Senior Member
Me, I'd start with something small and more straightforward... like making his ZA more viable.
Recently, after heavily getting into Shugs, I've actually learned even the Shug's slow and lumbering ZA has a superb use in the game. It's a Shinobi killer move. Even if it's lumbering and slow, in exchange the Shug advances quite a lot with two huge sweeps of wide arc... and it's still dangerous if you just blatantly overuse it, but against a Shib who has a habit of dancing around with way too many dodges out of your reach, the Shug ZA catches them like a flyswatter
But that's also kinda depressing as well, because it means then the Kensei ZA is practically the most worthless ZA of all time.
● activation is slow
● damage is pathetically weak
● even with a long nodachi, the arc of both attacks are relatively small because the Kensei remains perfectly stationary
● can't land both attacks on same target, becaue the sweeps hit only half of the circular arc each time
Basically the only use in combat for Kensei ZA is to trade blows with a telegraphed incoming hit... and even a light attack can put that "trade" in deficit, because the damage is so weak.
So, I would suggest the devs to first, upgrade the Kensei ZA to the legendary "tsubamegaeshi (swallow cutter)" technique, which legends put that it was developed by the renowned swordsman Sasaki Kojiro of the late Sengoku era of Japan.
The origins of the Tsubamegaeshi, or "Swallow Cutter" technique
Historical records are scarce, and even up to date historians dispute whether he was just a folk lore or an actual historical figure, but all the legends commonly credit Sasaki as the developer of the "swallow cutter" technique. He was also famous for using a very long sword called "monohoshizao" -- which is a comical name meaning 'laundry rod' in Japanese -- which fits the concept of the Kensei very naturally.
Legend has it that Sasaki, during training, suddenly wanted to try if his sword strikes were fast enough to knock a flying bird out of the sky. So he hanged around where there were many swallows, and tried to hit it with his strikes but failed. After many failures, he concluded that he needed to be able to pull of multiple strikes in as fastest amount of time as possible, and thought that he needed at the least 3 strieks: first strike would whiff the swallow and scare it to turn the other way, second strike would whiff ahead of the turned flight path to panic the bird, and the third strike would be the killing blow. So in essence, it is a very simple series of basic horizontal strikes going left - right - left, but it would have to be done with a nodachi sized sword in lightning fast succession in a fluid motion.
The "swallow-cutter" has a few different modern interpretations... such as, for example
interpretation1
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interpretation2
The first interpretation is generally more favored, although both share same principles. Most kendo researchers think that the technique was a means to overpower the opponent's defense and basically strike in a series of horizontal strikes powerful enough to sway and knock over the other guy's sword. Most interpretations follow the first example in that the strike first begins with a full swing cutting diagonally upwards in a strike powerful enough to knock aside the opponent's sword, and then at that moment immediately reversing into another powerful swing horizontally to cut the opponent while his weapon was knocked aside.
The legends maintain that Sasaki Kojiro basically added in a third, yet another reversal to the basic double attack technique as shown in the 1st example of the 1st video.... so if the opponent managed to recover his weapon to defensive posture after the 1st strike, the second strike would knock it aside again in reverse direction, and then the third strike would reverse and deal the final blow.
The legendary 3-strike move is not a cut left, cut right, cut left with any short weapon.. the speed and power has to remain constant throughout all 3 strikes which were full swings from a nodachi sized weapon. Practicioners say even the basic 2-strike technique requires immense torso power, as each reversal needs to overcome the momentum of the strike prior to it without dropping speed or power.
I say the devs upgrade the Kensei's slow-poke, useless ZA into the "swallow cutter"
Specifications
● 3-cut move
● left low to rightward high diagonal cut → left right high to leftward high horizontal cut → left high to rightward high horizontal cut
● each attack 500ms (30fps@PC)
● 2nd and 3rd strikes unblockable, but parriable
● damage of each single attack same as current singular attack
● 2nd and 3rd attack can be canceled through feint
● stamina cost increased 50% higher than current
● UI state is removed
So, in a nutshell, it's a 3 strike ZA move with a nodachi that hits at speeds similar to (slightly slower) than the Centurion lion's claws(light-light-light). The damage is same for each strike as now, but since it's 3 strikes the total sum is a 50% increase in damage -- the stamina cost is also increased accordingly. The attack swipes 3 times towards the same facing/target with the nodachi at around 120-120-180 degrees arc.
The 2nd and 3rd attacks, true to the legend of the technique is unblockable, but if someone is willing to try their luck it can be parried. A nodachi sized weapon hitting 120-120-180 arc in a succession of 36 frames per attack is quite fast, no doubt, but the opening move would be very different and telling in that it strikes diagonally upwards, so a keen opponent would block the first move and immediately dodge out from the 2nd and 3rd UB strikes.
Although the 2nd and 3rd UB can be feinted, a "swallow-cutter feint" will not connect smooth-fast enough to guarantee an unavoidable GB when the opponent blocks the first attack and immediately back-dodges to get out of 2nd and 3rd UB attacks. (no, we don't want a Kensei version "vortex") If the opponent dodges back after blocking 1st attack, and the Kensei feints and immediately front dodge-GBs, the GB would land after the dodge frames and can be CGBd.
The price of increased functionality + increased speed + increased damage, is that it is no longer UI. (but of course, when in revenge mode this ZA would probably be the most powerful ZA in the game, and anyone looking at the Kensei has revenge meter full would be frightened enough to immediately back away. 120-120-180 degrees swings with 2nd and 3rd attacks UB, and having unlimited stamina and UI? For that short revenge mode moment, yes, it's gonna be an OP attack. But comeone -- it's not as fast as the PK ZA-feint spamming.
With the rest of the normal Kensei attacks so sub-par in every way, I say an addition of an exceptionally good ZA is not gonna push the class into OPness just because it becomes a superbly powerful move when in revenge mode.
The usefulness as a minion-clearing weapon remains largely unchanged, but Kenseis don't use ZAs to clear minions anway.. but in turn actual combat applications are greatly increased. I'm actually thinking addition of this ZA alone might do wonders for the Kensei.
(ps) This suggestion was originally made BEFORE the centurion came out... but was blocked from forum access due to my original forum handling being screwed due to wonky spam-filter glitch. Now it stands, the centurion came out... with basically the same premise/suggestion I had for the Kense... but yes, basically what the centurion does is what I've suggested for the Kensei's new ZA with a few differences.
So basically, my suggestion for the Kensei is a Kensei using that big-arse nodachi in 3 horizontal cuts at 500ms speed, with the 2nd and 3rd strikes being unblockable but parriable, but the overall damage being not that high, so all three hits being around 50% higher in damage than the 2-hit damage we have currently.
Member
Son, you just went full on weeb nerd...
TLDR (ain't nobody got time fo' dat!).
I do agree that the kensai's zone attack is pretty useless though. Even for mob clearing in dominion. It's slow, it's deceptively short range, it takes about half your stamina to use it once and, like you say, it does very little damage.
I did watch the videos. The moves look a bit too focused, rather than sweeping as a zone attack should be. Perhaps something simpler, like a big 180 degree slice, would do the trick. :P
