Poise is needed on heavy armor to make up for the sidestep dodge (very short distance) and stam hit because of its weight even with encumber stats. Currently the sidestep is not even close to the distance a pike can hit you from once you sidestep. Heavy armor should give a kinetic defense given that it is HEAVY ARMOR.
As it stands now the dmg reduction does not prevent as much dmg as simply dodging and with the stam builds out there with lighter armor and pike the value of heavy armor without poise (knockback, knockdown, stagger protection) is severely limited. Lighter armor players can simply dance around you (I have killed many heavies this way) and kill you on stam/dodge distance advantage alone and this advantage extends beyond broken when a pike/spear is used.
Allow Heavy bulids to be viable again by re-adding back poise to heavy armor.
During a Dev Stream, Joel Bylos said “no more Poise” and I believe it was reinforced later in another Dev Stream featuring @Jens_Erik, although I don’t recall who said it.
IMO Poise is very important, and almost essential, moving forward in PVP combat. Like you said, other players can simply dance about without taking damage while you struggle (as you must) like you’re lugging a refrigerator. Poise gives an extra element of chance to a duel, and if potions could grant poise buffs we might actually be able to use combination armors properly. I think Oscar has said as much, that we should be able to mix and match. Being able to blend armor classes, or simply being able to move properly is a PVP Wild Card. As we’re still seeing changes in the root mechanics of such things as javs and bows, perhaps we will get Poise back once combat is fully optimized. It’s definitely something worth Modding in.
Honostly, i just walk away from any attacker attacking with any weapon and i dodge there attacks just fine. Unlock and walk away, regen stamina, hit hard with teliths sorrow. And if you’re up against some squirrelly dodger, build a few foundations around him. Dodge that punk!
I have some major gripes with the combat system, mostly that two people who know how to dodge without dodging will be in a standstill forever. Ive slayed entire clans by myself by walking away from them and baiting them into getting stuck in the attack animation. Pikes, swords, axe whirlwinds, javelins, theyre all useless against the walk speed.
So yeah, i agree. Create poise and necessity to armor, and make sprinting attacks or jump attacks.
Today I find out there are people who don’t realize that having 100 Stamina, or 199 Stamina gives you the same amount of dodges.
I don’t think poise needs to return. Its another number that needs to be balanced (and if an armor has 45 poise and another 55 whats the actual effective difference?). What needs to happen instead is curb back the bonus that Exceptional/Flawless quality gives.
I would even suggest that it be nerfed alot. Right now with Flawless Epic Medium, I can reach easily over 65% damage reduction. Hell with Flawless Epic Light Armor I can surpass flawless non-epic Heavy. While the most you can get out of heavy is about 78%
I think the damage reduction of Heavy is about where it needs to be. Medium should never exceed 55% and light should never exceed 40% at its best. That would curb dodging a bit as being the end all be all meta.
Agreed with armor class issues with light being better reduction than the tier above it ! Heavy is getting edged out of being the best for its primary purpose by lighter tiers that still retain their superior mobility.
I’m excited to see the katana and the lunge attack. I think if its done well, it should fix the dodge spamming issue and make combat much more tactical in that retreat wont be as simple as walking away.
And the new bow mechanics should change practically everything in pvp lol. I’m crazy excited to see how it works!
What if it was added as a poise armor modification? So, something not necessarily built-in for all heavy armors. But something with a separate expense that could be applied to heavy armors. Maybe it wears off after a time, or after so much poise defense mitigation. Also, if balance is the true worry, make it add weight to the heavy armor. Armor is already pretty heavy. Incorporating poise into an armor mod would 1) prevent someone from applying the armor lightening kit, and 2) could actually increase the weight.
Food for thought for making a poise return viable…
I’ll write up a summary of your comments and send it off to Oscar.