First of all, congrats on the new expansion Crate! Seems great already.
It did highlight some of my biggest gripes with the gameplay though. For any hybrid build who likes to both use melee attacks and spells, there is a few issues.
I am currently playing a Inquisitor + Nightblade combo. The idea is sort of like a D2 assassin. Using traps and then dual wield. I’ve basicly been trying to find a good combination of this since back in the beta.
It is incredibly annoying that when I want to cast a trap, everything stops and the character then moves relatively close to the target and lays it down. Another thing is that you can’t move while casting traps. You automaticly stop everything, walk/run over to the target and then cast, before you can do what you want to do. It destroys the dynamic of a hybrid build that wants to be able to move freely and do a lot of things in a short amount of time.
The same problem applies to weapon switch. If only you could switch instantly (I can’t remember if these things were engine limitations).
Why can’t we have range that is at least the entire screen? Some spells can do that, some can’t and I never figured why that is. Also, why can’t we cast spells while moving?
I feel like these two things would improve gameplay dramaticly. It’s so choppy playing with this kind of build as it is.
I’ve never liked the cursor range limits that were implemented most on skills. If I can recall correctly this was never an issue back in TQ. This method seems to force more awareness of where your cursor is on screen and how far it is from the player which can be distracting from other things going on while in combat.
Not being able to cast while moving is a engine limitation since combat was originally meant to function similar to Diablo.
…Playing with the idea; extensive coding and configuration would involve the type of skills that would allow this. The animation system would need a huge overhaul to be able perform more action overrides. Since all attack/cast animations are currently stationary types, new sets of “run-attack” “run-cast” animations would need to be implemented.
Along with actual movement skills, it would be cool to see this happen for this game engine in years to come either for Grim Dawn or another project.
I thought it might be an engine limitation, which is too bad. Hopefully they have enough funds to create a new engine entirely when making GD2 (fingers crossed).
When you say that not being able to move while casting is because it was meant to function as D2 did I had to pause for a moment. I was thinking back, and it never quite felt as clunky and slow in D2 as it does in GD, then I realised why. Movement skills like teleport, leap and so forth, movement+attack skills like whirlwind, and homing attacks like bone spirit and the ama one. Basicly more interactive and non targeted spells.
In regards to the range of traps, is that an engine limitation too? I mean, that really doesn’t make sense and is just annoying.