Is Lootbound combat turn-based?
Yes. Rounds run in initiative order. Each character takes one turn per round. Using an ability ends that character’s turn.
Lootbound Combat
Lootbound combat is turn-based: click the hero only, let initiative set turn order, companions auto-act. Armor refills; mana returns in part. Bank spends.
Watch the combat loop: pick one hero ability, let initiative set the order, then watch companions resolve on their own.
~11 min read
At A Glance
Lootbound combat is turn-based. You pick one ability on the starting hero, pick a target, and that click ends the hero’s turn. Initiative sets who acts first. Companions resolve themselves. Lootbound (ArtDock / Dreland Enterprises) never hands you a second hotbar — Steam’s line is that companions already know what to do. Verified August 15, 2026 · Steam.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Platform | Steam · Win / macOS / Linux · Xbox Series |
| Genre | Pixel top-down tactical roguelite |
| Mode | Single-player |
| Combat | Turn-based · one action per character per round |
| Control | Hero only — companions auto-act from their own grids |
| Initiative | Higher value acts earlier. Exact thresholds TBA |
| After a fight | Armor fully restored · mana partly restored · health stays damaged |
| Ability cost | Mana, stamina, or an action — exact formulas TBA |
| Basic attack | Free (zero mana). Use it on trash |
| Steam | App 3091140 · Mixed reviews at launch |
How does Lootbound combat work?
The in-game tutorial is the whole rulebook. Lootbound combat is turn-based. During the hero’s turn you select one of the available abilities and choose a target. Using that ability ends the character’s turn. Fights are split into rounds. Each character — hero, companion, enemy — takes only one turn per round.
| Step | What you do | What ends |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Read the bar | See who is next — hero, companion, or enemy | Nothing yet |
| 2. Pick an ability | Basic attack, spend, or a defensive tool | The click commits the hero |
| 3. Pick a target | One body. Split damage leaves slivers | The hero’s turn |
| 4. Watch the rest | Companions and enemies resolve in initiative order | The round, then the next |
One click is the whole hero turn
There is no second action after a spend. If you open a costly skill and it does not finish the threat, you wait a full round while that enemy acts. The preview on the pane is the check — if a free basic already kills, the spend is a leak.
The fight is already packed
What the hero can click is whatever you seated on that hero’s grid before the node. A beautiful bag that never fit is not a kit. Pack first: inventory.
The next surprise is that the other portraits on the bar are not extra clicks.
Why can I only click the hero?
Steam is blunt: in combat you control only the main hero. Companions act on their own. You still equip them — each recruit has a separate grid — but you never get their hotbar. Lootbound combat is a one-stick tactics game with a party that you built, not a party you micro.
| Body | Who clicks | What you actually do |
|---|---|---|
| Starting hero | You | Pick ability + target. Consumables sit here when that 1.0 rule is confirmed |
| Companion | The game | Resolves from initiative using the kit on their own grid |
| Enemy | The game | Same bar. Kill or strip them before their pip |
Pack the trigger, not a queue
Community-observed 1.0 patterns (treat exact thresholds as TBA): a Bard-style heal often waits until an ally is under half health; a Witch-style kit often spends a stronger debuff when one enemy remains. You do not override those clicks. If a recruit burns mana on the last grunt, that is the trigger you packed — rebuild the grid, do not wait for a hidden companion menu.
Consumables stay on the hero
1.0 tutorial / play: companions wear gear; drinks stay on the hero. Do not park the only potion on a recruit and hope the AI drinks it. Names and the full potion list stay TBA. Roles for who you recruit: classes.
The click you do have is sequenced by the number on the bar.
What does initiative actually decide?
