Hello everyone! I’m Brad Kraeling, a Senior Gameplay Engineer for The Lamplighters League. I’m super honored to be able to take you on a tour of a few of the systems that make our Turn-Based combat full of exciting choices, challenges, and strategies.

Time to Go Loud!

In our last dev diary we talked about Real-Time Infiltration and how you can shape the conditions of the fight through stealth and trickery. Now let's take a look at what happens when it's time to "go loud:" where the guns come out and the fight begins! 

Your Agents, Your Tactics

Action Points

During Turn-Based Combat, you take control of the Lamplighter Agents and their unique abilities. Every player turn each Agent on the team starts with two Action Points (AP) These points are used to do a variety of different things in any order you’d like! 

Examples:

• You could use one point to advance towards the enemy and then another point to shoot at an enemy! 

• You could use one point to retreat into cover and another to reload. 

• You can use a special ability and follow it up with Signature ability!

Turn Order: Full Flexibility

Each Agent doesn’t have to use all their AP in a fixed order one after the other. You can switch between Agents whenever you’d like and you’re given full flexibility with how you’d like to execute your Turn Order strategy. So if you’d like Ingrid to run to cover within melee range of a group of goons, and then have Eddie shoot them, and then have Ana Sofia retreat into cover and buff her allies before switching back to Ingrid to use her Signature on the goons before finally switching back to Eddie to reload in preparation for the next turn, you can! The freedom to decide the exact order you’d like things to happen really allows for interesting strategies to emerge and it can also really help change the tide of a battle that isn’t quite going according to plan.

Unique Special Abilities

Each Agent has unique special abilities that act as different tools in Combat. We’ve talked about some of the great abilities player Agents have in some past diaries. It’s been great to see all the theories / potential combo ideas folks have. (Seriously big shout out to the YouTubers that have paused at basically every shot of the announcement trailer and Gameplay First Look in search for more info – y’all are awesome ). I won’t be focusing too much on specific abilities in this diary but I will say that each Agent being so different gives tons of opportunities to set up really cool plays and lots of combat variety depending on your playstyle. In future diaries we’ll be diving into more details on Agent abilities and how different characters can synergize with one another to create effective combinations.

Ideal Conditions

Agents have different Range distances and conditions where they are most effective. For example, the sniper Purnima will have a much greater Hit Chance to successfully shoot a target that is farther away from her than one that is super close. Additionally, her passive, Dead Eye, gives her a bonus Crit Chance to deal bonus damage if she is positioned above her targets. In contrast, Agents like Ingrid are melee units, and where they do the most damage is right up close and personal. Learning each Agent’s most ideal fighting conditions is key for unlocking their full battle potential – and it is really fun managing different individual Agent strategies while also combining their strategies to work as a team.

A Tactical Playground

Whether you’re fighting on city rooftops, in a jungle, or in the depths of a tomb – keep an eye on your surroundings! There are many opportunities to use the environment to your advantage during your mission.

Cover and Line of Sight (LOS)

All Agents and enemies have Line of Sight (LOS), and can only attack what they see. The areas outside of your Agents' combined LOS is called the Fog of War – where information on the details of enemies are less known. The battlefield has many different obstacles and objects that provide Cover for Agents and enemies, and Full Cover like high walls and fences can block LOS.

Most ranged abilities in the game have a Hit Chance that can be impacted by cover conditions, so keeping an eye on cover situations can help in avoiding damage as well as outputting more damage. For targets that aren’t completely obstructed from LOS by an attacker but still behind cover there are two main types of cover bonuses; Half Cover (example: a short crate) and Full Cover (example: a tall wall). A unit in Half Cover is 30% harder to hit by ranged attacks, and one in Full Cover is 60% harder to hit. However if a ranged attacker targets an in-cover unit from the side or from behind they will get a Flanked bonus – having no Hit Chance reduction and gaining increased Crit Chance. These bonuses stack with the other Hit/Crit chances that are in play – so you could offset the penalty of attacking an enemy in Half Cover by taking advantage of other bonuses; like the one gained by attacking an enemy from High Ground.(+30% Hit Chance). Keeping an eye on the position of your Lamplighters and the enemies on the field will help you manage risk and line up clean shots.

