In the world of active combat, the mechanics are split between two separate yet equally important combat styles. The first is the open free-aiming sort of combat, wherein you can just swing your attacks wherever you want and let the impact land where it may, allowing you freedom of movement as you wish and sometimes letting you hit multiple things at once. The other is a more constrained format in which you’re expected to lock on to something and beat it down, even if you’re ducking attacks from other enemies at the same time.
The former obviously has lots of pedigree, and no shortage of MMOs with action combat from WildStar to Destiny 2 have leaned in hard on the idea of letting you aim without guidance. This is totally fine. At the same time, more active games can also wind up with fun combat while requiring targets; The Elder Scrolls Online keeps its combat brisk despite feeling like you do, in fact, need to lock on to things. So what do you prefer in MMO action combat? And if you don’t prefer action combat in the first place, which one do you at least dislike less?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
