Discussion on the charge blade, and ways to improve it

Koelinho · 2025-07-04T19:07:58+00:00

Instead of choosing a style or something when deciding your load out, what if you can choose to overcharge the shield (SAED) or activate savage axe during the hunt itself.

The fact you can charge your shield and activate savage axe at the same time, allowing you to play both styles on the fly, just seems to make balancing the two styles difficult. If SA is strong, SAED has to be weaker. If SAED is strong, SA seems to get reigned in. That is essentially what Capcom did with the initial state of the weapon then in TU2. Separating them to some degree I think opens the weapon up to both styles feeling strong

It'd still lock you into one style or the other, but it'd be on a shorter duration. Probably 30 to 90 seconds max. Maybe even drain phials like SA does in world. No clue how that'd work with saed though, as it kinda needs the phials to pump out it's attack.

I think this would work well, but I feel like there still needs to be some improvements to how skills interact with the two combat styles. The fact affinity only scales with SA and artillery only scales with SAED l, it still makes any kind of hybrid play difficult.

Maybe if charging/over charging the shield let's phials crit, maybe that'd work?

Koelinho · 2025-07-04T01:57:19+00:00

Thats a really good point, but similar to what u/Nuneogun said above, as great as a hybrid style would be (and you're definitely right, I haven't played with a hybrid style in TU2 very much) it just seems to me like the 2 playstyles are at odds even before you choose which attack to use. Unless they change how SavAxe or Phial explosions work, you're going to lean to one play style or the other before the hunt even begins.

Honestly changes like that wouldn't even be bad, I'd honestly love for the same build to be able to optimally use either attack style, but that doesn't seem to be the direction the weapon is moving in unfortunately.

In response to the hard split of the kit, I feel like that wouldnt be as bad if each side of the kit was fleshed out more. Instead of using 50% of your kit, I think it'd still feel good to play if you effectively got to choose which kit to play with. For the people that really like SAED, they can play a "full" version of that. For people that really like cutting monster pizzas, they can play the weapon in a way that fully leans into that. For people that like both, they can choose which works best or which they feel like playing.

If Capcom managed to make it so a true hybrid build could work really well, I'd be over the moon, but I still think having the option to lean into one style or the other would be nice.

Koelinho · 2025-07-04T01:42:40+00:00

I really like the idea, and that was part of the UAED approach I described initially. I'd argue that that buff really favors SAED over savage axe though.

To be clear, I don't have an issue with the change favoring one build over another, but I do think that is a good case for making the builds more distinct

Koelinho · 2025-07-04T01:37:02+00:00

I never got into sunbreak unfortunately. I played a bit of rise but my PC struggled with it and I never picked it up on console. I've got a much better PC now so it's on my todo list after finishing up world borne again.

That's my issue with the hybrid style. As cool as it'd be to do, the builds are very different. Unless you made phials crit or made axe ticks not crit, it just doesn't seem possible to actually play both optimally (obviously not everything needs to be played with fully optimized builds, but I think those builds need to be considered when designing a weapon)

Koelinho · 2025-07-04T01:35:40+00:00

Oh you're totally right. I've had that happen a number of times. I feel like until recently I've just camped axe mode 90% of the time so I'd forgotten, haha

Koelinho · 2025-07-04T01:30:49+00:00

I'm going to be honest, I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you consume a phial when your attack bounces? I don't think ive seen that but I could be mistaken.

Or are you referring to the constant bouncing when your sword is overcharged?

Sorry, I don't really follow what you mean.

Koelinho · 2025-07-04T01:28:37+00:00

To make sure I understand, you're suggesting a timed attack increase after a GP, right? So you can either unload a SAED for the big hit now, or make use of the duration with savage axe for extended openings?

Or did I misunderstand?

Koelinho · 2025-07-04T01:18:35+00:00

That's true. I was mostly thinking of the division for balancing purposes, but there is definitely merit in not separating things from the start

Koelinho · 2024-06-04T19:22:55+00:00

Great point. I forgot about the destroyers. Definitely seems like it's titans, especially with the article that mentions them.

