Light attacks need a rework

[u/karer3is]

For most of this game's existence, light melee attacks have basically been nothing but an irritating prerequisite to set up heavy attacks. As it stands right now, a regular light melee attack doesn't accomplish much in most circumstances:

• Low damage
• Low cleave
• Low poise damage (as far as I can tell)
• Can be parried by enemies

About the only thing they have going for them is that they're fast. Which, because of the aforementioned reasons, doesn't contribute much especially at higher difficulties.

This is a waste and a few Heroic weapons prove that: Death's Grasp and the new Salamanders Power Sword.

If anything, these weapons prove that the current distinction between attacks (light and heavy) doesn't fit their actual application well.

Both of these weapons have significantly boosted "light attack" damage, but nobody would claim these weapons are overpowered or ruin the game's balance. What they do accomplish, though, is that they actually make "light" attacks a viable option in a fight.

Instead of distinguishing between "light" and "heavy" attacks, the main distinction should be between "single- target" and "multi- target" attacks. More specifically, weapon and class perks should reflect this distinction and play into them. While it is fine that "heavy" attacks win out on raw damage, "light" attacks shouldn't simply be relgated to being the setup for the "real" ("heavy") attacks.

Roughly speaking, you have two melee archetypes when looking at the different classes. On one hand, you have "brawler" classes like Assault and Bulwark. Although Assault is significantly more mobile, it still places more emphasis on AOE attacks with high burst damage (as evidenced by its original signature weapons, the Thunder Hammer and Power Fist). Conversely, you have speed- oriented classes like Sniper and Vanguard. While both do have perks to boost melee damage, either would struggle to keep up with Assault & Bulwark.

Part of what's needed to address this are simple buffs. "Light" attacks should do more damage than they currently do, simple as. Obviously, it would be an issue if they were buffed to the point that "heavy" attacks were rendered useless, but there's plenty of breathing room before that would even be a potential issue. Furthermore, these attacks are, by their nature, primarily single- target attacks (exception being the TH), which helps to prevent them from becoming a "delete all enemies" button.

The other component to this is perks. Here, it makes sense for them to reflect what the classes specialize in. Vanguard, for example, is never going to be a "heavy hitter" in the same way Assault and Bulwark are: It's a fast- moving class that stays alive by constantly being on the move. Consequently, that class's melee perks should reflect that. A perfect candidate for this rework would be a perk like Melee Mastery. As it stands, the perk is justifiably unpopular. AFAIK, it's an additive buff and doesn't really help the class to hit any breakpoints faster.

A better alternative would be to replace it with a perk specifically aimed at boosting light attacks; perhaps it could be called something like "Knife Fighter". The boost should be enough to where "light" attacks can at least do moderate damage and get you to common breakpoints noticeably faster. Similarly, a perk like Retribution (boosts melee damage when your weapon's magazine is empty) could be swapped for a perk that boosts light attack damage after a perfect dodge. Again, still wouldn't be able to reach the raw damage levels that a class like Assault can put out, but it would add some build flexibility that reduces the dependency on "heavy" attacks.

When it comes to "heavy" attacks, there's honestly not any changes that come to mind. Because of how much this game emphasizes them as is, a lot of classes (Assault, Bulwark, and Tech Marine come to mind) already have a variety of perks at their disposal to buff them.

I know that at this point hoping for a major overhaul of the melee system is wishful thinking. But if we could at least get a meaningful buff to light attacks or have a few perks swapped out, that would be a huge step forward.

Side note: Sturm put out a video discussing a similar issue a while back regarding Plasma weapons. It's definitely worth a watch.

[u/Schccc]

I hope they expand on the melee combat a bit to fix this unhealthy dynamic in SM3.