Initiative is turn order. Higher initiative acts earlier each round. That is the official line, and it is enough — exact breakpoints stay TBA. In Lootbound combat, going first is both a damage stat and a defensive stat: an enemy that never takes a turn does not need to be tanked.
| If you act first, you can | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Kill a buffer or debuffer | The rest of the pack never gets the aura or the curse |
| Strip armor before a slasher swings | Crush / Acid now pays on the same round |
| Land a setup before the payoff | Order heals and Chaos curses want to exist before the big hit |
| Finish a sliver | A leftover pip is a free enemy turn |
| Skip incoming damage | The cheapest armor is a corpse that never acted |
Setup before payoff
You cannot drag a companion earlier on the bar. You pack Initiative onto the body that should move first — often the hero you click, sometimes a recruit whose auto-trigger is the setup. Accessories are the usual Initiative seat; treat named pieces as TBA. If the Paladin’s hold lands after the Witch’s curse, the round was packed backwards.
Do not stack it on everyone
One fast closer plus a slower tank is a plan. Three medium Initiative boards is a coin flip against the first elite. Read the bar before the first click, not after the first corpse.
Once you can read the order, the leak is the spend.
When do I spend mana instead of a basic attack?
Abilities cost mana, stamina, or an action. Exact costs stay TBA. Basic attacks cost nothing. That split is the whole economy of Lootbound combat: the free hit is the default; the spend is the exception you can name.
| Situation | Click | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Opening trash | Basic attack | Mana only partly returns; this fight is not the run |
| Buffer or debuffer still up | Spend if the preview finishes them | They make every later pip worse |
| Plated elite, Slash-only hero | Spend only if Crush / Acid is on this click | Otherwise you are paying to tickle armor |
| Party at critical Health | Defensive spend or a campfire before the node | Armor will refill; Health will not |
| Last grunt, companion charged | Hero basic to end it | Stops an auto-spend on a corpse |
- Do01Trash node, preview already kills — basic attack
- Do02Elite, biome-end fight, or a buffer still standing — spend
- Do03A companion is about to dump a costly trigger on a leftover sliver — finish it on the hero turn first
- Do04You are walking into a hard D20 or a Guardian with a half bar — you already overspent
- Do05The pane shows a defensive tool that keeps Health off the floor — spend; armor comes back, Health does not
Difficulty taxes the refund
The tutorial states that only a percentage of total mana returns after a fight, and that share drops as run difficulty rises. Treat the number as TBA. The habit does not: bank the bar for the rooms that can end the expedition.
Stamina and actions are the same question
Some kits spend stamina or a physical / magical action instead of a blue pip. Until those formulas are logged, use the same rule: if the free basic does the job, do not open the other bar.
Spending only works if you know what comes back when the pane closes.
Before the next elite
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How do armor, health, and mana recover?
Three resources leave a fight in three different states. Mix them up and a clean trash clear still walks into the biome gate empty.
| Resource | After a fight | How to play it |
|---|---|---|
| Armor | Fully restored for the whole party | Spend it. Ending trash at 1 armor is fine if you are alive |
| Health | Stays damaged until you heal | The run resource. Campfires before a dangerous stretch, not after |
| Mana | Partly restored; share drops on higher difficulties | Bank it. Accessories that refund mana are run extenders |
| Stamina / actions | Exact refund TBA | Same habit as mana until the formula is logged |
| Initiative | Does not spend — it sequences the next fight | Pack it on the body that should move first |
Armor is a shield, Resistance is a tax
Most hits eat armor before Health. Resistance reduces damage taken and matters more when late enemies hit harder — it is not a second armor bar. Dodge can make a hit miss entirely; it is inconsistent, so treat it as a secondary for fragile recruits, not a Paladin plan. Exact values stay TBA.
Order and Chaos are not recovery
Order amplifies helpful effects (heals, armor repair, blessings). Chaos amplifies curses and other negative effects. They pull opposite directions — do not sprinkle both on one board. They change what a spend is worth; they do not refill the bar.
Recovery does not help if you hit the wrong body.
Which enemy should I kill first?
