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Glossary

Explanation of terms

Various terms for the game and its characters will be explained here, grouped by usage and categories.

Sometimes will also include abbreviations.

Summary
Game Mechanics
  • Effects and Properties
    • Abilities

      • Damage from resisted elements modifier

        Characters with this ability effect apply the specified modifier to damage taken from the elements that appear in orange in their temperament screen.

        For example: Merlin Prismriver (L1) is weak to Moon and Fire attacks, and she resists 25% of the incoming damage from those elements.

        The official translation for this term is confusing, since usually "resisted" and "weak" elements refers respectively to the blue and orange elements in the temperament screen.

        The japanese version of Touhou Lostword refers to this effect roughly as "Damage from elements this character is not good with".

      • Damage from effective elements modifier

        Characters with this ability effect apply the specified modifier to damage taken from the elements that appear in blue in their temperament screen.

        For example: Koishi Komeiji (L1) is resistant to Moon and Fire attacks, and she resists 20% of the incoming damage from those elements.

        The official translation for this term is confusing, since usually "resisted" and "weak" elements refers respectively to the blue and orange elements in the temperament screen.

        The japanese version of Touhou Lostword refers to this effect roughly as "Damage from elements this character is good with".

      • Damage to resisted elements modifier

        Characters with this ability effect apply the specified modifier to damage inflicted to the enemy's resisted elements.

        For example: Kasen Ibaraki (L1) receives a 40% damage bonus when attacking enemies which resist her elements.

      • Damage to effective elements modifier

        Characters with this ability effect apply the specified modifier to damage inflicted to the enemy's weakness elements.

        For example: Mystia Lorelei (L1) receives a 20% damage bonus when attacking enemies which are weak to her elements.

      • Barrier Status Abilities

        Characters with abilities that relate to barrier status gives them some sort of advantage around those status effects.

        Having any sort of ability interaction with a barrier status makes the character immune to that barrier status' effects.

        • Immunity to the effects of the status

          Characters with this ability effect may be inflicted with the status effect, but suffer no consequence.

          For example: Sakuya Izayoi (L1) cannot be stunned by paralyze barriers.

        • Immunity to the status

          Characters with this ability effect cannot be inflicted with the status effect.

        • Recovers HP when affected

          Characters with this ability effect cannot be inflicted with the status effect, and recover HP when there's an attempt to apply it.

        • Recovers Power when affected

          Characters with this ability effect cannot be inflicted with the status effect, and recover Spirit Power when there's an attempt to apply it.

        • Reflects Barrier when affected

          Characters with this ability effect apply the same kind of status effect to its source when they are inflicted.

          Reflection can only occur once. Character stays with the barrier, but suffer no consequence.

        • Increases Attack when affected

          Characters with this ability effect receive for each status effect they have that matches this effect a boost to their offensive stats.

          Each layer boosts Yin ATK, Yang ATK, Critical ATK and Critical ACC by 1.

          These boosts work and stack the same as Tier 1 buffs of the same kind, so that the total amount of status increase doesn't go beyond +10 total.

        • Increases Defense when affected

          Characters with this ability effect receive for each status effect they have that matches this effect a boost to their defensive stats.

          Each layer boosts Yin DEF, Yang DEF, Critical DEF and Critical EVA by 1.

          These boosts work and stack the same as Tier 1 buffs of the same kind, so that the total amount of status increase doesn't go beyond +10 total.

        • Increases Agility when affected

          Characters with this ability effect receive for each status effect they have that matches this effect a boost to their auxiliary stats.

          Each layer boosts Agility, Accuracy and Evasion by 1.

          These boosts work and stack the same as Tier 1 buffs of the same kind, so that the total amount of status increase doesn't go beyond +10 total.

    • Attack Priority

      The turn order for which attacks go first follows a set of rules, with a few effects being able to change it from its normal configuration.

      The rules are as follows, in the following priority order:

      1. Player character using a Last Word

      2. Player character using a Spellcard

      3. Enemy character using a Spellcard (Including Last Word)

      4. Characters (Either player or enemy) using basic shots

      If there are multiple characters in these priority rules (For example, 2 player characters using Last Word), then the resulting turn order is decided by character speed.

      There is a random factor when considering character speed to determine turn order, and the exact formula is unknown. Assume a margin of 20% difference in base stats if you want to be safe.

