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Does the combat still suck?
Piechunks
Member Posts: 136
When I got to try this game for free last year, I really liked a lot of things about it:
the horror theme (the references especially), graphics, some of the nifty puzzle quests, soundtrack and character advancement
However, the extremely repetitive and carpal tunnel inducing combat really chased me away from it. The "spam builder like a monkey then hit finisher" routine hurt my fingers and my sanity.
Have they added more active skills to combat, or at least made the builders auto-attack?
Comments
"Suck" is a matter of opinion. You would probably have a better response from "Is combat the same?" instead. Some people enjoy the combat.
That aside, yes, combat remains the same. Auxillary weapons have been added since launch and I've never seen where it was nothing but "builder, builder, builder, finisher", but to each his own. There are numerous weapons and builds that can be made providing a mixture of results with different sequence and buffs ect. but in the end, builders - build - to a finisher. If you don't like that type of combat, you're probably not going to like the game.
No, and nothing you are suggesting would work in that game. Sorry to tell you but I do not see anyone changing a game that drastically to please a very small portion of people, most of which once they get that change will just find something else to whine about.
TL/DR:
No, and I do not see them changing the combat system.
If you want a new idea, go read an old book.
In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.
I think people confuse "how they used the combat system" with "how the combat system is intended to be used".
I watch "let's play" type videos of people doing missions in TSW and I find myself yelling at the screen, because all they're doing is spamming their builder over and over and over again.... maybe occasionally remembering they have other actions on the hotbar.
I have to imagine those are the people that go on forums and complain that "the combat is just spamming the same key over and over again".
I mean, I guess it can "work", but it makes the fights sooooo much longer than they need to be and actually puts you in more danger of dying in a number of cases.
Which, when I think of it, probably accounts for why so many would complain that the fights take too long.
Kinda makes sense when you think about it that way. Not taking advantage of your actives or benefits from your passives and just spamming your builder over and over again = really long, slow and boring fights.
Using your skill build-out, taking advantage of the synergy between your actives and passives = faster and more entertaining fight.
Spoiler-ish ahead if you are still early in the game, or haven't started playing yet...
I was watching someone do the final Beaumont fight of "Dawning of An Endless Night", and they used their builder about 95% of the fight. Never used a finisher, never used skills to take advantage of triggers or states inflicted, would use another skill once in a while, and with no clear reason apparent. Just spamming the same key over and over again. It dragged the fight out so long that Beaumont actually went into a second round of "clones" and filth hounds. I didn't even know he did that a second time, because the fight for me was over shortly after I'd take out the first round of filth hounds.
But it really does go to show how, when people complain that the combat in TSW is just spamming builder over and over, with an occasional finisher... it really says more about their inability to use their skills effectively.
I find the combat to be among the best in the genre, and it's the main reason why I still play the game.
The combat is extremely fast and/or slow and everything in between depending on your build and choice of gear.
Almost every boss fight is designed around movement, the combat is very action-based, very fast and very risky, one mistake and you're dead -- especially in the end-game. There probably exist some genuine criticism on the combat system (such as not THAT advanced animations as in Age of Conan, but nothing substandard), but most of the criticism is just unreasonable or based on the fact that people did not understand the skill wheel.
REALITY CHECK
Actually i agree with the OP...
This game does many many things best in buiseness...
However their combat system is not fun at all (in my opinion), why? well, there are so few skills, and they are organised in such a way, that while doing combat you mindlessly repeat the same rotations time after time...
Thats why i like games with combat that force players to react to the things happening on screen, and in general games with a plethora of skills work better for that... this is also the reason i never play DPS classes, but stick to tanks healers and crowd controllers in the trinnity.
Anyway.... while no game is perfect, the combat system in this game is not fun at all, and since i spend most my time doing combat, i quit the game. My favourite games force people to take tactical decisions at the right moment...
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
You just describe TSW boss fight;NM,lairs...
That is what I was thinking. You just described TSW combat to a tee. What do you really want from games?
TSW is kinda of hard @ first when getting through New England, be sure to use Blades or Fist weapons!
I ended up loving the combat HOWEVER I tried New England With just "Blood Magic" and boy was it rough lol!
Once I got blade going for some AOE and tanky stuff things got better fast.
Now I Freaking Love this game
Five options? What do you mean? Build options? Because I can think of four healing builds that do it differently right now and the same number of DPS or Tank builds, all different.. I am not sure I understand what you are saying.
The combat is still the same and there does not seem to be plans on any changes or improvements. There was a lot of talk on different improvements in the works about a year ago, but these plans apparently didn't make it into the game. Augmentations, a system where you can alter the abilities in the game, is on the way, but does not seem to change the combat or how you play to any significant degree from what we have seen so far. Reticule mode targeting has been added, but is considered a beta feature, and only supports a over the shoulder mode witch is not optimal in most situations.
