-
Posts
2627 -
Joined
-
Yeah, definately bushy tails. Hopefully the reason we never had them before is that it didn't look good unless it was animated.
-
Quote:Except that typically, a staff IS swung in a similar fashion. The striking point is the end of the staff, not a blade, but it is still the same motion. Traditionally in Western combat, the staff is the only weapon which is used in a similar fashion to Eastern martial arts, where the skill of the user is the primary factor, rather than numbers and formation. Which is why the staff occasionally was used by trained knights, but the spear never was. It was a peasant's weapon, below the nobility.So what is your issue with that? It's pretty much what I said before, really. And the reason I state that is, for the scythe to retain its 'cool' factor, it must be swung in a fashion that exhibits that blade and really can't be done with animations for a staff or spear.
A spear, as used by a modern martial artist, would be similar to a scythe or pole arm, not ideally suited for one on one combat, but usable as a staff, with the blade on the end as a weapon of opportunity. -
Quote:A scythe is used as a threshing or mowing device. It is swung in front of the body, from left to right, and is designed to be used with the blade close to the ground. It actually would be an awkward weapon used if held by the handles, although it does gain some leverage that way. Most scythes shown wielded by the Grim Reaper or similar characters are not held by the handles, but instead are swung, with the supporting hand at the weapon's center of gravity. Likely, this is because if it was held by the rear handle, the impact of striking a solid body would knock it out of the wielder's hand.But the way I see it, a scythe as a weapon is kind of useless...except in over-the-top displays of badassery. In that case, a scythe is a powerful weapon. But you can't look baddA swinging a scythe around like a staff, you need to 'reap'. That is, pull the weapon through the enemy. And the stabbing point is 'waaay' out on the end too.
The point of a scythe is NOT used in its ordinary purpose, and it could not be used in an attack. I am assuming you are talking about a true farm implement scythe, not a war scythe, which mounts the blade at a totally different angle. The blade of the scythe CAN be used by pulling it through the enemy, but given that that is such an unnatural motion, and very few opponents would let themselves get inside such a manuever, it is very unlikely you would ever be able to pull it off.
If you can show me an example of it being used otherwise, go ahead. But most scythes I have seen used in combat have been very stylized, with no actual portrayal of how the motion would actually result in the slashing damage shown. It's essentially just a staff with a dramatic accessory stuck on it to satisfy the Rule of Cool. -
Quote:I'm not sure what the numbers are either. I don't know every little detail about Luck of the Gambler and I don't know what level IOs you're talking about slotting, but my calculations are that those three IOs should give +37.5% Enhancement to Def. 3 Def SOs of even level should give you +60% Enhancement to Def. That should raise Dispersion Bubble's Def from 13.75% to 16%. That's more than a 0.3% increase in Defense.It's probably a casual comment without looking at the numbers. And I guess she doesn't really mean replacing all your LotG by generic defense IO, maybe add a slot or something like that.
At the very least, adding a fourth slot to all three powers and slotting a Def IO in there will give you very close to +60% Enhancement.
Also, while again, I can't see the numbers, my personal recommendation for an FF/Rad, particularly one that you intended to use balanced in terms of support and offense, is to try to give as much +Dam Set Bonuses as you can. I usually use Red Fortune instead of Luck of the Gambler, and the fourth IO gives the damage bonus. You have no damage bonuses at all from FF, so you need to make your attacks more End efficient. And increasing recharge, while that's the usual recommendation, INCREASES your End costs, instead of decreasing them. While you might be able to keep up with Vigilance, I personally hate counting on it. Particularly since if you are doing well with FF, you should be getting no Vigilance at all.
I'm guessing you're using Luck of the Gambler for the health and regen bonuses, but IMO Red Fortune will be of more use for the damage. At the very least, take the 2 slots out of PFF and put them in Dispersion and Manuevers and put the Red Fortune there. That'll be a "bubble lite" version, where the ally bubbles aren't quite at full power, which is kind of what I did in my early levels. The Explosive Strike is good where you've got it, if you pick up Repulsion Bomb, though, DON'T put it there. (You don't want knockback in Repulsion Bomb, leaving it knockback. Detonation is a good one there)
I'm not a min/maxer, and there may be those who disagree with my suggestions, but that's my advice. -
Quote:I've honestly heard it both ways. I've always felt it was Ice Melee that was the problem, only to have Back Alley Brawler or someone similar come out and say, "No, Ice Melee wasn't the problem, it was Chilling Embrace." I don't know whether to believe he knows what he's talking about or not, but I wasn't in CoV Beta, so I'm certainly not going to call a redname on it when I don't have any personal knowledge of it myself.Ice Armor was just a victim of being thematically paired to a Melee set that was the worst set for generating Fury. Maybe Ice Melee wasn't horrible at it, like some people tend to exaggerate it having been claimed to be, but it apparently lagged far enough behind the other sets for someone to take notice.
