Overview
Casual Mode is an optional combat-assist setting introduced with the second closed beta's combat rebuild. It exists so that players who want a more relaxed fight can still get through the game's encounters without learning the timing-heavy default loop first. It is switched on and off rather than chosen at the start of a save.
What It Changes
Behaviour | What it does |
|---|---|
Assisted combos | Repeatedly clicking the left mouse button triggers a variety of combos without manual input timing, which is enough to get the hang of combat and beat difficult enemies. |
Time Dilation prompt | When a character is about to be hit, time slows and an on-screen prompt appears, so an incoming attack is signalled rather than needing to be read from the animation. |
Against the Default Loop
The default loop asks for reads and timing. A yellow circle appears as an enemy winds up, and parrying just before the hit lands reduces the damage taken, deals damage back, and can be chained into a combo. Stunned enemies can be finished with an Execution, which leaves them weakened afterwards. Switching characters mid-action keeps the outgoing character on the field until their action resolves. Resonance meters fill as characters attack and fire an effect keyed to their Reactor attribute. All of that is on Combat System.
Casual Mode does not remove any of it. The combos it produces are the same combos, and the Time Dilation window is an added signal rather than a substitute for the parry ring, so the assist is an easier route into the loop rather than a separate one. The timing side is covered in more depth on QTE Combat, and the resource the loop generates on Silverdrip System.
Availability
Detail | Value |
|---|---|
Introduced | Second closed beta, alongside the rebuilt combat system |
Control described | Left mouse button, on the PC build |
Toggle | Switched on or off by the player |
Mobile | A mobile version is planned for a future test; no control mapping for the assist has been published |
The second closed beta is covered in full on Dichotomy Beta.
Notes
The mode name, both behaviours and the reason given for adding it are official. Nothing beyond that has been published, including whether the assist affects rewards or difficulty scaling.
The Time Dilation effect described here is specific to the assist. It is not the same as the general slow-motion windows that appear elsewhere in the combat loop.