Post by Wolfeye on Jul 31, 2015 4:29:05 GMT
So I've been trying to avoid this one for a long time, but seeing as I've been suggested to write something on it more than once, I guess I'll finally do it (although we do have other things related to it in the database). Suppose it was about time to have a formal breakdown of what this is, how it works, and how to use it. I will be sure to include a Too Long; Didn't Read section at the bottom for people who don't want to bother reading my long explanation and just want a cut-and-dry "How do I do it?" answer. However, the simpler answer is really not the best way to understand the game if you're new to all these concepts. That's kind of why the rest is there, it's not just for decoration.
*Special thanks to Dzonkis for his wonderful video editing skills!*
** I can already tell before I even post this that there will be some level of controversy over how I refer to things. All I have to say toward that is, how something is called matters very little as long as the concept you are trying to explain has been received properly. If you see anything here that you don't agree with content wise, however, feel free to comment because I want this to be as accurate as I can possibly make it. **
Quick Definitions:
Static - Unmoving
Sustained - Over periods of time
Convergent: Coming closer together; sort of like combining
Section One - The Goal
Due to JKA's wonderful physics engine, the idea is pretty simple. The longer an attack is inside of someone, the more damage it does. In other words, an overhead W swing will do more damage than other swings (assuming you aren't doing anything to effect the swing except pressing a direction and the attack button) because the swing will enter and remain in a person longer. So, remember this for all the below sections, because this is what it comes back to in the end: Doing as much damage as possible with a singular swing. Also note that I will be referring to this concept as a "Sustained Attack" for the duration of this lesson.
Section Two - What is a Poke?
Well, this is often a topic of debate. The issue people usually have with this, is whether or not the "Poke" refers to a single move, or the concept as a whole. In my opinion, the word "Poke" always has, and always will, refer to the singular attack using a D-swing with this concept because it creates an action that looks like you're effectively "poking" another person. However, the concept that is used for this attack functions the same with literally every other swing in the game. For the purposes of this lesson, I am going to refer to the concept the Poke works by as a Convergent Attack. The reason for this is so that there will be no confusion when I later attempt to explain how this functions in attacks outside of the basic D-swing, and to get people out of the mindset that this effect only works with a singular attack, when it, in fact, works everywhere. It is also to separate each of the "stages" I view this concept as having. Not everyone will necessarily agree with how I've chosen to define and explain this, but the overall facts of how it works still remain the same.
Section Three - Static Attacks
A static attack, in this context, is an attack that does not move. What do I mean by "does not move" exactly? Well, the concept is simple: If you swing a saber, your goal is that the saber stays in exactly the same spot throughout the duration of your attack. Generally speaking, this is done by turning the mouse in a certain way as to ensure that, even though the attack is in motion, the saber will not move. In this case, the action of poking is to swing the saber with a standard D-swing, and then turn your mouse to the left throughout the swing so that it never leaves that position. If a person were to stand in the spot where you use a standard strong style poke in, they would immediately die because the saber is staying in them for such a long duration of time.
Section Four - Static Attack vs Sustained Attack
This is not always what you want though. Allow me first to make an analogy: Do any of you remember the whole "Squares can be rectangles, but rectangles can't be squares" thing? Don't answer that, of course you have, it’s a rhetorical question. So, in this case, Static Attacks can be Sustained attacks, but not all Sustained Attacks are always static.
"Why, Wolf, what on Earth are you on about? What attacks can be sustained but not static?"
Well, take for example, a W swing. You can't keep a W swing in one place. You can kind of attempt to do it, but it just isn't going to work. However, if someone was to jump in the air at the same time as you, and you're mid-W swing, you'd be keeping the swing in them the whole time while the swing itself isn't necessarily static. This kind of also applies during general combat too. In reality, a fully-static swing is not only extremely hard, but also extremely ineffective. Your opponent is always moving, and you're not going to hit them by sitting still trying to keep your saber in a single place.
It is for these reasons that you have to be flexible. This brings me to the next part...
Section Five - Convergent Attacks
I've decided to call this a Convergent Attack for two reasons. Reason one, it makes me sound like I know what I'm talking about despite the fact I'm writing a long article about how to swing a sword in a video game. Reason two, because it is the compilation of what you get when you merge Static Attacks with regular combat in order to create something that can have sustainable damage.
While this next part may sound kind of obvious, let me be the first to say that when I first started playing, I thought poking was the stupidest thing ever because sitting still and pointing your saber hoping to make contact with things seemed impossible. The idea is, you're not going to stay fully static. You're going to follow your opponent with the saber and keep it pointed at them for the entire strike. You’re going to poke, but you’re going to stay in movement while you do it. If your opponent moves, you need to follow. If your opponents trajectory is adjusted, your attack's position needs to be adjusted to compensate for the new position.