What can I say, I would swear Brutes would get way too much healing out of Regeneration because of their higher HP, but Castle said, "No, it's not the healing powers, it's Quick Recovery." What do I know? [shrug] -
Quote:Well, Hack = Beheader, Chop = Slash, Whirling Sword = Whirling Axe, Slice = Pendulum and Headsplitter = Cleave. I think Disembowel = Swoop, but they do have different animation times, so they may just be similar. Gash and Parry are both unique, though. And War Mace looks to be quite unique, too.Speaking of which, I posted this today in another thread: they should totally open all the Broadsword weapon models for the Battle Axe powerset and vice versa. It would save them effort on proliferating those sets, and give players the look they want. (Plus they already use the same animations...)
I don't necessarily disagree with the idea, any more than I disagree with making the same swords available to Broadsword and Katana, but there are certainly differences. It's not like it's the same Power Set with a different model in the player's hand. (And really, I like the idea of Katana = Lethal with Fast, Acrobatic Style, Broadsword = Lethal with Slower, Defensive Style, and Battle Axe = Lethal with Slow, Forceful Style) -
Since no one has done it yet, why don't I just give an example...
Stab - You stab at your opponent with the end of your Staff. The impact area is so small, that this attack does Lethal damage. Melee, Moderate Dam (Lethal) Recharge: Fast
Swing - You swing your Staff in an arc, striking your foe solidly. This attack does only Smashing damage, but does more damage than Stab. It is not as fast, however. Melee, High Dam (Smashing) Recharge: Moderate
Sweep - You sweep your Staff in a complex manuever that strikes all foes in front of you. The damage is less than Swing, but can hit multiple foes. Melee (Cone) Moderate Dam (Smashing) Recharge: Moderate
Build Up - (just the normal build up)
Hook - You hook your opponent with the end of your Staff and bring him to the ground. The attack itself does minor damage, but has a very high chance of knockdown. Melee, Minor Dam (Lethal), Foe Knockback Recharge: Moderate
Taunt/Confront - (just the normal taunt)
Whirling Staff - You spin your Staff, striking all foes around you. This attack can knock foes to the ground as the end of the staff catches them. PBAoE Melee, Moderate DMG (Smash) Foe Knockback
Dancing Staff - You strike and slash with the end of your staff, doing major Lethal and Smashing damage to your foe. The final attack will send your foe into the air. (This would be a very elaborate animation, using complicated spins and thrusts of the staff, but all striking at one target) Melee, Extreme DMG (Lethal, Smash) Foe Knockup. Recharge: Slow
Figure Eight - You begin a complex spin of your staff, striking at all opponents in a wide arc in front of you. This attack does serious damage. (Again, a fairly complex animation utilizing spinning of the staff, more like a couple of "figure eights" instead of just one) Melee (Cone) Superior DMG (Smashing) Recharge: Slow
I'm not considering any secondary effects because there could be many possibilities for that. Knockback would be very likely, or the -Def from Broadsword for the tip attacks. (And note the purpose of the tip of a pole arm often WAS to rip open the armor of a foe, so -Def would fit) This is very similar to Broadsword, Battle Axe, and War Mace, though, with the "Hook" attack replacing Parry. Hook may need to do more damage than that, similar to Clobber/Jawbreaker, but it might need to do Smashing damage if the damage were more than just minor. (Or a combination, like Dancing Staff)
Also, I've suggested a "dual staves combining into one staff" Power Set in the past, and that would have to be a different thing. You wouldn't have the Lethal damage in that case, instead you would have attacks that would combine the two staves (which are held separately to simplify the idle animation) for a sweeping strike. However, I think this layout would fit more different types of weapons. A polearm probably wouldn't work well with the splitting concept. Although honestly, I'm not sure the splitting concept would even be implementable. -
Quote:My counterargument to that is that we aren't talking about real life. We are talking about comic books and cartoons (often Anime) in which those weapons are used. And they are NOT used in a realistic manner. They are, in fact, usually used in much the same way, as a staff, in a very flashy manner, twirling the weapon around while striking with the non-lethal end.You have 4 pole weapons there, all of which are used in completely different styles in combat. The spear is a thrusting weapon, the Naginata and Warscythe are used for slashing, the quarterstaff is used in all manner of strike, and the Reaper-Style Scythe, which most are familiar with, is swung down or in to pierce opponents with it, or brought in low to slash and hook legs... But it's not even a real weapon: it's a farm implement that was sometimes used to kill people and got popularized due to the Reaper metaphor.
The spear is really a footman's weapon. It is NOT intended to be used alone. Footmen line up side by side in a rank, so you can't dodge the stab from the spear by moving side to side. A Halberd or Poleaxe is similar, it is used as a slashing weapon more often since it has an appropriate head for that, but it is intended to have REACH, so that you are out of range of your opponent's swords and knives. In an actual one on one combat, the length of a polearm would be a disadvantage, your opponent would move inside your swing, grab the handle, and run his sword through your stomach. It's just a ridiculous choice (if taken as is) as a superhero weapon.
