Barrier Shift

[psofan219]

What exactly does Barrier Shift do? I have a theory, which is it lets you block an attack no matter which direction it comes from, but I haven't been able to find a suitable hostile to test it against. If anyone can confirm this for me I'd be happy. Thank you ahead of time.

[Niered]

according to the Photon Art Guide and some of my own dealings with it, it provides the character (and actually all characters in its are of effect) with a short period of invincibility.

Meaning its basically worthless, as even though it has an incredibly short charge time this doesnt make up for the fact that in order for it to be useful the player would have to have enough time to see an attack coming that they would have to charge and then use it and hope that their teammates were close enough that it would effect them as well.

Basically, your better off dodging, or just facing the enemy thats attack and blocking with your shield.

[psofan219]

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll just have to try it out, see if I decree it as useful or not. There are some enemies that follow up with a quick attack once your combo is finished, and the invincibility can help me dodge the attack and all. But I'm going to agree with you and saying that dodging/blocking with shield is just the better choice. I was just messing around with a Shield that had Barrier Shift as the PA and it kinda got me thinking. I thought that maybe it did something to your DFP/EVP at first, then I thought that it allowed you to block an attack from any direction. In a sense, I was right with the second guess.

[Niered]

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll just have to try it out, see if I decree it as useful or not. There are some enemies that follow up with a quick attack once your combo is finished, and the invincibility can help me dodge the attack and all. But I'm going to agree with you and saying that dodging/blocking with shield is just the better choice. I was just messing around with a Shield that had Barrier Shift as the PA and it kinda got me thinking. I thought that maybe it did something to your DFP/EVP at first, then I thought that it allowed you to block an attack from any direction. In a sense, I was right with the second guess.

Its not a bad idea on SEGA's part, in fact I'd like to see more defensive/support PA's. Its just that the amount of time that its useful for is so short it doesnt make it worth it.

Perhaps if it also acted as a sort of Deband it would be better. At the very least, Cast's such as myself would find it useful then.

[Poignantswine]

according to the Photon Art Guide and some of my own dealings with it, it provides the character (and actually all characters in its are of effect) with a short period of invincibility.
...it has an incredibly short charge time ...the player would have to have enough time to see an attack coming that they would have to charge and then use it ...




And that's exactly how it works. The nice thing about a lot of the enemies in PSzero is that their attacks are really easy to see coming. This give plenty of time to pick out who needs help.

That being said, the charge time for Barrier Shift is ridiculously quick. This makes it very easy to run over to a player being mobbed, charge, and then snap out a quick barrier and then switch back into attacking.

As far as helping yourself with it, consider this: You're surrounded by a moderately-sized group of hostiles. You already have the advantage of being able to hit multiple targets with a shield. Also, there's the occasional chance of flinching an enemy with a shield-hit. Swing the shield; hold, charge; snap your Barrier Shift as the hostiles counter-attack and swing your shield some more. Lather, rinse, repeat.

It won't make you invincible (for long), but you'll save yourself the few extra hit-points you would have lost if you'd have been using any other Hunter weapon. You already get a Defense boost, and the ability to guard against most front-attacks. Barrier Shift only adds to the benefits.

Dodging works too, but it takes you out of the action. This is fine, hit and run tactics work well with different weapons, but if you're using a shield you want to concentrate more on hitting less on running.

[Niered]

And that's exactly how it works. The nice thing about a lot of the enemies in PSzero is that their attacks are really easy to see coming. This give plenty of time to pick out who needs help.

That being said, the charge time for Barrier Shift is ridiculously quick. This makes it very easy to run over to a player being mobbed, charge, and then snap out a quick barrier and then switch back into attacking.

As far as helping yourself with it, consider this: You're surrounded by a moderately-sized group of hostiles. You already have the advantage of being able to hit multiple targets with a shield. Also, there's the occasional chance of flinching an enemy with a shield-hit. Swing the shield; hold, charge; snap your Barrier Shift as the hostiles counter-attack and swing your shield some more. Lather, rinse, repeat.

