Change lightning strike & ground slam to cast/attack where you're standing
"Other people's choice of words aside, it's not really 'how it's coded' so much as the fundamental nature of the skill. It could not be different in the way you want while being the same skill and functioning in the same way with various supports and modifiers. Lightning strike is a melee attack. You swing your weapon and hit something in it's range. It also fires projectiles when you do this, which deal substantially reduced damage. It's intended that people can choose to use it outside melee range only for the projectiles, forgoing the higher damage of the melee hit in favour of striking from range. This is exactly what the shift key does - it's used to use an attack without moving into range or the targeted object or location. If you want to use the melee attack, you don't use shift, and will move into range to use the skill. If you want to stay out of range and just fire the projectiles without hitting anything with the melee attack, you use the shift key (or your preferred alternate keybinding) which is specifically for the purpose of avoiding moving into range before using an attack. Both options are available. "What you're asking for is that we remove one of the two basic ways people can use the skill - one which is used by lots of people and which many players enjoy. As I pointed out on the first page, making lightning strike always function as though shift were held down removes one of the ways it can be used, but does not add any options. It literally just prevents people from using this melee attack skill as a melee attack, and doesn't provide any extra option to use it from range. In addition to that, it would be inconsistent with every other skill in the game. I hope you can see why that's undesirable and will not happen. "Lightning strike is just as easy to use as ground slam, and contrary to what some people in this thread seem to think, works the same with and without shift as groundslam, except with a smaller range. For any attack, pressing the assigned hotkey (or mouse button) is an instruction to perform the attack at the location or monster indicated by the position of the cursor. The player will first move into range such that they can hit the targeted location with the skill, and then use it. If shift is held, the player character will instead not move into range, but perform the skill from their current location, in the direction of the targeted location. If you groundslam targeting a location you can't hit from where you're standing, you'll walk until you're withing groundslam range of that location, and then use groundslam. If shift is held instead, you will groundslam in that direction without moving into range, and will thus not hit something standing at the targeted location. Exactly the same is true for lightning strike. The difference between the two skills is that lightning strike, being a melee swing, has melee range, whereas ground slam has a longer range. The idea raised a while back in the thread of being able to set certain skills on your bar to always function as though you were pressing shift for that particular character is potentailly possible, but if it were to be implemented, it would likely not be for a while as it is:
Last edited by Mark_GGG#0000 on Sep 6, 2012, 3:51:07 AM
| |
|
Thank you Mark for your reply. I am grateful you are considering something for it and it does not matter if it is after open beta is live.
I understand LS is meant to work as a melee strike and similar to GS. But why is my suggestion of letting it work as melee if you click on monster but let it work as GS if you click on empty space bad? I use right click for both skills. I been playing a GS marauder recently and it is a lot of fun. Not needing to use Shift a lot makes the gameplay faster, smoother and more fun. I only want the same for people using LS as GS. For those using it as melee strike they would still be able to by clicking on target. Currently if we have LS on right click and click on empty space our character moves there and then uses LS while with GS if that empty space is within range of GS he activates GS right away. I don't see why changing LS to work like GS in this situation limits it for usage by others.. Last edited by Torin#1843 on Sep 6, 2012, 5:28:29 AM
|
|
|
I think a toggle for each of your skills on your bar could drastically smoothen out the gameplay of any build.
I don't know if you're familiar with the smart casting in League of Legends, but it's also a hotkey feature that also allows players to alter the mechanism for triggering each skill in the skill bar. Smart casting has received positive feedback ever since it was implemented to allow players to adjust how their skills triggers according to their playstyle for their current character in the match. I strongly believe that a toggle for each skill to hold your positions and perform the action would also be very popular and drastically smoothen out the preferred gameplay experience for players in PoE. P.S. Please forgive all the typos and grammatical errors. I've been posting on my phone and it only lets me see the center 90% of this box and I can't zoom or swipe. Starting from scratch in open beta.
|
|
|
Torin, Torin, Torin. Ground Slam =/= Lightning Strike. You are being very dull by ignoring Mark's replies to your questions and reiterating your beliefs on this issue.
" The projectiles you are using as a "mid-range mellee attack" do significantly less damage than the initial mellee swing. Standing at range and using LS on the ground is incredibly slow and, tbh, a bad strategy. You are trying to use Lightning Strike as if it were Ground Slam, and it is not. If you want to know why, go ahead and actually read the thread. |
|
"and you do know that ground slam also does reduced damage? Yes? Only difference is LS is lightning and projectiles and can be affected by projectile passives while GS can not. GS can hit more targets at once but has shorter range. I don't know why are you all acting like LS is so different. I understand what is Mark saying I just don't agree that it is better as it is then what I and some others are asking. Last edited by Torin#1843 on Sep 6, 2012, 5:09:02 PM
|
|
|
Rather than removing an option to use the skill as a melee and ranged attack, I think that this toggle idea could be very interesting and a better idea. Given that new skills that come out might also be a melee/range hybrid, the hold-position to perform action toggle could create some very diverse builds with hybrid capabilities.
The gameplay using those skills would feel much smoother if you could have the option to adjust each skill to work with your build and playstyle. Also, perhaps those weapons that you find with "confused" properties could be useful with possible future hybrid skills given that there might be a toggle feature to make these builds feel like you're not going too against the grain of the intended mechanics of the skill. Edit: the toggle could make hybrid skills that are more creative and fun to use a lot less awkward to use as well. Just to throw an idea out there, spicing up a very boring straightforward skill like viper strike into a more fun and complex skill could be as easy as making venom spew out at a distance on the ground or in the air if your melee strike misses the target. If you're within range of meleeing where you hold position, you'll perform the standard viper strike. Outside of that range, you'll be spewing venom. Starting from scratch in open beta. Last edited by dsifu#2700 on Sep 6, 2012, 6:25:29 PM
|
|
|
An option to toggle between a melee class and range class?
When play as a range class, you press SHIFT to move within range on your right and mid mouse button. |
|
|
Just wanted to say that I think it is perfect the way it is :)
I have perfect control over how I attack, the system is intuitive and nuanced. I like using shift in circumstances where attacking a certain direction and standing in a certain place makes the most sense (whether that skill is lightning strike, ground slam, or freezing pulse!) Other cases I want to make sure I actually hit a specific enemy so I don't hold shift (lol). More specifically, I use LS as a melee attack when I want the extra damage and can get in close. I use shift to attack from range. Every skill is unique as are the cases when shift will be more appropriate to use, but the important thing is that all skills are consistent! So definitely don't change how it is (imo); but some may argue (I guess justifiably so) that a toggle or switch would help them. Only GGG can answer if this is worth the time/effort/money, but I think they already said not in the short term :) |
|
" You would think that something like combining a keypress+click into a single keypress has a trivial effect on how the game feels, but if you've ever used smartcasting in League of Legends you know that this notion is very incorrect. It feels completely different when you smartcast vs when you don't. Starting from scratch in open beta. Last edited by dsifu#2700 on Sep 6, 2012, 10:10:58 PM
|
|
|
I use LS as a melee attack mainly, it works perfectly as is.
|
|
