Balance

Balance is a character stat that denotes that character's physical balance, equilibrium, and footwork. It is primarily relevant to combat, though can affect other actions as well: It would be difficult to make a climb check when unbalanced, for instance. Negative balance passively gravitates back up toward 0 over time. Positive balance does not lower over time, but will be lost if a character moves to another room.

Balance is indicated in the command prompt by the letter B followed by a number representing the balance level. Example: B:-12

In combat, negative balance will decrease a character's combat rolls, both offensive and defensive. Normal attacks (via the attack command) don't affect balance. Various special moves may increase or decrease a character's balance, and some may have a minimum balance requirement. For instance, a quick feint can be performed regardless of balance, but does not inflict any damage, instead intended throw an opponent's balance off. A tackle, on the other hand, requires some balance to perform, but will devastate the target's balance if successful and likely stagger and knock them down as well.

Using the circle move is a good basic way to build up some balance that can than be spent on special moves, or simply to keep balance above zero and prevent suffering negative balance penalties.