Kantaisen Flow

Data on Kantaisen will be covered in several pages for ease of reference. This page will cover the general flow of a combat scene in Kantaisen and relevant elements, while others will cover other elements as listed below.

Kantaisen Basics: Covers the introductory elements and terminology of Kantaisen.

Pilot Stats and Abilities: Covers pilot stats, abilities, spirit commands, and proficiencies.

Unit Stats and Abilities: Covers non-weapon elements that live on a unit, such as its base stats and abilities. You are here!

Weapons and Attacks: Covers units' attacks, including the construction of weapons in the system and attack attributes.

Kantaisen Flow: Covers how attacks are exchanged in the system, including relevant elements such as Engagement and Fields.

Inspirations and Differences: Covers the major inspirations for Kantaisen's various structures, and how things may differ for players used to one system or another.

Deployment

During the Deployment stage of a fight, several steps occur!

Scenes and Fields

One player selects the Scene appropriate to the scene from a list of available Fields. Players can also make their own Field Sets if nothing covers them; a Field Set includes both a description and a list of one or more Fields.

We'll look here at a sample Scene:

id: 11
name: Colony Nature Habitat
scene: A space of artificial nature on a space colony, resembling a forested national park of Earth.
Fields:
   1: Lake {"Water", "Low-G"}
   2: Forest {"Low-G"}

The ID is the label under which the Scene has been saved.

The Name is a short, appropriate declaration of the place it reflects, such as "City Battle" or "Ashford Academy" or, in this case, "Colony Nature Habitat."

The Scene is a short description of the scene with a little greater detail, not more than a single paragraph.

The Field listing contains all the Fields that that scene concept implies. A Field can have one or two terrains, in a similar way to how squares in Super Robot Wars sometimes have multiple terrains. The first terrain is the Primary Terrain, and if your unit has a good rating in that terrain, it will use it; if it doesn't, it will also check for the second terrain, it will average the two. Standing in the lake best serves water-use units; a Low-G-use unit can do it but will not do it as well as a water-use unit. Conversely, standing in the Forest is simply a Low-G activity.

Deployment

Deploying in a unit starts at typing +deploy. +deploy, without any argument, will give you a list of units you have access to and their numerical storage IDs. (Note that for this purpose, forms of units are stored as separate units; switching between a unit's modes happens using a different command.)

Typing a partial string match will bring up a list of units you could have deployed in with that match, like so:

+deploy Ghoul

leads to:

20: AMK-01 Mecha-Ghoulghilas
14: Ghoulghilas

(Note that +deploy Ghoulghilas would also be a mutual partial match; in this case, use +deploy 14 to get Ghoulghilas. Partial matching for AMK-01 would correctly pull Mecha-Ghoulghilas, however.)

Loadout

If you want to use an alternate, personalized loadout for a unit you have previously saved, once you have deployed the unit, please type:

+loadout #, where # is the number between 1 to 5 of the saved loadout.

This will load your weaponspace weapons et al.

Other Pre-Scene Considerations

Before the scene starts, you can adjust your position in a multi-Field Scene as needed. You can also redeploy if you deployed with the wrong unit, or choose a boss posture with +boss if you expect to be fighting multiple people. +boss is a code tool that allows you to fight multiple people if dramatics allow.

+boss #: sets your HP and starting EN to an appropriate amount for that number of people (though not as a direct multiplier). Bossing allows you to take a number of actions equal to the number of opponents you have.

Exchanging Attacks

Attacking

"Attacking" covers actions that take your turn. This includes both traditional attacks and the actions enabled by abilities like EWAC and Commander.

+attack TARGET with ATTACK: places that attack in their queue, a list of all attacks they currently need to react to. To successfully make an attack, you must have enough EN to use that attack.

+queue: shows all attacks currently in your queue.

+round: If you are done taking attacks but still are entitled to actions, +round will manually end your round. If you take all your actions, +round is performed automatically.

The end of a round triggers a "reactor cycle" -- i.e., the amount of energy you regain per turn is added to your pool, and temporary effects on you progress their duration.

Reacting

Reactions are how you deal with an attack.

+defend ATTACKERNAME with REACTION: attempts that reaction on that character's attack in your queue.

All reactions, other than Block and Parry, can result in a miss that causes no damage at all. Some reactions improve the chances of this, while others don't improve the chances but can change your engagement status or have other effects. Additionally, most reactions cost EN.

You always have access to two reactions, regardless of range, engagement status, and capabilities.

