devtrackers.gg
As a low skill player I wanna piggyback this comment with my perspective!
So, just to give context, I started playing this day 1, had a blast, and then people started getting better and better at -this- kind of thing, and I eventually quit.
I DON'T want to learn to play like this. I have nothing but respect for the very skilled high-level players who delve this deep into the combat system, but to me I see this entire aspect of the game as a serious flaw in the combat system. 'Getting good' at the game no longer means getting good at mind games, feints, parries, dodging, footwork, judging distance and everything else that is actually good mechanics. Instead, it's essentially getting good at abusing the jank of the game, and learning to read when the enemy is about to abuse the jank of the game.
It doesn't feel right to use this. It feels janky. I feel like I'm abusing the game rather than getting good. It feels like an exploit, rather than a mechanic. I feel like the game would be fun again, like it was during those first few months, if drags/accels were removed.
But then again, by this point, the only people who are left in this game are probably the ones who love this aspect, so I don't think it's a reasonable approach.
I think it's undeniable that this is how a lot of players feel, but it's still really surprising. All of these mechanics were in some way expected and built around. Initially we thought "well, players don't like spinning, so we'll tone that down really hard", and we did. You don't see the sort of spinning that you might back in Chivalry days, etc. Yet, even without spinning, the slighest swing manipulation as seen in the video above, triggers people immediately. But the underlying reason isn't entirely clear, if you're willing to look at the big picture: we have people quickscoping in CoD, but nobody complains. We have people flying cars in Rocket League, and things are fine. Heck, CS:GO has its own wonky movement mechanics to compensate recoil that are pure jank.
'Getting good' at the game no longer means getting good at mind games, feints, parries, dodging, footwork, judging distance and everything else that is actually good mechanics.
This is exactly what it is, the same principles apply to these drags, even moreso. You use movement to counter them so they cannot be done to you, etc. People play at a high level and counter them just fine. It's not a problem of mechanics, it's a problem of actively not being interested in learning them. Which is really peculiar, when you consider what kind of weird stuff we put up with in other games.
Is it realistic? No. Is it realistic to learn spray patterns, influence them with movement as seen in shooters, etc, no. Interestingly enough, some concepts that people advocate for, like held parry are far more unrealistic than any of this -- just get a friend to try and hold a 'block' and see what kind of janky sh*t you can pull to stab his ass by binding against his weapon :) And worst of all, swords cutting through plate, of course. But strangely enough those aren't deal breakers for some people.
It's a really interesting thing we're observing with these games, that go against most if not all other genres. Clearly there's a niche of people who enjoy the gameplay, so maybe the problem is just that the niche isn't big enough, and the few games available in this niche can't satisfy everyone.