[2021] My Two Cents on the Chain Blade rework.

I've used exclusively Chain Blades since the update and I think formed enough of an opinion on them:

1. Chain Pull change.

The change makes pulling feel a lot more cumbersome to execute. I don't see why it was simply changed to make the pull cost no momentum on pressing the special button, since all specials are used in melee range anyways. The biggest issue for me now is on occasion a chain pull isn't registered and is interrupted by a slow heavy attack instead and vice versa. Pretty frustrating on controllers too since I instinctively hold directional buttons while attacking.

1. Momentum on Reaper's Dance

It's somewhat of an interesting change since it eliminates the need to spam the pull attack to reach the 10 charges for the slam, simplifying the special greatly, however comes at the cost of losing all momentum which makes the player more vulnerable after use. It also punishes players for using momentum to dodge, which is a major downside for me. IMO perhaps some meter should recharge on a successful air slash.

1. Lacerating Attacks.

I'm not sure why a completely new combo was made for this instead of adding wound damage to the old ones. They've lost range utility (which tbf was pretty niche) for more practical wounding capabilities, but slowness is still there much like the old combo, making their use equally as dissatisfactory. I wouldn't mind if their damage was heavily nerfed in favor of attack speed.

Overall thoughts:

I think major issue I have now with Chain Blades now is that mobility/dodging is now competitive with specials for momentum when they used to be synergistic. Lacerating attacks are way more useful than the old heavy attacks, but are in a bit of an odd spot in a very fast kit, somewhat disturbing the rhythm of the fast paced Chain Blade. I do believe the changes simplify the Chain Blade kit a lot, but in that process, somewhat gutted the interactions between the different parts of the kit.