· on 7/14/2010 10:28:18 PM
Heyo!
What follows is a brief overview of Combat 3.0. This post is intended to be a basic summary of the upcoming changes, not a detailed analysis. More detailed posts on specific parts of the rewrite will come later, as each piece is closer to release. Please understand that even though a large portion of these changes is already completed, any and all details are subject to change.
Please post all questions and concerns in the COMBAT folder, under Responses to GM Announcements. Thanks!
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ACTIVE DEFENSES
(The "To Hit" Phase of Combat)
WHERE WE ARE NOW:
We have three active defenses -- evasion, parry, and shield. Evasion can be considered a first line of defense. Anything that gets past evasion then contests the second line of defense - parry and/or shield - although not in a direct skill contest since it is being compared to what gets past evasion, not the actual attack skill. As a result, evasion (or lack thereof) is the primary driving factor of current defense.
WHERE WE ARE GOING:
Evasion, parry, and shield will combine to form a first line of defense. They will be equal partners, and any 180% stance variation will be equally effective, all other considerations being equal.
Armor skill modified by the appropriate armor protection stats will replace parry and shield as the second line of defense. Armor skill will work in a manner similar to how parry/shield do now -- as a second line of defense if the first line fails, but before a hit or miss is determined and damage computed.
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DAMAGE AND PASSIVE DEFENSES
(The Damage Phase of Combat)
WHERE WE ARE NOW:
We currently have three "passive" defenses that modify damage once a hit is determined. The first is armor protection modified by armor skill, although this scales very poorly to the damage side of the calculations. The second is armor absorption, which is a straight percentage reduction of damage based on armor stats. The final is what is called "Stamina Reduction", although "Vitality Reduction" might be a better description -- the defender's vitality reduces the final damage to some degree.
Base damage itself is currently based on a combination of random rolls, weapon stats, strength, and suitability to strength. The most important factor, however, is how much of the attacker's skill got through the defenses.
WHERE WE ARE GOING:
As mentioned in the previous section, armor protection is moving to the Active Defense side of combat. Armor absorption will remain essentially unchanged. The importance of "Stamina Reduction" will be increasing dramatically as a damage reducer -- not necessarily to vitality itself, but to the body parts struck. This should go a long ways towards reducing the frequency of one-hit deaths.
Damage will still be made up of the same factors as it is now, but the relative importance will be shifting. Instead of being the primary direct modifier, how much of the attack gets past defenses will instead primarily be determining the variance of the random factors (although it will also directly impact damage as well, but to a much lower degree than now). In other words, the more accurate the attack (the more skill that gets past defense), the closer the damage will be to its maximum potential and the less random the results will be. Strength and suitability to strength will be seeing an increase in importance, as will the weapon stats themselves.
Key points: Determining whether or not an attack hits and the resulting damage will be more independent than they are now. The former will still impact the latter, but they will be less interdependent than they are now. This allows us to keep damage in a range that isn't going to escalate into insta-death at higher levels, and also allows for more flexibility in things that increase the chance to hit or the resulting damage without necessarily impacting both.
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THE DEATH OF COMBOS
Combos are going away, at least in the form of a specific chain of attacks that is required to maintain perfect balance.
Instead, each of our 35+ combat verbs (yes, we have that many, although some were never completed enough to release) will have distinct benefits and drawbacks. Some will be as simple as just exchanging some defense and/or balance for added accuracy and/or damage (Lunge). Others will be more complex, with special features such as limited area effect (sweep), increased chance to stun (slam), or potential knockdown (slam or shove). Of course, there will always be drawbacks to offset advantages, so attacks should be chosen wisely!
In addition, some attacks will be less (or non) offensive (feint, circle, etc), and instead focus more on modifying the nature of the fight. A new Tactics skill is on the table that will focus primarily on moves that reduce the effectiveness of your enemy or (in a few cases) increase your own.
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BALANCE
WHERE WE ARE NOW:
Combos.
WHERE WE ARE GOING:
There will be two primary factors in gaining or losing balance -- attack type and attack frequency. Light, controlled attacks (jab) may result in an increase in balance. Massive strikes that involve putting your whole body into the attack my result in a loss of balance. Attacks between these extremes may either lower or increase balance, depending on how much of a hurry the attacker is to move on to the next.
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LAST ATTACK MODIFIERS
WHERE WE ARE NOW:
All attacks have defensive modifiers -- lunge is the classic example of one that results in massive penalties, while parry or dodge are examples of combat moves that can improve defense. The penalties are based on your most recent combat move, and last until you execute a new one -- as anyone who has lunged and walked away knows all too well.
WHERE WE ARE GOING:
As mentioned in the Combos section, each combat move will have pros and cons. Among these are the same defense modifiers we have now (although the exact numbers may well change). Under the new system, however, all combat move modifiers will be temporary, lasting from anywhere from 3-10 seconds depending on the attack. After that, your "last attack" setting will revert to your most recent defensive move -- ie parry, dodge, or block.
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STUNS
WHERE WE ARE NOW:
Stuns increase in frequency at higher ranks, and chain stuns are among the Worst Things Ever (tm). Once a defender is stunned, each additional attack is more likely to stun, resulting in chain stuns and often death.
WHERE WE ARE GOING:
Stuns will be less frequent in general, although certain attack types (slam, pummel) will have an increased chance to stun among their pros. In addition, a "new" (old, but invisible) weapon stat (Force of Impact) will be used in conjunction with strength and suitability as the primary determining factor for the chance of stunning. In other words, weapons that are traditionally inaccurate and poor at parrying may very well have a higher chance to stun (although this is highly weapon dependent).
In addition, we will be introducing some immunity timers to stun and similar effects. These timers will be fairly brief, but they will prevent a target from being perpetually locked down by stuns. If a new stun occurs while another is active, the overall duration of the old may be increased to match the new if the new is longer, but otherwise no stacking will occur. Example: A rat is stunned for 5 seconds. With 2 seconds remaining, it is stunned again for 6 seconds. Because 6 seconds is one second longer than the original 5, that 1 second is tacked on to the remaining 2 seconds. So it may be possible to increase stun lengths a bit, but once that stun runs out, a new one cannot occur until the immunity timer expires.
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COMBAT MESSAGING
New messaging toggles are being added to more finely control combat messaging output. For example, players will be able to toggle missed attacks on and off, not only for themselves but for enemies, for other players, and specifically for groupmates. They will be able to do the same for hits, and for stuns/immobilizes/knockdowns. In other words, it will be possible to set things up so that you only see when your enemies or your groupmates are hit, or only when enemies are hit and groupmates are stunned, or any of several other combinations. This should hopefully make group combat and invasions much more friendly.
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Again, please post all questions and concerns in the COMBAT folder, under Responses to GM Announcements. Thanks!
- GM Dartenian
Though my soul may set in darkness it will rise in perfect light. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night! - Sarah Williams
This message was originally posted in DragonRealms Forum: Combat - Weapons and Armor, Game Master and Official Announcements. To discuss the above follow the link below.
http://www.play.net/forums/messages.asp?forum=20&category=11&topic=1&message=174 
