Current Events > Is turn-based combat the dumbest trope in gaming?

(+) Yeah! (+)

"Let's fight to the death!..."

*sifts through menus*

Going by your logic, Puzzle Fighter would be the dumbest.
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This topic is the dumbest trope in gamefaqs
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No, it's a throwback to the D&D style, which is the mechanic early RPGs all copied. I wouldn't mind it if there was some intelligence/strategy involved with each turn like there is in D&D, but grinding and button mashing "fight" are abominations of the system.
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"Let's fight to the death!..."

*spends 3 minutes deciding whether to use small or medium health potion*

*equip Sword*
*choose Fight*
Ogremonster took 1HP damage!
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Yeah, turn based combat sucks. RPGs get by on story, atmosphere, and characters.

Skye Reynolds posted...

Yeah, turn based combat sucks. RPGs get by on story, atmosphere, and characters.

Which is why it's so confusing when most RPGs have awful story, atmosphere, and characters.
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It is the best kind of rpg combat
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Skye Reynolds posted...

Yeah, turn based combat sucks. RPGs get by on story, atmosphere, and characters.

They suck because of the implementation, not because the turn-based concept is inherently bad.
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I actually like turn-based combat for some reason. I suppose there's this kinda charm to it. Maybe because it makes battles seem more dramatic? Plus, you can see cool spells being casted and all.
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gafemaqs posted...

"Let's fight to the death!..."

*spends 3 minutes deciding whether to use small or medium health potion*

This is some really dumb criticism
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Persona 5, FFX and Bravely Default/Second handle turn based combat very well
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apolloooo posted...

It is the best kind of rpg combat

Learn patience and you will know this to be true.
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The Admiral posted...

Skye Reynolds posted...

Yeah, turn based combat sucks. RPGs get by on story, atmosphere, and characters.

They suck because of the implementation, not because the turn-based concept is inherently bad.

For my tastes, I'd say that turn based combat is inherently flawed. I hate fights that are just opponents trading striking blows until the stronger one wins. I prefer active competition -- defending and counter-striking. I want to win based upon ability, not by simply being stronger or whipping out my opponent's kryptonite. With turn based combat, you're locked into essentially trading blows.

I hit the bad guy.
The bad guy hits me.
I hit the bad guy.
The bad guy hits me.
I use a power up.
The bad guy hits me.
I use the bad guy's weakness.
Fight over.

Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy the occasional RPG, but I enjoy them for the reasons I've already stated. As far as video games are concerned, they excel at character, atmosphere, and story telling. If it was just "trade punches with the enemy until we've rescued the princess," I'd probably never play them.

"Let's fight to the death!..."

*wild animals politely wait while you decide how to attack them*

It made sense in the early days of gaming when technology was limited, I personally can't get into them anymore.
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Why do some people seem to hold different genres of games to different levels of realistic standards?

nope its the best kind of game
this topic is inherently flawed because its premise is wrong
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My least favorite is real time. Boring.
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Good turn based RPGs can be treated as puzzle games. Take SMT games or more recently Persona 5, especially on a higher difficulty. Figuring out enemy weaknesses and making sure to cover your own is essential. If you let an enemy hit your weakness, you die. If you let an enemy debuff you and don't negate it, you die. You have to use the pieces you're given to figure out the optimal way to beat the battle. If you can't do that, you can make some new pieces. You can grind if you want to, but strategy is far more important than levels. It's not just two sides hitting fight and seeing which goes down first. There's an autobattle option to speed things up, but if you use it while having the wrong things equipped or during a boss fight, you can consider it a loss.

apolloooo posted...

It is the best kind of rpg combat

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apolloooo posted...

It is the best kind of rpg combat

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apolloooo posted...

It is the best kind of rpg combat

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The Admiral posted...

No, it's a throwback to the D&D style, which is the mechanic early RPGs all copied. I wouldn't mind it if there was some intelligence/strategy involved with each turn like there is in D&D, but grinding and button mashing "fight" are abominations of the system.

Still strange so many kept it. Even the "best" D&D rpgs adopted pseudo turn based gameplay long ago.

Divinity: Original Sin does turn based pretty well though.
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Darklit_Minuet posted...

Good turn based RPGs can be treated as puzzle games. Take SMT games or more recently Persona 5, especially on a higher difficulty. Figuring out enemy weaknesses and making sure to cover your own is essential. If you let an enemy hit your weakness, you die. If you let an enemy debuff you and don't negate it, you die. You have to use the pieces you're given to figure out the optimal way to beat the battle. If you can't do that, you can make some new pieces. You can grind if you want to, but strategy is far more important than levels. It's not just two sides hitting fight and seeing which goes down first. There's an autobattle option to speed things up, but if you use it while having the wrong things equipped or during a boss fight, you can consider it a loss.

