The formation

Two rows, five lanes

Each side of a battle stands in two rows of five lanes: a front row and a back row. Your characters and the companions in Attack take their places in it, and the creatures line up the same way opposite.

Front covers back

A body in the front row covers the body behind it in the same lane against attacks that cannot reach past cover, which is most melee. A melee attack aimed at a covered body lands on the body covering it, and the arrow over the bodies shows which one. Ranged shots and spells can have a longer reach, and some skills say they ignore cover. You and your companion in Attack share one lane, one in each row: the Pet position switch beside your pet's bar decides which of you stands in front, from the next fight.

Row and column attacks

A row attack spreads across a whole row; a column attack follows one lane from front to back. Spread out when the other side hits rows, and stagger your lanes when it hits columns. Random strikes, combos and Taunt have their own rules: see How skills land.

In a party

Each member of your party takes a lane of their own, the leader first and the others in party order, with their own companion in the other row of that lane. A full party of five fills all five lanes. See the four classes.