React: The standard response to an attack. Costs nothing, is always a valid option, and does not require any capabilities. React is not simply ignoring an incoming attack and hoping it misses; it is actively trying to protect yourself, but without any additional special effects and without any cost. The stats involved in React vary depending on positioning.

Accept: The standard response to a buff or debuff, or a way to freely take other attacks for dramatic purposes. You will be hit by the attack, and it will bypass negation defenses like Lucky and Mirage. If the attack achieves a critical hit, you will receive the effects of any Dynamic Hit abilities. You can always accept an attack.

React is also used as a part of many other reactions. For instance, during a Retreat, you check to see whether you can break engagement, and then follow it up with a React to actually avoid damage. The most reliable way to get hit less often is to improve your ability to React.

Ranged Unengaged
Reaction Name	EN Cost	Attacker's Stats	Defender's Stats	Description
Block	5	-	-	Reduce the damage taken. Guaranteed to work, but you will always take some damage. Blocking (the Pilot Ability) reduces the damage modifier, potentially negating a critical hit.. Requires a weapon with Shield Block. You can't block an attack with Barrier Breaker. Cost reduced by Chobham Armor.
Charge	5	Mobility+Targeting	Piloting+Mobility	Attempt to drive directly at the opponent to force engagement, then perform a Guard to try to avoid damage. Cost reduced by Chobham Armor.
Evade	10	Targeting+Intuition	Intuition+Mobility	Attempt to avoid damage without changing engagement. Increases your evasion chance. Cost reduced by Redundant Mobility.
Guard	0	Sight+Targeting	Mobility+Targeting	Attempt to reduce damage at the cost of increased likelihood of being hit compared to React.
Intercept	0	Targeting+Sight	Targeting+Sight	Attempt to shoot down an incoming Missile attack. Only works on Missiles, but doesn't cost EN. Requires a weapon with the Intercept capability.
React	0	Targeting+Intuition	Sight+Intuition	The standard reaction.
Melee Unengaged
Reaction Name	EN Cost	Attacker's Stats	Defender's Stats	Description
Block	5	-	-	Reduce the damage taken. Guaranteed to work, but you will always take some damage.Blocking (the Pilot Ability) improves this. Requires a weapon with Shield Block. You can't block an attack with Barrier Breaker. Cost reduced by Chobham Armor.
Guard	0	Sight+Piloting	Mobility+Piloting	Attempt to reduce damage at the cost of increased likelihood of being hit compared to React.
Parry	5	Mobility+Sight	Targeting+Piloting	Attempt to reduce the damage taken more reliably than with Block. Can fail, and you will always take some damage regardless. Blocking (the Pilot Ability) halves the damage done on a successful Parry. Requires a weapon with Parry. Cost reduced by Hidden Hands.
Rush	10	Piloting+Targeting	Piloting+Mobility	Attempt to get closer and reposition to improve your own accuracy, then perform a React to try to avoid damage. Rushing a Melee attack guarantees engagement since both people are trying to engage. Cost reduced by Hidden Hands.
Evade	10	Mobility+Piloting	Mobility+Piloting	Attempt to avoid damage without changing engagement. Increases your evasion chance. Cost reduced by Redundant Mobility.
React	0	Mobility+Piloting	Piloting+Intuition	The standard reaction.
Ranged Engaged
Reaction Name	EN Cost	Attacker's Stats	Defender's Stats	Description
Block	5	-	-	Reduce the damage taken. Guaranteed to work, but you will always take some damage. Blocking (the Pilot Ability) reduces the damage modifier, potentially negating a critical hit. Requires a weapon with Shield Block. You can't block an attack with Barrier Breaker. Cost reduced by Chobham Armor.
Evade	10	Sight+Targeting	Mobility+Intuition	Attempt to avoid damage without changing engagement. Increases your evasion chance. Cost reduced by Redundant Mobility.
Guard	0	Sight+Targeting	Mobility+Piloting	Attempt to reduce damage at the cost of increased likelihood of being hit compared to React.
Retreat	5	Sight+Intuition	Mobility+Piloting	Attempt to break engagement and get away, then perform an Evade to try to avoid damage. Cost reduced by Redundant Mobility.
Rush	10	Intuition+Piloting	Mobility+Targeting	Attempt to get closer and reposition to improve your own accuracy, then perform a React to try to avoid damage. Cost reduced by Hidden Hands.
React	0	Sight	Intuition	The standard reaction.
Intercept	0	Targeting+Sight	Targeting+Sight	Attempt to shoot down an incoming Missile attack. Only works on Missiles, but doesn't cost EN. Requires a weapon with the Intercept capability. The availability of Intercept at Engaged distances comes from Blocking (the Pilot Ability).
Melee Engaged
Reaction Name	EN Cost	Attacker's Stats	Defender's Stats	Description
Block	5	-	-	Reduce the damage taken. Guaranteed to work, but you will always take some damage. Blocking (the Pilot Ability) reduces the damage modifier, potentially negating a critical hit. Requires a weapon with Shield Block. You can't block an attack with Barrier Breaker. Cost reduced by Chobham Armor.
Guard	0	Sight+Piloting	Mobility+Targeting	Attempt to reduce damage at the cost of increased likelihood of being hit compared to React.
Parry	5	Targeting+Piloting	Targeting+Intuition	Attempt to reduce the damage taken more reliably than with Block. Can fail, and you will always take some damage regardless. Blocking (the pilot skill) halves the damage done on a successful Parry. Requires a weapon with Parry. Cost reduced by Hidden Hands.
Retreat	5	Piloting+Targeting	Piloting+Targeting	Attempt to break engagement and get away, then perform an Evade to try to avoid damage. Cost reduced by Redundant Mobility.
Rush	10	Intuition+Mobility	Mobility+Targeting	Attempt to get closer and reposition to improve your own accuracy, then perform a React to try to avoid damage. Cost reduced by Hidden Hands.
React	0	Piloting+Sight	Targeting+Intuition	The standard reaction.

