New Pug

[NoctisUmbra]

lol sorry...

[knite23]

Pug> thm here :P

[SeraviEdalborez]

What are you guys using Blindside with? Simian is multi hit so that's a bit of a waste. Howling Fist loses side combo's bonus damage but I'm not sure if that is eclipsed/evened by Blindside.

So that leaves, what, Pounce and Demolish?

[NoctisUmbra]

What are you guys using Blindside with? Simian is multi hit so that's a bit of a waste. Howling Fist loses side combo's bonus damage but I'm not sure if that is eclipsed/evened by Blindside.

So that leaves, what, Pounce and Demolish?

Howling Fist gets increased accuracy from the side, not increased damage. So using it from behind doesn't have any disadvantage. I've found it to be accurate in Full Party, and outside of Full Party I just use Hawk's Eye coupled with Blindside.

EDIT: Never mind I think I understand what you meant now. Howling Fist, on it's own, has increased accuracy when executed from the side. It receives a combo bonus if used in a combo following Punce > Demolish. The combo bonus is increased damage. You get the combo bonus regardless of what direction you do Howling Fist from because it's in a combo. The direction of Howling Fist would matter if there was a 4th WS in the combo because then you would have to fulfill the directional condition of Howling Fist for the Combo Bonus on said 4th skill.

[SeraviEdalborez]

I get that. but there are no 4th tier WS so I doubted that the 3rd set of combo sparks were pointless.
Seriously I'll just run a small test sample. Unless you have already done so in which case I will defer to you.

[NoctisUmbra]

I get that. but there are no 4th tier WS so I doubted that the 3rd set of combo sparks were pointless.
Seriously I'll just run a small test sample. Unless you have already done so in which case I will defer to you.

Testing regarding Combo Bonuses? Yes, I have.

The sparks aren't pointless. They denote that the skill was used as part of a combo. That's why the first one doesn't get any sparks.

[silverdragontyr]

Howling Fist gets increased accuracy from the side, not increased damage. So using it from behind doesn't have any disadvantage.

I couldn't believe this, so I had to try it myself. Turns out it's true. Howling Fist gets ZERO damage bonus from attacking the side. I will be using Blinside with this from now on.

[NoctisUmbra]

I couldn't believe this, so I had to try it myself. Turns out it's true. Howling Fist gets ZERO damage bonus from attacking the side. I will be using Blinside with this from now on.

Just some basic understanding of the combo system, really. I can understand how it can be confusing/misleading though. In any case, thanks for the confirmation.

[SeraviEdalborez]

Nah. I think you have to do it from the side for combo damage bonus. You get the purple combo "spark" around yourself even on an ender WS.

Hm I was going to use Goring Blade as an example, but then that doesn't even do Bleed unless you're at the rear anyways. Maybe I'm wrong.

Easiest way to confirm would be raw Howling Fist vs side-combo HF, vs rear-combo HF.

[NoctisUmbra]

Nah. I think you have to do it from the side for combo damage bonus. You get the purple combo "spark" around yourself even on an ender WS.

Hm I was going to use Goring Blade as an example, but then that doesn't even do Bleed unless you're at the rear anyways. Maybe I'm wrong.

Easiest way to confirm would be raw Howling Fist vs side-combo HF, vs rear-combo HF.

Alright... let me explain this as thoroughly as I can.

The first WS in any given WS combo never has a Combo Bonus. This is because they are the first and they do not combo following anything.

Any subsequent WS will have properties of their own as well as a Combo Bonus that is only received if all of the conditions of the previous WS are met and the combo is successful.

So in the example of Pounce > Demolish > Howling Fist:

If you use Pounce from behind the enemy you Stun it and because you fulfilled this condition, Demolish will get a purple ring around it signifying that it is available to be used as part of the combo. Demolish has a Combo Bonus of disabling an effect on the mob. This effect works because the conditions of Pounce were fulfilled, making Demolish part of a combo. Demolish does not have any directional conditions of it's own, so simply using it gives Howling Fist a purple ring, unlocking it for the combo. Having unlocked Howling Fist for a combo means you receive the combo bonus of Howling Fist. Howling Fist however also has a directional condition. This condition is irrelevant as far as combos go, however, because Howling Fist is the last skill in the sequence.

The purple spark effects are visually there to signify that the WS was used as part of a combo and its TP cost was waived, not because you met all of its conditions. That is why you don't get a purple effect on the first WS, even if you do it right.