You asked this:
How would you change the combat to make it better in your eyes?
The following is my answer, this is how I like to play, you may not, but you asked ME how I would like it right?
My MOD for Oblivion would be where I would start:
Mod: http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/914-duke-patricks-melee-combat-no-recoil/
Mod Thread: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1215917-duke-patricks-melee-combat-no-recoil/
This mod includes:
- NO MORE BLOCK RECOIL! Staggering and recoil will happen from hits, "short shots" and other combat related reasons but no more "hobbled" attack combos! And being paralyzed (none magical) will almost never happen!
- Extra Momentum adds extra damage (such as running downhill at your opponent).
- Locational hits with critical damage (INI configurable)
- Location armor for the head, body and legs.
- Blunt damage will be more effective against light armor.
- Both the player and the NPC can Bob and Weave to avoid attacks. You will consume fatigue based on encumbrance load.
- Enemy melee AI is greatly improved and will also watch for the player's "tells", but this also means you can "trick" them!
- AI settings have been overhauled to attack, block and move more deviously, dynamically and ruthlessly.
- You can now use actual real-life sword and shield feints to land your shots (such as the "rising snap"!)
- BOTH Passive and Active blocking!
- Weapon/shield size matters! Bigger weapons/shields give you more geometric protection. But they also take more fatigue to parry with! The bigger the weapon/shield relative to your body size, the better your passive block chance. The better your block skill, the better your chance to parry. Bigger heavy shields / weapons have the advantage to absorb more damage than lighter/smaller ones.
- Weapons stats are now much more realistic. Weapon hit range is based on the actual model length of the weapon in the game. No more 20 foot long short swords! War hammers do not swing quickly like they are made of plastic. Weapon damage stats are not dramatically cranked up, they are only balanced relativistically with the speed and range of the weapon.
- Draining your fatigue completely with button bashing will result in blurred vision!
- Defensive Geometry and great timing is now more important than great player speed and reflexes. The angle of attack is a little tighter, so Offensive Geometry is more important in landing a shot.
- Footwork and range games are now very important for blocks and attacks.
- H2H now includes grapple blocks and throws.
- Wrap Shots This is a shot where you stand very close and swing your weapon to wrap around your opponent's shield thus reducing the benefits of a large shield.
- Short Shots This happens when you hit at the center of gravity on your weapon producing attacks that hit like a mace even if you are using a sword.
- Aiming under their weapon or shield gives a bonus to land your shot.
- If a feint works, the shield or weapon will move out of position right before the attack lands. This gives you a view of the opponent being OPEN for the shot as you land the blow instead of your weapon just "passing through" the shield as if the shield was made from smoke.
- In general "results" in this mod are based on the attributes, actions timing, conditions and dynamics of the combat not on simplistic dice rolls. This means you can eventually learn to take advantage of the subtle factors in combat and predict your opponent's action.
- All blunt weapons now have a good chance to stagger or even "push over" depending on how heavy the blunt weapon is and how strong the attacker is (modified by his fatigue) versus the target's strength.
- Swinging your weapon will use much less fatigue than when your weapon actually hits a target. For technical reasons this feature only works on living targets not things like trees.
- Armor is much more effective against fist, claws and teeth type attacks.
» Sat Sep 03, 2011 8:44 pm 
