cRPG

cRPG => Suggestions Corner => Game Balance Discussion => Topic started by: Penitent on February 07, 2014, 08:20:23 pm

Title: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Penitent on February 07, 2014, 08:20:23 pm
Let me try to rephrase this...I believe I was grossly misunderstood.  Be polite or you will hurt my feelings.

Almost all weapons that have blunt (primary or alternate mode) have knockdown.
This is true for all weapons except military pick and steel pick.  It doesn't make sense to me.  They lose 2 damage to gain 1 speed, but knockdown is not attached like other weapons.

I suggest that knockdowns get added there.  They aren't that heavy to make them OP I believe...not any more OP than the other weapons in this list anyways:

Bec: pierce/blunt+knockdown
Poleaxe: cut/blunt+knockdown
Warhammer: pierce/blunt+knockdown
Military Hammer: pierce/blunt+knockdown
Steel pick: pierce/blunt w/o knockdown
Military pick:  pierce/blunt w/o knockdown
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Panos_ on February 07, 2014, 08:23:35 pm
Dadaw
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: bavvoz on February 07, 2014, 08:33:33 pm
spears lack knockdown aswell even though staffs have it. (imagine how op warspear as example would be with knockdown)
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Penitent on February 07, 2014, 08:39:26 pm
spears lack knockdown aswell even though staffs have it. (imagine how op warspear as example would be with knockdown)

Spear is not a primary/alternate mode weapon.  It's not like the weapons listed at all, nor does it relate to the topic title.  It is a completely different animal. 
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Moncho on February 07, 2014, 10:32:08 pm
Huh, I was convinced that they had kd, but after using the military pick on secondary mode for a couple of maps in DTV, I have not been able to knockdown a single bot. Then using a knobbed mace (24b vs the 26 on the mil pick), I got some kds, so it is not an issue of me not being able to kd because of my build
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Tydeus on February 07, 2014, 11:27:44 pm
Giving the picks knockdown would create conflicts with other 1h kd weapons if the stats given were actually decent. So don't plan on this happening.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Phew on February 10, 2014, 06:03:00 pm
Giving the picks knockdown would create conflicts with other 1h kd weapons if the stats given were actually decent. So don't plan on this happening.

The blunt mode of the Bec makes the Long Hafted Knobbed/Spiked Maces nearly obsolete, yet someone thought that was a good idea. A couple nights ago on NA2, something like 75% of the melee players were running around with Becs in secondary mode.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: gallonigher on February 10, 2014, 06:38:05 pm
The blunt mode of the Bec makes the Long Hafted Knobbed/Spiked Maces nearly obsolete, yet someone thought that was a good idea. A couple nights ago on NA2, something like 75% of the melee players were running around with Becs in secondary mode.

You blame me, don't you?










 :wink: jk
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Phew on February 10, 2014, 06:58:56 pm
You blame me, don't you?

You can probably take credit for it, as I can't think of anyone else on NA2 that consistently used the blunt mode of the Bec as their primary attack before you.

I remember years ago when the Long Hafted Spiked Mace was considered the "poor man's Bec", and it was the first weapon I bought in cRPG. Then they nerfed the heck out of the LHSM, and gave the Bec a very nice secondary mode. I don't think the Bec secondary needs to be nerfed, but you have to admit it makes most of the other non-crushthrough blunt polearms obsolete, with the exception of Jona's Spammaster's Staff.

I'm still waiting for NA2 to get roll...
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Tydeus on February 10, 2014, 10:44:09 pm
It really doesn't, Phew. Check the loom "ranks" on the website. The bec has imodbits_polearm, the other two are dedicated kd weapons so they have imodbits_mace. Kind of an Apples & Oranges thing here. Sure it has kd, but the bec suffers a kd penalty due to having below 3 weight, while the others gain weight upon being heirloomed, and therefore get increased kd chance.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Penitent on February 10, 2014, 11:08:33 pm
It really doesn't, Phew. Check the loom "ranks" on the website. The bec has imodbits_polearm, the other two are dedicated kd weapons so they have imodbits_mace. Kind of an Apples & Oranges thing here. Sure it has kd, but the bec suffers a kd penalty due to having below 3 weight, while the others gain weight upon being heirloomed, and therefore get increased kd chance.

Good counter point-- it's important to look at all loom levels for balance.  Still, the fact that the unloomed bec kind of makes the unloomed long maces redundant is relevant.

Also, in terms of game-play usefulness, it's my experience that +1 speed is actually more desirable than a small weight increase, actually giving the bec the edge in my opinion.  Perhaps not everyone has that opinion though.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Phew on February 10, 2014, 11:08:48 pm
It really doesn't, Phew. Check the loom "ranks" on the website. The bec has imodbits_polearm, the other two are dedicated kd weapons so they have imodbits_mace. Kind of an Apples & Oranges thing here. Sure it has kd, but the bec suffers a kd penalty due to having below 3 weight, while the others gain weight upon being heirloomed, and therefore get increased kd chance.

