2026-09-21 18:59:16 UTC#1
Let me start by saying Icebound has the best combat system of any existent UORP shard. There are also many mechanics which contribute greatly to the vibe of the game in combat, such as the sound of gunshots and the cover system. The main issue is principally with weapons
This is an issue because the character defining weapon in your hand has become a background character. If you carry around a giant sword, you should be indulged in that power fantasy. We are here to have fun. Now, I am not suggesting the establishment of a "x weapon and Y ability are the best!" Meta, but rather a system wide adjustment to make things more approximately balanced.
Right now essentially everything is at a 0% variation in the power of weapons. This, I think should be increased to approximately 15 - 20%. That's to say you may indulge yourself in making certain weapons stronger or weaker than others, as long as the strongest weapon isn't any stronger than 15% more than the weakest weapon. Variety in swing timer, reload timer, and damage dealt would do much to spice things up around here. Go ahead and make the sword do some more damage than other melee weapons. Make the dagger swing faster than other weapons in it's class.
This will allow for the gameplay to match character fantasy. If I carry a FF7 Buster Sword, I wanna swing slow af. If I have a semi-automatic pistol it better have a faster swing speed but same damage as the Revolver. So on and so forth, none of these examples should be taken a literal improvements to make but rather should serve as an example of how to diversify combat.
The pvp/pve division of buffs has been a brilliant success and a move in the right direction. Lean into this and make some weapons specialized against certain enemies. A squirrel gun receives 20% extra damage against rabbits (rabbit slayer property? lol), the musket should have higher damage against pve, and the rifle against pvp. Nor should these be so advanced you have to switch guns or immediately get fucked if someone ambushes you while you're on a fox hunt: in these examples I would retain their current damage levels as baseline, with just a pointed buff against environment or player.
Also, the augments are weak! 5% hci may as well be telling me to piss up a rope. Now, they're accessible and long lasting enough but if that's an obstacle to improving their flat values I say turn the durability damage up. That should be 10 or 15% against humans and maybe 30% against environmental enemies. Augments should make you feel powerful, like in Nazi zombies when you throw a boring normal gun into the pack a punch and it comes out an amazing laser space gun that shreds enemies.
Right now, it's got a major lack of dopamine, I throw my augments on and forget they're there until the message that they've worn off. This is wrong: instead I should be going "damn this augment is badass, I'm glad I bought it" and as such I would after reviewing the page broadly increase the buffs of all augments as alluded to above.
Video games are fun when they indulge power fantasies, and right now my musket reloads too fast and hits like a .22 lr, even with attachments. The blunderbuss, or as I call it "The slightly less range musket" is also quite unremarkable. Besides taking a different ammo and having less range they're the same functionally. As far as the blunderbuss having aoe damage, real world data informs me that most people going solo aren't aggroing multiple enemies. I take my quarry one at a time so I don't die.
The times where I have engaged multiple characters intentionally, the AOE damage never even stood out to me, I don't recall seeing it as a matter of fact. This may be because, again in real world conditions enemies that you're kiting kind of seperate from one another. Only viable to even try to intentionally use in some group dungeon setting, but even then my experience informs me it's going to be single digit amounts of damage.
Healing: toughness is an insane grind. I've been doing combat regularly for over a month now and I've gone from 0 toughness to 31. My heals constantly fail, this ability is the most unreliable piece of shit I've encountered in UO for many a moon. Please increase succ chance, skill gain chance. If needed, make it consume more resolve. Due to how unreliable and shitty it is, I have never once ran out of resolve even while killing my way across the map. So, make it cost more resolve points but be more accurate(reliable) in exchange. As it is, I will probably drop the skill and rawdog combat as it's effectiveness at this 25-50 state is truly pathetic. Never used medicine but may make an alt to check it out for combat heals.
Changes to quality crafted weapons in pve are amazing, I feel like there's a true desire in me to get better weapons. My advice and suggestion is to apply this genius, innovative system to armor. Make quality armor have more resists in pvm, obviously going back to normal balance if you get the pvp tag.
Ammo: add more types. I know there are augments masquerading as ammo, and tracers, but as a buff to late game gunsmiths let the 75-100 people make some more specialized ammo. I would recommend wholesale copying Hunt Showdown: 1896's special ammo system for period correct ammo ideas. Dumdum rounds, please!
As a closing note, I want to clarify I actually enjoy shooting raiders with my guns very much, but I wish there was a more notable difference when I switch between weapons besides range. This isn't to say the combat system is trash but rather it needs some TLC to get in shape before launch which I think we are all on the same page about. Right now it's like a sumptuous meal, well prepared and fresh but conspicuously missing spices and salt.
Edited 1 time by Kent 2026-09-21 19:35:11 UTC