Introduction
The Combat Lab is a simulation environment for analyzing small-group MMO encounters — primarily dungeon-style boss fights with a tank, healer, and DPS roles. It is not a game; it is a controlled testbed for tuning the mathematical relationships behind combat.
Live MMORPGs obscure most of their tuning behind layered formulas, hidden coefficients, and gear systems that exist largely for player progression rather than mechanical clarity. This framework strips those layers back to a small set of explicit stats and rules, so encounters can be simulated, inspected, and balanced directly.
Document Sections
The specification is organized into the following sections. Each covers one mechanical domain of the simulation, from the base stats that define what a character can do, to the spatial rules governing where they can stand.
Design Philosophy
Where live games prioritize the feel of progression — many small stats stacking across hundreds of gear pieces — this framework prioritizes interpretability. Every number should have a clear purpose and a traceable origin. If a formula produces an unexpected result, the answer should be visible in the stat sheet, not hidden behind three layers of coefficient lookup.
Several mechanics that appear in reference MMORPGs are deliberately omitted or simplified. Core stats like Strength and Stamina, for instance, are skipped in favor of the derived stats they would produce (Attack Power, HP). The Deprecated section of Character Stats documents alternatives that were considered and replaced.
Reference Games
Values and mechanical conventions are informed by three primary sources:
- World of Warcraft — Attack tables, threat mechanics, the 5-second mana rule, glancing blows, and gear quality tiers.
- Final Fantasy XIV — Job role rigidity, the Gambit AI system (borrowed from FFXII), and party composition conventions.
- Dungeons & Dragons — Attack roll tables, level-delta friction, and the philosophical grounding of rule-as-written balance.