Battling
From Grouse House Wiki
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Battling is a primary mechanic on Wolvden which you'll encounter frequently while exploring! Battling is often required for progressing in events, unlocking content, and collecting useful items, so it's an important feature to understand. The mechanic is complex, so we'll go over the way it works and some tips for succeeding on this page!
If you're looking for details about every battle enemy, we recommend checking out the Battle Enemies page. This page will just cover the mechanics of battling itself.
| Table of Contents |
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| Links not working? Sections must be expanded to jump to a subheader within them! |
| Battling Basics |
| Interface |
| Battling Process |
Battling Basics
Battling Basics
While exploring, you'll frequently come across battle enemies you can fight for a chance to win rewards! The battle enemies you can find are different in every biome, with some overlap, and some enemies are exclusive to events. You can find lists of all battle enemies from the Battle Enemies page.
It's not required to fight battle enemies, but your progression in the game may be limited if you do not. Winning battles gives your lead experience points, which helps you level up and unlock more features, like chased wolves and raffle studs. Battling also drops useful items like meat chunks for food, healing salves for healing, and trophy items for crafting. During some events, battling is required to progress in the storylines.
Battling uses energy and health points (HP) from your lead wolf, both which you can view in the sidebar panel underneath your lead wolf's profile picture on any page. While you can still battle without any energy, your moves will have a lower chance of landing. You cannot battle if you have 0 HP, so make sure that you're healing up regularly! Clicking on the medicine pouch highlighted below will allow you to quickly access your healing salves while you're exploring, so you can heal up before any battle.
Your lead wolf's stats play a large role in battle success. Lower-stat leads typically have a more difficult time defeating enemies, especially high-level enemies. Having as high a stat value in every stat as you can, except for Wisdom, will contribute greatly to your battle wins! Wisdom is not used for any battle moves or rolls, so don't worry about keeping this stat up the same as the other ones.
Battle Enemies
Battle Enemies
There are a large variety of battle enemies available to fight, with some being limited to events and biomes. Each enemy has its own specifics that make battling them unique. You can find full lists of all battle enemies from the Battle Enemies page.
Each enemy has a few attributes that you can consider before starting the battle: level, stats, modifiers, and trophy drops.
You can view the level of most enemies before entering the battle with them. This can help give you an idea of how difficult the battle will be! An enemy with a level much higher than yours will typically be more difficult for you to defeat. Enemies can be level 1 to level 25, with the levels above 20 being reserved for boss enemies and one specific explore encounter (keep moving forward against the small critters to encounter a wolf always 5 levels above your level).
Each enemy has a set of associated stats that it uses in battle and that it can drop upon defeat. These stats are different for each enemy, but there are some general trends. For example, all bear enemies use and drop Strength, while fox enemies use and drop Agility and Smarts. All enemies can drop the Wisdom stat, but no enemies use the Wisdom stat in battle. If you're looking for specific stats to gain on your lead wolf, you can target enemies that you know will only drop specific stats. Otherwise, you can target enemies that you know use a stat that your lead wolf is very proficient in to aid your chance of beating them. The Battle Enemies pages list the stats that we know about for every battle enemy.
Many battle enemies, but not all, have a set of modifiers that influence how different battle moves affect them. These modifiers are based on the type of animal you are fighting, and could benefit either you or the enemy. You'll always be able to view the effects of modifiers in battle by hovering over or tapping on the dice rolls in the battle log next to each move that you make. A list of all enemy modifiers is available below, and the modifiers we're aware of for every battle enemy are available on the Battle Enemies pages.
| Modifier | Effects |
|---|---|
| Fearless | -1 on Rest/Wait
-1 on Chase -1 on Snarl |
| Group | +1 on Focus
-1 on Latch -1 on Snarl -1 on Snap -1 on Tumble |
| Large Prey | +1 on Snarl |
| Prey | +1 on Rest/Wait
+2 on Chase +2 on Retreat |
| Small Prey | +1 on Snarl |
| Slow | +1 on Rest/Wait
+1 on Retreat +1 on Tumble -2 on Chase |
| Soft Skin | +1 on Shear |
| Strong Venom | Enemy gets +1 on its bite attacks |
| Thick Skin | -1 on Shear |
Each enemy also has a set collection of potential trophy drops that can be dropped rarely upon defeat. In order to start collecting trophies from enemies, your lead wolf must be at east level 10. After that, you can collect items from defeating enemies while exploring, many of which can be used for crafting! Many crafting recipes are available as trophy drops, as well. The Battle Enemies pages contain all of the trophy items that we are aware of for each enemy.