The Bec Secondary mode is 10 times more used than the Steel Pick secondary mode, based on the last NA1 stats I saw. Obviously it's because of knockdown, so that 14% knockdown on the Bec secondary is apparently pretty valuable to the player base. If the reasoning for not giving the 1h picks secondary mode knockdown was because they get weight when heirloomed, just change the aforementioned imodbits of picks to be the same as 1h swords. I don't think heirloomed pick users are particularly attached to that extra 0.2kg, especially if you traded it for knockdown in secondary mode.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Tydeus on February 11, 2014, 01:06:14 am
Unlike with polearms, where the high pierce damage weapons are rather unique in comparison to the blunt kd weapons, the difference between the 1h kd and pierce weapons, is much less. Giving the weapons kd would make them a bit too good at the moment. Regardless, nothing will be done with kd until after we see the effects of the new formula.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: kinngrimm on February 11, 2014, 01:20:51 am
...until after we see the effects of the new formula.
what new formular?
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Phew on February 11, 2014, 01:55:21 am
what new formular?

I assume it's a rework of the knockdown chance calculation to reward higher quality hits (heatshots, held attacks, etc) with higher knockdown chance while making "poor quality" hits (near-glance, un-held torso hits, etc) be much less likely to knockdown.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: kinngrimm on February 11, 2014, 02:02:39 am
I assume it's a rework of the knockdown chance calculation to reward higher quality hits (heatshots, held attacks, etc) with higher knockdown chance while making "poor quality" hits (near-glance, un-held torso hits, etc) be much less likely to knockdown.
if done as you suppose, then it would be a good thing indeed.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Moncho on February 11, 2014, 02:17:19 am
if done as you suppose, then it would be a good thing indeed.
He posted this earlier today:
If we stick with the formula I proposed, leg and head hits will have increased chance, while body hits will have less.

Quote from: Tydeus on 04 February 2014, 21:21:59
Change the knockdown formula so that leg and head hits use formula 1 and all other hits use formula 2.
Formula 1: (rand(0.0, 1.0) + .05 < min(item_weight * 0.33, 2.0) * min((raw_damage - 40.0) * 0.2, 5.0) * 0.015)
Formula 2: (rand(0.0, 1.0) < min(max(item_weight * 0.33, 1.0), 2.0) * min(max((raw_damage - 40.0) * 0.5, 5.0), 15.0) * 0.015)
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: gallonigher on February 11, 2014, 03:06:13 am
I assume it's a rework of the knockdown chance calculation to reward higher quality hits (heatshots, held attacks, etc) with higher knockdown chance while making "poor quality" hits (near-glance, un-held torso hits, etc) be much less likely to knockdown.


I like that; it would certainly clean up the random knockdowns that seem to spam from every direction
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: dreadnok on February 18, 2014, 02:25:22 pm
The blunt mode of the Bec makes the Long Hafted Knobbed/Spiked Maces nearly obsolete, yet someone thought that was a good idea. A couple nights ago on NA2, something like 75% of the melee players were running around with Becs in secondary mode.

The became is a cheese dick weapon to begin with. The length and the model do not match up at all.  You get hit so far away from it because it looks like its going to miss then bam your hit. Not to mention the damage on the pierce is beastly. Forget about even seeing an overhead . Just up and hit.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: dreadnok on February 18, 2014, 02:26:25 pm
l :oops:
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: dreadnok on February 18, 2014, 02:28:25 pm
I assume it's a rework of the knockdown chance calculation to reward higher quality hits (heatshots, held attacks, etc) with higher knockdown chance while making "poor quality" hits (near-glance, un-held torso hits, etc) be much less likely to knockdown.


Which would be fantastic!
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: San on August 19, 2014, 01:37:43 am
Necro!

I think that with the updated knockdown and rolls, 1h pierce alt modes should have knockdown added. Knockdown used to be unthinkable at the weapon speeds of these alt modes, but the knockdown mechanic is much more robust than before.

Pickaxe alt mode: 16b->20b + knockdown (alt mode is slower, so damage difference is smaller)
Fighting pick alt mode: add knockdown
Military pick alt mode:26b->25b + knockdown. Reduce weight to 1.8.
Steel pick alt mode: 28b->27b + knockdown. Reduce weight to 1.8.

This still makes them quite a bit weaker than their mace counterparts, but this change gives the weapons some additional strategies without being overcentralizing.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: MURDERTRON on August 19, 2014, 07:09:41 am
Knock down is a liability for 1hers now, since the roll is so fast and so long, forcing you to close the distance again with your short weapon.  It's even worse for shielders due to the movement penalty.  I don't think they really need it or would benefit that much.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Kafein on August 19, 2014, 09:34:01 am
Knock down is a liability for 1hers now, since the roll is so fast and so long, forcing you to close the distance again with your short weapon.  It's even worse for shielders due to the movement penalty.  I don't think they really need it or would benefit that much.

