How I would buff throwing knives

  • Spectergames706
    Captain
    Insider

    I have been consistently using throwing knives instead of the sword since Season 12. It’s a great weapon in some ways, but lacks in other ways that make it kind of a joke in the PvP space.

    So after over 2 years of being a knife user, these are 2 things I would change.

    Parrying
    If you trigger a light stab attack while facing a sword that is about to hit you, the sword attack is blocked and the sword user momentarily stunned.
    This is based off of real historical techniques knife fighters use against people with longer blades, and adds more skill expression to the throwing knives against swords.

    Surprise attack heavy stab bonus
    I’ve narrowed it down to two ways this could be implemented. Baseline, let’s assume this “stealth”heavy stab bonus brings the attack up to 85 instead of the normal 70.

    Option One is the iconic backstab bonus a lot of games have, which try to reward positioning with massive damage. However, backstabbing isn’t necessarily stealthy, swift positioning can allow the same result of a backstab.

    Option Two is a bit more complex. If a player is empty handed or armed with an inventory item they are immune to the bonus. If the player is carrying treasure, repairing a ship, raising anchor, steering, in a barrel inventory, or changing the rigging, they are vulnerable to the +15 damage.

    Personally, I prefer the second option because it rewards stealth and surprise attacks instead of just traditional positioning. All someone has to do is be aware of their surroundings to avoid the bonus damage.

  • Login To Reply
    12
    Posts
    2.8k
    Views
  • EggGum
    Seafarer

    @spectergames706
    What’s up spectergames. I completely agree with what you’re saying in this post, and love the ideas. I actually coincidentally made a post yesterday about a melee weapon update, and had some ideas very similar to yours, especially regarding parrying and sneak attacks. I encourage you to check it out.
    Something I didn’t think of in my post was the sneak attack working on players carrying chests and items.

    Here’s a link to my previous post if it helps
    https://www.seaofthieves.com/community/forums/topic/184814/melee-update-new-melee-weapons-revisited
    Not trying to plug myself, just figured it’s very relevant.

  • BurnBacon
    Vanguard
    Insider

    Have you ever seen a butter knife block or parry a sword?

  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    Sonicbob kind of kiboshed parry abilities awhile ago when they were suggested for sword combat. Basically, the timing window with latency would cause it to be inconsistent and frustrating.

  • EggGum
    Seafarer

    @burnbacon
    I explained this in my previous post. Dozens of historical fencing texts recommend parrying swords with daggers. There are literally specialized daggers designed to do this. Look up historical fencing videos online. Yes a dagger can block a sword, quite easily too.

  • Spectergames706
    Captain
    Insider

    @d3adst1ck As of right now, yes. latency and timing would cause issues with parry registration. But if they really are sending in A.S.S (anti spaghetti strikeforce) over the next 6 months, it's possible the game gets in a better spot where this may be possible

  • Boneheart1237
    Marauder
    Insider

    @burnbacon said in How I would buff throwing knives:

    Have you ever seen a butter knife block or parry a sword?

    Yeah

    I’m not making this up you can parry a sword with a decent butter knife. You can parry a sword with pretty much any solid object so long as the sword doesn’t pass through it

  • Boneheart1237
    Marauder
    Insider

    @d3adst1ck said in How I would buff throwing knives:

    Sonicbob kind of kiboshed parry abilities awhile ago when they were suggested for sword combat. Basically, the timing window with latency would cause it to be inconsistent and frustrating.

    I feel like so much of the game’s potential is held back by the abysmal server quality

  • EligibleEel6171
    Marauder
    Insider

    Not necessarily for or against this at the moment but I will say if they did implement it, I think the parry should be with timing the aim button right, instead of the stab button. I think it would be too easy to just mash the stab button and accidentally parry a sword swing. I think missing the parry should cost you something. You shouldn't just miss the parry but stab them instead.

    I also think if we're buffing a particular weapon, it should be buffed against all weapons equally. If you buff it specifically against one weapon, you effectively nerf that other weapon. I'm not arguing whether or not the sword should be nerfed, but if our goal is to buff the throwing knife, then we should find a way to buff the throwing knife across the board, and then nerf the sword as a separate issue.

  • Tristan8674
    Sailor

    @burnbacon
    Yes, I have

  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    @boneheart1237 said in How I would buff throwing knives:

    @burnbacon said in How I would buff throwing knives:

    Have you ever seen a butter knife block or parry a sword?

    Yeah

    I’m not making this up you can parry a sword with a decent butter knife. You can parry a sword with pretty much any solid object so long as the sword doesn’t pass through it

    I don't know if this is specifically because of the servers, but the nature of internet gaming and variant latency between players that already exists. It might work better in a slower paced game, but at the speeds players can move around, turn, jump, etc... it would be very easy for a small amount of latency to make it frustrating to hit a small window to counterattack.

  • EggGum
    Seafarer

    Everybody is so fixated on the parry feature they are overlooking the sneak attack feature. Those changes would be a great addition to the game.

    Also if we can’t have parrying, just give the knife the same block mechanic as the cutlass and give it a parrying animation.
    But as said earlier, if the knife can block the sword, the sword will be nerfed.

Login To Reply
12
Posts
2.8k
Views
3 out of 12