Request: A detailed explanation of Engagement. AKA, Engagement: "I'm really stupid and just not getting it."

[0rangekun]

Hopefully I haven't missed something obvious to make this thread redundant.

 

Basically, I don't feel like I have a great grasp of the way Engagement functions, mechanically, in the game. Things like what determines who you're Engaged with, how close a character has to be for Engagement to work. Essentially, beyond "when you target someone with a melee weapon, you're Engaging them", I'm not confident in my understanding of the system. Given that Engagement can be a pretty big deal in combat, I think it's important to have a full understanding of it.

 

So for the sake of simplicity, here's a list of Engagement-related things that I'm iffy on:

 

- Range. Do they have to be literally right next to you to become Engaged? My experience in D&D with Attacks of Opportunity (similar, but not identical, I suppose) is that an opponent running by a character, coming within their weapon's reach, will provoke an Attack of Opportunity. Does reach play into the rules of Engagement?

 

- Are Disengagement Attacks limited per 'round'? Going back to D&D, unless I'm remembering incorrectly, a character can only perform one Attack of Opportunity in a round (I may be wrong, though, it's been awhile). Anyway, is this true of Disengagement, or could one character technically perform as many Disengagement Attacks as they have Engagement slots, assuming as many opponents were to provoke them?

 

- What determines Engagement, who are you Engaging? I know the game provides red and green lines to display active Engagements, but what exactly determines which opponents you're Engaging? This question largely stems from situations where a character has multiple Engagement slots. If I have 3 slots, for example, and 3 opponents approach, are they all Engaged? Do I only Engage the 2nd and 3rd opponent if they stop to fight me? Am I witnessing secondary opponents walking by without provoking a Disengagement attack simply because they didn't quite come into range?

 

- Does Recovery Time have an effect on determining Engagement? For example, if I have 1 Engagement slot but there are two opponents within melee range, obviously I can only be Engaging one of them at a time. If I tell my character to switch from one target to the other, does that second target immediately become Engaged, or are they not Engaged until my character's next action/attack after having changed target?

 

- What abilities break Engagement? I don't mean CC, but self-induced breaking of Engagement. For example, when a Paladin uses Sworn Enemy, does that briefly end Engagement? If so, which abilities do this? I feel safe in assuming Interdiction and various spell-like abilities end Engagement, but what of offensive single target abilities, such as Sworn Enemy, which don't have a recovery time?

 

- Exactly how does Engagement work regarding Flanking? I've read mixed answers on this. On the one hand, I've read that they are unrelated, on the other, the description I've seen for the Flanking debuff says something along the lines of "when a character is Engaged by more characters than they have Engagement slots." A definite answer on this would be appreciated.

 

- Is there any way to know how many Engagement slots an opponent has? It seems that most things only have one slot, but there have definitely been times that I've provoked a Disengagement attack while running past a target Engaged with my tank (larger monsters, like ogres, come to mind).

 

That's the gist of it, I suppose. Don't think I'm missing anything, but just diving into a thorough explanation of the mechanic instead would be just as welcome as answering individual questions.

[Sensuki]

 

fast-forward to 31:08

Edited November 30, 2015 by Sensuki

[0rangekun]

I guess there's supposed to be a video, but I don't see anything. Not sure if it's the forum or me.

 

Edit: Nevermind, got it now. Dunno what was up.

 

Edit 2: This is awesome, thanks for the video!

Edited November 30, 2015 by 0rangekun

[Sensuki]

Try now

[anameforobsidian]

Hopefully I haven't missed something obvious to make this thread redundant.

 

Basically, I don't feel like I have a great grasp of the way Engagement functions, mechanically, in the game. Things like what determines who you're Engaged with, how close a character has to be for Engagement to work. Essentially, beyond "when you target someone with a melee weapon, you're Engaging them", I'm not confident in my understanding of the system. Given that Engagement can be a pretty big deal in combat, I think it's important to have a full understanding of it.

 

So for the sake of simplicity, here's a list of Engagement-related things that I'm iffy on:

 

- Range. Do they have to be literally right next to you to become Engaged? My experience in D&D with Attacks of Opportunity (similar, but not identical, I suppose) is that an opponent running by a character, coming within their weapon's reach, will provoke an Attack of Opportunity. Does reach play into the rules of Engagement?

 

- Are Disengagement Attacks limited per 'round'? Going back to D&D, unless I'm remembering incorrectly, a character can only perform one Attack of Opportunity in a round (I may be wrong, though, it's been awhile). Anyway, is this true of Disengagement, or could one character technically perform as many Disengagement Attacks as they have Engagement slots, assuming as many opponents were to provoke them?

 

- What determines Engagement, who are you Engaging? I know the game provides red and green lines to display active Engagements, but what exactly determines which opponents you're Engaging? This question largely stems from situations where a character has multiple Engagement slots. If I have 3 slots, for example, and 3 opponents approach, are they all Engaged? Do I only Engage the 2nd and 3rd opponent if they stop to fight me? Am I witnessing secondary opponents walking by without provoking a Disengagement attack simply because they didn't quite come into range?

 

- Does Recovery Time have an effect on determining Engagement? For example, if I have 1 Engagement slot but there are two opponents within melee range, obviously I can only be Engaging one of them at a time. If I tell my character to switch from one target to the other, does that second target immediately become Engaged, or are they not Engaged until my character's next action/attack after having changed target?

 

- What abilities break Engagement? I don't mean CC, but self-induced breaking of Engagement. For example, when a Paladin uses Sworn Enemy, does that briefly end Engagement? If so, which abilities do this? I feel safe in assuming Interdiction and various spell-like abilities end Engagement, but what of offensive single target abilities, such as Sworn Enemy, which don't have a recovery time?

 

- Exactly how does Engagement work regarding Flanking? I've read mixed answers on this. On the one hand, I've read that they are unrelated, on the other, the description I've seen for the Flanking debuff says something along the lines of "when a character is Engaged by more characters than they have Engagement slots." A definite answer on this would be appreciated.

 

- Is there any way to know how many Engagement slots an opponent has? It seems that most things only have one slot, but there have definitely been times that I've provoked a Disengagement attack while running past a target Engaged with my tank (larger monsters, like ogres, come to mind).

 

That's the gist of it, I suppose. Don't think I'm missing anything, but just diving into a thorough explanation of the mechanic instead would be just as welcome as answering individual questions.

 

Yes you have to be next to them.  There were plans to make polearms have increased engagement range, it didn't pan out (wish it had).

 

There are no rounds in PE, so hence, no per round limitations.  I believe there's a time limit on them.

 

And most moves give you a bonus to defenses against engagement attacks  (paladin & chanter effects).  Very few of abilities actively break them.  Barbarians can rush through them and rogues have a couple.