Not every pip on the bar deserves the hero click. The mid-fight habit is a kill order, not a damage race. Leave the fat defensive body for last unless it is shielding the thing that will actually drop you.
| Priority | Target | Why they die first |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffers | They make the rest of the pack snowball |
| 2 | Debuffers | They force you onto defense every later round |
| 3 | High-damage threats | Safer once the support is gone |
| 4 | Armor walls / sponges | Safe to leave unless they protect a buffer |
Finish the sliver
A leftover pip is a free enemy turn. If the hero can close a buffer, do that before you chip the tank. Companions will still take their automatic swing — give them a corpse or a real target, not a 4-way split.
Why did this fight stall on armor?
A stalled fight is usually a type mismatch, not a missing legendary. Slash cuts Health once armor is gone. Crush breaks armor. Acid skips armor and hits Health. Chaos strengthens debuffs. Base is the untyped leftover that always applies. Exact enemy resistances stay TBA.
| What you see | What to click | What not to do |
|---|---|---|
| Fat armor bar, Slash-only hero | Crush or Acid on hero or recruit | Dump mana into more Slash |
| Armor already gone | Slash / Base to finish Health | Open another armor-break spend |
| Debuff kit, no Chaos | Seat Chaos before the next elite | Expect the curse to carry the fight |
| One type on every grid | Recruit the missing answer | Clone the hero’s kit onto the companion |
The recruit is the type swap
You still only click the hero. The Witch’s Acid or a Crush piece on a Paladin is an automatic pip that deletes the stall you cannot click through. Full matchups: damage types. Party jobs: classes.
Guardian parts inherit the same rule
Biome-end Boss Parts change how the final Guardian hits. A high-armor party can live with a reflect-style modifier; Acid ignores that soak. Do not hand the final boss crit if you can see that option. Names stay TBA — bosses.
If the fight still dies, it is usually a process error, not a missing name.
What combat mistakes waste a run?
Scan this before the next node. It is the mid-run checklist for Lootbound combat — situation to action, not another loop recap.
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Waiting for companion hotkeys | There are none — pack the trigger, then click the hero |
| Spending mana on every trash pack | Basic attack unless the preview says you need the spend |
| Splitting damage across four slivers | Finish the buffer. Leftover pips take turns |
| Treating Health like armor | Armor refills; Health does not. Campfire before the hard stretch |
| Walking in with an unpacked shape | Rotate it or it is not in the fight — inventory |
| Slash-only into plates | Bring Crush or Acid — damage types |
| Parking the potion on a recruit | Consumables are hero-only |
| Ignoring the initiative bar | Kill or strip the next pip before it acts |
| Cloning the hero kit onto the recruit | Give them a job — classes |
| Skipping the Boss Part | You are building the Guardian you will fight — bosses |
One habit that fixes most of them
Before the first click, read the bar and name the threat that acts next. If a free basic removes it, take the free basic. Two seconds there prevents most empty mana bars at the biome gate.
When that is automatic, the next page is the type chart — why a clean click still ticks armor.
Lootbound combat FAQ
Do I control companions in Lootbound combat?
No. You control the starting hero only. Companions take their own turns from initiative using the kit on their separate grid.
What does initiative do in Lootbound?
Initiative is turn order. Higher initiative acts earlier. Going first lets you kill or strip a threat before it swings. Exact thresholds stay TBA.
Does armor come back after a fight?
Yes — fully, for the whole party. Ending trash at 1 armor is fine if you are alive. Health does not refill on its own.
Does mana come back after a fight?
Only partly. The tutorial says a percentage of total mana returns, and that share drops as run difficulty rises. Exact percent TBA.
Do basic attacks cost mana?
No. Basic attacks are free. Abilities cost mana, stamina, or an action — exact formulas TBA. Bank the spend for elites and bosses.
Can companions use consumables?
1.0 tutorial says no — keep potions on the hero grid until a patch says otherwise.
Why did my companion waste a big skill?
You packed their trigger. Community notes: some heals wait for low Health; some debuffs fire when one enemy remains. Rebuild the grid — you cannot queue their click.
What should I read next?
The damage types page — Slash, Crush, Acid, Chaos, and why a clean click still stalls on plates. Then classes.
Last verified?
August 15, 2026
Related pages
Matched by build plan, shared topics, and guide progression — not random related links.