Where is combat combos going?

Hi, I am wondering what is going on with combos. We seem to still be handling combos the same as before or are new changes coming?

Are you guys happy with what they are?

Do you think they should be reamped so they are more meaningul/fun?

Is the current stacking behavior going to continue or do you think it should evolve into somethin else?

I think myself and others have talked about this before but I actually foget, but I think my idea was something to make combos more deep - make them incorporate enemy attacks and maybe to have just combining cards/stacking more graphically and visually pleasing, by using animated glyph icons/ hotbar 'area'.

Maybe make building combos into a new tactic skill that can help more properly manage the options surrounding combo 'tactics' in combat?

cheers

 

My problem with the combos as they stand is the fact that they're just another random thing thrown into combat that's already pretty random. I sometimes use them but only if I'm siting there waiting for a useful card to come into my hand (which happens quite a bit) so I have nothing better to do. I certainly wouldn't call them part of my playstyle.

 

Currently, as far as I've seen personally, combo's are not enumerated distinctly in the chat/combat log. That is, they appear simply as another attack with the same name and damage as the resulting combo glyph.

For example, the first line is a normal Searing Ray attack. The second line is a Searing Ray combo.
[9/3/2015 11:31:38 AM] Player attacks Large Brown Bear and hits dealing 14 points of damage with Searing Ray.
...
[9/3/2015 11:31:51 AM] Player attacks Large Brown Bear and hits dealing 18 points of damage with Searing Ray.

As you can see, there's nothing different. Both are within the standard damage range of a single Searing Ray. (for me, currently)
As such, I have no personal evidence they're working at all, but I'm only level 17, so I could be missing something.

If anyone has a chat/combat log enumerating a combo, distinctly, I'd love to see it.

 

Weaving (stacking) the same skill gives a very small damage potential bonus, and is now primarily for focus reduction.

 

Ok, re-did my deck for unique-glyph combo's and found yep, at least the logging does seem to be working:

[9/3/2015 1:05:45 PM] Player attacks Large Brown Bear and hits dealing 13 points of damage with Quadruple Slash.
[9/3/2015 1:05:46 PM] Player attacks Large Brown Bear and hits dealing 5 points of damage with Quadruple Slash.
[9/3/2015 1:05:46 PM] Large Brown Bear attacks Player and hits dealing 1 point of glancing damage due to armor.
[9/3/2015 1:05:47 PM] Player attacks Large Brown Bear and hits dealing 3 points of damage with Quadruple Slash.
[9/3/2015 1:05:47 PM] Player attacks Large Brown Bear and hits dealing 6 points of damage with Quadruple Slash.

So at least the resulting damage from the log can be compared.

 

Phew that clears it up for me! Mine also is just spamming the last glyph used.

 

So far I have not been a fan of the combo system. I haven't liked having to stop what you are doing, which for me is quite a bit of free attack and drag a combo which yields very little for the effort so far. I would much rather tap a key when the combo is available. The only thing I can think to warrant my wanting to drag a combo perhaps would be if it were interesting to do so. Right now for me it isn't. I am not complaining as much as stating my current thinking on how combos feel for me. I'm sure everything will feel and sound better later.

 

Fret No More!

You can use the R key!

Example

Puncture is up on #1
Ice Fist is up on #2

Press R, then press 1 then press 2
You can also press r, then press 2, then press 1
This makes the combo, on the last # you pressed, now a combo glyph to use

So if you pressed R, 1, 2, then #2 converts to the combo, it also lasts the same as a normal glyph
Rather quick button pressing i have found, especially if you build your deck so skills that will combo and going to pop in next to each other, like in my above example

 

On a separate note, i would like to comment, that the combos are not leveling up either skill, (I have opened a bug report for this)
So while I personally like the combo system, to use it and not get skill gain, means well, right now i have to stop using them.
Bit annoying as my fingers often automatically combo them now.

I think there should be more combos then currently in. More options to open up more things.

P.S.
I always set up my deck so combos are next to each other. Sure other skills might drop in there too, but this makes it easier to snag and look for.

 

Yes you are probably right. I have hit the R key to try to make it work, but alas it did not, so I am sure it is operator error. I am just spoiled from the easy life. In Tera when combos were available they would flash up on the screen and you only had a few seconds to hit your spacebar to execute the combo and then the combos did amazing amounts of damage, but of course the creatures had more hit points probably than ours do at this time.

 

Having compared a few of these now, there is some value in some of the combo's. Smoldering shiv is a great long duration DoT, and is often worth starting combat with.
However, quadruple slash and similar combo's... I don't think they're worth it, given the focus cost.

If combo's were half-the-focus-cost, or some variation of "almost focus-free!" then I could see their value. Now... meh. I'll put this another way; Letting auto attack activate/swing/go does more damage than spamming some combo's, on many of the fights I've parsed. That right there is an indication there's something askew, akimbo, awry, or hinky. (imo)

 

While the R-key method can relieve the work of the mouse hand and in general eases the combo stacking procedure, I don't find it really adds anything other than that.

In some other threads I had suggested more overhaul type ideas which could make the combos more visceral and less of a 'procedure'.

Such examples being of ability use against enemy effects or abilities used at key moments during their casting - much more akin to say a Street Fighter-ish combo..

I don't know, just some rough ideas. I actually worked out quite a few new processes in my head and as well some GUI and 'swipe' type support for combos but it really starts becoming a whole new thing, but that's not necessarily a bad thing at all.

I think more interesting purpose for combos is what is really needed.

 

I'd love to see reactives put in. Maybe a good use for the - and = keys?
Or maybe you can burn a sitting combo as a reactive, if you have it ready & waiting?

 

Executing the second skill during the animation of the first skill would make it easier and feel more natural, but you would have some issues if the new spell doesnt have an effect similar to one of the other spells.

For instance, Sacrifice is a healing spell weaved from Death ray (or touch??) and healing ray. If you begin by casting death ray first, your going to be casting on an enemy, so in order to weave the spell you would have to open with healing ray, which would limit you more than you are in the current system.

But on the other hand, a combo liek Quad Slash, Execute a double slash, during its animation, execute Thrust, and the animation jsut continues into the quad slash animation. Beautiful

 

This!

The best way to avoid it is to make combos require a certain order; using your example, Sacrifice could only be casted using Healing Ray first, and then Death ray during the animation. Giving the skills an order to execute a combo can be good, because in PVP it allows people to "foresee" when a combo is going to be unleashed and allowing a skilled player to interrupt it. Since you actually require to have both skills ready, i don't think there's a downside in forcing them to be unleashed in order... if there's one i don't see it