Advanced Combat Techniques — AI Limit Guide

Master Friends & Dragons combat! Learn to prioritize targets, stall and heal effectively, optimize positioning, manage turn order, and execute precise moves for victory.

Alright, let's dive into some of the nitty-gritty of combat in Friends & Dragons. This isn't just about button mashing; there are some real tactics that can make the difference between a win and a frustrating loss, especially when things get tough. ### Prioritize You're rarely going to wipe out every single enemy in one turn, so you've got to learn to pick your battles. Right at the start of any stage, take a moment to figure out which enemies are the biggest threats. Are they dishing out tons of damage? Applying nasty status effects? Can they reach you easily because they have high movement, are ranged, or use magic? Sometimes, enemies with tricky AI, especially the 'tactician' type, can also be a top priority. Keep an eye out for foes like Liches, Wargs, Orc Warlords, Golem Bowlers, Dragons, Orc mages, and Senseis – these are usually the ones you want to deal with first. On the flip side, don't sweat the small stuff. It's way better to take down one Golem Bowler or Lich than to waste your efforts on four bats or wolves. Many of the larger enemies, like Abominations and War Devils, are often low priority because you can just ignore them. In fact, leaving these less threatening enemies alive can sometimes work in your favor; they might move first and inadvertently block line of sight for more dangerous monsters, giving you a bit of breathing room. ### Stall and heal Unless you're facing a very specific one-stage boss battle, always bring 1-2 healers with you. The key here is to stall at the end of each stage and heal your team up to full. The easiest way to do this is to leave a single, non-threatening enemy alive on purpose. Then, use that time to get everyone back to full health before you finish off the last foe. This also comes in handy for status effects that carry over between stages, like silence, bleed, and poison. Even if your team is at full health, stalling to let these effects wear off can be a smart move. Now, in some of the tougher levels, you might not have any non-threatening enemies to leave alive. In those situations, you'll want to bring heroes with abilities like 'push' or 'hamstring,' or heroes with specialized resistances. A pusher can keep a dangerous enemy at bay or stuck in hazardous terrain like water or lava. If you're facing internal bleeding, a bleed-resistant hero can tank it safely, and the same goes for burning with burn resistance. Just remember to plan a turn or two ahead to make sure you keep the *right* enemy alive for stalling. ### Positioning While there are always exceptions, here are some general rules for good positioning. If you're going for an offensive playstyle, spread your heroes out and move towards the center of the map. When heroes aren't clumped up, they don't block each other's line of sight and can engage more enemies overall. No matter their attack pattern, a hero in the center of the field has more reach than one stuck in a corner or on the side. For a defensive approach, you'll want to clump up and move towards the sides, corners, and choke points. The less exposed surface area you present, the fewer enemies can attack you at once. On maps with lots of wisps, for instance, it might be smarter to huddle in a corner to minimize your exposure rather than rushing out to attack them and leaving yourselves vulnerable. Holding a choke point with some tanky heroes and slowly wearing down the enemy force is a classic defensive strategy. ### Turn order priorities It's pretty obvious that you'll want to move heroes with 'tumble' and 'push' before others, but the turn order for other hero types can be a bit trickier. Here’s a general rule of thumb: healers > magic/melee > ranged. Keep in mind that turn order is the *opposite* of move order. This means if you want your healers to act early in the turn order, you should typically have them move last in your move order. Conversely, you'd want to move your archers first if you want them to act last. Healers should generally go as early as possible in the turn order. Firstly, they can heal allies who are about to die from status effects. If a low-health ally is going to take damage from poison, acid, or burn at the end of their turn, your healer needs to act *before* them to save them. Secondly, healers usually deal the least damage, so they're perfect for chipping away at arcane shields or finishing off weak enemies like bats and wolves, letting the rest of your team focus on bigger threats. Of course, if a hero is at full health and you know they'll take damage at the end of their turn (from poison, punishment, etc.), having the healer act *after* that damage is applied is the better play. Ranged heroes usually benefit from acting last. This allows your other heroes to clear out any enemies blocking their line of sight, giving your archers a clear shot at enemies further back. Hero traits can also influence turn order. You'll want to consider: * Whirlwind: Check if heroes with whirlwind need that extra damage to secure a kill and prioritize getting it activated if so. * Finishing Blow: If all else is equal, heroes with finishing blow should act as late as possible to maximize the chances of its activation. * Focus (Mages): Mages with 'focus' might sometimes need to go later in the turn order, especially if you want them to attack a specific direction where only one group of enemies remains. * Talents: Heroes with talents that make them effective in close combat (like 'point blank') or talents that impact their attack (e.g., 'pirate cutlass' and 'flintlock with pistoleer,' 'javeliner ballistic') need to be factored into your turn order decisions. ### Finger Discipline Before you even touch the screen, plan out your entire move. In chess, if you touch a piece, you have to move it. Friends & Dragons is similar, but a single move can feel like 4-6 chess moves packed into a 5-second window, so the stakes are much higher. For complex maneuvers, take a moment to mentally (or even physically, away from the screen) rehearse the exact finger movements. You might discover unintended consequences or realize the move you were planning just isn't possible. ### Keep it simple It's almost always better to go for a simpler move that neutralizes the biggest threats, rather than messing up an overly complex one-turn kill (OTK) and leaving your team exposed. As a general rule, try to plan for only 3 heroes to move per turn. As you get more practice, build up your confidence, and perhaps gain more 'Split Seconds,' you can start attempting more ambitious plays. ### Plan who gets the last move In challenging co-op missions, the skill difference between players can be significant, and who gets the last move on a stage can be game-deciding. If you're the more experienced player, try to leave the final move of each stage (except the very last one, of course) to your partner. Even if you and your partner are of similar skill, be strategic about who starts each stage. For example, the player with the rogue or a pusher character should usually go first. ### Predict the outcome (This section appears to be incomplete in the source text.)