Combat in The Witcher 3

[ONLY_ONCE]

Actually having the character attempt to parry an incoming blow (while not attacking) applies to the philosophy of "less is more". You don't have to hold down a button and instead you can concentrate on actually making sure your character is positioned properly in order to intercept the blow. When your character actually moves their weapon to intercept the enemies blow (like in SG) it looks a lot more natural than a static animation that doesn't actually block anything (like in TW2). Blocking in TW2 made absolutely no sense and it just looked awkward. You'd just stand there in the same pose, holding your sword up while not actually blocking/parrying at all, but you'd still magically reduce damage because you stood in a silly pose?

Yeah, I agree blocking in TW2 was very lame.
I did not like the fact that we could not block and move around at the same time.
Anyways.. show me a link bro of this SG game you talk about

 

[HellKnightX88]

Google-fu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ38HVHvY5g

 

[freakie1one]

Google-fu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ38HVHvY5g

That video is quite old and massive improvements have been made since but it does give you a general idea about what the game is like.

Also, the versions I've played are still under NDA so I can't show video here but you might want to check your inbox @ONLY ONCE.

 

[HellKnightX88]

I looked for a more recent video but all the others were from 2013. That one seemed the most recent publicly available video.

 

[freakie1one]

I looked for a more recent video but all the others were from 2013. That one seemed the most recent publicly available video.

I have dozens of videos of more recent builds on my HD but simply can't share them publicly due to NDA. I'm thinking the devs might release a new updated public video in the upcoming weeks because their alpha version of the prelude is going to be released then. They also said the NDA will be removed once they get a version out (alpha/beta version) that they feel accurately represents the game; when this happens I will upload and share videos since the dynamic nature of everything in the game makes for some pretty entertaining moments .

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

Google-fu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ38HVHvY5g

This looks awesome, I want to play this on consoles without that red orb thing in combat

 

[freakie1one]

This looks awesome, I want to play this on consoles without that red orb thing in combat

Aye, the game is quite awesome. However, that red orb is a cursor controlled by the mouse. It is quite important in SG because your character always attempts to face the cursor (red orb). You use it to properly position your body/weapon to parry and you can also use it to increase or reduce the momentum and arc of your swing while attacking. And lastly, the cursor can be used to perform different attacks. If you position the cursor to the left of your character before initiating an attack then your character will reposition the sword and perform a left-to-right attack instead of the default right-to-left swing.

The cursor allows precise control of your character which is a requirement in SG since there are no static animations; all movement is procedurally generated on-the-fly based upon physics. Since there are accurate collisions in SG you can actually knock people over by smashing your weapon into them and then using the cursor to turn your upper body and push them over, followed by an overhand strike to crush them while they're on the ground. It's very satisfying!

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

Aye, the game is quite awesome. However, that red orb is a cursor controlled by the mouse. It is quite important in SG because your character always attempts to face the cursor (red orb). You use it to properly position your body/weapon to parry and you can also use it to increase or reduce the momentum and arc of your swing while attacking. And lastly, the cursor can be used to perform different attacks. If you position the cursor to the left of your character before initiating an attack then your character will reposition the sword and perform a left-to-right attack instead of the default right-to-left swing.

The cursor allows precise control of your character which is a requirement in SG since there are no static animations; all movement is procedurally generated on-the-fly based upon physics. Since there are accurate collisions in SG you can actually knock people over by smashing your weapon into them and then using the cursor to turn your upper body and push them over, followed by an overhand strike to crush them while they're on the ground. It's very satisfying!

The combat looks very real and intense!
Oh well.. I guess I will have to dream about this awesome combat working on a gamepad someday, hope so.. because I doubt I will ever try and play a game with a mouse ever again. I have not played a PC game since CC/WOW1/2 Doom/Quak/Rise of the triad/Wolfenstein/Duke nukem/Diablo 1/2 and Sims 1. I just can't go back to mouse at this point lol...

 

[freakie1one]

The combat looks very real and intense!
Oh well.. I guess I will have to dream about this awesome combat working on a gamepad someday, hope so.. because I doubt I will ever try and play a game with a mouse ever again. I have not played a PC game since CC/WOW1/2 Doom/Quak/Rise of the triad/Wolfenstein/Duke nukem/Diablo 1/2 and Sims 1. I just can't go back to mouse at this point lol...