It's not like it ever happens with 1h unless your enemy lets you knock him down on purpose anyway.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Senni__Ti on August 19, 2014, 04:30:45 pm
Knockdown from the 1hs has always been a pet peeve of mine.
There is really nothing I dislike more in CRPG. (Knockdown in general)

I find it doesn't add anything to the game for me, only detracts from it. I don't want the ability to get a cheap swing on an opponent leading to free hits, it just cheapens it for me.
On the otherside, getting hit by a knockdown weapon, ending up on the floor and usually dieing. That's pretty irritating to say the least.
Especially when the hit does less than 10% damage, yet I still end up on the floor for them to likely kill me. (Usually 1hs from my experience)

In a dream scenario, I'd like to see knockdown removed from most the 1h weapons, leaving just the heavier ones like warhammer, military hammer etc.

This could be tied in with a 1h rebalance
- shield skill to every 6 agi (free up points, allows 1hers to get similar builds to 2h/polearms at the same levels e.g. 18 21 lvl 30)
- 1h stab nerf (keep the animation, reduce damage 1-2 points)
- a buff to the weapons that lose KD (dmg or speed were appropriate)

Just my 2 cents/pennies
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: AwesomeHail on August 19, 2014, 04:44:42 pm
Knockdown from the 1hs has always been a pet peeve of mine.
There is really nothing I dislike more in CRPG. (Knockdown in general)

I find it doesn't add anything to the game for me, only detracts from it. I don't want the ability to get a cheap swing on an opponent leading to free hits, it just cheapens it for me.
On the otherside, getting hit by a knockdown weapon, ending up on the floor and usually dieing. That's pretty irritating to say the least.
Especially when the hit does less than 10% damage, yet I still end up on the floor for them to likely kill me. (Usually 1hs from my experience)

In a dream scenario, I'd like to see knockdown removed from most the 1h weapons, leaving just the heavier ones like warhammer, military hammer etc.

This could be tied in with a 1h rebalance
- shield skill to every 6 agi (free up points, allows 1hers to get similar builds to 2h/polearms at the same levels e.g. 18 21 lvl 30)
- 1h stab nerf (keep the animation, reduce damage 1-2 points)
- a buff to the weapons that lose KD (dmg or speed were appropriate)

Just my 2 cents/pennies

I dont even know how to roll, i mean i try, but fail every time.

every cunt 1hits me anyways , fucking levelwhores nowadays
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Phew on August 19, 2014, 04:47:02 pm
This could be tied in with a 1h rebalance
- shield skill to every 6 agi (free up points, allows 1hers to get similar builds to 2h/polearms at the same levels e.g. 18 21 lvl 30)
- 1h stab nerf (keep the animation, reduce damage 1-2 points)
- a buff to the weapons that lose KD (dmg or speed were appropriate)

When I used to use knockdown 1h, it caused me to teamwound allies about as often as it enabled a "free" kill (knock someone down, teammate accidentally walks over them while they are on the ground). I'd probably be more likely to use the Spathovaklion if it had knockdown removed, as its stats are still nice without knockdown. Military Sickle would fit the bill if it didn't look like a farm implement.

Your shield skill idea is interesting, although 4 shield skill is all anyone really needs nowadays, and that's still a good use of points compared to say 4 IF. 1h stab is indeed quite powerful, but as long as 2h has lolstab and pole has lightning overheads and right swing, 1h might as well have something OP as well.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: AwesomeHail on August 19, 2014, 05:27:29 pm
When I used to use knockdown 1h, it caused me to teamwound allies about as often as it enabled a "free" kill (knock someone down, teammate accidentally walks over them while they are on the ground). I'd probably be more likely to use the Spathovaklion if it had knockdown removed, as its stats are still nice without knockdown. Military Sickle would fit the bill if it didn't look like a farm implement.

Your shield skill idea is interesting, although 4 shield skill is all anyone really needs nowadays, and that's still a good use of points compared to say 4 IF. 1h stab is indeed quite powerful, but as long as 2h has lolstab and pole has lightning overheads and right swing, 1h might as well have something OP as well.

well said.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: MURDERTRON on August 19, 2014, 05:33:18 pm
In my experience, although mostly related to Strat battles, 1h is the worst class to hit someone on the ground with.  The overhead is questionable on whether or not it will hit a downed opponent and if you miss with a longer weapon you risk bouncing and getting ganked.  The right swing is wide, and often gets caught on teammates also trying to steal a free kill.  The left swing requires you to stand over the body, which means you're going to get team hit.  It used to drive me nuts in Strat when I scored a knockdown with a great maul or long maul only to have a teammate 1h shielder stand over the guy and then I TK him.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Phew on August 19, 2014, 06:04:28 pm
In my experience, although mostly related to Strat battles, 1h is the worst class to hit someone on the ground with.  The overhead is questionable on whether or not it will hit a downed opponent and if you miss with a longer weapon you risk bouncing and getting ganked.  The right swing is wide, and often gets caught on teammates also trying to steal a free kill.  The left swing requires you to stand over the body, which means you're going to get team hit.  It used to drive me nuts in Strat when I scored a knockdown with a great maul or long maul only to have a teammate 1h shielder stand over the guy and then I TK him.

