MonsterSkillElement.xml

Atomic building blocks for monster skills. Each Element defines one effect: damage/heal over a stat, a status change, a summon, a forced teleport, a buff nullification, and so on. Up to 5 Elements are chained inside a Skill Unit.

File Location#

Data/Monster/MonsterSkillElement.xml

Loaded once at GameServer startup. Changes require a restart.

Dependencies#

Referenced by	Purpose
MonsterSkillUnit.xml	Each Unit chains up to 5 Elements by `Number`

Depends on	Purpose
Skill.txt	`NullifiedSkill` references skill indices (buff cancel, tether skill, paired effect id)

Schema#

<MonsterSkillElement>
    <Element Number="..." Name="..."
             Type="..." SuccessRate="..."
             ContinuanceTime="..."
             IncAndDecType="..." IncAndDecValue="..."
             NullifiedSkill="..."
             CharacterClass="..." CharacterLevel="..." />
</MonsterSkillElement>

Attributes#

Attribute	Type	Effect
`Number`	int	Unique Element ID (0-99). Values outside this range are ignored.
`Name`	string	Human-readable label. Not used by logic.
`Type`	int	Effect category (see Effect Types).
`SuccessRate`	int	Percent chance the effect applies on hit (0-100). Rolled per target per Element.
`ContinuanceTime`	int	Duration in seconds for timed effects. `-1` or `*` means "indefinite" where the Type supports it. Ignored for instant Types.
`IncAndDecType`	int or `*`	Stat modifier mode (see IncAndDecType Values). `*` stores -1 (none).
`IncAndDecValue`	int or `*`	Magnitude paired with `IncAndDecType`. `*` stores -1. Also reused as a secondary parameter for some Types (see Type notes).
`NullifiedSkill`	int or `*`	Skill ID tied to the effect (buff to cancel, tether skill ID, or paired message ID). `*` stores -1.
`CharacterClass`	int	Loaded but not read by the skill pipeline. No class filter is applied. Keep `0`.
`CharacterLevel`	int	Loaded but not read by the skill pipeline. No level gate is applied. Keep `0`.

Effect Types#

Type	Name	Behavior
0	Stun	Adds the stun effect for `ContinuanceTime` seconds. Blocked by Iron Defense buffs on the target. `SuccessRate` has the target's stun resistance subtracted before the roll.
1	Move	Placeholder. The handler is empty - no movement debuff is applied by this Type directly.
2	HP	Damage or heal based on `IncAndDecType`. Percent modes scale against current Life. Cycle modes write a periodic tick into the target for `ContinuanceTime` seconds.
3	MP	Same math as Type 2 against Mana.
4	AG	Same math as Type 2 against BP (AG).
5	Defense	Modifies the target's defense; value and duration are stored on the target and consumed over `ContinuanceTime`.
6	Attack	Modifies the target's physical damage; stored and consumed over `ContinuanceTime`.
7	Durability	Reduces durability on a randomly selected equipment slot (users only).
8	Summon	Respawns the target monster (the Element caller resurrects / repositions an allied monster). `IncAndDecValue` is the random placement radius (defaults to 10 if `*` or <0).
9	Push	If `NullifiedSkill` < 1, knocks the target back by `IncAndDecValue` tiles (default 3). Otherwise queues a delayed tether message with `NullifiedSkill` as the skill ID.
10	Stat Energy	Placeholder - handler is empty.
11	Stat Strength	Placeholder - handler is empty.
12	Stat Dexterity	Placeholder - handler is empty.
13	Stat Vitality	Placeholder - handler is empty.
14	Remove Skill	Strips a specific buff from the user. Supports Greater Damage and Greater Defense; `NullifiedSkill` must be that skill's ID.
15	Resist Skill	Stores a resist entry on the caster keyed to `NullifiedSkill` for `ContinuanceTime` seconds.
16	Immune Skill	Stores an immunity entry on the caster and applies a physical-damage immunity effect for `ContinuanceTime` seconds.
17	Teleport Skill	Teleports the caster to a random free tile within 5 tiles. Cancelled if caster is stunned or no valid tile exists.
18	Double HP	Queues two delayed self-messages 400ms and 1000ms out. Used for boss phase effects.
19	Poison	If `NullifiedSkill` < 1, adds poison for `IncAndDecValue` seconds (subject to target poison resistance). Otherwise queues a delayed message with `NullifiedSkill` as the skill ID and `IncAndDecValue` as the duration.
20	Normal Attack	Runs a melee attack against the target. If `IncAndDecType` / `IncAndDecValue` are set, acts as an item-gate: target is instantly killed unless item `GET_ITEM(IncAndDecType, IncAndDecValue)` is equipped in slot 9, 10, or 11. With `NullifiedSkill` >= 1, queues a delayed message instead of attacking.
21	Berserk	Applies monster physical and magical damage immunity for `ContinuanceTime` seconds (or indefinite if `-1`) and stores the berserk duration on the target.

