Melee Revisit: Phase 1 Feedback Megathread

[Zanchak]

Auto block - It's interfering with shooting and just clunky. I don't need my melee style dumbed down like this. If I fail to block and I die, that should be on me, not on an auto response.

Quick Melee - possibly one of the most enjoyable parts of melee - gone.

Slam attack - Kills my zaw arcane. Seems to fling me a mile when Im popping out of archwing.

FX - I have seizures so turn bright things down, but its still very "sharp". It needs to be softened down like you have done with eidolons and fissures.

Combos - I have literally no idea how to use them anymore since I used block so much.

Overall - I just dont like how its switching things around for me. One minute Im running with my gun, the next my melee with no idea how it got there or why it stayed. I'd rather a slow hold of the F key than no idea. I feel like I have little to no control over what's going on with my weapons (and sometimes my legs), and thats really frustrating.

[Jim22]

the new melee system is alright, but after doing a block combo I am forced to swap to my primary and its really annoying. is there any way we could get an option to disable instant swap with right click please? other than that this update is pretty good.

[Heidelgard]

I have played a bit with this new melee system, and I have two problems.

First I need to mention that I'm not using the default keybinding for the melee attack, because I don't like to keep tapping E to attack for an extended period of time, so I feel more comfortable to bind the melee attack on the left mouse click. This means that before the update, I was switching to full melee by holding down F and then melee combos with left click. And I could easily quick melee by tapping E while using a gun.

Now if I tap E I'm forced to remain in full melee, unless I right click to aim, so he switches back to gun mode. This is the first problem, like this it's annoying to smash open crates or slashing just once or twice an enemy in front of you, because the game forces you into full melee mode even when you don't mean to.

And the second problem, well not really a problem, it's just a matter of style, because I can't find a way to manually draw my melee weapon, I loved to do so and I also have bought some alternate holster styles that give me different drawing and sheathing melee animation, but now they look unusable, unless I'm missing something.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Heidelgard
Typo

[Same]

As a melee ONLY user, this update has royally screwed me over completely.
My keybind for melee was the mouse button, and rebinding it back to mouse has now removed my ability to fire weapons because that's clearly a smart feature.

This wrecks my playstyle. I blocked when I needed it, and I used block combos religiously. Now I have no option to.
Everything feels clunky, it's not intuitive, I can't swap to melee only IF I happen to equip a gun for some god forsaken mission that needs it, or to lvl the darned things.

None of this feels right, and it's downright frustrating to play.
I play regularly with only a melee weapon on, and I have not ever struggled so hard in a mission before today, just trying to figure out how to use it.

 

This update did not include melee only players, and has isolated us further.

[RoniLumen]

I like the idea of auto blocking , but when I use toggle channeling, I only want to use it for extra damage, but the auto block feature makes it drain my energy. Pls, try to fix that.

[Same]

Gliding with only a melee will disarm you. Quick attack does not bring the weapon back.
https://streamable.com/bu3uf

[xdeathhungerx]

Please bring back manual block.

[-Zr-Scroll]

8 hours ago, Apav said:

 

I was hoping more people would realize this when the changes went live. I already made a thread about the possibility of this when the changes were announced here, I'd appreciate you contributing to the discussion in it. A dedicated thread with a lot of views and replies is probably the best way to get their attention.

Basically it is exactly as we feared. Please bring back a way to do combo-less attacks. Either an option or a separate keybind would be nice. Thank you. 

For me as well the biggest reason using polearms in the first place even before the range was a huge factor; was the uninterrupted movement and fluidity of gameplay. And this was achieved exactly by the quickmelee 'stance' as descriped by others as well, specifically 'Shimmering Blight'.

Otherwise as I've been testing the new melee system, it feel really really phenomenal with the melee slam system and instant switching. But when I'm using my polearm 'normally' I'm contantly standing still every 4m of movement because of the button smash EEE combo via Shimmbering Blight and it really breaks the flow and control of the battlefield. I know I could adopt a new playstyle after a while, but I still have a simple suggestion that might actually remedy this;

Swap the current EEE-combo from Shimmering Blight with the Quick Melee combo that doesn't interrupt the movement.

