Positionals..

[ty_taurus]

I'm guessing they wanted to reward melee DPS with better damage output for positionals back then, to justify their value over physical ranged DPS...? True North was probably given to melee because of bosses like Cloud of Darkness(one of the earliest) that has no varying positions to determine if bonus damage is applicable.

All attacks against the Cloud of Darkness and any other large boss that sits off the side of the arena always trigger positionals regardless of where you stand because you cannot reach their flank or rear. Additionally, there are also enemies that aren't off the stage that still don't require positionals to be awarded that extra damage. If you look at the image below, the hitbox of the enemy tells you whether or not positionals are needed. The left example does require positionals and gives you more information about where you need to be to earn them. The right example does not require positionals and they will always trigger even if you attack from the front.