Skill in using saber?

[Fossil25]

When i first started playing jkii (i didn't play the original jk anyway), hardly anyone used the backswing thing. Now it's used so often.

I there really any skill when it comes to using the lightsaber? seems like the only, or at least, best tactic worth learning is this backswing thing, something i can't seem to get anyway. But i thought this backswing thing was invented to quickly escape a backstab without running away, therefore making it unblockable. Now people run towards you or push you down, then stand in front of you, turn 180 degrees and kill you. Doesn't look very right for sword fights.

When i play, i'm usually just guessing where they guy will be and i just run around and try and get my saber somewhere there. I'm not planning to do like a swing from the top right, of from the left, unless i'm using heavy stance in which the only move i ever intentionally try to manuever is a swing from my bottom right. Only once in a while do i manage to do that 'death from above' thing but they are smart enough to run away. I see some people using light stance, crouching forever and doing forward lunges all over the place when you go near them.

[Homosexual Ewok]

Personally, I can't stand the ridiculous amount of auto-blocking in v1.03 so I pretty use the backstab/sweeps and the 3 special moves and nothing else. Normal saber combat for me at least, now becomes a game of just wanting either myself or my opponent to hurry up and sneak one by the auto-blocking and get it over with. Sad thing about this is, due to the decreased damage caused now, even if you do manage to land a clean hit; you have to do it three more times just to kill your opponent...

 

Personally, I don’t find running around in a circle with some guy playing a game of “lets see who can get in the most no lethal saber-pokes” to be very fun.

 

I am sorry but anyone who thinks normal saber swings are still deadly, I guarantee I could kick you to death twice as fast as you could ever hope to kill me. That’s kind of messed up.

 

The anti-backstab people need to pay attention to history. The v1.03 patch was a direct (knee-jerk) response to all the complaining about a few moves inexperienced players had yet to figure out counters for. What happened? We got a patch that seriously weakened the overall game play, and in direct response, the ever-resourceful players found a new (I know, it was in v1.02) way to get in quick kills.

I guarantee you that if the one lethal saber move left is weakened, you will see nothing but “kick fighters” all over your favorite servers.

 

If people would have just learned how to counter their opponents attacks, rather that cry to the developers that the games moves needed to be weakened so they are able to survive longer, none of this mess would have ever been created.

[Luc Solar]

You know skill when you see it.

 

If you die from something else than a backstab repeatedly, you might have ran into someone with skill.

 

But to answer your question: Yes. This is a game. Winning requires skill. (doesn't mean that a skilless spammer couldn't top the boards, though)

[Fossil25]

I know it requires skill, but the skill i see in the game are often coming in the form of the backswing, exlcuding usage of guns. However, I cannot deny them and say they have no skill by using the almost unblockable backswing to defeat opponents for I myself can't get the backswing right always. I know it's not that easy to do. I just find it somewhat incorrect that the reigning lightsaber move is by facing your back towards your opponents and either stabbing backwards or doing a backswing. It would be strange to watch a Star Wars movie with jedis fighting and each trying to get their backs to face their opponent to stab or swing them. I watched the trailer for this game and i saw the backstab done when a Reborn tried to attack Kyle from the back. The trailer however didn't show Kyle running around and flipping 180 degrees all over.

As for skill when using light or medium stance, without doing any special moves but just by basic swings, i find that luck plays a very large part. It's quite difficult to actually think out the moves and manuever them when your saber is fast, unlike in heavy stance.

[C'jais]

Winning doesn't always show skill, but your playing style doesn't have that limitation.

 

I don't use the special moves nor backstab, but I still continually beat people. Trust me guys, when you have played for a certain amount of time, you *do* get some sort of feeling with your moves; you can anticipate what your next move will be, simply by looking a split second at the start of the move.

 

How about this: --- A man with a gun is standing 20 yards or so away from a man without a gun. The without a gun starts to run toward the guy with the gun with the intention of killing him. If the guy with the gun doesn't doesn't hit him before he is dead himself, then the guy *without* the gun was skilled.

Killing others without the aid of their instruments is skilled IMHO.

Similarily, if a guy kills another only by kicking, then he is skilled as well.

 

Choosing the easy way out doesn't equal skill at all.

It's how you play that shows skill, IMHO

And it's a question of self control not to use some flawed, abused move in a game.

[Fossil25]

However, one without any other skill but the backswing, in terms of saber fighting, can still beat a player who has superior saber handling simply by doing the backswing. This is assuming the guy with better skill isn't that much better as to avoid every single attempt and escape every backswing.

I just feel that the backswing is an inappropriate (because of the fact that they guy turns 180 degrees and faces his back towards the opponent before doing a devastation almost unblockable move, something i find odd). I also find it in that sense, abused like you said. A lightsaber war with backswings making the largest number of kills compared to the rest is quite strange.

Sure, if could practice self control and not use the move (if i even could do it properly), but most people won't unless it becomes something universal and every agrees not to abuse it. So even if i could do it, but choose to refrain from doing it, i might be giving myself a disadvantage.

But anyway i'm more convinced now that there's at least some skill involved in saber fighting. I wish something could be done about this backswing thing though. Either introduce other moves with such powerful ability which don't require you to intentionally face your back to your opponent to manuever (and hopefully this move will be so enticing that people choose it over the backswing) or maybe somehow adjust the system such that it's not so easy to do a backswing unless you were genuinely about to be backstabbed (in the sense that someone comes from behind you and tries to attack you).