More badassery in the combat department

[Potocobe]

I would love to see something in the game that let you learn or teach specific techniques for fighting against different weapons and fighting multiple enemies. Like one off moves that can be performed, outside of player control, in certain situations, determined by dice-rolls and strict situational requirements. Like mini-scripted sequences, they either work or fail spectacularly. Number of enemies, types of weapons on both sides, distribution of enemies, skill differences (as in large differences should yield some badass moves), nearby objects, number of simultaneous attackers, weapon lengths and weights, types of armor. All these factors could be used to determine if and when and whether a technique get used successfully.

The idea is that you would be able to learn and teach these moves so there could be master swordsmen and women you would be able to meet and learn from. You should be able to one-on-one have an older fighter train a newer one (which makes two characters useless for anything else) and for there to be a chance the newer one will learn a technique from the older one on occasion.

I would love to see-
disarming moves (one more reason to carry two swords)

brief grapples or throws (I'm sure the martial artist skill will address this)

Pulling enemies into each other's swings or using them as body shields

The old 'boot to the ass' against someone who has gotten turned around to send them sprawling into their friends or yours (whoops!) and potentially knocking them down

Feints, counters and parries (especially parries that end up stabbing someone besides the guy parried off of)

Acrobatic dodges and rolls (especially quick rolls to retrieve the sword you had knocked out of your hands.)

Sweeping enemies off their feet and consequently rolling away when being tripped (separate moves)

Sword lock ups, tests of strength (You know what I mean, when two sort-of equal swordsmen are attempting to use leverage and wrist strength to pull the other guys sword out of line and they spend a few seconds testing strength with the blades in full contact. There is a lot of wrist strength involved in sword fighting and these moments actually happen between good fighters AFAIK)

Sword breaking. Some of those swords are rusted pieces of crap and you should be able to shear or shatter them in a lucky moment. (one more reason to carry two swords)

Different stances? I'm not sure how much of a cool factor this would be but sometimes you hold the sword in both hands and sometimes just one. Sometimes sword arm back, sometimes forward. And these stance should help in different ways against different enemies using different weapons. These stances could directly affect the attack and defense skill the same way the 'block only' order does. Characters should switch stances based on who they are facing which might leave them open to the people they aren't facing which might necessitate a surrounded fighting stance.

Heavy weapons users holding the ends of their 'blades' in blocking moves (one hand on hilt the other at the end of the blade, like a staff) and then pushing with their great strength to throw their enemies back. Supposedly, men who wielded greatswords and claymores did this often as well as reversing the blade and using the hilt and crossbar to hook, bash and throw their enemies or their weapons because momentum would often have the blade tip too far away to respond quickly to changing threats while the hilt of the weapon would be closer to the enemy and more manipulable. A good fighter uses the whole weapon to great effect.

I don't think any of this stuff should be in player control. Either the character knows a technique or they don't. Either they can pull it off against a specific enemy or they can't. If they do know it and the situation warrants it i.e.- Player character is fighting five guys. Four have rusty katanas one has a saber. When the player character turns to face the saber wielding guy he changes his stance to give him an edge against the heavier saber. He knows the disarm technique and attempts after a successful block against the saber but sabers are inherently defensive and the failure has bad results leaving him open and he gets hit. Dodging an attack from behind instead of blocking gives the opportunity to throw the guy that got dodged and it works throwing him right into the saber guy knocking them both down. Turning to face the three enemies standing he switches stances again. Because two guys are close to each other a block by your character turns into a counter against the second guy who just blocks it anyways. The first guy swings at your sword not at you and smashes it out of your hand. Your guy pulls their backup weapon and breaks an enemy blade on the first swing which causes them to do a quick 3 hit combo that drops the guy. I want to see stuff like this playing out because it would look awesome.

