No Auto Attack- good or bad idea

[grfu]

If you feel you need your character to constantly be doing something, you don't know too much about actual swordplay. You'd be surprised how little swordplay is attacking. It's mostly footwork and seeking an opening. You don't carelessly hack away, because that leaves you open, vulnerable. Besides, my marauder flows from attack to attack seamlessly. It's actually quite beautiful to watch her.

[Yakito]

with the responsiveness in this game I'd be more happy with an auto attack. It would give me more flow.

[Karkais]

So the game's been out for a few months now- and long before we were told again and again how great it was that the game wouldn't have auto attack- every time you attack, you're hitting a button.

 

So has it been good for you? Do you enjoy having that extra button you have to press every few seconds for an auto attack rather than having it built in?

 

Autoattack is generally a horrible idea if you ask me. Look at all those mobs waiting to be accidentally pulled and CC to be broken. I always play my MMOs without autoattacks. In other MMOs my preference is "channeling", where I attack with the basic attack as long as I keep the button pressed. For example, energybuilders in champions online.

 

SWTOR control schema is pretty much what I want it to be.

Edited April 10, 2012 by Karkais

[Kalfear]

I thought Id hate the no auto attack but its not that bad

 

I do miss no chain attacks though.

 

They have some situational attacks but no chain line attacks.

[Osskscosco]

I have fingers (i know its hard to believe) so i can press basic attack whenever i want. If you cant pay attention to use your abilities and/or basic attack then dont do combat in this game.

[DegStaerian]

Auto-Attack adds nothing special concerning gameplay. So i really dont miss it.

Needing to hit a Button every GCD is so much better gameplay then hitting Buttons on CD/Resource availability like in WoW. Without Autoattacks and as long GCD doesnt get affected bei Stats it is also alot easier to Balance outcomes around it.

 

so long

[grandmthethird]

a good merc healer needs to weave rapid shots into a rotation to keep heat down. if you make auto attack rapid shots, you take away the only thing a merc healer need to concentate on. (i'm sure this is ture for other classes) in this game not having auto attack is a good thing

[Nyxlin]

I sometimes miss it, when a mob on 20 health won't die, because I don't auto attack and it takes a few seconds to realize that... It feels stupid to do a special attack for that last bit of health.

 

Other then that, I don't notice it. In WoW I push just as many buttons, and as often, as I do in SWTOR.

[Nexdine]

I don't really want any auto-action for my own character (though it would be nice if Qyzen didn't just stand there looking like a stuffed lizard all the time but that's another rant). Especially if this auto-attack would interfere with casting other things via the global cooldown.

 

It's easy enough to macro it to be on a timer if you hold down a button, for that matter - or nearly as good, map a mouse button to it and use WASD, that lets you keep firing while you run to avoid AOE etc. Having the basic attack on the 1 button is just silly though, in my view.

 

But whether or not you set a looping macro with a short delay that fires as you hold down a button or if you tap it out per-attack, it's fine as is as long as you map the action to a sensible easily used button.

[Goretzu]

So the game's been out for a few months now- and long before we were told again and again how great it was that the game wouldn't have auto attack- every time you attack, you're hitting a button.

 

So has it been good for you? Do you enjoy having that extra button you have to press every few seconds for an auto attack rather than having it built in?

 

 

 

It has it's good and bad points.

 

Overall though I like it.

 

I'm not sure it functions as well with a build up system (like a JK or SW has) as well as with a draw down system (like the rest of the classes have) though.

[Skaithian]

Never played wow so I dont know what auto attack is and dont know what its like to not hav it but I like the way this game plays. I was hating on the crazy positions i had to get my hands in to attack and move thou so asked my guild what they recomended in hot keys, they said get a razer mouse, its got 17 butons 12 I can reach with my thumb. With this I can play 1 handed and dont know why I would need the game to attack for me. With auto attack and macro's I would feel like I walk into a room, it starts fighting, i run macro's and then its over? Is this what it would be like and is that what wow does?

