Developer Diary #6 - Combat

Morbid: The Seven Acolytes

Morbid: The Seven Acolytes is a Horrorpunk Action RPG filled with Lovecraftian horrors and Cronenbergian gore, making it the most gruesome take on the isometric Souls-like genre yet!

Greetings, Striver! Last month, we introduced some of the weapons and the four melee combat styles you can experience. This month, we will show you the main types of player movements you get to use in the game and how the combat has grown through the game’s development in Morbid: The Lords of Ire. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/fc10c018df5c11cd7f3ec42bac8db710827e360d.png[/img] [h3]General Combat[/h3] In Morbid: The Lords of Ire, combat is fluid like a dance - by keeping active, you can get the most out of combat and kill more enemies with ease. By timing your blocks and attacks, you are able to reserve more stamina and fare better in your battle against evil. [h3]Basic Attacks[/h3] Swing your weapon to perform a range of combo attacks. Combos are different depending on your weapon class and wielding style. [h3]Rage Breaker[/h3] When an enemy becomes Enraged it cannot be staggered. When you encounter a raged enemy, perform a Rage Breaker attack to break through before they regain their posture. [h3]Riposte[/h3] When an enemy hit is about to land on you, parry the strike and perform a brutal counterattack. It is important to keep in mind that some powerful attacks cannot be parried. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/534005715f8bcb2c1dd59f8b6511bca696a71a4c.gif[/img] [h3]Perfect Block[/h3] It is important to note that, while blocking, your stamina regenerates at a slower rate. However, perfectly timed blocks restore Stamina, impact enemy Posture, and also rebound most projectiles. [h3]Critical Blow [/h3] Once enemy posture is gone, you can perform a Critical Blow on the staggered foe. This deals enormous amounts of damage and is often lethal. This move also fully restores the Striver’s stamina bar. In some situations, you may choose to use the Spectre Blaser instead to deliver the Critical Blow. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/1cf3100f9dbcfe33acf1f6da8369baf54bb046d6.gif[/img] [h3]Sneaking and Backstab[/h3] Sneaking allows the player to approach tougher encounters discreetly, and possibly gain the upper hand with a powerful backstab. A successful backstab takes away a lot of posture and health, and in some cases, when the posture is fully drained, it outright kills the enemy on a single hit. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/31a616070ad06c7985fa8bb08b52eca685c72de2.gif[/img] [h3]Spectre Blaster[/h3] The Spectre Blaster is attuned for staggering foes, rather than dealing damage. It is a supporting tool for melee combat with which one can interrupt dangerous attacks. The Spectre Blaster holds a single slug and can be reloaded by slaying an enemy. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/69ef6f00c38575dfc64ff0fa1545740eb1f2b621.gif[/img] [h3]Dash[/h3] Dash allows you to make a quick evasive move in any direction. This move is good for dodging smaller attacks and gaining an advantage during combat as it uses less of the Striver’s stamina. [h3]Dodge Roll[/h3] Perform a Dodge Roll to avoid larger attacks. The player is invulnerable while dodge rolling, and although you can dodge a greater distance, it will cost you more stamina. [h3]Lunge Attack [/h3] This move is earned separately through a Blessing. You can Lunge Attack from a dodge roll, which allows for the evasive manoeuvre to be used as an offensive move. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/fc10c018df5c11cd7f3ec42bac8db710827e360d.png[/img] We have come a long way since our previous release, Morbid: The Seven Acolytes, and want to thank everyone who has played the demo and given us feedback, which we are constantly reading through. Whilst we appreciate all the souls-like fans, it’s important to note that we’re not trying to represent a souls-like game but a more fast-paced hack-and-slash action game with souls-like elements. Morbid: The Lords of Ire is continuously under development and we will keep making the combat in our game the best it can be! And lastly, we thought we’d show you some behind-the-scenes shots of the motion captures taken by the developers at the Still Running studio. Almost every animation you see in-game is created in real life using motion capture (and yes, that is the CEO of Still Running stumbling around)...enjoy! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/8275d9b9d3569e2cdd54da216b5f7cdb2c32b351.gif[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/85432a954fd42bb1a889b50f79dadf72286f1ced.gif[/img] [i]One of the first motion captures we ever did for Morbid: The Lords of Ire (Cosmian Reborn enemy)[/i] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/a9386ee4c9a7b2e6ec79f3d092f0507b7a87f00a.gif[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/b18fa56ba40904dcf253f8027aaca7045766c85d.gif[/img] [i]Another early motion capture session for the Tusker Champion enemy[/i] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/7c5467f0a883f0c817391c6c320617363fc37923.png[/img] [i]Having fun with Battle Brute (props are important!)[/i] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43609920/fc10c018df5c11cd7f3ec42bac8db710827e360d.png[/img] If you haven't tried the demo yet be sure to play it now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2171560/Morbid_The_Lords_of_Ire/ Keep up to date on all-things Morbid by checking out our [b][url=https://linktr.ee/morbidthegame]Linktr.ee![/url][/b]