How do I use a timer in battle?

[RedHealer]

Every time I try to do anything with a timer during a battle event the battle just ends when the timer reaches 0. It won't even let me turn the timer off.

Is this a built in function of RPG maker MZ that cannot be changed without Plugins or am I just missing something?

[Maya-Neko]

Yes, that's pretty much what it's doing. I guess the RPG Maker devs expect you to include a cutscene afterwards and thus send you back to the map (it's neither a win nor a loss, so it's pretty much a 3rd option, just in case you want a different cutscene for any of the outcomes).

Though what's the reason behind the timer? From a players perspective it's usually better to instead rather have a turn limit they can plan around than a time limit, especially when you're allowing the player to wait before inputing their actions, just to see that the timer keeps ticking. It's also easier to balance a battle when it for example takes 5 turns instead of needing to take into account how fast players input their stuff.

If you want to trigger a game over or a teleport of some sorts, you can use the tint screen-feature to turn it black without waiting time after the battle to make sure that the map isn't fading in.

[RedHealer]

Originally posted by Maya-Neko:

Though what's the reason behind the timer? From a players perspective it's usually better to instead rather have a turn limit they can plan around than a time limit, especially when you're allowing the player to wait before inputing their actions, just to see that the timer keeps ticking. It's also easier to balance a battle when it for example takes 5 turns instead of needing to take into account how fast players input their stuff.

I made a boulder trap that drags the player into battle when it touches them. The idea is for them to respond before a certain amount of time passes and it hits them. Also, does the turn limit function work when the ATB system is active?

[Maya-Neko]

Yes, it will still work. Each turn every enemy will attack once and the condition will trigger right before the first enemy of a turn will attack.