Possible Polearm Overhead Sweetspot Fix

[Jona]

I noticed today that the 2h thrust is vastly different than the other thrusts with how TW chose to implement it. It doesn't have an actual ready animation nor a continue animation(The animation that gets played after an attack if you don't press any keys). Not only that, but the total frame length is much, much shorter than the other animations.

I'll be analyzing the differences more closely in the future to try and figure out if the animation itself is what causes the QQ. In all honesty though, I find myself in doubt.

From what I have observed, as both playing as a 2h lolstabber and being on the receiving end, is that the lolstab gets its name from 3 key problem areas:

• Yes, it has a really fast animation and it seemingly strikes you without pause (no pull-back delay, really).
• You can stab and swing it around almost 90 degrees (not at all a scientific measurement, just a rough estimate from memory) and hit someone for full damage. Polearm stabs were nerfed in this area (to avoid the same thing with a pike and such) so now 2h stabs have the advantage in this area.
• The animation itself gives the users stretchable arms, giving it the greatest range modifier for any stab animation. In reality, a 1handed stab (using either a 1hander or a polearm in hoplite mode) would give the longest reach. Think of a lunge in fencing. Never could you get longer reach if u held a weapon with both hands. It's simple geometry. When holding something with one hand, you gain the width of your shoulders in your lunge. If you held a weapon with 2 hands, you lose that range. Sure, you aren't exactly lunging in any of the stab animations, but the fact that the 2handed method gets more reach is just goofy.

Now I will be honest, none of this is scientific, and most of the supposed facts (on range modifiers) I have heard from other players. I don't have your job so I have no access to such information. Sorry if any of this is wrong, but it all seems pretty true to me when playing.

Also, on the topic of other weapon stabs... I have noticed if anyone is standing to my right when I stab with a polearm, I almost always hit them instead of someone directly in front of me. The range for this is about 2-3 feet to the side. Needless to say, this is almost always a teammate, leading to many unintentional, and frustrating teamwounds.

[Tydeus]

I should probably have clarified. Even though the animation is short and doesn't have real ready/continue animations, they're still simulated by the engine. Furthermore, you can have a 100 frame animation and a 10 frame animation be every bit as "fast" as each other because you're able to set how long each animation plays for. So you can have both animations play for 1 second, and even though one of the two animations only had 10 frames, the engine is able to interpolate the appropriate points between frames 1 and 2, 2 and 3, 3 and 4, etc.

[dreadnok]

1h overhead sucks dick too

[Kelugarn]

I've noticed the right swing change and I LOVE it, please keep tweaking the polearm animations.

[Tydeus]

I've noticed the right swing change and I LOVE it, please keep tweaking the polearm animations.

Yes, the right swing. That's correct.

[Zlisch_The_Butcher]

The crappiest animations have always been (in no particular order):
-Polearm left swing
-Polearm overhead
-1h right swing
-1h thrust

lol, this can't be serious...
Tydeus please don't edit the 1h rightswing, it is probably the best 1h animation atm and certainly doesn't need any buffs.
Also Panos stop the lolstab bullshit please, get over it, besides a few weapons in each class the game is fairly balanced atm.

[Tydeus]

Personally I love the 1h right swing, and part of the reason why that is, is because it has personality. It's a specialized animation that excels at reach but has a seemingly odd sweetspot. I don't want to take that away from it, but there is room for improvement. Regardless, there would be a thread like this first.

[Rhaelys]

I've noticed the right swing change and I LOVE it, please keep tweaking the polearm animations.

Yes, the right swing. That's correct.

I can't stand people who use "left swing" and "right swing" to refer to the same attack.

PEOPLE.

STOP.

BEING.

LAZY.

Use "left-to-right swing" or "right-to-left swing," which leaves zero ambiguity about which attack you are referring to.

(click to show/hide)

In case you missed it, Tydeus was being sarcastic.

[KingBread]

I'm only using polearms and i didn't notice much diffrence still right to left seems faster than opposite. Anyway ofc +2 for both proposals

[Tydeus]

I'm only using polearms and i didn't notice much diffrence still right to left seems faster than opposite. Anyway ofc +2 for both proposals

Right to left is faster for both 2h and polearms, that's intended.

[Teeth]

I don't feel like change 1 is all that important, but it is nice. One advantage of the polearm overhead is that in my opinion it is much easier to aim, due to it cutting an exact straight line over your screen. Change 2 is something I'd love to see happen. When using an English Bill I sometimes lost my chance on valour due to teamhitting people behind me.

And if you are calling for Tydeus' head, I direct your attention to the English Bill and Swiss Halberd, two polearms that are currently complete shit.

With the recent reduction of weight from 4 to 3 on the English Bill it has become a pretty awesome weapon, it doesn't feel underpowered at all, at least to me.

As for the left to right swing change, I doubt I would have noticed anything if I wouldn't have read it, but I have started to use it in clusterfucks and it works a lot better. Much less glancing and better for early hits in the animation.

[Byrdi]

I have been playing with polearm the whole time and didnt notice anything.

Is this change working on EU_4?

[RobertOfDrugsley]

Use "left-to-right swing" or "right-to-left swing," which leaves zero ambiguity about which attack you are referring to.

So a left-to-right swing is the swing my character makes when I click while moving my mouse from left to right?

[CrazyCracka420]

Right to left is faster for both 2h and polearms, that's intended.

Wait, what?  I thought right to left swings had the 2nd most length added on (after stabs with 1h/2h or polearm's with a shield equipped, polearms without a shield right to left would be the longest animation).  And I thought left to right swings had the fastest swing on them?

[Prpavi]

  And I thought left to right swings had the fastest swing on them?

no, I think they just connect faster.