First I want to say that I love the fact that skills have tiers, and the differing tiers alter the skills in a meaningful manner (and not just +1% damage, or something similar). I hope the tiers are here to stay.
That being said, I really think that having to charge (and by that, I mean hold down the skill button) every skill is very disruptive for a smooth and responsive game play experience.
For example, I don't think skills like piercing dash, fireball, or berserker style should require any charge time. I think you could keep the mechanic of holding the skill until released for aiming purposes, but the highest rank of the skill should always be fired off. If a user wants to cast a lower rank of a skill (for mana cost reasons, I suppose), then perhaps users could equip the lower rank skill specifically to a quick slot.
The reason for this (in my opinion) would be to maintain fast paced game play. I think the current game engine feels amazing - block canceling, movement, and skill release all feel very responsive. The only mechanic which doesn't feel fluid to me is the need to constantly hold and release every skill. I should also note that I'm not looking for unlimited skill spam. I believe the mana costs should still be restrictive enough that skills aren't being spammed over and over again (I think mana costs are currently at a good point).
I think charging some skills works great. For example, charging meteor works fantastically. I love the feel of building a huge meteor to drop on enemies. Whirlslash feels the same to me, and dodging strike works great as well (although, that is a little different since the first button press fires off right away). I'm just not sold that every skill needs to be a charged skill.
That being said, I really think that having to charge (and by that, I mean hold down the skill button) every skill is very disruptive for a smooth and responsive game play experience.
For example, I don't think skills like piercing dash, fireball, or berserker style should require any charge time. I think you could keep the mechanic of holding the skill until released for aiming purposes, but the highest rank of the skill should always be fired off. If a user wants to cast a lower rank of a skill (for mana cost reasons, I suppose), then perhaps users could equip the lower rank skill specifically to a quick slot.
The reason for this (in my opinion) would be to maintain fast paced game play. I think the current game engine feels amazing - block canceling, movement, and skill release all feel very responsive. The only mechanic which doesn't feel fluid to me is the need to constantly hold and release every skill. I should also note that I'm not looking for unlimited skill spam. I believe the mana costs should still be restrictive enough that skills aren't being spammed over and over again (I think mana costs are currently at a good point).
I think charging some skills works great. For example, charging meteor works fantastically. I love the feel of building a huge meteor to drop on enemies. Whirlslash feels the same to me, and dodging strike works great as well (although, that is a little different since the first button press fires off right away). I'm just not sold that every skill needs to be a charged skill.
