Combat Stances

[TheDrunkenDwarf]

Oloh posted this on the Silky Venom forums in response to a question from Zenya.

Originally Posted by Zenya - Do the different stances have entirely different sets of attacks or do the stances share some of them? If they are completely different, I'm supposing it means that the available openers, bridges and finishes differ from stance to stance.

Stances work differently for all classes that have them. For some, like the warriors, they are fairly basic and give modifiers here and there as well as gate certain abilities. For others, like the shaman, they fundamentally change gameplay. I wont get into many specifics with class abilities because I dont want to spoil the fun of playing, but just to illustrate the point about stances playing differently, shaman have a stance that slowly drains their mana over time, but allows unlimited casting while in it. Basically, it changes the whole gameplay for the shaman when in that stance. There are some crazy things they have done and are going to do with stances.

So, in the case of warriors, yes, it means that some openers and other stuff are only available in some stances. Most of our (warriors) core abilities, are in all stances though, so you arent forced into one all the time. I switch between them a ton over the course of a night, often mid battle. They have adjusted some of the abilites in the stances throughout beta to make sure its a real tactical decision as to switching. I suspect they will keep monitoring it based on tester feedback.

It's nice to know that we won't be locked into defensive stance all the time to get access to all our defensive abilities. It looks like we'll be able to tank even in other stances, and just shift over to the defensive one when we're fighting something major or have a group that is light on healing power.

[Zenya]

Aye, Choices R Us!

What I love most about the Vanguardian combat system is that in this one game mechanic alone we are given opportunities to push our own skills to whole new levels. VG will be full of different ways to excel should we desire to do so, not just who will kill Lord Bob first, or who will reach level 50 first. We will be tested at every level.

Wow, I can't wait to play this game!

[Lightning]

So, in the case of warriors, yes, it means that some openers and other stuff are only available in some stances.

This is going to be amazing, shifting stances back and forth mid combat to access moves otherwise unavailable. The closest I have come to anything that sounds similar is my WoW Druid, as I am often shifting between casting and DPS forms and it can get pretty intense.

[Eclipse]

lol this is nothing new for a WoW warrior...not that I'm saying it's a bad thing. Stance dancing is fun, and can be challenging. It definitely lets you know who's good at their role and who defines their role.

I neevr played EQ, but from the sound of it, the warrior was basically just in defensive? I like it when there are things you'd need to dance for. For instance...A boss in WoW has AoE fear that affects everyone within 30 yards. Even the MT. In the Berserker stance of a warrior, he was an ability that makes him immune to fear for a couple seconds. If he stays in defensive stance, he goes for a jog, and then half the raid is toast...well, um, that is...when a guild first starts fighting him, lol.

After a while Druids, Pallys and even Priests were tanking him...lol *sigh*
Anyways, stance dancing is fun, and I hope it's implemented well!

-Eclipse

[Lightning]

Originally Posted by Eclipse

I neevr played EQ, but from the sound of it, the warrior was basically just in defensive?

Yes and no - the EQ1 warrior stances are short duration on long timers, so you can't flow from stance to stance like you can in WoW, it's more an "all or nothing" approach that you then do not have access to for a long cool down period (and by long I don't mean long like you'd think WoW cooldowns are long, I am talking in the order of an hour).

The warrior defencive stance was something you used for tanking bosses, for example.

It was adjusted some not long before I quit EQ1, and the reuse timers brought down a little but not much - it was still a very situational thing.

[Fisty]

I don't have a war in eq but Menien does..

You don't get devensive until lvl 55, at lvl 60 the reuse timer is 10 minutes 30 seconds, it lasts for 3 minutes, it costs a good bit of endurance.

So the reuse isn't obnoxious anymore but you still have to chose wisely when to use it.

[Lightning]

Originally Posted by Fisty

I don't have a war in eq but Menien does..

You don't get devensive until lvl 55, at lvl 60 the reuse timer is 10 minutes 30 seconds, it lasts for 3 minutes, it costs a good bit of endurance.

So the reuse isn't obnoxious anymore but you still have to chose wisely when to use it.

That's good news But again, it's a world apart from WoW where you can flow from stance to stance to stance at will, so Vanguard will be a departure from EQ1 tanking in this respect. I forgot to mention, yes you don't get the defencive stance until 55 either, so you go a long way without any stances at all - you'll auto attack, kick and taunt when you lose agro, with shield bash (if you have one) or slam (if you're a big race).

I play a druid in WoW and shifting forms mid combat can lead to some very intense battles - aught to be fun

[Eclipse]

Yah, I think the Druids are king of mid-combat switching. The WoW druid anyway, VG's is a different beast altogether. Dueling druids is what some refer to as "nails in forehead"...

-Eclipse

[Tazzrin Jaegernaut]

This is good news because it means the possiblity of having completely different sets of skills at our disposal. What an exceptional concept! Very excited to execute these with the utmost finesse. At least as much finesse as a Half-Giant is capable of!

I boxed a warrior in EQ and thier defensive stances were known as disciplines. Yes the were on short duration timers with long recast timers which sucked.