Are Heavy Attacks Worth Using?

[Traumtulpe]

I play with heavy attacks at the moment; There is no doubt that they deal massive damage. However they are also slow, overkill on most enemies, and have a massive opportunity cost.

To use Life Strike you need heavy attacks. But to use heavy attacks you need combo efficiency. I can't fit enough mods to make Life Strike work, except on heavy attack only builds.

They don't seem effective in regular missions, maybe for Disruption. What is your experience?

[Dragazer]

Heavy attacks are a meme. I'm not gonna bother losing my 660% crit bonus from blood rush for one slow attack that'll only hit a few enemies at most.  

Edited November 3, 2019 by Dragazer

[Sirviantiszeta]

I've actually been using them, but then again, mostly for instakilling enemies with high health or to trigger life strike. That said I don't feel like they're too slow.

I guess you might want to use healing return instead though.

[rapt0rman]

Combo efficiency is definitely a must if you intend to use your melee for both heavy and regular attacks, unfortunately the best source of efficiency right now is rivens. The +electric +efficiency mod isn't too bad provided you're ok with the element.

[Traumtulpe]

1 minute ago, Sirviantiszeta said:

I don't feel like they're too slow.

It's not that they are unpleasantly slow, just that you could land a large number of regular attacks in the same time. Again, opportunity cost. Some status effects don't last long (impact), and will fall off while you charge your attack - resulting in lost damage from Condition Overload.

[Traumtulpe]

5 minutes ago, rapt0rman said:

the best source of efficiency right now is rivens.

What if we had 50% combo efficiency innately? You wouldn't need a riven then, a regular mod would suffice (and heavy attacks would not be prohibitive without mods). Might be a consideration for DE.

[ranks21]

nope because losing the combo meter just for 1 big hit or miss is detrimental above level 150 where you will be downed in 1 to 3 shots.

[Nazzami]

maybe on glavies but every other melee no

[devox15]

Yes, but only if you build for them. Obviously it's not going to be worth it on a blood rush build.

Killing blow, corrupt charge, etc. A lot of them have forced slash procs too, like nikanas. I'm getting guaranteed slash procs that tick for 24k with a rivenless skiajati. Oneshots 165 corrupted heavy gunners, charge up time is only 0.3 seconds.

[Traumtulpe]

9 minutes ago, devox15 said:

Obviously it's not going to be worth it on a blood rush build.

There are only Blood Rush builds now. If your weapon doesn't have BR it is either a glaive, a gunblade, or bad.

[devox15]

8 minutes ago, Traumtulpe said:

There are only Blood Rush builds now. If your weapon doesn't have BR it is either a glaive, a gunblade, or bad.

I'll give you a hint. If you assume the only way to use melee weapons is to stack up high combo forever then yeah blood rush is mandatory. But it's not the old combo system anymore. You literally don't get anything for having high combo other than BR. It doesn't take 2 hours to get a 5x multi anymore, it takes like 20 seconds. If you decide to keep playing as if literally nothing has changed then yeah you're gonna feel like BR is mandatory and everything is crappy. But honestly, that playstyle is what's bad now. 

Edited November 3, 2019 by devox15

[Traumtulpe]

Just now, devox15 said:

[...]

It's not like I haven't tried Corrupt Charge, Killing Blow (additive with Primed Pressure Point btw.) builds that use only heavy attacks. Blood Rush builds are better.

[devox15]

1 minute ago, Traumtulpe said:

It's not like I haven't tried Corrupt Charge, Killing Blow (additive with Primed Pressure Point btw.) builds that use only heavy attacks. Blood Rush builds are better.

Lemme guess you tried a two handed sword or a polearm and you used CO. Pretty clear what type of play you're doin here and I think that speaks for itself. 

[Traumtulpe]

12 minutes ago, devox15 said:

a two handed sword or a polearm and you used CO

No. Glaive Prime, various nikanas, a rapier, a scythe. If you want to do this, use the glaive. Also use a Warframe with invisibility. The only reason this works is because of bleeds - Blood Rush + Weeping Wounds bleeds just as well.

Bleeds kill armored enemies. Who would have thought.

[devox15]

2 minutes ago, Traumtulpe said:

No. Glaive Prime, various nikanas, a rapier, a scythe. If you want to do this, use the glaive. Also use a Warframe with invisibility. The only reason this works is because of bleeds - Blood Rush + Weeping Wounds bleeds just as well.

Bleeds kill armored enemies. Who would have thought.

Weird that you list weeping when it's currently busted. 
Yeah br will bleed just as well. Or you could not have to ever worry about dropping combo and constantly continuously be healing to full. Doesn't seem like every alternative to BR is just bad from where i'm standing.

[Traumtulpe]

2 minutes ago, devox15 said:

Weird that you list weeping when it's currently busted.

Tell me more. It is listed in the hud with 11x at 12x combo multiplier. Also everything I hit bleeds to death.

Are you telling me that I will cause 4x as many bleeds when Weeping Wounds is fixed (25% base status chance)?

[(XBOX)GearsMatrix301]

Not in the slightest.

[Traumtulpe]

9 minutes ago, Traumtulpe said:

Are you telling me that I will cause 4x as many bleeds when Weeping Wounds is fixed (25% base status chance)?

This appears to be true. However mods are weird right now, some don't seem to work some of the time or not for some people. I had Corrupt Charge not apply on occasion, but usually it does. I guess we will just have to wait for everything to get sorted out.

[Arkandae]

il y a 14 minutes, Traumtulpe a dit :

Tell me more. It is listed in the hud with 11x at 12x combo multiplier. Also everything I hit bleeds to death.

Are you telling me that I will cause 4x as many bleeds when Weeping Wounds is fixed (25% base status chance)?

I just tried with MK1-bo (10% status) and prisma dual cleaver (25% status) and it's clearly bugged, but sometime it seems to work.

[Fallen_Echo]

They are absolutely worthless. 

[(PSN)jaggerwanderer]

So how fast can one get combo points from blocking? Yes I know it's dependent on weapon type. But which melee would potentially generate enough combo points to ultilize heavy attack without even attacking?

[schilds]

How to get your combo counter up fast:

Spoiler

 

 

[(PSN)jaggerwanderer]

Too bad block angles doesn't cover up Baruuks' Elude angles. I mean that would potentiall make him immortal.

[Gurpgork]

They're pretty niche, but I've found that one weapon in particular can make really good use of heavy attacks. Or, more specifically, the heavy slam. 

And that would be the Arca Titron. 

Just, well... I'll let the screenshot speak for itself. 

Spoiler

Now I am by no means trying to make the point that heavy attacks are totally fine as they are because they're absurdly powerful on one weapon, only that, well, they're absurdly powerful on one weapon. 

Edited November 4, 2019 by Gurpgork

[TenebraeAeterna]

Well, it seems to be pretty situational now.

I use the Caustacyst, primarily, and the acid-leaving projectile is the heavy attack now. The damage of the scythe itself has received a decent boost, but you're now no longer able to spam the acid...if you wish to maintain a combo-counter. This leaves the weapon feeling quite a bit different. It feels nicer to use just as it is, and when it comes to the Heavy attack...I'm going to use it on something like a Nox, or a clutch of enemies, and then build that meter up again. It's an interesting twist.