Section Six - Strategies and their advantages and disadvantages
So, thus far, the Poking Concept has told you that you should always keep your saber at your opponent, right? Well, yes and no. If you always 100% keep the saber at them through the whole strike in every strike, you can have defensive advantages (being able to block everything), but you also leave yourself open to parries. Sometimes, you may only want to use a part of the strike. A basic outline of an attack is a three part process (you can learn the advanced five-part process from the Theory of Blocking):
1. The beginning, which is weak-ish
2. The part that kills you. Blocking this is incredibly hard.
3. The end that is also weak-ish
In other words, sometimes, it is best to wait to connect your strike until that mid-section of maximum momentum so that you wont be blocked and can crush your opponents far easier. This is all a matter of situation, though.
Section Seven - Wiggling and it's place in a Poke
If you're looking for information on wiggling, there is a whole post on it here. But to simplify, a wiggle is best used only when you connect the strike. Yes, you can combine wiggling concepts and poking concepts, and it gives a devastating effect. For good examples of this concept by itself, and when mixed with wiggling, here's a video:
Video provided by the Random Clan Database Video Team (RCDVT), otherwise known as Wolf and Dzon with youtube and devmap
Why am I telling you all this?
I guess the aim of what I’m trying to get across, is to not have a single-minded thought process when you approach combat. It’s not about keeping the saber in one spot, as you may infer from simply learning how to poke, and its also not just about using a singular attack or making use of the concept in one specific way. It’s about using each attack in the most efficient way possible. You don’t always want to use the whole strike, you don’t always want to have the saber at the opponent, you want to use whatever is best for the given circumstance. This can be an incredibly hard thing to learn, but you cannot learn it by holding to a single ideal, you have to experiment with it. It is a lesson that cannot be taught, and can only be learned through experience. Abusing it can be just as bad as not using it at times. Do not think that learning to poke will instantly make you the #1 ESL player in JKA. It enables you to begin to understand its fundamental principles.
TL;DR, so how does this work?
Turn the opposite direction of any given swing, attempting to keep it in one place. Using this in combat is as simple as always keeping that “one place” aimed at your opponent. If they move, your “one place” needs to adjust as well to compensate. That simple? No. No it is not. However, if you were too lazy to read everything else, this is the most important thing I can pull from this to help you understand.
Questions, Comments, want to buy me a drink? Let me know below!
*Special thanks to Dzonkis for his wonderful video editing skills!*
** I can already tell before I even post this that there will be some level of controversy over how I refer to things. All I have to say toward that is, how something is called matters very little as long as the concept you are trying to explain has been received properly. If you see anything here that you don't agree with content wise, however, feel free to comment because I want this to be as accurate as I can possibly make it. **
Quick Definitions:
Static - Unmoving
Sustained - Over periods of time
Convergent: Coming closer together; sort of like combining
Section One - The Goal
Due to JKA's wonderful physics engine, the idea is pretty simple. The longer an attack is inside of someone, the more damage it does. In other words, an overhead W swing will do more damage than other swings (assuming you aren't doing anything to effect the swing except pressing a direction and the attack button) because the swing will enter and remain in a person longer. So, remember this for all the below sections, because this is what it comes back to in the end: Doing as much damage as possible with a singular swing. Also note that I will be referring to this concept as a "Sustained Attack" for the duration of this lesson.
Section Two - What is a Poke?
Well, this is often a topic of debate. The issue people usually have with this, is whether or not the "Poke" refers to a single move, or the concept as a whole. In my opinion, the word "Poke" always has, and always will, refer to the singular attack using a D-swing with this concept because it creates an action that looks like you're effectively "poking" another person. However, the concept that is used for this attack functions the same with literally every other swing in the game. For the purposes of this lesson, I am going to refer to the concept the Poke works by as a Convergent Attack. The reason for this is so that there will be no confusion when I later attempt to explain how this functions in attacks outside of the basic D-swing, and to get people out of the mindset that this effect only works with a singular attack, when it, in fact, works everywhere. It is also to separate each of the "stages" I view this concept as having. Not everyone will necessarily agree with how I've chosen to define and explain this, but the overall facts of how it works still remain the same.
