Speed up Swordfighting Please.

[Blister]

[edited: this idea has changed: please see lower down]

Hi. I've been playing HZ since it started, but I have never really got into sword fighting (or mele in general) until recently. I'm playing a two hand swordsman atm, and I must say .... sssslllooowwwww.

I know it's not a Bruce Lee film, but really. It feels like I actually have to wait for someone to throw a dice before I get my swing in.

Any chance we could get the timers for the STANDARD attacks, non special/ability, just the STANDARD attacks shortened please? Like drop the delay timer by 50% and halve the damage maybe? Then perhaps halve the chance of "chance based specials" from cutting in?

I know that two handed weapons are heavey and slow, but to see a bunch of people just standing there and bobbing ...... up ......... and .......... down ........... for ........... ages .............. between ............. attacks ............. is ............. a ............... little .............. bit ................ like ................reading ............. this ................ sentence ................... isn't ........................ it ......................?

[imported_Twelvebagger]

Does anyone just stand there and swing?

[Blister]

Your right. I get just as good one hand slash and shield per level, so when I get the buyback points I'll swap over to one hand sword and shield. I tried it for a while this evening and it "feels" faster and the animations are cooler [img]emoticons/emotion-11.gif[/img]

[Shirewood]

Hunting solo as a healer is just like you describe. I swing with my sword and I have Smash and one other attack I can use. I realize Healers were meant to be part of a larger hunting group.. I find myself hunting alone more often than not.. and man.. is it boring!!! Maybe I'm a different issue... perhaps cleric and healers should get more than just one special attack. seems kinda lame to have one attack while spell casters have a huge list to pick from. I'm sure Warrior is quite the same way. All melee class need some more attacks.. Lowering the delay may help kill a mob faster.. but, it's still boring and lame.


:)

[Guaran]

Healer isn't a melee class tho.

[Blister]

Hunting solo as a healer is just like you describe. I swing with my sword and I have Smash and one other attack I can use. I realize Healers were meant to be part of a larger hunting group.. I find myself hunting alone more often than not.. and man.. is it boring!!! Maybe I'm a different issue... perhaps cleric and healers should get more than just one special attack. seems kinda lame to have one attack while spell casters have a huge list to pick from. I'm sure Warrior is quite the same way. All melee class need some more attacks.. Lowering the delay may help kill a mob faster.. but, it's still boring and lame.
[img]/Web/emoticons/emotion-1.gif[/img]

I use "Gnomian prowess" a lot now. This is two hand slash I'm about to describe. It halves all delay to 50% for 30 seconds. Now Blister goes off like a frog in a sock ..... but it's actually worse. He looks like an animated .gif cycling over and over. Multi-strike and Critical hit have different animations, thank goodness, but it's all so the same 90% of the time.

What about:
Whirlwind spin arounds
Fore then back slashes
Dive-roll-past then hack from behind
Stick the sword in the ground and swing around it for a kick to the face
Crotch killer upper cuts
Femoral Artery shots
Hamstringing
Sword hilt smash to the face
Swing, spin and punch

Some of these could become automatic as your skills increase, or with training quests perhaps.

Programmable chaining for your favorite combos

I'm not a swordsman (still new to it) and these litterally just happened as I'm typing, so please bare that in mind before telling me how "not like the other game I played" or "not REAL world" they are. they are just some suggestions to spice things up a bit.

Spellcasters really need a few more animations as well.

And staff weapons could go way off as well .... WAY off IMHO.

[Jayne]

Leave my two hand axe alone! I'll take slow to keep my damage as is, thank you!

Jayne

[Helcat]

Hunting solo as a healer is just like you describe. I swing with my sword and I have Smash and one other attack I can use.

as far as I knew, Healers could not weild swords...

[Blister]

Leave my two hand axe alone! I'll take slow to keep my damage as is, thank you!
Jayne


Excellent! Then don't do the training quests, and don't use them. I didn't say they are more powerful, although different effects of each attack would add depth and tactics to something that can get a bit "click and make coffee" sometimes.

[imported_Ssilmath]

http://community.istaria.com/Web/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=45908

I'll see if I can find some other posts on the subject...

[Jayne]

I always use axe, but don't do quests.

Jayne

[Shirewood]

[img]/Web/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif[/img]Shirewood wrote: Hunting solo as a healer is just like you describe. I swing with my sword and I have Smash and one other attack I can use.

as far as I knew, Healers could not weild swords...

Thanks, I meant a mace.

[Varangaard]

Part of the problem with fiddling with weapons' innate delay is the effect on damage. Horizons combat is funny in a way that it uses delay to adjust your DPS (damage per second). The calculation is done like:

weapon base damage + (stat*delay/X) + (skill*delay/Y) - (armor*delay/Z)

which is then randomized on bell curve. The variables X, Y and Z are secret, we only know that Y = 1.5 * X (statistics are 33% more effective on damage) and Z < X (we are told that equal amound of armor stops more damage than strength is able to make).

As we can also see here, it is not critically important to keep your weapons up to date on higher levels as your skill and statistic will be responsible for most of damage. Indeed, a friend of mine, while levelling chaos warrior, used to wield an initiate's edge (lvl 1 weapon) because his slash skill was higher and the Edge is usable by all classes - thus being the only slashing weapon a chaos warrior can use.

[Levity]

Only one, he says. ... umm .. Blade of Rending .... ? *still using hers at 63 Ice Disciple* Though I understand those are rare enough these days they do not come to mind so easily.

-Levity Merrel
100 RVR/63 ICED

[Blister]

http://community.istaria.com/Web/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=45908

I'll see if I can find some other posts on the subject...

Thanks Elder Ssilmath : ) I hadn't thought about finishing moves, but thats a wonderfull idea as well.

My suggestion has moved away from just "speeding it up" as well.

The most important thing is to stop the cycling animation boredom.

I want depth, involvment and more than anything TACTICS! A hilt smash could stun (for a tiny time - 1 second, 1/2 second?), just tiny variances, not as good as current skills, but enough to let the elite and masterfull take slight advantage of.

Perhaps auto chaining, with the option to take manual control of the chain attacks?

[imported_Twelvebagger]

Part of the problem with fiddling with weapons' innate delay is the effect on damage. Horizons combat is funny in a way that it uses delay to adjust your DPS (damage per second). The calculation is done like:

weapon base damage + (stat*delay/X) + (skill*delay/Y) - (armor*delay/Z)

which is then randomized on bell curve. The variables X, Y and Z are secret, we only know that Y = 1.5 * X (statistics are 33% more effective on damage) and Z < X (we are told that equal amound of armor stops more damage than strength is able to make).

As we can also see here, it is not critically important to keep your weapons up to date on higher levels as your skill and statistic will be responsible for most of damage. Indeed, a friend of mine, while levelling chaos warrior, used to wield an initiate's edge (lvl 1 weapon) because his slash skill was higher and the Edge is usable by all classes - thus being the only slashing weapon a chaos warrior can use.

I was going to post the concept to the above w/o the math but you beat me to it.

Lowering delay and adjusting damage accordingly would screw a lot of combat up. Most of my farming relies on one are attack hitting for 1k damage, only possible through high delay weaponry with higher damage.

But, it looks like the original idea has turned to something different (and better, IMHO).