Posted December 19, 2016
Despite me loving this game to the point of addiction,
(I Love You, Bare Mettle; Please Take Your Time To Update This Amazing Gift To Our World.)
This game has a tool that's the equivalent of an easy mode crutch: a shield - along with the skills you can unlock.
1. Using shields is so stupidly abusable and easy, especially with the skills; you're practically invulnerable since you automatically block everything at such a good distance and since you can attack while blocking via skills.
Here's an example.
a) Enemy swings.
b) You block, and Enemy's weapon briefly stagger with your shield.
c) As You block (or after you block if you lack unlocked skills), You swing.
d) PROFIT??? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
*Note: You Never Tire Out From Blocking Nor Have Your Block Broken.
**Note: You can have a really wide shield to make it even easier.
***Note: You can still move as you block and as you block and attack.
****Note: This works even when your shield is being struck against by two or three opponents.
*****Note: The AI doesn't know how to exploit your openings properly, and would even spend time attacking your shield and, thus, giving themselves an opening for you.
This makes the game effortlessly easy: to the point where I'm abstaining from shields to purposely make the game challenging for my masochistic desires (and I'm already abstaining from both helmets/headgears and plate armours).
2. Shield opponents are too stupid; they don't know how to use the shield, so it's either...
a) The arena shield opponent doesn't have the skills at being randomly generated and, thus, depends on the shield to the point where they're free targets; the lack of skills reduces their flexibility and, by that, their ability to fight back - dying so fast because they don't know where to face their shield.
b) The arena shield opponent does have the skills at being randomly generated and, thus, makes a fight unnecessarily long since they can easily block but they can't hit you for all the poop in the world; the easy blocking forces us (the players) to use gimmicks to kill them (e.g. Left-to-right Swings, Crouch Swings, Back Gashing, Thrusting during Enemy-Strike, etc.).
None of these gimmicks feel satisfying because - rather than feeling like a fight or a challenge - it feels like you're just doing X to solve Y because "X almost always works since Y (the AI) has such a predictable fighting technique from their dependency".
This makes a fight either unsatisfyingly swift or redundantly long.
In both scenarios,
I believe the main issue with shields - as a mechanic - is the lack of skill required (by both the player and the AI) to use them since parrying and blocking are automated. Considering the fact that there is -not yet- a way to actually break a block nor tire an opponent's blocking to the point of inability on their end, this makes blocking a rather straightforward difficulty crutch - either for or against players - in a way that just isn't fun nor realistic.
I understand that there is a stamina mechanic, but - after having gathered 100+ gold from arena matches without spending - I understand that it currently serves no visible function. I don't see myself nor the enemy tiring out nor breaking from using shields. This is even when I have been bashed by or have bashed with mauls and et cetera.
Literally, We Don't Stop Blocking. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My major concerns of this are (1) that this crutch might harmfully cause an imbalanced PvP (once local multiplayer is available in the future) and (2) that most players will end up being equally dependent on shields as a way to cheese through single player and as a way to step-up in PvP.
However,
These are just my concerns; I might just be paranoid or nit-picky. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is why I posted this.
I am very interested to discuss of this and to see discussion, so - perhaps - shields can be better improved to be (1) more fun when used yet (2) challenging in its own way without being worthless while (3) not being a chore to fight with.
While I am aware that - by technicality - shields are meant to be used as a support,
I understand that they are not crutches: they should require technique from the player/AI and they should have their own visible non-gimmicky weaknesses.
What do you think?
How can shields – as a mechanic – be better improved?
(I Love You, Bare Mettle; Please Take Your Time To Update This Amazing Gift To Our World.)
This game has a tool that's the equivalent of an easy mode crutch: a shield - along with the skills you can unlock.
1. Using shields is so stupidly abusable and easy, especially with the skills; you're practically invulnerable since you automatically block everything at such a good distance and since you can attack while blocking via skills.
Here's an example.
a) Enemy swings.
b) You block, and Enemy's weapon briefly stagger with your shield.
c) As You block (or after you block if you lack unlocked skills), You swing.
d) PROFIT??? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
*Note: You Never Tire Out From Blocking Nor Have Your Block Broken.
**Note: You can have a really wide shield to make it even easier.
***Note: You can still move as you block and as you block and attack.
****Note: This works even when your shield is being struck against by two or three opponents.
*****Note: The AI doesn't know how to exploit your openings properly, and would even spend time attacking your shield and, thus, giving themselves an opening for you.
This makes the game effortlessly easy: to the point where I'm abstaining from shields to purposely make the game challenging for my masochistic desires (and I'm already abstaining from both helmets/headgears and plate armours).
2. Shield opponents are too stupid; they don't know how to use the shield, so it's either...
a) The arena shield opponent doesn't have the skills at being randomly generated and, thus, depends on the shield to the point where they're free targets; the lack of skills reduces their flexibility and, by that, their ability to fight back - dying so fast because they don't know where to face their shield.
b) The arena shield opponent does have the skills at being randomly generated and, thus, makes a fight unnecessarily long since they can easily block but they can't hit you for all the poop in the world; the easy blocking forces us (the players) to use gimmicks to kill them (e.g. Left-to-right Swings, Crouch Swings, Back Gashing, Thrusting during Enemy-Strike, etc.).
None of these gimmicks feel satisfying because - rather than feeling like a fight or a challenge - it feels like you're just doing X to solve Y because "X almost always works since Y (the AI) has such a predictable fighting technique from their dependency".
This makes a fight either unsatisfyingly swift or redundantly long.
In both scenarios,
I believe the main issue with shields - as a mechanic - is the lack of skill required (by both the player and the AI) to use them since parrying and blocking are automated. Considering the fact that there is -not yet- a way to actually break a block nor tire an opponent's blocking to the point of inability on their end, this makes blocking a rather straightforward difficulty crutch - either for or against players - in a way that just isn't fun nor realistic.
I understand that there is a stamina mechanic, but - after having gathered 100+ gold from arena matches without spending - I understand that it currently serves no visible function. I don't see myself nor the enemy tiring out nor breaking from using shields. This is even when I have been bashed by or have bashed with mauls and et cetera.
Literally, We Don't Stop Blocking. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My major concerns of this are (1) that this crutch might harmfully cause an imbalanced PvP (once local multiplayer is available in the future) and (2) that most players will end up being equally dependent on shields as a way to cheese through single player and as a way to step-up in PvP.
However,
These are just my concerns; I might just be paranoid or nit-picky. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is why I posted this.
I am very interested to discuss of this and to see discussion, so - perhaps - shields can be better improved to be (1) more fun when used yet (2) challenging in its own way without being worthless while (3) not being a chore to fight with.
While I am aware that - by technicality - shields are meant to be used as a support,
I understand that they are not crutches: they should require technique from the player/AI and they should have their own visible non-gimmicky weaknesses.
What do you think?
How can shields – as a mechanic – be better improved?
