feat(combat): order-of-magnitude slowdown — fights now ~20-30s

Fights were ~3-5s; the user wanted 20-30s. Tuned the table (and added one
mechanic) so they land there, re-validated against the sim throughout.

- Engine: a `global_cooldown` (the genre swing timer, §10 "attack delay") — an
  actor can't start a new action until it elapses, so no button-masher can
  out-DPS the intended tempo. Config-driven (`global_cooldown` ticks; 0 = off).
  Actor gains `next_action_at`; engine gates decisions on it.
- Controller: ScriptedPlayer now pressures with its heavy proactively when
  healthy (not only on the exact overrun frame), so the sim measures what a real
  player experiences instead of an unrealistically patient bound.
- Config rebalance: damage cut + flattened, fatigue/regen/recovery co-tuned, and
  the kit made roughly **DPS-neutral** with auto-attack (each ability's cooldown
  matched to auto's damage-per-second). Under the global cooldown that's the key
  insight: abilities win through stagger leverage + timing, not raw throughput —
  otherwise strong abilities trivialize the pace and flat ones aren't worth their
  fill (the guardrail kept inverting until this landed). Auto-attacks (difficulty
  0) also no longer fizzle.
- Front-end: cache-bust the config fetch so edits are always picked up; widened
  the sim's archetype sweep to all six monsters.

Result (sim, skilled play ≈ real play): monster fights 16-38s (centered ~24s);
guardrail steep and green (even-con auto 0% → skill20 2% → skill50 12% →
skill80 44% → skill100 78%); all six monsters winnable. Verified live in-browser:
realistic play lands ~15-30s and a clean mid-fight reads perfectly on the dual bar.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

combat/README.md

@@ -126,28 +126,34 @@ open http://127.0.0.1:8013/combat-web/
 With the shipped `configs/default.json` (these numbers are tuned placeholders — the
 whole point is that they're a table you edit):
 
-- **Duration tent** — fights are trivially short at the con extremes (~1–5s) and
-  longest/most-contested at even con (~30s). The intended "trivial → satisfying →
-  lethal" shape.
-- **Skill matters** — at even con, win rate climbs monotonically with policy:
-  auto-only **~1%** → skill20 **10%** → skill50 **24%** → skill80 **29%** →
-  skill100 **34%**.
-- **Anti-turtle guardrail is green** — in the contested band the full kit beats
-  auto-attack-only decisively (≈29% vs ≈1% at even con). Spending on the
-  interesting verbs is worth it, which is the whole thesis.
-- **Mirror matches are fair** — even-con skill-vs-skill is ≈ symmetric.
+- **Fights last ~20–30s** — monster matchups (a skilled player) resolve in roughly
+  16–38s (melee bruisers faster, casters longer). The pace is set by the **global
+  cooldown** (the swing timer, §10): you act ~once per 1.5s, so no button-masher
+  can out-DPS the intended tempo.
+- **Skill matters** — at even con, win rate climbs steeply and monotonically with
+  policy: auto-only **0%** → skill20 **2%** → skill50 **12%** → skill80 **44%** →
+  skill100 **78%**.
+- **Anti-turtle guardrail is green** — the full kit dominates auto-attack-only
+  (78% vs 0% at even con). Spending on the interesting verbs is worth it, which is
+  the whole thesis.
+- **All six monsters are winnable** by skilled play; the Golem and Troll demand it.
 
-Getting there was the sim working as designed: the *first* default numbers
-produced a one-tick cliff and 82% mutual-KO draws, and revealed the §15 deepest
-risk live — a poke skill that was strictly worse than the free auto-attack, so
-auto-only out-won the full kit. Tuning the table (con curve, competency coupling,
-ability efficiency, damage variance) moved it to the curves above. **That loop —
-sim → measure → tune → re-sim — is the deliverable.**
+Getting there was the sim working as designed. The *first* default numbers
+produced a one-tick cliff and 82% mutual-KO draws and revealed the §15 deepest
+risk live — a poke skill strictly worse than the free auto-attack, so auto-only
+out-won the full kit. Slowing the fights to a ~20–30s feel surfaced the next
+lesson: under a global cooldown, any ability that just out-damages auto-attack
+either trivializes the pace or isn't worth its fill, so the kit is tuned
+**DPS-neutral** — abilities match auto's damage-per-second and win through
+*stagger leverage and timing*, not raw throughput. **That loop — sim → measure →
+tune → re-sim — is the deliverable.**
 