Hazards & Interactable Objects

In The Lamplighters League, there are hazards and objects that can be used to your benefit or to your demise depending on the situation. It is very wise to keep an eye on the ground and objects around the battlefield – because even a small puddle of water could help you deal immense amounts of damage or could even save the life of one of your Agents. For example, enemies standing in a puddle of water may think they’re safe, but if you were to find a way to electrocute the water it would shock anyone standing in the puddle. Or, if an enemy has lit one of your Agents on fire, running into a puddle of water will help extinguish the flame, preventing it from causing more burn damage. 

There are also objects that can be targeted in order to get some immediate effects. Some of them, like the Kerosene Drum, spread Oil in an area around them. A Hanging Lantern could be shot down, creating Fire below it – but if the ground below the lantern was covered in oil, the fire would spread, potentially harming more units.

The hazards can interact with each other – so you could use water to help put out a fire, making the ground once again safe to traverse.

Also, of course, there are Exploding Crates for when you need a big blast – but be careful! Enemies can also target these sorts of things – using them as cover may not be the best idea! 

Displacement

Some abilities, such as Judith’s Shield Bash, can be used to displace enemies and knock them out of their position. This can be super effective to help move an enemy into a hazard like fire for some bonus damage, get them out of cover to help land easier shots, or getting them into a better spot for another Agent to follow up on with an attack. 

But one of the more effective uses for Displacement is using it to knock enemies into Cover or other obstacles! Displacing most units into another unit or a solid object will cause them to become Knocked Down. Knocked Down units have to spend their entire round to stand back up again – making it one of the best crowd control debuffs for mitigating a unit’s usefulness.

Also – keep an eye out for positions where you could displace someone off a high ledge or bridge! Some enemies are able to be one-shot-killed if you displace them off of high places.

ASSET: devDiary_Combat_DisplacementInstaKill.gif

The Stress System

Being attacked in combat is stressful. In The Lamplighters League you can use the stress of your enemies to your advantage! But you also have to pay attention to your own Agent’s stress levels as well. Let’s dive into the rules!

What is Stress?

• Every time any unit is attacked, they will accrue a point of Stress.

  • Note: Hits AND Misses both accrue the same amount of Stress. So even missed abilities have some effect!

• Stress is represented by the pips above the unit’s Health Bars.

• When a unit reaches maximum Stress, they will Stress Break.

Stress Breaking

When a unit Stress Breaks and hits max stress, something happens! 

• For Enemies:

  • Some enemies Flee and will cower for a turn. 

  • Some enemies go Berserk and attack a nearby target – friend or foe!

• For Player Agents:

  • Stress Broken Agents will lose 1 AP their next turn.

  • More effects to be revealed later…

Finish Them!

Additionally, when a nearby enemy is Stress Broken, your Agents get access to a special move: Finisher. Finisher is a melee move that will kill most Stress Broken enemies in one hit. It’s very strong! Different units will have different levels of Stress tolerance, so building up stress on a target will be more effective on some enemy types than others. Additionally it’s worth noting that a Stress Broken enemy will only be in this vulnerable state for one turn, so it’s important to seize the opportunity when it arises! Whispers and rumors also speak of some Agents who can take further advantage of the stressed out minds of their opponents.

The Banished Court

Worthy Adversaries

You have options, but so do your foes. Once your turn is over, the enemies will retaliate. Oftentimes the Lamplighters will be outnumbered greatly, so it’s important to think strategically! There are a variety of different enemy units – each with their own abilities, ideal battle conditions, and things to look out for.

Each House of the Banished Court has different types of enemies they are known for – some enemies can be much scarier than others, but that's something we will dive into more in the next diary.

Area Clear!

After a successful fight, Turn-Based Combat will end and Real-Time Infiltration will once again begin! Most missions have multiple opportunities for combat, so be sure to proceed with caution, explore the area, and get ready for your next fight! 

Hope you enjoyed this quick tour of Turn-Based Combat in The Lamplighters League! We’re excited to see how you'll play with these systems and fight your way to victory. Stay tuned for more – the next diary will contain intel that was very difficult to gather safely: details about the powerful enemies of the Banished Court.

Want to keep the conversation going? People in our alternate take on the 1930s communicated via letters, telegrams and psychic visions, but most of you only have access to two out of the three, so you can drop by the Forum or the Discord to talk to Harebrained Schemes developers and other fans about The Lamplighters League. The bravest among you may even venture to follow us on Twitter.

Brad Kraeling 

Senior Gameplay Engineer

Forum: HBS_BradKraeling Discord:Bradshaw#2057