Unfortunately combat still kinda sucks

[cifrelettere]

Looks like the developers slowed down combat and made enemies purposely not flank you to hide the fact that the combat at its core is still pretty crappy. It feels awkward and I'm still not sure why some stuff counts as hits while others don't. It still feels like I'm stabbing a mannequin. Lack of peripheral vision is still an issue. Lack of depth perception is still an issue.

The lock-on mechanism was made softer to facilitate switching enemies easier, except now sometimes I lose the lock-on or switch enemies when I don't want to just by trying to get my swings in the right place.

I get what the developers are going for, but it simply does not work properly in a first-person video game like this. The fact that I swing and my weapon inherently must swing from one side afterward may be 'realistic' (it's really not since it implies that people only ever fought this way and every attack is on invisible rails) but the lack of kinesthesia or really any kind of feedback besides a red direction indicator switching on makes it feel super clunky still. It seems like grapples and such are mostly removed, but the game still has a big issue with attack animations being overly long so that it feels like the player is trapped in a series of cutscenes rather than a sword fight.

It should've been scrapped for a more organic system like Mordhau or even Mount and Blade because for as frustrating and problematic as the combat is, even at its best it's not any more fun than those games anyway.

Game is otherwise super cool and polished but the combat system just sucks. Sorry devs. If y'all make KCD3 please just rebuild it from the ground up.

[rolfvonsmirker]

skill issue

[Steven Silverheart]

Yeah, skill issue.

[Drunk Rambo {The Dirty Dozen}]

Originally posted by cifrelettere:

Looks like the developers slowed down combat and made enemies purposely not flank you to hide the fact that the combat at its core is still pretty crappy. It feels awkward and I'm still not sure why some stuff counts as hits while others don't. It still feels like I'm stabbing a mannequin. Lack of peripheral vision is still an issue. Lack of depth perception is still an issue.

The lock-on mechanism was made softer to facilitate switching enemies easier, except now sometimes I lose the lock-on or switch enemies when I don't want to just by trying to get my swings in the right place.

I get what the developers are going for, but it simply does not work properly in a first-person video game like this. The fact that I swing and my weapon inherently must swing from one side afterward may be 'realistic' (it's really not since it implies that people only ever fought this way and every attack is on invisible rails) but the lack of kinesthesia or really any kind of feedback besides a red direction indicator switching on makes it feel super clunky still. It seems like grapples and such are mostly removed, but the game still has a big issue with attack animations being overly long so that it feels like the player is trapped in a series of cutscenes rather than a sword fight.

It should've been scrapped for a more organic system like Mordhau or even Mount and Blade because for as frustrating and problematic as the combat is, even at its best it's not any more fun than those games anyway.

Game is otherwise super cool and polished but the combat system just sucks. Sorry devs. If y'all make KCD3 please just rebuild it from the ground up.

Get Gudder

[Joew]

STILL? Combat is much worst than the first one. Trash this game.

[MezzerliptikJay]

Im not a fan of the combat either, Maybe its because im using a Xbox controller, but it doesn't always hit where i select it to hit, and seems to have a mind of its own at times

[cifrelettere]

Originally posted by rolfvonsmirker:

skill issue

Not really. The combat is just super clunky no matter how good you are. Fighting multiple enemies is still an issue. Enemies warp all over at times as they run past each other or over and around minor obstacles. When enemies are next to each other your swings will hit one rather than the intended target.

It's just a really bad system. It was bad in KCD1 and it's bad here again with the only difference that devs tried to simplify it and slow it down but it still fundamentally kinda sucks.

[JamesDC303]

Yeah I find the combat seriously dull

[cifrelettere]

Even stuff like switching weapons feels so incredibly clunky and the feedback from the game is minimal. Did I successfully switch from bow to my sword? Who knows. I need to pretty much look down to see if Henry did indeed switch weapons as I told him to.

Everything feels so sluggish and clunky it's just unbelievable. The game gives almost no valuable feedback to player inputs.

Let's not even get started on fighting enemies at different elevations because it's just as bad as KCD1.

[Ghostpro71]

Weird cause the enemies i face always try to flank me.

[Kryten]

I think combat was improved. Its more fluid now and easier to get into. Also flanking does happen, just not as often anymore, they wait more before swarming you and hold more distance to each other. I only had a few fights with multiple enemies, so not 100% sure yet. That fistfight in the first tavern though....got surrounded by at least 4 guys and also got punched from flank and/or behind

[Geeks On Hugs]

The combat is way better. No it's not instant gratification but that's this game in a nut-shell.

And as with most things in life, once you put in the work the rewards are often far greater than what you get with things that offer instant gratification. I expect it will be the same as I learn to master combat in KCD 2.

Even though I never attained mastery, I did put a bit of effort into working on it and as with anyone who has put in the effort to learn the combat in both games should be able to tell you: the new game is far superior. The combat is tighter and easier to feel and understand. I feel like I can understand what I'm doing and I see a path to getting proficient with combat where as in KCD 1 the combat felt like a sloppy mess in comparison and next to hopeless without serious effort.

[Xeskengo]

It doesnt suck , its you who sucks at the combat . Learn it and master it easy, its just because you are used to smash buttons in games like elden ring.

[cifrelettere]

Originally posted by Xeskengo:

It doesnt suck , its you who sucks at the combat . Learn it and master it easy, its just because you are used to smash buttons in games like elden ring.

Or it's because many of the first game's well-documented problems are still present (many of which I've listed already in this thread).

It's not a fun system ultimately and it's still super clunky. It doesn't feel like I'm swinging a sword and hitting enemies -- it ultimately feels like I'm pressing buttons and watching cutscenes. I mean c'mon, there is a clearly observable delay as enemies go through animations after being hit -- watch when enemies die and they go from mid-swing to standing up, spinning around, and slowly falling to the ground in the most physically impossible manner ever.

[VonFIDDE]

Don't get the combatsystem at all, they make it fiddly to keep it real yet stats and technices makes it a cakewalk. For me it's a huge turn off, would have been so much more fun with a combatsystem such as the melee-brawlers use.

[Ēarendel]

Early game Henry couldn't beat a grandpa even if he was decked out in full armor and the gramps was using his fists. It's funny because the NPC's do more damage, have more stamina and life points. Yeah it's going to suck until end game, has nothing to do with skill, it's a grind issue.