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The obvious flaws of the no round system

First of all, I know it's too late and this isn't something they can change at this point for Injustice. But I just want to throw this out there in case NRS ever decides to make an Injustice 2 or if they are thinking about implementing a similar system in MK10.

Like many, I'm also not a fan of the "no round" system. Sure, I liked it at first when the game was new because it was different and made the game feel very fast pace overall. I don't know how to explain it, but it just felt good to have no rounds.

But now when you take a step back and really think about it, the only thing it really does is make come backs even harder to do. Which makes matches a lot less hype/entertaining to watch, and even depressing to play/commentate sometimes.

Because if player 2 loses the first round and player 1 still has 50% green, then round 2 is basically a 50% handicap match not only in health but also in meter (because you gain meter like crazy for taking damage). And if P2 loses 30% before he gets rid of that remaining green, then round 3 is 30% handicap + the fact that P2 maybe already used his wager at that point.

If the rounds did reset health to 100% like it does in MK or SF, then the outcome of a lot of matches could be completely different every game, especially for characters with poor comeback potential.

I mean think about it, basically the no round system favors 2 types of characters: 1. Characters with ridiculous huge ass damage outputs (Superman, Black Adam, The Flash) and 2. Characters with silly vortexes (Killer Frost, Batgirl, Wonder Woman). These characters have good come back potential and build meter pretty quickly which gives them a natural advantage over everyone else who actually has to work 3 times harder to comeback from behind.

Sometimes when you're watching an Injustice match, you just look at the life bars and you already know it's over. But that doesn't happen in Marvel and AE.

In Marvel, even when everything seems lost for Justin, even when Chris G seems to be completely in control of the situation, one good read can change everything around. This is obviously due to the "touch of death" combos in Marvel and X-factor. All it takes is one hit and you can see whole life bars disappear. The Wong factor can kick in at anytime and that's what makes Marvel hype.

In AE, they don't have touch of death combos. But what they do have, is strong universal mechanics like focus attack, safe jump option-selects, vortexes, unblockables, FADC Ultra and Super. These are tools that all characters can use to get momentum or comeback from behind. As much as I hate vortexes and unblockables in AE, they are in part what makes that game balanced: The fact that most characters have access to that same kind of bullshit. It's not just "reserved" to 3 characters: Gen can do it, Hakan can do it, Gief can do it, Makoto can do it.

What does Injustice have? Wager and Interactables.

No, I do not consider Wager a comeback mechanic because it's kind of nullified by the no round system AND the fact that you have to use all of your meter to gain 30% health back. But you know what the problem with that is? Meter in fighting games IS your come back potential. So you're basically trading your resources that allow you to do stuff for more health. But LBSH for most characters how does having 30% more health really help? Especially in a game where Black Adam and Superman can take 50-60% away from you in the blink of an eye. If anything, having more health only makes you suffer for a bit longer because you still have no meter, no vortexes, no 50% combos. And guess what? That 30% you gained in exchange of 4 bars, will get you 2 bars back. That's negative 2 meter gain. So how is that a comeback mechanic. I'm just saying.

Also, who has a great useful Super in Injustice? Superman and Green Arrow obviously.. but who else? Not many. This game definitely needs more Tom Brady specials lol. imo Supers in general should scale less and do way more damage because they are so hard to land (not talking about Supes/GA). What I mean is that characters with low damage output should at least be able to do 50-60% via Supers or have another way of coming back from a huge life deficit.

Now I'm not saying Injustice should have touch of death combos and X-factor. What I'm saying is that you can't have a no round system + have no real universal comeback mechanic. I think the combination of both of these things is what makes Injustice so depressing to play and watch sometimes.

EDIT:

Since it's too late to change the round and comeback system, I'm thinking about realistic changes that could make Injustice more enjoyable, balanced and hype for everyone:

-Increasing walkspeed and general mobility for everyone
-Making all traits good and useful
-Making all supers faster, have more range and be a lot more damaging (a threat people have to respect) *except the already good ones like Supes/GA
-Having drawbacks if you have very high damaging combos or a vortex (like KF having low damage and bad mobility)
-Possibly better reward for wagering more meter than your opponent (not sure though)
-Maybe better advantage on pushblock (like +8 instead of +0)

These are the main things I suggest aside from the general frame data and hitbox tweaks that are needed.

What do you guys think? Agree/Disagree

Do you want Injustice 2 or MK10 to have a no round system? Are you for or against "touch of death combos", standing vortexes and X-factor type comeback mechanics? Discuss.
 

Bildslash

Goro Lives 
At this point what they could do is increase the life gain from clashes; e.g. 50% for 4 bars instead of the current 33%.
 

Cappuccino

Ermac player in training
I think it is an absolute mistake. Like you said it really hurt's a player's come back. I honestly hope NRS learns their lesson and avoids this health system in future games. It really just does not work for fighting games, particularly if you want to host serious tournaments for them.
 

