The Players' Guide to the Cities/User Interface/Help Window/Combat

The following text appears in the Combat tab of the Help Window

Assist

A player can automatically assist another hero by clicking on him. The player's attacks will always target whichever villain the other hero has targeted.

Auto-Attacks

A player may set a single power to auto-attack by hitting the Control key while left clicking on the power's icon in the Power Tray. The power will always activate as soon as it is recharged, provided that the player has enough Endurance and that there is a legal target.

Conning Colors

Whenever a player clicks on or mouses over a target, the target's name appears above its head and in the Target Window. The color of the name represents the difference between the target's level and the hero's. Considering targets in this way is typically called 'conning.'

Grey	3 or more levels below hero
Green	2 levels below the hero
Blue	1 level below the hero
White	same level as the hero
Yellow	1 level above the hero
Orange	2 levels above the hero
Red	3 levels above the hero
Purple	4 or more levels above the hero

A villain's Rank also affects its conning colors. A Lieutenant adds a single level to his conning color. A Boss adds two levels. Arch Villains and Monsters con three levels higher than their actual level.

Damage

Damage and Healing numbers appear above the heads of villains and heroes. The number's color indicates whether the value is healing or damage – and its source.
Over the heads of others:
Red/orange damage done by the player
Green healing done by the player
Gray damage/healing others did to them
Over the player's hero:
Red damage
Green healing

Damage Types

There are eight different damage types: Smashing, Lethal, Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative Energy, Toxic, and Psionic. Some villains have resistances to certain damage types. If an attack deals more than one type of damage, several numbers will appear above the target's head - one for each type of damage.

Defense

Some powers give a bonus to a character's Defense. This makes that character harder to hit in combat. All +DEF powers have to be associated with one or more types of Defense. These types protect you from that type of attack. The following is a list of Defense types:

Smashing
Lethal
Energy
Negative Energy
Fire
Cold
Psionic
Melee
Ranged
Area of Effect

When two or more powers affect the same type of Defense, they stack (meaning that they add together). If they don't, and an incoming attack qualifies as two or more qualifying attack types, then only the higher value is taken. EXAMPLE: A character has a power giving them 20% Defense to Ranged attacks, and a different power giving them 10% Defense to Fire attacks. That character has a 20% Defense to Flares (an attack that is both Fire and Range), not 30%. This is because the two powers do not stack and the system looks at the highest value.

Defenses that are typed as "All" or "All Except" include the Melee, Ranged and Area of Effect types as well as the normal damage types, and thus stack with everything else.

Defeat

Whenever a player reaches 0 Hit Points, he is Defeated. A pop-up window asks him whether he'd like to be transported to a hospital. If he prefers to be revived on the spot, he can simply leave this window up. While waiting to be revived, a player can Chat and even Trade. He will not be able to use Powers and Inspirations, except those that are specified as usable after defeat.

If a player chooses to be transported to a hospital, he will be taken to the hospital in the last City Zone he visited.

As a penalty for Defeat, the player incurs Experience Debt. While this debt remains, he must spend half his earned Experience paying it off. The rest of his Experience accumulates normally. A player's debt will never exceed half the Experience Points required for his next Security Level.

Endurance

Endurance is the energy a player uses to activate powers. A player has 100 Endurance points. Unlike Hit Points, this amount doesn't increase with Security Level or differ by Archetype. Players recover Endurance at a constant rate, even during combat.
A player can monitor his Endurance in his Status Window.

Hit Points

Hit Points are a measure of how tough a player is - how much damage they can take before Defeat. At each Security Level, a player gains more Hit Points. The number he gains is determined by his Archetype.
A player can monitor his Hit Points in his Status Window.

Security Level

The overall power of a hero or villain is measured by his Security Level. The higher the level, the greater their capabilities. Lone heroes should not tackle foes three or more levels above them. Players should typically team with other heroes within three levels of their own.

Target Window

Whenever a player left clicks on a villain or another hero, information appears in the Target Window.

A targeted villain's name will appear at the top of the window. Directly underneath is his Villain Group. The villain's Endurance and Hit Points are represented by two bars. To their left is the villain's level. To their right is the villain's Rank.

If the target is a hero, similar information is displayed. Instead of a Villain Group, the player's Supergroup (if any) appears beneath his name. Instead of a Rank, the player's Origin and Archetype are provided.

The Target Window also includes an Action Button which lists the actions a player can do to the target. The player selects an action by clicking it. A player can also see the Action Menu by right clicking on a target.

Villain Rank

Villains are divided into a number of Ranks. Each Rank differs in power. The Ranks are as follows:

Underling – These are small annoyances to a hero and can challenge one only in numbers. It takes 5 or more Underlings to threaten a player.

Minion – These are extremely common in every Villain Group. Typically, it takes 3 Minions to challenge a hero, though this number increases as a hero's Security Level rises.

Lieutenant – A Lieutenant is almost powerful enough to challenge a single hero, though he usually needs some minions alongside him.

Boss – Bosses are mighty foes and should not be taken lightly. They can defeat lone heroes with no difficulty and can prove a challenge for two or three.

Archvillain – Arch Villains are the evil masterminds and leaders of the city's many Villain Groups. They are as powerful as five or six heroes combined.

Monster – This Rank covers the various giant creatures that lurk the streets of Paragon City - and its mysterious depths. A Monster is the equal of a full team of eight heroes.

Queue Attacks

Each power requires a certain amount of time to execute. If a player attempts to use a power while activating another, the second power is queued. A red circle appears around its icon, and it will activate as soon as possible. A player may only have one power in his queue at any time.