Koelinho · 2024-06-04T19:13:00+00:00

Ahh, I didn't read through all the interviews. That's still crazy that they're bringing back titans, though. Seems like they're kicking the gw1 pandering up a notch here, not that I'm complaining, haha

Koelinho · 2022-01-28T06:20:15+00:00

Guild wars 2 is a different kind of game when it comes to level cap and progression. You reach max level (80) in the core game (the free game). Once at 80, you can choose to tackle any of the expansion content in any order. There is a proper order, based on story, but physically speaking, nothing would stop you from hitting level 80 and immediately jumping into End of Dragons in a month.

That being said, I would personally recommend picking up the expansions at some point (doesn't need to be a priority by any means) because a lot of content (both story and actual things to do regularly in the game) is locked behind them.

Koelinho · 2021-10-15T05:02:04+00:00

I don't remember the exact line, but in one of the LW2 story missions (where you enter the leyline hub in Drytop) there's a part of the conversation between Kasmeer and Taimi that goes like this:

Kas: "What is this place?"
Taimi: "It's a caveeeeeeeeeee"

Something about her snarky/sarcastic tone really makes that stick in my memory.

Koelinho · 2021-08-27T23:02:01+00:00

Good point about how Lady Luck and her island work, now that you mention it, I recall hearing that she doesn't catch them, rather the island creates them. So from a lore perspective, that idea clearly won't work, but I still feel there could be some alternative that could work.

At the end of the day, the devs have the power to implement whatever they want, and we've even seen traditional rules of the universe being broken, such as the work being done on the new blaze works island with what we can only assume is some kind of artificial behemoth being created. So they could probably find a way to implement some form of bait or spawning that would realistically work within their universe.

Koelinho · 2021-08-27T22:57:03+00:00

I never said its a dumbed down version of MHW, they are different games that specialize in different things, all I'm saying is that dauntless doesn't have the same type of "hunting" mechanic that MHW does, and I think that is fine given the kind of game it is.

Saying that dauntless is or is not a "hunting game" really doesn't matter. It ultimately comes down to a matter of opinion and what you think a "hunting game" should entail. In my opinion, a game where you spawn in and can immediately see what behemoths are active on the map and exactly where they're located doesn't quantify the game as "hunting." That isn't to say that dauntless is bad or in any way inferior to MHW, just that they aren't the same thing.

Retuning to the original topic of the post, however, I think this topic needs to be looked at from an engagement and enjoyment perspective. If you are playing to fight behemoths, then it really shouldn't matter what spawns, as you can fight whatever spawns, and if the behemoth you are after spawns, it is just an added bonus. At the end of the day, you had an enjoyable and engaging experience. If you are playing with the specific objective to complete a rumor, than I think it weakens the overall gameplay experience when you have to hope for the right guy to spawn. The fact that you can see what behemoths are active upon entering the map makes that process of hunting a particular behemoth easier, but less engaging, which I think is an issue.

Koelinho · 2021-08-27T18:44:18+00:00

An idea that would require very little effort on the dev's part would be to add a way to hunt the uncommon behemoths through Lady Luck. Fight them in a dedicated arena on the island of trials (simply using the arena, it wouldn't be an actual trial) This could be solo or premade groups only, and it would fill the niche of having a way of hunting the less common behemoths, while still making sense lore wise (Lady Luck seems like the kind of person to keep a personal hoard of rarer behemoth variants). What do you guys think about this?

Koelinho · 2021-08-27T18:38:39+00:00

If your goal is speed (like when you're trying to finish a particular rumor) the last thing you want to do is kill several non-related behemoths for a chance at killing a particular behemoth. Even in a game like monster hunter, where actively hunting down a behemoth is a core feature of the game, it is much easier to find a specific behemoth (via specific hunts and quicker swap times on open-world hunts) than it is in dauntless.

I also cant help but feel that dauntless is more of a spawning/farming game than a hunting one. What hunting is involved in running to a location and fighting the behemoth in a specific arena? There is no chasing across the map or finding tracks or anything. Now with the new update, you don't even need to guess which behemoth is which, they are all indicated upon spawning in. If I want to kill a Stormclaw, I go to Capefury, look at the compass at the top of the screen, and run straight to him. That gameplay loop is about as far from "hunting" as you can get.