Bildslash

Goro Lives 
I think it is an absolute mistake. Like you said it really hurt's a player's come back. I honestly hope NRS learns their lesson and avoids this health system in future games. It really just does not work for fighting games, particularly if you want to host serious tournaments for them.
It works, Vampire Savior is proof of that. But in Injustice's case is the execution of the idea that missed the mark.
 

HGTV Soapboxfan

"Always a Pleasure"
I guess it's cuz I'm aquaman but I usually have no problem making comebacks. I can see that other characters have a really tough time making that happen though. One thing players could do is better clash management. You make the point that gaining 30 percent is often useless..... so don't do that. Instead use it to force your opponent to use meter. Example you clash and have 4 bars, your opponent has 2. Don't put it all in, instead just use 2. He can then either let you have some health back and keep the meter equal, or spend it and get stuck with no meter, which can put you in a situation to make something happen. Comebacks are tough in this game though, no doubt.
 

Juggs

Lose without excuses
Lead Moderator
Premium Supporter
Yeah I agree. Matches can't even get hype until both characters are on their second health. And in a game with almost no comeback factor, to make a comeback you have to play extremely well both offensively and defensively. I'm not advocating for a comeback mechanic though, not at all. I cannot stand ultras in SSF4 or X-Factor in Mahvel. But if there IS no comeback mechanic, you need shorter matches aka rounds, at least imo.
 

Rathalos

Play Monster Hunter!
I love the round system in the game, it was my favorite part about Vampire Savior, and I'm glad NRS used it for this.

I think it plays a part in the no comeback factor. I think another issue though is that it is so easy to get hit by random damage in the game, even with the best defense possible, you are going to take damage no matter what, with chip on normal attacks, and just plain cheesy specials moves some characters have. It is just too easy to end a round.

I would keep the round system for Injustice 2, but I would lower the over all health for each bar, to about 70%, so you can go through a bar faster.
 

BlackBryan

B*tch Distributor
Maaaaaaaaaan. Every single person that got bodied "round 1" @ evo either ran back round 2 ftw or ran back round two for a clashed loss. This is nonsense.
 
Yeah I agree. Matches can't even get hype until both characters are on their second health. And in a game with almost no comeback factor, to make a comeback you have to play extremely well both offensively and defensively. I'm not advocating for a comeback mechanic though, not at all. I cannot stand ultras in SSF4 or X-Factor in Mahvel. But if there IS no comeback mechanic, you need shorter matches aka rounds, at least imo.
The main gripe people have with Ultras is that it rewards the losing player. People assume the losing player is simply lesser skilled but that's not always the case. A good benefit of Ultra I think is that it gives lower tier characters a fighting chance in those 3-7 matchups. Once they get half or max revenge meter they suddenly have something, an answer in a matchup where they usually can't do anything and feel helpless. And imo people who get hit by "random ultra" are just bad and deserved to lose the round anyway.

But even outside of that, just looking at the meter game in Injustice. One of my gripes is that very few characters in this game have powerful Supers that you have to respect. Superman and Green Arrow are probably the only 2 characters you fear with a full bar. But it shouldn't be like that. Because then you are reserving the "Super threat" to only 2 characters in the game so they have an additional advantage / comeback potential that no one else has.

Again in AE (ignoring the Ultra factor), when a character has Super you have to play more careful. Regardless of matchups, regardless of tier lists, you don't want to walk forward, you're afraid of pressing buttons, you don't want to jump. You have to respect their super option.

In Injustice, that same feeling exists when you're fighting Superman with full bar. But it's amplified because of the poor mobility, lack of dash blocking and the presence of MB Interactables. Not only do you have to respect Superman's 2f fullscreen punish, but you also have to be aware of the interactable threat. But the problem is, only Superman has that power to instill fear and force respect. If you play a normal character, you don't have that power to make Superman respect you. Even if you're sitting on full meter it doesn't mean anything to him (or anyone else for that matter).

I know I'm talking about a few different things in this thread but they're all kinda tied together:

No Round System + No Comeback Mechanics + Only 2-3 good supers = bigger life deficits/round handicaps > tougher comebacks > less wong factors/Tom Brady specials > a lot less hype > depressed commentators > boring top 8 > crowd boos the game

Balance and the dominance of the top 6 is another topic but that just adds to this I think. Obviously having Superman/Black Adam mirrors doesn't help but I'm talking besides that.
 

CrimsonShadow

Administrator and Community Engineer
Administrator
Well all I know is, having 1 round makes comebacks really really hype. Like Chris G coming back from the edge of the abyss to take the match straight up. This kind of thing happens a lot, and every time it does people go nuts.

I've had plenty of comebacks of my own -- I don't get people saying it can't happen with this round system. Working to make up a deficit makes you play at the top of your game and it's fun for me; it means you can never slack off.

A lot of IGAU matches end up being pretty close by the end. If you were beat down, it makes you get it together and step it up for the next game.
 

