Why do MMo's have dreadful combat?

[Cernow]

Its your opinion. We MMO fans love MMO combat. This is why MMOs sell. Because they have a player base who like the genre of game. Look at it this way, You have come into an MMO forum wanting the combat different (in your opinion is boring) and trying to change it to something else.

 

If i want a 3rd person based SW shooter, I would go pick up SW battlefront. I wouldnt pick up a totaly different genre and expect the combat to be a 3rd person style combat system when the game is an MMO.

 

Inovation is not changing a game genre to a another genre. Inovation is knowing when a game is not to your taste and moving on!

 

Luckily games designers and developers don't agree with you or we'd all still be playing Pong.

[Onyx]

I don't know but the fact is that the MMOs that tried different combat where not super successful.

Champions Online & DCUO (active blocking, third person targeting, but not FPS accuracy style),

Age of Conan (active blocking, directional melee and some ranged attacks),

Fallen Earth (Third person shooter (TPS) + hotbar button mashing),

Tabula Rasa (sticky tab targetting/TPS hybrid)

Darkfall (F/TPS) may not count in argment since it was such an uberbuggy and incomplete game at launch.

 

And let's not forget that SWG actually tried the MMORPGFPS thing and it nearly killed the game.

[Galbatorrix]

Honestly, the FPSish combat is why I hated Mass Effect. I like some twitch game play in short bursts (even normal FPSs), but leave that junk out of my 3-4 hour play sessions with an MMO.

[Tal-N]

Check out the US and EU launch of TERA Online in May. They have no tab targetting, combos like in a beat-em-up and all hits and misses are genuinely based upon where you direct your attacks and if you have moved out of the way of your enemies attacks.

 

Guild Wars 2 is using the same system and this concept of the 'action' MMO is getting to become the new standard for upcoming games in the genre. Personally I think it is a move in the right direction. Tab targetting and d20 style combat was fine a long time ago, but broadband internet and more powerful computers means its time to leave them to the ages and move towards making RPGS closer to action/adventure games.

[tekkamansoul]

SWTOR has pretty good combat overall for an MMO, and pretty decent for a PC RPG too. Imagine every 1.5 seconds (global cooldown) is a 'turn' and it just goes really really fast.

 

Honestly, before DAoC/WoW combat and their ilk, MMO combat was pretty horrible... Mostly auto-attack with a few conditional abilities...

[Gaff]

It will indeed be nice when we get away from these ability spamming, rotation based MMOs. SWTOR would have been awesome if it was a mix of RPG and Action like Guild Wars 2 or Tera. Edited March 28, 2012 by Gaff

[Achromatis]

TOR does MMO combat fairly well, better than most, but its still MMO combat.

 

Guild Wars, now that was the stuff. Or playing a healer like a Warrior Priest in Warhammer.

 

TOR copied the formula, and as a result fell into the same massive design holes as most MMORPGs do. *shrug*, everyone knew it was going to happen. Im still having enough fun to pay 15 bucks a month for.

[Darth_Malachi]

DDO had the most fun and engaging MMO combat I have ever experienced, that kept me playing for a long time. However it is true you will never be able to PVP. And its now F2P but I dont see how that is a very big deal.

[Asavar]

So far I am enjoying the story and game but combat is boring, predictable button bashing, i have more health than you affair. Why cant mmo's have combat like Kingdoms of Amalur? that game is exciting and you look forward to combat.

 

Currently I hate the combat, its stale, boring and what ever poeple say its a dated button basher than brings nothing new to the genre. disappointed.

 

Not even sure if serious.

 

Must be a troll...

[Ulixis]

As others have said if you're looking for a better combat system, try Tera. Have been in the CBTs and have to say, it's a nice change of pace not having to tab-target and button-mash. Gear drives the game like any mmo but it's not the end-all-be-all. If you suck, you can easily lose to people who are less geared/lower in level than you. Refreshing....hard to go back to tab-target games each time the beta ends...

[Davo]

Only one MMO did different comabt well, The Matrix Online with the Interlock System. That game failed in the end. The combat in this game is pretty standard for any MMO, if you don't know this then you clearly don't play MMOs often.

 

Aha another MxO vet comes from the woodwork. The interlock system was truly special, I wish they could have had the resources to fine tune it rather than wipe it away.

[Lightmaguz]

What has either of your answers got to do with it, never played an mmo? whats that go to do with it? why can;t bioware innovate? instead of following the sheep. Who says an mmo has to have stand there, press 123 it boring and not engaging at all. If fact the combat is the worst thing in this game zzzzzz

 

Kingdoms of Amalur combat system changed the game, why cant mmo combat be 1% exciting. Its a matter of who has more health other than anything else.

