The introduction of necromancy brought significant changes to combat, particularly in terms of damage potential, critical strikes, and hit cap adjustments. These changes were widely regarded as successful, making combat more accessible and enjoyable. Now, there is a growing demand for similar improvements in the original combat styles. This post, we will explore the potential impact of replicating these changes in magic, ranged, and melee combat.

Increased Hit Caps

One notable change is the increased hit caps, which have been raised to 30,000 for necromancy. This alteration has greatly enhanced the power of necromancy, allowing players to consistently deliver strong hits. The death's grasp special attack, for instance, can reach the 30,000 mark, making necromancy exceptionally potent compared to the original combat styles. If these increased hit caps are implemented for magic, ranged, and melee combat, it will predominantly affect melee. This is because the ultimate ability "Berserk" in melee combat boosts all melee damage by 100%, doubling the impact compared to "Sunshine" and "Death Swiftness".

Currently, the hit cap for normal hits is 10,000, and 12,000 for critical strikes in the original combat styles. With Berserk active in melee, players frequently hit the damage cap due to dealing double damage. To overcome this limitation, melee builds often rely on items like the grimoire and the Dark Shard of Lang to raise the damage cap to a maximum of 20,436 for a critical strike. By increasing the regular hit cap to 30,000, similar to necromancy, and raising critical strikes to 32,000, melee combat will become immensely powerful and enjoyable. Mod Sponge has already started testing these changes, as shown in a recent post, which demonstrates the potential power of melee combat with two 30,000 hits, a 21,000 hit, and an 8,000 hit using the Dragon Claws special attack. However, further testing is necessary to ensure that the increased hit caps strike the right balance and prevent any combat style from becoming overpowered.

Three Problems Combat Styles Can Face

There are three main problems that a combat style can encounter. The first is the lack of impactful damaging abilities. Melee combat, fortunately, does not suffer from this issue, as it boasts the strongest damage-boosting ability in the game, Berserk, along with other powerful abilities like Assault, Destroy, Hurricane, and various special attacks such as Dragon Claws.

The second problem is the difficulty in generating adrenaline. Melee combat faced this challenge for a while until the release of the Jaws of the Abyss and the Vestment of Havoc robes, which significantly improved adrenaline generation for melee. This update provided a substantial buff to melee combat.

The third problem arises from damage being capped based on hit caps. Melee combat has been affected by this issue, as the hit caps are significantly lower compared to necromancy. However, if the hit caps are increased threefold, melee combat will become extraordinarily powerful. Finding the right balance is crucial, and additional testing will help determine the optimal hit caps to make melee viable without overpowering it, while also providing buffs to ranged and magic combat styles.

Buffing Ranged and Magic

Ranged and magic combat styles will also receive buffs with increased hit caps, albeit not to the same extent as melee. Since "Sunshine" and "Death Swiftness" only increase damage by 50%, reaching the hit cap will be less frequent. Nonetheless, the increased hit cap will offer a significant damage boost to both styles. While they may not always hit the hit caps, these changes will enhance their overall damage output.

Simplifying the Critical Strike System

Necromancy introduced a simplified and intuitive Critical Strike system, which was a drastic change from the convoluted system in the original combat styles. In the original styles, there were two types of crits: natural crits and forced crits. Natural crits occurred when an ability dealt 95% to 100% of its ability damage, while forced crits required specific perks and items to increase the chance of hitting a high roll.

Necromancy's Critical Strike system, on the other hand, offers a base 10% chance to critically strike, which can be increased through perks and passives. When a Critical Strike occurs, damage is increased up to a maximum of 75% at level 120 necromancy. This system allows for higher damage potential compared to the original styles, where the maximum damage output was limited. Necromancy's Critical Strike system provides players with more consistent and powerful hits, resulting in a more satisfying combat experience.

Normalizing Damage Ranges

Another significant change introduced by necromancy was the normalization of damage ranges with abilities. This alteration reduced the reliance on RNG (random number generation) and made combat more consistent. In the original combat styles, many abilities had wide damage ranges, introducing variability inthe damage output. This meant that players could experience a wide range of damage results, leading to unpredictable combat encounters.

Necromancy addressed this issue by narrowing the damage ranges of abilities, resulting in more reliable damage outputs. This change not only improved combat consistency but also helped in balancing the combat styles. Replicating this normalization of damage ranges in magic, ranged, and melee combat would provide similar benefits, making combat encounters more predictable and allowing players to strategize accordingly.

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