Lans' Guide to all things Melee

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Lans
Posts: 58
Character: Koss Brynd, Lugh Arawn, Lans Tan'tare (dead)

Lans' Guide to all things Melee

Post by Lans » June 27th, 2021, 2:19 pm

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LANS' GUIDE TO ALL THINGS MELEE

So you want to be a warrior do you? A central and essential unit in fantasy and even realistic medieval tropes the Fighter/Warrior is the supplier of many harder to acquire components and essentials for a team, they are the bulwark as well as the blade that levies out judgement upon the teams' foes many a time; but they are not all made equally nor from the same mold, so there may be many subtleties to consider and learn before you begin your journey, below we will address the mandatory skills and then the optional skills and how they might truly compliment and empower your build as well as how or when they may be good choices to introduce into it.

STAT PRIORITY: DCI/HCI/HP/DEX/STR -- HP keeps you alive, and DEX determines not only swing speed but also your grit speed making it a VERY important stat. DCI and HCI are "Defense Chance" and "Hit Chance" increase respectively and are crucial to performing amicably as a fighter.

MANDATORY SKILLS

These skills are not optional for being a fighter, without them you will simply not enjoy your experience, time, or survive effectively within the World of Requiem; though for those that can be 'taken lower than highest values' they will be addressed and the 'why' to such.

ANATOMY: Absolutely Mandatory, take this to 100%. Unless your character is a spell-sword at which point 75% may suffice. Anatomy handles the [GRIT system of REQUIEM and is required in order to keep yourself healed during battles and even between battles unless you utilize untraditional skills/measures. One of the most valuable skills in the game, potentially being the actual king of skills as ANY build benefits from the [Grit system. You 'will' die without this skill as a warrior.

Key Commands: [aidself and [aid for targeting others should you unlock Grit II.
Essential Early Feats: Grit I, then Grit II to unlock [aid for targeting others], Nimble Fingers, Anti-venom. [In that order]

1H TACTICS: Mandatory; may be taken only to 75% to hedge out additional points for personal choices if your character is two-handed oriented. This skill determines ones' avoidance AND accuracy regarding One Handed Weapons as well as most throwing and pistol-type weaponry. Abilities such as DISARM and DOUBLE STRIKE can help their one-handed weapons to achieve greater efficiency and usage that 2H weapons simply cannot do.

2H TACTICS: Mandatory; may be taken only to 75% to hedge out additional points for personal choices if your character is one-handed oriented. This skill determines ones' avoidance AND accuracy regarding TWO Handed Weapons as well as most throwing and pistol-type weaponry. Its' abilities of SUNDER and LEVERAGING STRIKE can allow flexibility of temporary kiting as well as shield disarming of stout foes to let its' users some variety options in battle and over-coming of defensive foes.

PARRYING: Essential BUT Optional; Oddly enough, this skill is important if one-handed OR two-handed or dual-wielding as it determines your ability to parry strikes even though non-shield users will need ADV. PARRY I and II to see the full advantage of the skill it can prove absolutely invaluable, do NOT under-estimate this skill.

WEAPON SKILLS

After the mandatory skills, you are ready to boldly venture forth... and define your character through your choices within this area; this defines a lot about what you go on to do and how you go about doing combat, so choose wisely!


WRESTLING: Wrestling is a wonderfully versatile combat style that is more defensive in nature thanks to powerful feats like PACIFISM, THROAT PUNCH, PERONIAL PUNCH; and other such feats that focus around inflicting status effects or disabling your foes' offenses; but that doesn't mean it is bound to being unable to be aggressive as feats like ADRENAL SURGE can let it ramp the swing speed of even heavier knuckle weapons tremendously.

Combat Tactics and Appeal: If you're looking to achieve huge numbers or smite foes rapidly and with ease; Wrestling is not necessarily for you. However, if you value being flexible for most any situation and able to control the battle field wrestling can be amazing. Against warriors a common method is using PACIFISM to keep them disarmed most of the fight while alternating to adrenal surge to out-damage their grit speeds and PERONIAL PUNCH to hobble any that flee. Against mages THROAT PUNCH is the one-kicker resolution to prevent these talky-boys throwing magic at you with a follow up Peronial Punch to keep them from running off quickly.