Yeah, I can't hit guys on the ground to save my life with 1h. Overhead and stab bounce then stun me so I die when the guy gets up. The sideswings indeed have the problems you mention.

When fighting a 1h, the ground is about the safest place you can be.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Kafein on August 19, 2014, 06:15:14 pm
Knockdown from the 1hs has always been a pet peeve of mine.
There is really nothing I dislike more in CRPG. (Knockdown in general)

I find it doesn't add anything to the game for me, only detracts from it. I don't want the ability to get a cheap swing on an opponent leading to free hits, it just cheapens it for me.
On the otherside, getting hit by a knockdown weapon, ending up on the floor and usually dieing. That's pretty irritating to say the least.
Especially when the hit does less than 10% damage, yet I still end up on the floor for them to likely kill me. (Usually 1hs from my experience)

In a dream scenario, I'd like to see knockdown removed from most the 1h weapons, leaving just the heavier ones like warhammer, military hammer etc.

This could be tied in with a 1h rebalance
- shield skill to every 6 agi (free up points, allows 1hers to get similar builds to 2h/polearms at the same levels e.g. 18 21 lvl 30)
- 1h stab nerf (keep the animation, reduce damage 1-2 points)
- a buff to the weapons that lose KD (dmg or speed were appropriate)

Just my 2 cents/pennies

All this hysteria about 1h knockdown is purely psychological. In fact 2h and pole knockdown weapons were and are still much better overall and knock people down much more often. It was already the case before but since the knockdown chance patch, knockdown with 1h basically never happens. The reason people don't complain about 2h or polearm knockdown is because when they get hit by either of those things they expect to die in much fewer hits than with 1h and indeed they do. Now throw knockdown into the mix, when it takes 8 hits to down someone using a 1h hammer, knockdown was very likely to happen at some point. Not so much with a 2h or pole that requires half as much hits.

The only problem I see with knockdown is that it's random. The fact that it adds damage is actually good, because this mod has a general lack of weapons that are effective against armor, especially in the 1h department.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Senni__Ti on August 19, 2014, 06:17:45 pm
When I used to use knockdown 1h, it caused me to teamwound allies about as often as it enabled a "free" kill (knock someone down, teammate accidentally walks over them while they are on the ground). I'd probably be more likely to use the Spathovaklion if it had knockdown removed, as its stats are still nice without knockdown. Military Sickle would fit the bill if it didn't look like a farm implement.

Your shield skill idea is interesting, although 4 shield skill is all anyone really needs nowadays, and that's still a good use of points compared to say 4 IF. 1h stab is indeed quite powerful, but as long as 2h has lolstab and pole has lightning overheads and right swing, 1h might as well have something OP as well.

Even if a teammate walked on the player on the floor, I'm guessing the player on the floor was still the one who ended up dead 90% of the time?
Getting KD on the first hit with a very fast weapon is the thing I hate the most. This is pretty much the 1h KDers (couple of polearms are like it aswell), and it's like iceing on an already pretty disgusting cake (it's really bad iceing :P).

Even if you don't get the free hit on the ground, someone else might. Also even if they don't get hit on the ground, they've been stuck on the spot awhile now, more than enough time for them to be completely outflanked, resulting in them dieing shortly afterwards.
And its really good at breaking concentration and demoralizing, I mean how often do people calmly get through it and win?

Shield skill wise, it came to me after speaking to a couple of friends who are long term 1hers and playing for a gen and to level 32/33 myself; it's pretty odd that 1h get lower dmg weapons, worse animations in many respects and worse skills/builds for the same level.

Just seems like a stack of negative things and it's hard to balance a stack. It would be easier if their negatives were focused in fewer areas.
So, to reduce damage: worse weapons, not worse weapons and builds.

Seems overly convoluted atm in that respect.

Regards to stab, it just seems like they had artificially high dmg, due to the old animations sucking and rarely doing full dmg.
Now the animation is great, yet they still have stabs outstripping most 2hs and many polearms and isn't proportionate to the swing.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Senni__Ti on August 19, 2014, 06:28:01 pm
All this hysteria about 1h knockdown is purely psychological.

1H KNOCKDOWN IS COMING!
THE WORLD IS ENDING KAFEIN, THE WORLD IS ENDING.

