Taival Mechanics #13: Combat Styles
This time we’re taking a brief look into the combat mechanics we have planned out for adventurers in Taival. Most games handle weapons essentially having different attack speeds and damage numbers. We want every weapon type to have depth and flavour to make each fight have something different. That's why you can wield shaman drums or shields as weapons, while still having more familiar axes and swords available for those who like to keep things simple.
Now, before we get into the details, keep in mind: a lot of this is still being tested. We’re prototyping different styles, tuning numbers, and figuring out what feels right. So while these options exist in concept (and in some cases, in code), they’re not set in stone.
Melee Combat
We have both basic and not so basic alternatives:
One-handed sword – Fast and agile, single-target dueling.
Two-handed sword – Still quick, but built for cleave attacks.
One-handed blunt – Slower, meatier hits for single targets.
Two-handed blunt – Big, heavy swings with AoE potential.
Spear – Longer range pokes, decently quick.
Shield – For stuns, crowd control, and confident tanky play.
Each weapon type feels different. Attack speed, cleave vs. single-target, locking movement, heavy attacks... We have covered all the basic melee styles with these weapon types, although we are taking suggestions and improvement ideas. That applies to each category!
Magic Combat
Every fantasy game needs to have a bit of magic, so here's our weapon types in that category:
Staff – Continuous casting, can hit single targets or pierce through enemies.
Wand – Quick projectiles and short-range cleave heavy attacks.
Spell book – Longer casting time, but big area effects (think meteors falling from sky or summoning a lava whirlpool).
We liked the idea of how in some games a single staff has a single function, but extended that feature to other magical weapons, too. We also categorized different kinds of casting and spell types to different weapon types. Now, when you loot a chest and find a spell book, you know instantly it's going to give you an AoE attack of some kind and get excited to check out if it's a completely new one!
Bard Combat
This one’s very (very, very) experimental, but very promising!
Drum – Rhythm-based AoE combos that does damage around you and buff allies or weaken foes if you nail the beat.
String instrument – Light and heavy combos with ranged attacks.
Wind instrument – Hold and maintain the tone on a moving bar to ramp up damage.
These are wildly different from other styles and still deep in testing. We’re figuring out how forgiving rhythm mechanics should be, and how much risk vs. reward they should offer. These kinds of weapons are unheard of in open world RPGs (as far as we're aware of), and would really set Taival apart from others in the genre.
Ranged Combat
We’re also trying out various ranged weapons that lean into creativity and playstyle variety:
Slingshot – Fire items from your inventory. Chaos optional.
Bow – Charged shots for single-target precision.
Crossbow – Hitscan simplicity, slower reload.
Fishing rod – Hook enemies or pull yourself toward them (of course you can still go fishing with the fishing rod, this is just an alternative use (or the main use?)).
Zipline launcher – Trap enemies in a "no escape" zone.
Each ranged weapon has unique mechanics under evaluation, like charge time, aim speed, locking player movement, and we want to know what feels fun without becoming clunky or overpowered.
Again, everything here is part of ongoing design and prototyping. We're building the combat system with flexibility in mind, and your feedback will shape how far each style evolves. Some of these ideas might become core features. Others might transform or even get benched. But we'll need to implement these first and start getting feedback (and rock-solid data) on how they feel to players.
The combat styles are in highly experimental phase as we speak so no GIFs this time, we'll let your imagination go wild on these :P
As always, thank you for walking this path with us.
- The Taival Team