 ## Tuning
 
 Everything balance-relevant lives in `configs/default.json`. Editing it is the
 primary balancing act; only structural rule changes need a recompile. The levers
-the feel rides on (spec §15): the **con curve** shape, the **regen vs. drain vs.
-spend** rates (co-tuned or even-con fights are un-loseable or stagger-locked), and
-keeping abilities ahead of auto-attack on damage-per-resource or utility.
+the feel rides on (spec §15): the **`global_cooldown`** (raise it → slower, more
+deliberate fights; the cleanest uniform pace knob), the **con curve** shape, the
+**regen vs. drain vs. spend** rates (co-tuned or even-con fights are un-loseable
+or stagger-locked), and keeping abilities ahead of auto-attack on *stagger /
+utility* (under the global cooldown, raw DPS just trivializes the pace).

combat/combat-core/src/actor.rs

@@ -159,6 +159,9 @@ pub struct Actor {
     pub statuses: Vec<Status>,
     pub casting: Option<Cast>,
     pub stagger: StaggerState,
+    /// Earliest tick this actor may begin a new action (the global-cooldown /
+    /// swing-timer gate, §10). `0` until the first action.
+    pub next_action_at: u64,
 }
 
 impl Actor {
@@ -494,6 +497,7 @@ pub fn compile_actor(id: ActorId, sb: &StatBlock, loadout: Vec<Ability>, tick_ra
         statuses: Vec::new(),
         casting: None,
         stagger: StaggerState::Normal,
+        next_action_at: 0,
     }
 }
 

combat/combat-core/src/config.rs

@@ -94,6 +94,11 @@ pub struct CombatConfig {
     /// Fixed tick rate (ticks/second, §10).
     #[serde(default = "default_tick_rate")]
     pub tick_rate: u32,
+    /// Global cooldown (ticks): the minimum gap between an actor's actions — the
+    /// genre's swing timer (§10 "attack delay"). Bounds how fast *any* policy can
+    /// act, so a button-masher can't out-DPS the intended pace. `0` disables it.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub global_cooldown: u32,
     /// ± spread on every landed fill hit, bp. `1_500` == ±15%. The genre's damage
     /// range; also the symmetry-breaker that turns a deterministic mirror match
     /// from a coin-flip-of-draws into smooth win-rate curves.
@@ -128,6 +133,7 @@ impl Default for CombatConfig {
     fn default() -> Self {
         Self {
             tick_rate: 10,
+            global_cooldown: 0,
             damage_variance_bp: 0,
             regen: RegenConfig::default(),
             stagger: StaggerConfig::default(),
@@ -145,6 +151,7 @@ impl Default for CombatConfig {
 #[derive(Clone, Debug)]
 pub struct Rules {
     pub tick_rate: u32,
+    pub global_cooldown: u32,
     pub damage_variance_bp: i64,
     pub stagger: StaggerParams,
     pub regen: RegenParams,
@@ -191,6 +198,7 @@ impl CombatConfig {
 
         Rules {
             tick_rate,
+            global_cooldown: self.global_cooldown,
             damage_variance_bp: self.damage_variance_bp.max(0),
             stagger,
             regen,

combat/combat-core/src/controller.rs

@@ -257,10 +257,20 @@ impl Controller for ScriptedPlayer {
             }
         }
 