      The following effects manipulate the turn order in various ways:

      • Charge

        A character that has this effect will always act last on the same priority level.

        For example: A player character using their Last Word with charge will act after other player characters using Last Word without charge, but before player characters using Spellcard.

      • Delay

        A character that is affected by this will act 2 attacks later than they usually would.

        For example: Consider a turn which a player character (A) used a Last Word, another player character (B) used a Spellcard and two enemies (C and D) used a basic shot, and character A received Delay.

        The normal turn order would be A, then B, then C or D. Due to the delay, A is moved two attacks later, so that the turn order becomes B, then C (or D), then A, then D (or C).

      • Quick

        A character that has this effect will always act first on the same priority level.

        For example: A player character using their Spellcard with quick will act before other player characters using Spellcard without quick, but after player characters using Last Word

      • Stun

        A character that has this effect will not attack on their turn. Does not affect characters which have already attacked.

    • Barrier Anomalies

      Status effects which may be inflicted in many ways. See the Barrier Status page for details on how characters may inflict or benefit from them.

      All barrier status effects are applied per each layer which means their effects can stack with each other.

      Barrier anomalies can be removed by grazing if they are applied by enemy skills at the beginning of turn: If an enemy inflicts 2 layers of Paralyze and your character uses 2 barrier layers for grazing that turn, then your character will not be stunned by Paralyze.

      • Poison

        Characters inflicted with poison lose 1.4% of their max HP per turn to a minimum of 1, and their Yang ATK and Yang DEF values are multiplied by a factor of 0.875

      • Paralyze

        Characters inflicted with paralyze have a chance of receiving Stun at beginning of turn, and their Evasion is multiplied by a factor of 0.8

      • Blind

        Characters inflicted with blind have their Accuracy multiplied by a factor of 0.8

      • Burn

        Characters inflicted with burn lose 1.4% of their max HP per turn to a minimum of 1, and their Yin ATK and Yin DEF values are multiplied by a factor of 0.875

      • Freeze

        Characters inflicted with freeze have a chance of receiving Delay at beginning of turn, and their Agility is multiplied by a factor of 0.8

    • Buffs

      Effects which modify characters combat effectiveness, which composes the bulk of effects in skills and story cards in the game.

      Each effect can be applied to a maximum of +10 stacks, and a minimum of -10 stacks.

      If a character already has an effect of the same type, effect stacking occurs following these rules:

      • Effect modification are summed together.
      • Turn duration retains the highest amount.

      For example: A character with +10 Yang ATK for 2 turns receives a -1 Yang ATK debuff from an enemy for 10 turns. The resulting effect is a +9 Yang ATK buff for 10 turns.

      Exception: If a character receives enough buffs or debuffs to negate the buff/debuff, the effect is cleared before applying the remaining buff stacks.

      Exception example: A character with +1 Yang DEF for 3 turns receives a -5 Yang DEF for 1 turn. The resulting effect is a -4 Yang DEF for 1 turn.

      • Yin Attack / Yang Attack / Yin Defense / Yang Defense / Agility

        Characters with these kinds of effect have their final respective stat range from 1/4 of its original stat to 4 times its original stat.

        Their respective stat is multiplied by a factor of 0.3*N if positive, and 1/(1 + 0.3*N) if negative.

      • Accuracy

        Characters with this effect have their final bullet accuracy score range from 1/3 of its original stat to 3 times its original accuracy.

        Their accuracy stat is multiplied by a factor of 0.2*N if positive, and 1/(1 + 0.2*N) if negative.

        Because accuracy checks are based on original bullet accuracy, bullets which are already accurate need less buffs to become 100% accurate.

        A 50% accurate bullet becomes 100% accurate at +5 accuracy, a 25% accurate bullet becomes 75% accurate at +10 accuracy.

      • Evasion

        Evasion works the same as accuracy reduction for attacking enemies.

        A character with +4 evasion being attacked by an enemy with +2 accuracy follows the same rules as if that enemy had -2 accuracy.

        The resulting sum cannot go over +10 or -10 in terms of accuracy buffs.

      • Critical Attack

        Characters with this effect have their final damage on a critical bullet range from 5/4 of its original damage to 5 times its original damage.

        Damage added by critical hits are multiplied by a factor of (1 + 0.3*N) if positive, and 1/(1 + 0.3*N) if negative.

      • Critical Defense

        Critical Defense works the same as Critical Attack reduction for attacking enemies. See Evasion.