Unique Traits: Only Wrestling has Collatian and Bhaskarian Tactics that lets wrestling without 'any augments' or 'enchantments' to attack targets' Mana or Stamina respectively; opening many doors for creative disabling approaches.



AXEMANSHIP: A weapon of the brave, the bold, the inconquerable -- the Axe is truly a terror to groups of foe on the battlefield and daunting even in 1v1 should the Axeman be learned and masterful with their skill-set. With skills like WHIRLWIND the axeman can strike 'every' foe around them for damage increased by the number of foes swarming them. With BLOODLUST the axer can lay powerful strikes against a single foe and recover themselves.

Combat Tactics and Appeal: Axes are for people who want high low/max damage ranges and to be able to take out many foes at a time or deal insane single-damage strikes; their feat BLOODLUST pairs particularly beautifully with RAGING leading to strikes so heavy many foes would have little hope of simply using [grit to restore themselves through the damage. Axes have a powerful and brutal feel to them but also lack the 'elegant precision' of Fencing or Swords that'd let one disable grit and end combat through tactical approach. But for anyone fighting many foes at once regularly or just loving PvE and monster-slaying, or to embody a heavy-brute Axes are a mainstay and highly recommended! For those wanting to quickly dispatch enemy warriors, it may take 'great' investments of time to reach the point Axes can truly embody their potential to do so.

Unique Traits: ONLY Axes holds the crowd-destroying potential it has within melee; and at true-end-game can be absolutely terrifying to come against and cross given the damage potential only itself and Macing embody; but Axes are a weapon of Passion and Devotion; requiring much time and effort to realize how to truly perfect their brutal edges and wield them to their apex.


FENCING: A weapon of the nimble, lithe, graceful and tactical the fencing tree will heavily appeal to ruffians and scoundrels, but also to people that appreciate a good rapier or short-spear; this weapon type is unique in the regard that it BEST see's its own potential fulfilled when paired with ALCHEMY to use TOXICOLOGY for INFECTIOUS STRIKE; which is the single strongest way to disable opponents' GRIT usage. ARMOR PIERCE can be very powerful for by-passing staunch heavy foes' high resistances and land damning strikes against them and only benefits from high-damage range fencing weaponry. NERVE STRIKE claims to deal DIRECT damage; bypassing armor and at 120% fencing adding upward 15-25 damage atop that to the devastating blow and with a chance to paralyze.

Combat Tactics and Appeal: Fencing is not for people that necessarily want to 'easily' blitz through a foe but rather that can appreciate being able to get through nearly any foes' defenses and to be able to easily exploit dirty tactics to heightened effectiveness; though the usage of NERVE STRIKE and ARMOR PIERCE could well ensure a level playing field even against very stout foes most wouldn't be able to deeply injure 'But' its need for Poison to truly use INFECTIOUS STRIKE to disable grit can make it much harder to work with than Swords' comparative but weaker BLEED. If one were able to manage a means of poisons then it absolutely can be a very devastating PvP weapon; but works very solidly in PvE as the N.Strike and A.Pierce let it adapt to foes regardless of their resistances.

Unique Traits: Only fencing can truly guarantee the application of poisons upon foes; but this is a double edged sword in the sense in that the Fencer either knows an alchemist or takes the skill themselves, but it remains the single strongest way in the game to readily disable grit for certain over a long period of time. ((Oddly, few people carry Greater Cures capable of treating very dangerous ailments.))



SWORDSMANSHIP: The most recognizable fantasy-genre weapon; the sword is a staple and here at Requiem it is a very 'balanced' type of weapon. While lacking 'power attacks' particularly aimed at ramping damage, attack speed, or by-passing armor it has Mortal Strike and Bleed to deny foes' their Grit usage temporarily and Bleed applies a bit of damage over time that can often times be very helpful against [Non-Undead/Non-Stone] foes.

