Spotlight - Upcoming Combat Changes

Hello Paxians,

We know combat hasn’t been the strongest aspect of Pax Dei so far, but we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes, almost starting from scratch, to establish the foundations for a solid and dynamic combat system going forward. While this next content update will introduce some exciting additions, it’s just the beginning - significant improvements are on the way.

Creating a game like Pax Dei requires an iterative approach, and this is particularly true for combat. More updates will follow as we continue to refine the combat system.

With that in mind, let’s dive into some upcoming changes in the next content update.

Character Movement

First off, moving around the world will feel smoother. One major change is that running, not walking, will be the default movement speed. Currently, when your character is idling a bit, their movement is changed to walking instead of running.

Of course, we will keep the run/walk toggle - and the ability to sprint. And for those who prefer the current system, there will be an option in settings to re-enable it.

Additionally, swimming will be less taxing, as we plan to reduce the stamina cost for moving through water.

Last but not least, falling damage will be refactored to ensure consistency so you can better predict how much a fall may hurt.

Melee Combat

Melee combat is receiving a lot of love. 

When engaged in combat, your character will automatically face a target based on the direction you're looking in. Moving and rotating toward enemies during combat will allow for smoother movement in combat and target changes.

As part of improving responsiveness, we’ll also add a bunch of new early exit conditions for melee attacks. You’ll be able to interrupt your melee attacks by taking other actions like spellcasting, blocking, jumping, or performing special melee attacks. Most will only be available during the anticipation phase of the attack, but performing a special melee attack allows an animation to cancel from a regular melee hit directly to the special attack.

Many weapon animations will be retimed or remade to improve responsiveness and add forward momentum to attacks, making it much easier to hit moving targets with your attacks. You will also be able to aim attacks up or down to strike enemies at different elevations.

Hit detection will also be improved to better match actual weapon motion. For example, spears will deal damage in a line-shaped zone, while great axes will strike enemies in a circular radius, making the weapons feel more distinct.

Right now, it can be very difficult to hit fleeing animals and even frustrating. These changes should give a better feeling while hunting animals… and players. And speaking about PvP, we also consider testing a significant change where characters will be slowed down for a few seconds when hit by another player.

Additionally, blocking will come with more meaningful consequences. Holding the block button will prevent your stamina from regenerating (though food and potions will still work), and it will also force your character to walk, adding a bit more tactical depth to defensive play.

Equipping / unequipping items will be much easier thanks to an added input queue system that delays the equip action until it can take place. We will also increase the number of possible actions that can happen simultaneously with equips and unequips.

Spellcasting

For spellcasters, spell targeting will be reworked to be much more accurate, and the target will remain displayed during the entire casting process. This change ensures that you’ll always know whether your spell is aimed at the right player or enemy in case our improved targeting fails you.

Similarly, as with melee, spellcasting will be given a responsiveness pass to ensure the player always remains in control. You will be allowed to cancel spellcasting at any time during the spellcasting phase by moving, jumping, melee attacking, blocking, or equipping something else - allowing you to pre-cast spells or adapt to changing situations mid-battle.

Spells will also have casting bars to make it easier to read what spells your opponents use in PvE or PvP. This will allow you to make better decisions over which spells to interrupt.

Plus, we will add early-game spells, unlockable from loot in small PvE camps, offering more options to small groups and solo players.

Enemies

Many enemies will have their attack animations revisited, making it easier to anticipate their moves. These changes will add more telegraphing before attacks are performed, giving you a better chance to react.

Several user interface improvements will be made to give players more information during combat. Both enemy and player nameplates are going through changes to be more informative.

Enemy nameplates will indicate how powerful they are. The current implementation, as you can see in the video segment, shows their ‘level’ - which is somewhat ironic in a game where characters don’t have a level, but it is a first implementation on which we need to iterate. The goal is, of course, to help you assess whether you can handle the fight or… flee. The color of their health bars will also reflect if they are neutral or hostile.

These new nameplates will also be used by players and will be more readable in PvP, indicating at a glance whether an opponent is friendly or hostile.

Camera and Audio

We’re also making significant updates to the camera system. Camera collision events have been smoothed out, reducing the “jumpiness” you might experience when some objects block your view.

Additionally, if the camera gets too close to your character, your avatar will fade out to prevent your view from being blocked - and yes, this feature will also be present in the building mode.

Finally, we are adding camera smoothing to the melee system to handle sudden character movements during combat and make it more immersive.

On the audio front, we will add distinct audio cues for when your stamina is too low to perform an action and when you level up a skill. We’ll also add more grunt sounds for chained and combo attacks.

NPCs will also have more grunt variations, reflecting their health status and adding personality to the encounters with the Cultists of Zeb and the Inquisitors. We’ll also adjust the overall sound mix to improve clarity.

Looking Ahead

These changes are just the beginning - as you can see, we read your feedback, and we’ve made changes with your thoughts in mind, as well as our own experience and vision for the game. The next content update focuses on making combat feel more dynamic and responsive, but there’s much more to come.

As we continue to improve Pax Dei, we’ll work on role identity, balancing all spells, and making gear choices feel more impactful, especially when playing in groups. Expect more updates in the future as we polish these systems even further.

We’re looking forward to your feedback once the content update has been deployed to the live shards.

Pax vobiscum, The Mainframe Team