 

reckoning was an uninspired Fable clone.... Getting that out of the way the last mmo that innovated at all is DCUO and it wasn't popular. It doesn't make money with the brainwashed wow people so that's why. All that said it's not half as bad as you make it sound like. It's actually quite strategical with the resource management in this game.

[PeacefulViolence]

Comparing an MMO to a single player RPG. First mmo huh?

 

I'm guessing you haven't heard of Tera or the Kingdoms of Amalur MMO that is coming out, the current battle system that MMO's like WoW and SWTOR use is outdated and will become a thing of the past.

[Jederix]

Check out the US and EU launch of TERA Online in May. They have no tab targetting, combos like in a beat-em-up and all hits and misses are genuinely based upon where you direct your attacks and if you have moved out of the way of your enemies attacks.

 

Guild Wars 2 is using the same system and this concept of the 'action' MMO is getting to become the new standard for upcoming games in the genre. Personally I think it is a move in the right direction. Tab targetting and d20 style combat was fine a long time ago, but broadband internet and more powerful computers means its time to leave them to the ages and move towards making RPGS closer to action/adventure games.

 

If those games succeed in being anything but niche games (which I highly doubt), then maybe you have a leg to stand on with "setting a new standard" as you claim.

 

Until then, standard MMO combat is here to stay. Believe it or not, a good portion of us like it this way.

[Jederix]

I'm guessing you haven't heard of Tera or the Kingdoms of Amalur MMO that is coming out, the current battle system that MMO's like WoW and SWTOR use is outdated and will become a thing of the past.

 

When that day comes, I'll say goodbye to MMOs.

[Tal-N]

Aha another MxO vet comes from the woodwork. The interlock system was truly special, I wish they could have had the resources to fine tune it rather than wipe it away.

 

The interlock system was painfully broken due to how it was scripted to give the best choreography. The sad fact is that while they were moving in the right direction by attempting to innovate the system did have some significant flaws and the game as a whole was poorly put together.

 

In essense, I think we have been seeing the best way to present an MMORPG for some time. When you look at the market as a whole it is the action games which make the best sales. The first person shooters and beat-em-ups like Tekken don't have storylines, they don't have vast worlds to explore.

 

What are the #1 online games? Multi-player first person shooters. why is that when its just a bunch of people running around the same half a dozen maps over and over? Because the combat is fun. Take a look at Bioware's crowning franchise. Mass Effect. It is an action RPG. It doesn't take much to see that action games are more popular due to them being more fun.

[PeacefulViolence]

When that day comes, I'll say goodbye to MMOs.

 

So you like ****** battle systems where all you need to do is press 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 1, 5, 8, 4, or whatever your spells are mapped to, very interesting!!! NOT -_-. Honestly i understand people have different opinions and whatnot but some people's tastes just don't make any sense.

[Tal-N]

If those games succeed in being anything but niche games (which I highly doubt), then maybe you have a leg to stand on with "setting a new standard" as you claim.

 

Until then, standard MMO combat is here to stay. Believe it or not, a good portion of us like it this way.

 

Let's put it this way. It is already successful in the asian market. So it now stands to reason that we'll have to see if the western audience agree.

 

Guild Wars 2 will be the first western created action MMORPG (TERA being asian developed and released this May to the US and EU), early impressions from people who had hands on with them last year alongside TOR said they actually enjoyed Guild Wars 2 more than TOR but felt that the storyline in TOR holds a special appeal.

 

End of the day, the game which combines the action style alongside storyline like in TOR is going to be the winner. Trouble is, Bioware are invested in TOR for the next 4-5 years while Blizzard have Project Titan under a tight lock and key with previews coming this year. Scarier still... Project Titan is a joint Bilizzard / Bungie development.

 

What are Bungie best known for? Action games.....

Edited March 28, 2012 by Tal-N

[Jederix]

Let's put it this way. It is already successful in the asian market. So it now stands to reason that we'll have to see if the western audience agree.

 

Guild Wars 2 will be the first western created action MMORPG (TERA being asian developed and released this May to the US and EU), early impressions from people who had hands on with them last year alongside TOR said they actually enjoyed Guild Wars 2 more than TOR but felt that the storyline in TOR holds a special appeal.

 

End of the day, the game which combines the action style alongside storyline like in TOR is going to be the winner. Trouble is, Bioware are invested in TOR for the next 4-5 years while Blizzard have Project Titan under a tight lock and key with previews coming this year. Scarier still... Project Titan is a joint Bilizzard / Bungie development.