A Block or an unsuccessful Reaction leads to a damage test. During a damage test:

The attacker uses Skill + Morale against the defender's Skill + Armor.

A number is rolled in the same way as during the hit check, and the attack does an appropriate amount of damage. Internally, this damage is "stepped;" the degree to which you succeed or fail the damage test dictates the multiplier applied to the attack's base power.

Dynamic Hit abilities trigger on attacks that achieve the 6th or 7th "step" (out of 7) of this damage.

All else being equal, a damaging attack that achieves some kind of connection (i.e. does not get subjected to an Intercept, React, or Evade successfully) will deal a minimum of 10 damage.

Play Flow Example

Builds used:

Combat Begins Here:

+scene 5

Amuro Ray has set the scene to Colony Interior Battle

+--------------------------------< Test Arena >--------------------------------+

This Arena is used for testing.
The terrain is LowG

A field setup for a simple colony interior battle.
There is currently no combat taking place.

+---------------------------------< Players >----------------------------------+
Amuro Ray                                Char Aznable                                                                                              
+---------------------------------< Objects >----------------------------------+
+----------------------------------< Exits >-----------------------------------+
Exit to Inexplicable Vending Machine Corner
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+deploy 93

KTS: Amuro Ray has deployed in RX-78-2 Gundam <Magnetic Coating>

+---------------------------------< Stats >----------------------------------+
| You are currently piloting RX-78-2 Gundam <Magnetic Coating>               |
|                                                                            |
| The RX-78-2 Gundam was part of the Federation's V Project during the One   |
| Year War, and was their first mobile suit to have any meaningful success   |
| against Zeon. It was also one of the first mobile suits to carry           |
| portable beam weaponry, forcing military planners on all sides to          |
| quickly reevaluate their approach to mobile weapon design and              |
| deployment. The Gundam's pilot, Amuro Ray, eventually became so skilled    |
| that his emerging Newtype abilities outpaced the Gundam's ability to       |
| respond to him. An experimental magnetic coating to its joints was         |
| applied, which improved the Gundam's response time and enabled it to       |
| survive to the very end of the war before being mutually destroyed by      |
| the MSN-02 Zeong. GAME RULES: This unit was destroyed in late UC 0079,     |
| and is only in the database to help with code testing and documentation.   |
| Players must not use this unit (and if you see it in your unit list then   |
| please contact staff so we can fix that, thank you!).                      |
| Controls: Autobalanced                                                     |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Unit Stats                                                                 |
| Armor:            139  HP:               144  Mobility:         144        |
| Parts:              4  RX:               132  Sight:            139        |
| size:               M  tier:        Obsolete  weaponspace:      125        |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Hitpoints: 14400(100%)                                                     |
| Energy: 39                                                                 |
| Morale: 100 (default)                                                      |
| SP: 50                                                                     |
| Not engaged.                                                               |
| Default Ground                                                             |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Terrain:  air: -  ground: C  lowg: B  space: B  water: F                   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Defences:                                                                  |
| Can Parry with Standard Beam Saber                                         |
| Can Intercept with Head Vulcans                                            |
| Can Block with Standard Shield                                             |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Abilities                                                                  |
| Weapon-Carrying Backpack (Extra Hardpoint)                                 |
+---------------------------------< Parts >----------------------------------+
| Custom-Tuned OS     Frame Reinforcement Range Enhancer                     |
| Magnetic Coating                                                           |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Pilot:                                                                     |
| Stats:                                                                     |
| Intuition: 170                Piloting:  135                               |
| Skill:     145                Targeting: 145                               |
| Controls:                                                                  |
| Autobalanced: S               Crewed:       F                              |
| Cyber:        -               Cybernetic:   C                              |
| Kinesthetic:  F               Manual:       F                              |
| Mental:       C                                                            |
| Abilities: Gunfight L1, Predict L2, Apply Terrain, Outmaneuver, Blocking,  |
| Depth of Experience L1                                                     |
| Spirit Commands: Alert, Focus, Valor, Strike, Dash, Trick                  |
+---------------------------------< SRTMOO >---------------------------------+

