularly those from the Astrologian. Being bound, for instance, will set the character's movement to 0, canceling all movement actions as long as the status persists.

A character that has an ability that can count as a movement action or primary action for the turn can...
1) Use the ability first and then move, meaning they used the ability as a primary action first and then moved as their movement action for the turn
2) Use the ability first and then use another ability afterwards, meaning they used the ability as a movement action and used another ability as their primary
3) Move and then use the ability, like most other actions.

If the character has the ability to make multiple movement or primary actions in a single turn, the amount of such actions is capped at 2. The very rare 'free actions' do not count towards any of these restrictions.

Directional facing and attacks from the front/flank/rear:
Characters can adjust which direction they'll be facing at the end of their turn, unless they are under an affliction that prevents all actions entirely. A character attacking someone with a physical attack or certain spells with said character facing towards them will find it harder to land a hit against them, along with an increased chance that if the attack lands, the defender is able to block the attack entirely or parry for reduced damage. Attacking from the flank reduces those penalties, and attacking an enemy from behind confers maximum accuracy with no chance of the enemy being able to block or parry under most situations. Some abilities will eliminate penalties when attacking from the flank, while other defensive skills can actually extend penalties to attackers from the flank or even behind.

(In the event that a character attacking with a flank-advantage skill strikes at a target using a defensive ability that causes their flank to have the same defensive bonuses as their front side, the defender in most cases can completely cancel the attacker's flank advantage. However, some abilities can ignore such defenses entirely, along with certain status effects canceling them outright.)

Line of Sight, High Ground, and Low Ground:
Obviously, ranged abilities and spells will need to establish proper line of sight with the target for successful use. In addition to needing to establish line of sight, a ranged spell or ability's maximum range and line of sight can be influenced by the character being on high or low ground relative to the target. For every 2 elevation levels that the character is higher than the below terrain, the maximum range of the spell or ability is increased by 1 tile. Likewise, there is a range penalty for the other way around.

Most standard characters are considered to have a size of 2 elevation levels for the purpose of establishing line of sight. Assuming that an attacker and defender are on the same elevation level and the defender is standing behind an obstacle that is also of 2 elevation levels, a ranged attacker will be unable to establish line of sight (unless the attacker is an Archer, who is able to establish line of sight because obstacles' elevation level only for establishing line of sight is lowered by 1 for them).

Lalafells are actually considered to be 1 elevation level rather than the standard 2. This makes it difficult to establish line of sight against them, but it also makes it difficult for them to establish line of sight as attackers. KO'd characters are also considered to be 1 elevation level. Also, some spells and abilities can ignore line of sight, particularly the more powerful Thaumaturge and Summoner spells as explained earlier.

(Additionally, Lalafells also suffer a -1 penalty to the Jump stat, but gain a +10% bonus to evasion.)

Fall damage and status effects from falling into certain terrain:
Any character that is knocked off a ledge (or thrown into the air by some manner of spell or ability) that are 2 or more tiers of elevation higher than the character's Jump stat will suffer unblockable fall damage. Fall damage inflicts a % of max HP, starting at 10% and increasing by an additional 5-10% (depending on weight class) for each higher tier of elevation. Falling into water or snow, however, reduces damage taken by one elevation tier (and can negate fall damage entirely if the target fell from a low enough elevation).

Still, falling into a pool of water will cause the character to suffer 'Heavy' status for one turn, and falling into snow will cause the character to become affected by 'Bind' for one turn. Falling into mud will not result in fall damage reduction, but will still cause the character to be affected by Bind.

Weight class:
Each character has a weight class that determines resistance to being thrown into the air by an ability or certain wind-aspected spells, along with determining just how much fall damage the character takes. Obviously, the more armored the character is, the harder it is to be lifted into the air... But at the same time, a heavily armored character merely being pushed off a ledge will take more fall damage, and will also find it more difficult to jump.

There are three categories of Weight Class:
- Light: Most characters are of this class. Characters of this weight class boast no resistance to being thrown into the air, but also do not have their Jump stat capped and take less fall damage.
- Heavy: Heavily armored characters (particularly tanks) are of this class. Heavy class characters are resistant to being thrown into the air, but have their jump stat capped at 2 along with taking increased damage from being pushed off a ledge. Some abilities can temporarily remove the cap to the jump stat, and others upgrade a character's weight class from Light to Heavy. It is important to note that temporary buffs from Light to Heavy will still impose the jump restriction, even if the source is a friendly spell. In some situations, using a spell like Stoneskin on an especially agile enemy might be advantageous...
- Titanic: Characters of this class cannot be lifted into the air by any means, and also boast complete immunity to knockback effects. Jump stat is still capped at 3. Many larger bosses have Titanic weight class. Some (purely friendly) abilities such as Tempered Will, Fists of Earth, Stoneskin, and a player character's tank Limit Break will temporarily upgrade weight class to Titanic.

