thoughts on new patch implications for Sabers NF?

[idlemind]

ok, most people seem to be reviewing the patch as it concerns fixed force power inequities, and saber vs gun inequities.

 

I would like to start a dicussion on the new look saber fighting style. I am very worried. They messed with every style, which seemed a little excessive and pointless, but hey maybe I could adjust. But they also increased saber defense drastically.

 

I hated saber blocks in the first place. Why? Because when someone blocks a saber strike, it's basically like a get out of jail free card. They shouldn't have been in the way of the saber of the first place and deserved to get hit. They opponent who had maneuvered himself into such a position as to be able to hit you when you weren't blocking (and most of the time you couldn't block unless you were standing still) was clearly the more skilled saber fighter. Now, you block an extremely large majority of attacks. It is very hard to hit people and when you so it seems whimsical to say the least. I do not like saber fighting now. Luck seems to play a too large part in victory, not skill.

 

Please reply constructively about the new patch changes to Saber NF fighitng. Also state what you think may be done to remedy any new problems.

[Nill the Mean]

Sigh... the reason people are saying that it feels random etc... is probably due to you attacking when he isn't even open for attack. I have had no problem so far because even before the patch I always tried to time my attack to hit him as he was just starting/finishing his swing. That still works indefinately. Blocking is a major feature in this game, it is cool that they turned it up.

I think the people that stick with this game will get REALLY good at it eventually and we'll see some amazing saber combat. Yesterday I managed to kill 4 people in about 3 seconds with my saber. It took me four swipes. Definately not luck. I even finished the second one of with a backstab...

The game is just harder now. More challenging. More fun in the long run, if you get used to it.

[Areoch]

A suggestion if you don't like the blocking that much, when you make a server and set it to no force, make sure to put the force at a low level say padawan or lower, it'll give people less points to spend on saber defence on the bottom so they won't block as much

[idlemind]

I'm not trying to gripe overly much. It's just that I can't for the life of me understand why Raven nerfed yellow so much. There was no problem with it. A skilled player could pull of beautiful fast four hit combos before the other person with the heavy saber above their head knew what was going on. Now that isn't possible because yellow is so much slower, does so much less damage, and probably will get blocked interrupting the combo.

 

What I was hoping for in this patch, and what I thought would have been more than sufficient (at least concerning saber combat) was to

 

1) take the delay off of DFA so you couldn't run into it.

2) make DFA do less damage so that it would be used only to extend the range of your red swing. i.e.) if someone avoided your red by rolling straight back or jumping, you could always hitting them by doing DFA

2) that is all that needed to be done.

 

What they have done instead is mess with everything in saber fighting, taking a system widely liked with enormous skill depth, and making blocking so ridiculously prevalent that a large amount of skill is taken out of the equation.

 

I hope Raven makes yellow back to the way it used to be, and tones down blocking a lot. That would be my constructive way to deal with my complaints.

[MrCrusher]

I've been playing this control system for sevral years now. In the form of Heretic2 and now JO.

 

This patch just added more control than has ever been seen on a PC melee game. Ever.

 

Good job Raven

[Ferox]

i agree with idlemind. i liked the medium how it was, that was the stance i always used i never really switched because i enjoy adjusting to other peoples styles.

[Bambers]

I like the changes, medium just needs to be relearnt, its changed, but still effective.

[Tekken]

Idle, as long as they didn't alter the 'exposed' areas for each stance, it still is possible to hit the person. What I mean is, the areas on the sides and/or back of the player. Also, feinting an attack can draw out your opponent, so that he/she takes a swing, which if you counter right, results in a hit. I find that forward, backward, AND side flips aide in this, but I get accused of being a 'jumpin fewl' as a result!

 

I had gotten fairly good with Yellow, where I could string combos together with a twirl-slash in the middle, but find it harder to do now. Which is a good thing, I think. I now am forced to fight more tactically, whereas before I knew my combos would hit. Eventually. hehe.

 

There's been some discussion about throws in NF saber games/duels. That is my biggest concern; if there's not a way to shut that off, be prepared for a throw-fest.

 

All in all, I like the patch. I played the SP game for about 5 min, so I never even got to see what the saber was like (except for the LADDER map). Still, I like the fact that now I have to work harder.

 

Please bear in mind that I am not one of the self-proclaimed 'l33t'. I play this game because I enjoy the challenge, and this patch definitely provides that!

 

Tek.

[Zek]

Throw also has a chance for your saber to fall on the ground now after being deflected...

 

What are you saying, idlemind? You think that sabers should just pass through eachother? This IS a Star Wars game, you know; if you're just running straight at them and swinging at their front, you shouldn't expect to get through their defense. The fact that you could pretty often before was ridiculous.

 

As for Saber Throw, I've been playing FFA Duel games for a while, and Throw spamming was never a problem. For the very rare person that did it, all it took was a small amount of concentration to block the saber; they're only depleting their own force bar. Saber Throw is for when you see an opening in their defense but you can't get to them in time, and for that it's very useful.