Thoughts and Review on the Alpha. And yes, also addresses hate on Orochi | Forums

[Delscen]

Thought I'd share my views and critiques on this game, since it's extremely rare for me to be excited for a multiplayer game. ^_^

This game takes a unique gameplay formula on a melee combat in a multiplayer setting. I loved how intense and engaging the rounds were and never seemed to get old. I'm a pretty good player in general so I was able to pick up on each of the classes well and have fun with them. In short, easily one of my favorite multiplayer games.

Even for an Alpha, it helps to have critiques on flaws so it can be remedied in the beta and final release:
- I can't stress how annoying it was to encounter pauses in the matches due to CONNECTION problems/new host/ or even getting kicked out. I heard the system relied on p2p; please don't let that be the case. Having dedicated servers, despite the cost, will do the players a huge service and they'll stay and love you for it.
- Also some minor GLITCHES here and there: some minions while running would just disappear, when two players climb a ladder at the same moment they would both be stuck, and a rare case where a person can stay on a ladder and never get knocked off or hit by projectiles. Also, having a reviving animation would be cool.
- GEAR SYSTEM isn't unheard of but is always refreshing. While I don't have a problem with gears having stat boosts, it should never be groundbreaking and only slightly give you an edge. Otherwise mainly for cosmetic and to look cool or badass. In addition, hopefully there'll be a lot more variety with each pieces, as having only two of each isn't enough.
- honorable mention but THE REVENGE SYSTEM IS FINE AS IT IS. It is very possible to use it and win against 2 or more players. It boosts health, damage, and even poise to attacks. With any class, I was able to fight off and sometimes win again a mob. It's doable.
- PUNISH RUNNERS. This may be personal, but it's a problem when during a fight they run off, especially at the end of a match when one enemy is left and we're strung on a wild goose chase for minutes even when the end is clear. It's cowardly and annoying; fight and die with honor!
- More maps and variety of game modes are always welcomed.
- More variations in executions and emotes.
- And lastly, the classes. I want to state it's just an opinion and in no way favor or hate a class. First off, the BERSERKER is a fun class but I feel their dodges or movement could be a bit faster. Their role is to harass: they gotta have the speed for it. The RAIDER is one big tank that's versatile, but just some minor inquiries. His charging, especially when he grabs you, travels pretty far so it's very easy to toss unfortunate players into pits or falls. Second, even if his axe is taller than him, his unblockable attack literally goes over quite a distance even if you retreat back like a magnet. A very slight decrease in distance for both would be my view; it won't change him completely and people have a better chance of seeing those coming.
And now the one people have been talking about: the OROCHI. To start, I did main as an Orochi and there's nothing bad about liking samurais lol. But people have complained about the overpowering skills of this class and it has become a trend. While I agree there are aspects of her that needs to be taken into account, I respectfully disagree she is groundbreaking and nerfed to the point that she isn't a viable option and will lose interest. Hear me out. I agree that the deflect-counter is unavoidable and can be spammed with little to no skill. For that I can request to add a longer tineframe for the quick counter and remove the heavy counter so it encourage use in only crucial moments, not all and every attack; in addition, only works for side attacks and not top, since animation wise she's sliding to the sides as she's deflecting. Guardbreak can have a cool down, as I've notice I can spam those as well (actually this can apply to any classes) or drain more stamina. I can see as well that even as an assassin he can deal pretty heavy damage, despite relying on landing combos. The only thing I can see for that is to slightly lower his damage but otherwise that's fine. Lastly, the zephyr slash (jump back and ninja dash-slash). That can be spammed and the change in direction of attack can throw blockers off a bit. Maybe have it where you can only do it to dodge an attack and not just jump back anytime. That would help with balancing. The other classes are fine as they are from my initial observation.

Ok that's all for critiques, but I just want to gush out how I feel. My god this is such a fun multiplayer game, and I'm usually exclusive to single player games! I can't wait to see how the other 6 classes are or how the beta will polish things up. The berserker is an amazing class, and as a dual-wielding player in games his gameplay is very fun to play. It's what dynasty warriors should have been lol. As for the haters for Orochi: I love playing this class since I tend to go for the fast and nimble characters and her playstyle is ideal. Again there are parts of her that needs adjusting but not a full on nerf. As many have said, she is a glasss cannon: potential for huge damage but also defensively weak. A good combo or couple heavy hits will destroy them. And people complain about damage cause of how quick their hits chain up; it's not each hit that hurt but the amount of hits she can deal in a short amount of time if you let her hit you. Keep in mind there are 6 more classes and people will find reasons to call op on a class most people will use or struggle to learn the skill set against. Wait till the end of the beta to truly formulate complaint. Orochi can be beatable and much simply than people believe.
Otherwise, I hope alpha players have enjoyed this as much as I have and I'm very fortunate to be chosen to test it. Feel free to reply below if I've missed anything or share your opinions as well. I will be looking forward to future updates on this and will definitely get this game!

