Cryptic Still Can’t Quite get a Grip on Animation Cancels

Last week a topic on the official forums popped up that deals with an ongoing issue in Neverwinter: Animation cancels. As often the problem is rather simply, yet the impact huge. As part of the Neverwinter action based combat system each class can instantly trigger their tactical power. DPS classes can dodge or sprint, the Guardian Fighter raise its shield and the Paladin cast Sanctuary. It’s necessary to avoid or mitigate damage in the fast-paced combat.

Tactical Powers cancel everything else

This nonetheless also means the tactical powers have to cancel all other powers. If Rogues need to dodge, they can’t wait for Duelist’s Flurry to end. A GF might find themselves in a red zone while casting Into the Fray and needs to raise the shield immediately. So cancelling powers is an absolute intended behavior of the game engine.

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It gets complicated however if a power consists of more than one component that trigger independently. Crescendo is a pretty classic example. A stun is applied at the start of the daily and damage is dealt at the end. In the video you see a Guardian Fighter canceling Crescendo after the stun is applied to get released from the animation. Otherwise the stun and punt combination wouldn’t be possible.

Immortality

In this case there’s a trade-off, because you lose the damage of the power for the ability to combo the opponent. The same for example is true for Wizard’s Steal Time. Cancelling early will build Arcane stacks, but you won’t deal the big damage at the end. If powers however do clearly not work as intended any longer when cancelling them, we enter exploit territory.

One of those has been posted on the forums as “immortality bug“. Cancelling Spinning Strike a GWF is able to retain the AP, trigger Steel Defense and repeat, making the class invincible. We do not intend to single out classes here, there are probably more issues that simply haven’t been discussed lately.

Is it fixable?

It’s an interesting topic. Some players think it should stay as it is because it adds another layer of strategy to the game. And you can’t challenge that the mechanic indeed is an intended feature. Additionally it is so deeply rooted in the game engine that it might not be fixable anyway. Going back to our initial example of Crescendo it’s an either or. The stun has to be applied at the start of the power, the damage at the end. And you have to allow players to cancel the animation for 9-1-1 situations. Both at the same time is not possible, at least not without entirely redesigning the power itself.

It’s a bit more easier with dailies that eat Action Points gradually. Dailies should always consume APs before they apply any of its effects. This way you at least avoid situations where players can cancel dailies and retain the AP. Additionally all buffs of a power should end when the power is cancelled. This would kill some skill-based cancels like building Arcane stacks using Steal Time, but overall is the better mechanic for a lot of other powers that are or potentially could become problematic with animation cancels. This also should apply to At-Wills. Buffs and such from them shouldn’t last if the power hasn’t been properly completed.

Overall the issues with animation cancels can’t be fully fixed, but maybe they don’t have to. Some combos even add another layer of skill to the game. Also the effect on gameplay currently is admittedly small. Unless some changes are applied however, the effects always have the potential to develop into a real issue.

What’s your take on animation cancels? Should they stay or go? Share your thoughts in the comments below or visit the corresponding thread on our message board.