Combat Tactics and Appeal: While many people see the sword as Iconic and cool; this is not reason enough to pick the sword; this weapon will prove reliable for nearly any play style that picks it; but when one begins to enter the end-game they will notice there is little reason to stack stamina for flurried usage of its' specific SWMs (Aside from keeping bleed on foes). The sword could be described as the easiest to use of the trees, as there is little if any thought needed to truly harness its' potential. PARALYZING BLOW is a controversial skill, but can be valuable against 2v1 in delaying a foe while fighting the other. BLEED/MORTAL STRIKE 'DO NOT' work in tandem, so one must often choose which is best for the situation, but the lack of ability to truly benefit from spamming these opens the door to rely more on TACTICS and 2H TACTICS oriented SWMs and makes it a good choice for RAGE addicted players as Swordsmen/Swordgals will find little other recourse for ramping their damage itself.

Unique Traits: Bleed and Mortal Strike are presently isolated entirely to the Swords tree, allowing one great control over recovery in a easy-to-use method in 1v1 PvP. Also is the only weapon one will notice seems to do the least against Monstrous Foes who often will be immune to bleed, and wont use [Grit anyway.



MACE-FIGHTING: Maces are a powerful mainstay of realism advocates and one of the most practical weapons in terms of potential and general usability; with hard hitting strikes that often times can leave foes struggling to recover through [grit through the blows. With CRUSHING BLOW one can empower their upcoming CONCUSSION BLOW or ARMOR IGNORE or even ordinary strike to raise its' damage by 50%. CONCUSSIVE can readily devastate mages the player fights and ARMOR IGNORE can be invaluable if fighting a very stout golem, undead, boss, or player that simply has ridiculous resistances.

Combat Tactics and Appeal: Macing is wonderful if a person wants to be geared towards destroying mages while also being viable against nearly any armor type of foe thanks to Armor Ignore; though I have had complaints in general it can do less damage than the ordinary strike unless the foe is of such a sort. CRUSHING Blow would prove the Staple of this weapon type used alongside RAGING to achieve absolutely monstrous strikes; but the Mace much like the Axe would require a lot of stamina to truly get the full mileage out of such a combat style and can leave the Macer needing to be devoted enough to see their mastery through to the full end-game tiers to see the gem that Macing is and can truly be.

Unique Traits: Only weapon that truly punishes mages for casting? Macing falls into the uncanny valley of weapons and can be truly difficult to master them; but the potential IS there and used wisely they can devastate; often times needing usage of LEVERAGING STRIKE with their 2Hers or DISARM with their 1Hers in alternation with Crushing Blow to keep foes' handled fully effectively.

POLE-ARMS: The pole-arm is the stand-alone 'at a range' melee weapon list; always touting an impressive 2 Tile reach; but with a rather vicious penalty to HCI/DCI if one is at direct melee range; which is far harder to maintain than the initial notion would let on. But through TRIP and RALLYING STRIKE the polearm can be a powerful team-player unit and it is unique in the regard it benefits so tremendously from having a tank or team-mate that is a direct-fighter.

Combat Tactics and Appeal: The Polearm will appeal hugely to Hybrids that either have spells that can sink/entrap/disable foes from moving or Crafter-Warriors that just want to contribute to adventures and outtings, but don't want to have to over-plan or over-build for being hit in the face and instead let their friends take the abuse of the direct battling. In team-play RALLYING CRY is bar none the strongest non-magical buff in the game for empowering team mates' damage out put, while TRIP proves incredibly potent when dealing with opponents and locking a foe down for some good jabs, and HAMSTRING can prove invaluable for keeping foes unable to catch the kiting polearm user; the Polearm is not so incredible if you intend SOLELY to solo-hunt, or for someone who practically lives in tight closed winding corridors.

Unique Traits: 2T Reach; Rallying Cry is a beast of a support move.


ARMOR TYPES

https://www.13thrones.com/wiki/doku.php ... &s[]=armor
See above link for armor set bonuses exactly.

LIGHT: Ideal for people intending to either be a hybrid-caster/warrior (Spellsword), or for assassins and rogues; but ill-advised for people not utilizing these trees as the lack of +HP upon finely crafted parts compared to medium or heavy and the need for FINESSE as a skill tree can be daunting in terms of demand and losses.