I wouldn't want to see someone choosing to disarm everyone they fight and then chase them all over since they are unarmed. I wouldn't want to see techniques firing off every second from every character during a giant battle during late game. These techniques should be heavily dependent on specific factors and situations being present all at once in order for the attempt to be made (to limit repetition) and failure should always be an option that sets the character that tried it back a little, like they are off-balance and this decreases their defense skill momentarily or just briefly lowers combat speed.

You can already have a character become an unkillable badass. I just want it to look cooler since the combat is mostly watching to see how things turn out and less making them turn out the way you want (which is great btw) I only want the added ability of helping (as the player) to guide that badassness and for it to feel like watching an awesome martial arts movie when the blood and steel are flying. It isn't just more variety in the combat animations I'm talking about but some kind of meaningful game mechanics that have consequences in the outcomes of battle on top of more variety in the combat animations.

[dungeons0]

Sword lock-ups was never a thing outside Hollywood.

Otherwise i concur with alot of these ideas, save the acrobatic rolls. If you attempted those things in real life during a battle, that was essentially killing yourself.

[RighteousSinner]

Otherwise i concur with alot of these ideas, save the acrobatic rolls. If you attempted those things in real life during a battle, that was essentially killing yourself.

I say we add it anyways so people can kill themselves.

[Potocobe]

Two guys pushing their swords at each other without one of them immediately pivoting their blade around to try and stab or decapitate the other probably doesn't happen in real life. Keeping your blade in contact with your opponents in order to try and control it does happen. Either way they put it in movies because it looks cool and gives the guys some space to dialogue or show some feelings. Just like real modern combat isn't anything like COD and a lot more like Arma 2 but which is more fun to play? Playing a war game that is really realistic is mostly a logistics game. I love Kenshi in that the better skilled character is the most likely to win but a lucky strike can take them down. I like that it splits into the little 1v1 and 2v1 fights that it does when your squad runs into another. I just wish it looked cooler to watch. It's cool already and I know with blood it will be even more amazing but I want more if I can have it.

Again, with the acrobatics thing, it's the sheer impossibility of it that makes it fun to watch. Someone running up a wall and then reversing into a flying round house kick to a head is awesome to watch and has probably never happened in real life. These cool looking acrobatic moves are never very practical but they still look cool. And who knows once you add high powered robotic limbs into the equation crazy acrobatic rolls out of the way might just be possible and effective. If I had a robotic arm I would use it to block or just grab the other guy's sword when it came near. That wouldn't be very entertaining, though. I'm asking for cool factor flavoring in the combat. It will essentially be just water but with a little dye and some artificial flavor it's much more enjoyable.

And now with the beastiary looking good I want to be able to ride around on a weird dinosaur looking thing like it's an elephant or something. Crossbows mounted on an elephant looking thing with a giant turtle shell? Yes please! Not because it's practical but because the spectacle will be awesome. Wouldn't humans do that though? Wouldn't they? Real humans would put flame throwers on that shit if they could and horse armor...or I guess weird alien elephanturtle armor. People are crazy.

[Xx BoD xX]

Yes I think this would be perfect and also make the most sense. A small chance to trigger a special technique and with a chance that it will fail. This, hopefully will be added because the combat right now is really addicting as is. Something spectacular happening every once in awhile would just add to the amazingness. Also it would give you even more reasons to be crushed when your character gets captured or killed. Good idea op, well thought out.

[Roque]

Well thought idea, I had fun imagining it on the game already, now with the majority of new features, a lot could influence how combat plays out, like, having implants, robotic limbs that be used to Kinetic shove enemies away, metallic hand fist to stun the rivals, there's a lot on the table, we'll see what gets seem and put in, but yours, let alone, is an awesome idea.

[Gavin McStine]

I'm using the heaviest weapon which name I forgot, but it's something like 55 pounds or what ever. Now I know it's not a finishing move or what ever but I wacked some bandit for something like 13(6) + 74(14) in the head reducing the to a rag doll state. Arms fialing mid air rag doll made a nice visual but the direct hit to the unprotected head like that would surly be a death strike. I think he would still be alive and still in battle had he not been hit before in the head.