Starfields Shattered Space DLC could fix the biggest problem with the base game’s combat. For release on September 30, 2024, Shattered Space will be the first DLC for Starfield. It is expected to address many of the game’s biggest flaws, including the lack of handcrafted environments and the unsolved mysteries of House Va’ruun. However, these may all be minor tweaks in comparison Starfields biggest combat change.
According to Bethesda Softworks‘ recently released Shattered Space deep immersion, Melee combat may get a complete revamp in the upcoming Starfield DLC. The deep dive consists of a ten-minute YouTube video in which creative producer Tim Lamb and other devs narrate footage from the DLC, explaining some of the new creatures, game mechanics, and story elements to be introduced in Shattered Space. It’s easily missed, but during a portion of the video focused on combat, the phrase, “In the base game, there was a lot of focus around ranged gun combat… In Shattered Space, we close the distance.“
The phrase is accompanied by footage of a character lunging forward with a sword in hand – but the video quickly cuts to a segment about Shattered Spaces horror elements before anyone can explain. Even so, the implication is clear: Shattered Space Will seemingly have a greater focus on melee combatBut exactly what that looks like remains to be seen. Even so, it’s an exciting development, as a full melee revamp is one of those things Starfields base game arguably needed most.
Why Shattered Space’s revamped melee combat is a big deal
Starfield needs a melee shakeup
Despite the presence of some more-than-decent melee weapons in Starfield, The game’s approach to close-quarters combat is in need of a serious shake-up. Miley is too simplistic in Starfield. Bethesda RPGs have never been known for complex systems of melee combat; Even relatively melee-focused games like Skyrim are limited to simple mechanics like multidirectional slashes and blocking. Melee combat works much the same Starfield As it was back in SkyrimMaking it feel both basic and outdated. As the Deep Dive video admits, there is definitely more of a focus on guns in Starfield.
moreover, Melee combat is pretty unbalanced in the base gameMaking it much harder to create a viable build that relies entirely on close-quarters combat. It was just recently that Starfield Added tiers to his melee weapons, a day-one inclusion for his procedurally generated guns. In short, players can always find multiple variants of each unique ranged weapon: regular, calibrated, refined or advanced. Each of these would successively increase the weapon’s stats, and players would be more likely to find higher-ranked guns at higher levels, allowing their preferred weapons to effectively scale with their levels throughout the game.
Such layers have so far not been available for melee weapons, which can only be found as is. as of Starfields June update, though, Melee weapons have three tiers of their own: Sharpened, Honed and Quantum-Edged. This makes them much more viable at higher levels, allowing players to select a preferred melee weapon and find gradually improved variants of it over an entire campaign. Between that and the addition of melee weapon mods, close-quarters combat has gotten a lot more interesting since launch.
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even so, Melee builds are still pretty unbalanced against ranged enemies. There is an issue of defense: melee players inevitably have to run up to enemies to deal damage to them, but are often riddled with bullets before they even get there. New defensive options would also be welcome, allowing players to close distances in relative safety.
Shattered SpaceThese melee updates can take several forms: they can consist of new skills and mods to make melee fighting more viable, new weapons with their own unique fighting styles, or simple balance changes to ensure that melee fighters aren’t always outpaced. Whatever the case, they certainly will Starfield‘s character is more flexible, and could go a long way to solving his biggest combat flaw.