Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity - Original Sin - General 12 ways to improve turnbased RPG combat

Very nice editorial about turnbased combat in RPGs:

12 Ways to Improve Turnbased RPG Combat.

Here are the bullet points -- read the full article for in-depth explanations.



My favorite tactical RPG is King's Bounty: The Legend (one of the few I know anyway). Combat was utterly addicting in that game, and it was almost all Combat. It pretty much followed all of those bullet points.


Now, the interesting part is of course: How does Original Sin fare so far?

1. Use space.
   This is missing. We really need a grid overlay during combat, to be able to better judge distances and plan your moves. This was mentioned somewhere already and Larian said they wanted to try it out.
2. At least six characters.
   (edit) 2 protagonists, 2 henchmen, 2 summons.
3. Specialize the Characters.
   We don't have classes, but players usually specialize and follow classic paths. They need to be pushed, gently, into specialization. There need to be clear roles in combat with their own advantages and disadvantages. Examples for various roles include tank, healer, physical fighters (close range, medium-range, long-range), skirmish, hit-and-run, crowd control, buffing and debuffing, magical damage (AoE and single target). Sure, one character could employ more than one role, but that muddles the waters somewhat.
4. Specialize the Enemies.
   No worries here. Determining the capabilities of enemies would make the "identify monsters" skill rather important.
5. Variable distance.
   Check.
6. Directional facing.
   This is planned AFAIK (bonus for attacking from behind or the sides, etc.).
7. Variable Terrain.
   We have variable terrain that provide natural choke points or cover. Not sure if we have terrain bonuses, or even terrain bonuses for different character types (standing in a pool reduces movement points, standing on a road increases them (like in Civilization); or even general bonuses or maluses for the current environment (forest, city, dungeon)).
8. Manipulable terrain.
   Check. Walls of fire, ice, traps as barriers to create choke points, moving items and building your own shelter. Earth magic would probably excel in this.
9. Resource management.
   Check. Action points that force the player to weigh actions with different cost against each other = good. Huge spells take up more than light spells, etc. There could even be really powerful stuff that requires you to do nothing for one or more round.
10. Multiple attack options for units.
    Check. Use up your action points for a powerful blow or attack with mild force and save action points for defense? (Is "defend against next attack" in as an action? Or defensive spells / actions in general?)
11. Support multiple objectives.
    Not sure what Original Sin offers. There should be more than win/loss situations, like classic "protect the diplomat or princess", "don't hit innocent bystanders", "keep the enemy leader from fleeing", surprises during combat like timely reinforcement (possible for both sides), enemies switching sides who provide mini quests, post-effects of the actual fight, etc.
12. Allow delayed attacks.
    We have attacks of opportunity. Counterattacks and retaliation are also a nice mechanic (e.g. melee against melee, maybe ranged against ranged, so the player would want to attack melee enemies at range and vice versa)