Command Synergy Battle

Command Synergy Battle (CSB) is the name (declared in-game) of the battle system used in Final Fantasy XIII. It was designed by Toshiro Tsuchida. It derives the flow of time from ATB as each character has their own ATB gauge. Unlike in most other Final Fantasy battle systems, the player is only able to control the actions of the party leader, and the computer controls the two others.

Command Input
Commands can be either input manually or via the Auto-Battle feature. Selecting the commands manually from a list of available commands is identical to how it works in the other games in the series. Final Fantasy XIII has a new feature, called Auto-Battle, which selects commands automatically for the player. The commands that are drawn up with Auto-Battle are not random but depend on the battle situation: the party's health and the foe the party is currently fighting. How much information on the foe the player has unveiled on its bestiary page affects the commands chosen in the Auto-Battle: If the foe's elemental weaknesses are unknown, a Ravager would try to hit it with different elements to unveil this info. Once a foe is known to be weak against an element, the Auto-Battle command would only bring up commands of the element the foe is weak to, if the character in question knows these abilities.

See the individual Paradigm Role pages to see the exact AI mechanism for each role.

ATB Gauge
The ATB gauge in turn acts like an action point meter divided up into equal segments (a similar system was used in Enix's game Robotrek). Each action consumes a portion of the ATB gauge, for example attacking consumes one point, while casting a powerful spell consumes three. Full ATB Skills use up the whole gauge. Commands can be chained so as long as there's enough action points. When the player decides on what commands to take, the player presses another button to execute the commands for the character to do. If the player executes the chained commands without filling all ATB segments, the unused segments will be filled at the start of the next turn.

The characters start with two ATB segments. They gain one when becoming l'Cie and gain one more when they obtain their Eidolon. Thus the minimum final size of the ATB gauge is four segments, as additional segment is gained via the Crystarium System and one more is gained by equipping a Tier 3 weapon.

Not all commands use up ATB gauge. Items and Techniques can be used without expending ATB segments, as long as the character isn't stunned by status effects preventing their turn.

Enemies also have an ATB gauge, but unlike the player, enemies can only stock one command per turn. Enemy abilities still consume a various number of ATB slots, so the enemy will need to spend a variable amount of time between turns.

ATB Gauge Speed
The speed the gauge fills on screen depends how many ATB segments the character has in their ATB gauge. The speed below is when Battle Speed is set to "Normal". If the configuration settings are set to "Slow" the fill speed is halved.

Statuses and Passive Abilities
Certain statuses and passive abilities affect the speed the ATB gauge fills. The base ATB speed is determined by the ATB level (how long the gauge is); statuses and passive abilities affect only the base ATB speed. The slowest gauge speed is -90%. Slow and Haste cancel each other out.

Abilities
Certain abilities gain the player more ATB gauge. The effect is seen that when the player gets their next turn, their ATB gauge is already partly filled.


 * - Siphon abilities are boosted by Hope's Siphon Boost weapon ability.
 * - Effect won't stack.
 * - If the damage is dealt by a Saboteur ability and a status effect is affected, the ATB recovery is doubled.

Another way to have a full ATB gauge at the start of battle is to enter a battle with a preemptive strike.

Paradigm Shift
After becoming l'Cie the Paradigm system becomes available. The player can essentially choose between six different "jobs" and the preset combination of character jobs is called a Paradigm. The player can then shuffle through the settings while in battle to change battle tactics on the go.

The ATB gauge continues to increase during a Paradigm Shift. If the player shifts in the middle of an action, any unused ATB gauge is saved as if the player had simply cancelled the action. Shifting Paradigm refills everyone's ATB gauge. There is a 12 second cooldown time for this effect after each time it activates. If the player shifts less than 12 seconds after this effect last activated, the gauge is not refilled at the end of the shift. The computer-controlled characters have their commands automatically selected immediately following the shift.

Battle Score
After the battle the player receives a star rating depending on how fast they finished the battle. The star rating affects the rate the Technical Points accumulate and the chance of spoils.