Well, we’ve talked about a lot of important game mechanics, but now it’s time for that very important topic of combat!
Sure, peace can be great and should be strived for, but sometimes you’re just forced into conflict. On the other hand, sometimes battle speeds things up, you gotta do what you gotta do, ya know?
By now, you should know that preparation is the key to everything. So keep your elixirs, spells and best gear ready for action before diving into the thick of it!
There are two main types of fighting styles, with some differences between them.
First one is melee combat, that’s where you go toe-to-toe against your enemies with your trusty bladed weapon. Which means that if the enemy is in the range of your attacks, so are you. Best keep those life force elixirs and restorative spells close!
Once you choose your main target it is important to have your character within approximately 15 degrees angle in front of him so that you don’t swing and miss your attacks. Unless you’re trying to “show off” your moves that is. Doubt it’ll impress your adversaries but they might be grateful for letting them score free hits on you though? Anyways…
Whenever you successfully attack an enemy you begin to “chain up” a “combo”, which is three consecutive uninterrupted attacks, you don’t have to land all three hits though. The third attack you execute gives you a chance to stagger your opponent.
Stagger causes a very short stun on your foe. Basically stopping their actions for a brief moment. This is obviously something you want, cause if they can’t act, they can’t hit back.
If you think that’s a bit unfair, don’t worry! Same thing can happen to you. Actually, you probably should worry about THAT instead…
While combo attacks are a good way to keep damaging your opponent, there’s also an option of a “charged attack”.
Charged attack is exactly what it sounds like, you basically channel for a short amount of time and then unleash a stronger version of your regular attack. It requires more stamina to perform but it deals 1.5 times more damage and gives you a high chance to stagger or even apply a “knockdown” on an enemy!
Knockdown is pretty self-explanatory, you knock your enemies down for a few seconds and while they’re in this state, you also increase the damage they receive. The third attack of your combo chain also has a chance to apply it, so completing the chain is usually a good choice.
So why WOULDN’T you just do charged attacks and chain combos? Ah, that’s where the challenge part comes from.
Every time you get struck by your enemies your combo chain is broken and your charged attack gets interrupted. Therefore getting into combat with multiple enemies could pose quite a threat.
Luckily Origins: The Fall of Azoria relies on physics. Specifically, if you swing your staff and its attack pattern “collides” with more than one opponent, they also receive full damage. Think of it as if you were cleaving your weapon through your adversaries. Tactical positioning can be very beneficial, so think while you swing!
Now, some of you may think that all this swinging your modular weapon at the opponent is a bit… rough. Don’t worry, there’s an alternative to it.
That alternative is the ranged combat of course! Instead of getting close to your enemies and trading blows from the get go, why not bombard them from a distance?
Sure, they’ll try to close the distance eventually, but those extra free hits are exactly that, free. It is especially worthwhile to open up with a charged attack for a very strong “greeting”.
The downside of ranged projectiles is that the enemies can physically get in the way between you and your target, causing them to get hit instead. Ah, a true friendship indeed…
Since your ranged attacks can’t really “cleave” through your opponents, you may think that it might be better to stick with melee in case of fighting multiple enemies at once.
Not to worry though! Your crystal holder allows you to cause splash damage on the enemies close to the target hit by your projectile. So positioning yourself comes into ranged combat as well, maybe even more.
All this talk about attacking but how do you protect yourself from being attacked? Well, according to a certain wise martial arts teacher, “The best defence is no be there.” so second best would probably be to dodge the attack!
Specifically you can use your “dash” ability, which allows you to both increase the distance from your opponent but also make you immune to physical attacks for a couple of frames. Think iFrames from Dark Souls.
There’s also another way of making sure that the enemy doesn’t land his blows on you and that is to “parry” them.
Parrying basically allows you to counter your foes' attacks against you. Each time your adversary uses their basic attack there will be a couple of frames during which you can press attack. If executed at the right time, they will become “parried” and put them in a stun for a few seconds while increasing your critical chance against them.
The downside would be that missing that small window will allow them to land a free hit on you while losing stamina on the attempt. Risk and reward. If you’re in the middle of performing a combo chain, you won’t be able to parry, so no spamming attack button unfortunately.
Hm? Oh yeah, critical attacks! Pretty standard stuff. Depending on your critical damage modifier, you’ll deal that much extra damage. So +15% damage would increase it by that much for every critical hit you land.
But also critical strike increases your chance to stagger your opponents.
Oh and a knockdown too!
So if you crit your charged attack you’re almost guaranteed to stagger or knockdown any opponent!
Okay, crits are pretty cool…
Welp, this article got a little bit more meat than the rest, so let's leave spells for a separate article to reduce the burden on your eyes. At least for now…
As always, hope you’ve enjoyed another glimpse into our Origins: The Fall of Azoria world and its game mechanics.
Until next time, Dreamers!
About Dreams Quest
Dreams Quest is a diversified entertainment company building fantasy and dream-like content that is both breathtaking and adventurous, driving the soul to learn and explore even more.
Origins: The Fall of Azoria, is the first instalment of an open-world, action-adventure roleplaying game. Players will be confronted with a world fast deteriorating, and an existential threat facing Azoria that must be resolved. Players will face a variety of conflicts and must learn how to interact with the natural world to repair and heal what is broken.
Dreams Quest is building a unique world through mythology and story, whose sole purpose is to share ancient knowledge, to awaken the soul and to re-teach methods of healing and growth long since forgotten. The company is developing a range of content including film, TV, music and games.
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