Taoism
Known Issues and Incompatibilities
Currently identified technical interactions with other modifications:
Charm's bat bucket module must be disabled for proper offhand attacks to work. The cause of this incompatibility is known, but the solution should be implemented by Charm developers.
When using Primitive Mobs, parrying stops working after the first attack on an enemy. No code conflict has been identified, but the problem persists.
Dynamic Stealth makes staggering impossible and requires very precise aiming for successful parrying. The reason for this feature has not yet been established.
Mod Overview
This modification is in active development and currently adds 36 unique weapon types from around the world to the game. These weapons feature the following characteristics:
• Complete absence of durability • Interaction with the posture and chi system of the player and opponent • Ability to be used in the offhand, opening up numerous combinations • Real area of effect - weapons damage all targets within radius, applying enchantments, potions, and effects from other mods • Various stats and unique abilities that determine combat style
Crafting recipes are made inexpensive since the mod focuses on skill rather than stat progression. Each weapon is specialized for a certain combat style and can quickly eliminate opponents when used correctly.
Posture System
When taking damage, your posture decreases. The exact amount of posture lost depends on attack power and weapon modifiers. If you're holding any weapon from Taoism (or other weapons specified in configuration) and facing your attacker, you automatically block incoming melee attacks - this is called "idle parrying." The effectiveness of idle parrying depends on weapon type - for example, a dagger performs worse at this task than an axe.
Taking damage head-on also deals posture damage, so parrying is actively encouraged. Arrows and other projectiles can also be parried, but this requires sufficient chi level. After successful parrying, both parties are knocked back, with each entity's maximum posture reducing the knockback taken.
Initially, you and most mobs have 10 posture units, which can be increased to 20 with armor. However, armor also slows posture regeneration - in full armor, regeneration speed is halved. Low health also negatively affects posture regeneration.
When your posture is not full, it displays as a bar at the bottom of the screen. If the bar isn't red or yellow - there's little to worry about. When riding a creature, knockback is converted to posture damage for you and your mount.
Staggering and Its Prevention
If posture drops to zero, the entity becomes staggered until posture recovers. While staggered, movement is impossible, and damage taken ignores 9 armor points. This usually means death, so avoid this condition. This mechanic also works for mobs, allowing effective elimination of heavily armored opponents.
The saving grace in this system is sudden stagger prevention (SSP). If you have more than 1/4 of your maximum posture remaining, any hit will only drop posture to slightly above zero instead of complete staggering. For a short time after SSP activates, you're immune to staggers, and this ability only recharges when posture is fully restored. This allows recovery from miscalculations of enemy attack strength or your own defense posture percentage.
Chi System
Chi is a simple mechanic. It increases when attacking with weapons from this mod and gradually decreases over time. There's a configurable grace period after gaining chi and losing a level during which chi doesn't decrease, allowing prolonged battles without chi recharge breaks. The decrease rate also slows with less chi.
Upon reaching certain chi levels, mobility moves are unlocked:
0+ chi:
- Increased jump height and slowed falling; immunity to fall damage
- Double-tapping strafe or back keys on ground performs a dodge with temporary invulnerability
- While sprinting, crouching triggers a forward slide
- Double jump available in air
- When colliding with entity in air, can kick off them, dealing posture damage
2+ chi:
- Ability to dodge in air with increased distance
- Slowed falling after aerial dash for combinations
3+ chi:
- Combining dodges and double jumps for advanced aerial mobility
- Wall running when sprinting or dodging into wall while airborne
Weapon Arsenal
Weapon mechanics are intuitive (described in tooltips) but require mastery for effective use:
Jian - Chinese sword for noble warriors. Close to standard sword, focused on combos with almost continuous attacks.
Kampilan - Filipino blade for close combat. Less combo potential but compensates with larger attack area and converting knockback to additional damage.
Cestus - Roman combat gloves. Defense-oriented, using status effects from high combo counters.
Sapper's Axe (Ban Fu) - heavy axes of auxiliary units. Pierce armor and knock down opponents.
Balisong - Filipino folding knives. Different attack patterns in main and offhand, deal massive ambush damage.
Karambit - Indonesian curved knives. Ambush attacks cause bleeding, reducing health and healing ability.
Spherical Mace (Chui) - Chinese maces for strong warriors. Deal massive posture damage and increase damage to downed targets.
Tassel Spear (Qiang) - flexible Chinese spears. Feature long attack range, effectiveness increases with distance.
Tonfa - Okinawan clubs with outstanding defensive capabilities. Unpredictable in attack, weaken opponents with blocks and parries.
Chicken Sickle - obscure Chinese martial pick. Modest in appearance but can quickly inflict serious wounds with long-term bleeding.
And this is just part of the arsenal! Each weapon has unique mechanics and combat style, from European halberds and rapiers to exotic rope darts and monk spades.
Mobs can also use these weapons, making them more dangerous opponents. For balance, mobs have an attack cooldown defaulting to 0.5 seconds, configurable in settings.
The mod is in active development, with many new features and systems planned. All current mechanics may be changed during balancing process.
