DISCLAIMER: Based on pre-release information and my own imagination and interpretation, just for fun, yadda yadda yadda.
At the point since the summer 2021 development update when they announced the release date to be "2023 at the earliest" and will intentionally keep things under wraps due to spoilers, I've pretty much accepted that Hytale will remain silent. I've just been going on with my normal life: teaching English, studying painfully complicated stuff for college, selling in my family store, running my new YouTube channel, and, of course, playing Genshin Impact.
So I had mixed feelings when Hytale suddenly announced its appearance on RiotXArcane. I thought, sure, Hypixel Studios is owned by Riot Games, but what's the connection between the new Netflix show (a League of Legends story, by the way) and Hytale? (Turns out there were a ton of crossovers, not just between Riot's other games, but also Among Us and Fortnite. However, the Hytale part was exclusively about Hytale; no crossover stuff.)
New Oasis Biome
I like this new biome--it somewhat reminds me of Genshin Impact's Liyue region's Luhua Pool and Qingce Village which have terrace-like pools of water (which are based on similar pools in China).
Mantling
Although from how I understood the clip, the player can jump up to 2 blocks high and grab ledges up to 3 blocks high, the blog post said that "From a standing start, a player can currently jump and grab a ledge that is four blocks high." This makes travel and parkour so much easier and reduces the need for pillar-jumping, especially in pursuits where the player may otherwise be cornered at the edge of a mountain.
Note the "from a standing start" phrase. In real life, a human can jump higher and further with a running start thanks to momentum. It may be possible that, in Hytale, the player can climb taller heights--maybe 5 blocks high--with a running start.
I'm used to short and realistic jumps in video games, especially Minecraft, so this may take a while to get used to. I also thought at first, "Why are they jumping so high when they're wearing practically nothing (i.e. no equipment enhancing their jumps)?"
Dual-Wielding Daggers
Being a tactician and martial artist who enjoys fighting, you can easily guess that this was my favorite part of the presentation. If you recall from my coverage of the summer 2021 development update, I wild-guessed that daggers would be S-tier. Now, we have some more concrete evidence to verify or falsify that! It's breakdown time!
Note that, aside from the signature move (referred to in the blog post as a signature attack), none of the dagger attacks have any official names, so instead, I'll use Genshin Impact terms. In general, this is how Genshin Impact left-click attacks work:
Normal Attack: Rapidly left-click to perform a quick multi-hit combo.
Charged Attack: Hold left-click to perform a more powerful attack with a special effect.
Plunging Attack: Left-click in mid-air to rapidly descend and strike the ground, dealing DMG upon impact.
Also note that I assume all Hytale attacks, including Normal Attacks and Plunging Attacks, consume stamina, unlike Genshin Impact where only non-bow/Arataki Kesagiri/Equitable Judgment Charged Attacks and Jean's held Elemental Skill consume Stamina.
Normal Attack
As expected of a dagger, its Normal Attack is very fast and, aside from the mace's hilt bash, is the only attack I know that is not telegraphed at all, unlike the sword's Normal Attack.
It appears to hit only up to 2 times, unlike the sword's 3-hit combo. It was showcased in a serious fight against an opposing player, though, so the players were likely more focused on defeating their opponent than making a showcase--if the dagger player attacks too much, they'll leave themselves defenseless. I hope it's not just a 2-hit combo.
Dagger wielders in Hytale wield them in reverse, so it's pretty fun to watch them slashing, even though I feel it's impractical in real life--daggers are best used to pierce just like when thrusting with a spear or sword...and why I'm glad I learned to sidestep while practicing boxing.
Charged Attack
This is where a lot of the dagger's amazing power comes from. It is simply a horizontal dash that can be used to damage distant foes or evade attacks. There is very little, if any, ending lag so the dagger wielder can immediately go back on the move.
Even better: This move can be used in mid-air AND AFTER GETTING KNOCKED BACK! It's just like a lot of moves in Super Smash Bros. like Pikachu's Quick Attack!
Note mainly for Hu Tao mains: The dagger's Charged Attack stops the player's movement upon hitting an enemy instead of passing through enemies like Genshin Impact polearm Charged Attacks do. As such, it cannot be used to evade enemies' forward Dash Attacks or pierce through multiple foes in a straight line.
This Charged Attack works a bit more like Alhaitham's Elemental Skill minus the ability to ascend into the air. (Good thing I'm an Alhaitham main!)
