Chrono Trigger – ATB Fixes v1.00
by RoSoDude https://rosodudemods.wordpress.com/

Chrono Trigger’s ATB system generally works well; time freezes during animations, but player inputs can be buffered, preserving responsiveness. However, there are several bugs that subtly impact gameplay, which are fixed by this patch:

-Multiple actions resolving close together can scramble turn order and delay menu access
-Changes to haste/slow status do not take effect until the next character turn
-Reapplying haste after it has been canceled by slow does not refresh the haste status duration
-ATB penalties are never applied to the first participant in a tech

All techniques are supposed to impose an ATB penalty on the user’s next turn, with stronger techs applying a larger penalty. Due to the bug, single techs are never penalized, double techs only penalize one character, and triple techs only penalize two. Fixing the ATB penalty bug restores the intended speed tradeoff for powerful techs and prevents single techs from surpassing the efficiency of combined techs. However, the added penalties (30-60% for endgame single techs) slow the pace of battles and give enemies more opportunities to act. A middle ground solution could correct the inconsistency without sacrificing battle pacing. It could even be argued that the penalties should be removed altogether, as combined techs must already wait for ATB to synchronize across multiple characters. Hence, this patch comes in three design configurations to suit different priorities:

1. Full penalties: faithful to the intended design, but combat is slower and enemies get more turns
2. Halved penalties: combined techs maintain similar average penalties, but resynchronize faster
3. Removed penalties: combined techs only incur the implicit cost of ATB synchronization

Halved penalties are the recommended choice for most players, as they respect the original design intent without sacrificing battle pacing. Players interested in a more balanced experience with slightly higher difficulty are advised to choose full penalties. Players who set the fastest Battle Speed config setting anyway should opt for removed penalties.