Abilities

Abilities are the core of the Combat plugin. An ability is any action a character performs: attacking, casting a spell, drinking a potion, buffing an ally, or placing an area effect.

Creating an Ability

Open the Spark Editor, go to Combat > Abilities and click Create New.

Each ability entry defines:

Field	Description
Display Name	Name shown in-game.
Description	Tooltip text.
Icon	Sprite for UI display.
Ability Type	Determines targeting behavior and area of effect.
Activation Type	Determines cast timing (instant, channeled, incantation).
Effects	List of effects that execute when the ability hits.

Ability Types

The ability type controls targeting and area of effect:

Type	Description
Direct Target	Targets a single entity. Requires line of sight and range check.
Action Target	Targets the entity in front of the caster (action game style).
Self	Targets the caster. No targeting needed.
AoE (Area of Effect)	Affects all entities within a radius around a point.
Direct Target AoE	Targets an entity, then applies effects in a radius around them.
Direct Target Projectile	Fires a projectile at a target.
Action Projectile	Fires a projectile in the forward direction.
Ground	Targets a point on the ground (click-to-place).
Cone	Affects entities in a cone in front of the caster.
Rectangle	Affects entities in a rectangular area.
Aura	Continuously applies effects to nearby entities.

Choose the type that matches your ability. A sword slash might use Action Target or Cone. A fireball might use Direct Target Projectile. A heal might use Self or Direct Target.

Activation Types

The activation type controls how the ability is cast:

Type	Description
Instant	Fires immediately with no cast time.
Channel	The caster channels for a fixed duration. Uses an animator bool for animation.
Incantation	The caster performs a cast animation. Fires when animation completes. Can be interrupted.

Effects

Effects are the actions an ability performs when it hits. Each ability has a list of effects that execute in order. Every effect has an optional Delay field (0–10 seconds) that delays its execution after the ability fires.

Spark includes 8 built-in effect types:

Damage Effect

Deals damage to an entity by reducing a target stat. This is the primary combat effect.

Field	Description
Base Damage	Base damage amount before formulas and scaling.
Main Damage Type	Primary damage classification (e.g., Physical, Magical).
Secondary Damage Type	Optional sub-classification (e.g., Fire, Frost) for more precise scaling.
Calculation Formula	Optional nCalc formula for custom damage calculation.
Target Stat	The stat to reduce (e.g., Health).
Status Condition Modifiers	Bonus damage based on active statuses on the target (flat or percentage, per-stack).
Play Hit Animation	Trigger the "Hit" animator parameter on the target.
Play VFX	Spawn a visual effect on the target with configurable offset, scale, and duration.
Stagger NPC	Stop NPC movement on hit for a configurable duration.
Play Audio	Play a sound effect on hit.

Healing Effect

Restores a target stat on an entity. Works identically to Damage but adds instead of subtracts.

Field	Description
Base Healing	Base healing amount before formulas and scaling.
Main Healing Type	Primary healing classification (e.g., Direct Heal).
Secondary Healing Type	Optional sub-classification (e.g., Holy, Nature).
Calculation Formula	Optional nCalc formula for custom healing calculation.
Target Stat	The stat to increase (e.g., Health).
Status Condition Modifiers	Bonus healing based on active statuses on the target.
Play Audio	Play a sound effect on heal.

Apply Status Effect

Applies a status effect to the target entity.

Field	Description
Status Entry	The status to apply.
Duration Override	Override the status's default duration (0 = use default).
Play Audio	Play a sound effect on application.

Modify Stat Effect

Temporarily modifies stat values while a status is active. When the status ends, modifications are automatically reversed.

Field	Description
Stat Modifications	List of modifications, each with:
— Target Stat	Which stat to modify.
— Target Property	Which property (e.g., "value", "current", "maximum").
— Modification Type	Add, Subtract, Multiply, Percentage, or Set.
— Value	The amount for the chosen modification type.

Knockback Effect

Pushes the target away from the caster. Requires a KnockbackReceiver component on the target.

Field	Description
Distance	Distance in meters the target is pushed.
Duration	How long the knockback movement takes (0.05–2 seconds).
Curve	Animation curve controlling knockback speed over time.
Always Apply	Bypass ability restrictions and apply regardless of target state.
Play Audio	Play a sound effect on knockback.

Damage Object Effect

Deals damage to ObjectCombatEntity targets (destructible objects in the world, separate from normal entity damage).

Field	Description
Object Damage	Damage amount to deal to the object.

Dispel Effect

Removes dispellable status effects from the target.

Field	Description
Dispel Count	Number of statuses to remove (0 = remove all dispellable).
Target Tag	Only dispel statuses with this tag (empty = any dispellable status).

Trigger Effect

Executes a Spark trigger sequence as an ability effect. This bridges the ability system with the trigger system, letting you use any trigger type (give items, load scenes, gain currency, etc.) as part of an ability.

Field	Description
Trigger To Execute	The trigger entry to execute.

Combos

Combos are sequences of abilities that chain together. Create combo entries in the Combat > Abilities > Combos tab. A combo defines an ordered list of abilities that must be activated in sequence within a time window.

Tooltip Keywords

Tooltip keywords are special terms that appear highlighted in ability descriptions. For example, "Burning" could be a keyword that shows its own tooltip when hovered.

Create keywords in the Combat > Abilities > Tooltip Keywords tab. Each keyword has a display name, description, and color.