KTS: Char Aznable has deployed in MS-14S Gelgoog Commander Type <Char Custom>

+pstats

+-----< Pilot Stats For Amuro Ray >------------------------------------------+
| Targeting: 145                                                             |
| Piloting:  135                                                             |
| Intuition: 170                                                             |
| Skill:     145                                                             |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Auto: S | Manual: F | Kinesthetic: F | Crewed: F | Cyber: - | Mental: C   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Morale Type:   Active                                                      |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Gunfight L1:                                           -                   |
| Predict L2:                                         Newtype                |
| Apply Terrain:                                         -                   |
| Outmaneuver:                                     Newtype Flash             |
| Blocking:                                              -                   |
| Depth of Experience L1:                         The White Devil            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|            Spirit Cmds:   Alert Focus Valor Strike Dash Trick              |
+---------------------------------< SRTMOO >---------------------------------+

KTS: Char Aznable targets Amuro Ray with Gelgoog Beam Rifle Maneuver Shot

+queue

Incoming attacks:
1: Char_Aznable attacking with Gelgoog Beam Rifle Maneuver Shot (Ranged, Beam, Initiation)
----

+defend 1 with Charge

KTS: Amuro Ray charges into the attack!
KTS: Amuro Ray successfully avoids Char Aznable's Gelgoog Beam Rifle Maneuver Shot

+attacks

1: Gundam Beam Rifle Aimed Shot 4000(Cost 22) (Ranged, Beam, Accurate)
2: Gundam Beam Rifle Shot 3700(Cost 17) (Ranged, Beam)
3: Gundam Beam Rifle Rapid Fire 4400(Cost 24) (Ranged, Beam)
4: Gundam Beam Saber Strike 3700(Cost 17) (Melee, Beam)
5: Gundam Beam Saber Thrust 4300(Cost 28) (Melee, Beam, Penetrating)
6: Gundam Beam Saber Combo 4700(Cost 27) (Melee, Beam)
7: Head Vulcans Burst 2900(Cost 11) (Ranged, Physical, Intercept)
8: Head Vulcans Dash-and-Fire 3600(Cost 19) (Melee, Physical, Initiation)
9: Hyper Bazooka Shot 4400(Cost 25) (Ranged, Physical, Missile, Penetrating)
10: Hyper Bazooka Pellet Spray 4200(Cost 22) (Ranged, Physical, MAP)
11: Hyper Bazooka Barrage 5600(Cost 31) (Ranged, Physical, Missile)
12: Hyper Bazooka Anti-Ship Volley 5000(Cost 26) (Ranged, Physical, Missile, Ship-Killer)
13: RX-78 Shield Bash 3200(Cost 15) (Melee, Physical, Initiation)
14: Pass 0(Cost 0) (Ranged, Passive)

+spirit Strike

KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Strike Spirit Command.

+attack Char with 5

KTS: Amuro Ray targets Char Aznable with Gundam Beam Saber Thrust
KTS: Char Aznable fails to Parry Amuro Ray's Gundam Beam Saber Thrust, taking 4300 damage!
KTS: Amuro Ray has engaged Char Aznable
KTS: Char Aznable targets Amuro Ray with Goad

+queue

Incoming attacks:
1: Char_Aznable attacking with Goad (Ranged, Passive, Special)
----

+defend 1 with Accept

KTS: Char Aznable goads Amuro Ray, reducing his Intuition drastically.

