Complete field manual
Ex Sanguis Combat Guide: Plan, Control, Convert
Ex Sanguis combines a visible timeline, Ability Points, Burst Mode, forced movement, facing, flanking and interactive arenas. Those systems can make a turn look like a giant puzzle with dozens of branches. The reliable way through is to reduce the board to one exchange: what dangerous action is coming, what window can the squad create, and what is the shortest chain that leaves a stable board?
This guide builds that method from the opening scan to the end-of-turn review. It avoids fixed damage formulas and definitive tier lists. The game is in Early Access, and official updates already document changes to abilities, rarity, starting kits, health, enemies, talents and meta progression. Principles about order, opportunity cost and geometry are more useful than numbers copied from an older build.
The combat loop in one minute
Read the next meaningful enemy activation. Decide whether to defeat, delay, displace or deny it. Reserve AP for the mandatory answer. Use timeline and positioning tools before the action that benefits from them. Trigger an environmental payoff only after targets and allies are placed. Enter Burst Mode only when the extra sequence has a defined finish. Re-read the timeline and sight lines before ending.
Everything else in this manual explains how to make those steps more accurate.
Phase 1: scan before selecting a skill
Start with the timeline, then the arena, then the squad. This order prevents the most visible target from stealing attention from the most urgent problem.
On the timeline, mark the first enemy action that could break formation, cause major damage, deny movement or interfere with the mission. You do not need a perfect forecast of the whole round. You need a short horizon that identifies the current exchange.
On the arena, find hazards, explosive objects, ignitable elements, narrow lanes, cover and lines of sight. The official store page confirms that the environment can be exploited, so this scan is part of normal combat rather than a special trick. Note where knockback would create a second benefit and where displacement would create a new danger.
On the squad, check position, facing, useful actions and AP obligations. A Stilla may have a powerful ability but no safe angle. Another may have a modest control action that opens the entire turn. Read function before spectacle.
Phase 2: define the threat precisely
“There are three enemies” is not precise enough. “The left enemy acts next and has a clear line on the exposed Stilla” gives the plan a target. Precision matters because different answers solve different problems.
If the threat is the activation itself, delay or defeat may work. If the threat is line of sight, repositioning or cover may be cheaper. If the threat is a blocked route, knockback could solve the mission and the attack at once. If the target is dangerous but distant on the timeline, spending the whole turn on it may expose the squad to something earlier.
Write a one-sentence success condition in your head: “Before that actor moves, the line is broken,” or “Before that actor moves, it is behind both allied setup turns.” Every chosen action should contribute to that sentence.
Phase 3: reserve the mandatory Ability Points
Once the answer is known, protect the AP needed to execute it. Players sometimes call this resource “pinned” because, strategically, it already belongs to the required response. Plan optional actions only from the remaining pool.
The discipline is simple but powerful. It stops early attacks, movement bonuses or attractive upgrades from consuming the resource required at the critical moment. If the mandatory answer becomes unnecessary because the target is defeated or the timeline changes, the reserve becomes flexible again.
Do not assume that spending all AP is efficient. Unspent AP can preserve adaptation when a target survives, a hazard changes the board or the next enemy becomes more important. Spend the final point when it closes the exchange or secures an objective, not because a button remains available.
Phase 4: create the window
A window is a temporary period in which the squad can act before the relevant threat. Timeline delay is the most obvious form, but acceleration, swaps, forced facing, line-of-sight denial and displacement can all create functional time.
Choose the cheapest window that supports the payoff. A large delay has no value if the squad needs only one safe action. A small facing change may remove the danger while also enabling a flank. A knockback may both deny an attack and align a hazard.
Apply control early when later actions benefit from it. If a delay lets two allies act before the target, delaying after one of those allies has already spent the turn wastes part of the window.
Phase 5: convert with the shortest chain
The conversion is the set of actions that turns control into a stable advantage. It may finish a priority target, trigger an environmental chain, complete a mission step or restore the squad’s formation.
Short chains are reliable. Every additional action introduces another assumption: the target survives at a particular health, the angle remains open, the actor stays in range, or enough AP remains. Prefer the smallest sequence that meets the success condition.
A useful chain has clear roles. The first action creates a condition. The second exploits it. The last action either completes the payoff or protects the board afterward. If an action does neither, question whether it belongs.
Timeline control in detail
Treat the timeline as a queue of consequences. Icons are useful only when translated into expected actions. Identify which enemy activation matters and which allied activation can change it.
Delay is not removal. Decide how the gained window will be used before applying it. Acceleration is not value by itself; the accelerated Stilla must have a useful action and position. A swap changes two time positions, so read both halves of the trade. After any major change, pause and re-read the local order rather than continuing an obsolete plan.
Avoid planning too far. A defeat, displacement or speed change can rewrite the queue. Work in short, verified sequences and update the plan at each state change.
Positioning, facing and flanking
Positioning decides which skills have meaning. Before moving for a flank, inspect the new enemy sight lines and the route back to safety. An offensive angle that exposes the next actor can be a bad trade.
Forced facing is especially valuable when it does two jobs: protecting one Stilla while exposing the enemy to another. Plan the follow-up angle before applying the facing effect so the converting character does not waste movement.