Interface
Interface
The battling interface is pretty straightforward, but it will change throughout the course of the battle, so it's nice to know what you'll be looking at! Entering a battle will display the enemy you've opted to fight front and center, with some stats and moves available around them.
At the top left, you'll find your lead wolf's HP. The top right contains the enemy's HP. These bars will move around as you're battling and each of you is losing or gaining HP.
In the center of the screen, you'll find your available battle moves. The moves that are available to you depend on a few factors. If you win the initiative roll at the beginning of the battle, you'll have access to the some starting moves which you can use only on the first turn of the battle. We explain starting stats in the Battling Process part of this page. For most of the battle, you'll have access to generic moves: Bite, Latch, Rest, and Flee. Using Latch has a chance to grab onto the enemy, allowing you access to three more moves: Shear, Crush, and Release. If the enemy has grabbed onto you, you'll be limited in the amount of moves you can use while you're trying to escape. Finally, if you have one of the lead wolf Talents granting a special move, a special move might be available to you as an opening move or limited once-per-battle move. Since each battle move has its own specifics, we'll cover these in the Battle Moves section of this page.
Underneath your available move set, you'll find a step-by-step log of every move that's been taken in battle. This is a very useful resource if you want to get into the intricacies of battle mechanics. These logs can help you understand battle enemy specifics and refine the moves you're using to better fit the enemy that you're fighting. Green text indicates that it's a move that you've made, while red text indicates that it's a move your enemy has made. There are a few parts to this menu.
On the left side of the log, you'll find a dice icon. As we explain in the Battling Process section of this page, the success of every move is based on a dice roll. You can view the dice rolled for each move by hovering over or tapping on the icon on the left side of the associated log. Hovering over this dice will reveal any modifiers that were applied to the dice roll because of stats, enemy characteristics, battle effects, or talents. For example, in the screenshot above, the dice roll applied to this move determined the chance for the move to inflict the effect Bleeding on this enemy. The bite move received a -1 base modifier as all bite attacks do, as well as a -1 Biter modifier from the Biter talent, which increases damage caused by the move but decreases the chance for the bite to inflict Bleeding. Since it didn't roll higher than 3, the cutoff for a successful move, the bite did not inflict Bleeding.
On the right side of the log, you may occasionally see a battle effect indicator. In the screenshot above, the double down arrows indicate that the enemy is losing the effect Locked by breaking free from the hold. Double up arrows would indicate that the enemy has gained that effect. As another example, the enemy below has gained the effect Bleeding after a successful Shear dice roll. We detail all battle effects in the Battle Effects section of this page.
Causing your enemy to bleed is a very useful tactic when battling. We recommend you keep an eye out for any time that this occurs!
Battling Process
Battling Process
Battling is a turn-based mechanic, meaning that you and the enemy take turns making moves. The process of any battle can be broken down into a few steps: the initiative roll/opening move, the main battle, and the results. We'll go through each of these steps in detail here.
Initiative Rolls and Opening Moves
When you enter a battle with any enemy, an initiative is immediately rolled determining which of you gets to attack first. This dice roll is influenced by a specific stat which is randomized between all of an enemy's possible associated stats. An enemy's initiative roll stats are the same stats that it can drop after being defeated, with the exception of Wisdom, since Wisdom is never used in battle (but can be dropped by defeating any enemy). For example, the Bobcat's associated stats are Agility and Smarts, so its initiative roll will be influenced by either Agility or Smarts. The initiative roll is not influenced by applying a Lucky Foot before the battle. You can view all enemy stats on the battle enemy pages available from the main Battle Enemies page.
