The 4th Hokage
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Munba se tu lo hai letto, dato che lo tengo da parte e lo leggerò in futuro, parla del design dei mostri come ispirazioni o solo clive?Un tizio su reddit ha fatto un'analisi estremamente approfondita del CS, su quello che è stato giocato/mostrato nella demo.
FFXVI: Clive Moveset & Technical Breakdown/Analysis
DISCLAIMER: The preview made available to media outlets acknowledged that the demo wasn’t a finished build of the game and anything listed in the following post is subject to change. That said, FFXVI has been in a polishing state for nearly a year and a half, so it is safe to assume that the game is very close to being complete, if it isn’t already. I don’t see the final product changing much from what has been demonstrated up until this point. Also, take any specific names of abilities or functions with a grain of salt. I’m more interested in the mechanics and purpose than the proper classification of said abilities.
Non-Cooldown Abilities
One of my biggest interests in XVI’s combat system was Clive’s basic toolkit, independent of the Eikonic cooldown abilities. Cooldown abilities in action games can be a contentious design choice in some circles, but a good way to ameliorate the drawbacks they might bring is by really fleshing out the foundation of the core moveset. Fortunately, after the most recent preview, we can breathe a sigh of relief. Clive’s basic moveset is quite impressive and it effectively implements the unique features of the Eikons without being overly reliant on cooldown abilities.
Given the apparent lack of Z-targeting, it appears as if directional inputs won’t be playing as big a role here (again, as far as we can tell). Ryoto Suzuki has mentioned that certain abilities might require more specific inputs (likely Odin’s Zantetsuken or something within Clive’s Devil Trigger), but the button-mapped UI in the lower righthand corner of the screen gives some helpful indicators for player inputs.
We were able to tell from the first trailer that Clive’s blessing of fire (courtesy of Joshua) serves as the foundation of his toolbox. Here is what we know so far:
Melee & Magic
Clive has a four-hit melee string with his sword, and it works on the ground and in the air. Clive can also weave melee attacks into magic shots to lengthen combos. Below is a clip of Clive weaving melee and magic attacks together from the very first trailer, meaning this is something that has survived the entirety of the game’s development.
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Melee attack is mapped to Square and magic use is mapped to Triangle. Since there are eight different Eikons, there are eight different magic spells that don’t operate on cooldown. In the previews, Clive threw out Fire, Aero and Stone as projectiles, which is as much as we’ve seen so far. Chances are these might play into elemental weaknesses of enemies, or maybe certain Eikons have magic that operate differently as opposed to projectiles.
Previewers noted that Clive does not possess any pause combos to change things up, but he does possess a unique way to offset his melee string with magic use. On the ground and in the air, Clive can stairstep melee and magic to build longer combos and increase damage. If an enemy is staggered, a lengthened combo might be a good option. Conversely, if you’re in a pinch, use a shorter, snappier combo before canceling into a dodge.
The fun doesn’t stop here. Instead of basic melee and magic attacks being mere filler between the use of cooldown abilities, Ryoto Suzuki really took the opportunity to flesh out Clive’s options.
Burning Blade
Burning Blade is an armor-breaking combo-finishing ability that isn’t restricted by either Eikon or cooldown. By holding Square (attack), Clive’s sword emits a fiery effect to indicate to the player that the Burning Blade will be performed when Square is released.
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Out of everything I’ve seen from Clive thus far, Burning Blade is one of the coolest moves he’s got. First of all, it charges up pretty quickly, so whatever combo you’re in the middle of executing won’t be interrupted by preparing Burning Blade. More impressively, however, Burning Blade can be buffered immediately out of an Eikon ability mapped to Square. By keeping Square held after an Eikon ability has ceased, Burning Blade will be queued up. It is safe to assume the same principle applies to Triangle and magic use.
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Holding Magic
Holding down Triangle emits a more powerful magic blast which kicks Clive out of melee range ever so slightly, opening the door for a lunge or a gap-closer to reengage.
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Utility Abilities
Utility Abilities are Eikon-specific abilities that are more about adding depth to the combat as opposed to simply adding options. These abilities do not operate on cooldown either, since they’re more about mobility, defense and enemy hit reactions. Keep in mind that the preview only demonstrated three of these Utility Abilities in depth, and there are five more we have yet to see that are presumably all different. Hot swapping Eikons to vary Utility Abilities is a must, but you won’t need to wait on them to cool down after use.