Thank you.

 

 

[SpacePenny]

The Vaykor Sydon's special ability has now been broken with the new melee system due to the fact that there is no manual blocking. What happens as a result is that the auto-block continues to stack the blind counter but even at max stack (15) you are unable to activate the effect. I did see someone mention wanting a legacy option to enable manual blocking, that would be nice.

[[DE]Danielle]

Hey guys! 

We’re actively investigating issues arising with Controller functionality relating to Melee 2.99997 changes (Aim Gliding, Meleeing, etc).

[ENGINEEEEER]

9 minutes ago, [DE]Danielle said:

Hey guys! 

We’re actively investigating issues arising with Controller functionality relating to Melee 2.99997 changes (Aim Gliding, Meleeing, etc).

I've heard resetting the button layout to default fixes it. It should be bound to alt fire but the controller layout currently won't allow it to be bound to anything but quick melee, fire or since. 

[Akura-archangel]

Sorry, but i think that new system of using melee is terrible. I prefer using block by myself, i prefer using melee attack by left click on the mouse and not by keyboard. It's is simply not convenient!

[Moomabo]

The default block angle is too narrow. There also seems to be a bug where switching between melee and guns rapidly results in the game thinking you're holding down the fire button even if you're not. Working on figuring out steps to reproduce the bug consistently.

[jbdarkblue]

Every issue I am having with the new system has already been stated in this thread. The most important thing I want to return is manual blocking. As a primarily melee player, this auto block is killing my enjoyment of the game. 

[Gildarts_bb]

yeah for me on the controller it won't let me fire my weapons 🙂 as the melee channel is bound there 

[Voltage]

Telos Boltace wasn't changed with the update, meaning Stormpath procs on every slide attack. This is highly annoying because while the vacuum effect is nice, launching enemies away is the opposite of killing them and it is counter-intuitive to trying to kill enemies. I suggest the repulsion effect be removed and just keep the vacuum ability on with little or no cool down. Cool downs aren't fun, and I feel the Telos Boltace was unjustly nerfed from its AoE days to make it clunky and less desirable.

 

Edited March 8, 2019 by Voltage

[StiviRibar]

As a fist weapon user, the Brutal Tide stance was always a bit difficult to use. But now it is kinda unplayable and full on works against the player.

The leg swipe that knocks enemies down is just ragdolling enemies all over the place. So much so that I cant even get of a ground finisher coz they just slide away from me.

It takes me a ridiculous amount of time to kill lvl 100 bombards with my Umbral + God riven Hirudo and half the time I am just chasing enemies around the floor.

PLEASE! Either make it so that it just knocks down enemies (no ragdoll) or remove the ragdoll feature completely.
 

[RhythmScript]

Some notes, in no particular order:

- Of all the new FX, the screenshake on hits is probably the most satisfying. I really enjoy it, it makes melee feel better in a game where hitstop can't be implemented because of netcode

- I miss manually blocking. The advantage of being able to draw my gun from a melee stance without firing is minimal, and the few times I do want to do it, weapon-switch button still works. I feel like fun additions like parrying, blocking incrementing combo counter, etc., will have to die to make way for auto-blocking, and I don't like it

- Aimed ground slams feel good, but they make exiting Archwing on the Plains/Fortuna feel clunky because you don't always keep that momentum.

- When you're carrying something (datamass, therma can, whatever) with a melee weapon equipped, the game does NOT switch your "remembered" gun to your secondary. This caused a lot of irritation as I would pick up an excavator power cell, run to the excavator, trigger an aim-glide while moving there, and immediately drop the power cell. Again, this wouldn't happen if I could block-glide instead of only aim-glide, but if you're married to the death of blocking at least consider making my pistol "backup-equip" so when I use my gun from melee it doesn't drop things.

