Games that have complex combat systems

[gabrielrock19]

ES4 has a decent combat and MMM makes it a lot more alive and interesting, but the truth is that very few games in the industry managed to implement a really good combat system or unique boss fights. Pillars of Eternity I and II had really (I mean reeeally) good combat systems. Dragon's Dogma had the best single player game open world game's combat I've found but wasn't a very good game (storywise). Other than that, FF8 had cool spells and enemy strategies but the leveling system is fundamentally broken. FF14 on the other hand excelled at making challenging and different boss fights. The bosses had several AI/Attack "phases" and AoE attacks. Depending on the magnitude of the attack, they could one shot you. Other than those I can think of no other game that managed to do an exciting hack and slash combat (take FF8 away from the list, it's not hack and slash).

 

s***. Hack and slash is only fun til a certain degree. Imo the ideal game fight is one that makes you think a lot.

 

For example, here's a nice but simple rule for Oblivion who would screw most barbaric classes: you cannot regenerate magicka in combat unless you chose a magic class during character creation. So if you've mastered restoration as a warrior you'll still die. And if you're a mage, you can't have any armor defenses but your magicka regenerates pretty quickly. Here's another one: all weapon attacks have a high chance of missing and a small chance of dealing double damage during a critical strike. Missing attacks can be mitigated to 5-10% if you're a Blade/Blunt expert or master. Unblocked arrows that pierce your unprotected head/face have a 99% of chance of instantly killing you. If you don't die, you'll faint and be teleported to a cathedral where the priests will heal your injuries. Archers would be literal Terror under these new rules and they would aim for your head whenever possible haheahehae. Master acrobats can briefly slow time do efficiently dodge lower level enemies, and acrobat masters can avoid most of your attacks as well unless you're also a master. These are basic RPG limits but they would enhance oblivion's gameplay I think.

 

Skyrim's combat is even more bland than Oblivion's. You can't even choose a specific class and once you master every skill just hit the attack button and you should be totally fine.

 

RPGs combat mechanics need to learn more from PoE and Final Fantasy and less from Bethesda. Anyone knows of other games with good/complex combat systems that actually makes you think in order to defeat enemies?

[RitualBlack]

Die by the Sword had an interesting set of combat mechanics for a hack and slash game. LAN play with some friends was always a good laugh too.

[DoctorKaizeld]

Kotor 1 and 2 havd interesting but dated combat systems. It was surprisingly complicated but easy to work with if you don't want to delve into the deeper parts.

 

Star Wars Clone Commando is the same conceptually but kinda overly simplistic in execution but it would be cool to see a modern take on it.

 

Full Spectrum Warrior was a complicated tactical squad simulator. Older game though and kinda suffers for it. What makes it interesting is you don't just aim and shoot call of duty style you have to flank enemies and take cover.

 

Xcom franchise and xenonaughts are both really complicated and deep with an evolving enemy.

 

Star Wars Jedi Academy was kinda deep and would be really awesome if remade today.

 

Pokemon games... admittedly kinda shallow if you don't actually pay attention to it and just focus on punching everything reeeeeeeaaally hard.

 

Legend of Zelda franchise. Though this changes game to game on actual mechanics, the games tend to make each fight a puzzle that must be solved. Again this one can be shallow if your solutions are "hit it in the face till it stops moving" where as if you think through the fights you can actually get through the vast majority with out taking a single hit.

 

Dark Souls... don't think anymore needs saying.

 

Borderlands. Games can be shallow "get bigger guns" tactics but if you think through your character build and use your characters abilities it can be quite complex. Especially when playing with friends as you have to factor in teammates as well and what they bring to the table

[Beriallord]

Monster Hunter World has a pretty complex combat system, with a lot of depth and nuances in the gameplay. Itemization and character builds also factor in heavily to how well you perform as well. I've got like over 1500hrs in this game, and I'm still learning stuff. This isn't a game you're going to master in 100 or 200hrs, I don't care how much of a wizard you are. The top speed runners in this game all have thousands of hours, talking like 3K+ hours. Nobody gets that good without putting the time in.

[Kristyn30]

I'm fully agreed with @Beriallord that Monster Hunter World has a pretty complex combat system.

[gabrielrock19]

I'm fully agreed with @Beriallord that Monster Hunter World has a pretty complex combat system.

Hmmm yeah... maybe. But when I played Monster Hunter World all I did was yawn. The graphics weren't impressive for a 2017 game and the story was nearly non-existent. What's the point of fighting if the game is unable to hook you early on? Single-player games either need to be very fun (like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda) or very complex story-wise (like Heavy Rain, The Evil Within) to excel. Otherwise it feels as if the consumer is wasting their time fighting creatures, earning items, exploring dungeons, etc. What for? What's the point of leveling up and exploring the map if you're not having fun and/or not invested enough in a game?

Edited October 1, 2020 by gabrielrock19

[justis18]

I did not find that Monster Hunter World has a complex combat system

[drakkyn]

If you are not opposed to isometric ARPGs I highly recommend Grim Dawn. The base game with DLCs has 12 starter classes that you can combine to make powerful characters. Then you can add the Dawn of Mastery Mod to add an additional 30+ classes to combine to the game. The story is not super good but the gameplay loop is satisfying.

[brynnecaela]

I feel like most roguelikes fall under this category. It's gotta be pretty complex to keep you going; if you die, you figure that you have to try something different with your combat strategy next time to progress.