The 2XKO alpha test is underway, and players are, as you might expect, diving into it and discovering all sorts of nasty combos and sneaky tech. But during this journey of Twitter clip exploration, a question has come to the forefront of the general 2XKO discussion. Are overly long combos fun, and should they find a place in 2XKO?
By too long I mean those stunning combinations that intertwine between the characterssometimes combining multiple superpowers that leave the victim locked in a period of helplessness while their opponent styles them for ages. For some, this ability to pull off combos lasting over 15 seconds is where all the expression of mastery can be found. For others, the ability to take their hands off the controller and check Twitter in the middle of a match is not something that is electrifying.
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This debate is taking place online. On one side, those who believe that these long periods of downtime are not good for the game. The creator of the game Keits from Iron Galaxy brought his own researchwho found that 6-8 seconds of downtime is where frustration starts to build. While others, like influencer Cosmonaut Marcus he spoke up about how fundamental overcoming that feeling is to the fighting game experience. The idea that you have a lot to lose, over a period of time, and pushing through that feeling is how fighting games become satisfying.
Enter Shaun Rivera, the game director behind the game long post on twitter on how the team intends to respond to this feedback. After expressing his delight at the number of people who flocked to the alpha and made the most of it, he wrote:
“We’re seeing a lot of really creative stuff, but I want to emphasize this: Very long periods of low or zero agency are undesirable. Thanks to all the incredibly talented lab monsters for giving us a lot to look at. We have work to do here, so you can expect the game to improve in this area in the future.”
He also commented on the touch-of-death combos that were discovered almost immediately by testers. For those who don’t know, these are combos that can kill a character from 100% HP all the way down to zero. They are situational and often resource-intensive, but are still incredibly powerful.
Rivera writes: “Right now, damage is generally pretty high because we want matches to be fast and explosive. When it comes to TOD, we’ve mostly seen clips of people using Ahri’s Back Assist Unscaled Damage glitch (sorry about that), ultimates that can be used in combos, and Yasuo’s full gauge dump combined with Double Down and Fury Fuses. The above combos are expected, but hearing your feedback, opinions, and looking at data to better understand what’s happening in Match Mode vs. Practice Mode has been incredibly valuable.”
“I want to be clear: we don’t want 2XKOs to apply to TODs, and if they do exist, they should be rare and resource-intensive. We have some work to do to address some of the easier ones, and with all your feedback, I’m sure we can improve some things.”
So it looks like these longer combos, the ones that remove the player’s influence, are going to be changed a bit in the near future. But is this the right move? Looking at other tag fights, games like Marvel vs Capcom 3, extended combos and even touch-of-death combos are an integral part of the high-level experience. They are part of the high-level expression of skill, as is the movement and defensive play to avoid such combos. Would limiting the length and power of such combos take something away from the overall 2XKO experience?
Or, in the hopes of attracting more players than other tag fighters, is this a worthwhile sacrifice? The Alpha Labs intentionally included not only hardcore fighting game fans, but also non-fighting game fans who entered early on. This group essentially represents the early influx of League/Valorant/general player base who are expected to at least try 2XKO post-launch, and if they do take off en masse, who does that lend a hand?
It’s worth considering that, and also what a proper tutorial, entry-level experience, and ranking system would do to modern player retention. Maybe it’s just frustrating because we’re pitting Jimmy, a 14-year-old Valorant player, against all sorts of incredibly talented fighting game players. Lab monsters who can sit and optimize a combo for hours while Jimmy just wants to land a super.
Do you think combo length and touch-of-death combos need to be adjusted, or is it too early to make such changes? Let us know below!
