Templars - New Jabs or Old Jabs?

Stx

^ New jabbing animation

This is just a poll to see what % of the playerbase prefers the new animation over the old. One of my biggest dislikes for the new animation isn't shown in this short clip, but when attacking a target and light attack weaving, the spear animation shoots off into the air to your side!

TechMaybeHic

A really bad part about the new jabs that is not being mentioned much is, they did not change the audio. It still makes the sounds of 4 jabs and its a bit off putting

NeuroticPixels

Yeah, I’m totally fine with the animation. I’m NOT okay with the audio not matching the animation.

Veesk

I really dislike the PTS jabs. The new animation is weird, especially with that last hit. It uses the Nighthollow style for the spear for some reason. The sound is off, feels strange to use. Couple this with all the huge nerfs and it's hard to find any reason to like the new version personally.

Wyrd88

Have mixed feelings about it. I kinda like it, probably because it's "new" and a bit crispier looking, but needs some polish.

But if given a choice between new in it's current state and old one - old one, no questions.

shadyjane62

I hate it so much I will delete my main Templar if U have to use it.

K9002

I don't care about the animation that much but I strongly prefer the functionality and power of old jabs.

jcasini222ub17_ESO

For real about the audio? They have had audio issues ever since that lighting patch back in year 1.

redspecter23

I prefer the current animation. I'm sure I could get used to the new animation if it's felt that it's necessary to implement, but to me it feels like change for the sake of change. Could they not just speed up the old animation if needed? Or was it more about removing one of the hits and then lining up an animation to match?

YandereGirlfriend

I actually like the new animation but agree that the sound is not right.

Its actual correspondence to the hit box is also worse with the more restrained animation - but animations being misaligned with hit boxes is a defining feature of the game at this point.

virtus753

I prefer the current animation as well, mostly because the color and model matches the other Aedric Spear abilities so much better. (I assume the sound not matching the new animation is a bug, but I really don't know.)

The new animation reminds me of when they started making vet busts a less saturated shade of gold compared to base game busts. There was no reason for doing that without making the color consistent across busts. Now it just looks terrible in its inconsistency.

To be honest, though, I could see myself learning to ignore the new animation if they made the skill worth using. Right now we have to decide between using our class skills and doing competitive damage. That's not a choice we should ever have to make.

Aliyavana

the sound is off, but the new animation is better

Matteo11

I don't mind a 3 hit rotation, and I dont mind the new animation.

What I mind is the crazy audio, and the numerous nerfs that have made Jabs so much weaker.

Jabs is a 'class flavor' skill to the core. I dont see why they dont focus on improving that distinction for all jobs, rather than make everyone homogenous with weapon skills etc.

Sleep724

Isn’t this new animation using an in game staff and not it’s own unique spear animation?

merpins

I'm gonna quote myself here, which I've posted in my "RIP Jabs" thread and in other threads discussing the change.

MovesLikeJaguar wrote: »

I'm an animator, that's my job. I mainly animate for television and movies, but have done some work on games. I can tell you right now, the old animation was better. Exaggeration, anticipation, follow through, arcs, slow in and slow out... It used the principles of animation in a much better way than the new animation. See, the principles exist because without them, animation looks bad. A cartoon doesn't look like reality if you rotoscope exactly, it looks more alive if you exaggerate movements, squash and stretch beyond what a normal human can, etc.

Watch the new animation closely. The first two attacks are exactly the same with no variation in timing. There's no slow in or slow out, anticipation, squash or stretch, or exaggeration. It's just a straight forward animation, frame by frame. It feels stiff, like a robot is moving. The last jab is also slow. It pulls back at the same speed that it stabs, which does not look like a stab.

Here's how I'd fix the animation; for one, there would be variation in the first two strikes, which wouldn't be perfect stabs but have little arcs that the tip of the spear moves in to make it look alive and like an actual warrior is wielding the spear. The arms wouldn't move in perfect repetition. There would be a slight pause at the end of the pull back animation for the first two strikes, and the stab itself would launch forward faster. The body would also move back with the pull back, and arch forward when attacking. Not as much as the final attack, but the body would move a bit unlike the current animation. The second stab would not pull back as far as the first. They're two quick jabs, and pulling back that far both makes the timing of the animation slower, but also makes it look weird. The final attack would pull back similar to how it does, but the launch forward would be faster, and the spear would reach further. It would go in a straight line this time to contrast the arcs from the first two hits, as the arms themselves would be moving in arcs. The character would let go of the spear with their left hand towards the end of the animation to allow them to lunge forward even more than before, which would also give it a better explosive feeling.

That's how I'd fix it. Right now, it needs a complete rework, but the animation I outlined would take an experienced animator maybe a day or two of work to do.

