Learning the Fine Art of Combat

In my previous post on Fallen Earth I was asked how combat worked, what I thought of it. Since I’m 100% newb when it comes to the combat of Fallen Earth (and similar games) I’m going to talk about it from that perspective. I’ve never played shooting games (which I’ve stated before) and aiming is (at the moment) uncomfortable for me – but I’m getting the hang of it.

The first thing I really had to learn, and I had to learn fast, was how to switch my weapons around during combat. Control 1 and Control 2 will move between the first two weapons, but you’ll want to look at your weapon screen to find out the hot keys for the rest. I can’t remember them off the top of my head. Some times I’d want to start out with a ranged attack, and then move closer to my target. I had one major problem with this and it’s from years of playing nothing but my fantasy based MMOs. I don’t use WASD to move, I use my number pad. I don’t use my mouse for gaming. In Fallen Earth you must adapt and learn how to move with the WASD (and some times q and e) keys. This will save you a LOT of difficult game play later on. If I were used to those keys I wouldn’t have nearly as many issues as I do now. The game works (as I imagine) any shooter game would work. You move your character with your left hand, and you aim and shoot (or aim and smack if you’re using a melee type weapon) with the mouse. The controls are pretty simple, and if you’re already used to them you’re already ahead of me.

A few other things I had to get used to. While you can click and target a mob, you can’t auto attack per say that I can see. You have skills that you can hit before you’re even in combat, and it will cue them for once your actual attacks start. Hitting the center key on the mouse pad causes you to enter (or exit) combat mode, it brings up the little round circle in the center of the screen that indicates where you’re hitting. Once you’ve got a target, the right and left mouse buttons will cause whatever you have equipped to attack whatever you’ve focused your circle on. Of course mobs (and players) don’t stand still, so you’re constantly moving your character around, moving your aiming around, and trying to coordinate all of that to go off together all at once. Again, I’ve never done any of this until I started playing Fallen Earth, so I don’t have years of expertise to back me up. It’s going to take a lot to get used to. I felt better knowing I wasn’t the only one who had to get used to control, as Wpus who was trying out the game with me decided to accidentally blow up the ATV you’re asked to ride in the tutorial. He’s also shot his mount Old Mare a few times. Thank goodness you can repair those.

The combat is fun, a LOT of fun. I enjoy being able to have so much control over my movement, and aiming. I love attacking from range (and cackling gleefully though I’ll deny it if anyone asks) while I walk up to melee range and then taking out my wooden plank to lay a few smacks. So far things have been simple enough that I feel like I’m being eased into it rather then flung head first. The tutorial gets you pretty familiar with the basics, and the first few quests I’ve picked up have helped out a lot. If you’re not a quest person I would highly suggest you try to be one. I’ve spent three hours (roughly) in game, and I’m level 2. There’s so much to see. I squealed like a child when I realized that the pylons surrounding some junk car could actually be moved and toppled over, and rolled down the street. It’s those things that make me want to play more.

Hopefully that explains the very very basics to combat, at least the things I’ve learned so far. I’ll write more about my adventures as soon as I have a little more free time!