The Problem With Combos
MMO gamers have a tendency towards efficiency. It’s a result thge constant farming or repeated dungeon runs that takes place in these games. You often hear people in GW2 ask how they should build their character correctly rather than how they should play them in the most fun manner. It’s an interesting quirk that affects gameplay in various ways.
So how does this relate to the combo system? When a game like GW2 allows everyone to do everything with only cooldowns as a regulator, players are going to lean towards a front loaded playstyle. Furthermore, because GW2 offers skills that have great effect for little setup, gameplay devolves into skill spamming. This style of play has caused various issues with the combo system which, might I add, was advertised to promote smart team-based play.
These issues include, but are not limited to:
- Combos as a byproduct. Instead of carefully setting up combos with fellow players, combos are more often than not a byproduct of a spammy playstyle.
- Combos feel negligible. This is possibly a result of balancing professions that can perform their own combos or to accomodate a faster playstyle, but because they are so weak and spammy, their effects are simply noise to the sound of DPS.
- Combo Field Overlap. This is a natural result of spreading too many combo fields across too many weapon sets and the spammy playstyle. The game’s method of dealing with overlap is to punish players by negating fields on the bottom.
- Telegraphing issues. A result of many professions being able to carry and use combo fields at will and the game’s gratuitous usage of particle effects. Combos are difficult to execute because each fields require to initiate them progressively obscures the battlefield as they are spammed.
Suggested Changes
In order to address these issues I suggest redesigning the system from the perspective of combos fields; Moves that often have combo finisher effects already feel natural in their execution, so it will likely to the detriment of the game to alter them.
Rather than fields being a byproduct of certain AoE abilities, I suggest approaching them as a separate entity.
- Make their Usage More Deliberate.
There needs to be a removal of field effects from DPS skills. Instead make field abilities ones that shape how DPS is delivered.
- Give Fields persistent, Non-DPS effects.
If fields themselves are DPS, players will spam them. Instead field should an ancillary mechanic that affect the momentum of certain types of abilities. For example, lighting fields increase the movement speed of party members allowing them to kite, and thereby reducing the DPS momentum of enemy melee attacks. Careful and thoughtful implementation of field effects may open up very interesting ways to play.
- Reduce Field Distribution and Field Spam
Limit the fields to specific weapon sets for each profession. This will create niches within professions, e.g. a Necromancer can be a Darkness “Fielder.”
Furthermore, restricting players to one field at a time will reduce the amount of screen clutter and force them into more thoughtful strategies than simple spam.
- Allow Fields to Combine
The current method of dealing with overlap is inelegant as it negates player contribution. I suggest that the game should instead allow fields to combine their effects. For example if allied players stacked fire on top of ice, the finishers that cross the field overlap will gain the effects of both fields.
Edit: Grammar and Formatting
(edited by TwoBit.5903)