I have some suggestions to make combat a little bit more interesting. It’s good, don’t get me wrong but I think with some simple tweaks could add variety to combat.
Weapon Type Mechanics
One Handed Weapons
For One handed weapons it could be interesting if the charge attack would have a kind of timing mini game (a-la Gears of War weapon reload) where if you let go of the button at the right time, you deal a critical hit with bonus damage and poise damage.
Two Handed Weapons
For Two handed weapons I think the combat could be more fluid and interesting by replacing the Parry with a kind of pummel strike move that can interrupt enemies which can be inputted in between swings. It can be done at the start of a combo, middle or end which makes Two Handed weapons a lot more adaptable to moment-to-moment action.
I understand it might mean some restructuring of the animation locomotion, but it could really elevate the combat by adding such simple mechanic. I understand the shoulder bash kind-of has a similar function, however its only available to heavy rollers and I think the pummel should be a faster more fluid option that can link-up swings more based around dealing damage.
Bows & Crossbows (new)
Bows and crossbows, make it so you can shoot arrows from it as a generic attack that fills up your Focus bar. It does take arrows and bots however, but they can be crafted by the player or NPC making chopping trees even more valuable. Also, if makes not going full ranger build valuable because you have a limited amount of arrows. I would also make Bows fast and Crossbows slower to reload but higher impact and knockback.
This would make the bow a lot more interesting and flexible to be played as a Main weapon or a secondary support weapon which also makes adding weapon slots by Plague Ichor more valuable.
Staffs & Tomes (new)
Staffs: I like the idea of staffs being able to be used as a melee weapon and so for that reason I suggest keeping it that way. It’s rather unique and I think it works for the combat. However I would grant them bonus damage when enchanted with an element. Replacing the Parry with something else could be cool too, maybe something that rewards Focus since that’s the primary concern for staff users.
Tomes: This is a new type of weapon with a primary attack that shoots a blast of mystical energy in a small cone area attack in front of them which charges up focus and does very little poise damage. Instead of a parry however, they allow the character to chant an incantation that slows the caster’s movement speed consuming stamina gradually and
slightly but creates an area around them which slows enemies down and does a small amount of damage over time. If enchanted with an element, it will cause elemental build-up of that type.
Let me know what you think, and if you have time for a bit of a read check out:
Pushing the game further