Making Sword & Shields (And Parry) more useful

[ReshyShira]

Here's just some quick ideas to throw out there, but I have noticed a couple issues with the melee system that nobody seems to talk about much.  First is that Parry is a very fickle thing to use, you have to hold a button, and then let go and hold it again after every swing or jump to maintain your parry.  This being something you have to do for something that takes no energy.  I feel that it really ought to be something that just works by default when attacking with melee rather than something you have to micromanage (or entirely ignore as is more likely the case), or better yet, just make you automatically parry any time you have your melee out even if you're attacking with it.  Because, right now, Parry basically has no use, and weapons with good parry don't have much going for them since if you're parrying you've gotta micromanage it and ostensibly not be attacking in a game all about killing lots of things.

 

As for Sword shields, I think that, like Glaives, they ought to have a special functionality with secondary weapons (and certain primary weapons that use only one hand), allowing you to parry and fire the weapon like a Shield Lancer, as to give Shields their own niche (Though probably at a reload speed penalty).  Perhaps, since these weapons are wrist mounted, give them a default auto-parry chance since you technically always have the shield out and on your arm.  I feel these might make the sword and shield style weapons genuinely useful and interesting in their own right.

 

Edited July 25, 2018 by ReshyShira

[HadronVictorioso]

7 hours ago, ReshyShira said:

Here's just some quick ideas to throw out there, but I have noticed a couple issues with the melee system that nobody seems to talk about much.  First is that Parry is a very fickle thing to use, you have to hold a button, and then let go and hold it again after every swing to maintain your parry.  This being something you have to do for something that takes no energy.  I feel that it really ought to be something that just works by default when attacking with melee rather than something you have to micromanage (or entirely ignore as is more likely the case), or better yet, just make you automatically parry any time you have your melee out even if you're attacking with it.  Because, right now, Parry basically has no use, and weapons with good parry don't have much going for them since if you're parrying you've gotta micromanage it and ostensibly not be attacking in a game all about killing lots of things.

 

As for Sword shields, I think that, like Glaives, they ought to have a special functionality with secondary weapons (and certain primary weapons that use only one hand), allowing you to parry and fire the weapon like a Shield Lancer, as to give Shields their own niche (Though probably at a reload speed penalty).  Perhaps, since these weapons are wrist mounted, give them a default auto-parry chance since you technically always have the shield out and on your arm.  I feel these might make the sword and shield style weapons genuinely useful and interesting in their own right.

 

Honestly, I like this idea. It would certainly give utility to the rather-ignored shields.

Edited July 24, 2018 by HadronVictorioso

[ReshyShira]

Well that's kind of the issue I have with shields.  You'd think that they'd be the best for a defensive-orientated option, but are held back by how fickle parry is, as well as in a horde killing game dying more slowly matters far less than killing the enemies.  Both of the changes would give them a niche (mostly, make them a substitute for a dedicated melee weapon).

[Teridax68]

Personally, I think DE could take a page from the new God of War, and since they're removing channeling, it might be good to incorporate channeled parrying into regular parrying: for example, the moment you start blocking, your weapon should glow for a moment, and during that time, you'd block damage by 100%, reflect projectiles back at the enemies who threw them, and mini-stun melee attackers, while also opening them up for finishers. If this enhanced parry was successful, the empowerment would continually refresh right up until you'd no longer parry anything for a moment, whereupon it'd power down and you'd have to drop the block, then bring it back up again for another try at an empowered parry. With this, players could fulfil their Jedi and Kratos fantasies all in one by parrying enemy attacks at the perfect moment, and shields could then have the benefit of providing an empowered parry for longer, and potentially also providing increased parry bonuses (e.g. longer stun times, better damage reflects, taunts upon blocking as a baseline, etc.).

Edited July 27, 2018 by Teridax68

[ReshyShira]

Honestly, with what I am seeing from melee 3.0, if Parry is being used as part of the combo system, then I hope an ease of use will be included so it's not so fickle.

 

That and there seems to be interest in making one-handed melee weapons work with one handed secondaries.  I hope this means you can use a shield to block and a pistol to shoot.