Theory Crafting

      Theory Crafting

      So what we know about Bless is that you can only have 4 combat skills and 2 passive skills at a time during combat. (Also can use buff skills during combat)

      2p.com/5133425_1/Bless-Online-…alth-Pots-by-Aspenach.htm

      That in itself is already a sort of weird system, out of 40 skills, we're limited to only 4 to use per combat scenario. Given that information, we can conclude that tanks and healers are going to have to be very selective in regards to defensive-combat skills.

      In fact, from a tank perspective, you're basically limited to 1 (Threat) attack, 3 defensive-combat skills or (Oh-Shizz/Emergency skills) for your existence. And who knows, a DPS might just tear aggro off you, making you need 3 attack skills, 1 defensive-combat skill (But by the time you realize that, it's over, because you can't change skills during combat).

      Point is, this 4 skill limitation makes it almost impossible to "Save/prepare" for surprises a group might encounter last min. When literally a skill in the wrong slot can mean a Boss kill or a Boss wipe.

      On top of that, players are going to have to be aware of players in their group, cause lets say Tank 1 is super squishy, healer requires all 4 skills to be heals. Then Tank 2 comes in, mobs barely hit him. Healer could have only had 2 heal skills and 2 random other skills. It's going to vary upon player, and that's frightening, not knowing what skills you'll need until it's too late.

      Post was edited 3 times, last by “Squishy” ().

      4 skills? No way. I don't think that can be right. First of all, I like LAS systems but this is really restrictive. 4 skills is a MOBA format, they can't really do that to an MMO, can they? Second of all, on any screenshot of the most recent version of Bless there are a lot of skill icons on the skill bars. I've read somewhere that you can actually choose up to 11 skills among those your character knows. Also, since some skills can be toggled to fire automatically, if you could only choose 4 skills and one of them was your auto-attack, that means you're left with 3 active skills.

      Slots for skills are locked at first and are unlocked as your level increases, that's probably why Aspenach thought you only have 4 skills since that's how much you have in the beginning. Check out Steparu's video:



      You can see the slots that are still locked, but also that he has way more than 4 active skills slotted (7 skills and the 3 stances at the top of the skill bar, plus one cooldown next to the skill bars that I don't know what it is).

      Post was edited 1 time, last by “Shiverlynn” ().

      I don't think 4 skills is nearly enough for an MMO.

      It adds absolutely zero uniqueness at all because with such a restricted amount of skills everyone is just going to have the same setup. I'd even say it reduces the amount of creative builds you can come up with because with such a small amount of options even non-theorycrafters are just going to pick the strongest spells in their spellbook, and they will be right.

      It also severely limits your ability to respond to a given situation, just like Squishy said.

      I don't need 4 bars full of abilities like in WoW because 75% of them usually just sat there doing nothing, which is what developers who opt for LAS try to stay away from, but 4 skills (actually 3 because one is going to be your autoattack no matter what) is the other extreme I don't want them to fall into either.

      They do have a restriction, you must choose around 10 spells (11 from what I heard, might be 12, might be less) from your entire spellbook. That number is about perfect.

      I used to play TESO and they have you choose 12 spells from all your class and weapon skills. This is enough to have variety (and even almost feels like it's already too much), yet each spell you put on your skillbar feels like a real choice. I've spent hours thinking about various spell combinations to use and it was really half the fun of actually getting to use them.

      As far as Bless is concerned, it might be a bit early to talk about theorycrafting because we honestly don't know enough about the combat system yet, not to mention it could still change one way or another. With the upcoming CBT2 we might get a lot more info.

      I really wish there was someone like Steparu or Aspenach who would be interested in Bless like we are, spoke or at least understood Korean, had the access to the beta tests and took the time to speak about the game and its systems. In his articles, Steparu didn't seem very interested in Bless and only covered it because it's his job, and I think Aspenach doesn't have access to the beta at all.

      Well first of all i have to agree with Shiverlynn, because of what he/she said is correct. That link that Squishy showed is from CBT1 and at that time there was level's limitation, aspenach (or any other closed beta tester reviewer) didn't make any mistake in his review he just told us what he saw and experienced, who knows he might be right but for argument's sake i will have to disagree.
      When you take your time reading content like reviews/etc regarding Bless you will notice that in some reviews they do mention something about hotkeys in skill bars being locked (like Shiverlynn said earlier), and as you level up they will unlock.
      On your left where the HP bar is located, on top of it you have F1,F2,F3,F4 and CTRL+ to change styles (ex: paladin changing from damage dealer to healer) then on bottom you have 1,2,3 and 4...now i'm not sure if the hotkeys in those 2 skill bars are all for action skills but i think they are, since it makes a lot of sense.
      On your right where the MP/Etc is located, on top of it you have Shift for dodge/block/etc, F5, F6, F7, F8 and then on bottom you have 5, 6, 7, 8...now on the hotkeys of these 2 skill bars is probably where the passive skills and buffs will go.

      I may be wrong but from what i have readed until now it seemed to be something like this, is a bit confusing because in some reviews or articles they said something about hotkeys dedicated for potions :s . Anyway I believe that bless won't have only 4 hotkeys for action skills...even if it was remember that Bless is still in development so we never know what might change.

      HaxGamer wrote:

      On your left where the HP bar is located, on top of it you have F1,F2,F3,F4 and CTRL+ to change styles (ex: paladin changing from damage dealer to healer) then on bottom you have 1,2,3 and 4...now i'm not sure if the hotkeys in those 2 skill bars are all for action skills but i think they are, since it makes a lot of sense.
      On your right where the MP/Etc is located, on top of it you have Shift for dodge/block/etc, F5, F6, F7, F8 and then on bottom you have 5, 6, 7, 8...now on the hotkeys of these 2 skill bars is probably where the passive skills and buffs will go.

      That's quite detailed, thanks.

      Dokanix wrote:

      I tought you could use 6 spells in TESO - 5 + R.

      TESO has the weapon swap mechanic, when you unlock your secondary weapon it comes with its own skill bar so you can choose 5 more skills and 1 more ultimate. I personally think that brings the total skills available to 12, some argue it's still only 6 skills, I guess it's just a play on semantics at that point.

      Oh! My opinion now.~

      I personally don't dislike nor like the idea of four skills and two passive.

      From my personal experience playing games, there has always been somewhere between eight and twelve skill slots. I like it because it leaves a lot of variety for people who like that and for those people who cannot use their skills in the case of a random surprise attack, it makes it so much easier to be prepared.

      In the case of four skills and the two passive, I can deal with this as well. I'm gonna use an example here: Elsword. Though it is a game hated by many, you only had four slots for skills (if you didn't purchase the second row). Even with this minimal amount of slots (and skills, if you ask me), many others and I were able to create very unique skill bars. In all honesty, I never seen someone run the exact same skills as I did. So it cannot be that bad, especially seeing that there are more total skills in Bless (there should be at least) than the total skills in Elsword.

      So my opinion:

      Four+ : Good; Suited to appeal to multiple people (gaming style/fighting style wise)
      Four- : Good; Suited for people who can make do with what they have

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      Either it's all of that or the fact that I'm indifferent with most decisions made about most things, sadly.


      Post was edited 1 time, last by “Emarcii” ().