0.19 trunk: long blades counterattack concern.

[Voxden]

hello, new here. i was just looking at the in development update(the trunk), i was just thinking that if long blades are going to be getting this then our friend maces and flails should get a special function of its own, i mean polearms have innate reach, short blades stab for a ton of damage, axes plow through big groups of enemies around you, and next long blades get to counter... could we show our blunt weapons and whips a bit of love? (im well aware trolls and ogres get to wield the huge clubs, but the smaller races should also get a bonus for their troubles)

next concern: does it need to stack with counterattacks gained in other ways(i.e. being minotaur, mutations, etc.), i think it should be one or the other per attack depending on what does the most damage and has the higher chance to be landed, defaulting to headbutt if they somehow turn out to be both even.

[chequers]

Before riposte, long blades and m&f were pretty much identical weapon types. The idea of riposte (as I understand it) was to differentiate these two weapon types. M&F's gimmick now is that they're "normal" weapons, with no special abilities.

[duvessa]

Unfortunately, riposte does nothing to differentiate the two weapon types.

[tedric]

...in the sense that it's a passive effect that only activates when you're in positions and taking actions that are identical to if you were wielding M&F weapons? Because while that's true, it's also true that riposte does something to affect the game state in a way that M&F weapons don't, and since the thing that it does increases your damage output in a particular way that's tied to EV, I can't imagine that nobody ever has to put thought into which of these two weapon skills is better for their character.

[duvessa]

...in the sense that it's a passive effect that only activates when you're in positions and taking actions that are identical to if you were wielding M&F weapons?

Yes.

increases your damage output in a particular way that's tied to EV

The effect of EV on long blades is very small.

I can't imagine that nobody ever has to put thought into which of these two weapon skills is better for their character.

If anything, riposte makes this decision easier, not harder.

[tedric]

So riposte makes long blades strictly better than M&F? How is that not differentiation? You seem to be saying "It does it in a boring way, therefore it doesn't really do it" -- which, like, the boringness is a fair critique, but that's a silly way to express it.

In terms of the overall thread, it's also worth noting that M&F is the weapon skill that gives access to the highest base-damage weapons in the game. Of course, they're only usable by a couple of races, which definitely doesn't help M&F's boringness in the vast majority of games...

[duvessa]

So riposte makes long blades strictly better than M&F?

I don't recall saying that.

[Brannock]

Unfortunately, riposte does nothing to differentiate the two weapon types.

Not all combat situations are strictly 1v1, as I hope levels like Vaults:5 and Depths demonstrate.

[duvessa]

I thought we were talking about riposte, not cleave. I certainly hope the goal of riposte was not to give long blades cleaving.
Really, anything I say about riposte is just going to be a rephrasing of crate's two posts here.

[Shard1697]

I mostly just don't agree with lowering 2H sword's base damage by 2 but 1H sword's base damage by 1.

I think that Riposte doesn't change how I play much, but it feels cool, so I'm ok with it.

[tedric]

So riposte makes long blades strictly better than M&F?

I don't recall saying that.

anything I say about riposte is just going to be a rephrasing of crate's two posts here.

In choosing between maces and long blades you still choose the one that has the best balance of damage per investment; it just happens that that's long blades instead of maces now.

[duvessa]

I don't think crate is claiming that long blades are strictly better than maces, though they are certainly better a majority of the time now.

[TeshiAlair]

Solution: add more hydra monsters.

Maybe some creatures with acid blood that only triggers if you use a slashing weapon, for instance, or slime blood that slows attacks.

Make these creatures branch/portal focused (seems like a good candidate for slime) so that weapon choice impacts rune branch choice/order.

[luckless]

idk but I think the result to aim for is simple: long blades should be better than maces if you invest in EV, and worse than maces if you don't.

That said, I'm perfectly happy to take duvessa's word for it that on the current implementation this is not in fact the case. However, I think the solution is pretty clearly not to ditch riposte, but to change the math such that EV matters a lot more. (nb that the new riposte nerf in trunk has the opposite effect.) Naturally there are lots of ways to do this, and which would be a good/balanced way is a hard question.

(here as in elsewhere, Sil--where almost all the math is really elegant and intuitive--might be a good guide; on its system, you get a riposte if the attacker misses by a big enough margin, rather than according to a flat percentage chance.)

[duvessa]

So the desired result is to make weapon choice a no-brainer?

I do think it would be good to change the mechanics of EV at least a little, but I don't think it would help riposte.

[luckless]

As far as I can tell weapon choice in Crawl will always be pretty much a no-brainer--if it's not a matter of indifference, it'll either be determined by species aptitudes (ogres will want maces, elves will want swords) or by other aspects of the character (skalds will polearms, berserkers will want axes). I don't see any way around this that wouldn't involve making Crawl a radically different game. In this respect tying weapon choice to EV makes it a little less of a no-brainer.

Or is your point that it's always a no-brainer to maximize EV regardless of weapon choice? In that case I take your point, but then the problem seems less to do with long blades and more to do with EV being too good.

[ydeve]

So the desired result is to make weapon choice a no-brainer?

At least it would make it easier to remove all the meaningless weapon types.

[duvessa]

it'll either be determined by species aptitudes (ogres will want maces, elves will want swords)

this is true and weapon apts should go

or by other aspects of the character (skalds will polearms, berserkers will want axes)

this is wrong

In this respect tying weapon choice to EV makes it a little less of a no-brainer

and so is this, I assure you deciding between maces and long blades was far more interesting before riposte

[VeryAngryFelid]

this is true and weapon apts should go

Why? do you want to remove magic apts also?

this is wrong

Yes, everyone knows fighting in corridor is a bad idea and hitting more monsters while buff lasts is useless

and so is this, I assure you deciding between maces and long blades was far more interesting before riposte

It depends on player. I almost never planned to use long blades before.

[duvessa]

this is true and weapon apts should go

Why?

because they create no-brainers, and yes i'd be happy with aptitudes going away altogether; i've written about this before