[XxAssassix11xX]

Great post! I completely agree with the Viking unblockable have too much range and the orochi counter spam.
My solution for the orochi counter spam is to add a small cooldown.

[Delscen]

Great post! I completely agree with the Viking unblockable have too much range and the orochi counter spam.
My solution for the orochi counter spam is to add a small cooldown.

My thoughts exactly, in terms of the cooldown. Slow enough that it's even remotely defend-able but still quick enough that everyone can see it coming a mile away.

EDIT: I read that completely wrong, early morning don't judge lol. But I agree as well with that suggestion as well, just not stacked with a slower attack frame cause then it would be very underpowered.

[EothK]

At first I agreed and personally i thought all heroes should have a slow move. Like a dagger/string/axe/stone/bow/brick/boomerang throw that makes a running guy stumble or get 10% slow or something for a few seconds. Beserker of course has the speed feat which makes chasing runners easy.

But on second thought I do feel you should be able to run tbh. People all want to have their kill yet we all acknowledge the real feel to this game. So why wouldnt you run for safety or help if you need it? Making it impossible to flee makes the game even more open to ganking. When you are in a duel and than see 2 opponents come rushing to you then you should be able to run.
If you are almost dead but friends are coming to help you should be able to get to them. And yes it may be annoying he gets away but on the otherhand thats part of the battle too.

[Delscen]

At first I agreed and personally i thought all heroes should have a slow move. Like a dagger/string/axe/stone/bow/brick/boomerang throw that makes a running guy stumble or get 10% slow or something for a few seconds. Beserker of course has the speed feat which makes chasing runners easy.

But on second thought I do feel you should be able to run tbh. People all want to have their kill yet we all acknowledge the real feel to this game. So why wouldnt you run for safety or help if you need it? Making it impossible to flee makes the game even more open to ganking. When you are in a duel and than see 2 opponents come rushing to you then you should be able to run.
If you are almost dead but friends are coming to help you should be able to get to them. And yes it may be annoying he gets away but on the otherhand thats part of the battle too.

I can see your point on the matter of running. Personally I dealt with too many runners so the frustration got the better of me, especially for the last man standing, being chased by a whole team that really enlongates the game when it should have ended. I dunno, even for a game and strategy, some honor would be fine. Kinda hoping it doesn't become like LoL, which was one of my main gripe with that game.

After reading threads though, I can see dominion is really an all-war, so I can understand running is a viable option (still except for last man standing running all day). If honor is an issue, there's dueling.

[Delscen]

1)Berserker has the fastest run speed in the game. he's a "harasser" in that he can run down fleeing enemies and quickly turn a duel into a gank.

2)Raider grab-run-n-toss has a lot of start up and can be sidestepped. that being said, it's kindof his only gimmick, and knowing that should have you on your toes, ready to sidestep (which guarantees at least one heavy attack.

3)Raider unblockable can be avoided by releasing left trigger and rolling TOWARD him. took me a second to figure that out, but my years as a Monster Hunter fan have taught me well.

4)Orochi IS IN FACT broken as of right now. -not enough recovery on whiffs, check (can light attack after a whiff faster than any other class). -unblockable attack that is ALSO UNDODGEABLE, check (and no other class has that).
and as the majority of the community is saying... a GOOD orochi (read as : One who knows how broken the character is) will ONLY use parry into counter and back/sidestep slash because they're virtually unpunishable. if you actually lost rounds as orochi, you don't understand the character.

Huh, I never knew you can pull off a Dark Soul roll into the unblockable to avoid getting hit by the Raider. Good knowing, thanks! Also I was referring to when he guardbreaks you then carries you while running. That shiz is strong. I was also told you could heavy attack in the direction of the unblockable at the right moment to parry it. Any thoughts on that?

I will agree wholeheartedly that the Orochi's deflect counter is broken, maybe slightly lower damage in general, but that's just it. Towards the end of alpha many people have learned to anticipate and block the zephyr (backstep-ninja slash) as well as the sidestep attack. Light attacks are fine, and top lights hit fast but they don't do much damage by itself. Warden can destroy that with their top counter. I will respectfully challenge that, other than the deflect, Orochi has unblockable hits. As I have learned through many threads, no attack is unblockable for any classes. Orochis are very fast yes (that's their role) but with practice they are very blockable.

Not trying to shoot your opinion down but just pointing out things I agree and disagree with facts. As an Orochi player, I stayed exclusive to just dodging and attacking, stopped using deflect (only when I'm cornered and being ganked). It feels more gratifying to dodge and land a hit anyways. Also, Orochi 1v1 excels but any more and we're no more than a glass cannon. A couple good hit will drop us easy.