Nothing but the hits!

[Ralphile]

So I’ve been playing FS for a while now and have slowly realised I don’t understand how hits work. Hoping someone here can set me straight.

What’s up with the number of hits a move does? It doesn’t seem to bear any relation to the amount of damage it does if it the move is successful, or the amount of chip damage it does if the opponent blocks.

For instance, Lum’s ‘Polar Cartwheel’ has the potential to hit the opponent four times. It all the hits connect = 1 damage. If only one of the hits connects = 1 damage. Same with chip damage, there’s only ever one chip damage even if all four attacks connect but are blocked.

Then there’s the Super moves, like Jaina’s ground Super. Sometimes it has 7 hits if I’m right in close, other times it only gets 2 hits if it’s a glancing blow. Either way, it’s 2 damage.

If the answer is “Because it looks cooler” then I’m totally satisfied with that, because it does look cooler with more hits! I just want to make sure I’m understanding it right.

[mysticjuicer]

The answer is because it looks cooler, but also so that different moves interact with armor in different ways. Also, some moves deal their damage on any of their multiple hits, while some only deal damage on the first or the last hit (I think), which also changes their properties and role in fights.

[Sirlin]

Moves only have 1 hit unless there is a reason for them to have more. The two reasons for them to have more are either to make the look/feel cooler, or to affect the hitstun/blockstun of the move.

Examples of moves with extra hits to look/feel cool:
Valerie’s ground super. If it was juts one hit that would feel pretty flat.
Grave’s ground super. The 3-hit animation is just more satisfying than a 2-hit one would be.

Examples of moves where it actually matters they have more hits:
Valerie’s C rainbow
Lum’s air B cartwheel.

The intended gameplay of these moves (which currently does work as intended) is they have a whole lot of active frames where they can hit, and also they are safe on block. Imagine if these moves had only one hit. It would be one really long period of active frames. What if you blocked the first possible active frame? If the move is safe, then it would need really long blockstun. That would be fine except…what if you block at a later point in the move? You STILL have really long blockstun? That would give the move massive frame advantage on block that’s not intended. For example, it’s important that Valerie always end at -1 on block (opponent recovers 1f sooner than her) after her ground C, and it would be way too good if she ended at like +10 or something.

It’s not good to have a move that secretly gives different blockstun amounts over the course of it’s active frames. A better solution is to have a move with multiple hits. If you block the last hit, the blockstun is whatever it needs to be (so for Valerie, it’s whatever results in -1 frame advantage on block). And if you block an EARLIER hit, then it’s fine, because you’ll be stuck blocking the later hits too and end up with the same -1 frame advantage. Lum’s cartwheel has the same thing going on: the multiple hits allow it to have long active frames but a consistent result of hitstun/blockstun when he actually touches them with it.

[Ralphile]

Thanks all for the responses - it makes a lot of sense.