I am aware polearms and 2h do knockdown regularly. (I did mention I dislike knockdown in general)
I disagree that it happens more often with 2h and polearms.
1) 1h KD weapons tend to be a more common occurrence
2) 1h is easier to hit the head with
3) 1h can swing faster, more swings can occur in the same time frame with a 1h than polearm or 2h (average polearm, 2h, 1h)

And regardless of the frequency, I still find it's a broken fun-sapping mechanic, that occurs often enough for me to make this post.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Wraist on August 19, 2014, 07:12:45 pm
^I don't think 1h can attack more often than 2h/pole, or at least in any meaningful sense.

1h KB pisses me off because they could do it with a shield, if they don't have a shield, I don't particularly care

Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: AwesomeHail on August 19, 2014, 08:56:50 pm
2hers usually have more str than 1hers, so kd occurs more often there?
anyways, there are plenty of weps that are good against tincans (fucking steel picks man, they kill the game)
when i go 1h i go swashbuckler, and that sucks in general.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Huscarlton_Banks on August 19, 2014, 11:46:55 pm
On adding knockdown to 1h secondary modes:


On knockdown in general:


Quote
1h can swing faster, more swings can occur in the same time frame with a 1h than polearm or 2h (average polearm, 2h, 1h)

I don't think that this is a valid point for actual combat unless nobody bothers targetting, blocking, or moving away from you.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Senni__Ti on August 19, 2014, 11:51:23 pm
It was just a point on the frequency of knockdowns, 1h gets more attempts in the same timeframe.
That's all.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Wraist on August 19, 2014, 11:58:50 pm
^But you also have to account for length, and weapon weight so a heavy 2her/pole could hypothetically swing atleast twice for every 1her swing.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: San on August 20, 2014, 12:35:07 am
I just never liked the pick weapons being able to stun others so easily. It gave me many free wins and felt like an exploit, since the weapon is fast, powerful, and heavy all in one. It is unfortunate that weight doesn't do anything until after 3, but a good argument against it is that it might not be so bad that damage is the sole determiner before weight begins to factor.

It's hard to say which gets more knockdowns, especially since 2h/pole blunt weapons are likely to kill before getting the knockdown. I believe the formula is WSE and therefore probably isn't going to be changed.

If people decide to use the alt mode 1-5% of the time instead of 0%, I'll consider it a success as long as the stats are acceptable.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Kafein on August 20, 2014, 12:53:08 am
It was just a point on the frequency of knockdowns, 1h gets more attempts in the same timeframe.
That's all.

But they don't. Slower and shorter weapons (on average) don't get more hits. The thing is, if you consider single hits, the 1h hits are less likely to kill therefore more likely to knockdown.

Also note that since the introduction of rolls, knockdowns already had very little remaining impact on combat. It's fairly easy to achieve 100% rolling hence a knockdown is actually a liability in that context as it removes the initiative for the next hit, instead of giving a free hit.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Senni__Ti on August 20, 2014, 02:19:21 am
But they don't. Slower and shorter weapons (on average) don't get more hits.
Slow?

Which weapon are you talking about?
Slowest I could find is 95 speed. (military hammer)

The thing is, if you consider single hits, the 1h hits are less likely to kill therefore more likely to knockdown.

Polearm and 2h KD weapons don't tend to kill in one hit either.
They would be more likely to KD on a single hit basis. (If KD is largely raw dmg based, which iirc it is)

Also note that since the introduction of rolls, knockdowns already had very little remaining impact on combat. It's fairly easy to achieve 100% rolling hence a knockdown is actually a liability in that context as it removes the initiative for the next hit, instead of giving a free hit.

Hard to comment on without data.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: MURDERTRON on August 20, 2014, 07:07:44 am
Senni, speed doesn't translate directly across like that.  Also don't forget to factor in that having a shield slows your swings down too.  Plus 1hers are generally shorter and can't start swinging until they're closer in.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Huscarlton_Banks on August 20, 2014, 10:00:25 am
I haven't really noticed pick stunning (or heck, using 1hs in general for stunning, even Iron Battle Axe/any blunt weapon that ends up 2.5+ weight) being a big thing except against people using really light 1hs with no shield, though maybe it's just my build having low str/ps and me/other people not using enough held overheads. I guess I can't complain about the change if it doesn't really affect me though, and 100 speed 30b + kd at +3 seems too lulzy to pass up even if +3 Spathovaklion has .5 more weight and 11 more length with the same damage.

I don't think having a shield slows swings down for weapons that are just 1h weapons, I'd say that lack of reach + slower movement speed from shield weight/points used up in shield skill that could go to AGI/ATH make up for any speed differences though. Staff/Quarterstaff are pretty much the kings of viable kd attempts/second, and they're really easy to swing at the feet with.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Senni__Ti on August 20, 2014, 02:45:57 pm
I haven't really noticed pick stunning (or heck, using 1hs in general for stunning, even Iron Battle Axe/any blunt weapon that ends up 2.5+ weight) being a big thing except against people using really light 1hs with no shield, though maybe it's just my build having low str/ps and me/other people not using enough held overheads. I guess I can't complain about the change if it doesn't really affect me though, and 100 speed 30b + kd at +3 seems too lulzy to pass up even if +3 Spathovaklion has .5 more weight and 11 more length with the same damage.

