Battle Mechanics
There are several different Battle Mechanics that make up the direct combat between the Toons and the Cogs. Toons first learn how to fight against the Cogs in the Toontown School House via the Toontorial.
The Basics
The combat in Toontown: Corporate Clash is turn based, with the Toons always moving first, and the Cogs going afterwards (unless a unique fight, such as a Manager Boss, has different mechanics). The point of battles is for the Toons to defeat the Cogs in order to gain things such as Toon Levels, Gag XP, complete ToonTasks, and to save Toontown!
Health
Toons and Cogs have different measures of health. For Toons, they have a Laff Meter, containing Laff Points. Toons can have a maximum of 150 Laff as they progress through Toontown, however they will always start with 15 Laff. If a Toon reaches 0 Laff, they will become sad and return to the nearest Playground, losing all of their purchased Gags. Cogs on the other hand have Health Points based on their Cog Level and status (such as Executive or Manager). After a Cog has entered a battle, their emblem will be replaced with a light displaying a color based on their current HP. It will start green and change to yellow, orange, and then red as it depletes. The red light will begin flashing as it nears death. Once a Cog reaches 0 HP it will be defeated and explode. When all Cogs are defeated the battle will end and reward the player.
Battle Sigil
A Toon can start a battle in many ways. The first, and most common instance, is by running up to the Cog that you desire to fight against. Cogs that are found in Streets and Cog Headquarters can be engaged with directly. Some Cogs may brush you off though if they are preparing to leave the area or enter a building.
For Cogs found in other areas, such as Cog Buildings or for Manager Bosses, an elevator must be entered or a battle sigil must be stepped on. Up to four Toons can start and join any battle at any given moment. However, any Toons that wish to these inside instances must have all players present as they enter the instance, as they will not be able to join once the area is entered. Each battle consists of four Cogs at a time (with exceptions that are restricted to certain instances). The only instance where more than four Toons can enter a fight together is when fighting a C.O.G.S. Boss. However, during the Cog combat, the players will be split into two sides of four.
Joining Cogs
While in streets, Cogs may occasionally join a developing battle. This function is entirely dependent on luck, but is heavily factored on the Playground and the amount of Toons already in battle.
For example, a Toon battling a Cog in Daffodil Gardens will have an increased chance of a second Cog joining the battle compared to an earlier Playground such as Barnacle Boatyard. If another Toon joins the battle, that chance is significantly raised, on top of another chance of a third Cog joining in battle. A chance for a fourth Cog to join only occurs when a third Toon joins. However, in Toontown Central, only 1 Cog can join the battle if there is only 1 Toon. Battles that are against Street Managers ignore all of these checks and will allow for indefinite rejoins for any Cog that passes by (not guaranteed, just an increased chance for as long as the Street Manager is alive).
Cog Attacks
See also Gag Accuracy and Cog Defense
Every round, after Toons use their Gags, Cogs will attack the Toons in battle. Each Cog has a certain set of attacks that can hit either a single Toon or a group of Toons. Like Toons, Cogs have a set accuracy for whether or not their attacks will hit. When targeting a Toon, the Toon will have a red gear circle them, and an exclamation point will appear above their Laff Meter. This is to show which Toon the Cog is targeting as it may be difficult to tell with certain camera angles.
Options
Upon entering a battle, Toons will see a menu displaying the various choices they can make. Only one option can be picked per turn with the exception of Counterfeits and Unites. Toons have a variety of choices, while Cogs will always choose one of their attacks or cheats.
Gags
See also: Gags
In the battle menu, the most prominent option will be a Toons attacks, or Gags. Gags are different jokes to use against Cogs in order to damage them. Toons can pick from 8 different Gag Tracks, but can only use a certain amount depending on their obtained Training Points. Different Gags have different synergy, requiring them to be played in a certain order. In battle, Gags are played from the top of the menu (Toon-Up) to the bottom (Drop). Hovering over a Gag will display additional details about the Gag.
Rewards
After defeating a C.O.G.S. Boss, Toons are rewarded with Boss Rewards. Most are used before the Toons are able to utilize their Gags during their round. While some, such as Counterfeits, can be used when the Toons have the Gag menu up, and Unites can be used at any given time. Unites are not in the main battle menu and can only be used through the Unite menu near the SpeedChat menu. The other Boss Rewards to be chosen are Pink Slips, Cease & Desists, and IOUs which are played in that exact order.
Passing
If a decision cannot be made, Toons are able to pass, meaning they will do nothing for that round. Toons will automatically pass if they have not chosen a move by the end of the battle timer.
Running and Surrendering
If a battle is proven too dangerous to move on, Toons are able to run away from the fight. Those that do run are teleported back to the nearest Playground. There are no consequences for running away (provided it is not of ill-intent). Choosing to run away will make your Toon teleport immediately, it will not wait for the battle timer to deplete or for other Toons to make their decisions.
There are some areas where you cannot "run away" and must "surrender" instead, such as in Cog Facilities, Bosses, and Manager instances. To surrender, click on the surrender button and a white flag will appear above your Toons status menu, telling other Toons you wish to surrender. All Toons currently in battle must agree on a vote. If the battle contains 4 or less Toons, the vote must be unanimous (meaning all Toons have agreed to surrender). With groups of 5 or more, all Toons but one must vote in favor of the surrender. Once the vote goes through, all Toons are dropped down to exactly one Laff, your current Gags will remain intact, and you will be sent to the nearest Playground or potentially the battle sigil. Clicking the surrender button again will ask if you'd like to retract your vote, removing the icon from your status menu.
Going AFK in Battle
If a Toon does not pick a Gag at all (pressing the Pass button does not count) for a total of 2 rounds, Toons will go in an "AFK" state. They are given a pop-up menu explaining that they have been idle for several rounds, and are given two options: Either agree to continue the battle and leave the AFK state, or to run back to the Playground. Until then, AFK Toons will automatically pass. An "AFK" title will appear above a Toons status menu to inform the party they are AFK.
Status Effects
Toons are able to view the Status Effects of both themselves and the Cogs. These Status Effects can be viewed during battle by looking at the circular icons by a Toon's Laff meter or a Cog's health bar. Their descriptions can be viewed by either hovering over the icons or clicking the purple question mark icons near the same location.
Battle Timer
Toons can't wait forever trying to decide on which Gag! They will be given 40 seconds each round to make a decision of what they will do for that turn. Once all Toons have chosen their move, their actions will begin. The timer does not need to reach 0 for the battle to "start", but it will automatically start the battle if all Toons have not made their decisions.
Round Counter
Hovering over the Battle Timer will display how many rounds in which the battle has gone on for. This can be great for seeing the round activation of a certain cheat or checking how many rounds it will take for a status effect to end. Keep in mind that the Round Counter is for the entire battle, not per Toon. So if a player joins at any given moment it will still say the amount that the battle instigator has currently.
Content Sync
See also: Content Sync
Content Sync is the game's way of adjusting the stats of Toons to be on par with certain fights. These result in changes to your Gags Menu, Laff, and Boss Rewards.
Trivia
- Prior to v1.5.0, the surrender mechanic required a unanimous vote in order to surrender, regardless of group size.
- Hovering over someone's Gags in the battle menu will show their ownership of their Gag pouch (i.e., Sam's Gags).
- If that Toon's name ends with an S, the apostrophe will be directly after the letter instead of before (i.e., Lucas' Gags).