Knockback should also produce a second effect. Move the target toward a hazard, out of a line, away from an objective or into a cleaner flank. Check the destination; displacement can accidentally create a better enemy angle or block an allied route.
Environmental chains
Use the order alignment, clearance, trigger. First place the target or group. Then move allies away from the danger and preserve their useful actions. Finally trigger the explosive, ignition or other environmental interaction.
Do not detonate early merely because the object is available. The arena resource may solve multiple enemies or save AP if the setup is completed first. At the same time, do not force a complicated chain when a simple interrupt already creates a stable board.
After the effect, inspect routes and sight lines again. Fire, destruction or displacement may change who can reach whom. The environmental payoff is complete only when the resulting board is acceptable.
Burst Mode as a commitment tool
Burst Mode should serve a written sequence, not generate one. Before entering, name the setup, conversion and finish. If the extra actions cannot be connected by one purpose, normal play may preserve more flexibility.
Good Burst use prevents a dangerous activation, completes a mission objective, converts a prepared environmental chain or closes a priority target while leaving the squad stable. Weak Burst use adds attacks without changing the enemy response.
If the finish depends on an uncertain interaction or exact value, preserve a fallback. Check current tooltips because Early Access balance can change costs and outcomes. A mode that grants more actions also creates more opportunities to overcommit.
Building the squad around jobs
The three publicly named Stillae are Sangladis, Tempestar and Veritor. Rather than assigning permanent MMO-style roles, judge the current loadout by jobs: control, access, conversion, protection and recovery.
Random skill drops mean a run evolves. After a pickup, ask which missing job it fills and which existing skill it improves. Redundant finishers may compete for the same setup, while one modest displacement or timeline tool can make several attacks useful.
Traits should improve the reliability of the squad’s core loop. Favor interactions that help the team reach setup, protect AP, survive an imperfect forecast or exploit a condition that appears often. Confirm exact current behavior in the live tooltip rather than relying on an older demo description.
Route, resource and boss decisions
Between battles, the combat plan should guide progression. The official store description includes route and difficulty choices, random skill drops, resource decisions and bosses. Choose the next challenge by comparing it with the squad’s current weakness.
A route is attractive when its likely opportunity fills a missing job and its risk does not target the squad’s weakest point. A difficult encounter with a redundant reward can be worse than a moderate route that supplies control or stability. Boss selection should begin with whether the team can answer the expected pressure, not with the reward fantasy.
Because route contents and rewards are version-sensitive, keep a small ledger rather than a fixed walkthrough: missing function, desired improvement, acceptable risk and fallback plan.
Recovery when the plan breaks
Not every forecast survives contact. A target may live, a line may close, or a key Stilla may act later than expected. Recovery begins by abandoning the original combo. Re-read the timeline and define a smaller success condition.
Prioritize preventing the next major consequence. Break sight, create distance, delay one actor or protect the most exposed character. Save AP for the action that restores choices. Chasing the original damage plan usually deepens the problem because its setup assumptions are gone.
After the battle, identify the first decision that removed flexibility. It may be an unnecessary AP spend, an early environmental trigger, a move that opened a sight line or a Burst entered without a finish. Fixing the first error is more useful than blaming the final enemy action.
A full example without unstable numbers
Imagine a dangerous enemy acting before two allied Stillae. It has line of sight on an exposed character and stands near an environmental hazard. The squad has access to delay, knockback and a converting attack.
First, define success: the enemy must not complete its next action. Reserve the AP required for the control line. Apply delay early so both allied actions fit before the threat. Use knockback to align the target with the hazard and remove the original sight line. Confirm that no ally is inside the effect and that the displacement did not expose a new target. Trigger the hazard or use the converting attack, whichever creates the stable result with less commitment. Enter Burst Mode only if the target remains a real threat and the extra sequence can finish it. Re-read the timeline before ending.
Notice what the example does not require: a damage value, a specific skill name or a fixed class order. The logic survives balance changes because it is built from state, opportunity cost and consequence.
The end-of-turn audit
Before confirming the turn, answer five questions:
- Who acts next?
- What can that actor reach or see?
- Which Stilla is most exposed?
- What AP or control remains if the forecast is wrong?
- Did the turn create a stable advantage or only impressive damage?
If one answer is unclear, pause. A short audit is cheaper than losing the next exchange.
What to practice first
New players should practice threat selection and the end-of-turn audit. Once those are automatic, add AP reservation. Then learn to create short timeline windows. Environmental chains and ambitious Burst sequences come later because they multiply assumptions.
Use the interactive Turn Planner to rehearse the order. The focused guides on Ability Points, timeline control, environmental combos and classes and traits provide deeper checks for each system.
Target priority is consequence priority
Players often rank targets by health, distance or apparent size. A better ranking asks what each enemy can do before the squad can answer again. A low-health actor with an immediate disabling action can matter more than a larger enemy sitting far back on the timeline. A distant unit with a clear line of sight may be a greater threat than the enemy beside your frontline.
