So I was doing research into medieval combat (just a curious point of interest this game sparked) and I had some thoughts about the “Versatile” quality of weapons; they actually aren’t that versatile, but this is an easy fix. Run with me on this for a moment, and I’ll explain what I mean.
“Versatile” is a quality that suggests (and is in fact reinforced on the Wiki) that the weapon is an all-rounder good at many different things. To me though, versatility, historically speaking, suggests many different ways of using that weapon. Consider the combat concept of “Half-Swording” while using short swords and great swords in medieval arenas and battlegrounds. Half-Sword in action
This would allow an individual to hold the weapon by the blade itself to allow a thrust of the tip of the blade, or strike with the guard or pommel as an improvised mace. It would also allow for better blocks, but result in immensely difficult parrying techniques, but that’s beside the point I’m trying to make.
Why not add a few changes to the “Versatile” weapons in the game to allow us to see this versatility in action? Let me use every illusion iteration of Kruber’s Halberd as an example: The Halberd for Kruber is a three sided weapon with the primary attack being a chop or swing with the axe, followed up by a thrust with spear; however, we never see him use the backside of this weapon which is a pike. What if, by hitting “R” on the keyboard while a Versatile weapon is equipped, it allows you to change the stance (or for Sienna, charge her weapon with fire) to ensure an apt attack for the situation at hand? I highly doubt Kruber, a trained mercenary/huntsman/foot soldier, wouldn’t use the full versatility of the weapon. By hitting “R” while the Halberd is equipped, he flips it so the pike end strikes, allowing for more armor piercing attacks while greatly hindering its crowd control and clearing? Lets go down the list to provide examples of ways versatility could be used for each character. Please note that weapons that actually HAVE a reload are exempt from this list:
KRUBER
Halberd: Flip the Halberd to the pike end to allow for armor piercing attacks while hindering its ability to clear crowds. This allows Kruber to play a role with that weapon based on situations (i.e. Hoard + Chaos Patrol, Kruber’s player sees that all their teammates have crowd control, so he calls chaos patrol, flipping the halberd from axe to pike to help bring down the enemies his allies can’t)
Sword/Greatsword/Executioner’s Sword: While not actually part of the “Versatile” weapons, being able to half-sword for increased stamina and blunt damage against single targets would be a lot of fun
Sword/Mace and Shield: A stance that allows Kruber to shield up while resting the blade or blunt weapon on the top of the shield, granting one point of stamina which is expended on blocking an attack or creating a knockback/damage attack by swinging the shield left and weapon right, allowing him to clear a group of enemies from a path or from a downed ally, giving him a chance to revive.
KERILLIAN
Sword & Sword/Dagger: Kerillian preps an attack that, if aimed properly, allows for an instant decapitation (think Count Dooku’s execution at the hands of Anakin Skywalker). You could make it so the attack has a cooldown or has a serious risk in use as it leaves her open. It could be used as an opening attack or a finishing attack against a single stormvermin after a patrol has been wiped.
Two-Handed Sword: Kerillian preps the weapon behind her head, expending one point of stamina to swing it from behind her, straight down for massive vertical cleave damage. This one could be skill based, in that it has to be prepped mid-combo after she swings her sword upward, allowing her to follow up immediately with that cleave damage. However, if she doesn’t have a full point of stamina to spend, it exhausts her and resets her stance to basic combat, leaving her vulnerable if you didn’t time the attack properly.
Sword: Pressing R repeatedly cycles through the full combo string, allowing her to pick the first attack to open a combo with, whether it’s the wide-sweep, thrust attack, or back sweep. You could also allow her to charge each of these attacks as she sees fit.
Elven Spear: Kerillian thrusts with her right hand, letting go with her left to allow for additional range. This would really help with those beastmen with spears that ALWAYS seem to outrange you even when you’re using the spear… stupid beastmen >:C
Longbow: Kerillian punches enemies back, with smaller enemies getting clotheslined by the bow, allowing her a chance to dodge back and make space and utilizing one point of stamina while doing so OR Pressing R, Kerillian removes the knocked arrow and stabs at an enemy before knocking it to shoot (could be coupled with Blood Arrows, making the switch to melee unnecessary in a large fight if the stab results in a kill). This is really a one-or-the-other thing
SALTZPYRE
Rapier & Pistol: Saltzpyre rests the small pistol on the guard of his sword, allowing him to zoom in slightly and increase the quality of his aim. This would allow Saltzpyre to rescue allies pinned by Gutter Runners or snagged by Leeches in a hectic situation. Of course, this would leave him very vulnerable as his rapier is being used to balance the weapon. This could be used against Sack Rats in case Saltzpyre is out of ammo in his ranged weapon as an opening attack. Headshots result in stagger if the target doesn’t die from the first shot.
Falchion: Saltzpyre positions his left hand at the far end of the back of the blade, thrusting forward with devastating headshot damage (another quality shared by the falchion) by throwing his whole upper body into the attack, while also allowing him to block more effectively. Cannot be used in combo making it either an opening or finishing attack for a fight.
SIENNA
Sienna has always been underwhelming to me in terms of her melee combat. She’s a fire wizard who can channel fire as she sees fit and she uses very little spells in her melee combat, yet the weapons are very OBVIOUSLY magical. Here are some suggestions:
Melee Weapons: Holding R (3 seconds for strike spell, indefinitely for constant effects) allows Sienna to channel her fire magic into any of her melee weapons, causing different effects, while also increasing her overcharge. Here are some ideas:
Sword Sienna super-heats the blade, increasing the cleave damage on a light attack OR Sienna’s left hand charges a spell that acts like a flaming shield that she can use to knockback enemies or block an incoming attack.
Mace Sienna charges the head of the mace to explode on the next attack so long as it is a charged attack
Flail: Sienna begins to swing the flail in a circle above her head, each pass around her creating a firestorm like a whip of fire following the mace (crowd control) setting alight all enemies hit by the fire. Can be held indefinitely until her overcharge maxes out, resulting in self-detonation
Dagger:Sienna charges the blade with both hands, the next attack ignores all armor
Crowbill: Sienna can vent with this melee weapon, although it is either more ineffective or takes more health to do so.
These are just some ideas on the concepts of versatility and to make the gameplay a little bit more methodical and thought through. If FatShark wants to increase the difficulty of the game, that’s cool, but maybe they should give us some more tools to allow for success.
Thanks for reading <3