How you use your Action Points and Will Points in Phoenix Point is vital to the success of your mission. Here's an overview of how the system works in the game, and how to use it to your advantage!
Each soldier starts with up to 4 Action Points each turn. Within each action point, you can move a certain number of tiles. When moving, there are two different colored zones – one blue, one yellow. The blue zone indicates the tiles you can move into and still use the selected action on the bottom right-hand side of your screen. The yellow zone indicates the area you can move into, but you will be unable to use your selected action.
For example, an Assault class soldier staying within the blue zone will still have the 2 action points needed to use his rifle or use overwatch. If you wish, you could use one action point to move, shoot using two action points, and then use the last action point to move somewhere else. Also, not all weapons use 2 action points; a sniper rifle will cost 3 action points to use, while a pistol will use only 1. Other equipment can also be used in a turn, such as a medkit or a grenade, both of which cost 2 action points.
Remember, you can combine actions in a turn too – you could for example use a medkit and then shoot, or shoot with a handgun 4 times without moving. How you use your action points is up to you.
When a soldier spots an enemy, their movement will be canceled. This allows you to choose a different strategy with the remaining action points in a turn, should you choose to. However, don’t take too long on each mission. Each turn spent on a tactical mission depletes your Stamina, which will fatigue your soldiers and force them to take an Action point penalty until rested.
In addition to Action points, each soldier starts combat with a certain number of Will points, which are determined by skill points you have assigned to the Willpower statistic. Will points are used, sometimes in conjunction with action points, to perform class-specific special abilities. The only difference with Will points is that they do not recharge each turn and must be earned back by killing enemies, reaching map objectives, or by using the Recover ability to earn back half your total Will points for 4 Action points, essentially resting for a turn.
For example, the Sniper can use their Quick Aim ability, spending 3 Will points to reduce the number of Action points on a proficient weapon (in this case, their Sniper rifle only costs 2 Action points instead of 3). On killing the enemy, the Sniper earns back a set number of Will points.
Another example is the Heavy’s jump jet ability. While the jump jet is extremely helpful in getting somewhere fast and in some cases high, it will cost your soldier 2 Will points and 3 Action points.
An important note about Will points – your soldiers will lose 2 Will points when friendly units are killed, and if your soldiers’ Will points are reduced to zero, he or she will become panicked and will have to spend the next turn to Recover. There is good news though: your enemies also have Will points and suffer penalties when enemy units are killed. Balancing your own reserve of Will points for special abilities while depriving your enemy of theirs is a key mechanic in the game.
How you use your action points and will points in each turn is vital to the success of your mission. Use them often but more importantly, use them wisely!