Combat Rebalance 2.0 for Dummies
The following is a quick compilation of how CR 2.0 works for people who are either unable to find or understand all the faq and help documents floating around out there. This is basically a repost of the information I posted earlier (with a lot more detail and a little more confidence in the accuracy of the info, this time around). I don't claim to know everything about CR 2.0, but this is a compilation of what I do know either from the devs themselves or by experimentation.
Interlock
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Probably the single biggest change in CR 2.0 is the removal of zero sum interlock combat. Interlock now works on a dual roll system, which means that in each round of interlock, there are two rolls - your attack vs your opponent's defense, and your defense vs your opponent's attack. This makes many things possible. If you have a high attack roll and a low defense roll, and so does your opponent, this is what is called a win/win roll, meaning that both combatants damage their opponent in that round. The following is a list of all the possible outcomes for a single round of interlock:
win/win - both fighters damage their opponent
win/lose - you damage your opponent and block his attempt to damage you
lose/win - your opponent damages you and blocks your attempt to damage him
lose/lose - nobody damages anybody
Of these, obviously, the worst case scenario is lose/win. More detail on how to avoid this can be found in the Tactics section of this post.
Attributes
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Attributes are semi-new to CR 2.0. These include things like Melee Damage, Melee Accuracy, Ballistic Accuracy, Ballistic Resistance, Evade Interlock, Force Combat, Blind Duration, etc - the list goes on. Some of these aren't new, such as Melee Damage. Others are not new, but have new names, or have been split up. Combat Tactics, for example, no longer exists as a whole. It has been divided into Melee Accuracy, Ballistic Accuracy, Melee Defense, and Ballistic Defense (Ballistic = Ranged, for those of you who don't know). Several are completely new, like initiative, which determines who's animation goes first in an interlock round. A complete description of which attributes do what can be found here: http://thematrixonline.station.sony.com/news_display.vm?id=57&month=current
Stats
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In CR 2.0, stats play a much larger role than they used to. They are now the primary influencers for attributes, so it is more important than ever to choose your stats wisely. Stats now have a cap of 30, and when they are capped at 30, they provide a 50% buff to the attributes they influence (for example, maxing Focus will grant you a 50% bonus to melee damage). A stat at 15 provides a buff of 25% to an attribute. Note that these are percents, not points. A complete table of which stats affect what attributes can be found here: http://thematrixonline.station.sony.com/news_display.vm?id=54&month=current
Tactics
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CR 2.0 has made Interlock combat in MxO much more strategic. The same old tactics remain, but each of them has specific uses. Here is a short table of how it works now:
Speed - high attack/very low defense - medium damage
Power - low attack/medium defense - high damage
Grab - medium attack/high defense - low damage
Block - no attack/highest defense - no damage (duh)
Essentially, this means that if you're using the speed tactic, you have a good chance of passing your attack roll and doing moderate damage, but you're probably going to get hit by your opponent as well (resulting in a win/win). Next is a short table of what is likely* to happen in a round of interlock between two equal opponents using the same ability trees when two tactics collide (largely based on the chart above - refer to the above table to see who damages who more):
Your tactic vs Opponent tactic Probable Outcome(s)
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Speed vs Power win/win
Speed vs Grab win/win, lose/win
Speed vs Block lose/win, lose/lose
Power vs Grab lose/win, lose/lose
Power vs Block lose/win, lose/lose
Grab vs Block lose/win, lose/lose
*Actual results can and will vary. It is important to note that average attack tactics are always higher than average defense tactics (with the exception of Aikido - its block tactic is higher than its speed attack), however, rolls in CR 2.0 are nowhere near as consistent as they were under the old system (which is what allows a lvl 2 a chance to hit a lvl 50 - and it's not such a small chance).
