In Knights in the Nightmare, using attacks involve Charging. There are two tiers to charging: Range Charge and Power Charge. Charging consumes Time; weapon Level and Quality are both factors that increase charging length, which makes it take longer to perform skills, in addition to using up more precious time.
Range Charge
Range Charge occurs first, and is the only one used when a knight is performing a normal attack. At maximum range, the attack/skill will have the most reach. When an item is used on the knight, Power Charge will occur automatically after the range is at max. "Maximum Range" is announced once it is achieved.
Power Charge
For Skills only; Power Charge determines the damage output of a skill. The player can use this to control how strong a skill will be releasing the charge at any time while the charging gauge is filling. Once a skill is fully charged, "Maximum Power" will be announced, permitting the knight to be put in Ready State if needed.
High Skills
High Skills are the strongest of skills, and require extra charging. If a compatible knight is given an item that allows for High Skills, another layer of charging will be added after the normal Skill reaches Max. This, of course, uses up that much more time, but the pay-off can be well worth it.