I don't think having a shield slows swings down for weapons that are just 1h weapons, I'd say that lack of reach + slower movement speed from shield weight/points used up in shield skill that could go to AGI/ATH make up for any speed differences though. Staff/Quarterstaff are pretty much the kings of viable kd attempts/second, and they're really easy to swing at the feet with.

Yeah, hard to beat the staff/quarterstaff on KD potential.
They are a pretty large deviation from the norm though, tbh I'm not sure why they have KD either.

I disagree about the speed difference though, the lack of reach does prevent the first hit in most fights, but most fights usually close in range pretty quick.
Besides, not all 1hers have shields. I've noticed quite a few swashbucklers with just maces floating around. (EU)

On my 1h, I found it quite possible to spam people with a mil hammer, getting frequent KD. (24 18, aimed for the face)
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Phew on August 20, 2014, 03:37:20 pm
I think most people choosing 1h picks/maces/hammers nowadays value hard-to-see models moreso than knockdown or stats. Everyone complains about the Spathovaklion being hard to see, but with Final Boss' texture pack it's a bright silver (much easier to see than the normal dark gray). Like I said before, I'm not a fan of 1h knockdown, but I do love the thump sound that blunt weapons make on contact.

I really wish the Spathovaklion had knockdown removed (maybe have 1b added to compensate). Then we'd have a nice thumpy 1h weapon without dealing with all the annoyances of knockdown. That thing doesn't look like it could knock anyone over; it has less mass at the head than any axe.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Senni__Ti on August 20, 2014, 03:50:06 pm
I think most people choosing 1h picks/maces/hammers nowadays value hard-to-see models moreso than knockdown or stats. Everyone complains about the Spathovaklion being hard to see, but with Final Boss' texture pack it's a bright silver (much easier to see than the normal dark gray). Like I said before, I'm not a fan of 1h knockdown, but I do love the thump sound that blunt weapons make on contact.

I really wish the Spathovaklion had knockdown removed (maybe have 1b added to compensate). Then we'd have a nice thumpy 1h weapon without dealing with all the annoyances of knockdown. That thing doesn't look like it could knock anyone over; it has less mass at the head than any axe.

I would enjoy a nice thumpy weapon, I just feel like an arse when I use a KD weapon :/.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Kafein on August 20, 2014, 09:28:28 pm
Slow?

Which weapon are you talking about?
Slowest I could find is 95 speed. (military hammer)

Senni, speed doesn't translate directly across like that.  Also don't forget to factor in that having a shield slows your swings down too.  Plus 1hers are generally shorter and can't start swinging until they're closer in.

This. Speed rating has only a very small impact on the actual time to hit in combat. Compare the time between clicking and hitting of a stock poleaxe (90) with a stock scimitar (100), both in the best conditions (i.e. turning into your swings) and you'll get funny results.

Polearm and 2h KD weapons don't tend to kill in one hit either.
They would be more likely to KD on a single hit basis. (If KD is largely raw dmg based, which iirc it is)

If you consider a target with full HP it's true, but the damage difference between 1h and the others is sufficient to increase the chances of a knockdown happening at least once during a duel with 1h (due to the additional hits required to kill) beyond that of 2h and polearms.

I'd personally rather see knockdown completely eliminated as that would justify buffing the damage of knockdown weapons which is what they really need. When knockdown was nerfed very little was done to compensate. I assume Tydeus's reasoning was that knockdown weapons were not stronger or weaker but rather the ideal way to use them changed but after seeing the effects of the changes I don't agree with that.

Just to put things in perspective, before the knockdown changes I repeatedly did the "hit, knockdown, hit, kick, hit" combo using a +3 mil. hammer, 6PS and 184 effective wpf (that's a lot of bonus damage). Against most guys running around with +3 heavy kuyak, when i was lucky I could pull that combo off three times in a row and they'd still get up afterwards. That's "hit, knockdown, hit, kick, hit, knockdown, hit, kick, hit, knockdown, hit, kick, hit", plus some swings before and after. People always say "that's a lot of free hits" and it is. But it also means that without knockdown I'd need to make them miss their block (or rather, miss their spam) 7 or more times on average. In my opinion knockdown weapons are worthless right now, and in my expertise 1h knockdown weapons definitely are.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: San on August 20, 2014, 11:00:33 pm
I used the steel pick so long before that I forgot about the 1h weight increases back last March. Nevermind about the weight changes, then.