Duck Nation

Dicks with a future
This is basically just another "this game should be played 3/5" thread, even if the OP doesn't know it. And frankly, it's always possible to come back, even if you're losing badly - you just need to actually come back and not wait for the game to tilt far enough in your favor for it to happen. I'm fine with a game that doesn't reward the losing player.

Is anybody actually contacting their TOs about setting a 3/5 standard, or just bitching on forums?
 
This is basically just another "this game should be played 3/5" thread, even if the OP doesn't know it. And frankly, it's always possible to come back, even if you're losing badly - you just need to actually come back and not wait for the game to tilt far enough in your favor for it to happen. I'm fine with a game that doesn't reward the losing player.

Is anybody actually contacting their TOs about setting a 3/5 standard, or just bitching on forums?
Yes, I'm aware matches go by very fast and I agree this game should be 3/5 but this thread isn't about that. I'm not complaining that matches end "too fast". Injustice being fast paced is a good thing obviously.
 

Gesture Required Ahead

Get on that hook
Injustice can have it's flawed system. But don't put that shit in MK. I'm pretty sure (Also hoping) that NRS will keep their promise and keep the 2 games apart.

I'm sure MK10 will be a lot like MK9 keeping the EN , Breaker , XRay mechanic just polishing the bugs and adding new characters.

Also, I put "also hoping" in parentheses 'cause I feel like NRS tends to break their promises.
 
Well all I know is, having 1 round makes comebacks really really hype. Like Chris G coming back from the edge of the abyss to take the match straight up. This kind of thing happens a lot, and every time it does people go nuts.

I've had plenty of comebacks of my own -- I don't get people saying it can't happen with this round system. Working to make up a deficit makes you play at the top of your game and it's fun for me; it means you can never slack off.
I never said it can't happen. But I like that you are using Chris G as an example, who's using Green Arrow, one of the only characters in the game with an actual useful Super. And Black Adam, with 55% 1 bar combos. Obviously when you hit that hard any touch is a potential comeback.

tbh the only reason I see "close games" and people comeback "so often" is because players are still dropping baby combos they shouldn't be dropping in the first place. And because they just start making silly decisions with the life lead. But if everyone played as smart as KDZ and as patient as DJT you would see almost no comebacks.

I'm surprised so many of you like the no round system. Personally I think it's badly implemented. But whatever. 5 months from now I bet most of you will change your minds.
 
I don't know. Providing meter and trait status carried over, I might be okay with it. I'd hate to spend the first round charging Sinestro's trait, get 2/3rds of the way through, then die and have to recharge the whole thing.

Biggest worry would be if Interactables reset between rounds. If they did then every round would devolve into "who can throw enough 20% damage items at the opponent first."

We'd need interactables to stay gone, meter to stay put and trait to be left unchanged. Clash would have to be scrapped entirely. It'd also make it difficult for lower tier to have more of a chance in some match ups. If i'm Sinestro and I somehow have an Aquaman down to just 70% life whilst I have 120%, then there's a chance I could win. If we both get reset to 100% after each round, my chances of victory lessen because I'll never have that little bit more of a life advantage. Currently if you win the first "round" of a 7-3 match up, you're in a position to take the whole game. If you change it to actual rounds, then all that work you put in to take round 1 doesn't mean a damn thing when round 2 starts.

King of Fighters manages to retain it's hype even though that has situations where a player can have 1 character left to fight 3. If KoF can make it work, then so can we.
 
You need to tag colt so he can look into this for future patches.

I agree 2 things need to be addressed:

-Bigger life recovery for successful clashes.
-Bigger damage output for Super Moves.
Well, I'm not really asking for changes to the current game. This isn't a rant thread. I'm simply saying I'm not a fan of the current system and I want to know how people feel about it. But so far it looks like I'm in the minority so who am I really to tell NRS how this game should be.

If players like Injustice the way it is currently, then there is no reason to change it or make improvements to Supers, health or the clash system.
 

Bildslash

Goro Lives 
Well, I'm not really asking for changes to the current game. This isn't a rant thread. I'm simply saying I'm not a fan of the current system and I want to know how people feel about it. But so far it looks like I'm in the minority so who am I really to tell NRS how this game should be.

If players like Injustice the way it is currently, then there is not reason to change it or make improvements to Supers, health or the clash system.
I know where you're coming from. However, the issues you have pointed out can be alleviated by making changes within the boundaries and mechanics of the game without having to do a complete overhaul.
 

Jon Berg

Noob
Yea the current round system is an absolute disaster. Each character should get 3 lifebars per match, resetting the winners. Normal standard fighting game rounds. To people saying this will trivialize the clash mechanic, it would actually deepen it. If they made it so you could clash on any round you would to choose which round to burst and try yo take. It would be much less linear than it is currently.
 

Red Venom

The Main Man of TYM
I agree, especially since I main Lobo. If I had a dime for everytime someone zoned me out as I was about to comeback WITH low health.