Originally Posted by GunbladeGirl

Here's a battle system theory from finalfantasy-xiii.net

Final Fantasy XIII promises a more active battle system than previous games with much more fast paced action. From the E3 trailer the battle system looks like a much more fluid approach to the previous titles battle systems which were very stop and start. Lightning herself looks extremly powerful using both magic and many melee abilities. Like FFXII, this game will no longer involve random encounters. Enemies will spawn on the map and the player has the choice to attack or go around the enemy (depending on if they're aggresive or not).

Of course FFXIII will have several features from the previous games but many have been enhanced in this title.
Battle Sequence
1: Battle Menu
Battle Menu
The menu has all the standard features such as attacks and the ATB metre but it's been changed quite drasticly from other games. You can now line up your actions in a combo bar above the ATB metre. This either means you can plan ahead and one action will be used every turn you have or you can perform all the actions in one turn. Like the previous games, actions reduce your ATB metre but in FFXIII they dont reduce it back to zero after each turn. Each action uses a certain amount of ATB Cost and subtracts it from the ATB metre.

2: Damage
One of Lightning's special abilities is being able to control gravity which is one of the main reasons why her fighting is so agile. She can control it by using the buttons on her finger and thumb. When she clicks them together she can perform gravity defying moves in the air. It is possibly an ability she can only perform while in Overclock mode as the gameplay in the trailer suggests. Damage Points
3: Radar
Unlike the previous games, a Radar will appear during battles showing where each enemy is located. In the first screenshot below, the blue dot in the centre is the character and the red dots represent the enemies. Once you begin to attack, a ring appears around the enemy you're attacking. If you do a "damage all enemies" attack the ring will appear around all the enemies like in the third screenshot.

Different Radar screens in a Battle
4: Overclock
A new limit system has been introduced into FFXIII similar to the FFIX Trance mode. The player gains points for the overclock gauge by damaging enemies (screen 1 and 2 below) and once its full they can unleash a massive amount of high damage attacks. A timer starts counting down
when overclock begins and once the timer is up you return to using normal attacks

Overclock Gauge in Use

Sounds pretty good.I can't wait to see this!

Sounds Saweet! It's going to be pretty damn exciting when Square finally sheds some light on the way the battle system works; whether that be via writing or a brand new trailer. Trailer would be preferable though.

I have a question. Will we be able to do more then 9999 damage? Because let's face it FFX was the only one to break that limit and it only made sense. When you see a summon do a RIDICULOUSLY long, and vigorous, AMAZING attack and it only does 9999 your like, UM? Especially some of the long ones like in FFXII, I said to myself, how can they only do 9999??? I hope they give a break limit again in 13. It only makes sense.

Originally Posted by nafeasonto

I have a question. Will we be able to do more then 9999 damage? Because let's face it FFX was the only one to break that limit and it only made sense. When you see a summon do a RIDICULOUSLY long, and vigorous, AMAZING attack and it only does 9999 your like, UM? Especially some of the long ones like in FFXII, I said to myself, how can they only do 9999??? I hope they give a break limit again in 13. It only makes sense.

We don't know as of yet, however, I expect that we'll be seeing a break to the 9999 damage limit.

From what I've heard. The main character Storm (or something like that) has a weapon that can transform into gun or a sword. It is also somehow connected to FF XIII Versus

There was a rumor from Tokyo game show about Cloud being in one of the Final Fantasy XIII games.

I can't see the them bringing back Cloud or any charecters from the other FF games, perhaps in some sort of easter egg which would be a good treat but not integral to the storyline.

Will this game be for a DS?

Rumor:

I heard this was a freestyle game(no taking turns).

Originally Posted by Laro

From what I've heard. The main character Storm (or something like that) has a weapon that can transform into gun or a sword. It is also somehow connected to FF XIII Versus

Are you talking about Lightning? cause if so thats a pretty cool weapon to use. I definitly will be excited for that

Originally Posted by Spooke312612

Will this game be for a DS?

Rumor:

I heard this was a freestyle game(no taking turns).

No, and in FFXIII, they're bringing back the 'ATB' (Active Time Battle) system. I believe Square-Enix is aiming to make battles more 'cinematic' in Final Fantasy, so I'm not sure how they are going to re-implement the ATB. Gameplay should be similar to Final Fantasy XII and Kingdom Hearts (I and II), but probably revamped to make it much more appealing to both the eyes and fingers.

Originally Posted by Cerridwen

There was a rumor from Tokyo game show about Cloud being in one of the Final Fantasy XIII games.

I can back that uo...sort of

The magazine asked Nomura if Cloud's role will expand from here on out. To this, Nomura responded with, "I have my hands full with Final Fantasy Versus XIII now, so I can't say anything about the future, but the scenario writer, Nojima (Kazushige), says he doesn't want to part from Cloud yet, so there will surely be something."

I have no idea of where and how he would fit in but for some reason I think if Cloud is included in XIII SE will b jumping on the bandwagon and using him as a commerical purpose.