+attack Char with 6

KTS: Amuro Ray targets Char Aznable with Gundam Beam Saber Combo
KTS: Char Aznable blocks Amuro Ray's Gundam Beam Saber Combo, taking 3525 damage!
KTS: Amuro Ray has engaged Char Aznable
KTS: Char Aznable has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Char Aznable has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Char Aznable targets Amuro Ray with Char Kick

+queue

Incoming attacks:
1: Char_Aznable attacking with Char Kick (Melee, Physical, Finisher)
----

+defend 1 with Retreat

KTS: Amuro Ray fails to retreat.
KTS: Amuro Ray fails to react to Char Aznable's Char Kick, taking 4500 damage!
KTS: Char Aznable has engaged Amuro Ray

+pot

=--------------------------------[ Test Arena ]--------------------------------=
Name                    Idle Last   Health       %    Energy    Spirit   Morale
Amuro Ray               0s   None     9900   (68%)        26        65      125
Char Aznable            1m   None     6075   (43%)        46        40      128
=-----------------------[ Thu Dec 30 01:40:31 2021 ET ]------------------------=

+spirit Dash

KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Dash Spirit Command and Has Disengaged

+spirit Trick

KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Trick Spirit Command.

+pot

=--------------------------------[ Test Arena ]--------------------------------=
Name                    Idle Last   Health       %    Energy    Spirit   Morale
Amuro Ray               0s   None     9900   (68%)        34        35      125
Char Aznable            2m   None     6075   (43%)        46        40      128
=-----------------------[ Thu Dec 30 01:41:17 2021 ET ]------------------------=

+spirit Strike

KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Strike Spirit Command.

+spirit Valor

KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

+attack Char with 11

KTS: Amuro Ray targets Char Aznable with Hyper Bazooka Barrage
KTS: Char Aznable has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Char Aznable successfully Evades Amuro Ray's Hyper Bazooka Barrage
KTS: Char Aznable has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Amuro Ray
KTS: Char Aznable has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Char Aznable targets Amuro Ray with Gelgoog Beam Naginata Combo

+pot

=--------------------------------[ Test Arena ]--------------------------------=
Name                    Idle Last   Health       %    Energy    Spirit   Morale
Amuro Ray               0s   None     9900   (68%)        29         5      130
Char Aznable            5s   None     6075   (43%)         5        10      134
=-----------------------[ Thu Dec 30 01:44:32 2021 ET ]------------------------=

+defend 1 with Parry

KTS: Amuro Ray fails to Parry Char Aznable's Gelgoog Beam Naginata Combo, taking 5980 damage!
KTS: Char Aznable Precision effect (Disruptor Jam L1)
KTS: Char Aznable Precision effect (Enervator Shock)
KTS: Char Aznable has engaged Amuro Ray

+pot

=--------------------------------[ Test Arena ]--------------------------------=
Name                    Idle Last   Health       %    Energy    Spirit   Morale
Amuro Ray               0s   None     3920   (27%)        24        15      109
Char Aznable            35s  None     6075   (43%)        31        10      137
=-----------------------[ Thu Dec 30 01:45:02 2021 ET ]------------------------=

+spirit Trick

KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Trick Spirit Command.

+attack Char with 5

KTS: Amuro Ray targets Char Aznable with Gundam Beam Saber Thrust
KTS: Char Aznable fails to Parry Amuro Ray's Gundam Beam Saber Thrust, taking 4300 damage!
KTS: Amuro Ray has engaged Char Aznable
KTS: Char Aznable has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Char Aznable targets Amuro Ray with Gelgoog Beam Naginata Slash

+queue

Incoming attacks:
1: Char_Aznable attacking with Gelgoog Beam Naginata Slash (Melee, Beam)
----

+defend 1 with Block

KTS: Amuro Ray blocks Char Aznable's Gelgoog Beam Naginata Slash, taking 1800 damage!
KTS: Char Aznable has engaged Amuro Ray

+pot

=--------------------------------[ Test Arena ]--------------------------------=
Name                    Idle Last   Health       %    Energy    Spirit   Morale
Amuro Ray               0s   None     2120   (14%)        25        10      120
Char Aznable            33s  None     1775   (12%)        36         0      150
=-----------------------[ Thu Dec 30 01:49:14 2021 ET ]------------------------=

+attack Char with 4

KTS: Amuro Ray targets Char Aznable with Gundam Beam Saber Strike
KTS: Char Aznable fails to retreat.
KTS: Char Aznable fails to react to Amuro Ray's Gundam Beam Saber Strike, taking 4255 damage!
KTS: Amuro Ray Precision effect (Outmaneuver Control Bonus)]
KTS: Char Aznable's MS-14S Gelgoog Commander Type <Char Custom> has been disabled