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Combat in MMORPG's

Barzul

Member
I've always been fascinated with the amount of people that play and enjoy mmo's but it seems to me very few of them have satisfying, visceral combat. I know the reason has to do with latency and the fact that single player games have the files that determine combat and hit detection stored locally, but has any MMO figured out a way around this? It's just difficult to go from playing games like Diablo 3, Witcher 2, Arkham games even Skyrim to playing an MMO where the combat can be just so slow and clunky. So I guess my question is are there any MMO's that have great game design while offering satisfying combat similar to you could see in a single player game?
 
MMOs are slowly beginning to transition into a more fully real time combat system. Two soon to release off the top of my head are Wildstar and Elder Scrolls Online.

There are a few that are currently available as well like Guild Wars 2 and Tera.
 

Combat in TERA is bloody good.

I like combat in both these games because unlike other MMOs where it's usually lock on and autotarget type of combat with some aoe placing on some skills, you can dodge or block pretty much most things that are tossed your way. In Tera I had a lot of fun soloing the BAMs (Big Ass Monsters) that are basically boss monsters by myself because you could kite and dodge everything. The problem with both games are the quests because they are very grindy where you have to collect or kill something over and over again.

Best combat in an MMO though is DFO. I really liked that and pvp was fun in that game (actually competitive).
 
Agreed. That's why I could never get into things like WoW. I managed to get a lot of enjoyment out of Guild Wars 2's combat system though, even with it's lack of actual ooomph.

How is the combat it FF14? Thinking about jumping into that when it hits PS4.

It's amazing how all the good combat MMOs have mediocre-to-garbage everything else.

Yeah, that's why I could never get into games like Tera or Vindictus. Everything else just kinda sucks. I tried that new Dungeons and Dragons MMO and didn't like it either. Guild Wars 2 struck a happy medium for me I guess.
 
I like combat in both these games because unlike other MMOs where it's usually lock on and autotarget type of combat with some aoe placing on some skills, you can dodge or block pretty much most things that are tossed your way. In Tera I had a lot of fun soloing the BAMs (Big Ass Monsters) that are basically boss monsters by myself because you could kite and dodge everything. The problem with both games are the quests because they are very grindy where you have to collect or kill something over and over again.

Best combat in an MMO though is DFO. I really liked that and pvp was fun in that game (actually competitive).

too bad they closed DFO.

phantasy star online 2 is pretty neat to lol.

Tera combat is great, game is dead though, team is gone.


maplestory is actually kinda fun in the simple grind kinda way, spaming skills with no cooldown.
 
The combat in most MMOs shines in raid environments with unique boss mechanics.

Solo combat the people seem to like (Guild Wars 2 for instance) tends to ruin the group combat though.
 
Everybody starts Vindictus for the combat.

They stay for the dress up.
 
I actually dislike real time combat in MMORPGS, love clicking them buttons and queueing skills

Tera and Conan have it good, if you like that sort of thing
 
and for the $5+ lingerie.

That always bothered me because I got free NX but I spent in on DFO (RIP my avatars), so my Vindictus Evie had the default white shorts and t shirt undergarment always on. Even if you put on the backless armor on, or something, it shows your undergarment underneath so seeing the default while wearing the armor always annoyed me.

But PSO2 is the real dress up game (So many Madokas and Homuras running around right now). I have like 8 costumes sitting in my storage and random gloves, socks, glasses, etc. Luckily you can buy most stuff from player shops with meseta but stuff like a pareo for the beach wear cost quite a bit.
 
Agreed. That's why I could never get into things like WoW...

How is the combat it FF14? Thinking about jumping into that when it comes to PS4.

The WoW combat was rad. So many skills with skill tree changes, interesting trinkets and other items like Engineer stuff. I remember pre-Lich King you could do some really fun stuff in PVP and in PVE.

FF14 is so mind-bogglingly boring that I quit. I can't understand the appeal of that game. The only thing they try to do to keep the action interesting is that for melee classes, you get damage bonuses for attacking monsters from the sides or the back. But after like 40hours, you realize that the desingers impliment this because the combat and skills are so dull and uninteresting that they needed something to spice up combat.

Couple that with the homogenization of loot, and you have an MMO that lacks any real sense of character progression.
 
Funny you mentioned Diablo 3, I'm pretty sure combat in that came is sever side.

Yeah how does Blizzard do it? Some sort of server magic that no one else can emulate? But we also have to consider that it's nowhere near as populated as your typical MMO.
 
what sucks about mmos is that, you can have fun actiony solo combat. or slow gcd based skills that work great in group combat.


i can't think of a game that works for both.

actiony games is just spammy in mp.
 
any wow style target lockon combat will never feel good. it has it's moments especially when you're doing the right things, but it'll never be as good as a true RPG. star wars was pretty awful. very few classes had any interesting mechanics and the one i played was a single button press almost the entire match. i've heard good things about tera but when i played it was pretty boring. instead of "target locking" you would use a reticle for ranged classes and it seemed a little bit overly complicated for almost not added "fun value". I'll wait to see what blizzard has planned for titan, but as of now i'm clocked out on traditional mmos.
 
That always bothered me because I got free NX but I spent in on DFO (RIP my avatars), so my Vindictus Evie had the default white shorts and t shirt undergarment always on. Even if you put on the backless armor on, or something, it shows your undergarment underneath so seeing the default while wearing the armor always annoyed me.