MEDIUM: The Arguable 'Universal Armor' medium touts having 10% Melee Negation with 4+ Pieces and even sports bonuses to regen as well as HCI/DCI; this armor also boasts impressive resists at relatively minimal loss even using 6 pieces. This armor boasts a good balance of offensive and defensive focus, making it truly universal.

HEAVY: The "Stoutest" armor boasting ridiculously high resistances and an impressive 20% negation of projectile attacks, strong regeneration boost, as well as potentially recovery upon being hit. (May not function presently, ask chat.) This armor is ideal for folks that want to stack HP and survive most any encounter.


NOTE: IF anyone wishes to post a amendment response to this gauging Off-hand I would be very grateful.

Lans
Posts: 58
Character: Koss Brynd, Lugh Arawn, Lans Tan'tare (dead)

Re: Lans' Guide to all things Melee

Post by Lans » July 8th, 2021, 10:34 am

MELEE GUIDE PHASE TWO

If you have read up until this point you will have a solid and general gist of how one can utilize melee effectively within the world of requiem for survival; but there are many points to consider and others one has to highlight in priority at varying points of play; for example, if fighting AFFLICTED it is common knowledge in game that you 'need protective equipment' designed specifically for such an endeavor. (Gas Masks/Sterilized Mask. Sterilized apron/Gloves)

But there are other creative venues applicable to empower and define ones' melee beyond the traditional 'Whacking with thy murder stick.'


RAGING

Raging is a tree that can be role-played being a great many things; perhaps your character is a berserker, perhaps they go into battle trances, perhaps they simply are warriors that channel great energy and passion into their strikes to explain the force as well as exhausting nature they can have.

Raging works on a Up/Down See-Saw Meter presently (July 2021) in Requiem. This means the more you hit, the higher it raises and thereby raises your DMG and HP% increase as well as lowering your Defense Chance increase; upon hitting 100/100 raging you will even have a chance to become enraged and/or Berserk which applies their own respective bonuses.

The Good: +50% DMG inc and +25% HP increase is impressive for any person receiving it and is premiere for Tank-Types that intend to have high HP. The application of the various skills that naturally marriage and flow in tandem with traditional SWMs not only feels good but it also creates a powerful synergy; Intimidating Strike can help even top-end players land blows against equals they may otherwise have low chances to hit and Confidence allows rapid healing just after battles to conserve Grit; as well as killing a foe while enraged towards them restores some HP/Mana/Stamina leaving the notion the Berserker is a stout and longer-lasting unit a reality that feels great.

The Bad: Without HCI Stacking, one will notice they almost seem to miss 'more' with Raging; but this is a side-effect of the misses tremendously impacting you personally thus leading to wholly noticing EACH one. This means Raging can very much be a top-end battle utility that is dangerous to use without extensive mastery/training with it, 'never' use [rage on a foe of absolutely equal footing, the sheer boost to their hitting chance with you having -30 DCI can get you on the down-slope of winning chances.

The Ugly: -30 DCI is one of the most detrimental effects a melee player could ever have; so much so there's even an augment that lowers foes' defense chances and it only does -25! Despite the boost in HP, shy of Ultra-Heavy design armor on a character, this disadvantage can render the idea of being well protected entirely moot; be very cautious! If you lack any +HCI weaponry or augments, this tree can also leave you often times 'winding yourself' (0 stamina), which is the worst place for a melee combatant to land into.

Key Feats: Intimidating Strike, Fury Fervor Tree, Acronomious Techniques, Enraged Torrent.
Optional but Powerful Feats: Berserking, Furious Momentum, Confidence


FINESSE

Finesse is the grand skill of swashbucklers and assassins; light sorts that wish to circumvent traditional notions of blow exchange and instead use their considerable speed to dodge and tumble through foes' attacks.

Finesse presently requires, without special venues, to use light armor or no armor at all; making it less viable outside of fighting groups of weaker foes one can truly build up those tumble points on for high evasiveness.