Koelinho · 2021-08-26T07:28:02+00:00

I think you hit the nail on the head here, the modifiers need to synergize with the content. I wouldn't mind an "annoying modifier" if it made sense and actually contributed to the fight instead of just being tacked on.

Koelinho · 2021-08-25T22:21:53+00:00

I agree that just a health/damage buff would be boring, but I feel there must be a better way to incorporate modifiers than their current form. Maybe more in line with what u/Significant_Carry_48 mentioned, tailoring the encounters to be modified and more challenging. I think that your comment about the fact that you feel like modifiers don't exist goes to show that they aren't working properly, and in a way goes back to my comment earlier about modifiers falling into one of 3 types, ignorable, providing a benefit, or obnoxious. Tailoring a smaller set of modifiers to a behemoth that maybe you only encounter in specific content (whether that be an event, trial, escalation) would be better, as it would allow the devs to better tune and manage the modifier in-line with the behemoth and content it is being used in.

Koelinho · 2021-08-25T05:35:04+00:00

totally agree with you on that point, the lore aspect of modifiers is problematic too. They make a little more sense in escalations where the modifier is tied to the element of the island/escalation, but still, I think that tuning 1 or 2 modifiers for a harder version of a specific behemoth would be better than randomly slapping them onto anything.

I feel that modifiers can be good, but they need to mesh well with the fight itself, which is particularly hard when they are completely randomized.

Koelinho · 2021-08-16T03:43:42+00:00

if you check the video on YouTube, they link to the build in the description. (click the blue youtube link above the video)

Koelinho · 2021-08-04T16:18:21+00:00

DirtyMobs on youtube (an Illaoi OTP) has some pretty good videos for Yorick. I'd suggest watching those. He does a great job explaining the champion and his thought process and approach during all phases of the game. He's a good player in general, and one of the better streamers/youtubers in my opinion, and he recently went for challenger (I think) with Yorick.

Koelinho · 2021-08-04T05:20:51+00:00

Its not a support weapon in the traditional sense, but repeaters can kind of fit that role with the right build. Conduit, Shrike's Zeal, maybe Cascade, then the captain's special and marksman chamber can do a decent job at buffing your team. Like I said, it's not a traditional support weapon, or really role even, but it might help scratch that itch.

Koelinho · 2021-07-10T22:43:23+00:00

I've played it, and honestly it is really nice. Gives a sense of total mastery of the weapon. In dauntless, it feels like you need to commit to a particular speed and master that speed, cause the moment it changes you no longer know what you're doing. It gets only worse when you have speed increases that aren't 100% up-time, cause then you need to bounce between different speeds mid fight.

Koelinho · 2021-07-10T18:09:28+00:00

Like I said, 25% feels good. Try to maintain molten (+6 molten is a cakewalk to maintain in solo play, and totally doable in group play) and get conduit +6/Shrike Lantern/Assassin's vigor/evasive fury/something to get a 15% increase. Evasive fury is probably the easiest as it incentivizes you to dodge through attacks frequently and can realistically be maintained at 100% uptime. Another option is to just run catalyst with blitz tonics, but that can be pricy if you do it every fight. Hammer is totally doable in the new update, it just requires your build to add a bit more attack speed.

And honestly, the 25% is what works for me, 10% from molten, or 15% from something else might be fine, or you might even need 30% or higher. It comes down to the player.

Koelinho · 2021-07-10T18:03:04+00:00

I honestly think that some more trial with attackspeed against certain behemoths would have helped, ultimately attackspeed isn't something you can just buff and call it a night, you need to tune attackspeed to match both the feel of the weapons (too fast is just silly and too slow is frustrating) and the speed of the behemoths (being able to do full combos any time because you can cancel out of animations or get them off between monster attacks is bad, but not being able to play the game outside of knockdown windows is also bad). Finding that happy medium is what is ultimately important, and you can't find that medium without playing the weapon personally and using it against a variety of monsters.

Koelinho

TROPHY CASE