How to Play
Lanternline plays like a clash-based tactics RPG: every attack is a handful of coins, and two attacks aimed at each other fight it out coin by coin.
Turns and the Lantern Bar
Each turn you plan, then fight. In planning, every deployed Wick has a hand of skills drawn from their Identity's deck: Skill I most often, Skill III least. Pick a skill, then the enemy it should hit. The Lantern Bar shows every action in speed order. When the plan is ready, press Fight.
Deployment order: from Turn 2, extra skill slots are handed out in deployment order, one per turn. In chain battles this goes up to 12 slots; in focused battles, up to the deploy limit. Team members you didn't deploy lend their Support Passives instead.
Coins and Power
A skill has a Base Power, a Coin Power and a number of coins. Each coin is tossed; Heads adds its Coin Power to the running total. Your chance of Heads is 50% + SP, with SP running from −45 to +45.
Clashes
When two skills target each other, they clash. Both sides toss their coins and compare Power, and the lower side loses a coin. This repeats until one side has no coins left. The winner then strikes with whatever coins remain. Every clash round adds a little damage to the final blow. Winning a clash gives 8 SP and a kill gives 10.
A skill aimed at a unit that isn't attacking back is one-sided: every coin lands, unless the target spends a defense skill.
Defense skills
- Guard: gain a shield equal to the guard's Power.
- Evade: if the evade's Power meets the incoming coin, that coin misses.
- Counter: strike back.
Damage, resistances and Stagger
Every attack is Slash, Pierce or Blunt, and carries one of seven Tinctures. Units resist or are weak to each (Fatal, Weak, Normal, Endure, Resist, Immune). Level difference and the clash count also scale damage.
Units have Stagger thresholds on their HP bar. Pass one and the unit is Staggered: it can't act and takes much more damage until it recovers. Bosses can have parts that can be broken separately.
Tinctures and Resonance
- Scorch Scorch
- Gall Gall
- Glut Glut
- Mire Mire
- Gilt Gilt
- Ache Ache
- Drowse Drowse
Using skills banks Tincture, which pays for E.G.O (Kindling). Lining up skills of the same Tincture on the bar builds Resonance, a bonus to Offense Level.
E.G.O (Kindling)
Each Wick can burn an E.G.O, their Kindling, by spending Tincture. It's a huge attack performed in the Wick's own inner world, with lines spoken as captions, lasting about 10–25 seconds. A Wick whose SP falls to −45 is Corroded for a turn: they lose control and use their E.G.O's Corrosion skill on a random target, friend or foe. See E.G.O.
Reuse and Encore
Reuse is a status with Potency and Count. When a coin lands, it has a 5% chance per Reuse Potency to be performed again, spending 1 Count. A reused coin can Reuse again. Past 100% chance, every extra 10% gives reused coins +1 Coin Power. Encore, the Encore Hall's own status, feeds it: at Turn Start, gain Reuse Potency equal to Encore Potency and 1 Reuse Count.
Statuses
Burns, bleeds, cracks and buffs: see the full list on Statuses.
Identities, Levels and Trim
Each Wick has several Identities (IDs) of rarity I, II or III, each with its own skills, passive and support passive. Feed Tapers to level them, and Trim them (I–IV) to unlock stronger passives and, for gacha IDs, their Trim III art. Card frames grow more ornate with Trim and are tinted to rarity.
Kindle (gacha) and Embers
Kindle with Tallow or Kindle Tickets. Rates: III Identity 2.9% · E.G.O 1.3% · II Identity 12.8% · I Identity 83%. Every tenth Kindle in a ×10 is at least II. On target banners, featured items take half of their tier's rate; each Kindle gives 1 Glow, and 200 Glow lets you pick a featured item. Duplicates melt into Embers for that Wick (I: 5 · II: 25 · III: 100), which buy their IDs and E.G.O in the Ember Exchange. Announcers cost Tallow.
| Banner | Type | Details |
|---|---|---|
| New Warden's Welcome | Welcome | Discounted Kindle for new Wardens. A III Guise is guaranteed within 20 Kindles. |
| Wickfall Target Kindle | Target | Increased odds for Hush Office Lampwarden Ansel, Bellmouth Choir Precentor Ivo and the Kindling Will-o'-Wisp. |
| Standard Kindle | Standard | Every Guise and Kindling currently available. |
| Off the Books | Target | Increased odds for Hush Office Director Rook. Debt stacks as Ledger, and Balance Due calls it all in at once. |
| Encore! | Target | Increased odds for Encore Hall Headliner Coyle and Prompter Wren. Every coin that lands may be performed again with Reuse - stack its Potency, pass it around, and chain encores. |
Keepsakes
The Warden's own powers, earned through the story. One can be used per battle, two once three are unlocked.
| Prodigalitas from Hob Tallow | 3 turns: at each Turn Start, all allies heal 10% max HP and gain 1 Guarded. (Activation: heal 15% right away.) There's always soup. Everybody eats. |
| Severitas from Mirela Vost | 1 turn: every coin the chosen ally flips lands Heads. Nobody reads it twice. I will. |
| Taciturnitas from Sister Ivo | 2 turns: every enemy's Speed is halved and all allies heal 5 SP at Turn Start. Let them hear us. |
Modes
- Story: Stanzas of story scenes and battles. Each ends in a finale where a Wick's E.G.O awakens. See Story.
- Mirror Descent: a four-floor roguelike run. Pick a theme pack per floor, walk a branching map of fights, elites, events, shops and rests, and collect E.G.O Gifts that power up the whole team. HP carries over between fights. Clearing floors earns Starlight for permanent upgrades.
- Sumps: short resource fights for Tallow, Tapers and Twine.
- Vigil Pass: 30 levels of rewards earned by playing.
- Mail: a daily Morning Post (bigger on Sundays), milestone rewards, and a letter from each Wick when one of their IDs reaches Trim III.
- Lamp Room: your home screen. Tap the ID on display to hear their lines.