Combat

The RPG's primary focuses are on progression and exploration; however, this doesn't mean combat is not an important part of the game. We want the combat system to be smooth and mesh into regular gameplay such that it enhances the other aspects of the game rather than distracts from them.

Input System

Our game uses a real-time combat system using the keyboard for movement and the mouse for aiming. Movement uses WASD with 8 directions of movement, while the player aims primary attacks and special abilities with the mouse cursor and left/right click and number keys.

Attacking

Weapons
Available keys: left click, right click by default (rebindable)

The player's currently equipped weapons determine the effect of their primary attacks. The player can have up to 2 weapons equipped at once, which set the left and right click attack respectively. These could be classic weapons such as swords or bows, or magic items such as staves or wands which change the player's attack to a basic spell. These attacks always have very short cooldowns and are the bread-and-butter spammable actions the player takes in combat. Primary attack modifiers gained from items or skills can change the type of attack dealt by a particular weapon. Weapons can be swapped in combat (?).

Abilities
Available keys: 0-3 slots depending on class; number keys [1,2,3] by default (rebindable)

Players can earn special active abilities based on their class and skill choices as they progress their character. These are often build-defining abilities that may be useful both in or out of combat, and maybe have short to long cooldowns depending on their effects. Since one of the main goals of combat in the RPG is to keep it simple and smooth, each character can only have between 0-3 active abilities at any time, with each class and skill path being more or less clicky-focused to give options to different playstyles. Abilities cannot be changed in combat, be can otherwise be re-specced along with other skill choices.

Combat Flow

Once player gains enemy aggro, either by getting too close or attacking, they enter combat state. This restricts passive healing, and prevents the player from changing their abilities through the UI. When combat ends, the player quickly regenerates their lost health after a slight delay.