But PSO2 is the real dress up game (So many Madokas and Homuras running around right now). I have like 8 costumes sitting in my storage and random gloves, socks, glasses, etc. Luckily you can buy most stuff from player shops with meseta but stuff like a pareo for the beach wear cost quite a bit.

PSO2 is the most hardcore MMO Dress Up Simulator I have ever played. So many options.

Did not expect that in PSO of all places.
 
I like the old school RPG combat. I still think the combat in WoW and EQ is fun.

It can damn well be, and there's things that this abstract form of combat does that ARPG either cannot do or eliminates.

But like turn-based and random battles before it, now that the physical restrictions that forced that form are falling away, you're starting to see a stampede away from any legacy abstraction. Some will be great, others the same grim, gray, tasteless hack'n'slash feel that pollutes most ARPGs, but we'll also loose what those abstract forms were stronger at, and we'll rarely see it in new products (the few that will are probably going to be nostalgia or throwback as well).

EDIT:

Also everyone, keep in mind how fucking hard a time some people have at getting out of fire more than half the time, and imagine PvE with a much, MUCH more heightened movement, dexterity, and situational awareness checks that comes with an ARPG basis.

This mixing with the neurotic fear of failure most theme park MMOs cater to will be exquisite.
 
The WoW combat was rad. So many skills with skill tree changes, interesting trinkets and other items like Engineer stuff. I remember pre-Lich King you could do some really fun stuff in PVP and in PVE.

FF14 is so mind-bogglingly boring that I quit. I can't understand the appeal of that game. The only thing they try to do to keep the action interesting is that for melee classes, you get damage bonuses for attacking monsters from the sides or the back. But after like 40hours, you realize that the desingers impliment this because the combat and skills are so dull and uninteresting that they needed something to spice up combat.

Couple that with the homogenization of loot, and you have an MMO that lacks any real sense of character progression.

Hmm, I've heard good things about the atmosphere/story, but if the combat isn't fun then I just can't do it. Maybe I'll try FF14 if they have a free weekend or something.

As for WoW, I'm just not into that type of combat I guess, or I wasn't when I tried it. Just felt so disconnected, like most MMOs are for me. I'm sure it's deep and great for those who are into it though. If they ever make a successor to WoW, maybe I'll give it another shot haha
 
Agreed. That's why I could never get into things like WoW. I managed to get a lot of enjoyment out of Guild Wars 2's combat system though, even with it's lack of actual ooomph.

How is the combat it FF14? Thinking about jumping into that when it hits PS4.

If you don't like your games slow then FFXIV's 2.5 second Global Cooldown is going to redefine boring for you.
 
I've always been fascinated with the amount of people that play and enjoy mmo's but it seems to me very few of them have satisfying, visceral combat. I know the reason has to do with latency and the fact that single player games have the files that determine combat and hit detection stored locally, but has any MMO figured out a way around this? It's just difficult to go from playing games like Diablo 3, Witcher 2, Arkham games even Skyrim to playing an MMO where the combat can be just so slow and clunky. So I guess my question is are there any MMO's that have great game design while offering satisfying combat similar to you could see in a single player game?
Funny, I often feel the opposite. Combat systems in a game like Diablo 3 or Skyrim can often be remarkably remedial and ultimately dull. MMORPGs that are well designed ask for balanced use of an assortment of abilities that play into one another. Juggling use of situational abilities and working around cooldown timers is engaging to me. I prefer something like this to completely action games that rely on visual/audio hit feedback to constantly reward players in combat.
any wow style target lockon combat will never feel good. it has it's moments especially when you're doing the right things, but it'll never be as good as a true RPG.
Tell me more about these "true RPG"s.
 
I like combat in both these games because unlike other MMOs where it's usually lock on and autotarget type of combat with some aoe placing on some skills, you can dodge or block pretty much most things that are tossed your way. In Tera I had a lot of fun soloing the BAMs (Big Ass Monsters) that are basically boss monsters by myself because you could kite and dodge everything. The problem with both games are the quests because they are very grindy where you have to collect or kill something over and over again.

Best combat in an MMO though is DFO. I really liked that and pvp was fun in that game (actually competitive).

I liked TERAs fighting for PvE more but TERA PvP and DFO PvP were so different and fun I'd put them on the same level of enjoyment.
 
PSO2 is pretty decent when it comes to the action.

But I find MMO's always feel inhibiting in terms of what you can do. What I mean is that there doesn't feel like there's enough freedom with the battle system to do what you want. You end up going through rotations instead of being allowed to freestyle in the way that the DMC games allow you to for example.
 
Well if you like Diablo 3 or action RPG in general with online components with tight gameplay, Path of Exile should be up your alley.
 
The combat in Raiderz is pretty good. I think it's more superior than Tera. Like Tera it's not instance based as well and you get to fight large monsters and craft lots of stuff in a similar manner to Monster Hunter.
 
Tell me more about these "true RPG"s.

an actual WRPG. while most have shit combat, some of them are actually decent. witcher 2's combat rebalance for instance. mmos tend to not do so well in the combat and story departments. i get a bigger adrenaline rush from mobas than i do from wow style mmos these days.
 
Dragon Nest is #1 by a country mile.

Vindictus feels like a beatemup and Dragon Nest feels like a fighting game.
 
I like the old school RPG combat. I still think the combat in WoW and EQ is fun.

I play EQ on Project 1999 to this day. I love that game. Some people might say it is boring/bland, but it is so skill-based and takes a great deal of patience. One crappy player can get a lot of people killed in EQ, and the death penalty sucks.


I love it.
 
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