Hi everybody!
Today, we’re aiming to de-mystify some of the mechanics and reasoning behind combat and abilities in the game. We know that combat was a polarizing issue for many players in TSW, and understood that Secret World Legends was our chance to make combat feel more immersive, more responsive, and just plain old fun.
First, check out this video and see for yourself:
THE RETICULE
One of the major points of feedback we received from TSW was that players felt disconnected during combat. This then lead to not feeling immersed in the gameplay itself! A primary goal when designing Secret World Legends was to address these issues, which lead us to implementing Reticule Combat.
First and foremost, the game now controls like a third-person action game, with a WASD mouse-and-keyboard layout. We found the change in perspective lead to feeling more connected and immersed in the action. We knew this was the direction we wanted, but we also understood the challenge in making Reticule Combat right. After several iterations of the system and exhaustive beta feedback, we think we’re in a good place. We’ve also implemented several visual customizations directly based on beta feedback, including camera position and crosshair styles. Thanks, beta folks!
WEAPON IDENTITY
Another major goal was making sure each weapon had its own true identity, while also focusing on accessibility. While TSW featured 525 skills and abilities, the truth was that many of them lacked distinct flavor. Additionally, the layout of the system proved intimidating or even overwhelming for some newer players.
Each weapon now has a streamlined, distinct selection of abilities and their own separate pages for easy sorting. Additionally, every weapon now sports a unique “Speciality”, with passive skills and even equipment that can alter how these mechanics work.
We know how much you want precise details on each of these specialities, and we promise specifics on how these specialities work soon!
A CLASS ACT
To tie everything together, there are now starting loadouts, or classes, which come with 2 pre-selected weapons each. The tutorial is now tailored to each class, where you can learn about your weapons’ Specialities and mechanics–but that’s just the beginning. You can still unlock every other weapon and create your own combinations, with added bonuses as you unlock complete additional weapon pages.
We hope this helps answer some questions about what to expect with combat in Secret World Legends. We’ll be releasing additional small videos that showcase each weapon’s Speciality, and we’ll provide an in-depth look at what each weapon’s mechanics are in a future post.
Thanks for reading, everybody! We’ll see you in less than a month!
Sincerely,
Andy Benditt
Community Manager
Secret World Legends