I think there are two factors affecting knockdown:

- Most players haven't grown accustomed to hitting the head/legs properly enough. The % knockdown is actually higher when hitting those areas 100% of the time compared to the past
- Everyone who is good learned how to roll without fail by then. The time frame needed to roll is too lenient.

Rolling should have its window shifted from the moment you hit the ground to the moment the knockdown begins. That way, you fail the roll if you don't respond in time instead of the gracious time we currently have. It should be more difficult to perform on reaction.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: gallonigher on August 20, 2014, 11:32:44 pm
^ this

The roll function, as it is now, totally defeats the purpose of knockdown; it needs to be much harder to pull off successfully.  Or at least shorten the distance on the roll so the person who knocked you down still has a decent chance to hit you.  I find it hilariously misguided how you can cover more distance by rolling across the ground than you can by running/jumping. LOLWAT?????
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Huscarlton_Banks on August 21, 2014, 12:50:49 am
I have no idea if the real average knockdown rate is higher than the past for some weapons/builds since you only needed 40 raw damage to max out the damage portion of the old knockdown formula, and you need 70 raw damage to max it out now. There's also some stuff like are there any speed bonus differences if you tilt your swings, and how many hits accidentally hit the arms/body from being too close, or the target looking down/swinging with their weapon.

It's true that the maximum knockdown rate is higher than the past though, I just dunno how well it translates into an average with AGI builds/actual gameplay, especially with weaker weapons.

According to some stuff cmpxchg8b posted on TW, hit location bonuses come after raw damage is calculated, so here it just involves hold bonus, speed bonus, weapon damage, power strike, and proficiency.

(click to show/hide)


Code: (KD comparison) [Select]
Weight   Old Max %            Raw damage needed with new formula and same weight for old max %                              New Max % (70 raw damage vs head/legs)
   2          10                                           ~53.33                                                                             22.5
  2.5        12.5                                          ~56.68                                                                             22.5
   3          15                                           ~60.00                                                                             22.5
  3.5        17.5                                          ~60.24                                                                             25.99
   4          20                                           ~60.20                                                                             29.7
  4.5        22.5                                          ~60.20                                                                             33.41
   5          25                                           ~60.20                                                                             37.13
  5.5        27.5                                          ~60.20                                                                             40.84
   6          30                                           ~60.20                                                                             44.55



I'd be in favor of giving blunt weapons some more reliable niche like weapon stunning, or having more obvious differences in effectiveness vs. armor between blunt/pierce, rebalancing one to be more effective against squishy/medium armor people, and the other heavy armored people.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Senni__Ti on August 21, 2014, 01:14:54 am
This. Speed rating has only a very small impact on the actual time to hit in combat. Compare the time between clicking and hitting of a stock poleaxe (90) with a stock scimitar (100), both in the best conditions (i.e. turning into your swings) and you'll get funny results.


I am aware of the time to intercept.
I was referring to repeated swings, not just one swing.

Besides, we both agree polearms are dodgy in time to intercept :P.

If you consider a target with full HP it's true, but the damage difference between 1h and the others is sufficient to increase the chances of a knockdown happening at least once during a duel with 1h (due to the additional hits required to kill) beyond that of 2h and polearms.

I'd personally rather see knockdown completely eliminated as that would justify buffing the damage of knockdown weapons which is what they really need.

Couldn't agree more.

When knockdown was nerfed very little was done to compensate. I assume Tydeus's reasoning was that knockdown weapons were not stronger or weaker but rather the ideal way to use them changed but after seeing the effects of the changes I don't agree with that.

Just to put things in perspective, before the knockdown changes I repeatedly did the "hit, knockdown, hit, kick, hit" combo using a +3 mil. hammer, 6PS and 184 effective wpf (that's a lot of bonus damage). Against most guys running around with +3 heavy kuyak, when i was lucky I could pull that combo off three times in a row and they'd still get up afterwards. That's "hit, knockdown, hit, kick, hit, knockdown, hit, kick, hit, knockdown, hit, kick, hit", plus some swings before and after. People always say "that's a lot of free hits" and it is. But it also means that without knockdown I'd need to make them miss their block (or rather, miss their spam) 7 or more times on average. In my opinion knockdown weapons are worthless right now, and in my expertise 1h knockdown weapons definitely are.

I disagree.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: MURDERTRON on August 21, 2014, 03:45:03 am
The roll should be slowed down and shortened, if we're really going to discuss how it needs to be changed.  It should be a slightly better option than just sitting there.  When you take a hit, you're slightly behind and you'd best be ready to block the next attack, but if you're knocked down, you fly half the map away, and the other guy wastes his swing trying to hit where you were.

How it should play out is a player knocks you down and starts to swing at where you are, you roll and you survive for another second OR good player knocks you down, holds his swing for a quarter of a second to see if you roll, you roll, he has enough time to cover the distance as long as he isn't a pure strength build and he has a chance to hit you again.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Senni__Ti on August 21, 2014, 02:05:01 pm
I'd like to see another option added, like in MBII (a jedi academy mod). Where if knocked down, you can roll or if you held crouch when hit, you get up a hell of a lot faster, but can't block.