The 'Airborne' and 'Grounded' status:
Some characters are capable of flight, typically those with wings or the ability to magically hover. 'Airborne' characters are able to set their flight elevation at the end of their turn, usually high enough to be out of reach of melee attacks (at least 2 elevation levels higher than the attacker, unless the attacker is wielding a spear which can hit up to 3 elevation levels above). Some have a maximum elevation that renders them out of reach of some spells and abilities as well. They are also immune to ground hazards. Their jump stat is equal to their current flight elevation.

However, this is a double-edged sword - there are spells and abilities that are very well suited to striking at airborne characters and causing them to crash to the ground. If they were high enough off of the ground, they'll be subject to all of the usual fall damage rules. 'Grounded' status prevents that character from returning to airborne status as long as the condition persists. Jumping off of the ground back into airborne status counts as the movement action for the turn as well.

Note that there are other status effects that have similar properties to the Grounded status, such as Bind. They, too, will prevent a character capable of going airborne from taking off into the sky.

Team Movement Assist:
Characters on the same team can move through each other. Likewise, if one is standing on a ledge that another ally normally doesn't have the Jump stat to leap onto, the character on the ledge can assist them, providing them with 1 temporary Jump bonus for the purposes of jumping and moving past them. Physical classes also have the ability to shove allies one tile away as their 'primary' action for their turn, with some classes having the ability to do it to enemies as well.

Obstacles:
There are field obstacles that can hinder movement and even alter line of sight. Traversing through water, for instance, requires 2 movement range (although a character can jump above a water tile for the standard 1 movement range instead if there is dry land on the tile behind it). Traversing through slippery ice or down a sandy slope will also only take 1 movement range across all affected tiles until the character reaches the other side, hits a different elevation tile, or hits an obstacle (though climbing back up said sandy slope won't be possible). Of course, water and ice can do more than just hinder movement in some cases, which will be covered in the 'Environmental Field Effects' section.

Some obstacles can be destroyed, and different types of weapons and attacks are suited for removing them. An archer, for instance, won't really be doing much by firing arrows at them. But a machinist with explosive ammunition, as already stated, is well suited to the task. Marauders, Samurai, and some spells are also very well suited for destroying such obstacles. It may be advantageous to leave some obstacles alone, however. The basic shove command from physical melee classes along with some abilities can be used to move some obstacles around the field, as long as they are not classified as Titanic weight class.

Damage modifiers against obstacles:
- Magic: 100% (some spells have higher modifiers)
- Sword/Shield: 75%
- Axe: 150% (Fell Cleave and Butcher's Block have higher modifiers)
- Greatsword: 120% (ranged attacks deal 60%)
- Spear: 40%
- Katana: 100% (some abilities have higher modifiers)
- Fists: 80%
- Daggers: 30%
- Bow and Arrows: 10%
- Bullets: 50% (250% with Gauss Barrel)
- Staff and Cane: 15%
- Rapier: 20%
- Grimoire: ...1%

Environmental field effects:
Ledges are not the only concern that a squadron commander has to take note of. Characters that are more magically inclined may want to take special note of the kind of field that everyone is standing in. Enemies and allies standing knee-deep in water are more resistant to fire, but take more damage from lightning-aspected attacks (along with turning the water into an electrical hazard). Characters standing on ice can be knocked back by just about anything (unless they are of titanic weight class), as well as becoming frostbitten or even frozen if a wind or water spell is cast on them. Grass can be ignited into flames that burn anyone standing on them. Wind spells can fan the flames even further and increase the damage that characters take.

What if the field conditions are unfavorable to your unit? Don't fret! Some powerful abilities can outright change the field as well! They'll be described in the relevant class overview. Changing the field can cause other effects too, some examples being...

- Water into ice, or ice into water: Characters standing in the now frozen water are immediately frozen for 1 turn. Fire spells used on the characters (or an adjacent tile) will free them early (and outright melt the ice back into water if the fire spell is strong enough). This will also dispel electrified water for obvious reasons.
- Fire into Mud: It would be assumed that a water or ice spell will douse the fire. Characters are slowed, but are no longer on fire. Mud is counted as a water field for the purpose of hindering movement, but cannot be electrified. However, mud can be frozen and then melted into a regular water field.

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That's all the notes I have on this. I hope that anyone that took the time to read through this gained something out of it!