      • Critical Accuracy / Critical Evasion

        See Accuracy and Evasion above, except applied to each bullet's Critical Hit Rate value.

    • Bullet Line Properties

      Each property only applies once per bullet line. Damage modifiers change the damage of the entire bullet line.

      • Killer

        Bullets with this property will guarantee a critical hit to enemies which share the same Character Tag.

        See also: List of Character Tags

      • Hard

        Bullet lines with this property will have extra damage added, scaling using the character's respective defense stat.

      • Slice

        Bullet lines with this property will have extra damage added, scaling using the character's agility stat.

      • Adhesive

        Bullets with this property have a chance to apply Delay to enemies hit with the attack.

      • Impact

        Bullets with this property have a chance to apply Stun to enemies hit with the attack.

      • Absorb

        Bullets with this property heals the user for a percent of their max HP when they hit an enemy.

      • Rebound

        Bullets with this property takes a percent of max HP away from the user when they hit an enemy.

      • Sure Hit

        Bullet lines with this property will never miss, ignoring normal accuracy rules.

      • Piercing

        Bullet lines with this property will ignore enemy defense modifiers.

        Modifiers ignored: Defense UP buffs, defense DOWN debuffs, bullet/elemental/character guard buffs.

        Modifiers not ignored: Full Break.

      • Specular

        Bullet lines with this property will calculate damage using the opposite enemy defense stat.

        This means a Yang bullet line with Specular will calculate damage using the character's Yang Attack vs the enemy's Yin Defense.

      • Elastic

        Bullet lines with this property have a bonus to critical chance scaling with the enemy's equivalent attack stat. The scale amount is currently unknown.

      • Explosive

        Bullet lines with this property have a bonus to critical chance scaling with the enemy's equivalent defense stat. The scale amount is currently unknown.

      • Precise

        Bullet lines with this property have a bonus to critical chance scaling with the enemy's equivalent agility stat. The scale amount is currently unknown.

      • Discharge

        Bullets with this property will break all Paralyze barriers the enemy has at the moment of impact.

      • Flash

        Bullets with this property will break all Blind barriers the enemy has at the moment of impact.

      • Incineration

        Bullets with this property will break all Burn barriers the enemy has at the moment of impact.

      • Melting

        Bullets with this property will break all Freeze barriers the enemy has at the moment of impact.

      • Toxic

        Bullets with this property will break all Poison barriers the enemy has at the moment of impact.

    • Damage Boosting Effects

      Usually found in Story Card effects, these effects boost bullet line damage by a flat %, if the bullet line is of the kind which it applies to.

      For example: The Heat of my Fingertips increases Moon damage by 50% and Sharp damage by 45%, meaning bullet lines which are both Moon and Sharp receive a total of 95% damage boost.

    • Debuffs

      See Buffs.

    • Focus

      The Focus effect is used as a defensive effect which allows characters to redirect damage to team towards/away from themselves.

      It has a complex interaction depending on how many levels of focus the enemies have, but to keep things simple it works based on the difference of focus levels of the characters being attacked.

      For instance, if all targets have -2 Focus, no damage change will occur.

      Usually a character will have increased focus compared to other characters, when this happens, there will be a multiplier of damage received from All targetting attacks.

      It's important to note that this multiplier has nothing to do with the actual damage received: A character with focus up protecting a full broken teammate will not receive the x4 damage their teammate would have taken.

      Also important to note: Characters which have been gauge burst (Stars over their head indicator) will not affect damage calculation due to Focus.

      When the player uses focus as an effect, the enemy characters will have a higher chance of targetting the character with higher focus for Solo target attacks.

      Please note that even with +10 focus, it is possible that an enemy will target lower focused enemies for Solo target attacks. No damage reduction will occur.

    • Guarding Effects

      Effects which reduce damage taken from attacks of specific elements/bullet types/characters.

      These effects can be bypassed with Piercing bullets.

    • Targetting Resistance

      Enemy exclusive effects which alter how much damage they take from All or Solo targetting attacks.

      When an enemy increases resistance to one kind of targetting attack, they become vulnerable to the other; so if enemies become resistant to All attacks, they take extra damage from Solo attacks.

    • Tier 2 Buffs and Debuffs

      Buffs and Debuffs which are labeled with a II (Tier 2) indicator. These work the same as normal Buffs and Debuffs, except they are multipliers over the normal multiplier.

