melee-combat
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Firefall patch takes us to the kingdom of the Crystal Skull Pirates
A small update for Firefall is now live on the servers and with it comes a slew of small adjustments and additions including faster melee combat. Patch 0.8.1745 reduced the cooldown of melee attacks from three to two seconds, while also making significant tweaks to the Electron battleframe. Get your Indiana Jones jokes in while you can, because the team has included Crystal Skull Pirates with this update as well. The pirates are rare enemies that offer up a special helmet if you can track them down and deliver a plasma-laced punishment.
The Anvil of Crom: Six reasons why
Normally I avoid top 10 (or top five, or top whatever) lists like the bubonic plague. I've talked before about how they're not my thing, and with the exception of our own Justin Olivetti and his always chuckle-worthy Perfect Ten, I tend to avoid reading them (not to mention writing them)! This week, though, I'm indulging in The Anvil of Crom's second top-random-number list, and I'm doing it in response to two reader mails that asked me why their respective authors should give Age of Conan a second shot. In short, there's never been a better time to try (or return to) AoC, so join me after the cut for six reasons why.
DC Universe directors talk ranged vs. melee combat
Sony Online Entertainment is going absolutely video crazy with DC Universe Online. Not that we mind of course. The latest release is a new edition of Inside the Studio, hosted by game director Chris Cao and creative director Jens Andersen. The dynamic duo are here to answer your Facebook-submitted questions, and they touch on everything from maps and city exploration to the game's headline system and combat mechanics. Most of the time is devoted to combat, of course, as player skill and combat customization are clearly DCUO's talking points. The directors have some interesting things to say about ranged vs. melee combat, even going so far as to indicate that melee is the more important of the pair. "What we found that gave the most satisfying superhero experience is really a big brawler. But it's a brawler with ranged weapons," Cao says. If that makes you scratch your head like we scratched ours, keep watching, as it starts to make a bit more sense as the discussion continues.
DCUO releases new brawling screens
November 2nd is fast approaching, and you closet-superheroes are no doubt dusting off your tights, underoos and power armor in preparation for Sony Online Entertainment's DC Universe Online. The comic-inspired MMORPG will take would-be crime-fighters from Metropolis to Gotham City, and whether you've got a PC or a Playstation 3, you'll find a home as well as plenty of competition on Sony's servers. Speaking of competition, CVG has released a set of new screenshots from the game that focus on everyone's favorite MMO pastime: violence! Whether you're itching to spec out a beefy brawler who pancakes opponents with his fists and feet, or a lithe ranged attacker who fills up on POWs, WHAMs, and KRAKs from a distance, DCUO looks to satiate your hunger for action. Check out our gallery below for a little bit of the old ultra-violence. %Gallery-100729%
Fallen Earth's newest patch addresses animations
One of the fan criticisms often leveled at Icarus Studios' post-apocalyptic sci-fi MMO Fallen Earth is the quality of some of the title's combat animations. With the launch of the game's newest update, Icarus has begun to address these concerns by polishing the animations for both dual-wielding and melee combat reactions. The 1.6.2 patch, which hits the live server today, also brings particle and sound synchronization on melee combat as well as user interface tweaks and a small bug fix pertaining to the respec system. Finally, in case the wastelands weren't gritty enough already, the Fallen Earth team has re-enabled blood spatters and sounds for normal, glancing, and critical hits with regard to melee combat. Check out the press release and the full patch notes for all the details.
Waging WAR: A healer's advice for melee-DPS
Waging WAR starts the month of August with a look at archetypes in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and the way they work together in RvR and scenarios. Although Greg's rules apply to pretty much any class-based, group-based, PvP-centric game, he prefers to think of them as particular to WAR, since there's a bunch of game-specific slang in there that he's too lazy to change. Having a role to play is integral to the massively multiplayer online experience, but when the term "roleplay" comes up, it usually means something very specific and closely related to dramatic acting. Taken in a broader sense, it means that we choose our roles when we project the most imaginative aspect of our psychic selves and ask the question "who (or what) do I want to be?" Thus, our vicarious adventures begin. For the purposes of social gaming, it should come as no surprise that those classes usually fit another staple in the MMO universe -- the role trinity of tanker, healer, and damager. While the bond between the healer and tanker is obvious, the unspoken pact between healer and damager is just as sacred and yet all too easily forgotten. For those who were unaware such a promise existed, it goes something like, "I, the healer, promise to keep you alive so you can kill stuff in the face (better)." However, in many cases, the damaging character is delegated an expendable role, compared to the tank's priority or the healer's own survival. These are exceptions that the melee-damager is usually aware of and even comfortable with. But today I'm not here to challenge those roles like I normally would when talking about damage-healer hybrids. As a specialized healer, I've defined a few, easy-to-remember rules that I believe every melee-damage player should follow in group situations (PUG or premade – there is little difference when it comes to these rules). Solo play is an entirely different realm and beyond the scope of this column; I want to focus on the special synergy between healer and melee-damager, and to dispense advice to those brave, wayward souls in their never-ending quest to face blades as they bring their own to bear. I'll bestow these tidbits of wisdom after the break.
Captain's Log: Guide to melee combat in Star Trek Online
Captain to away team: Set fists to Obliterize! It's time again for Captain's Log, our weekly venture into the cosmos of Star Trek Online. Steel your nerves and ready your weapons, because we return this week to the front lines of ground combat. When Captain's Log last discussed combat, we covered five of the most important basics of fists-and-phasers fighting in STO. With the fundamentals of Exposing and Exploiting firmly in mind, we'll move on -- by popular demand -- to the exciting world of melee combat. Punching out a Borg invader might not seem very Trek-ish, but it sure gets the job done.
Champions Online melee powers trailer, plus teleporting
We know plenty of you have been itching to see all of Champions Online's melee powers in motion, and that's what you'll get with this recently released trailer at IGN. Additionally, Cryptic's seen fit to show off the teleportation travel power, which we're completely in love with and know you'll be too if you're a melee user. There's nothing quite as awesome as appearing out of thin air, right behind your soon-to-be victim.In fact, we may have cackled the first few times we did it in-game. Okay, we still cackle now, just a little.Some props are in order to whoever was responsible for editing this trailer, because it certainly does a good job showing off all the awesome powers. Watch closely for the Martial Arts and Dual Blade powers, because in our humble opinion those are the coolest of the bunch. Then again, there's something to be said for Supernatural chains and reality-distorting Might. Check out the video after the break.
Age of Conan dev video diary 5: melee combat!
Melee combat. It's one of the main reasons that a lot of people have so much interest in Age of Conan, and it's definitely something that makes the game stand out next to other MMOs. Having thrown out the traditional "auto-attack" altogether, AoC plays more like an action game, and in the newly released Developer Video Diary 5, we get an explanation of some of the finer points of this combat system.