Also, I've already discovered a couple of really interesting "broken" synergies that can happen as a result of instant-switch that I don't want to go into here (for fear of nerfs), but it brings me to a point I think bears making:

-Do not be afraid of bugs and "exploits"

Melee 3.0 is flirting with attempts at stylish action (DMC-inspired, blah blah blah). If it's executed well, it will get the attention of that crowd of players; I am one of them. And I can say one thing for sure: we like to figure out ways to break expected behavior when it comes to player actions in order to accomplish things. If you look at high-level gameplay of DMC, Bayonetta, etc., it's full of tricks that exploit quirks of frame timing and animation cancels to do things that the developers never intended. Figuring out how those things work and training your fingers to make them happen in a combat situation is part of the magic.

I know DE likes to monitor the game for unintended behavior and patch it out; please don't. At least not yet. If players figure out a combination of actions that lets them do a thing you didn't intend, let it ride. I understand stuff like patching out the Venari exploit, where it was allowing players to "cheat"... I'm saying "if we see the birth of another Coptering, don't kill it". Let Warframe have some kind of skill ceiling, please.

[SteveCutler]

Overall, this is good. I like it. The new visual effects are great, the new slams are an improvement, and faster switching is needed (we need fast switching for primary/secondary guns too!).

However, there are some issues:

1. If I have my melee weapon out, and I press "F" (switch weapon), it brings out my current gun. This used to make sense with the old system, but now it no longer does. I can already bring out my current gun by simply firing or aiming. Instead, I want to be able to press "F" to switch to my other gun.
   Consider this example: I have a Braton, a Lato, and a Skana. If I have my Braton out, "F" will give me a Lato. However, if I have my Skana out, "F" will give me my Braton again, which is inconsistent behavior and also redundant. It would feel smoother and more intuitive if, with my Skana out, a press of the "F" button would bring out my Lato.
    
2. Several months ago, a bug was introduced where sprinting speed stopped properly applying while performing melee attacks. This is still in the game and seems to be even worse now. While attacking with a melee weapon, I move so sluggishly like I'm chained down with heavy weight, even if I'm sprinting forwards. It feels horrible, and it's especially bad with Volt. Please, please, please, please, please fix this. It's been an issue for months now. I used to be able to sprint through maps at full speed with Volt while simultaneously meleeing, and now I can't.
    
3. Now that melee and guns can smoothly flow together in gameplay, could you please keep the melee combo counter displayed at all times? This is important to keep track of it and now when it's been refreshed or about to run out. This change would also be useful for e.g. Atlas with Landslide while a gun is out.
    
4. If I activate an exalted weapon such as Exalted Blade or Hysteria while aiming, it gets completely broken. I become unable to use abilities or attack until I jump in a hole and reset my character.
    
5. Secondary fire actions for melee weapons no longer seem to work. For example, with the Hysterical Assault mod for Valkyr equipped, nothing happens when I aim at an enemy and press the alt fire button.
    
6. I'm noticing a strange, brief hitch in movement after I perform a melee slam attack, as if my character is staggering or something. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but it's a strange lag/stutter for a moment which is quite off-putting. It happens every time for me.
    

And here are some questions:

1. You stated that the melee blocking radius has been reduced, in exchange for blocking now being automatic. It is unclear if Excalibur has been affected, so could you clarify this? Excalibur could already block automatically, so I'm hoping he hasn't been randomly nerfed for no reason.
    
2. Could we perhaps get an option to toggle on/off the "continue melee combo after interrupting it" thing? I prefer to restart my combo from scratch after I jump around or shoot.

Thanks.

Edited March 8, 2019 by SteveCutler

[xRufus7x]

Please increase the block angle to at least 90 degrees/180 with the mod. 45 just doesn't really cut it in Warframe.

2 hours ago, SpacePenny said:

The Vaykor Sydon's special ability has now been broken with the new melee system due to the fact that there is no manual blocking. What happens as a result is that the auto-block continues to stack the blind counter but even at max stack (15) you are unable to activate the effect. I did see someone mention wanting a legacy option to enable manual blocking, that would be nice.