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The player can hold Circle to block or time a Titanic Block to execute Titanic Counter. Though he is not invulnerable during this animation, he isn’t interrupted either. This is not a cooldown ability. Great for close range defense.
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The player can hit Circle to close the gap towards an enemy. This ability is also cancellable. Clive will remain on his horizontal axis when shifting, but he will automatically adjust his Z-axis to meet an enemy. Basically Vergil’s Darkslayer ability.
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The player can hit Circle to snatch smaller enemies to Clive or snap down larger enemies into a state of vulnerability. However, when performed against a staggered enemy, this Utility Ability will become Deadly Leap, which kicks Clive off the enemy up into the air, allowing for an aerial followup. This variation might indicate further variations present in other Utility Abilities, but I couldn’t find any more from the preview.
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Dodge & Air Dodge
There’s a small amount of Bayonetta present in Clive’s dodge. According to previewers, it is not spammable, but it is cancellable. Determining the windows on dodge cancels will require hands-on testing. However, given what I’ve heard, the general speediness and fluidity of the combat supports this claim. If you’re building a combat system centered around player experimentation, generous canceling windows are a must and this design decision would align with Suzuki’s previous efforts.
Clive has a Precision Dodge, which will freeze the enemy in place and allow for either a magic or a melee counter.
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Going even further, Clive appears to have access to Gambit Counters, which look like Eikon counters from Precision Dodges. This is a little bit difficult to parse at the moment, but it appears as though Clive has certain Eikon abilities that will change properties if utilized as a Gambit Counter off a Precision Dodge. For example, the aptly named Rook’s Gambit will keep an enemy frozen as Clive cartwheels into them with Garuda’s talons.
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Lastly, Clive can Recovery Dodge out of a hit reaction to regain player control quicker.
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Based on the preview and previous trailers, Clive has multiple defensive options available to him. It doesn’t look like FFXVI’s enemy encounters will emphasize a purely offensive approach. Clive is afforded a plethora of meaty offensive options, yes, but these equally robust defensive options are designed to immediately convert defense right back into offense.
Titanic Block into Gambit Counter, Heat Wave to catch magic and counter back with sword beams, Precision Dodges into magic or melee counters, and even same-time parries that heavily build stagger. Utility Abilities involving movement like Phoenix Shift could also count as another defensive option if you’re feeling generous. The strategy lies in how and when to use these options. Garuda diving in from the heavens might be a good time to attempt a riskier parry. Long range magic evasion could be dealt with by Precision Dodging into a magic counter. Remember, Titanic Block is Eikon specific, whereas Clive’s perfect dodge into melee counter can be performed with any setup.
XVI looks to have a good blend of proactive and reactive combat, and the Utility Abilities discussed are just three out of a possible eight(?) total Eikon kits available. There’s no telling how deep the well goes.
Lunge & Downthrust
By pressing Square and X simultaneously, Clive will execute one of two abilities, depending on if he’s on the ground or in the air.
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Lunge attack is an offensive gap closer not tied to an Eikon ability. It appears to have a shorter range than Phoenix Shift, but unlike Phoenix Shift, Lunge will actually do damage.
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Downthrust is a quick drop ability from the air. A nice offensive option to land quickly or finish a combo.
Juggles & Stomp
FFXVI does not appear to be centered around juggling enemies the way DMC is, but juggles are still a viable option for Clive in battle. You won’t be keeping enemies suspended in air indefinitely (Clive is limited to one Stomp per combo), but you will be able to juggle and jump cancel off enemies to create some pretty creative combos.
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I don’t know the extent of Clive’s ability to initiate juggles on his own. One cooldown ability (Wicked Wheel) appears to launch Clive and enemies upward in a tornado, but most of the juggling initiators I’ve seen from Clive on this side of combat began when he was already suspended in air, tethering enemies to him. This is where Torgal comes into play. By utilizing Torgal’s Ravage ability, Torgal will knock weaker enemies into the air and Clive can either jump, shift or tether to meet them.