-        // 3. Punish a spent enemy with the heavy if it would overrun them.
+        // 3. Pressure with the heaviest affordable hit. A spent enemy means a
+        //    punish (the hit overruns their capacity → stagger); otherwise it's
+        //    just proactive damage while our own fill is healthy enough to spend.
+        //    Real players lead with their big button — hoarding it for the exact
+        //    overrun frame is not representative.
+        let fill_frac = if view.me.max_vigor > 0 {
+            (view.me.vigor as i128 * BP_ONE as i128 / view.me.max_vigor as i128) as i64
+        } else {
+            0
+        };
         if let Some(heavy) = best_heavy(view) {
             let est = estimate_landed(view, heavy, target);
-            if would_overrun(view, est, target) {
+            let punish = would_overrun(view, est, target);
+            if punish || fill_frac > 4_500 {
                 return Action::Use {
                     ability_id: heavy.id.clone(),
                     targets: vec![target.id],

combat/combat-core/src/engine.rs

@@ -205,6 +205,11 @@ impl Encounter {
                 }
                 continue;
             }
+            // Global cooldown / swing timer: still mid-recovery from the last
+            // action, so no new one can start this tick (§10 attack delay).
+            if self.tick < self.actors[idx].next_action_at {
+                continue;
+            }
             let action = {
                 let view = View {
                     me: &self.actors[idx],
@@ -252,6 +257,8 @@ impl Encounter {
         let fill_before = self.actors[idx].vigor;
         self.actors[idx].pay(ability.cost);
         self.recorder.spent(source, ability.cost.fill);
+        // Open the global cooldown — no new action until it elapses.
+        self.actors[idx].next_action_at = self.tick + self.rules.global_cooldown as u64;
         if ability.cooldown > 0 {
             self.actors[idx]
                 .cooldowns

combat/combat-sim/src/main.rs

@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ fn con_sweep(config: &CombatConfig, rules: &Rules, seeds: u64, max_ticks: u64, o
 /// A skilled player against the three archetypes, to feel out asymmetric matchups.
 fn archetype_sweep(config: &CombatConfig, rules: &Rules, seeds: u64, max_ticks: u64, out: &mut Vec<FightRow>) {
     let player_level = 10;
-    let enemies = ["golem", "rat", "battlemage"];
+    let enemies = ["rat", "skeleton", "battlemage", "golem", "troll", "wraith"];
     let ctrl = PlayerCtrl::Skill(80);
     for enemy_name in enemies {
         let enemy_level = config.stat_blocks.get(enemy_name).map(|b| b.level).unwrap_or(player_level);

combat/combat-web/game.js

@@ -34,7 +34,9 @@ const round = (x) => Math.round(x);
 
 async function boot() {
   await init();
-  cfgText = await (await fetch("../configs/default.json")).text();
+  // Cache-bust so config edits are always picked up (the browser otherwise
+  // serves a stale fetch and the game runs old numbers).
+  cfgText = await (await fetch("../configs/default.json?v=" + Date.now())).text();
   const cfg = JSON.parse(cfgText);
   tickMs = Math.max(20, Math.round(1000 / (cfg.tick_rate || 10)));
   for (const a of cfg.abilities || []) {

combat/configs/default.json

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
   "_comment": "The combat 'table' (spec §11). Magnitudes are displayed units; ratios/percentages are basis points (10000 = 1.0 = 100%); durations are ticks. Editing this file is the primary balancing act. tick_rate ticks = 1 second.",
 
   "tick_rate": 10,
+  "global_cooldown": 15,
   "damage_variance_bp": 1500,
 
   "regen": {
@@ -10,11 +11,11 @@
   },
 
   "stagger": {
-    "daze_threshold_bp": 10000,
-    "unconscious_threshold_bp": 15000,
+    "daze_threshold_bp": 13000,
+    "unconscious_threshold_bp": 20000,
     "daze_duration": 8,
     "revive_daze": 12,
-    "fatigue_ratio_bp": 2000
+    "fatigue_ratio_bp": 2300
   },
 
   "competency": {
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@
     "base_fill_projectile": 2,
     "base_fill_beam": 3,
     "base_fill_aoe": 4,
-    "fatigue_ratio_bp": 2000,
+    "fatigue_ratio_bp": 2300,
     "difficulty_per_fill_bp": 10000
   },
 
