This is a series of article about Combat of Versus: Battle of the Gladiator, planned to be posted regularly. If you want to know more please visit Vsgladiator.com
1 CONTROL, CHALLENGE, AND VICTORY
1.1 CONTROLLING YOUR CHARACTER
Combat of Versus is based on third-person view, non-targeting melee combat system. Well, that was pretty short. But please let me elaborate.
Attacking an opponent in Versus is similar to traditional FPS/TPS games. Aim where you want to attack, and press attack button. Your character will use an attack skill of your choice, and the character will swing or thrust their weapon(s, or use some different methods I forgot to mention). That weapon(s) will be tracked by system, and if it hits the opponent – Congratulations! That means you just hit your target!
You need only one or two keys to input an attack command. Your aim movement or moving direction will not change the way you attack. We have designed the control scheme in the way that once you get used to the command layout, you will not have much problem with controlling your character as you wish.
But it doesn't mean every attack you make will connect, nor every block will success. Sometimes it will be your aim. Or it could be the distance between you and the target. Your opponent could have used a counter or block to reflect your attack. Your opponent may use Guardbreaker or Grapple attack to counter your block. Maybe your opponent was simply faster than you and hit you first.
1.2 THE CHALLENGE OF COMBAT
The challenge of combat in Versus rises not from the difficulty of the command input, but from the decision you have to make.
How would you approach your opponent? Where will you position yourself? Where should you aim at? When should you strike? What kind of skill will you use as an opening? If this attack connects, what will you follow up with? Will you, or can you, chain this attack into a combo? Or should you hit and run?
What if this attack doesn't hit? Is there any way out of failure? In the first place, is it wise to engage now? Maybe you should run away. But can you run away? What if your opponent attack you first? Should you block it? Or roll away? Can you counter it? Or simply attack first to cancel your opponent’s attack?
The combat of Versus is a complex mind game, where reading your opponent's move and being aware of your surroundings are crucial to survive and win.
1.3 HOW TO WIN A BATTLE
Winning a fight is simple: kill your opponent and survive the fight. But winning a battle is different; for the most of game modes, it’s not about killing more, but about scoring higher.
When you make a kill, you will be rewarded with kill score. Kill score is designed to reflect the way you make your kill. The skill you used to make a kill affects your kill score the most. Attacks that are high-risk-high-return such as Power Attack and Counter, or attacks specifically designed for score such as Finisher will reward you with higher score. The combo you’ve built before making a kill also affects you in form of bonus score. The higher your combo count is, the higher your score bonus will be. If you earn a medal by your great performance such as long kill streak, killing with Counter, or killing with Finisher, you will also be awarded with bonus score.
By utilizing Counter or Finisher kill, stacked with medal bonus, you can turn the tide of battle with one great kill. On the other hand, if you just mindlessly kill your opponents only with mundane skills, you could be outscored by your opponent and lose the game even though you have higher kill count.
The only exceptions are game modes with no respawn. In these modes you must survive to win the battle. But even in these modes you would want to get a higher score, because higher score grants you with better combat reward. Which means, in turn, even if you lose a battle, you may be rewarded well if you scored high enough.
In the next article, I will cover the skill system of Versus. It is the center of combat of Versus, and quite simple to use yet complex to use well.