Use four categories. Immediate threats can cause an unacceptable consequence before your next useful answer. Enablers make other enemies more dangerous by changing position, order or access. Blockers prevent the squad from completing the mission or reaching a safe lane. Deferred threats are dangerous later but do not need resources in the current exchange.
Your first actions should normally address the immediate threat, but there are exceptions. Removing an enabler may neutralize several later activations at once. Moving a blocker can open an objective and a safe route. The categories exist to reveal consequences, not to replace judgment with another rigid list.
Reclassify after every major state change. Once an immediate threat is delayed behind several allied turns, it becomes deferred for the current window. If movement opens a new line of sight, a previously distant enemy may become immediate. Priority is a live property of the board.
Damage is a means, not the score
Damage is valuable when it changes what the enemy can do. Finishing a target removes an activation. Weakening a target may prepare a later conversion. Damage that leaves the same dangerous action intact has not solved the exchange, even when the number is large.
This distinction helps compare an attack with control. If a direct hit cannot finish the actor, but a delay lets two allies act safely, the delay may create more total value. If the target is already controlled and the squad has a clean finish, extra setup may be unnecessary. Always compare the resulting state, not the individual tooltip.
Damage over time deserves the same test. It can be efficient when the target is safely deferred and the effect resolves before its meaningful action. It is not an answer when the enemy still gets the activation that the squad needed to stop. Check timing rather than assuming future damage equals current control.
Mission objectives change the definition of winning
Not every encounter is a pure elimination puzzle. Route and mission choices can create objectives where survival, access or timing matters more than clearing every enemy. Before the first turn, identify what actually ends or advances the mission.
An enemy that blocks the objective lane may deserve priority even if it is not the strongest attacker. A Burst sequence that secures the objective can be better than one that produces more damage elsewhere. Environmental control that seals a route may create enough time to finish without fighting every deferred threat.
Keep the combat loop, but rewrite the success sentence around the mission: “The squad reaches the interaction point before the blocker acts,” or “The route remains open through the next two meaningful activations.” This stops elimination habits from spending resources that the objective does not require.
Separate reversible and irreversible decisions
Some actions preserve options; others collapse them. A small reposition that keeps several targets reachable is relatively reversible. Spending the last AP, triggering a one-use environmental object, committing to Burst Mode or moving into a narrow exposed lane is harder to undo.
Make reversible decisions early when they reveal information or improve several possible lines. Delay irreversible commitments until the payoff is visible. This is why AP reserve and short timeline planning work together: they keep the squad able to respond when the forecast changes.
Do not confuse hesitation with flexibility. If the next enemy action will end the run, decisive commitment is correct. The principle is to spend irreversibility on a consequence that justifies it.
How to compare two plausible lines
When two plans both look good, compare them across five dimensions: threat removed, AP remaining, squad exposure, number of assumptions and quality of the next turn.
The first line may deal more damage but require an exact environmental interaction and leave no reserve. The second may deal less, deny the activation, preserve position and keep an AP answer. The second is usually more reliable even if its immediate output is less dramatic.
If both lines create safety, prefer the one that improves the next turn. That may mean maintaining formation, leaving a target in a useful position, keeping a hazard available or moving an ally toward the next objective. Combat is a series of connected exchanges, so residual position is part of the reward.
Practice drills that do not need perfect knowledge
The threat drill is simple: before touching a skill, point to the one enemy activation you cannot accept. After the turn, check whether every action contributed to removing or surviving it.
The reserve drill requires keeping one flexible AP decision until the mandatory control line is complete. The goal is not to hoard forever; it is to feel how much information appears before the final commitment.
The two-action drill asks for the shortest useful chain on the board. Find one setup action and one conversion. Only add a third action when you can name the additional state change it buys.
The geometry drill ignores damage for one planning pass. Look only at facing, sight lines, knockback lanes, hazards and safe squares. Then reopen the full plan and see whether the arena offers a cheaper answer.
The recovery drill begins after something goes wrong. Abandon the intended combo, re-read the next activation and create the smallest stable board possible. Practicing recovery deliberately makes failed forecasts less expensive in real runs.
Reading tooltips during Early Access
Current tooltips are the authority for exact behavior in your installed build. Read the condition, target, timing, cost and result separately. Words such as “next,” “after,” “until” and “on hit” can change the sequence even when the headline effect looks familiar.
When a tooltip seems to conflict with an older video or guide, trust the current build and test the interaction in a low-risk state. Official July playtest notes changed several rarities, starting abilities and balance values, demonstrating why demo-era precision can expire.
Record the behavior, not just the number. “This action moves the target late enough for two prepared allies to act” is more portable than a raw shift copied without context. If an interaction cannot be reproduced, treat it as uncertain rather than building the whole run around it.
A compact decision card
At the start: objective, next dangerous actor, safe lanes, available leverage. Before control: what window will this create, and who uses it? Before AP: what outcome changes? Before movement: what new line of sight appears? Before an environmental trigger: are targets aligned and allies clear? Before Burst: what is the exact finish? Before ending: who acts next and what flexibility remains?
The card may sound slower than instinctive play, but the questions compress with practice. Eventually the scan becomes a rhythm: threat, window, conversion, safety. That rhythm is the transferable skill behind every class, skill drop and balance patch.