Melee Combo Chain Suggestion

[RaynerH]

Actually I guess this could go for mages too or really any class. I want to see more fluid combos.

I understand that it is an MMO and majority of our combos and attacks have to be somewhat turn based and strategic but I'm not exactly asking for full button mashing attacks here.

DPS is exactly that, damage per second. If what I am asking delivers too much of a punch then dial back the damage on each hit til it fits the normal damage of these studdering combos. A combo should feel like a fluid motion combo, not attack then stand still then attack then stand still then attack and oh man what a cool combo! No, I want a thought out cool looking combo that builds off each move and layers into something awesome!

Sorry if this has already been covered but it's just an annoyance of mine being DPS and only being able to swing a sword or stab with a spear every couple seconds... just doesn't look right.

[ElHeggunte]

Get more Skill Speed or play a MNK.

[RLofOBFL]

Using oGCDs on CD help.

[Shihen]

Actually I guess this could go for mages too or really any class. I want to see more fluid combos.

I believe the idea behind the combo system is just to give some structure to combat. It takes a lot of the headache out of how an ability change will affect a class because even though every class has a couple dozen abilities, they're all packed in a handful of combo strings. It's not the most fluid or fun design, but in general when those two clash with scalable safe design, in FFXIV at least, the latter usually wins. You may want to switch to something with a faster combat pace, like MNK.

[RaynerH]

Thanks for the suggestions, I might give monk a go next. Is ninja quick as well?

[Lynde]

Thanks for the suggestions, I might give monk a go next. Is ninja quick as well?

Yes, especially when you get the speed boost Ninjutsu (name escapes me at the moment).

SAM also feels pretty fluid as well, as they also have a Haste type buff. The Cast time of the special weaponskills can make it feel a bit slower though, since you have to stop moving.

[ElHeggunte]

Depends on what you’re actually looking for. Ninja and Samurai both have natural ways of reducing their GCD, but at least to me, their attacks still feel like they exist in a vacuum and you’re just doing them in quick succession to give the illusion of a combo (I always thought they lacked fluidity, in other words). Monk on the other hand generally feels like each move logically transitions into the next. It feels like you’re doing an actual combo.

I also guarantee that I’m probably biased as hell.

SE should have called the combos of non-MNK melee “chains” instead of combos.

[Berethos]

Thanks for the suggestions, I might give monk a go next. Is ninja quick as well?

Both drop down to a 2 second GCD, and with the weaving of off-gcd abilities both probably have something closer to the fluid feel you're looking for.

Monk's feels like a proper combo chain approach, though you do have a brief ramp up to get to the 2.0 sec gcd...but that ramp up to being faster happens sooner in the leveling process (and thus is more accessible in level synced content). Ninja's is more individual abilities (with a couple chains), with an essentially on call attack speed buff...but you only get that buff at level 45 and above.

[Shurrikhan]

Sorry if this has already been covered...

It's actually seen surprisingly little coverage compared to "would it really hurt anything to have a 2.00 base GCD instead?" threads.

Though, yes, it has been suggested as a way of hastening rate of action, siphoning potency bonuses somewhat to be replaced with rate, for a smoother appearance of "combos" a few times already. The concept has also been mixed frequently into early discussions on TP.