If you enter the battle with a lower value of the initiative stat than the enemy you're facing, your initiative dice roll will receive a -1 modifier like in the example above, making it less likely that you will receive the first move. It's difficult to know before the battle if the enemy has higher stats than you, since it's not labeled anywhere. Generally, an enemy with a higher level than you will have higher stats than you, and more challenging enemies like bears and bosses will also have generally higher stats. The lead wolf talent Ambush adds +1 to any initiative dice roll, making your chance to win the initiative slightly higher.
If the intiative dice roll is successful (>3), you will be permitted to act first and use an opening move. If it's unsuccessful (<4), the enemy will make the first move.
Opening moves are the same in every battle. By default, if you win the opening move, you will be able to choose between Snarl, Focus, Lunge, and Chase. The efficiency of these moves will depend partly on the enemy's modifiers, explained in the Battle Enemies section of this page. They will also be affected by your lead wolf's stats! There are also some opening moves that can be added using lead wolf Talents. Evade and Rush are talent opening moves that affect the amount of damage done for the rest of the battle. Since every battle move has its own specifics, we'll cover these in the Battle Moves section of this page. Choosing the right opening move can contribute to your victory in the battle!
The Main Battle
Throughout the remainder of the battle, you and the enemy will take turns making moves until one of you runs out of HP or you flee the battle. You can keep track of what's happening in the battle log at the bottom of the battling screen.
There are moves that are more effective against certain enemies and with certain battle effects, which you can use to give yourself an advantage during this main battle stage. Since every move has its own specifics, we'll cover all of them in the Battle Moves section of this page.
If you'd like to leave the battle at any time, such as when you've realized that you cannot win, you can choose to Flee as long as the enemy doesn't have you Locked. There's a small chance that the enemy will be able to land a final attack on your as you're fleeing, costing you more damage!
Throughout the battle, you will also have the option to apply a Lucky Foot to the battle if you have one available in your Hoard and you do not already have one applied. Lucky Foots automatically add a +1 modifier to every move that you make in the battle.
Battle Results
Congratulations on a completed battle! At this point, you've either won or lost against the battle enemy. Either way, there's things to be gained.
Winning a battle will always reward you with experience points for your lead wolf. If your lead wolf is already the max level 20, this experience will not be counted. There's chance that any victorious battle will reward 
Silver Cones, Meat Chunks, or Medicine: Healing Salves, as well! If your lead wolf is over level 10, trophies are a potential additional drop from enemies, rewarding you with a rare enemy-specific item like a skull, pelt, or recipe.
Losing a battle typically doesn't grant you any reward, but there are some rare cases in which it could! Rarely, your lead wolf might gain an affliction such as Open Wound or Poison after losing a battle. When losing a battle against any Lunar enemy, there's a small chance that you'll be granted a special Lunar recipe! The Lunar Battle Enemies page lists the potential drops from losing to a Lunar enemy.
Battling Moves
Battling Moves
There are many moves that are available for you to use during battle, each with their own stat influences, effects, and modifier changes. We've included each in the table below with a quick explanation of each column here.
Availability: Indicates when the move is available for you to use
Stat: The stat associated with the move, if any. When a move has an associated stat, you will receive modifiers on your dice roll for that move based on your enemy's stats. If the enemy has a higher stat than you, you will receive a negative modifier on this move, while you will receive a positive modifier if you have a higher stat than the enemy
Effect: The effect that a successful roll of this move has on the enemy, with any dice roll modifiers caused by the effect in parenthesis
Advantages: The best cases in which you can use this move/when it's recommended that you use this move over others available, with modifier effect included in parenthesis
Disadvantages: The cases in which you should not use this move/when it's recommended that you choose another move instead, with modifier effect included in parenthesis
| Move | Availability | Effect | Stat | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snarl | Opening Move | Inflicts Panic (+2 Rest/Wait) | N/A | Against a Large Prey enemy (+1) | Against a Fearless enemy (-1) Against a Group enemy (-1) |