Chip Damage

[BrainiacVeins]

So I've started to design a game in my spare time and a question crossed my mind.

I want to add a block mechanic, but add some chip damage to make things more interesting. Except I'm not sure how much of the original damage should I use for that chip damage.

Not finding much data on the usual amount that is used, I turn to you, Escapist Forums. What percentage of the original damage should I use for chip damage?

Thank you in advance for the help.

 

[TehCookie]

Depends on how strong you want blocking to be. Can the attacker break the guard? How much health does a normal attack do (like do you die in a few hits or can you survive a beatdown)? Would guarding be functional against all enemies (by that I mean just as useful against heavy hitters as quick multi-hit ones)? Actually what kind of combat system is it anyways?

Try play testing it yourself to see what feels the best. Otherwise I'm just pulling shit out of my ass I'd say 5-10% with a guard break and closer to 25% without.

 

[hazabaza1]

First of all, what kind of game is it? Fighting? RPG? Gonna need some info.
And why not have it all be variable? Like, base attacks will do, I dunno, 5% of regular damage, but some characters/skills can deal 40% of original damage with an attack that does half damage when hitting a non-blocking opponent?
Just chucking ideas about here, numbers and stuff are entirety replaceable.

 

[BrainiacVeins]

Ok, thanks to the both of you. I just wanted to check what amount would be reasonable and you turn around the numbers I was thinking of using. The game itself is actually a Fighting/Platform hybrid (I'd need a good example to properly explain, which I don't), and I'd like to have a shoulder/back blocking mechanic (akin to Street Fighter's mechanic), with some (but not a lot) of guard breaking. So around 5-10% seems reasonable.

Again, thank you.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Guild wars 1 had a somewhat similar mechanic,

a spell would decrease the amount of damage that got through to the target (reduce damage directly)

or another would decrease the number of damage packets that hit the target (increased evasion)

 

[Zyst]

oh if it's a game like that make it 5% of the original damage, and make sure to add a parry mechanic which completely nullifies the attack to allow this kind of majestic gameplay:

 

[NightHawk21]

All these numbers are fine and all, but you're really gonna need to play test it yourself. Personally I'm not a fan of chipped damage since if feels like you're being punished for doing something positive (I'm not talking PvP - then I'm all for it).

 

[BrainiacVeins]

All these numbers are fine and all, but you're really gonna need to play test it yourself. Personally I'm not a fan of chipped damage since if feels like you're being punished for doing something positive (I'm not talking PvP - then I'm all for it).

Well, the game is single player only, but I'd like to avoid block-spamming, because it would make the game too easy. Besides, I have a couple of other mechanics to make a defensive strategy viable (IE the mentionned by someone else adjusting of said chip damage, via stats).

And of course I intended to test the output, but I wanted a number to base myself on.

Thanks for the comment though.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Here's an idea. You could add move-specific chip damage. That way some moves which hit harder than others become more versatile. As for something like SF, in that game blocking and turtling is too good so to balance that chip damage is also quite high.

 

[Fasckira]

Make it a random value between 1% and 100%. Just for the giggles.

 

[BrainiacVeins]

All these numbers are fine and all, but you're really gonna need to play test it yourself. Personally I'm not a fan of chipped damage since if feels like you're being punished for doing something positive (I'm not talking PvP - then I'm all for it).

Well, the game is single player only, but I'd like to avoid block-spamming, because it would make the game too easy. Besides, I have a couple of other mechanics to make a defensive strategy viable (IE the mentionned by someone else adjusting of said chip damage, via stats).

And of course I intended to test the output, but I wanted a number to base myself on.

Thanks for the comment though.

Well it depends on what type of damage is being inflicted. If the player blocks for too long, chip damage can be used to make high force blunt attacks would eventually knock the player over (and break the block) but not do any damage. If it's a piercing attack, then over time more and more of the damage would get through to the player. This would inadvisable to hold block for too long as it lowers the armor's effectiveness. And of course chip damage should be reparable to some extent at the armory, but it should also make the equipment more brittle over time to the point where it simply breaks.

Sorry if this is a little too sophisticated for the game you had in mind, I tend to overthink details like this in games.

No, it's fine. You actually reminded me that my game would need enemy variety to be good XD

There won't be armor/item degradation for many reasons (more than just "it's another thing to add and my friend and I are lazy bums"), but your mention of block-breaking/piercing attacks and counters to those attacks should be something we need to implement.

 

[ThriKreen]

Only way to know is to make sure it's a variable you can adjust, and play test it out, and have other people play test it and tell you what they feel.

Just remember to never hardcode the value.

 

[BrainiacVeins]

Make it a random value between 1% and 100%. Just for the giggles.

I'll probably make an enemy/boss like that. Just for fun