It should be noted that without the combat interface, you have to watch the System chat pane very closely to see the outcomes of the rolls, specifically to look for which tactic your opponent is using to attempt to prepare the appropriate response. I hope you can read fast. The full details of which tactic does what is available here: http://thematrixonline.station.sony.com/news_display.vm?id=38&month=current (it's near the bottom of the page)
Martial Arts Ability Trees
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In CR 2.0, which martial art you use does influence your rolls. Thus far I have only experimented with Self Defense and the three martial arts, as all my guns have been rendered inoperable until their buffs are translated to the new system. That said, here is a brief list of how the martial arts work out. These are based on my character alone, at level 50, with the appropriate Grandmaster ability buff running, and belief and focus maxed (in other words, the best melee fighter I could make without enhanced clothes):
Kung Fu - medium damage, high attack tactics, medium defense tactics
Karate - high damage, medium attack tactics, low defense tactics
Aikido - low damage, low attack tactics, high defense tactics
It should be noted that the differences in most of these numbers was generally small, so no one martial art is really better than the other two. I didn't list self defense because it's easier to just say it's the lowest all around.
Frequently Asked Questions
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1. Hey! My special attack didn't go off! What's up with that?
Numerous things. First, special attacks are bugged. I did some experimentation, and about 60% of the time, specials aren't ever activated; the icon just flashes for the duration of the fight. Around 20% of the time, the special is activated, but it misses. Approximately 18% of the time, the special is activated and succeeds, and around 2% of the time, the special succeeds, but you don't see its animation because your opponent had the initiative and won his attack roll.
2. How do I use melee free fire?
Same way you use a gun. Put a melee style in the ranged slot on your hotbar, get within melee range, and click the ranged slot or hit the + key. Only standard tactics can be used for melee free-fire aside from the two pre-existing melee free-fire attacks, Swirling Ki Summon and Ki Burst.
3. I'm level 50 and I'm getting beat by a level 25. What can I do?
Make sure your stats are buffing the attributes you need them to. Make sure you also activate the appropriate tree buff. Currently you can only have one tree buff running, but they do help. Finally, make sure you have your best style activated.
4. What's a good combat roll in CR 2.0?
This is something I'm still trying to determine. I would suggest anything in the 150 range to be pretty good for an attack roll, and anything in the 125 range to be a good defensive roll.
5. When's CR 2.0 going to live?
When it's done.
Cautions and Words of Wisdom
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1. Be wary of groups of opponents. Three opponents close to your level are a much bigger threat than they were in the old system, especially since rolling out is now a contested roll (meaning it may not succeed). No more soloing pandora's boxes for me (or anybody else).
2. Tactic boosters aren't as useful as they used to be. They only boost your attack tactics, not your defense, meaning they're useless if you're outnumbered and taking a beating (which was the only time I ever used them in the old system). You'll hit the guy you're fighting more often, but he'll keep hitting you just as often as before, as will his buddies firing at you with guns. Use them only against a single opponent that you can't hit with your attacks.
3. You're not as globally effective as a martial artist as you used to be. If you max out focus and belief and load out a grandmaster martial art, you're going to be hit by bullets. A lot. If you're like me and like to focus on martial arts, I'd recommend putting at least some of your stat points in perception to help your ballistic defense.
4. Don't forsake vitality, but don't really bother focusing on it either. In the new system, you're likely to take more damage than in the old system. Vitality helps out a lot of stuff that can be used as a cushion, be it improving your initiative or just giving you a bigger health bar. However, all the health in the world and a maxed out initiative isn't going to win your battles. It doesn't matter if you get first strike in a round if you're always missing.
5. Take a look at the changes in the Awakened tree. Alot smaller, isn't it? Most of the remaining abilities don't do anything close to what they used to, so it's a good time to reevaluate which abilities you're going to keep.
6. Several of the old abilities that did not max at 50 before now do (such as Combat Toughness). Make sure you spend some $info to level them.
7. Like multi-on-one interlock, disarming is no longer possible. This makes gunmen a bigger threat in interlock than they used to be, because they can continue to use their strengths against you. You don't need to fear them, but I've noticed a bigger chunk of my health missing after fighting gunmen than with the old system.
8. While you're on the External Playtest server, don't be afraid to experiment with your stats. Stat rehack items are for sale for the bargain price of $i 10 on all Item Vendors, so you can reassign your stat points as many times as you wish until you find the combination that best fits your playstyle.