IncAndDecType Values#

Used by Types 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 to decide how IncAndDecValue is applied. Cycle variants also set up a per-tick apply driven by ContinuanceTime.

Value	Mode	Meaning
0	None	No stat modification. Paired with `IncAndDecValue="*"`.
1	Percent Increase	Adds `IncAndDecValue` percent of the base stat.
2	Percent Decrease	Subtracts `IncAndDecValue` percent of the base stat.
11	Constant Increase	Adds `IncAndDecValue` flat.
12	Constant Decrease	Subtracts `IncAndDecValue` flat.
100	Cycle Percent	Periodic percentage change baseline.
101	Cycle Percent Increase	Periodic percent heal tick.
102	Cycle Percent Decrease	Periodic percent damage tick.
110	Cycle Constant	Periodic flat change baseline.
111	Cycle Constant Increase	Periodic flat heal tick.
112	Cycle Constant Decrease	Periodic flat damage tick.

Any other value leaves the stat unchanged.

Important Behavior#

Only 100 Element slots exist (Number 0-99). Entries outside this range are dropped silently.
Stun resistance: for Type 0 the formula is roll = rand(0..99); if roll > SuccessRate - ResistStunRate then fail.
SuccessRate is rolled independently per Element per target; a Unit with three Elements can partly succeed.
CharacterClass and CharacterLevel are parsed but not consulted by the current pipeline. Do not rely on them as filters.
Name is stored but never compared - any string works.
Types 1, 10, 11, 12, 13 are stubs in the engine. Setting them has no effect.
Types 14, 15, 16 use NullifiedSkill as the skill ID to cancel, resist, or immunize against.
Type 20 (Normal Attack) doubles as a gear-check: fill IncAndDecType / IncAndDecValue with an ItemKind / Index pair to instakill players who do not have that item equipped in weapon or shield slots.

Examples#

<Element Number="1" Name="Monster Stun"
         Type="0" SuccessRate="50" ContinuanceTime="3"
         IncAndDecType="*" IncAndDecValue="*"
         NullifiedSkill="*"
         CharacterClass="0" CharacterLevel="0"/>

50% chance to stun the target for 3 seconds. Stun resistance reduces the roll.

<Element Number="3" Name="MP Drain"
         Type="3" SuccessRate="50" ContinuanceTime="10"
         IncAndDecType="2" IncAndDecValue="50"
         NullifiedSkill="*"
         CharacterClass="0" CharacterLevel="0"/>

50% chance to drain 50% of the target's current Mana. ContinuanceTime is only used when paired with a cycle IncAndDecType.

<Element Number="27" Name="Poison"
         Type="19" SuccessRate="100" ContinuanceTime="10"
         IncAndDecType="*" IncAndDecValue="10"
         NullifiedSkill="800"
         CharacterClass="0" CharacterLevel="0"/>

Paired with a monster skill tether (NullifiedSkill 800). IncAndDecValue is the poison duration in seconds passed to the target.

<Element Number="8" Name="Defense Down"
         Type="2" SuccessRate="30" ContinuanceTime="10"
         IncAndDecType="112" IncAndDecValue="10"
         NullifiedSkill="*"
         CharacterClass="0" CharacterLevel="0"/>

30% chance; applies a 10-point cycle decrease tick to Life over 10 seconds. Cycle constant decrease is a DoT.

Common Issues#

Element never fires - SuccessRate is rolled per target; low values combined with stun resist can drop effective chance to zero.
Stat Element has no effect - the Type is one of the stub Types (1, 10-13). Pick a live Type.
"Nullify" does nothing - Type 14 only handles Greater Damage and Greater Defense. Other buffs are not supported.
Push goes the wrong distance - set IncAndDecValue to the tile count. Default is 3 tiles when * or <1.
Class filter not working - CharacterClass / CharacterLevel are ignored by the pipeline. TODO: verify whether a future gate uses these.
Element number too high - IDs must be 0-99. Higher numbers are dropped at load.