      For example consider a character's Yang Attack being modified by both Tier 1 and Tier 2 buffs:

      At +10 Tier 1 buffs they have 4x base Yang Attack.

      At +10 Tier 2 buffs they also have 4x base Yang Attack.

      At +10 Tier 1 and +10 Tier 2 buffs they have 16x base Yang Attack.

  • Extra Attack

    Effects which are applied whenever specific enemies enter the battle. In play modes like Scarlet Devil Tower or the Divergent Spirit stages, it's displayed as a flag next to their HP bars.

  • Gauge Burst

    Whenever enemies have multiple gauges, once one is depleted, this happens at the end of the turn.

    Enemies which will gauge burst at end of turn have a visual indicator of stars swirling above their heads.

    Gauge Bursts can perform Extra Attacks as the new enemy is loaded for the next gauge.

  • Overdamage

    Excessive damage which is applied to enemies in gauge burst state are considered Overdamage. Enemies which are hit in this state produce extra spirit power collection.

    In case your entire attack is considered overdamage, if using a spellcard or Last Word, spell usage will be refunded. This allows strategic usage of spell cards for their bonus effects.

    Note that enemies on their last gauge will not display overdamage if they run out of HP.

  • Spellcard Recovery

    Specific enemies during stages may drop spellcard recovery items. These are always on fixed enemies, and will recover spellcards for your entire team, including back row characters.

    If your character already used their Last Word, recovering a spellcard will recover their Last Word, and will also re-enable the usage of their other spells.

    Otherwise, the recovered spell will be randomized among the ones your character has used.

    You can also recover spellcards or Last Word if they are used entirely for Overdamage. This is a special recovery which will always refund the card used for the turn.

  • Spirit Cost Reduction

    While assembling your party of units, you can adjust their total cost by tapping the spirit point icon.

    This mechanic applies a modifier to your entire team which is based on how much spirit points you spend compared to their total cost.

    So if you decide to reduce their cost to half of what it should be, their stats will be halved as well.

    The limit for SP cost reduction is 5 times the number of characters used in the team.

    This doesn't mean characters can't be reduced further than their stats at 5 spirit point cost: If you use a team with a 12 cost character alongside a 5 cost character, and reduce the team cost, the 5 cost character will have their stats reduced proportionally.

  • Turn-based Enemy Stat Scaling (informally known as "Decay")

    This is an officially unnamed mechanic that exists in the game, informally known as Decay.

    While fighting the same wave of enemies, every turn spent after the 3rd, enemy stats will scale upwards the longer the wave takes to clear.

    There is no known formula to calculate how the stat scaling works, but empirical testing data indicates these rough guidelines:

    On turn 30 of the same wave, enemies have 2x their usual stats.

    On turn 60 of the same wave, enemies have 6x their usual stats.

    Due to how damage scales in this game, enemies having 2x stats isn't a big deal, but the idea is to prevent the player from stalling indefinitely.

    Note that, due to the way barrier anomalies work, you can still beat enemies regardless of how high enemy stats get: Poison/Burn take a fixed amount of HP away from the enemy while grazing completely nullifies their attacks regardless of scaling.

Character Names
Due to the amount of characters and alternate versions of the same character, the same character may have alternative names which will be listed below for convenience.
  • A-Universe ("Retros")

    Because these characters were first created as a tribute to their original appearances in the Touhou series, they became unofficially known as "Retro" units.

    Japanese THLW has officially referred to these characters as "A-series".

    All of the portrayed games have their own subtitle too, which is a popular shorthand in the japanese Touhou community overall, but doesn't quite translate properly to english.

    Game Number Game Name English Shorthand for THLW English community Shorthand Japanese community Shorthand
    Touhou 6 Embodiment of Scarlet Devil Scarlet EoSD 紅(Scarlet)
    Touhou 7 Perfect Cherry Blossom Cherry Blossom PCB 妖(Ghostly)
    Touhou 8 Imperishable Night Eternal IN 永(Eternal)
    Touhou 9 Phantasmagoria of Flower View Flower PoFV 花(Flower)
    Touhou 10 Mountain of Faith Faith MoF 風(Wind)
    Touhou 11 Subterranean Animism Subterranean SA 地(Earth)
    Touhou 12 Undefined Fantastic Object Fantastic UFO 星(Star)
    Touhou 13 Ten Desires Desires TD 神(Divine)
  • Relics

    Since relic characters are linked to their published music video, it is popular to refer to them as "MV" characters, or to refer to them using the associated song name.

