Editing Chains in battle

[thegreedyturtle]

I just purchased the game and am playing through for the first time, and it's been a joy. Every battle is like a little puzzle to figure out.

There is one thing that's really been frustrating me, and this might just be something that I haven't figured out how to do. I would really like to edit the chains in battle. I'm not sure if this it's designed like that on purpose, or if I'm not figuring out the right way to do it or something. What's been happening is I try to make little tweaks to the strategy I'm using and eventually it becomes such a mess that I just micromanage everything.

I do use some party chains to match up timings but for the most part I've just been selecting each skill manually.

This means lots of pausing ect. So I was wondering/hoping there was a way add/change my chains in battle.

[ROD]

Is anybody using party chains?

As you say - every battle is like puzzle, there´s so much need of exact timing, like maybe I´m expecting a multiple attack, so I stop only my knight who´s about to charge but not my high fire musketeer about to finish off some enemy in the back row...etc.etc...
So I never bothered creating party chains, that seems a lot of work - and then, changing them in battle?

selecting manually seems to me easier and safer and also quicker.
But still - is ANYBODY using party chains successfully?

[Myrph]

I successfully used a party chain early on in the game, when you had to survive for a couple of minutes against an onslaught of monsters. I can't remember what the commands were exactly, but it was a pretty even mix of damage dealing, healing and protection. It took a couple of tries to get the nuances right, but after a while, it worked, I was able to set it going on high speed and leave it there until it finished.

Probably not a brilliant example, because it probably would've been easier (and less time consuming) to micromanage it, but I was busy doing other things as well, so to let it sort itself out was pleasant...

Other than that, however, I think that was the only one I used...

[Mark Pay]

This was intentional. Going to the menu in battle was a mandatory activity in the first game, and I so disliked this interruption that I wanted to get rid of it entirely for the sequel.

Taking cues from other games, both computer and tabletop, the intention was to encourage the player to plan for possible contingencies and then improvise the rest on the fly, hopefully without disrupting the game flow.

As the rest of the combat interface took shape, I started side-lining the chain system and I must confess that I now never use it when playtesting, using the character-right-click radial menus instead. My judgement has no doubt also been adversely affected by my advantage as the designer - I know what's coming next as I play.

This, combined with the earlier design principle, has resulted in the absense of the skill menu in battle. If there is more call for it I will prioritise its re-introduction.
I would add it sooner, but it is unfortunately a lengthy programming challenge at this point.

[Brickman]

Personally, I agree with Mark that skill chains aren't as important in this game as they were in the first. Even in the first game, though, most of the time most players' chains probably consisted of the same skill three times. The right click menu is the way to go.