[rweiowjerwei]

I like it not being there so far. Nobody is gaining free damage by doing nothing, which is how it should be. I think of WoW when large portions of player damage were from auto attacks and you had to care for weapon speeds and such to abuse such a stupid mechanic.

[Catch_TwentyTwo]

Your auto-attack is your companion.

 

I don't think our player characters themselves need it.

Good point.

[Cretinus]

I play mainly casters. No need for auto attack here.

[Affics]

Good - without any doubt.

[samht]

I miss auto attack but right it wouldn't work with swtor.

[Ahkronn]

Your auto-attack is your companion.

 

I don't think our player characters themselves need it.

 

This.

 

Companions are not just pets. They act as abilities with stances.

[Galbatorrix]

I don't miss it at all. In WOW, there would be lulls in combat where I wouldn't have anything to press for a GCD. Sure, I would auto attack during that time, but, it took the controls out of my hands. Tor is the same way, but me actually having to weave a "basic" attack in instead of the game doing it for me make the game feel a lot more interactive. I'm hitting something every single GCD.

[pipda]

Your auto-attack is your companion.

 

I don't think our player characters themselves need it.

 

That's an interesting take on it. Never thought of it like that before. But it makes a ton of sense.

 

I can't say I really miss it. My life is not better or worse with out auto-attack. I guess it works in this game. Maybe something the devs took out during development and were like "o hey coo..." /shrug.

 

Sort of like the day/night cycle...just didn't fit in with the game they were making. Like they have a lot of unique combat animations in TOR, how do you use a auto attack with the instant attack animations. Could squeeze it in for melee...just a few extra numbers flying around...saber flailing = saber flailing.

Edited April 10, 2012 by pipda

[Matte_Black]

I prefer auto-attack but, have been fine with the current set-up.

 

If things go as I expect and alot of the harder-core, more competitive gamers move on to whatever the next big MMO is, I suspect alot of this game's remaining base might be more heavily in favor of auto-attack and the discussion might be re-opened down the road.

Edited April 10, 2012 by Matte_Black

[Rabrac]

I like it.

[amnie]

The only attacks I use are my skills or abilities (whatever you want to call them), I didn't even know that there's a generic "attack" skill to replace the auto-attacks in most other games. Regardless, I haven't missed it, mobs are easy enough to kill as-is. Certainly no harder than in any other MMO I've played.

 

because there isn't an auto-attack in 'most other games'.

 

most other games eventually cave in though, because 'that certain other game' has an auto attack. so far I can remember three MMOs I've played that didn't have an auto-attack and after lots of whining implemented one...

[Sparklehorse]

I like it.

 

It's a good thing.

[SonnyM]

I think quite a few people here misunderstand what an auto-attack is. It isn't the game going into auto mode for you and doing all your abilities, which some people here seem to think based on responses. It was just some background white damage that happened while you were using other abilities.

 

That's not to say that I think this game should have an auto attack, but a lot of people seemed confused about the term and think that its just autopilot or something.

 

The auto-attack mechanic in other games works great with their combat mechanics because you would have a lot of different proccing abilities that would trigger on auto attacks on top of the skills you would use yourself (rogue poisons for example, death knight unholy damage, paladin seal damage/stacks, shaman windfury procs etc.) The game is built around it, so it works fine with it.

 

Now SWTOR on the other hand doesn't have these types of abilities so it's combat works just fine without it. I do think that if it did get some sort of auto-attack mechanic melee damage would seem a bit more fluid and constant instead of burstier, but the game would need to be rebalanced around that extra damage as far as health pools and on use ability damage.

 

Either way, if a game is designed with it to start with, it works, if a game is designed to not have it, it works too. Now if only they'd give sorc/sages some sort of force free ability to use as a force conserver between spells...

Edited April 10, 2012 by SonnyM

[Shrikestalker]

I'm happy with no auto attack.

 

Actually, if you really wanted auto-attack all you have to do is program your keyboard or mouse to one button and bam.. you got your auto-attack so no big deal really.

 

Since most people have at least a programmable mouse these days of some type, that shouldn't be a problem serious enough that people start screaming about 'no auto attack'.