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@
       "name": "Auto-Attack",
       "school": "martial",
       "delivery": "melee",
-      "effects": [ { "kind": "fill_damage", "magnitude_bp": 800, "cost_fill": 0 } ],
+      "effects": [ { "kind": "fill_damage", "magnitude_bp": 560, "cost_fill": 0 } ],
       "cooldown": 10,
       "cost_override": { "fill": 0, "fatigue": 1 }
     },
@@ -63,33 +64,33 @@
       "name": "Quick Jab",
       "school": "martial",
       "delivery": "melee",
-      "effects": [ { "kind": "fill_damage", "magnitude_bp": 1700, "cost_fill": 6 } ],
-      "cooldown": 6
+      "effects": [ { "kind": "fill_damage", "magnitude_bp": 1100, "cost_fill": 5 } ],
+      "cooldown": 20
     },
     {
       "id": "heavy_strike",
       "name": "Heavy Strike",
       "school": "martial",
       "delivery": "melee",
-      "effects": [ { "kind": "fill_damage", "magnitude_bp": 4500, "cost_fill": 26 } ],
-      "cooldown": 22
+      "effects": [ { "kind": "fill_damage", "magnitude_bp": 2800, "cost_fill": 14 } ],
+      "cooldown": 45
     },
     {
       "id": "fireball",
       "name": "Fireball",
       "school": "invocation",
       "delivery": "projectile",
-      "effects": [ { "kind": "fill_damage", "magnitude_bp": 3500, "cost_fill": 24 } ],
+      "effects": [ { "kind": "fill_damage", "magnitude_bp": 2800, "cost_fill": 14 } ],
       "potency_bp": 10000,
       "cast_time": 12,
-      "cooldown": 20
+      "cooldown": 40
     },
     {
       "id": "curse_of_weariness",
       "name": "Curse of Weariness",
       "school": "affliction",
       "delivery": "projectile",
-      "effects": [ { "kind": "ceiling_damage", "magnitude_bp": 1400, "cost_fill": 16 } ],
+      "effects": [ { "kind": "ceiling_damage", "magnitude_bp": 1250, "cost_fill": 10 } ],
       "cast_time": 8,
       "cooldown": 40
     },
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@
       "name": "Venom",
       "school": "affliction",
       "delivery": "touch",
-      "effects": [ { "kind": "dot", "per_tick_bp": 250, "duration": 20, "cost_fill": 12 } ],
+      "effects": [ { "kind": "dot", "per_tick_bp": 260, "duration": 20, "cost_fill": 10 } ],
       "cooldown": 30
     },
     {
@@ -115,15 +116,15 @@
       "name": "Second Wind",
       "school": "restoration",
       "delivery": "self_cast",
-      "effects": [ { "kind": "recovery", "magnitude_bp": 3000, "cost_fill": 3 } ],
-      "cooldown": 45
+      "effects": [ { "kind": "recovery", "magnitude_bp": 700, "cost_fill": 3 } ],
+      "cooldown": 65
     },
     {
       "id": "mend",
       "name": "Mend",
       "school": "restoration",
       "delivery": "self_cast",
-      "effects": [ { "kind": "hot", "per_tick_bp": 200, "duration": 15, "cost_fill": 6 } ],
+      "effects": [ { "kind": "hot", "per_tick_bp": 70, "duration": 15, "cost_fill": 6 } ],
       "cast_time": 10,
       "cooldown": 45
     },
@@ -144,8 +145,8 @@
       "team": 0,
       "level": 10,
       "max_vigor": 150,
-      "regen_idle_per_sec": 12,
-      "regen_combat_per_sec": 7,
+      "regen_idle_per_sec": 9,
+      "regen_combat_per_sec": 5,
       "armor_bp": 2500,
       "competency": { "martial": 50, "restoration": 30 },
       "loadout": ["auto_attack", "quick_jab", "heavy_strike", "second_wind", "guard"]
@@ -197,10 +198,10 @@
     "troll": {
       "name": "Cave Troll",
       "team": 1,
-      "level": 11,
-      "max_vigor": 220,
-      "regen_idle_per_sec": 20,
-      "regen_combat_per_sec": 12,
+      "level": 10,
+      "max_vigor": 190,
+      "regen_idle_per_sec": 8,
+      "regen_combat_per_sec": 4,
       "armor_bp": 2000,
       "competency": { "martial": 30, "restoration": 20 },
       "loadout": ["auto_attack", "heavy_strike", "second_wind"]