Combat

[Pryde]

Combat currently is primitive. I'm curious to see what everything things about where it should go from here. The genre is slowly (but surely) shifting away from the anarchic tab targeting & "push and forget" system, and more towards faster paced action combat. I don't expect PFO to go that way, nor do I think it needs to (long as whatever combat system they settle on is fluid and responsive, something a lot of games get wrong). Either way I would personally like to see a few area targeted abilities. Another concept games are implementing is a way to break out crowd control. I think CC should have a contributing factor to a fight, however I wouldn't want it to get to the point where CC is the SOLE contributing factor to the fight. Take awhile the ability for other players to fight back for a long duration of time isn't something I'd like to see in PFO. However with that said, CC needs to be strong and effective enough to allow smaller groups some leeway to deal with larger groups. What's everyone else's thoughts?

[Ravenlute]

There will be a variety of CC but we're just now about to see some of it in action.

[Alzaric]

In my opinion, "action combat" isn't better just because it's a newer paradigm in the genre. It can feel just as spammy and unresponsive as any tab-targeting system. What I want is tactical combat, where you have to consciously manage your resources and make good choices to win the fight. It would be nice to be punished for just hitting buttons like a buffoon.

I'm not against twitch combat, it just needs to be done well. If ever a MMO could successfully implement the kind of combat seen in Mount & Blade: Warband or Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, that would make me a very happy camper. In those games, skill isn't just about whoever can hit the buttons the fastest. It's about timing, choosing the right attack for the situation, using feint attacks, etc. Sometimes holding a swing and not attacking for a second or two is the wiser course of action, if you can lull your enemy into thinking he has an opportunity to strike, lowering his defenses.

Any game can have crappy combat no matter what system is chosen. I'm perfectly fine with PFO having gone the tab-targeting route. Now they just need to force players into making meaningful choices within that framework. The people who are "skilled" combatants will be the ones consistently making the right choices.

[Bluddwolf]

I would actually prefer more slower paced combat, not quite turn based, but certainly not button mashing or twitch either.