Every Cubee has either an ability or a passive. Its card, in the first slot of its menu, tells you which, with the numbers that matter.
Ability or passive
- An ability is something the Cubee does, such as a headbutt, a heal or a volley. The card's Ability section names it, says what it does and lists its damage, its cooldown and any effect it leaves behind.
- A passive works by itself while the Cubee is out, in any behaviour mode. The Desert Cubee's, for example, may give you Speed while you travel through a desert. The card calls it a Passive.
- A few Cubees act through their Cubit, with a minigame, a blink or a rest on a beach. Their card tells you to swing the Cubit.
When a Cubee uses its ability
- On its own, in the Auto modes: when its target is within range and the ability is ready. What it targets is explained in What is Cubee?
- When you command it, in any mode: hold its Cubit and left-click a target. By default the Cubee then sticks to that target until the ability is over. See The Cubee Menu & Cubits.
Your Main goes first. In Auto, your Duo uses its ability only in the few seconds after your Main has used one, so the Duo waits for its Cubit when your Main never uses an ability by itself or has fallen.
A Cubee won't use its ability:
- while the ability is cooling down;
- if it is a cosmetic Cubee (see below);
- where your server has switched Cubee abilities off. Chat then says "Cubee abilities can't be used here." By default that is the server's spawn region, if it has one.
Some Cubees also turn down a new Cubit order in the middle of their ultimate, saying it "is casting its ultimate."
Strikes and ultimates
The Royal Knights, the Currets, the Anime Saga and the Oni Slayers each fight with two attacks:
- an everyday strike: a quick swing, shot or cut, with a short cooldown of its own (1 to 3 seconds by default);
- the ultimate: the ability named on the card, with the full cooldown.
Each time one of these Cubees attacks while its ultimate is ready, it has a chance to use the ultimate; otherwise it strikes. The chance is set per Cubee, from 20% to 100% by default. The Royal Knights' cards show it: "ultimate » 25% of casts". While the ultimate cools down, the Cubee keeps on striking.
Only the ultimate counts as using its ability, for quests and for its Mastery badge, and only the ultimate ends with the "is ready!" title.
Cooldowns
- A cooldown starts as soon as the Cubee begins its ability. The number on the card, such as "cooldown » 10s (after the cast)", counts from the end of the cast.
- When the cooldown is over you hear a chime and see the Cubee's name with "is ready!" on screen, plus a line in chat (your server may switch the chat line off).
- Cooldowns belong to you, not to the Cubee out in the world. Recalling a Cubee, calling it out again or letting it be knocked out does not reset its cooldown.
- Each Cubee has its own cooldown, so your Main and your Duo keep separate timers.
- In a Cu-Battle, cooldowns are 80% shorter by default.
- Some buffs and Cubes cut a cooldown further, but by default never below a quarter of its normal length.
Vitality makes it stronger
Every 1% of vitality adds a little damage, trims a little off the cooldown and adds a little max health. Each Cubee has its own amounts. For most Cubees, by default:
- damage: +0.06 per 1%, so +6 at full vitality;
- cooldown: 0.03 seconds shorter per 1%, so 3 seconds shorter at full vitality;
- max health: +0.25 per 1%, so +25 at full vitality.
The Fire Cubee, for example, goes from 12 damage and a 13-second cooldown at 0% to 18 damage and a 10-second cooldown at 100%, by default. The card always shows the current numbers. To raise vitality, see Your First Cubee.
The Duo penalty
A Cubee out as your Duo deals 70% less damage with its ability. Its card says so, right under the damage line: "-70% while positioned as Duo". Heals, shields and buffs are not cut. So put your hardest hitter in the Main slot, and let a Booster or a Helper take the Duo.
Cosmetic Cubees
Your server can make any Cubee cosmetic; by default none is. A cosmetic Cubee:
- has no ability and no passive, and never fights;
- still follows you, and can be fed, named and moved into a habitat;
- has a card that says "a cosmetic Cubee - no ability or combo";
- still offers its Cubit, as a keepsake that commands nothing (see The Cubee Menu & Cubits).
Swing a cosmetic Cubee's Cubit and chat tells you it "has no ability to use".
Buffs and debuffs
Some abilities leave an effect on what they hit. The card names it in colour, gives its length on a line marked with a star (for example "rooted » 2s"), and explains it in a Debuff section at the bottom. By default:
- Rooted: it cannot move at all.
- Weakened: 33% of its attacks do nothing.
- Vulnerable: it takes 1.2x damage.
- Dizzy: it aims at 50% accuracy.
- Exhaust: 10% of its casts fizzle out.
- Unlucky: its lucky effects never happen.
- Lucky, a buff for your own Cubees: its lucky effects always happen.
Lucky effects are everything a card only gives a chance of, such as a chance to poison, and the ultimate roll of the strike-and-ultimate Cubees: a Lucky one picks its ultimate every time it's ready, an Unlucky one only strikes.
Weakened, Dizzy and Exhaust hold back a Cubee's own attacks, so you meet them when your Cubee fights wild Cubees or duels in a Cu-Battle. Vulnerable and Rooted work on mobs too.
Some abilities also use ordinary Minecraft effects, such as poison or setting a target on fire. Those work as they always do.