Combo

Combo Mode is a method of fighting that lets you do damage much faster than just using skills normally. It is fairly complicated, fast, and very confusing for new players. Everyone was frustrated at one time. =)

Combo Mode becomes is available once your character completes the level 30 Rank Up quest.

Advantages of Comboing

 * Much faster attacks (~50% faster)
 * Attacks do more damage (~10% more)
 * You never miss
 * You can't get stunned, essential for PvP.

Also you should know:
 * There is no end reward for a good combo. The "rewards" are listed above and occur as you are fighting.

Setup
  Set up your skill bar like this: If you don't have one of those skills, see an instructor and purchase it. They are cheap!   Dance until you fill up you SP bar. It takes about 5 minutes to fill it if it is empty.  For this tutorial, equip your character with the weakest weapons you can find, such as a Normal Katana. Don't use any +damage buffs either. We are just practicing and don't want to kill too fast!  Get the best armor you can wear so you don't have to worry about HP while practicing.  Go find a big scary monster that takes at least 15 hits to kill, depending on your level maybe a gruesome Plant Toad. 

Comboing
Read all of the above steps before starting. Be warned that combo mode is FAST!  Select the Plant Toad, but don't attack yet.  Press the 4 key, which should be the Combo button. </li> You will see the Combo Bar pop up, don't do anything yet! </li> Wait for the bar to fill past the first line, then press the 4 key again before the bar completely fills. </li> Repeat step 4 as long as you can! </li> After you succeed 5 combos, the lines will move closer and the bar will fill faster, making the combo harder. </li> After you succeed 11 combos, the lines will move closer again and the bar will fill even faster, making the combo very hard to continue. </li> </ol> So how far did you get on your first try? Only 3? Try again! All you have to do now is practice practice practice.

Combo quality
Depending on your timing, a combo can be:
 * a misscombo_miss1.jpgcombo_miss2.jpg No damage is done
 * a bad hitcombo_bad1.jpgcombo_bad2.jpg Normal damage is done
 * a good hitcombo_good1.jpgcombo_good2.jpg 10% bonus damage*
 * an excellent hit:combo_excellent1.jpgcombo_excellent2.jpg 20% bonus damage*
 * No bonus is awarded if you crit.

Combo cast time
Skills used in combo mode have a much shorter cast time. For example, Storm Grind normally takes 3 sec to cast; in combo mode it takes only 1.3 sec! See Skill comparison for a list of all combo cast times.

Changing targets
You can change targets while still staying in combo mode. It is easiest to change targets when using long cast time skills such as Lightning Slash.

Before you kill your current target, click a new target while you are attacking. Press the combo button when the bar fills (just like normal) and your character will run over and attack the next target. Continue comboing normally.

In the Game Options tab, you can check "Combo UI On Top" which places a smaller combo meter just below the enemy health bar. This will allow you to keep watch of both the meter and your target's health so you know when to switch to a new target. Keep in mind that the combo meter may already be filling up before the target's health bar updates to show that the enemy you were attacking has died, so plan ahead. If you switch targets too soon you can always switch back to land the killing blow.

With this technique it is possible to have an infinite combo, although most people don't make it much past 20!

PvP
Combo is essential to PvPing, read more about it on the PvP page.

Videos
Maybe the best way to learn to combo is to watch others in action. Check some of these videos:
 * Regular combo (changing targets at end)
 * combo with dash
 * combo with fade step