Dear Bungie (and yes I do mean dear - you guys are great),
In Destiny, I have always enjoyed the melee abilities. I like that it requires a charge, like grenades, and that the Strength stat influences the speed of melee ability charge. What I do not like is that triggering the melee ability is not optional – if an enemy is in melee range (or not, as a Gunslinger Hunter) and the guardian proceeds to melee the enemy, the melee ability charge is activated and expended in the first hit.
I would request a way to melee without using the melee ability, because there are some situations when one needs to melee an enemy in close but doesn't want to use the ability at that precise moment. Example: reloading, and an enemy is near – no shooting options available but you don't need to cloak / move faster / gain shields / make the target explode / etc.
There are also some melee abilities that only trigger upon a kill; it would be nice to have the option not to use the ability until the enemy in question is low enough HP that the ability melee will finish them off.
Other times it is just annoying - I think many of us have thrown our hunter knives by mistake because we were just out of range for the regular knife-slash melee and did not intend to use the throwing knife ability. In the Abyss portion of the Crota's End raid, the Titan and Warlock sub-classes that gain shields from melees often have to hold themselves back from using their melee ability on isolated thrall, because those abilities are more useful when getting swarmed (particularly with the exotic Claws for Warlock that give two melee ability charges - not cool to use both shield charges one right after the other).
My suggestion is simple: change the melee ability activation from a simple button tap to be a slightly longer press (like the difference between a small hop and a large jump, or in swapping between primary/secondary or a heavy weapon). This will allow players to more tactically and strategically deploy their melee abilities in concert with regular melees on their own terms.
Now, I recognize that this is probably not the first time you've heard this idea, and since you have not yet implemented it (or talked about it, as far as I'm aware from reading weekly updates) I would have to assume that you (Bungie) have good, well-founded reasons for not exploring this. Maybe the flexibility of not automatically triggering a melee ability on the first melee of an engagement would change the game away from how you intended it to be played, or maybe it's tricky to program – there are probably other reasons out there too that I haven't thought of why you haven't / wouldn't change this in your game... but this is an idea that I firmly believe would add another layer of complexity and skill to the gameplay, and I hope that you will consider it for future improvement efforts.
Admittedly, this is a very minor issue in a spectacular game, and I will continue enjoying your creation regardless of whether or not you even give this post a second glance. I appreciate that you solicit feedback from us in the community, and I am always glad that you continually look for ways to improve your game. This is just one of them, but one I think is worth considering amid other great ideas from us guardians out there fighting the Darkness.
Regards,
Antinoon
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Bump this its a good idea!
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Bewmp a dewmp.
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Yes, I don't want to use my melee ability every time it should be held down to use the ability.
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Excellent point, please read this Bungie!
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I waste so many throwing knifes by panicking melee just a hair too soon! Throwing it instead of smacking them...
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I just want a little proximity to the hunter melee for Gunslinger. All the others get a small area of effect, but I'm constantly throwing a knife because my targets shoulder dipped a little below my reticle while meleeing.
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If you blade dance you can use fast twitch and it regens almost as quick as you can use it, only problem is it doesn't have any abilities other than health regen and even then you have to use the hungering blade perk. But it does have its uses
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Yes, a toggle option
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Allot to read but otherwise a very good point indeed
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Agree
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Edited by lvl34 Gardevoir : 3/30/2015 1:23:26 AMtoo long to read not trying to be rude or troll just alot to read for me
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Agreed. The melee abilities should function like assassinations in Reach did: tap the button for a backsmack, hold the button for an assassination animation.
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bumpity
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Very well stated. I'm constantly meleeing with my titan striker. I enjoy being a wrecking ball with that particular character, but I don't always want to use my special melee ability. Especially since it can regen my health when I need it the most.
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I agree.
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Agreed. I would love to not have to blow up that lonely Dreg when all I really need to do is "simple melee" that fool.
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Totally agree, my grief with this is using the flame shield provided by scorch. If there is just one enemy - or I already have a shield - I don't want to use scorch, just a regular melee so I can save the flame shield for a future use and not have to wait 30 seconds to a minute before I can use it again.
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How about R3 (or L3 depending on your setup) is melee without the charge? Just leave R2 (L2) alone, cuz some people like it like that.
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Bump. I doubt it but I'd like if throwing knife and regular knife could be separated.
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Definitely. I've used my throwing knife [i]way[/i] too often when an enemy ducks just as I'm trying to smack 'em.
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