Obviously we don't have crouch, but maybe ctrl? (walk button)

And yeah, the travel distance with rolls is too much.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Penitent on August 21, 2014, 06:00:47 pm
I like knockdown as a mechanic because it adds something unique to the mod.  It adds some depth.  It's fun.

Much more important is fixing roll.  You should move over like 1 body-width in distance, just enough to avoid the next hit...but perhaps not far enough to avoid the one after that.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: MURDERTRON on August 22, 2014, 04:12:23 am
We're thinking about implementing new dodge mechanics but we want to make sure the community is at least interested in the possibilities first. There are three possible dodge type mechanics we're thinking about. The first, would allow you to roll and then stand up from a knock down. This would keep you from being so helpless on the ground without completely taking the advantages of knockdown away from players. Picture a relatively fast 1 to 1 1/2m left/right roll from the knockdown positions. Nothing too game changing here, just another tool in the bag.

Next would be a sort of hop that moves you left, right, or back when executed. This would be a quick dodge that would only move you about 1 1/2 to 2m. Unlike a jump, the player doesn't get much higher off of the ground and we can choose whether or not to keep the animation to only locking the lower body. Unlike the others, this could allow players to block or attack during the dodge(possibly only block).

The last mechanic we're thinking about is a roll from the neutral position(standing) where all four(possibly 8) directions are possible. Total animation length is much longer than the others but distance traveled is also about 3m. Quick at the start, slow at the stand. I think of the dives in Dark Souls for a good example of this. We can change the animation, dive length, stand speed, etc, based on things like character stats and equipment.

We realize that full plate characters rolling around the server could really be an eyesore, as well as the fact that all of this could have significant positive or negative impacts on gameplay, so we're asking what the community thinks before we start developing and implementing these these(urist actually already has the core of the system done). We can choose to implement any combination of the previously mentioned systems, or none at all. So tell us what you think, maybe you've got some interesting ideas of your own?

Edit: We don't think of these as get out of jail free cards, but simply another tool that players can utilize in certain situations.

No follow up from this guy.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Penitent on August 22, 2014, 02:45:43 pm
No follow up from this guy.

Thank God. Those moves would not be good.  IMO, a short side-step/dodge to the back or sides would be cool, but I oh if it moved you 1 meter and you couldn't block or attack during it.  Like, to dodge a slow crush through weapon or something.  You can dodge, or block, but it's a choice.  Not both .

Oh god, can you imagine a 9 meter roll from a standing position?  It would make the current roll look tame!
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Tydeus on August 22, 2014, 02:56:26 pm
Urist was the one who scripted rolls while I was the one doing the animations. He kind of went inactive/stuff came up before he could get around to adjusting the distance. I haven't taken the time to learn how the whole thing works so that I can lower the roll distance, as it's not just a simple linear equation or even only one function at that. I guess I'll take a look, although there's a bunch of other stuff I should probably do as well, and I'm busy/uninterested atm.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Senni__Ti on August 23, 2014, 12:52:42 am
Urist was the one who scripted rolls while I was the one doing the animations. He kind of went inactive/stuff came up before he could get around to adjusting the distance. I haven't taken the time to learn how the whole thing works so that I can lower the roll distance, as it's not just a simple linear equation or even only one function at that. I guess I'll take a look, although there's a bunch of other stuff I should probably do as well, and I'm busy/uninterested atm.

If it's not using much WSE, I could take a look. (I haven't got round to learning WSE, but I'm well versed in WSL, so is Huscarlton_Banks if that helps :P)
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: Kafein on August 23, 2014, 11:42:35 am
- Most players haven't grown accustomed to hitting the head/legs properly enough. The % knockdown is actually higher when hitting those areas 100% of the time compared to the past

So I finally decided to actually test that, and I'm not happy with the results. I went to EU2 and used a stock military hammer for a few maps. I wasn't able to knock down anyone (I'm not exaggerating, it never happened) while consistently holding and aiming for the head, with 6PS and 184wpf. I'll try with a bar mace on my str alt next.
Title: Re: Reverse mode and knockdowns
Post by: San on August 23, 2014, 07:24:16 pm
You need to hit the head/legs a good 2/3 of the time to see any sort of increase when compared to before the change. I tried using a flanged mace for a while and saw a few knockdowns. It's still only 15-20% so you'll only see it so often unless you try to get the proper hits every time. The head is harder than you think to hit if an opponent's moving. For me, it's easier to swipe at their legs unless my teammates give me a good left swing or overhead to the face.

On average it's probably lower if you don't aim for it. In a few maps of battle, I only knocked down 3 times. I think 1h blunt weapons might need to be heavier.