There are many ways player character’s abilities can be managed. Sometimes there are cooldowns. Sometimes they cost action points.

And sometimes they require fuel. Let’s talk about the meaning of mana in games.

Terminology

In gaming, “mana” is an umbrella term describing a variety of game-specific resources used to activate and sustain various special, often magical, abilities available to player characters.

The term itself comes from the Polynesian culture, and has existed for many centuries before coming to video games by a lengthy route.

How it works

While the specific resources can be called many different names depending on the game in question (such as “Wrath” in Darksiders, or Energy in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, for a non-fantasy example), most mana systems share certain features:

  • A pool of a specialized, quantifiable, resource
  • Abilities which deplete that pool when activated
  • A method of replenishing that pool
  • The resource is usually inherent to the character, rather than abstract

Whether a game actually calls it mana, magic points, or anything else, if it follows these traits it can be reasonably described as a “mana system”.

Regaining magic points

Since “mana” is depleted by deploying abilities, games have various methods of replenishing the pool. Some of the common ones include:

  • Regeneration – mana is automatically, gradually restored over time
  • Items – “mana potions” and other consumables restoring specific amount of mana
  • Character abilities – certain actions generating addition mana, e.g. landing attacks

Some games will feature multiple methods, others only one, all depending on how they intend special abilities to be used.

Examples of games using a mana system

Diablo

Diablo had mana ever since the very beginning in 1996, and while D3 and D4 use the term only for certain classes, it doesn’t chance the fact that other characters tend to have their own flavor of “mana” to power their abilities.

Elden Ring

In Elden Ring, instead of mana, FromSoftware’s open world soulslike dark fantasy adventure uses FP, or focus points. It’s used for Spirit Ashes, Ashes of War, and Spells, so it’s a mana system which benefits both a mage and a warrior.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

FINAL FANTASY VII Remake uses “MP” instead of mana. What does it stand for? Who knows, it’s only ever referred to as MP, but throughout the series it’s been Magic Points, Mana Points, even Mist Points. What’s important is that it powers all the fantastic abilities characters earn during their journey.