FlowGraph basics

🧠

Guide

Read a Behavior as one gameplay rule: at a specified time, use the current targets and values to execute actions in connection order

Take Poison Arrow as an example. Its Behavior starts at On Card Played, deals damage, uses the actual resolved result for presentation, and finally applies Poison.

The graph above separates one card play into execution order and data relationships:

• Flow connections determine node order.
• Data connections supply targets and actual damage to the nodes that need them.

Once you can read both connection types, you can follow the canvas and determine the final result of a card.

Behavior belongs to the content asset

FlowGraph is stored directly inside a Card, Status, or Enemy. You do not create a separate graph asset. When you open Edit FlowGraph on content, you edit that asset's own Behavior.

Owner	Rule expressed by Behavior	Common starting point
Card	What happens when the card is played, drawn, discarded, or reaches another lifecycle timing	On Card Played and other Card Entries
Status	How the status responds to battle timing, modifies values, or handles stacks	Battle/Status Entries and Hooks
Enemy	How the enemy chooses an Intent and what that Intent executes	On Enemy Behavior Start and an Intent Pattern

tip

Copying a content asset also copies its Behavior. Editing the copy does not affect the graph on the original asset.

Start from the correct trigger timing

Once a Behavior belongs to specific content, each executable path must still start from an entry point that matches the rule.

Starting point	Applicable rule	Example
Entry	Execute an action when battle or content lifecycle timing is reached	Deal damage after card play or trigger a status at turn start
Hook	Modify or cancel a result before GCS commits it	Increase damage, change the draw count, or reject a card play
Intent Pattern	Choose and announce the enemy's next action	Select a Leaf Intent from a Sequence or Weighted Pattern

Trigger timing belongs to the rule itself. A status that takes effect "at turn end" must connect to the matching turn-end Entry, not another entry that happens at a similar time. See Entry nodes, Hook nodes, and Battle lifecycle for exact timing.

Control flow determines order, data flow supplies parameters

Connection	Question answered	Common ports
Control flow	Which node executes next?	Out / In, True / False, Body / Done, or a named Case
Data flow	Which target, collection, or value does the current node use?	Source/Result Output connected to a Consumer Input

tip

An Action executes only when control flow reaches it. Data nodes do not need a control connection. They provide their current values when a downstream node requests input.

Fixed fields and input ports

Fields that support dynamic input can switch between a fixed value and an input port.

Port connected -> Use the current value supplied by the connection
Port unconnected -> Use the value stored in the node field

Use fields for fixed costs, damage, or durations. Switch to a port when the value must read current armor, missing HP, status stacks, or Hook input. FlowGraph Editor explains the exact operation.

Data is evaluated when needed

Data does not broadcast across the graph in advance. When an Action begins executing, it reads the current value from its connected Source, Get, Operator, or Selector.

The diagram above shows that a data connection reads battle state at the moment the node executes. If the graph deals damage before reading HP, it receives the reduced HP value.

tip

When several later nodes need the same snapshot, save the result in a Graph Variable or Battle Variable first.

Context determines Self, Opponent, and the current card

The same node can run in Cards, Statuses, and Enemies because a Behavior receives its current Host, actor, target, and battle state during execution.

Data needed	Common source
Current card	This Card or an Entry Output
Current actor or status owner	Self, Active Unit, or an Entry Output
Target selected by the player or calculated by a rule	Card Selection, Source field, or a connected Selector
HP, armor, energy, piles, and status stacks	Matching Get nodes
Damage, healing, movement, and status changes	Actual Result Output from the Action node
Hook or event parameters	Output from the matching entry

The real object represented by Self changes with the Host. In a player Card, it is normally the player. In a Status, it is the status owner. In an Enemy Behavior, it is the current enemy. See Target selection for target sources and port priority.

Choose the right data scope

Transfer method	Applicable scope
Direct connection	One downstream node uses the current value immediately
Action Result	Later logic or presentation needs the damage, healing, movement, or stack change that actually took effect
Graph Variable	Several paths in the same Behavior execution share one snapshot
Battle Variable	The value must persist across an Entry, Card, or turn boundary
Internal Event	Different content assets exchange data without a direct connection

tip

Presentation should use actual results such as Dealt, Changed, Drawn, and Added, not raw inputs. Armor, Hooks, limits, and target validation can all change the final value. Using the Result keeps floating text, audio, and health-bar changes consistent with resolution.

Separate content fields from Behavior responsibilities

Keep on the content asset	Put in Behavior
Name, description, cost, type, rarity, tags, art, Card Target, stacking rules, unit attributes, and Battle Rules	Damage, healing, armor, pile movement, status reactions, Hooks, enemy actions, Choice, Wait, Events, and presentation requests

Use content fields to define the objects and stable rules that players can recognize. Use Behavior for execution order and dynamic results. Open FlowGraph Editor to create the actual connections. Node reference provides exact ports and parameters, while Card recipes, Status recipes, and Enemy recipes collect verified combinations.