Dynamic combat: directional swinging

Hi there,

Introduction:
I know similar topics have been posted, but none of them were quite like this one. I will explain my idea for “DYNAMIC COMBAT”.

Current Gameplay:
You essentially just click once on a 2 dimensional field with your sword or axe, and hope that you were...
- close enough to the target,
- didn’t click one pixel to the left or right of the mob,
otherwise you miss. Furthermore, you fight EVERY single mob the same way, Zombies, skeletons, creepers. The only difference is having to kite creepers (good), abusing the insane immortal shield mechanics against anything but especially skeletons, or simply using a bow against flying enemies.

Problem:
The combat is extremely stale and hasn’t changed much since 2011 early alpha. The dynamic aspect of the combat didn’t change much through the 1.8 update, even though it was titled “THE COMBAT UPDATE”.

Suggestion:
Make the combat more dynamic, by introducing “DIRECTIONAL WEAPON SWINGS”. I will explain what this is, but a good example is the video game “War of the Roses” where swords swing either from the left, right, or overhead. This video came up first on Youtube for searching “war of the roses combat”
https://youtu.be/9HY7dIVNpPA
Essentially, I’m suggesting a more difficult combat system, where players can swing their swords or axes either from the LEFT, RIGHT, or TOP (overhead strike).
Coding this should be very easy:
- 1) With a sword equipped >> IF player clicks AND holds down mouse button one THEN register crosshair position
(Maximum angle from left to right is 0 degrees to 180 degrees)
- 2) As long as player is holding down mouse one, AND drags it out enough pixels away from Crosshair Position THEN...
- 3) Determine IF it’s LEFT, TOP, or RIGHT strike, depending on the mouse button release angle from the crosshair position (like 0-45 degrees is left strike, 46-134 top, 135-180 right).

Enemy Mob Changes:
The only way the above dynamic swing combat would mean anything at all is with changes to enemy mobs. Of course this deserves its own post, but essentially the player should be able to injure enemy hands, head; maybe a zombie has a shield and you can only overhead strike. Maybe creepers can only be struck sideways, otherwise they explode. Spiders are low, so only overhead strike etc.

Extra Notes:
- The longer player has the swing drawn out, the more powerful the strike
- No immortal shield block when swinging
- Maybe axes could be slower but deal more overhead damage / shield damage to mobs.
- Other problem is holding down axe when chopping down wood could mess with this idea.

Thank you for considering!