Captain! I Dunna Think the Shields Can Hold Much Longa!

You’ve probably heard some hype surrounding AoC’s combat system. To the game’s credit, it is a departure from systems that World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Everquest II, and Tabula Rasa use.

But not much of one.

When I first read the designers talk of AoC’s combat paradigm, I was expecting something akin to what Oblivion uses: directional mouse swings that control the arc and location that you strike. But AoC’s isn’t like that at all. Instead, buttons 1, 2, and 3 are reserved for a left, center, and right strike respectively. If you want to hit an opponent’s left side, you spam your 1 button. Normally, that wouldn’t be particularly innovative, let alone fun. AoC makes things interesting though by giving everyone shielding. Depending on who you’re fighting, a mob can have up to three shields. These can be stacked all on one side, or spread out evenly. An opponent might have two placed on their left side and one in their center, thereby leaving the right side completely exposed.

And that’s where things get interesting because an exposed flank allows extra damage to be dealt. One shield, normal damage. Two shields, less damage. And if you hit a three shield flank, you’ll hardly do any damage at all.

Now, I’ve been playing a Stygian Tempest of Set and as a result, I haven’t fully explored this combat system as much as a melee class would; I open combat with my ranged AoE lightning strike, the bread and butter of my damage output. Still, I go out of my way to gleefully spam 1, 2, and 3 buttons and hack away at unshielded flanks. At later levels, toons acquire combo moves that are unlocked in the midst of combat. I think that’s when limbs and heads start getting lopped off. At least, I hope so.

So, yeah, the combat is different, but I wouldn’t call it revolutionary. You’re still spamming buttons like WoW and LotRO. That’s not a bad thing, I just don’t want anyone getting the notion that AoC is this completely different experience. On the other hand, high level combo moves might further enhance the game’s directional combat scheme, so I may change my mind on the game’s innovativeness.

I have been surprised how deep the solo experience has been so far. And some of the scripted quests in the “night” campaign have been dang satisfying. Not far into that series, you have to cause a nearby volcano to erupt. Your ingredients? An evil priestess, some virgin blood, some prostitute blood, and an evil ceremony.

Mix generously and watch the fireworks from a safe distance.