  • Touhou Lostword Originals (Super Festivals/Epic Festivals)

    Because there are many possible fan nicknames for these characters, here will be listed only official names these characters have associated with THLW.

    • Reimu - Lunar War Shaman (B3), Leisurely Shrine Maiden of Paradise (C3), God Summoning Shaman (F1), Code: Shaman (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Marisa - Lunar War Enchanter (B3), Magician on Vacation (C3), Witch of Scarlet Dreams (Z1), Draconic Black Magic Knight (Chapter 4), Code: Enchanter (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Meiling - Immovable Demon's Gate (E1), Gatekeeper (Hifuu E9 Story)

    • Koakuma - Compendium of Advanced Magic (E1), Butler (Hifuu E9 Story)

    • Patchouli - Loyal Elemental Magician (E1), Mage (Hifuu E9 Story)

    • Sakuya - Lunar War Servant (B3), Legendary Vampire Hunter (E1), Code: Servant (Hifuu B3 Story), Hunter (Hifuu E9 Story)

    • Remilia - Vampire Prepared for Splashes and Sunlight (C3), Tiny Devil Mistress (E9), Gatekeeper (Hifuu E9 Story)

    • Flandre - Vampire's Sister Prepared for Splashes and Sunlight (C3), Vampire Pursuing the Hunter (E1), Mistress's Sister (Hifuu E9 Story)

    • Alice - Skilled Droid Engineer (B5), Sage of Flying Poison (Chapter 3 Story)

    • Youmu - Lunar War Gardener (B3), Mysterious Sword Master (R8), Code: Gardener (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Yuyuko - Tiny Ghost Mistress (R2)

    • Yukari - Boundary of Sand and Sea (C3), Tiny Great Youkai (Chapter 3)

    • Wriggle - Kaiju of Augmentation and Mutation (H5)

    • Mystia - Kaiju of Darkness and Sound (H5)

    • Keine - Kaiju of Rumors and Speculation (H5)

    • Tewi - Bunny Rebellion Strategist (Y5)

    • Reisen Udongein - Lunar War Soldier (B3), Lunatic Space Youkai (B5), Code: Soldier (Hifuu B3 Story), Rabbit 1 (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Kaguya - Love Temple of Benevolence and Conscience (B3), Nayotake (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Mokou - Defiant Blue Phoenix (B5)

    • Medicine - Medical Automaton (B5)

    • Komachi - Underground Waste Ward Ticket Puncher (B3)

    • Eiki - Underground Waste Ward Depot Master (B3)

    • Sanae - Lunar War Oracle (B3), Human-Deity Duality (F1), Code: Oracle (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Satori - The Girl even the Beachgoers Fear (C3), Tiny Underworld Queen (S2)

    • Orin - The Tiny Queen's Nursemaid (S5)

    • Utsuho - The Tiny Queen's Charcoal Maker (S5)

    • Koishi - The Excited Eyes of Love (C3), Spontaneous White Beauty (F1)

    • Seiran - Thought Investigator of the Capital (B3), Rabbit 3 (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Byakuren - Sage of Shadow Sparrow (Chapter 3 Story)

    • Seiga - Sage of Corpse Dog (Chapter 3 Story)

    • Miko - Sage of Filth Remover (Chapter 3 Story)

    • Ringo - Veteran Detective of the Capital (B3), Rabbit 4 (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Doremy - Kaiju of Dreams and Mysteries (H5)

    • Sagume - Truth Temple of Legitimacy and Integrity (B3), Azusa (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Junko - Nameless Space Terror (B2)

    • Hecatia - Gate Administrator (B3), Tropical Goddess (C3)

    • Kutaka - Underground Waste Ward Aligner (B3)

    • Saki - Sage of Rotten Lung (Chapter 3 Story)

    • Kasen - Sage of Drinking Thief (Chapter 3 Story)

    • Rei'sen - Peacekeeper of the Capital (B3), Rabbit 2 (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Yorihime - Peace Temple of Modesty and Devotion (B3), Kannagi (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Toyohime - Plentiful Temple of Wealth and Equality (B3), Otohime (Hifuu B3 Story)

    • Miyoi - Waitress of Beach House Kourindou (C3)