A very well thought out and excellent. Exactly why SMT games are my favorite in the genre.
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Persona games and FFT have fun turn based systems. Better than most action games.
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Turn based is fine.
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There are plenty of dumber tropes. Like when you are kicking a boss's butt easily and in the cutscene at the end of the fight your team is on the verge of death and the boss is unfazed. Or the opposite where in the cutscene your team is effortlessly winning but in the battles you have to be quite tactical.

Persona 5 proved turn-based RPGs can still be fantastic and innovative.
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XCOM 2 is the greatest game of all time, so, no
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And what's with the numbers that appear over people's head when they get hit? That's just... weird. If I wanted to do math I'd go back to school.

gafemaqs posted...

And what's with the numbers that appear over people's head when they get hit? That's just... weird. If I wanted to do math I'd go back to school.

Okay, now this post is just silly. :/

You had a point with the animals adhering to turn based combat, but of course you need some kind of indicator as to what amount of damage is being dealt to an opponent.

Skye Reynolds posted...

gafemaqs posted...

And what's with the numbers that appear over people's head when they get hit? That's just... weird. If I wanted to do math I'd go back to school.

Okay, now this post is just silly. :/

You had a point with the animals adhering to turn based combat, but of course you need some kind of indicator as to what amount of damage is being dealt to an opponent.

Why not a health bar? Like every other game.

Turn based combat isn't a trope.
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CrimsonAngeI posted...

Turn based combat isn't a trope.

Sure it is. It's more a curious outlier when it comes to game components so it should be relegated as such.

CrimsonAngeI posted...

Turn based combat isn't a trope.

He's trolling
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youngfossil posted...

This topic is the dumbest trope in gamefaqs

lol
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Skye Reynolds posted...

The Admiral posted...

Skye Reynolds posted...

Yeah, turn based combat sucks. RPGs get by on story, atmosphere, and characters.

They suck because of the implementation, not because the turn-based concept is inherently bad.

For my tastes, I'd say that turn based combat is inherently flawed. I hate fights that are just opponents trading striking blows until the stronger one wins. I prefer active competition -- defending and counter-striking. I want to win based upon ability, not by simply being stronger or whipping out my opponent's kryptonite. With turn based combat, you're locked into essentially trading blows.

I hit the bad guy.
The bad guy hits me.
I hit the bad guy.
The bad guy hits me.
I use a power up.
The bad guy hits me.
I use the bad guy's weakness.
Fight over.

yeah when you boil it down to it, you're still trading blows even if it's active.
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I don't mind turn-based games unless the battle is slow, then it's annoying.
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Turns out TC just failed 3rd grade math.
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TC seems like someone who is bad at rpgs and just doesnt want to admit it because even he knows that its really hard to be bad at jrpgs
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CrimsonAngeI posted...

Turn based combat isn't a trope.

Calling something a trope isn't a value judgment. Basically every element of a work is a trope, they're the creative equivalent of atoms.
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Pausing shouldn't be a thing in action games.

"Wait stay completely still for 24 hours while I go to my brothers wedding okay?"

TC logic,
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pikachupwnage posted...

Pausing shouldn't be a thing in action games.

"Wait stay completely still for 24 hours while I go to my brothers wedding okay?"

TC logic,

Virtually all games pause. You're grasping for a straw here.

it's outdated.
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I just finished voidspire tactics. The game would be awful ifvit had real time combat

Glad it is turn based
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It is. It's an archaic genre that was based around technical limitations of hardware decades ago, and it has absolutely no reason to exist anymore other than to appease your nostalgia
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faizan_faizan posted...

It is. It's an archaic genre that was based around technical limitations of hardware decades ago, and it has absolutely no reason to exist anymore other than to appease your nostalgia

No, turn based (well at least not standard jrpg menu navigating combat) is great for tactical combat like xcom, age of decadence, etc.

All you need are:

-good map
-good enemy with variety and thoughtful placement
-good core combat and character building with alot of variety
-a good grid/hex/or even non gridded travelsal like divinity original sin

Although i agree, FF/menu navigatin turn based combat is archaic and most of the time too simple and awfully predictable and unbalanced

These things become good when you add a dimension to it. Positioning, range, etc have to matter
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