Definition of Action role-playing game

Although the precise definition of the genre varies, the typical action RPG features a heavy emphasis on combat, often simplifying or removing non-combat attributes and statistics and the effect they have on the character's development. Additionally, combat always takes place using a real-time system (hence the "action") that relies on the player's ability to perform particular actions with speed and accuracy to determine success, rather than mainly using the player character's attributes to determine this. However, RPGs that use this style of combat system but give equal focus to non-combat elements such as non-player character interaction and character development (such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) are instead referred to as computer role-playing games.