TP

TP
The TP meter at 16% during an encounter
Type	Gameplay Mechanic

TP, short for Tension Points, are a type of points used in encounters to cast spells or perform ACTs. TP functions as a party-wide Mana system.

The party's current TP is displayed in a large meter on the left-hand side of the screen. TP normally starts at 0% and can be increased during an encounter up to 100%. TP is always displayed to the player (in both costs and the TP meter) in integer percentages, but internally it is a decimal value ranging from 0 to 250.

At the end of an encounter, any remaining TP is converted to Dark Dollars.

Accumulation

Normally, the party starts each encounter with 0% TP. During battle, the party can earn TP over time, up to a maximum 250 (100%) TP.

TP can be earned by several methods:

• DEFEND: DEFENDing grants 40 (16%) TP per character. TP gained this way is granted immediately.
• Grazing: Moving the SOUL close to enemy bullets without actually touching them. Successfully grazing is indicated a white heart-shaped shell around the SOUL. In addition to earning TP, grazing bullets also shortens the enemy's attack duration. More TP is earned as the SOUL continues to graze bullets for longer.
  • If the SOUL is hit, grazing is temporarily disabled during the invincibility frames.
  • Certain items increase the minimum grazing distance (Pink Ribbon and Twin Ribbon) or increase the TP gained from grazing (Tension Bow) or shortens the enemy's turn further by grazing (Silver Watch).
• FIGHT: TP is gained after attacking (unlike DEFEND). The amount of TP gained is normally 1/10 of the accuracy score.
  • During the Jevil fight, the TP gained is instead 1/15 of the accuracy score.
  • During the GIGA Queen fight, the TP gained is instead 7.5 (3%) TP for a critical hit, and 2.5 (1%) TP otherwise.
• Items: Some items can be consumed during battle to boost TP (Tension Bit, Tension Gem, and Tension Max). TP gained this way is granted immediately.
• Bullets: Shooting some of Spamton NEO's bullets can provide TP: Destroying a Flying Head provides 1.3 (0.52%) TP; destroying a Pipis provides 3 (1.2%) TP.

DEFENDing and TP items grant TP immediately, allowing that same TP to be used by other characters during the same turn. For example, if the party consists of Kris, Susie and Ralsei (in that order), Kris and Susie can DEFEND while Ralsei uses Heal Prayer, using the TP gained from the previous two party members' DEFEND actions to pay for the Heal Prayer spell.

Uniquely, during the Rouxls Kaard fight in Chapter 2, the party's initial TP is not 0%; instead, it depends on the number of houses grazed before the fight, allowing the party to start with at most 85 (34%) TP.

Usage

Spells and certain ACTs require spending TP to use them. The TP bar is shared by the whole party.

Spells

The following are Spells that require TP.

Character	Spell	TP cost	Note
Susie (Spell list)	Rude Buster	50%	40% with Devilsknife equipped
	Red Buster	60%	Can only be used through Kris's ACT menu. Only available during the King and Queen fights.
	UltimateHeal	100%	Learned during Chapter 2
Ralsei (Spell list)	Pacify	16%
	Heal Prayer	32%
	Dual Heal	50%	Can only be used through Kris's ACT menu. Only available during the King and Queen fights.
Noelle (Spell list)	Heal Prayer	32%
	Sleep Mist	32%
	IceShock	16%	8% with Thorn Ring equipped
	SnowGrave	200%	100% with Thorn Ring equipped. Only available during the second Berdly fight, on the Snowgrave Route.

ACTs

The following are ACTs that require TP.

Character	ACT	TP cost	Note
Kris (ACT list)	Courage	25%	Only available versus King, after performing Talk ACT
	Pirouette	20%	Only available versus Jevil
	Hypnosis	50%
	HealDeal	50%	Only available versus Spamton
	X-Slash	25%	Only available versus Spamton NEO on Snowgrave Route
	FriedPipis	32%
Susie	Supercharge	32%	Only available versus Spamton NEO
Ralsei	FluffyGuard	16%	Only available versus Spamton NEO
Thrash Machine	LaserMode SwordMode FireMode DuckMode	50%	Name and effects depends on the head
	SELF-FIX	20%	TP cost increases by 10% after each use, up to a maximum 50% cost
	Turbo Dodge	25%

Conversion

At the end of a battle, any remaining TP is normally converted to Dark Dollars. The formula for the amount of money the party gets is ${\textstyle {TP\times chapter \over 4}}$.

However, the party does not earn any Dark Dollars after battles where the screen that normally shows the amount of money the party earned does not appear. This occurs for some boss battles and all battles at the Party Dojo.

Trivia

• The TP Master believes that TP stands for "Toilet Paper."
• Due to the unorthodox structure of the Susie vs Lancer battle in Chapter 1, TP earned in that battle is not converted to Dark Dollars. Instead, it remains accessible, and can be used to cast Ralsei's Heal Prayer in the overworld. This is likely an oversight.
• The mechanics of earning TP through grazing is essentially the same grazing system found in Touhou Project, which in turn is based on the grazing mechanic found in Raiden Fighters.