Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Comments
From what I've seen so far in streams, and from what I know about class diversity, there is absolutely nor reason for combat to be anything less than awesome!
Yeah, keep up the good vibes! :)
Seriously combat gotta be good especially if their making a game like this with such amazing ideas!!!
*If the combat was not good I would try to get into the game as much as I can but it will be a huge downer to me! *
When I see combat videos I kinda take as a Dark souls type combat what is interesting for sure!
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No, the question you were asking is 'if the game sucks will you play it anyway'. Because combat is arguably one of the most important core systems. So it is a bad question. If combat is the driving factor of the game, and combat sucks, no amount of shiny features will cover up that stink and players will unsub. That would constitute a huge failure on Intrepid's part.
Also, questions like this get negative responses and hostile feedback because the very premise of the question is based on the failure and/or shortcomings of the game. Excited members of the community energized enough to participate in, and regularly follow, the forums dont want to read a bunch of pessimistic doomsday posts that ultimately serve no purpose other than to fan the flames of negative baseless speculation.
If you really want to contribute, and picking apart the game's design flaws is how you want to do that, you're going to have to do alot better, and be way less generic, than 'will you still play if combat is bad'. Bad combat could mean a thousand different things to a thousand different people.
/endrant
For example, consider the "mouse clicking to select target". A custom engine might have a click mechanic that's embedded in its core, while Unreal, having a FPS core, surely offers the option to "mark a target" via various alternate cameras (i.e. main crosshair, special aiming via binoculars/archer focus etc). Fixing the combat in a home-made engine would require a heavy investment, as Bless faced, fixing it in an already generic-purpose engine as Unreal is just one function call away.
Said this, I too think that the combat makes or breaks a game. This time, I am in for the strategic aspects, as I have increasingly less time to play (so, I am interested in the "no grind" commitment of the authors), yet, if I don't get fun in the combat system while playing I won't be dragged by the rest.
I play Black Desert almost exclusively now, having leveled entirely by trade and fishing... I know exactly a handful of "combat" moves and I love that it doesn't even matter :)
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In this case? I don't think that's even close to true.
The most important aspect of an MMORPG to me is the immersion.
I've long searched for an MMORPG that really keeps up the immersion, a game that keeps me playing because I want to come back to a world that keeps me interested and inspired through activities other than the combat alone.
For that to happen, the world must be alive, vibrant and dynamic.
A part of that will be dependent on the players and how they manage the world.
The other part of that will be depending on the developers, however it seems that they have a solid concept.
I have good hopes.
So, I suppose my answer would be: <em>Possibly, depending on the circumstances</em>.
For me anyway, the game seems so niche and interesting I want to say I'd keep playing as long as the game keeps offering enough stimulus and reason to continue playing. I'm not an arena player myself, so while I, and most other people, probably consider combat important, either mechanically or through balance - for me it's not the absolute highest priority thing.
At face value it seems like this game isn't built around having breathtaking one-of-a-kind combat because if it were I think they would have demoed that idea a little bit more.
Exceptions:
PUBG, the combat sucks but people still play it
For me combat is not the one deciding factor if I will play an mmo or not, for others it is and that's fair enough.
Since combat is the core feature of any MMO, it has to be somewhat good. Guess why Bless Online so far didn't get released in the west? It's a highly hyped game that has been in development for almost a decade, but the combat... oh well..
If it is not that good, I'd have to try it first whether it is bearable and fixable in the future.
Sure other well designed elements of the game will help offset that for some people, but a majority of players are going to spend a large portion of their time using the combat system.
For more the group play is the largest aspect, I have concerns on the non-dungeon que, but as far as the combat system, overlays and keybinds...etc I can live with it.
What sucks for you may not suck for others, so by your logic anyone who likes combat you don't like is a carebear, interesting.
I have yet to play an mmo where I thought the combat system was rubbish, they all differ so just accept it for what it is and get on with enjoying the game. Doubt very much AOC will have a bad combat system, but what ever it turns out like some will hate it others will love it, said this before there will never be a combat system that will appeal to everyone.