There are a lot of tips on the official forums on how to make the combat experience better. Everything from new gaming mice, autohotkey scripts and creative key bindings. The repetitive combat is still the same, but it's possible to improve your experience so you can enjoy the game as a whole.
To the people who says the combat is fine and just a few players actually complain about it, that is simply not true. This is one of the main complaints when players try out the game. I have friends myself who quit because of it, and ask me from time to time if there has been any improvements. Funcom is aware of the complaints, but have limited resources so they have prioritized other areas, like more content and bug fixing.
To sum it up the game as a whole is better, but the combat is basically the same.
And what game would that be? I would love to play a game with no set rotation, where I have a lot of skills at my disposal to use in any situation I am forced to adapt to. Please I am dying to hear about this.
If you want a new idea, go read an old book.
In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.
One recent example could be Neverwinter witch has a far more active reactionary approach to the combat. Even Guild Wars 2 has it with it's dodging implementation. I would even consider WoW to have more reactionary combat with it's crown control options and so forth. There are lots of examples like this out there. Not sure if that is the type of games that Lord.Bachus had in mind but I pretty much agree with his conclusion, only deference is that I haven't quit playing TSW because of it. I like combat systems where you can impact the outcome of the battle based on how you react to situations that occur during combat. TSW has moved a lot of those decisions out of combat and over to the deck creation process. This might be interesting for a lot of players, but it takes away a sense of accomplishment you might experience in some other combat systems.
This is such a fallacy that I cant stay silent.
TSW has dodge as well, which is absolutely CRITICAL to most of the end-game fights. If you stand at one spot for more than a few seconds, you usually die to some AoE boss mechanics. You have to be aware all the time of the surroundings; this is one of the most reactive and action-based combat out there. The skills does not root you to the ground and everything, including your DPS or healing rotation, requires perfect timing TOGETHER with moving around avoiding boss's abilities.
This game has few skills? This game has over 600 skills. From aoe stuns, through short-distance teleports, threat-reducers, dots, crowd control, chained reactions, impairs, buffs, debuffs, dispels, speed buffs to all kinds of healing, temporary regenerations, mitigation bonuses and EVERYTHING ELSE you actually see in other games, which YOU CAN COMBINE any way you like AND on the run (you don't need to see a trainer, you can switch abilities anytime when you're out of combat even inside a 5-man instance).
YOU take tactical decisions what sorts of abilities you will need for the upcoming fight. Apart from 2 obvious single-target DPS, you have 6 other slots for UTILITY abilities like AOE, BUFFS, DEBUFFS, aggro utilizers or whatever abilities you think will help you. You are able completely rebuild your character from one boss to another, IF THAT doesn't give you enough TACTICAL OPTIONS, then I don't know what does, and I URGE you to mention at least game you think have sufficient tactical options.
REALITY CHECK
Ok but there are actually 7 active and 7 passive slots, not 5. You actually have 8 active slots when you start using the aux weapons. Let's at least be accurate about what is possible. With 525 abilities that can be slotted in the deck, you actually have room for a lot of combos and variety. Work in active and passive synergies and there's quite a bit of depth there.
Dodging and moving is a big part of combat too. Fine if you aren't interested in learning how to create an interesting deck, but plenty others are having fun with the system.
Yeah, another poster said it but there are seven active slots and seven passive slots. That makes 14 slots.
And the tactics comes from matching synergies and creating the right build for the right moment. I don't see how Two rows of action bars on each side of your screen and a huge action bar on the bottom as tactical. Lol, you end up using the same rotations in games with more slots too....
I've never heard the words "Too few skills" and The Secret World used in a sentence before. That's a new one.
The combat is actually decent and is a cool mix of "action" and tab target. If it were up to me things would be a bit less traditional and a little more action. The game could use way better animations though and more variation of them. Things need a bit more balancing as well.
OP talked about wanting "auto attack", so I can what mentality they might have. Combat doesn't suck my friend, it's just not for YOU. You want macros and to stand in one place while you chat and eat snacks. I don't judge you.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My only issue with combat in this game is that the combat animation feels disjointed...
Other than that there is nothing wrong with the mechanics or the system itself.
ya to be bluntly honest.. the combat is mediocre at best. Not fluid, not interesting, animations and effects are poor.
You play The Secret World for the cool story and setting... not for the combat.
There are a lot of tactics in the game. However... when you don't use the tactics, the gameplay is still nearly identical. I've taken multiple characters that I have never played (one of my girlfriend's, and one of my sister's) and the gameplay requires very little tactics. They are there, but they are far from being needed. They are just there to shorten combat by 10 or 20 seconds.
Like many have said on top, the theme is the best in the genre. The stories are the best in the genre. The entire idea and concept is the best in the genre. The animations and combat though, are incredibly dull and boring.