

AC:Valhalla has some severe issues with combat. The biggest one is related to how stamina works for NPCs. I will explain it in three steps:
(1) What I would intuitively expect from a pseudo-realistic stamina implementation in video games,
(2) the way it currently IS implemented into the game,
(3) the way it SHOULD be implemented into the game.
(1) Stamina should have one major purpose: Define a state for your character that affects what he is able to do at a given time. If you are out of stamina, then you are out of breath, severely reducing your capability of performing tiring actions like lifting a weapon or shield, sprinting, dodgeing, etc.
(2) There are two stamina systems in the game: The one for Eivor and the one for NPC enemies, especially bosses.
(2a) If the player runs out of stamina, Eivor cannot dodge nor parry anymore. Regarding the stuff written above this is a good implementation because it elevates the game above simplistic "hack'n'slash-click-spam" as the player has to think about his actions. Stamina is a regenerating and actions cost stamina which is even affected by the weight-stat on your equipped gear.
(2b) For bosses and enemies stamina is a non-regenerative stat (it's not even called stamina, but "stun"), displayed by one or more yellow bars above their health, that can be taken away by parrying their attacks, hiting them with heavy attacks or by destroying "weak spots" on their bodies.
=> Not only is this absolutely [censored] taking into consideration what stamina actually is (1), it also takes away every feeling of reward for your good timings.
(3) This is what a proper implementation of stamina would look like:
I don't think these suggestions are anything new to the world of gaming. I lack any understanding how the current unintuitive and unrewarding design could have been developed and could have been rated fun.
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Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.
last edited by Letho-2469