Why is a head shot not a kill shot? : V

» Tue May 29, 2012 4:15 am

OK, so maybe the enemy has a healing potion or spell. I saw some bandits and decided to use my bow/arrow. I shot a couple of them in the head. They kept fighting.
Is a head shot more lethal the higher level you are?

I

» Tue May 29, 2012 10:47 am

I don't know anything about headshots in the game but I do know this. No locational damage.

» Tue May 29, 2012 1:43 pm

OK, so maybe the enemy has a healing potion or spell. I saw some bandits and decided to use my bow/arrow. I shot a couple of them in the head. They kept fighting.
Is a head shot more lethal the higher level you are?

I

IIRC headshots do not amount to more damage in TES games, which makes sense from the perspective that it would provide balancing problems. If they made arrow headshots OHK, they'd either have to make sword hits to the head OHK too, or they'd end up making archery ridiculously powerful by comparison due to the ease of headshotting people.

» Tue May 29, 2012 1:10 am

No locational damage means no headshots. Putting an arrow in their toe is no different than in their head in this game.

» Tue May 29, 2012 1:48 am

A head shot does not insta-kill any more than an arrow through the heart insta-kills. Or an arrow through each lung puts them out of the fight.

» Tue May 29, 2012 10:51 am

Because this isn't call of duty. The game would be pretty stale if any enemy could just be killed by one arrow to the dome.

» Tue May 29, 2012 8:16 am

bit silly that!

headshot should be instant kill or atleast massive damage

but then again an arrow to my toe would be bloody massive pain to :hubbahubba:

» Tue May 29, 2012 2:51 am

Because this is a traditional "damage vs hp" style RPG, not a twitch/action/FPS You Hit The Vulnerable Spot!? UltraSuperInstaKillboomheadshot game.

» Tue May 29, 2012 6:12 am

You gotta shoot 'em in the knee...

Sorry, couldn't help it :-)

» Tue May 29, 2012 10:39 am

bit silly that!

headshot should be instant kill or atleast massive damage

but then again an arrow to my toe would be bloody massive pain to :hubbahubba:

No, no it should not.. not in a TES game. There is nothing realistic about TES and believe me, that is a good thing. The whole game is based on stats and skills, if we could 1 shot anyone then what would be the point?

Besides, if you want to 1 shot anything in this game you actually can.

» Tue May 29, 2012 11:41 am

it doesnt mean you shouldnt do headshots though - the object of headshots is to try and get one arrow in each eye and then one right in the middle of the forehead. Purely for asethic reasons ofc.

[img]http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/6221/2011112800027.jpg[/img]

» Tue May 29, 2012 7:54 am

it doesnt mean you shouldnt do headshots though - the object of headshots is to try and get one arrow in each eye and then one right in the middle of the forehead. Purely for asethic reasons ofc.

[img]http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/6221/2011112800027.jpg[/img]

I tend to go for the knee.

» Tue May 29, 2012 9:15 am

that's how it works didn't you know? everyone in tamriel has there vital organs and nerve endings put in a diamond coated titanium box sealed away in another dimension.

» Tue May 29, 2012 1:05 pm

The game's HP lets you take a lot more damage than a person actually could I think. It wouldn't make much sense to a apply a realistic damage model to headshots but not every other attack; that would inflate the value of head-aiming. If head shots were always a kill, then so should getting impaled in the chest with an ice spike or blasted by dragon fire, but I wouldn't want the game to be like that.

I wouldn't be against locational damage altogether, but maybe something like x1.2 damage for a head hit and x0.8 damage for a limb (with reduction in speed or damage) would reward people that like to do that kind of aiming without over-emphasizing it.

» Tue May 29, 2012 2:41 am

Headshots have never factored into TES and let's face it, if you could do it then so can the game and there have been plenty of complaints about the NPC zoned levelling suddenly throwing a nails bandit at you.

Imagine the poostorm when people are suddenly headshot by an archer they haven't noticed ?

With perks and specialising in bows, smithing, alchemy, enchanting you can pretty much end up 1 shotting most enemies if you want to.

» Tue May 29, 2012 9:23 am

One reason among many may be that trying to get a head-shot, or even attempting any kind of accuracy during a fight using a game-pad must be about as easy and intuitive as trying to pick up a pencil off the floor using your butt-cheeks.

» Tue May 29, 2012 1:14 pm

The whole point in bows is that they are extremely deadly at long range. IMO it would be better if archery was not an everyman's skill, needed horrid amounts of training to get it right but it would be very deadly. Shooting bows is much harder than it is in video games.

An alternative would be crossbows, which require less training (medieval crossbowmen could do with 2 days of training before sent to war) but as it is, very slow reloading.

» Tue May 29, 2012 4:20 pm

I had an Oblivion mod that made headshots do extra damage. I think it was a lot more fun having to aim for specific areas rather than backpedaling and turning the enemy into a pincushion.

» Tue May 29, 2012 9:02 am

Because this is a traditional "damage vs hp" style RPG, not a twitch/action/FPS You Hit The Vulnerable Spot!? UltraSuperInstaKillboomheadshot game.

Or, Modern Warfare 5: Skyrim.

» Tue May 29, 2012 1:08 am

In an RPG, the game is supposed to be about your character and their abilities, not you. If you could simply one-shot kill everything with an arrow to the head from the moment you start out in the game that would place the emphasis too much on player skill.

» Tue May 29, 2012 9:22 am

V.A.T.S blergh!

» Tue May 29, 2012 1:57 am

that's how it works didn't you know? everyone in tamriel has there vital organs and nerve endings put in ~~a diamond coated titanium box sealed away in another dimension~~ their knees.

Fixed that for you. :hubbahubba:

» Tue May 29, 2012 3:44 pm

If the skill progress modeled through accuracy, one hit kills wouldn't be a problem at all.

» Tue May 29, 2012 3:32 am

Because this isn't call of duty. The game would be pretty stale if any enemy could just be killed by one arrow to the dome.

Why? that's exactly how it should be for Expert/Master difficulties.

You have just as much chance of being 1 shotted too.

» Tue May 29, 2012 4:57 am

IIRC headshots do not amount to more damage in TES games, which makes sense from the perspective that it would provide balancing problems. If they made arrow headshots OHK, they'd either have to make sword hits to the head OHK too, or they'd end up making archery ridiculously powerful by comparison due to the ease of headshotting people.

This conundrum cannot last for much longer.

Sooner of later, Locational Damage will have to be addressed. Now, I understand the conflict that arises from having locational damage within the framework of an RPG. But hey, let Todd Howard burn his brain cells and come up with a synthesis. It must provide both a sense of character evolution and more plausible combat.
It's plain embarassing walking around with your throat slit or an arrow stuck to your forehead.

I am wondering if Dark Souls has faced up the challenge.