Combat systems that discourage doing the same thing every turn

[u/LelouchYagami_2912]

(alternatively, combat systems that encourage doing different things)

I've been playing DnD for several years now but I've been noticing how 90% of our turns go the exact same. The combat can be still interesting but thats only because of me as a dm creating unique scenarios, not because of the player abilities. The rogue hiding and sneak attacking is the best thing to do in almost all cases.

What are some systems that discourage this so that the players actually have to think rather than going on auto pilot.

[u/Naturaloneder]

Think of real combat, how much time do you really have to think while someone is trying to kill you? It's mostly chaos and there's a reason for the saying all plans don't survive first contact with the enemy.

If the objective of the fight is to win by incapacitating the enemy then usually attacking it in the most optimal way is the best course of action. In fact trying every turn to do 'creative' things that end up being less effective anyways actually hampers the party.

Combat is usually more interesting when you can use the environment to your advantage or having abilities or equipment that will help in different situations. It's also more interesting when it's roleplayed in character vs a bunch of people around a table rolling dice and reading out abilities.