 

What are Bungie best known for? Action games.....

 

Guess it will be time to call it day when it comes to MMOs then, if this is the "'future".

[Jederix]

So you like ****** battle systems where all you need to do is press 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 1, 5, 8, 4, or whatever your spells are mapped to, very interesting!!! NOT -_-. Honestly i understand people have different opinions and whatnot but some people's tastes just don't make any sense.

 

If I wanted to play an action based or FPS game, I'd play one. I wouldn't play an MMO for that type of gameplay.

[Zacula]

So far I am enjoying the story and game but combat is boring, predictable button bashing, i have more health than you affair. Why cant mmo's have combat like Kingdoms of Amalur? that game is exciting and you look forward to combat.

 

Currently I hate the combat, its stale, boring and what ever poeple say its a dated button basher than brings nothing new to the genre. disappointed.

 

There are a few attempts at this already underway. Two F2P games, Star Trek Online and DC Universe Online, use a slightly different system.

 

STO uses FPS elements, although you can also switch to regular MMO combat. Your success depends more on what you outfit your team with and how good you are at watching your opponent than which abilities you choose. Space combat in the game is similar to the game Starfleet Command 3, where you take advantage of four different angles on your ship for attack and defense, switching up weaponry for different types of attack.

 

DC Universe Online has a two-part combat system, wherein you have a series of long-range and short-range 'weapon' attacks (that don't cost anything) that can be strung together in combos, as well as more powerful "power" attacks that use the character's superpowers, though these cost energy. Movement abilities (similar to mounts) are chosen at the beginning of the game, and you can gain superpowers related to these abilities that unfortunately also cost energy. All-in-all, it's one of my favorite combat systems to date.

 

The bad news is that both of these games suck, storywise. DCUO does have a lot of voice-acting, but the quests are incredibly boring and formulaic. The story sucks, there's almost NO characterization (only defeated bosses are able to talk about themselves in any detail) and there are little-to-no social elements. STO also has very few social elements, and the only truly enjoyable part of the game is customizing your starship (which you can't do much of). In addition, it suffers from poor story elements and the usual "You're not the main character!" disease that undergo most MMOs. Basically, a few NPC's are considered "important" and your character is chopped liver, even if these NPC's are completely bloody useless.

 

 

So while SWTOR's combat is nothing special, it is still one of the best MMO's out there. Combat is just not the important factor in this game.

Edited March 28, 2012 by Zacula

[Maniigoldo]

 

Currently I hate the combat, its stale, boring and what ever poeple say its a dated button basher than brings nothing new to the genre. disappointed.

 

Try Tera..best combat an mmo can offer today

while it lack of story and quest are same old same old...the combat,graphics,pvp and the political system can make up for it with eaze

 

and no its not "oh look another korean mmo grindfest"

It plays jsut like the west...its quest base...first korean mmo that breaks the korean mmo stigma.

[Korrigan]

... i have more health than you affair.

Err nope, it's not.

 

And if you think SW:TOR combat is bad, try LOTRO or Rift...

[PeacefulViolence]

So far I am enjoying the story and game but combat is boring, predictable button bashing, i have more health than you affair. Why cant mmo's have combat like Kingdoms of Amalur? that game is exciting and you look forward to combat.

 

Currently I hate the combat, its stale, boring and what ever poeple say its a dated button basher than brings nothing new to the genre. disappointed.

 

 

 

It's not even button mashing, you're waiting to press buttons because of cooldowns, even button mashing is better lol.

Edited March 28, 2012 by PeacefulViolence

[Tal-N]

When that day comes, I'll say goodbye to MMOs.

 

Guess it will be time to call it day when it comes to MMOs then, if this is the "'future".

 

I don't see tab-targetting games going away. People said the same for turn-based combat when tab-targetting first became popular and all that happened is that turn-based games took a back seat. In fact the Final Fantasy series holds firm to using turn-based combat and Square Enix has a F2P MMORPG called Wakfu in open beta at the moment which is very classical turn-based combat.

 

What I suspect will happen is that action style MMOs will rise to be the fore-running style for the genre while tab-targetting goes to join the back seat alongside turn-based strategy MMOs.

 

This change hasn't suddenly happened either. Action games have been dipping into the RPG elements for as long ago as System Shock and the original Deus Ex. It only makes sense that the multiplayer action online genre would start to blend with the MMORPG as well.

 

Just my opinion, but I think that Bioware have been testing the waters for a Mass Effect action MMO with the addition of their Mass Effect 3 multiplayer.

Edited March 28, 2012 by Tal-N