Section Three - Static Attacks
A static attack, in this context, is an attack that does not move. What do I mean by "does not move" exactly? Well, the concept is simple: If you swing a saber, your goal is that the saber stays in exactly the same spot throughout the duration of your attack. Generally speaking, this is done by turning the mouse in a certain way as to ensure that, even though the attack is in motion, the saber will not move. In this case, the action of poking is to swing the saber with a standard D-swing, and then turn your mouse to the left throughout the swing so that it never leaves that position. If a person were to stand in the spot where you use a standard strong style poke in, they would immediately die because the saber is staying in them for such a long duration of time.
Section Four - Static Attack vs Sustained Attack
This is not always what you want though. Allow me first to make an analogy: Do any of you remember the whole "Squares can be rectangles, but rectangles can't be squares" thing? Don't answer that, of course you have, it’s a rhetorical question. So, in this case, Static Attacks can be Sustained attacks, but not all Sustained Attacks are always static.
"Why, Wolf, what on Earth are you on about? What attacks can be sustained but not static?"
Well, take for example, a W swing. You can't keep a W swing in one place. You can kind of attempt to do it, but it just isn't going to work. However, if someone was to jump in the air at the same time as you, and you're mid-W swing, you'd be keeping the swing in them the whole time while the swing itself isn't necessarily static. This kind of also applies during general combat too. In reality, a fully-static swing is not only extremely hard, but also extremely ineffective. Your opponent is always moving, and you're not going to hit them by sitting still trying to keep your saber in a single place.
It is for these reasons that you have to be flexible. This brings me to the next part...
Section Five - Convergent Attacks
I've decided to call this a Convergent Attack for two reasons. Reason one, it makes me sound like I know what I'm talking about despite the fact I'm writing a long article about how to swing a sword in a video game. Reason two, because it is the compilation of what you get when you merge Static Attacks with regular combat in order to create something that can have sustainable damage.
While this next part may sound kind of obvious, let me be the first to say that when I first started playing, I thought poking was the stupidest thing ever because sitting still and pointing your saber hoping to make contact with things seemed impossible. The idea is, you're not going to stay fully static. You're going to follow your opponent with the saber and keep it pointed at them for the entire strike. You’re going to poke, but you’re going to stay in movement while you do it. If your opponent moves, you need to follow. If your opponents trajectory is adjusted, your attack's position needs to be adjusted to compensate for the new position.
Section Six - Strategies and their advantages and disadvantages
So, thus far, the Poking Concept has told you that you should always keep your saber at your opponent, right? Well, yes and no. If you always 100% keep the saber at them through the whole strike in every strike, you can have defensive advantages (being able to block everything), but you also leave yourself open to parries. Sometimes, you may only want to use a part of the strike. A basic outline of an attack is a three part process (you can learn the advanced five-part process from the Theory of Blocking):
1. The beginning, which is weak-ish
2. The part that kills you. Blocking this is incredibly hard.
3. The end that is also weak-ish
In other words, sometimes, it is best to wait to connect your strike until that mid-section of maximum momentum so that you wont be blocked and can crush your opponents far easier. This is all a matter of situation, though.
Section Seven - Wiggling and it's place in a Poke
If you're looking for information on wiggling, there is a whole post on it here. But to simplify, a wiggle is best used only when you connect the strike. Yes, you can combine wiggling concepts and poking concepts, and it gives a devastating effect. For good examples of this concept by itself, and when mixed with wiggling, here's a video:
Video provided by the Random Clan Database Video Team (RCDVT), otherwise known as Wolf and Dzon with youtube and devmap
Why am I telling you all this?
I guess the aim of what I’m trying to get across, is to not have a single-minded thought process when you approach combat. It’s not about keeping the saber in one spot, as you may infer from simply learning how to poke, and its also not just about using a singular attack or making use of the concept in one specific way. It’s about using each attack in the most efficient way possible. You don’t always want to use the whole strike, you don’t always want to have the saber at the opponent, you want to use whatever is best for the given circumstance. This can be an incredibly hard thing to learn, but you cannot learn it by holding to a single ideal, you have to experiment with it. It is a lesson that cannot be taught, and can only be learned through experience. Abusing it can be just as bad as not using it at times. Do not think that learning to poke will instantly make you the #1 ESL player in JKA. It enables you to begin to understand its fundamental principles.
TL;DR, so how does this work?
Turn the opposite direction of any given swing, attempting to keep it in one place. Using this in combat is as simple as always keeping that “one place” aimed at your opponent. If they move, your “one place” needs to adjust as well to compensate. That simple? No. No it is not. However, if you were too lazy to read everything else, this is the most important thing I can pull from this to help you understand.
Questions, Comments, want to buy me a drink? Let me know below!
