Offense versus defense in video games?

So I'm currently doing some personal research (READ: I'm bored of following the pro-offense meta) and was learning about the various tactics used in MM Os that didn't focus on zerging and the results are: my internet horoscope said there's hardly any "teamwork" in MMOs and handed me its writ of treason.◊ Rest in pain horoscope.

Conversely, I find a lot of RP Gs exploitably via defensive tactics rather than diving headfirst into bosses. /So title says it all.

edited 8th Apr '15 12:01:10 PM by RabidTanker

Regarding MMORPGs and teamwork, I'll only say this: If the group you're part of doesn't believe in teamwork, you need to find a better group.

As for the rest: There are far too many games and game design philosophies out there to categorically state whether games as a whole (or even all the games in a particular genre) favor offensive or defensive tactics. All in all, it boils down to a simple truth that's at least twenty-five hundred years old: Know your enemy's capabilities and know your own, and you need not fear the result of a thousand battles.

edited 8th Apr '15 12:39:14 PM by Specialist290

In most RP Gs, I'm an Attack! Attack! Attack! kind of guy.

(Relativel) Recently got into the Shin Megami Tensei series. Oh my god, status effects are so critical.

If you want a really heated debate with offense and defense, try the Super Smash Bros. community.

Isn't the general consensus that Meele favours offensive play the most, Brawl favours defensive the most and 4 is still defense oriented thought not to the extent of Brawl.

Whether or not Smash SHOULD be more offense oriented like Meele was is the real Base Breaker, not the actual status of each game, right?

Yep. Flame wars abound.

The best offense is a good defense. If you never die, you'll always win, eventually.

...unless the opponent is healing or something.

KILL, MAIM, BURN! KILL, MAIM, BURN!

(My style varies, I just like quoting 40K)

Unless of course you're playing Disgaea, where your ATK should be dealing hundreds of thousands of points of damage, and DEF is basically worthless.

That's a JRPG anyway.

And then there's Shin Megami Tensei IV, which doesn't even have a defence stat, apart from HP. Battles are practically decided on the initiative roll. Hardly my favourite style of play, though I do enjoy the shorter battles.

Honestly, I think that, competitive gaming wise, offence should be the main focus, but defence should always be an option. Pokemon does pretty great in this regard.

Spends the past hour lurking the smashboards, gets shocked about how serious those people are about the franchise

edited 8th Apr '15 2:49:31 PM by RabidTanker

I much prefer when you need to have a good grasp of both. Some Atelier games, for instance, will kick your ass in the late-game unless you can both keep yourself well-defended and his the enemy faster than they can heal.

Though, sadly, the easiest solution in that case is to use the item crafting system to make the most overpowered equipment ever. High damage output? Healing by the amount of damage you dish out? Auto-reviving on next turn after KO? Heavily-shortened turn gaps? Healing items that will activate themselves for you? Yes to all of them, and then you still lose to the inevitable Total Party Kill before your auto-revival can trigger because they made the combat system with that in mind.

World Of Tanks is highly variable in this regard, largely depending upon maps. If there's enemy vehicles with good view ranges hundreds of meters away with no cover between you and them, it WILL be a camp fest unless someone can sneak a scout close enough to spot them.

On the other hand, my clan has won several battles with 'Operation: Full Retard' and rushing everything straight at their base.

edited 8th Apr '15 3:45:07 PM by Joesolo

Yup, had the same reaction as you, only I found out reading TV Tropes and outgoing links. Ask about that more in the Smash Bros thread. Shit gets settled in Smash.

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Honestly, I've never thought that hard about it. Disgaea was the first instance where I really had to pay attention to how unbalanced the stats were, because level-grinding is a central part of the game. I've played later Final Fantasys and Pokemon, attack and defense are treated equally.

Except for FFVIII. Your HP gets cleaved off by fractions, and even "big" attacks rarely kill you if you play smart (and abuse help guides). "Protips" will tell you to play offense, because VIII Limit Breaks are more easily-accessed when your character is low on health, to the point where you can spam them if you keep that character alive.

And in games like Sky Rim and Fall Out, recently, I've shifted to upping how much pain I can dish out, because getting pelted by insta-kill frost bolts without frost immunity, or having to empty several clips into Mirelurks/Supermutants was getting annoying.

In FPS games absolute offense usually defeats any defense. Usually. For example in Battlefield 3 oftentimes the best defense is a constant counterattack. Hanging back and camping a spot defensively often takes you out of the conflict of the match.

In most games, I favor offense over defense, but I'll trade speed to gain both. The least dangerous enemy is a dead enemy, and to this end, I take the biggest gun or sword I can find and always buy new weapons before spending anything on armor and dual wield or two-hand instead of bothering with sword and board.

Then again, what did you expect from someone named after a sword?

edited 8th Apr '15 4:52:10 PM by Balmung

usually, i'll go for either long range with heavy offense or close range with heavy offense, but i can see the appeal of playing something more defense-oriented.