These factors allow for a large number of tactical options and add a lot of flexibility to the battle system. For example, summons with attacks that are primarily substance will have a harder time against summons that have astral bodies because they are only affected by astral attacks under normal circumstances. Summons’ attacks are also divided into substance and astral components, with each component of the attack working only on the body type that the enemy has. This determines which have a natural advantage or disadvantage next to those of other types. There are twelve runes and just over twenty summons available, and they are divided into four types: Glamour, Necromancy, Alchemy, and Sorcery. Doing so is often as important as effectively directing a small army of summons as they take on enemy armies in an attempt to destroy each other’s runes. Because mana is vital to so much, it is important to manage it strategically. Leveling up a rune will have various effects, such as allowing them to summon new creatures, teaching summons new skills, and powering up certain summons. Mana enables Lillet to summon creatures from runes, create new runes, and level up runes. Players typically begin each battle with a few summons and a pool of mana, but it’s important to summon and harvest more. Mix in the fact that the Archmage is sealed there, along with the Philosopher’s Stone, and the simple student’s life becomes something else entirely in GrimGrimoire.īattles take place in real time, though they can be paused should the player need to take a break, check out what’s going on in other parts of the map, or even look up summon and rune information. Accepted into an academy for learning magic, Lillet Blan quickly finds herself surrounded by a number of students and teachers with their own plans and aspirations, most of which typically go beyond simply learning or teaching magic.