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FFXVI will probably feel a lot like DMC, but it will also have a different emphasis than DMC. In DMC4 and 5, Dante and Nero can combo enemies into oblivion without ever touching the ground thanks to limitless enemy steps, as well as more niche mechanics like inertia and Guard Flying. That won’t be an option here. You’ll have to manage your juggles and jump cancels more carefully, and when an enemy is staggered, they’re locked to the ground. Which is a perfect segue into:
Stagger or ‘Will’
I don’t have too much to say about stagger, because both XIII and VIIR have implemented a similar mechanic and it is being brought across here. The main difference I can glean is that stagger really only seems pertinent against larger, bigger enemies that Clive can’t juggle. It seems as though every enemy could be staggered, but weaker trash mobs will likely be dead before this mechanic shows up, though that could obviously change on higher difficulties. We’ll have our answer in the late game or postgame.
This is another diversion from DMC where 99% of all enemies can be juggled if they’re hit into a stunned state. Stagger seems to keep bigger enemies locked to the ground, although Clive can still utilize whatever he pleases to combo the shit out of them in this state. The more Clive combos, the more the stagger damage multiplier increases from 1.05% to 1.5%.
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The main talking points are that Torgal is probably more of a combo facilitator for Clive than he is a secondary source of damage. As discussed, he can launch enemies into the air for Clive to juggle (Ravage), and he can deal massive amounts of stagger damage to accelerate a staggered state on an enemy (Sic). The goodest boy will be equally useful when facing regular enemy encounters as well as bosses.
Cooldown Abilities
With a toggle or a hold of R2, Clive’s cooldown abilities are hot swapped, replacing the Square and Triangle buttons. This appears to be where the real complexity and creativity of the combat system comes into play. The development team have compared XVI’s combat system to FFV’s job system, in which mastering specific skills will allow them to be mapped (or junctioned) to a different Eikon kit. Player expression will come from a willingness to play around with abilities synced to different Eikons. Maybe you want to use Odin’s cooldown abilities while keeping Titanic Block available. Maybe you dislike Garuda’s cooldowns, but need a tether. It helps to think of Eikons as jobs for Clive.
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Longer attack strings, like Gaurda’s Gouge, are great when the situation calls for it, but sometimes, shorter Eikon blasts might be better for a more crowded battlefield. It is a testament to XVI’s detail that these options are even afforded to players, instead of a one-size-fits-all approach. (Keep tapping Square to lengthen the combo on Gouge.) That little extra bit of control from the player’s end can make all the difference.
Some Eikon abilities are limited to aerial or ground usage, and therein lies another layer of strategic depth. Maybe you want to challenge Garuda in the air, so Phoenix Shift and aerial abilities will be of use. Maybe you’re the kind of player who really wants to pile on as much damage as possible in a staggered state, in which case a grounded setup might be preferable (though not required).
Given the breadth of options available here (juggles, pummels, AOE attacks, hit-stun combos and probably more), consider the following: we are looking at a scenario in which Clive could wield Shiva, Garuda and Titan’s Eikons (and their respective magic and utility abilities), while simultaneously having access to cooldown abilities from Bahamut, Phoenix, Odin and Ramuh. Certain setups might facilitate something from every single different Eikon at once. Or, if a player prefers a more distilled playstyle, those options aren’t negated either.
Liberally allowing players to respec at any time drives this point home even further. You are meant to play around with these abilities to your heart’s content. With the right mindset, you really shouldn’t be getting bored with what’s on offer here.
Devil Trigger or Limit Break
As predicted, Clive has a Final Fantasy iteration of Devil Trigger. By clicking in L3 and R3, Limit Break will be initiated. It looks visually astonishing, and the LB gauge (located just below Clive’s health bar) appears to fill up fairly quickly. Similar to DMC, extended combos, perfect dodges and avoiding damage fills the gauge. We can’t extrapolate too much based on the previews, but Limit Break does buff the hell out of Clive’s basic melee and magic abilities as well as slowly regenerating Clive’s health.
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We’ve only seen a small snippet of this mechanic, so who knows how much further it’s pushed across the game’s runtime. In DMC5, DT provided a few extra moves independent of Dante’s baseline skillset (lengthened combos). I’m interested to see more of this. For example, we know that only one full bar is needed to initiate Limit Break. How does Limit Break impact cooldown timers?
Faccio questa domanda perché , per dragon s dogma molto del combat system sia del giocatore che dei nemici nella versione base derivano/ sono stati influenzati da DnD Shadow over Mystara e sono curioso in questo caso se qualcuno ha colto qualche citazione nonostante i mostri principali derivino da giochi non real time!