It won't make you invincible (for long), but you'll save yourself the few extra hit-points you would have lost if you'd have been using any other Hunter weapon. You already get a Defense boost, and the ability to guard against most front-attacks. Barrier Shift only adds to the benefits.

Dodging works too, but it takes you out of the action. This is fine, hit and run tactics work well with different weapons, but if you're using a shield you want to concentrate more on hitting less on running.

Thats great and all, but I'd much rather have an offensive PA on my shield. Give me a Bull Run and I can combo-charge into it, making the enemy flinch.

And yeah, dodging may take you out of the battle for half a second, but really, your doing the same thing when you charge and cast Barrier shift, except barrier shift also costs PP.

[GHNeko]

At least Barrier Shift doesn't get you punished for mistiming a roll.

I still can't get over how much cool down there is on Dodge Roll after invini-frames finish. >_<

[mike.experiment]

I'm a big fan of this ability. When timed right you will never take damage from a boss battle, and the bonus of combo charging makes this a viable attack and defense counterpoint. I've actually built R-66Y, my HUcast around this weapon so that he can be a super tank/dwarven defender.

[Niered]

At least Barrier Shift doesn't get you punished for mistiming a roll.

I still can't get over how much cool down there is on Dodge Roll after invini-frames finish. >_<

Ive really never thought it was that bad. I even dodge roll through security lasers and make it 95% of the time. The cool down isn't so bad if you ask me.

I'm still willing to bet that an offensive PA would better serve you than Barrier Shift, but hey, the fact that were even having this discussion makes me giddy with delight, it shows just how easy it is for a player to adopt minute parts of this game's attack system into a viable build. Thats pretty cool!

[GHNeko]

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. xD

The cool down isnt bad. I get away with mines like 85% of the time. It's just that I come from competitive fighters (TvC, Smash, Tekken, etc etc) so I'm much more conscious of things like frame data, invulnerability frames, hitboxes, hurtboxes, etc.

When I compare the speed of battle, speed of how fast characters move, speed of the roll and what not to the cool down of Dodge Roll. It just stands out like a white guy in the ghetto. You know? The dodge gets the job done when used right, but that cool down is almost twice as much as cool down from normal attacks and techs.

[Niered]

No sarcasm, I was being genuine.

More importantly, I think that the cool down of the dodge roll is more than justified. Your being given a short period of absolute invincibility (generally speaking, a No-No for Action RPG's) as well as a quick way of distancing yourself from the enemy. You just have to make it count.

I've gotten to the point that I usually don't get hit more than 2-3 times fighting super hard Dragon. Drill rolls are easy to dodge, provided you look at the map and not the screen, and just about everything else has a large enough "tell" that you can get out of its way easily, with exception to his OMFG triple fireball attack.

[GHNeko]

You dont even have to dodge roll the Drill attack. Just run straight. That's what I do.

There are alot of boss attacks that you dont have to roll for and you're better for doing so.

As for dodge roll. I'd rather less cool down. Yes. You invincible for a short period of time and I think the invincibility period starts on Frame 1, but you're committing yourself to a direction, dropping your assault, and ultimately breaking up the pace of battle, which is also a no-no for action RPGs.

But that's just me. When I get momentum going, dodge rolls break it because of the cool down.

[Poignantswine]

For the sake of the topic: I admit, dodge does have its benefits. I cannot deny that. For the purpose of combat, I almost always use it as a GTFO move, or for gaining tactical advantage by flanking.

With a shield, though, I much prefer using Barrier Shift. For me, it isn't as much about laying out a solid beat-down as it is about holding my ground.

That being said, Niered, I totally mirror your enthusiasm about this conversation. The battle system is very elementary, but there are JUST enough little tweaks -be it by choice of weapon, PA, palette setup, or what have you- to contour the gameplay to the individual player if he or she is willing to work with it.

[Allison_W]

Don't forget that in multiplayer games you can designate one player (probably one playing a newman, for the extra PP and PP regen) to be the designated Barrier Shifter in hard fights, totally screwing the opposition while other players lay the smack down with impunity.

[GHNeko]

Allison know how it do.