the orks are going to be the f2p race right?
Q: What business model will the game use?
A: Eternal Crusade will be available in retail, for digital purchase, and a free-to-play option we call “Free-to-Waaagh!”. By purchasing a copy of the game, you will have access to it forever with no need for a subscription. There will be post-launch expansions as well as a cash shop for aesthetic customizations and side-grades.
You can play Free-to-Waaagh only as an Ork Character. In contrast to the premium Ork progression, some options will be locked, but you’ll be able to go anywhere and fight for the Waaagh! If you like it, but don’t want to pay the full price, you can unlock some of the missing options with micro-transactions.
Some things about the combat system
Weapons have different Force values, damage output, penetration, attack speeds, charge time (for the Charged Attack) and recovery delays after each attack.
The smaller the weapon is, the faster it can be wielded and the least punishing a mistake will be. The larger the weapon is, the slower and more unwieldy it becomes but each strike is considerably more brutal. The simplest rule of thumb is that if you have a smaller weapon more agile movement and more attacks are required where a larger weapon relies more on making every sluggish attack as clean and accurate as possible.
In addition to damage, all weapons do a set amount of Stagger. There is no melee friendly fire active as far as damage BUT (big but) you will severely Stagger friendly characters by hitting them, making them prone to any enemies they were engaged with.
Fast Attack – The basic attack, tap LMB, profit (not really).
Charged Attack – The heaviest attack. While not moving hold LMB until it activates and enjoy the ride.
Clang! It is the result of an action rather than an action itself, but understanding Clanging is a crucial part of melee. Think of it as a timed Block added to your basic attack action. If your melee attack collides with the attack of an enemy who is facing you, then both attacks will fail, no damage will be dealt (providing you have Stamina) and both combatants will be penalized some Stamina.
The "victor" of a Clang match will always be the heaviest melee weapon of the two, having a superior Force value attached to it.
Defensive Bash – The slowest attack and the best anti-spam weapon. Executed by hitting LMB & RMB together (causes all sorts of problems). It has a long cast length and can be evaded or countered more easily than most attacks but does allow the character to mitigate a large chunk of Fast Attack damage while being cast. While it doesn't deal a lot of HP damage it will Stagger an enemy for an almost fatal amount of time and rob them of Stamina meaning that even if they recover they are on the back foot.
It's natural counter is the Charged Attack, but used accurately and well timed it can allow any class to turn the tables on bigger melee threats.
Evade – Standard Evade skill common to a lot of MMO and action RPGs.
Guarding – In early Alpha all classes could Guard but it was largely redundant and under-used. Currently the only class that can Guard is the SSASM, soaking up damage to their shields at the cost of Stamina rather than HP.
Lunge/Shoulder Bash – From Sprint (SHIFT) you can trigger either of these by hitting LMB.
Evade Attack – Pretty simple: After Evading the player can attack in any direction and effectively lunge forward. Combined with iframes the character can effectively close distances, move to an enemy's flank and deal strong damage. Evading this move is the safest however you can Clang or aim a Bash if you are quick enough.