Book Of Mages: The Dark Times updates

The screen above shows the combat GUI.

The basic skills are seperated into two different categories: Attack and Defend. You can cast High or Low attacking bolts and opponent have to counter with either the corresponding direction, eg, High attacking bolt version High attacking bolts or High attacking bolts versus High defending bolts. Same as previous game, if you have casted high attacking bolts, you cannot cast it again immediately.

The four buttons below Attack and Defend buttons are special magics. By completing quests, player can learn up to 4 special magics. However, player are not able to cast special magics at the start of the battle. Player has to store special points to cast special magics: 20~39 special points player is allowed to cast level 2 special magics. 40~59 special points player is allowed to cast level 3 special magics. 60~79 special points player is allowed to cast level 4 special magics. 80~100 special points player is allowed to cast level 5 special magics.Types of special magics are:

1. Additional High Attacking Bolts
2. Additional Low Attacking Bolts
3. Additional High Defending Bolts
4. Additional Low Defending Bolts
5. Extra damage power
6. extra defend power
7. Low countering Bolts
8. High countering Bolts
9. Combine Bolts

Those buttons below Special magics are for casting each clan's secret magics. Each clan has 5 secret magics which can only be learnt by mages of their own clan. Again, these magics can be learn through quests so depends on how player plays the game, you might get to learn all the secret magics!

• Great Sea: Specialized in defensive magics. They can reduce opponent's mana and once opponent has ran out of mana, its an easy battle.
• Poison Water: They live in swamp area and they combined the poison essence into their magic bolts. Opponents will suffer a slow death.
• Ice Land: They mastered ice and are able to freeze opponent.
• Chaos Desert: cast alot of attacking bolts. Their aim is to defeat oppoent as quickly as possible.
• Burning Hill: Another defensive magic casters. They aim to increase damage and strike down opponent with 1 bolt.
• Dark Wood: Their secret magics are very special. They use blood instead of mana, and they can cast magics that decrease both their and opponents' blood, or even trade life with opponent!

A "brief" introduction to the combat system. It sounds pretty complex, in fact I am worried the learning curve is too steep. hopefully the game pacing will make learning easier.