Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
"Must face target" thoughts?
ShadowRex91
Member Posts: 5
I've been playing MMORPGs for a few years and wanted to know people's opinions on games that you have to face your target to attack such as LOTRO, etc. as opposed to games where you can click or cast a spell on the target from any position, and your character automatically heads in that direction such as in Guild Wars or Lineage 2.
Personally I enjoy when a game is realistic but am not sure I am a fan of having to face the target. The one problem is when I have initiated an attack, and the target moves either behind something or out of my sight; my attack then fails and I have to turn and re-initiate, especially in team battles where everyone is all over the place. This was especially annoying when I was playing LOTRO and was healing, I would click someone's name in the party box and then start turning trying to find them so I could face them.
What are your opinions on this game mechanic?
Comments
Marines can get into hand to hand fights. U.S. Navy can shoot missiles at target over the horizon. Both are appropriate. As long as it makes some sense and doesn't break my suspension of disbelief, it's good.
I cant imagine an mmorpg with "auto-target", thats gotta be the lamest PvP ever. Im not much of an PvP guy but still its gotta be freaking boring, no challenge to it, you cant just spam the spells and hope for the best, thats so not skill or anyhting near it in that matter.
And for PvE, well I donno, I think that would be so weird also.
To make a point of it, THE GAME GETS STIFF WITH AUTO-TARGETING.
You may not have tried some of these games, but Guild Wars, Lineage 2, City of Heroes and Villains, and many many mmorpgs have what you have called an "auto-target" system and they seem to be doing well in the market. It's interesting to get your opinion though and I see where your coming from. Button mashing does get boring eventually.
You don't need to face your target to heal in LoTRO - at least not as a minstrel.
That might be true, its been a few months but you did have to face to attack I believe. The one thing I didn't like on my minstrel was the wait time between ballads. I would play one and then have to wait to play the next. Even though it wasn't recharging.
It makes sense you need to face your target to attack them. Most games I've played, healing is not los. As long as they are in range. In daoc, there was a /face and a /stick. The face worked well for casters since you could face the way someone from range attacked you that you have no idea where they are. In melee, face wouldn't help has much if someone backed up. With stick, you moved around, but because of the sluggishness of those commands, a well played character did better without the auto movement because as your character was trying to synchronize, that person in the fraction of a second could get off a positional attack. So it had its pros and cons using /face or /stick.
In that way, I don't mind it. These days, if someone attacked you from range hidden in the trees, you could just turn really fast and cast a spell to find general direction. Of course that doesn't help a melee too much lol.
Probably have to say, don't really mind either way, I just adapt to the situation, but I did enjoy the way it was done in daoc.
Auto-targeting + auto-facing = less Quake-esque bunny hopping going on during PvP.
Which I think is a good thing, the less my fantasy game reminds me of Quake, the better.
QFT
Also, IF im gonna play a pvp game with no auto-target, there has to be avatar collision. Nothing is more lame then your opponent running straith through you trying to break your off your attack.
It dosen't mean anything in some games with auto target. And allows for the designers to open up a lot more options.
In guildwars even 4V4 areanas get very interesting. Like most games you need to maintain your health and an energy level or two. You then need to manage your custom build, unlike most games where you have a static list of 30 skills you have a list of 7 that you have to set up yourself from about 900 skills total. Then during combat itself different classes have a lot more interaction between each and a lot more ways to screw each other than any other MMO(outside of muds). You also need to be scrolling through all other players need you to look out for resurection type skills, to figure out which skills each person on the other team is playing so you know which players your team has counters for for prioritizing targets, You need to be intimintly aware of what your other team members are doing because of the 7 skill limit this means that you're going to have a skill or three meant for working with a few other players, and you need to be ready to change everything incase position changes or the other team employs playing with you type skills like AOEs.
In something that doesn't have auto target you normally have a static list of 30 skills that you can use at any time. a lot of these skill aren't really meant to be used because you weren't specced for them. the other half are meant to be reflex type skills(rogue pops up out of nowhere I have to always activate one of these 2 skills or I take a bunch of damage). and then you're still left with 5 or 7 skills that are actually meant to be used.
_____________________
Truth be told you could turn a very slow paced 'point and click' combat system into a very very interesting combat system if the designers wanted to. A good example look at the final fantasy tactics games and to a smaller exent the normal final fantasy games.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
I perfer to THROW FIREBALLS OUT MY ASS!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guys! I'm hopelessly lost in a mountain of mole hills! Them damn moles!