In our previous update on Feb 17th, we made some restrictions on the magic skills of some enemies. However, we still received feedback saying that enemies were unreasonably chaining their ultimate moves. Upon inspecting the program code, we did discover some loopholes in the skill cooldowns that would cause the cooldown limitations to not function in certain situations. The latest update has fixed this bug and eliminated the situation where enemies can release the same magic skill consecutively for 3-4 times.
Currently, the rule of the enemies releasing the same magic skills is roughly that each magic attack has a cooldown of 6-7 seconds after being released twice. And this cooldown calculation is for individual magic skill only. For enemies with multiple magic skills, there will be separate rules to work out the cooldown for each skill release.
Previously we have discussed in the team whether to add cooldown immediately after an enemy releases a magic attack, which is more common in game design. However, considering that although the combat logic of Corpse Keeper is similar to Soulslike games like Sekiro or Dark Souls in a certain way (no combo design like fighting games, and the gameplay is more focused on observing enemy moves and avoiding being hit accordingly), the overall combat pace in Corpse Keeper is much faster with a higher frequency of transitioning between attack and defense. Therefore, we don't think it a good way to add cooldown after each magic skill of the enemies.
As for how to avoid being hit by magic attacks, each magic skill has a relatively easy-to-use avoidance strategy. For example, it's better to use side dodge to cope with "lightning wave" of the Magic Knight Lightning, while roll past him when his "thunderbolt" is in position. Those AOE skills (like the ring of fire and ice from the other magic knights) can only be avoided by distancing yourself from the enemy.
Different playable characters have distinct characteristics and it feels quite different when you try to dodge those magic skills when using different corpses. For characters like the Court Knight/Knight Cross Lance/Magic Knight Lightning & Ice with short back dash distance, it is very difficult to completely get out of the range of enemies' AOE attacks. However, for more agile characters like the Assassin, this will be much easier. Therefore, Assassins can fight up close, and get away unharmed if they retreat in time as the enemy begins to release magic.
The Knights, on the other hand, have an average back dash distance. You will need to maintain a certain distance from the enemy, be more cautious in their attacks, and closely observe the enemy's moves when using these characters. Sending the "correct" characters to fight different enemies is an important strategy in Corpse Keeper. If you feel that some certain enemies are very tricky, it might be a great idea to use another type of character to fight them.
Besides, the equipment in Corpse Keeper will also greatly enhance the strength of the characters, and using powerful equipment to directly confront bosses is also a viable option.
Here is a link to a video of a player using a Knight to challenge the Jester. This is an example of how to deal with a boss with AOE attacks without being fast or having powerful equipment: https://youtu.be/MQqa-YEZdtQ
But please rest assured that we will continue to optimize the enemies' combat design. Not only in terms of the skill cooldown, but also their damage, attack range, and attack windup of each skill, we will keeping conducting tests on our end to guarantee better gaming experiences for you.
Before we wrap things up, we just wanted to take a moment to say a massive THANK YOU to all the players out there! Your enthusiasm and support have been a constant source of inspiration to us. We hope you had as much fun playing as we did making it! If you've got any questions or feedback regarding our game, please feel free to drop us a message. Thanks!
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mlclStudio
Join our Discord: discord.gg/yKSBjxep7Z
