Strikes & Damage
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Strikes & Damage

Every move has a cost

There are twelve damaging strikes and one push. A powerful move can change the fight, but it costs more stamina and leaves a longer opening if it misses or gets blocked.

MoveTargetDamageStaminaTradeoff
Jab · Head
Head
3.6
7
Fast and cheap, with little damage or pushback.
Cross · Head
Head
5.2
10
Stronger straight punch, with more recovery on a miss.
Hook · Head
Head
5.8
11
Hits hard up close, but has shorter reach.
Uppercut · Head
Head
6.2
12
Strong close-range punish, with a long opening if it misses.
Body jab · Body
Body
3.3
8
Fast lead to the body. Gets under a high guard; a low guard blocks it.
Body hook · Body
Body
5.4
11
Close-range hook to the body that drains stamina; a low guard blocks it.
Front kick · Body
Body
4.5
12
Creates space, but needs room to extend.
Low kick · Leg
Leg
4.0
11
Attacks balance, but can be checked.
Body roundhouse · Body
Body
6.4
14
Strong body hit, with a larger stamina cost and opening.
Head roundhouse · Head
Head
9.0
20
Heavy head strike, with slow preparation and exposed recovery.
Superman punch · Head
Head
18.0
26
Leaping straight. Holds its direction and leaves 1.38 seconds open on a miss.
Flying kick · Body
Body
24.0
32
Needs room to launch. Holds its direction and leaves 1.66 seconds open on a miss.
Push · Body
Body
0
12
Moves an opponent without dealing health damage.

Base damage is a move’s starting value, not guaranteed health loss.

How health damage is calculated

Health damage = base damage × 0.28 × stamina × timing × range × combo × dash × variation × guard
Stamina
An attacker’s stamina changes damage by a factor from 0.72 to 1.00.
Timing
A counter adds 18%; punishing an open recovery adds 25%. A critical hit adds 60%. Combined timing bonuses are capped.
Range
Contact near the edge of a move’s reach deals less damage.
Combos
The second connected strike deals 85% of its normal damage; the third and later strikes deal 70%.
Variation
A small seeded variation prevents every identical contact from landing for the exact same number.
Guard
A correctly blocked strike deals 22% of its calculated health damage; a late block from a reading guard lets 38% through.

Balance damage is calculated separately. A strike can hurt, stagger or knock a fighter down without those being the same outcome. Critical chance starts at 2% and can rise to 20% when the opponent is vulnerable.

Combos must be earned

Instinct supplies tactical intent and strike preferences. The engine chooses when to throw each legal attack and continue a confirmed combo, within the round plan’s restrictions.

jab → cross · 17 staminajab → cross → hook · 28 staminacross → hook → uppercut · 33 staminajab → cross → body roundhouse · 31 staminajab → cross → jab · 24 staminajab → low kick · 18 staminalow kick → cross → hook · 32 staminajab → cross → front kick · 29 staminajab → cross → low kick · 28 staminauppercut → hook → cross · 33 staminajab → cross → hook → cross · 38 staminajab → cross → hook → cross → low kick · 49 staminabody jab → cross · 18 staminabody jab → cross → hook · 29 staminabody hook → hook · 22 staminajab → cross → body hook · 28 stamina

The round plan can also request custom sequences of two to five strikes. The full stamina cost must fit above the fighter’s reserve before a combo can start, and every follow-up must still respect that reserve.

Four- and five-strike sequences leave a defensive opening after the third hit. The opponent can block, evade, move away or counter before the fourth connects. A clean counter breaks the remaining sequence. The listed five-strike combo costs 49 stamina and is best saved for a hurt or exhausted opponent.

A follow-up only continues after a clean hit, with enough stamina and useful range. A miss, block, interruption or knockdown can end the sequence.

Pushes, Superman punches and flying kicks are standalone moves, never part of a confirmed combo. The two airborne attacks can be interrupted before contact, blocked with the matching guard, or avoided to punish their recovery.

Defense matters

High guard covers the head and leaves the body open. Low guard covers body punches and kicks and leaves the head open. Checks stop low kicks only. A reading guard follows the level of each visible preparation: it covers head and body, but its blocks come late and a feint can hold it at the wrong level for half a second. Attacking, recovering from a blocked or missed strike, or waiting inside a committed counter leaves no guard at all.

A blocked first strike ends its combination, so a head-first combination keeps failing against a high guard. Body-first entries such as body jab → cross bring the guard down before going upstairs. Feints alternate baits with real entries; the follow-up only goes when the opponent took the bait, so a fixed guard declines them and can punish the feinter instead.

Fighters adapt during the round from completed exchanges: repeated blocked entries at one level change the entry level or start feints, repeated clean hits where the guard is not move the guard, and hits taken while attacking make the fighter attack less often. Each change gets a bounded trial and is kept only if it works. Forbidden moves and the stamina reserve are never used.