An ability is a planned maneuver a combat entity, such as a player character, can make in combat. Most abilities are designed to inflict harm upon foes while others are able to heal the user or his/her allies, and others still are primarily utilitarian in nature.
Types of abilities[]
There are two ways to group abilities: by how often they can be used (passive, at-will, once per encounter, or once per day), or by their purpose (attack or utility).
Frequency types[]
Passive abilities' effects are always active and provide small and usually utilitarian bonuses to the character.
At-will abilities are almost always available for use and are generally the bread-and-butter maneuvers of a character.
Encounter abilities are a bit flashier and more potent than at-will abilities, but can only be used once per encounter (unless otherwise noted - for example, some can be used twice per encounter). Their templates have a dark red header. Most encounter abilities do somewhat higher damage than at-will abilities but have additional utility, such as also damaging a second foe or pushing a foe a few units.
Daily abilities are flashier even than encounter abilities but can only be used once per in-game day. Their templates are a dark grey color. Daily abilities usually do very high damage and will often do damage even if they miss. Some dailies bring utility, while others function purely as high-damage nukes.
Purpose types[]
Attack abilities are designed to inflict harm upon foes. Note that an ability need not do direct damage to a foe to be considered an attack.
Utility abilities usually deal no damage, though there are exceptions. Some heal the caster or his/her allies, some are mobility-focused, and others focus on protecting allies.
Player character abilities[]
Player characters start with three abilities: one passive ability and two at-will abilities. As player characters increase their level, they gain new abilities. However, a player may switch ability types arbitrarily as long as this type switching is not deemed to endanger the enjoyability of combat encounters. Thus, the ability types that players earn per level are guidelines, not rules. These guidelines are as follows:
| Level | Passives | At-wills | Encounters | Dailies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 9 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 10 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
General abilities[]
Player characters also have access to the general combat abilities and general non-combat abilities.
Ability keywords[]
Ability keywords are designated to indicate how abilities interact with each other. For example, one may have these two skills:
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Dragonborn Fury applies to abilities with the Martial or Fire keywords - since Ember Strike has both of these keywords, Dragonborn Fury's bonus would apply (but only once). This allows an effect to apply to current and future abilities without needing to constantly be modified to specify with which it does and does not work.