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We open on an insurrection in the very heart of the Citte.

Save your relief, Amadea, we're not out of the flames yet.
It all started with a simple, offhand "I don't care if it's his favorite scarf, it makes his head look tiny." Now the argument has spiraled out of control, into a full scale armed uprising.

Cyrus, we must keep moving. Bretha, secure the west wing.

Come. We must head to the Hall of Bearings. There are still some of us that are unarmed.

-Mars de la Fey-

For an RTwP system Masquerada's combat manages to feel pretty frenetic, partly because battles tend to be brief but also because you won't see characters make one swing and then stand there like an idiot for five seconds until their "turn" comes back around.

Positioning is key, for a whole bunch of reasons. See all those yellow bars next to everyone's health bars, and the yellow arcs at their feet? Anyone fighting with a Mascherine gains the benefit of a Focus Shield, which absorbs damage from head-on.

Orange numbers indicate focus damage.

You'll have access to lots of special attacks to help you get around focus shields. Cyrus's Coldstream Wash skill lets him skate through enemy ranks while also making them turn slower. Attacks from behind won't be affected by a shield; as long as you've got the enemy surrounded, at least some of your damage is guaranteed to get through.

Red templates on the ground show where an enemy is about to use one of their special attacks.

So: look for the openings where your skills will do the most damage while keeping out of the way of enemy skills.

And do it fast, because in these heaving frantic scrums a good opportunity will only last for a split second.

-Ouij'tre: The Singing Tree Remembers-

And here we have the White Spire's Mascherine storage. It's a huge inconvenience and expense compared to basic shelving, but the guard captain just had to throw a bone to his brother-in-law's struggling giant-pillars-of-floaty-light installation business.

Just one more reason why we have a revolution on our hands.

Enemy Soldier: Run!
Cyrus: No! Stop them!

-Mars de la Fey-

Okay, you don't always have to rush. You can pause combat whenever you like, to switch party members or aim your skills.

Halberdiers just love their spinny moves.

You don't get a whole lot in the way of healing; full revives are free, but you have to leave yourself vulnerable for four seconds.

-Ouij'tre: The Singing Tree Remembers-

We can chase them!

Forget it. There are more than enough Mascherines here. Both of you, take all you can and bring them to the troops.

I will tell Invidius. He should be done with-

Liss.

What? Cyrus, I'm not going anywhere, not before that bastard is killed.

Neither am I!

Both of you, listen. If we are to stand any chance at winning this, our men need these Mascherines.

So let Invidius take them!

And what if Portieri await him on the way back? Tell me you trust him, or anyone else, to defend against them.

Cyrus-

Honestly.

...No.

Then go. And Amadea-

I can fight, Cyrus.

I know you can. Which is why you need to go with Lissandra and Invidius. They'll take care of you.

But-

No 'but's Amadea. Now go, both of you.

I will be back with reinforcements. Don't you dare do anything foolish without me, Cyrus Gavar. Understand? Cyrus.

Yes. Now go.

Oh I mean it. But understanding and complying are two different things, Nahl.

She's not going to be happy with you, sir.

The number of times I've heard that...

-Mars de la Fey-

Nahl always busts out his sickest dance moves at the start of a battle.

None of the other rebels have the heart to tell him his dancing is awful.

-Ouij'tre: The Singing Tree Remembers-

We aim for the heart. Avestus will be trying to escape. We cannot let that happen, and we cannot afford to wait for Lissandra's return - he will be long gone by then. We must do it ourselves.

That sounds...dangerous, sir.

Nahl, we have broken into the heart of the White Spire. There are few lines of danger we have left to cross.

Well, sir. If this is how it has to be, then let us do it.

Thank you Nahl, and your men as well. Ombre will remember this when they fashion the laws of freedom.

But not you, sir?

...Come on. We have a man to kill.

I am truly sorry.

We still don't know what this Avestus has done to earn such ire, but that poofy coat of his is definitely some kind of crime.

-Mars de la Fey-

You can't help out in this fight; all you can do is pursue Avestus while Nahl's forces keep his guards occupied.

Mostly occupied.

Besides positioning, the other important thing to remember about Masquerada's combat is elemental tags.

Some skills can be upgraded to apply a tag to any enemy you hit with them. That blue ball under the guards' health & focus bars is a water tag.

Elemental tags don't do anything on their own, but "signature skills" like Cyrus's Iceblade will pop the tags for extra damage.

Certain combos of elements can cause additional effects, but we've only got Water to work with here so we don't get to see that quite yet.

Combat drummers might sound silly, but they will mess you up.