There are a decent amount of things about boundless combat that I currently dislike, but the biggest disappointment for me is the lack of melee in the game. While you can technically grab your hammer or axe (or shovel you psycho) and slap a mob until it dies (surprisingly fun times) it is not currently viable once you get into serious combat situations. After discussing things with several friends who used to play boundless (they left because of combat, and the games tendency to give you chores, but I can’t leave… Im a straight addict) I came up with what I believe is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, detriments to melee in this game.
Knock back.
That’s right, the fact that creatures can easily send characters flying to and fro with many abilities, and they almost always utilize a type of knock back on you. Not to mention other players using bombs and sending monsters flying etc. Knock back makes the fight more chaotic, and I’m not actually sure it helps ranged combatants at all or the healers or support players either.
Now just removing knock back is a possible solution, but that might require a heavy redesign of all the mobs in boundless. And it is possible that this would make combat too easy for some setups. The solution I have thought of would introduce a few bonuses as well as adding a new facet to combat roles.
SHIELDS.
Make shield gear. Everything from big slabs of wood or stone to artfully crafted metal or gem works. And make their basic use to stop your ability to walk around (but still able to turn) and any critter that hits the front half where the shield is gets their attack stopped. In the case of wildstock then charge and slam into your shield and are dazed and standing still for a moment. Where ranged mobs just have the damage and knock back negated. Instead the shield takes durability damage etc. Easy forge buffs to add here besides the standard bonus durability etc would be things like range, increase how wide of an area the shield blocks up to a full 180 degrees, and increase how many blocks from the left or right of the character the shield will negate attacks. Things like reflect could also be fantastic add ons.
Obviously there would need to be draw backs. Things like carrying a shield makes you move slower, or shields have an energy cost that increases the cost of using the tool in your other hand etc. (just ideas I’m not saying those are the best) but a simple shield would do wonders for making tank based classes that help control the flow of battle in a fight.
This goes in hand with my idea for actual melee weapons. Now I’m aware of the server limitations and the fact that you can throw a bomb and hit a critter on your screen and watch their health return back to normal a second later due to the way the delays work based on connections etc. So this idea might not be that viable. BUT I think it would be a good idea for melee weapons (new weapons like swords or clubs not just the tools being used this way) to be short range arc/aoe weapons. They hit everything in an arc in front of the player. Lower base damage that other weapons due to their ability to hit many critters in certain scenarios. But possibly coupled with lower energy costs for a more endurance and stability based fighting style. Couple it with a shield and it becomes about tactical position in hunts or future fights. And gives players another way to approach combat and use skills in the game.
Frankly I think this could be a good way to get a more satisfying combat experience for some of the game population (speaking for myself and at least 3 others who would love this kind of thing but not going to claim any majority etc.) and i think when the more difficult combat scenario stuff is added, like titans and harder critters, the ability to stand toe to toe with them and protect your allies is a role many would enjoy at least dabbling in.
There are other things like armor that I would also like to talk about but I think this is enough for a decently focus conversation. I apologize if this topic has been brought up before and shot down or anything I did look and didn’t see anything to that effect. Also I apologize because I’m writing this on my phone and that is far from the best vessel for lengthy discussions.
Everybody just remember to stay boundless 