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Alpha Two testing is currently taking place five days each week. More information about Phase II and Phase III testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Ashes of Creation’s Combat Lacks Movement and Hitbox Integrity
Solvryn
Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
Issue: Despite claims of hybrid combat, Ashes of Creation currently functions as a pure tab-target system where movement and hitboxes have no impact on whether an attack lands. Positioning and reactionary play are not mechanically recognized, making combat interactions rigid and predetermined.
Example: As a Ranger, I executed a full combo (Bear Trap → Stagger proc → Lightning Arrow → Snipe → Barrage) and eliminated my opponent in seconds. However, my attacks landed instantly regardless of her movement, and Snipe—despite its name—did not require aiming. The time-to-kill (TTK) was so low that I couldn’t remember the fight or notice any of the animations or art. The combat felt automatic, with no real interaction between the player’s movement or the game’s hitbox mechanics.
Impact: The combat system currently has zero kinetic weight or tactile response. A true hybrid combat system should recognize movement and positioning, allowing skilled players to influence the outcome of fights through reaction and spatial awareness. Right now, hit detection and how attacks interact with players and the environment do not account for these elements, reducing player agency.
Potential & Fixes: Ashes of Creation has immense combat potential due to the raw, unrefined physics present in the game. With proper engineering, these physics could support a true hybrid system where movement, timing, and skill expression matter. To achieve this:
Fix hit detection: Attacks should respect hitboxes, and movement should determine whether an attack connects.
Improve animation timing: Combat interactions should have proper weight and flow so that abilities feel deliberate rather than instantaneous.
Introduce reactive mechanics: Movement and positioning should have a direct impact on combat outcomes, creating a skill-driven experience instead of static exchanges.
Final Thought: Ashes of Creation has the foundation for a true hybrid combat system, but it needs to fully commit to that vision. Combat should be player-driven, physics-aware, and rewarding for those who master movement and positioning. Right now, attacks resolve independently of these factors, but with refinement, Ashes could set a new standard for MMORPG combat.
Addressing some of the things I've seen with the combat system, I'm an unapologetic combat junkie.
Example: As a Ranger, I executed a full combo (Bear Trap → Stagger proc → Lightning Arrow → Snipe → Barrage) and eliminated my opponent in seconds. However, my attacks landed instantly regardless of her movement, and Snipe—despite its name—did not require aiming. The time-to-kill (TTK) was so low that I couldn’t remember the fight or notice any of the animations or art. The combat felt automatic, with no real interaction between the player’s movement or the game’s hitbox mechanics.
Impact: The combat system currently has zero kinetic weight or tactile response. A true hybrid combat system should recognize movement and positioning, allowing skilled players to influence the outcome of fights through reaction and spatial awareness. Right now, hit detection and how attacks interact with players and the environment do not account for these elements, reducing player agency.
Potential & Fixes: Ashes of Creation has immense combat potential due to the raw, unrefined physics present in the game. With proper engineering, these physics could support a true hybrid system where movement, timing, and skill expression matter. To achieve this:
Fix hit detection: Attacks should respect hitboxes, and movement should determine whether an attack connects.
Improve animation timing: Combat interactions should have proper weight and flow so that abilities feel deliberate rather than instantaneous.
Introduce reactive mechanics: Movement and positioning should have a direct impact on combat outcomes, creating a skill-driven experience instead of static exchanges.
Final Thought: Ashes of Creation has the foundation for a true hybrid combat system, but it needs to fully commit to that vision. Combat should be player-driven, physics-aware, and rewarding for those who master movement and positioning. Right now, attacks resolve independently of these factors, but with refinement, Ashes could set a new standard for MMORPG combat.
Addressing some of the things I've seen with the combat system, I'm an unapologetic combat junkie.
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Comments
What concerns me more is the general issues with draw distance in pvp, attack animations and audio often getting out of sync and as a result not being a good source of the enemy actions. I frequently have situations where even in small engagements I could not rely on enemies animations and sound feedback to identify what ability our enemies are using. I suppose you could call is an issue with combat "integrity".
Blown past falling sands…
GTAoEs do not change a game from being tab at its core, WoW has them. WoWs still a tab game.
Thanks for bumping though, it doesn't really change the fact Ashes isn't hybrid.
Its not really remotely close to a hybrid, but I rather continue to harp on it now than later. That duel just felt awful, no skill involved having my "snipe" chase someone across the map, regardless of the damage.
The draw distance is actively being worked on and Intrepid is doing a good job on it, so that is happening. The attack animations and audio animations are apart of the combat integrity and are being worked on too, they know making sure your brain and perceive whats going on is important.
I just hope they realize the raw physics of the game is pretty fun, however the game not respecting movement and hitboxes at all is a shitty feeling and takes away from the combat.
Steven did say a few years ago that he considers these kinds of abilities to be action combat.
He also said that if they can't get hybrid to work, they will default to tab. I *think* that may be what we are seeing, though don't take my word on that one as I haven't really talked to anyone at Intrepid about combat for a long while.
that being said i would like to see more ground telegraphed attacks much like u get in moba like scatter shot charge ability for example. the telegraphed ground target skills like snipe need to be inpactful though. Chain pull imo should be a skill shot for example since it can basicly garanteed someone to die in group pvp. There a reason why in league of legends every single pull attack is a skill shot :P the more impactful a skill is the more likely it should be placed in a skill shot system/telegraphy skill (like the fighters hammer slam skill forget it name)
Her movement or the way she tactically traversed the terrain would have been stellar if the game honored such a thing, to which my combo wouldn’t have been possible.
Snipe being a soft lock with tighter aiming restrictions would do it, there’s many ways Intrepid can make the movement and hitboxes more apart of the game.