Two letters: AI

So does it mean you'll be changing the combat system once the AI will be good enough in evaluating the usefullness of weapons ?

Supposedly 1.1 is the first major update, where they'll be incorporating feedback and such. Everything up until then is bug fixes/minor tweaks.

So yeah, I agree that the system needs to be completely reworked, but if that happens it won't be until 1.1 anyway. In the meantime balance passes to the numbers are relatively easy to do (you can even do this yourself in XML), so they might as well.

AI !!! 

I can't see what ai has to do with the extraneous randomness of combat. When you have to wait 6 turns for your 20 attack unit to kill a 1 hit point 5 defense guy, it's just painful. How can ai change anything to that?

The system works fine, it just needs the numbers tweaking.

One thing I would like to see is a more complex to hit roll and a % chance of hitting when you hover over a target like in X-Com. For bows at least range / Cover should count.

I also have to agree I think to hit chance and damage should be seperate.

One particular gripe I found when playing today and otherwise enjoying myself; Obsidian Golems have low attack but such high defense and hits that fight with them can get dull and be very long too.

e.g. MISS, MISS, MISS, MISS, MISS, MISS, -1, MISS, MISS-7,MISS, MISS, MISS.

I found my powerful party with comat rating of 350, taking 30 minutes to beat a 66 combat rating golem they where never in danger of losing just took a long time watching MISS scroll up the screen because they had average to good attack scores and only massive attack ratings could have shortened the battle even most spells kept missing.

I think the fundamental problem with a lot of Elemental's issues is the simplistic Attack / Defense mechanic.  It doesn't allow for much diversity at all, and boils unit design to simply choosing higher numbers.  If we separate Attack values and Damage values like every other gaming system, it allows for much more interesting tactical dynamics to form, and allows a lot more diversity in unit design.  Defense should be further split between Defense and Resistance. or Defense and Mitigation.  Heavy armor would be easy to hit, but soaks up a ton of damage, so you need to use low attack high damage weapons against it.  Lightly armored troops are more nimble and have higher defense, but much less mitigation, so you can use high attack low damage weapons against them.

The world of tactical possibilities increases exponentially with separation of these values, and Elemental will be a much more strategically rewarding game if the combat moves in this direction.

This has been discussed ad nauseum, but we haven't really gotten a firm and directed response, so I will ask directly: Brad, is this a possibility?  Is it being considered seriously?

GalCiv had the rock/paper/scissors mechanic, of different attack/defense combos. Elemental has a rock/hardplace mechanic. No choices or subtlety or countering.

Just adding my vote that the combat system would be improved by having both to-hit/attack as well as damage, as seperate stats.

Also wondering if this is something modifiable by the community.

Maybe just take MoM as an example for unit and tactic diversity and build on that?

I'd be very excited if we were taking a page from that book. Here's hoping.

Rolling chance to hit and damage together into one stat is silly and unbelievably stupid.  Separate them or you tac combat will always suck.

I hate to say it because it's bandied around so much on this forum, but in this case you absolutely should have copy/pasted the core principles from, well, Age of Wonders, or Heroes of Might and Magic, or King's Bounty, or Master of Magic, or any other 4X I can think of right now, or every RPG that I can think of right now:

Attack = Chance to hit.

Damage = Damage dealt when an attack lands.

Defense = Chance to avoid getting hit.

Resistance = Chance to avoid getting hit by spells.

These are the freakin' amino acids of RPG tactical combat.  You can derive all kinds of fun sub-mechanics from them... but, at the bare minimum, you need these four stats on every unit.  Your combat will suck and make no sense without these basics.  

Aside from ruining your mechanics and making your tac combat a laughable boring chore, leaving these out breaks the suspension of disbelief harder than sneaking a peek at the Christmas presents in your mom's closet and later having them given to you from "Santa."

1Dn damage vs. defense is stupidly broken. But changing that takes time and coding resources. Making a balance pass on the weapons and in doing so enhancing both the player experience now and the intelligence of the AI now takes a couple hours and a guy with Excel.