Greetings everyone! Today I would like to talk about the combat system in Island of Ash.

Arsenal and Weapon Types
Currently, the game features the main types of weapons: one-handed and two-handed swords, axes, hammers, and maces. Each type has unique animations and its own features during combo attacks. One-handed weapons stand out with a high attack speed but lower base damage. Two-handed alternatives deal devastating area damage but require more time to swing.

Damage Types and Upgrade System
The combat system is based on four damage types: slashing, blunt, magical, and fire. They can be combined with each other. For example, a magical blade is capable of dealing both physical and magical damage simultaneously.

The weapon upgrade system gives players a lot of freedom. Any piece of gear can be upgraded up to the fourth level, and you choose the progression path yourself. You can increase physical damage at the first stage, add a fire effect at the second, boost physical stats again at the third, and top it all off with magic in the finale. The final stats depend entirely on your playstyle.

Parrying and Staggering
Special attention should be paid to defensive mechanics. The game features a parry system. You can deflect an enemy's strike right before it hits. If successful, the enemy will instantly lose balance and enter a stagger state. In case of a failed attempt, you will take some health damage, while the block absorbs the rest. One important detail is worth noting. You cannot parry absolutely every attack. This mechanic works exclusively against humanoid creatures with two arms and two legs.

Besides that, the weapons themselves apply various status effects like bleeding or armor penetration. If you break the enemy's posture with regular strikes, they will also lose balance. At this moment, a window opens for a series of powerful attacks that will knock the opponent to the ground.

Heavy Attacks and Character Progression
As the hero progresses, new combat moves become available. You will be able to learn a shield bash or special mid-range lunges. Additionally, each weapon has a unique heavy attack. In some cases, it is a wide sweeping strike, while in others, you get the ability to throw an axe at the target. Such moves can interrupt enemy actions, but they consume mana. This limits their continuous use. However, magical energy restores automatically, and its regeneration speed depends on the character's intelligence and collected bonuses.

Base stats, such as attack speed, critical hit chance, and raw damage, also gradually increase as you level up.

Evelyn's Ashes and Skill Progression
Evelyn's Ashes play an important role in the game. This resource allows you to unlock special active skills. Each of them can be upgraded up to the fifth level and customized to fit your own needs.

As an example, there is a skill that summons a huge boulder from underground. The character shatters it with a powerful spinning strike and sends the fragments flying into enemies. The scatter radius and the number of fragments are adjustable when selecting the skill. Another example is Veil Rift. This skill allows you to teleport to the nearest enemy, stun them, and immediately unleash a series of strikes. The teleportation range and stun duration can also be adjusted here.

Magic and Environmental Interaction
The magic system perfectly complements melee combat. About a dozen spells are implemented in the current version. I will give you an interesting example of environmental interaction. You can throw a fireball into the grass to set a patch of forest on fire and cut off the attackers' path. If the enemies try to walk through the flames, they will take burning damage, and the fire will continue to spread further. But you need to be careful, as the player character is also vulnerable to fire on the ground.

My main goal during development is to create the most dynamic combat system possible. I strive to ensure that gameplay situations can be resolved in various ways, without being limited solely to direct confrontations.

In the next devlog, I will tell you a little about the game's lore and will try to avoid any story spoilers. Thank you for your attention!