NOTE: This tree is hugely for assassins, spellswords, or rangers that entirely intend to AVOID direct confrontation regularly; it is not of such prowess and ability that it out-weighs predictable advantages such as very high resists and HP.

The Good: Outright avoiding damage can be a wonderful concept and way of fighting; light armor sets also heavily help DCI by 10% as well as sport a high chance to dodge spells! There are even rumored ways to be able to dodge and stealth in medium armor if utilized, but they could very well just be rumors. Finesse comes with a wonderful increase to stamina regeneration also.

The Bad: In 1v1 this is less effective considerably, unless a [Duellist feat comes to exist that lowers dodging against groups but amplifies single battling this can prove hard to gain nearly enough stacks to truly utilize the designed advantages of avoidance quick enough to not have been ended before one reaches that point.

The Ugly: Light armor (Or No armor heaven forbid for melee) proves to have very low resistances, while this can be mitigated through 'tons' of rare augments it still stands that light armor also has a very low HP boost and in melee one should be approaching it 'expecting' to be Hit -- a lot.

Perks: Defer to someone who uses this tree heavily for this, I myself do not.

ALCHEMY

The skill-set of assassins, chemists, aspiring proto-scientists, and even holistic healers; Alchemy brings to the table a great many abilities and advantages that some could argue are nearly exclusive to itself. But we're not here to delve into all its' secrets -- this is about melee! For the melee-advocate, Alchemy is a marriage with it as old as the Healing Potion, for alchemy is the very skill that makes that and so much more.

The Good: Alchemy is one of the only trees able to cure strong-poisons readily which are the death of many a melee fighter as poison Prevents Grit. Not only that top-end healing potions can heal 20-25 and even gain a +80% modifier with augments or a humble +30% effect with just the benefits of the tree. Flash Grenades, Smoke Bombs, Conflag Bombs, General Bombs, and Battle Nets (Not Alchemy) -- can all be paired with a melee fighters' standard kit to achieve a tree Universal-Situation Fighter feel and be truly powerful, even leveling playing fields against far stronger units! TOXICOLOGY has a broad-array of uses from lowering HP cap, to directly HP, to even destroying foe weapons/armor or adding damage nearly every strike with advanced trees within itself. STR/DEX potions can vastly empower a melee unit and allow more points open for opening up other venues and allowing more creative venues for the player -- never under-estimate the depth and power of this tree. Traditional poisons, while weapon wrecking, can even stop enemy's from being able to use [aidself for quite lengthy periods, quite assuredly sealing a victory if you are relative equals and they lack a cure.

The Bad: Alchemy can take a lot of effort to raise as well as devotion to prepare and keep at ready your various tools and means through it, nor can you brew these valuable tonics or toxins together on whim, as they do require specialized crafting stations. Some may even deem you dishonorable for wielding Poisons themselves; while toxins are less scrutinized as they don't out-right cripple ones' healing ability.

The Ugly: Some components for this tree can be VERY hard to acquire, and toxicology itself often needs an identifier for most toxins and a skinner to acquire them for the toxicologist. While a needy unit the Chemist is, they are an invaluable asset to any party. You also cant drink potions with a shield on, or a 2H weapon equipped; at least the latter until a "Balanced" trait augment exists, which we can all hope for given "Quality of Life" value versus arm/disarming oneself. Toxins and Poisons (esp. poisons) will wreck havoc upon a weapon and require a lot of practice to get a feel for when to peel away from the weapon and wipe it clean so it remains survivable; or using disposable ones (Ill advised, no HCI); Lastly, skinning 'and' Horticulture are very important for finding the relevant components.

Perks: Receptiveness perks are essential as are ones that raise the enhance potions cap beyond 50%; for a toxicologist one will need Toxicologist as well as the Toxin Application trees to truly use this safely and effectively; 'Always' carry your oil cloth. If primarily a support chemist, Infusion based ones can be taken to help boost the infusion gained from this. Pyrotechnical Expertise (name?) can be imperative if regularly using bombs of any sort, as it swaps the skill used from subterfuge or throwing to ALCHEMY if your alchemy is higher (And it probably will be.)


((MORE TO COME :D ))

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