Plunging Attack
There's no dashing involved in this one but unlike Genshin Impact where it's completely vertical, this Plunging Attack can be done from an angle for better accuracy or to quickly slip through gaps in walls. It also inflicts a little more knockback.
As far as I know, only the dagger and the mace have a Plunging Attack. The dagger wielder seemed able to do it similar to a Normal Attack while the mace wielder is locked behind a signature move.
However, this is more predictable than the other dagger attacks because the dagger wielder, like with other mid-air attacks, has to be in the air to do it. A well-executed shield block can easily stop this attack.
Also, I love the sound effect upon impact. It's like really digging deep into your foe's guts.
Signature Move
Similar to the sword's signature move, the dagger's signature move is charged by dealing damage. (I thought it would be charged by landing Charged Attacks.)
The dagger's signature move is simply a 3-hit combo followed by a dash attack with extra knockback. While executing this, the wielder has resistance to interruption and knockback.
I'm not a fan of this signature move. The first 2 hits are identical to the Normal Attack combo in terms of speed (though we don't know how much damage any of these attacks deal). I don't think the player can jump while performing this, so the defending player can either pillar-jump or do an air dash with the dagger's Charged Attack to evade this completely, assuming signature moves are unblockable. Additionally, the first 3 hits don't interrupt the target.
In other words, I see it as an enhanced Normal Attack + Charged Attack combo that cannot be animation-canceled.
Verdict
The dagger brought me a mix of mostly positive emotions. Performing Charged Attacks is VERY satisfying--it lets the player quickly ambush foes, especially since the third-person view does not show much behind the player's back. Of course, we can't forget about its versatile dodging ability. As an evasive frontline fighter, this weapon suits me very well.
The signature move is ironically poor in defense, but it makes up for the dagger's lack of offensive power--the blog post mentioned "steadily chipping away at a foe" which implies to me that daggers don't deal a lot of damage.
The Plunging Attack was a big surprise since I thought it was exclusively available as the mace's signature move. Given how it can be used to drop down diagonally, combined with the higher jump height compared to Minecraft, it can be used to strike foes on slightly higher ground.
The dagger is excellent for patiently taking down melee foes no matter how many or how powerful they are. It'll take a lot of mouse dexterity to hit a dagger player zipping all over the place, especially since they can use the air to their advantage. They're also near-impossible to hit with bows and similar ranged weapons.
However, daggers still have notable weaknesses mainly due to them being melee weapons. A ranged attacker on a high vantage point or separated by a large gap can force a dagger player without a ranged weapon to pillar-jump and/or build a bridge; otherwise, they'll be a sitting duck. Magic can probably negate a dagger wielder's dashing ability with a vacuum field (wind) or by freezing them in place (water; yes, ice is part of the water element in Hytale). For a melee option, a sword-and-shield player can easily block the dagger's predictable Plunging Attacks and, to a lesser extent, Charged Attacks when distant. Because the dagger's attacks cannot pass through foes, a sword-and-shield player can also edgeguard a dagger player on a battlefield that has a risk of fall damage or instant death by falling from something like a floating island or a mountain.
(Note that we don't know how throwing daggers will work. Can only specific daggers be thrown, or all daggers? Can throwable daggers perform melee attacks? Throwing was not shown in the presentation.)
I just have to remember to stay calm when wielding daggers because I have a habit of dashing in Genshin Impact like I'm pressing a panic button. If I dash too much, I'll probably run out of stamina.
Still, I can't believe the dagger player lost to the mace player. I thought the dagger would absolutely wipe the floor with the mace. Either the dagger player played badly, the mace player played well, or both. Eh, if only we knew the faces behind those helmets--I wanna ask those players if they have some competitive experience in fighting games because I feel like they don't.
Also, do daggers really have to be dual-wielded? Can they be viable in other combinations such as dagger-and-shield or dagger-and-sword? Dagger-and-sword, in particular, is viable in real life.
Overall, I put daggers in the A tier.
Now, if only there was an equipment set that increases damage after using a Charged Attack while the signature move is partially or fully charged...
Tactics
Is the dagger good for beginners?
Gamers with a moderate amount of experience with action combat games, especially fighting games like Super Smash Bros., Street Fighter, or Tekken, can pick up the dagger very easily thanks to their honed reflexes.
However, I don't recommend this weapon for casual players. I'm guessing evasion is the dagger's only defensive tactic and it cannot block.
