How Attacks Work
In any real time game, an attack has 3 points:
1. Wind Up
2. Attack Point
3. Back swing
To give an example in Grimrock, fire demons' fireball has the following pattern:
1. Pulls right hand backward
2. Brings right hand forward and spawns fireball
3. Returns to idle
Once a monster has begun its attack, it cannot cancel it. The monster will stay in place and finish the motion. We can take advantage of this by attacking during a monster's wind up and then moving to the side the moment before the attack point begins.
If done properly, you have 100% evasion against any attack. The monster will be tricked into attacking an empty square.
Turning Speed
The other monster property we will take advantage of is turning speed. Monsters move at different speeds. It actually follows a rhythm. A movement forward, to the side, back, or turning in place all happens on this beat. Monsters with slower beats are easier to bull fight. Simply attack them when they aren't facing you.
Basic Bull Fighting
I got the idea for bull fighting when I met my first ogre. An ogre has 2 attacks. The first is a normal melee swing and the other is a charge. An ogre will charge you if you are 2 more spaces away and in his line of sight. In addition, he will continue to run until he comes across a pit, wall, monster, or you.
The ideal situation is to be in is below.
Code: Select all
X = empty space
P = Player
M = Monster
XXPXM
XXXXX
1. Bait the charge by standing 2 spaces away.
2. The ogre will stamp his feet twice, yell, and then begin the charge (the charge is the attack point).
2a. Optional: While he's stamping throw 1 or 2 ranged attacks
3. Side step and let the ogre pass by
4. Once the ogre passes by, quickly turn around and move behind him.
5. While the Ogre is turning around (2 turns) attack him twice then back up 1 space.
6. Repeat from step 1.
This strategy also works against Iron Golems, but be careful. When a golem turns, it swings its flails to the side. You might only want to attack once.
Square Bull Fighting
The next style of bull fighting works on the majority of monsters in the game. It involves using a 2x2 square. The strategy is simple, only attack the monster when its side or back is exposed to you. Take the following map as example:
Code: Select all
X = Empty space
P = Player
M = Monster
XM
PX
1. The monster side steps west (still facing south).
2. The monster steps south (still facing south).
3. The monster turns west (but still in space space).
In response to the 3 things, do the matching number:
1. Move forward to the east, turn to the west.
2. Attack twice, side step to the north (still face east)
3. Turn to face north.
When done properly, the enemy will be trapped in a loop of trying to face you and will never launch a single attack because you will never be in front of it. This strategy works on almost every enemy except the flying bugs. They're too fast.
I would also not recommend doing this to Iron Golems because of the attack they make when turning. It's safer to keep them in a charging loop.
Normal Kiting
It's possible to kite monsters like in other games by exploiting the disadvantages of melee range and long wind ups. To kite most monsters, attack once, then step backward during their wind up animation.
Normal kiting does not work against any monster with a ranged attack, charge, or high speed.
Conclusion
Bull fighting is borderline over powered. It allows a party to fight enemy safely and trivializes defenses. It's only ineffective when fighting multiple monsters at once in a large room or enemies that move, turn, and attack faster than the player can input commands.