Yeah, it's definitely a different experience when switching from a gamepad to a mouse. I've played both console and PC games for the last 25 years or so, so switching isn't a big deal for me. But it sometimes takes an hour or so for me to adjust and get back into the swing of things when switching from one to the other. I find a gamepad works better for certain types of games while not so good for others. SG definitely is the latter lol. There's just no conceivable way I can think of to allow the precise control required without using an actual mouse.

 

[tommy5761]

Come now fellas tsk tsk tsk . Please stay on the topic of Witcher 3 combat

 

[freakie1one]

Come now fellas tsk tsk tsk . Please stay on the topic of Witcher 3 combat

Yeah, sorry... I sort of derailed the thread a bit. Though what originally caused it was talking about combat in TW3 if that counts! Basically I would prefer if TW3 adopt some of the mechanics from the other game I was talking about. Best of both worlds!

 

[xanetan]

I hope the combat will resemble Shadow of Mordor. It has a pretty good, engaging combat system that makes you feel like a swordmaster.

 

[HellKnightX88]

I hope the combat will resemble Shadow of Mordor. It has a pretty good, engaging combat system that makes you feel like a swordmaster.

From what I've seen SoM combat makes it pretty hard to make mistakes and doesn't punish your mistakes as much as I'd want to. I haven't played it mind you but basically everyone who I talked to about it told me that combat is fun (similar to the Arkham games) but not very challenging (just like the Arkham games). While I loved the Batman games and combat was fun it was also quite easy.

I'd rather have it on the harder side even on normal and keeping me on my toes rather than easy dodges, hits and counters.

 

[xanetan]

From what I've seen SoM combat makes it pretty hard to make mistakes and doesn't punish your mistakes as much as I'd want to. I haven't played it mind you but basically everyone who I talked to about it told me that combat is fun (similar to the Arkham games) but not very challenging (just like the Arkham games). While I loved the Batman games and combat was fun it was also quite easy.

I'd rather have it on the harder side even on normal and keeping me on my toes rather than easy dodges, hits and counters.

Difficulty is easy to adjust, and SoM combat can get hard enough when fighting different kinds of enemies.

 

[JackieEstacado]

From what I've seen SoM combat makes it pretty hard to make mistakes and doesn't punish your mistakes as much as I'd want to. I haven't played it mind you but basically everyone who I talked to about it told me that combat is fun (similar to the Arkham games) but not very challenging (just like the Arkham games). While I loved the Batman games and combat was fun it was also quite easy.

I'd rather have it on the harder side even on normal and keeping me on my toes rather than easy dodges, hits and counters.

Shadow Of Mordor is easy because there isn't a hard mode. The setting is standard, unfortunately.
Anyway, the combat system, animation wise, is really good and, more than anything, varied. Also the pace is quick and exciting. There are tons of moves to pull out.
Maybe this is why many in this forum have pointed out that it can be an inspiration for TW3, because we have seen the same moves over and over and the animations are kinda meh...

 

[xanetan]

The best thing by far about it is how smooth things are. Transitioning from blocks to attacks to executions.. and all in different positions.

 

[Aes Sídhe]

Personally I'm less interested in animations than I am in the combat mechanics themselves. Will button mashing essentially work out fine for you, or does bad timing or a reckless move punish the player ? Please please please still have the tactical tension vanilla TW2 had, I want to fight - with all the risks, glory & satisfaction such should bring - not simply drive an unstoppable infallible button timer.

 

[Sharpy47]

The best thing by far about it is how smooth things are. Transitioning from blocks to attacks to executions.. and all in different positions.

This. Im playing Shadow of Mordor and I gotta say... Murdering and decapitating orcs was never so fun! Like you said combat is ridiculously fluid and transitions between different animations, blocks and attacks are amazing. It has a good balance of Arkham games where it's quite challenging at times but not frustrating. It's not like in Assassin's Creed where other enemies just stand and wait till their partners gets slaughtered.

If Witcher 3 will have such fluid transitions between different animations, blocking and attacking, dodging - I'll be more than happy. But so far the combat doesnt look fluid at all. Here are my hopes to see fluid and smooth combat in the final build. Please Make it happen CDPR!

 

[ilayoeli]

I think Geralt shouldn't be able to stop his moves while they're happening, every move (sword blow, dodge, etc...) should count.
It'll make the combat more tactical and keen with RPGs

 

[HellKnightX88]

I think Geralt shouldn't be able to stop his moves while they're happening, every move (sword blow, dodge, etc...) should count.
It'll make the combat more tactical and keen with RPGs

The problem with that was that in TW2 it made the combat feel very unresponsive and downright frustrating at times.