Boxing Style
If there's one gimmick I see a lot, it's boxing. I'm into it, I think Liddykins does it, and I see several other chars using boxing builds. So why not have a boxing style. Give them a bad-A Boxing stance and have them be a tank. For the ability, do Active Defense: While holding block, push the toggle in the direction the attack is coming from to negate stamina damage. It's simple, its practical, its realistic, works great at suppressing spam attacks and is markedly different from other abilities. Plus it creates a real tank class (I see Kahlt to be more Berserker than Tank). Plus I want it... and I'm special...
Comments
The game itself just needs more styles in general, and more methods of unlocking styles. Having to lose schools just to learn styles is pretty stupid.
The ability you're describing though just sounds like shittier Kahlt. Negative stamina in a vacuum, no frame advantage, etc., etc.
To be honest a style similar to Stagger but with a different back-stick ability would probably benefit most of the boxing builds given they rely on speed. Rather than have it be a "defensive ability", maybe give each stick a dodge property and a small attack, and back stick be some kinda guardbreak or some shit given the limit of relevant fist moves.
Obvious drawback, the ability should disregard kick moves entirely, but again this is all just theoretical. Implementing this would be tricky, because although it would benefit boxing builds and build variety, it would also benefit other decks far more, creating the question of whether this is a boxing ability or just a good ability. So I mean a person with an all kick build could just use this and it'd be useful.
At the moment the best ability for Boxing is Forsaken for obvious reasons, Windfall due to the stance advantage and the guarantee of jabs (which is a core concept of boxing), Stagger because of the consistent offensive pressure (again, a core concept of boxing), and Kahlt last (useful for getting trades but hard to get consistent aggression due to no stamina and shit neutral).
TL;DR, I agree and would like more styles in general, but the means of obtaining a style and the usefulness of it should all play a factor as well.
I think it'd be pretty good in the right hands then.
If you want a guardbreak, when you do a forward stick your character should do an upper or a smash, in typical (nonprofessional) boxing matches that's going to knock someones guard above for you to hit them in the face.
But again, that makes it situational. With a guardbreak on command whats stopping a kick build from using it? Or really any build.
They'd really need to flesh out an idea for Boxing, but I can already tell you it'd be a priority for many people to get it.
My personal opinion is it'd be hard to make such a style because as far as defensive techniques goes, boxing in itself is defensive, but its only defensive because a major core of it is blocking and footwork.
Make it focused on footwork and its just windfall. A focus on blocking is just like... blocking.
Implementing weaving? They have attacks that do that (to an extent), and if they gave the ability an on-command weave it could be very OP (Hypothetically, left/right is strafes, back is low, and forward is guardbreak smash or straight). And still consider that, will this ability ban kick moves? Chops? Stagger moves? If it doesn't whats stopping others from using it with their deck if it gets all these properties.
Although personally I'd like the idea of a weaving/strafing ability, I'm not sure how that would work with balancing. They could maybe make it a class that gives no stamina for the ability but has far more stamina than other classes given boxers do excessive roadwork to maintain a certain level of fitness.
INBOUND HYPOTHETICAL
I think the best one would be to implement it as a rushdown character, or an inboxer(something we're lacking, as it's always better in this game at the moment to play defensive to learn the enemies deck, and punish). High stamina scaling, no stamina gain on ability success, left stick does a quick leftbound hook with your right hand, and has leftbound parry/blocking properties, right stick does a rightbound hook with left hand, and has rightbound parry/blocking properties, backstick something like Stagger's where you use some footwork to do a small escape with iFrames, and forward stick being something like a guardbreak straight or an upper. The guardbreak should do good stamina damage but shit HP damage to reward pressure instead of mashing it like an idiot.
This will reward players for learning the enemy deck by letting them parry with the hooks, and also will let more technical players initiate with stick setups and allow things similar to Kahlt Combo Reset.
Mid combo, tap left/right stick, and whatever stance you are in, you perform a combo starting from its original string rather than continuing the combo previously (if that makes sense).
The negatives would be no stance advantage/manipulation, low damage off the abilities themselves (since its a parry ability with a set move you can't buffer something else for more damage), and difficulty of escaping neutral due to it not being a defensive ability, rather it being an OFFENSIVE ability. The ability itself should also not let you mash the stick. The idea of left/right stickmash like mad with the parries irritates me, and the ability should have high endlag unless you follow it up with a combo from your deck. Circumventing this, instead of like other abilities where you can use it out of hitstun, give the ability itself a cooldown, maybe of 2 or 3 seconds.
Basically the deck gives you more options to initiate and pressure, but limits your escape options even more. The backstick iFrame should have absurdly tiny distance to really put pressure on the lack of defensive ability, and force you to focus on jabs and fast initiators as a boxer should.
This gives us a good balance. Its not quite Kahlt, not quite Stagger, not quite Windfall, and not quite Forsaken. Instead of the defensive traits, it has offensive traits.
idk tho kek.
You're either slugging it or tiring them out with sharps.
I agree they shouldn't call it boxing, give it some random rogue ass name. OK adjectives uh.
"Strident".
Boom. Now add some lore.
Just put boxing lore but replace it with Oratian lol.
"Originally a form of entertainment and a test of strength, a duo of Oratians would enter combat trials with one express goal : The prize of essence. However, following the downfall, desperation took over and" something something about Oratian Operatives and escaping The Downfall with all the sulfur.
Give it a "method ability name"
"Overwhelm"
Bam we got a class in hypothetical works.
All it needs is the actual content, IE, function in the game AHUE.