diff --git a/Balloon.lua b/Balloon.lua
index 5e9b54c..643456c 100644
--- a/Balloon.lua
+++ b/Balloon.lua
@@ -221,6 +221,17 @@ balloon.process_incoming_message = function(e)
 end
 
 balloon.process_balloon = function(message, mode)
+    -- Do we need to check if the player is in combat?
+    -- We only check if the player is engaged (has weapon out) but this should be enough for our use case.
+    if not balloon.settings.in_combat then
+        local entity = AshitaCore:GetMemoryManager():GetEntity()
+        local party = AshitaCore:GetMemoryManager():GetParty()
+        local player_index = party:GetMemberTargetIndex(0)
+        if entity:GetStatus(player_index) == 1 then
+            return
+        end
+    end
+
 	balloon.last_text = message
 	balloon.last_mode = mode
 
@@ -234,12 +245,6 @@ balloon.process_balloon = function(message, mode)
     end
     local timed = (not balloon.in_menu and not ends_with_prompt)
 
-	-- local timed = true
-	-- if (S{chat_modes.message, chat_modes.system}[mode] and message:endswith(defines.PROMPT_CHARS[1]))
-    --     or balloon.in_menu then -- or balloon.in_mog_menu 
-	-- 	timed = false
-	-- end
-
 	-- Extract speaker name
     local npc_prefix_start, npc_prefix_end = message:find('.- : ')
 	local npc_prefix = ''
@@ -280,7 +285,6 @@ balloon.process_balloon = function(message, mode)
     -- strip the NPC name from the start of the message
     if npc_prefix ~= '' then
         message = message:sub(npc_prefix_end)
-        -- message = message:gsub(npc_prefix:gsub('-', '--'), '')
     end
 
     -- log debug info
@@ -305,12 +309,6 @@ balloon.process_balloon = function(message, mode)
     -- Strip out prompt characters
     message = message:gsub(defines.auto_prompt_chars_pattern, '')
     message = message:gsub(defines.prompt_chars_pattern, '')
-    -- for _, prompt_chars in ipairs(defines.PROMPT_CHARS) do
-    --     local prompt_pos, _ = message:find(prompt_chars, -4, true)
-    --     if prompt_pos ~= nil then
-    --          message = message:sub(1, prompt_pos - 1)
-    --     end
-    -- end
 
     message = message:gsub(chat_color_codes.standard, '[BL_c1]') --color code 1 (black/reset)
     message = message:gsub(chat_color_codes.item, '[BL_c2]') --color code 2 (green/regular items)
@@ -432,6 +430,7 @@ local function print_help(isError)
         { '/balloon portrait', 'Toggle the display of character portraits, if the theme has settings for them.' },
         { '/balloon move_closes', 'Toggle balloon auto-close on player movement.' },
         { '/balloon always_on_top', 'Toggle always on top (IMGUI mode).' },
+        { '/balloon in_combat', 'Toggle displaying balloon during combat.' },
         { '/balloon test <name> <lang> <mode>', 'Display a test bubble. Lang: - (auto), en or ja. Mode: 1 (dialogue), 2 (system). "/balloon test" to see the list of available tests.' },
     }
 
@@ -553,7 +552,7 @@ ashita.events.register('command', 'balloon_command_cb', function(e)
     -- Handle toggle options
     -- Handle: /balloon portrait
     -- Handle: /balloon move_closes
-    if (#args == 2 and args[2]:any('portrait', 'portraits', 'move_closes', 'move_close', 'always_on_top')) then
+    if (#args == 2 and args[2]:any('portrait', 'portraits', 'move_closes', 'move_close', 'always_on_top', 'in_combat')) then
         local setting_key_alias = {
             portrait = 'portraits',
             move_closes = 'move_close',
@@ -562,6 +561,7 @@ ashita.events.register('command', 'balloon_command_cb', function(e)
             portraits = 'Display portraits',
             move_close = 'Close balloons on player movement',
             always_on_top = 'Always on top (IMGUI mode)',
+            in_combat = 'Display in combat',
         }
         local setting_key = setting_key_alias[args[2]] or args[2]
         local setting_name = setting_names[setting_key] or args[2]
diff --git a/defaults.lua b/defaults.lua
index 5c70ed9..4122337 100644
--- a/defaults.lua
+++ b/defaults.lua
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ defaults.theme = 'default'
 defaults.scale = 1
 defaults.portraits = true
 defaults.always_on_top = true
+defaults.in_combat = false
 
 defaults.additional_chat_modes = {
     144
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index bfa310a..6442508 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ You can use `/balloon` or `/bl`
 
 `/balloon always_on_top` - Toggle always on top (IMGUI mode). This mode renders the final elements using IMGUI to ensure Balloon always appears in front of any other custom UI. If for some reason you have issues with this mode, you can use this command to disable it.
 
+`/balloon in_combat` - Toggle displaying balloon during combat (off by default).
+
 `/balloon test <name> <lang> <mode>` - Display a test bubble. Lang: "-" (auto), "en" or "ja". Mode: 1 (dialogue), 2 (system).
 
 `/balloon test` - List all available tests.