How I would completely rework the Bow gameplay

Wicked Feedback
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BOW GAMEPLAY REWORK

Intro:

With all due respect to the incredibly talented designer at MoonStudio, I believe Devs missed the point
on the bow gameplay. With several years of IRL archery and as a video game bow player I would like to suggest
a complete rework of this particular weapon.

At the moment:

  • Can’t really tell the difference between Short and Long bow gameplay
  • Bows feel like they are about to break at every shot (animation / sound effect)
  • The bow almost sound like I’m using a laser gun when shooting arrows
  • I don’t get the big “wind wave” visual effect behind every arrow
  • Why are the players animations so different than the archer ennemy animation from the Lowland which are a lot smoother
  • The Rune / Infusion / basic attacks systems on bows are confusing
  • The new “laser pointing” visual is completely ruining the immersion during combat
  • All of the above is just gonna get more confusing as they add more bows in the future

My solution:

For some reason, in many video games, it’s very difficult for Devs to get the bow gameplay just right and today
I really wish to help after 150+ hours on early access.

Let’s keep things simple, very simple. There is already a ton of weapons in the game and we do not
need 20+ different bows. Let’s have Short bow gameplay and Long bow gameplay, that’s it. Then players will
get to play with a ton of different runes they will buy or loot through progression.

1 - Short bows

All short bows are the same (only names and skins vary), they come with one basic attack and 4 empty runes slots.

Note: Only Special attacks and Magic attacks should come from runes. The sword basic attack doesn’t come from a rune so it should be the same for the bow basic attack (Left mouse click for PC users).
When the Bow is selected (fighting posture + visible arrow equipped), the Left mouse click should get you a basic shot.

Basic attack (Left mouse click):

  • Costs Stamina
  • A quick shot at the targeted ennemy with quick animation and a sharp sound effect.
  • No loading time and no “laser pointing”, the arrow leaves the bow as soon as the player releases the button
  • Only the animation and stamina will delay the next shot
  • Since it’s a short bow you have to limit the range of the arrow. So yes, the arrow will vanish after a few meters
    just like the fireball, forcing the short bow player into “close” combat.

Runes example:

You are gonna have 2 types of runes: Short bow runes and Long bow runes.
Any Short bow rune can go on any Short bow (same for Long bow runes and Long bow)

  • Double shot short bow rune (Costs 100 focus) : Player shoots 2 parallele arrows at the same time (Legolas style)
  • Triple shot short bow rune (Costs 150 focus) : Player shoots 3 parallele arrows at the same time
  • Backflip shot short bow rune (Costs 150 focus): Player uses the ennemy to propel himself into a back flip causing a lot of stagger damage. During the backflip, player shoots 3 arrows at the said ennemy.
  • Multi shot short bow rune: This one is already in the game but it took me hours before I realised you can get more shots by holding the rune button. It shouldn’t be this way. Pressing the button once should get you the entire animation. Maybe you could just reduce the amount of shots to 6 or 8 ?

These are just a few example of short bow runes I have in mind. As you can see, they force the player into a very dynamic “close” combat system which involves a lot of dodging and quick shots with a nice rewarding combo if the ennemy gets to close with the Backflip shot.
All those runes are compatible with any Infusion (Fire, Ice, Electric, Plague).
It is very important for the player to be able to see the upgraded skin of the arrow (Fire arrows, Ice arrows,…) which is not the case at the moment. Arrows always turn invisble after a few minutes of gameplay.

2 - Long bows

All the Long bows are the same (only names and skins vary), they come with one basic attack and 4 empty rune slots

Basic attack (Left mouse click):

  • Costs Stamina
  • A long shot with a longer animation loading time than the short bow but with a much greater range and greater damage
  • Just like for the short bow, the player can hold the button if he doesn’t want to release the arrow immediatly but it will not affect the range or damage of the shot. Arrows leave the bow as soon as the player releases the button (no additional animation).

Runes example:

  • Explosive arrow (Costs 100 focus): Player shoots an arrow with an explosive attached to it, ending into a regular, Fire, Ice, Plague AOE damage
    depending on the type of selected Infusion.
  • Cone shot: This one is already in the game but for some reason, all the arrows just go to the same target. A “cone” shot, I think, should end up in some wide AOE damage for multiple targets.

I have many more ideas to improve the current state of the bow gameplay but I don’t want to make this post any longer.

As Thomas said “People just want to live the fantazy”

I hope this helps achieve our goal.

Thanks for the amazing work