Swords, on the other hand, still attack fairly fast and synergize well with shields which let the player passively block attacks. We're not sure yet, however, if there's a timed block mechanic that can block more damage or negate it entirely.
In PvP, I see the dagger as a weapon that ALL fighters should learn to attack with and defend against, whether or not they plan to be dagger mains. (I plan to be a fist or polearm main for roleplay since I imagine they'll try to balance all weapon types.) It allows the player to exploit split-second drops in their foes' defenses and is currently the most reliable and confirmed way to completely avoid damage. I think dagger mains will also form a large chunk of the competitive community, judging by how enthusiastic CanadianFlash was when he saw the daggers, so split-second reflexes also become important on the defensive side.
Why don't you recommend the dagger to casual players but at the same time encourage all fighters to learn the dagger?
While it is possible to play casually with a dagger, I typically don't imagine PvP to be done by casual gamers in general. In my head, casual players don't seek glory from combat; they may get into a fight or two but as long as they can defeat a foe easily, feel the satisfaction of victory, and move on to the next task such as advancing the story, building their house, or finding treasure, they're chill. That said, if your idea of casual gameplay is mowing down hordes of Trorks with daggers, have fun.
Learning the dagger is something I encourage for players who want to take PvP seriously.
PvE
Monsters that don't use player movesets usually have their attacks heavily telegraphed, making daggers an easy way to destroy them.
However, in addition to struggling with ranged attackers, daggers (assuming not all of them are throwable) are weakest to airborne foes since their Plunging Attacks only go downwards; like all other known weapon types, daggers are limited to the standard 2-block jump when attacking foes in the air.
Vs. Dagger
I admit that I'm bad at analyzing mirror matches but I'll try my best.
Because of how predictable they are, as well as their ending lag, I'd avoid using Plunging Attacks on opposing dagger wielders unless I'm sneak-attacking. Instead, I'd focus entirely on Charged Attacks.
If a battlefield has hazards like fire or obstacles like tree trunks, shield yourself behind them to block the opponent's Charged Attacks then circle around them.
Focus on Normal Attacks and the signature move in cramped spaces where there's not a lot of room to dash around.
Vs. Mace
Being two-handed weapons, maces pack long-ranged attacks aside from the deceptively fast and powerful hilt bash.
In general, a dagger player should bait a mace wielder into attacking first to exploit lag and exhaust their stamina. Get within the mace's maximum range but not within "punching" range and hope the mace wielder does a Normal Attack. If the mace wielder refuses to attack first, launch a Charged Attack and back away immediately--or even better, if your signature move is charged, to begin with, use that thanks to its resistance to interruption.
Mace wielders appear to have no anti-air attacks similar to a Shoryuken, so they're the weakest to the dagger's Plunging Attack.
Vs. Sword-and-Shield
I see the sword-and-shield combo as a hard counter to the dagger mainly thanks to its ability to block. Like other games, successfully blocking an attack inflicts much less lag on the defender compared to not blocking, so this leaves dagger wielders wide open to sword counters. Additionally, there's no startup lag on the sword's signature move so, when fully charged and timed well, a sword wielder can completely stop a dagger wielder in their tracks.
If Hytale shields don't drain stamina while blocking (even if no actual attacks are blocked), then theoretically, a shield wielder would be unstoppable except by overwhelmingly powerful attacks like, say, a Staff of Homa (a 5-star polearm) against a pot lid (one of the weakest shields in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom). However, for the sake of this section, assume that Hytale shields DO drain stamina because my brain can't handle thinking of a way to counter an otherwise ridiculously powerful weapon type.
If the sword wielder is a human player, try to intimidate them into playing defensively. I would go "random BS go!" with backing away, Normal Attacks, and Charged Attacks.
Similarly, if the sword wielder is an AI enemy, fight it multiple times to find weaknesses in its AI. Alternatively, maybe wait a month or so after the full release for modders and theorycrafters to do a deep dive on the AI Avatar.
"Into the Endless Sky" OST Review
I didn't expect this track to blow me away. It's more upbeat than all the other tracks I've heard so far like I just wanna wake up and run to the most thrilling adventure spot.
It's a shame that it's only about 90 seconds long, but it's still good. I'm guessing, based on the accompanying clip, that it's a sunrise track.
TL;DR summary: Players can climb up to 4 blocks high. Daggers can dash and do Plunging Attacks, making them really fun for ambushes and dodging.
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