Combat
Combat Glossary
- Twin Stick Controls
- Tab-Targeting & Lock-On
- Dodge Roll
- Modular Sockeing System
- Combat Skills
- Reflector Shield
- Homing Bullets
- Weapon Speed
- Weapon Damage
- Status Effects
- Combos/Chains
- Resources
Melee Combat
So far, there has been no evidence of melee combat in Stars Reach. This concern was brought up in a Reddit thread[1] and Raph Koster replied, "Only if we can balance it well enough. The whole "bringing a knife to a gunfight" trope is a trope for a reason..."
Ranged Combat
Combat in Stars Reach is described as third-person action arcade with a hint of bullet hell. Players can actively dodge, roll, and sprint to dodge incoming fire. Players will also be able to run in one direction, while shooting in another. Additionally, shots can be "charged" up by holding the fire button down and fired upon release. These are the basics to combat.[2]
To satisfy the "easy to pick up, difficult to master" design pillar, skills can then be used for special attacks that stun, blind, or slow. Additional skills include homing shots that allow a target to be locked for a tab-target style, as well as damage over time and other debuff attacks.[2]
Defensive Skills
In addition to offensive skills, some defensive skills have been revealed, including a reflector shield to bounce enemy fire back toward your enemies.[3]
Socketing
Weapons have the ability to be socketed, giving players dozens of combat skills to learn.[3]
Status Effects
Buffs and Debuffs, or Status Effects, have been confirmed as part of the combat system.[4]
Combos/Chaining
Combos and chaining skills has been been confirmed as part of the combat system.[4]
Resources
Unnamed resources will require management when entering and engaging in combat.[4]
Furthermore, Playable Worlds CEO, Raph Koster, described combat further in a Reddit thread:[1]
It's action combat inspired by a variety of things:
- We take a bit of twin stick shooter DNA. You can run in one direction while firing in another. You have dodge rolls, etc.
- We also draw inspiration from more arcadey feel. We want it to be super accessible, not a giant confusing hotbar. So we reference stuff like Smash TV a lot.
- We also want it to be deep. So we look at MOBAs a lot for weapon variety and tradeoffs and the like. Avi, gameplay engineer on combat, has said that he wants the system flexible enough to make every attack in LoL possible for designers.
- But we know that a lot of MMO players are fans of tactical thinking and tab targeting and the like too! Weapons can be customized to have varying degrees of lock-on. There are tradeoffs there -- if you have tab lock on, then maybe in exchange for aim not being required, you have a tradeoff on firing pace, damage done, etc. You can actually see homing shots already in the videos we released.
Space Combat
In Stars Reach, player will be able to engage in combat not just on planets, but also in space.[5] Space combat will include both flight suit combat and vehicular combat. There remains to be seen any spaceships in the concept art, screenshots, and trailers, but can confirm they are planned.