Imo, I'd be fine with a big nerf if they didn't touch the skill animation or number of hits. It'll get buffed again eventually, but the new animation is terrible as I explained above. I don't personally want a nerf. But the animation is something I cannot forgive changing into... Garbage.

ZiggyTStardust

I prefer old jabs. I could get used to new jabs, but I prefer the "final jab" animation of old jabs to new jabs
I do like that they made it easier to weave, that will be helpful, since I always struggeld with properly LA weaving jabs

pklemming

Old jabs for sure. I may aswell use rapid strikes for single target now. Between that and burning light, they screwed up my Templar.

Luckily, I also play a magden...oh, wait....

danno8

Weaving- New, it's faster and easier to hit every LA on PTS.

Spear - split, I prefer the new shape but the old "glow".

Animation - old, especially on the final hit, I prefer the one-handed overhead stab to the two handed stab of the new one.

Sound - no preference, I think some people are conflating the sound of your equipped weapons reappearing with the sound of a hit, and that is making them think the audio is off. I would love if they got rid of the scream with every cast though.

Damage - old, obviously. Perhaps with old LA damage the nerf would have made sense, but reducing the damage per hit because of the access to potentially tighter LA weave is like replacing a high damage hit with a low damage one.

So overall animation wise I am sort of split.

James-Wayne

I'm ok with the animation as you can see more effects on your body now, the audio needs to be fixed and the damage on 3 jabs increased to compensate the loss of a jab.

Froil

As I've said before, the only thing I'm like 85% okay on is the new model; yes I know it's just the Nighthollow staff model.

The animation? It's not completely awful, but it doesn't look good. I don't outright hate it existing, but I don't like it because of the amateur-ish look and the fact that I'm used to the old animation.

colossalvoids

Old one is pretty well made animation compared to this convoluted mess that is half-done and have issues with speed ups, swings and timings, but the spear itself is pretty good idea, just wish they've created custom one for a class, not that it's hard to do. Should definitely be thicker and pointier at the very least.

fizl101

colossalvoids wrote: »

Old one is pretty well made animation compared to this convoluted mess that is half-done and have issues with speed ups, swings and timings, but the spear itself is pretty good idea, just wish they've created custom one for a class, not that it's hard to do. Should definitely be thicker and pointier at the very least.

Shinier. Sooooo much more shinier

JustAGoodPlayer

In the youtube community i see one streamer that is not even templar main (he is NB) - that ask to promote position how he likes new jabs.

So if such promotion will be just for Tempars mains - it will be more honest.

Because it ls their skill they will play in future.

Not some others.

Ariordin

I'll repost here what i said in the main thread on the bad jabs changes:

Ariordin wrote: »

The thing that hurts most to me about this new animation for Jabs is that it breaks the visual style of templars.

The Javelin throw, Jabs, and Spear shards all SHARE the same animation. its a glowing magical spear as if it was a third weapon for the character. Its really cool and unique to the class. None of the other classes have that sort of synergy within a skill line like this imo.

Now they've gone and broken that. The new jab animation looks like it belongs on the necromancer. Just replace the yellow glow with blue. its not graceful, or 'holy' looking... its literally got a dark center. that's a complete 180 on the representation of the skill line.

The difference is jarring compared to the skills you would expect to use along side it. The templars skills all glow the same rich yellow... and suddenly we have this ugly animation that does not fit. They need to rethink this because it does NOT fit the class at all.

MindOfTheSwarm

It actually weaves a lot smoother now. Aesthetically I could care less.

the1andonlyskwex

I prefer the looks of the new animation and actually think its audio is fine (you get a whoosh sound whenever the spear is moving, on both the forward and backward strokes). I don't really have an opinion on the new mechanics.

On the other hand, the new Flurry animation is awful, because it's not sufficiently distinct from the LA and HA animations.

Faulgor

I never really liked the old jabs. But the new one has to see some significant improvements for me to actually "like" it.

Besides the audio, I think it's an issue that you can't really tell this is an AoE attack. Ramming a spear into someone is as single target as it gets.

danno8

Faulgor wrote: »

I never really liked the old jabs. But the new one has to see some significant improvements for me to actually "like" it.

Besides the audio, I think it's an issue that you can't really tell this is an AoE attack. Ramming a spear into someone is as single target as it gets.

I'm with you on the AoE thing. Would be cool if it had a brighter central spear with some less defined "phantom" spears or spear tips to either side of the central spear.

Jestir

the new one if they fix the audio AND update all other templar spear skills to match

Jofootballo

TechMaybeHic wrote: »

A really bad part about the new jabs that is not being mentioned much is, they did not change the audio. It still makes the sounds of 4 jabs and its a bit off putting

Just shows you how little this patch was actually thought out. I understand it's the pts, but they already created the new animation, what happened to the corresponding SFX? Devs are getting lazy but we all already knew that.

Mr_Stach

Isn't the Answer No Jabs? Because it's worse than Flurry now?