46
General Discussion / Blocking Weapons and Assorted Combat Discussion
« on: October 04, 2017, 01:14:56 AM »
For you combat gods out there -
I've long avoided blocking attacks with weapons because it degrades weapon quality. Recently, I've started to revisit the tactic on low-dodge characters as I've started to realize that there is plenty of wealth to replace that high-end spear and survival is much more valuable. Anyway, I was wondering whether certain weapons tend to be much more resistant to taking damage while blocking? It has seemed like the spears I've used to block have often seemed to degrade quickly; but some of the swords seemed like they lasted a bit longer.
I've also been playing around with death blow and other target locations. What I think I've noticed - skull attacks seem to do comparatively little damage, but also deal little damage to an animal's pelt. Slashing and piercing attacks against the neck seem to bleed a lot. Abdomen attacks deal a lot of extra damage, but also damage pelts. (And blunt attacks against the abdomen often cause bleeding). Not sure what good targeting the thorax does? Bleeding/extra damage from piercing attacks?
It seems like head-based attacks might have an increased chance to knock a foe unconscious; failure, though, frequently hits the shoulders, which rarely has any special effect. Any critical (groin/eye/thorax/abdomen) seems to be able to knock an enemy unconscious on an attack. Arm attacks obviously can make an opponent drop their weapon and hinder their counterattacks, which might be beneficial if they're wielding something nasty, like a big sword or axe. Leg attacks seem to be able to knock an enemy down, which has its uses (may give you a turn as they get up or help keep fleeing prey animals from running away). Body attacks seem to be the easiest to land, and generally what I target first.
Anyone with relevant experience in the matter who can support or refute these ideas? Or targeting advice in combat? Maybe the main targeting consideration should just be which areas are more lightly armored...
I've long avoided blocking attacks with weapons because it degrades weapon quality. Recently, I've started to revisit the tactic on low-dodge characters as I've started to realize that there is plenty of wealth to replace that high-end spear and survival is much more valuable. Anyway, I was wondering whether certain weapons tend to be much more resistant to taking damage while blocking? It has seemed like the spears I've used to block have often seemed to degrade quickly; but some of the swords seemed like they lasted a bit longer.
I've also been playing around with death blow and other target locations. What I think I've noticed - skull attacks seem to do comparatively little damage, but also deal little damage to an animal's pelt. Slashing and piercing attacks against the neck seem to bleed a lot. Abdomen attacks deal a lot of extra damage, but also damage pelts. (And blunt attacks against the abdomen often cause bleeding). Not sure what good targeting the thorax does? Bleeding/extra damage from piercing attacks?
It seems like head-based attacks might have an increased chance to knock a foe unconscious; failure, though, frequently hits the shoulders, which rarely has any special effect. Any critical (groin/eye/thorax/abdomen) seems to be able to knock an enemy unconscious on an attack. Arm attacks obviously can make an opponent drop their weapon and hinder their counterattacks, which might be beneficial if they're wielding something nasty, like a big sword or axe. Leg attacks seem to be able to knock an enemy down, which has its uses (may give you a turn as they get up or help keep fleeing prey animals from running away). Body attacks seem to be the easiest to land, and generally what I target first.
Anyone with relevant experience in the matter who can support or refute these ideas? Or targeting advice in combat? Maybe the main targeting consideration should just be which areas are more lightly armored...