Devlog: Mind Your Status

Greetings, misfits!

Last time we covered the basics of planning your moves and setting them into motion, like a broken-down-but-still-oddly-amusing Rube Goldberg machine. It’s time to cover a few extra points that should add a bit of spice to your encounters.

Status effects

They say “making it” is all about money and status. Well, would you look at that: they are right! Especially about the status thing.

Status effects are special passive attributes that might make your journey a bit easier or sucker punch you into the stratosphere if you’re not careful.

Hover over an enemy icon for a dose of extra sugar (or spice)

Attacks that inflict status effects include the status description for you to read. Who knew mercenary life came with so many text boxes?

Some status effects “stack”, which makes them synergize with other status effects, while some do not. Think of it as waking up with a cold and an upset stomach all at the same time, yikes!

The status effects inflicted on your characters are displayed as icons above their health bars. Aside from enemy attacks, there are other situations that might get you a buff or a debuff, like an enemy ambush. Maybe stay on your toes and dial back on philosophizing with your teammates next time.

Sometimes, you might even debuff yourself. And same goes for your enemies! Guess you aren’t the only one who tends to skip the fine print. You know what that means: time to put your strategist cap on! Or maybe a skull would be more appropriate…

Never forget that those status effects can apply to both your enemies and your party. And it’s your job to make accidents into miracles.

A few more status effects for you to chew on. Just don’t get a stomachache…

Healing

It’s time to address the elephant in the room — healing your party. Sounds simple enough. Just cast a little healing spell or one of those fancy buffs, right? Slow down there, cowboy. Why would everyone live in a dump if things were so easy?

There are very few ways to heal during battle, so don’t expect to make your way out by just tapping X. Even the most simple encounters could prove fatal if you don’t play your cards right. Each stolen health point can and will come back to bite you in the long run. And this game is all about the long runs.

Here is one way to handle the situation: armor. It acts as a protective layer that absorbs HP until it’s destroyed with enough damage. How do you get extra armor, you ask? By using those pesky status effects again! In other words, you have to attack first to trigger the Armor status effect. Since you usually know which party member gets attacked next, that gives you yet another opportunity to strategize.

Whew, all this talk about fights and enemies must be exhausting — sometimes you just want to sit down and talk to people. So do expect some of the upcoming devlogs to focus on the characters and their interactions.

Speaking of interactions, don’t forget to check out our Twitter and hop onto our Discord server to stay updated on all things Outcast Tales. See you soon!

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