According to the patch notes it is activated by channeling now. Did you try that?

[Spiritrax]

I am a melee player and I use polearms extensively its the most comfortable weapon to use and for years i have enjoyed it . I had literally no issue with holstering my weapon and being able to fast swipe tons of enemies. The stance itself are slow boring and very sluggish i cant focus on one enemy , yeah everyone on reddit are showing off their skills on killing grineer butchers but what about long ranged enemies or corpus ? I want my polearm to be able to fast swipe again as of now if nothing happens might just stop playing cause i generally avoided using main stance of any weapon type . I holstered a sidearm and was able to melee anything easily or in sorties with melee only i used a codex scanner to avoid using the stance simply cause it was too sluggish  to continue . 

Edited March 8, 2019 by Spiritrax

[dquag]

Il y a 2 heures, [DE]Danielle a dit :

Hey guys! 

We’re actively investigating issues arising with Controller functionality relating to Melee 2.99997 changes (Aim Gliding, Meleeing, etc).

Great, so we wait for next update to be able to play ?

Or you choose, either you don't aim or you don't fire ! Sweet, for once i was motivated for the event, won't be able to enjoy playing in the end... 😞

You know that you have problem with controllers every gameplay update ? Next time i hope you will TEST it !

[Ventricle8]

New FX, good. Although, after looking at my Plague Kripath polearm the elemental effect is a bit... much. Maybe if it didn't cover so much of the strike. For example, just the long pointy stabby area and not so much the domed area.

I like not having to holster but apparently auto-blocking is a problem. If it didn't have priority over attacks it would be better. If someone needs to stay alive more than attack they should be aware enough to make that decision themselves by stopping attacks to allow blocks.

Ground slams are fine. Directing them is interesting. Was there supposed to be air combo/multi-attacks in this phase? later? did I make it up? Because if I do a bullet double jump glide with a slight arc from ground level I can attack once, long delay and then attacks again before hitting the ground.

Polearms have been damaged with not having quick attacks, though. The combos, besides having horrible animations compared to old quick attacks, are also noticeably slower with TTK.

I would really like to not have the melee auto-equip so I wouldn't be doing these molasses inspired dance moves. Also, auto-blocking would be nice if it didn't override attacks(referring to reports about gunblades I saw).

How about this: Melee can auto-equip BUT has a toggle for combo on/off so quick attacks are still there. The UI could reflect this similar to how firing modes for guns are shown. This way we have auto-equip, combos, quick attacks, still a single button for attacks, and auto-blocking which prioritizes attacks instead of interrupting them.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Ventricle8

[JarodDempsey]

how can you enable channeled throw by default/turn channeling on for channeled throw?

When dual wielding with my pistol I can channeled throw my orvius by holding until the reticle changes (this is the same as preupdate) but thats tediuous and not always reliable. Someone in my mission said i can turn channeling on when wielding my melee weapon by using alt fire but when i use alt fire it does nothing. I checked in the options and alt fire is mouse button 3 (like it has always been) but regardless of if i press or hold it nothing changes and im still left with the relatively useless bouncing throw whenever wielding my melee weapon.

[Pyroninja13]

My only beef with the current melee rework is how melee channeling interferes with my gunplay while using a controller, which is my preferred method of combat.

As it stands, there is no way I can bind a button on my Xbox controller that doesn't interfere with either my aiming or my actual shooting. If I bind the channeling to my aim button, I can't aim, merely toggling the Channeling effects on and off rather than actually aim down the sights, which in turn limits my combat options. If I move it to the fire button, the gun will never fire, merely Channel.

The current button bind restriction doesn't help, as it does not allow me to bind the Channeling function to anything but to sharing the command with my melee (with Quick Melee gone, I can't even do this!), aiming (can't aim my dang gun or use my scanners) or shooting (can't freaking shoot!)

Perhaps remove the binding restriction so I can put the command to toggle my Channeling to any other button? But you might also need to make a controller able to remove a binding entirely due to the limited space compared to a keyboard.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Pyroninja13