User blog comment:Thedoucheinthenorth/The combat of Skyrim - yay or nay?/@comment-3492791-20121211173208

Just as a blogger's note, you humor come on a little strong.

As for the topic, combat is just that sort of RPG combat, and really should be expected. You can occasionally block or shield bash, but most of the time you'll mash the attack button either your enemy is dead or your arm flys off at the elbow. This is due to the difference of progression in an RPG as opposed most modern games.


 * A lot of games have something I call Player progression, in which enemies maintain a constant level of difficulty, but usually increase in number or require specific methods of defeating, and the player character's capabilities stay for the most part constant throughout (there is a certain amount of leniency which I can't really explain here). This for the most part keeps the gameplay static, thus making the only variable the player. Due to this as you progress through the game it forces the player to exert better shows of skill to continue.


 * What TES have (and RPGs in general) is something I call Character progression, in which enemies will steadily increase in damage and defense (but not AI), but the player is also be increasing this with them, while the combat stays static throughout. This makes it so the player never really has to show any more skill at the end of the game that they did at the start, but rather their character is the one improving. To maintain this level of consisteny to combat, it is usually very simple, as such is the case of Skyrim.

Skyrim is of the latter, and based on its function really could not work as the former. Take a game such as Dishonored. Head-to-head, enemies can block every attack you make. Thus you must create openings in their defence to kill them, be it by blocking or attacking in just the right moment to catch them of guard, or using your ablities to overwhelm them. Due to this strong enfacise on the style of combat, it makes fighting groups of enemies very difficult. There is even an achievement for surviving a fight with 5 guys at once. This sort of combat system would not work for Skyrim, because of the aformentioned issue with multitasking, as well as the fact it is dependant on player skill and not numbers. That's what it's all about, the numbers. You have an attack number, which is added to your weapon number, which is then subtracted by your enemy's defence number, then that number of health is removed from them. Since that is all combat is about it makes it simple to just wave around your hammer like you are trying to kill a particularly annoying, and large, fly.

I too have a strong distaste for mages, but after long hours of stabbing, slashing, smashing, bashing, arrowing, counter-magicing, shouting, and setting up a lawn chair while I wait for my Dremora to finsih killing a mage, I realised why. Mages simply attack too fast. It becomes a real issue, especially at higher levels when nearly every magic has chain lightning which is hit scan, when mages will literally be popping of attacks duel handed with not even a 1/3 of a second between them. A single mage can kill a slow or unattentive player in mere seconds. What's also great is when mages use ice spike or icy spear when you are a melee player, as it makes you lumber slowly towards them taking their barrage of ice blasts while they constantly back away from you much faster.