The quarter staff (and the Naginata, which was used in a similar fashion, since it was usually used by trained samurai and not peasants) was more an individual weapon, and used both the handle and the ends of the staff. A trained staff wielder could keep foes at bay with the kind of spinning manuevers we expect to see, from cartoons and Robin Hood movies. (Daffy Duck anyone?) This uses the handle of the staff, not just the tip, and doesn't limit the the weapon to use only at its maximum reach.
Given that this game is 90% flash and showmanship anyway, if all of the above weapons are used in the same way, I don't think it would appear unrealistic. The end of the staff/polearm can be used to hook or slash as usual, but that would be one attack, out of a number of different possible manuevers. So I think it would be at least possible to have all those weapons be different model options for the same Power Set.
As for the Lethal vs Smashing argument, I think that if the staff were metal shod, or had a spike or spiked end on it, it could be believed that a stabbing type attack would do Lethal damage. It probably would not be as realistic as the same attack being used with a true pole arm, but it would save having to adapt the damage type to the weapon model. And attacks with the shaft of the pole arm would always do Smashing damage whether it had a bladed tip or not.
Certainly a scimitar, khopesh and gladius cannot be used the same way as a broadsword (a scimitar is mostly a slashing weapon, a gladius is primarily for thrusting, and a khopesh would probably be used to hook an opposing weapon) but they are all used the same way in the game since they are all used by Broad Sword. -
You know, you can always think of Preatoria as the "real earth" and the other as the "bizarre alternate dimension".
-
Just use this. It's not a scythe, but it's similar enough in appearance to be appropriate for a God of Death. Particularly an Egyptian one.
I would like to see a Staff Power Set... I would like to SEE A STAFF POWER SET... I would like to see a Staff Power Set with some customizable options to allow a blade like this. Say, a spear or a pole axe. So I would definately think a scythe would be an option. Since for the most part you are using a pole arm as a staff, just with a "hook" at the end to catch a foe's blade or stab with, it wouldn't be that different.
The problem is, wouldn't a Staff be Smashing damage, and a Scythe be Lethal? Well, yeah, but if you are using it as described above it WOULD be Smashing damage, except for when you chose to use the end. So have a single attack in the Staff powerset called "Stab". It does Lethal damage instead of Smashing. If the standard staff is iron shod, or even just has a point on the end, I think that would be enough to justify that one attack. -
Quote:Yeah, but it's not the recharge on YOUR attacks, it's on attacks coming in.On the Ice issue for Brutes, could it be that it's because Ice has a tendency to slow the recharge times on powers thus making attacks a lot less frequent? I've noticed that whenever I'm a target for ice powers, it takes seemingly forever for any of my powers to recharge, whereas with other powers like fear, stun, or knockdown, it's just a minor inconvenience. Perhaps this is what the devs meant?
I suspect Chilling Embrace is 90% of the problem, like I said. If there is one. I can see Chilling Embrace replaced with something like Artic Fog, though, a stealth shield (since Brutes get two Sets with stealth in them) and a -Dmg debuff to all foes around them. The -Dmg would reduce the incoming damage, providing an equivalent protection to the -Recharge, but without effecting incoming attacks in such a way as to reduce Fury.
I say add stealth because +30% Resistance to everything in one power would be REALLY powerful. (And that's essentially what a -30% Dmg debuff is) -10 or -15% should be fine, though. -
On the topic, this should be what we have left: (Including what might not be portable because of problems previously mentioned)
Blaster
Dark Blast
Dark Manipulation
Spines/Plant Manipulation
Earth Manipulation
Controller
Dark Miasma
Poison (or Hero counterpart)
Traps
Defender
Fire Blast
Poison (or Hero counterpart)
Thermal
Scrapper
Battle Axe
Energy Melee
Ice Melee
Stone Melee
Super Strength
War Mace
Energy Aura
Ice Armor
Ninjitsu
Stone Armor
Tanker
Energy Aura
Ninjitsu
Regeneration
Super Reflexes
Broadsword
Claws
Katana
Martial Arts
Spines
Brute
Broadsword
Ice Melee
Katana (or Ninja Blade)
Martial Arts
Spines
Ice Armor
Ninjitsu
Regeneration
Corruptor
Psychic Blast
Force Field
Poison
Dominator
Illusion Control (or Mastermind)
Dark Assault
Some sort of combination of Assault Rifle/Archery/Dual Pistols with MA or similar
Mastermind
Cold Domination
Kinetics
Radiation Emission
Sonic Resonance
Stalker
Battle Axe
Fire Melee
Ice Melee
Stone Melee
Super Strength
War Mace
Fire Armor
Ice Armor
Invulnerability
Shield Defense
Stone Armor
Mastermind Primaries do not seem to be considered in Proliferation, but some possibilities related to existing Sets would be: (I'm assuming Demon Summoner will use fire attacks)
Illusion Summoning
Electric Blast/Robotic or Elemental Summons
Ice Blast/Ice Demons
Psychic Blast/Illusions/Phantasms?
Rad Blast/Mutations
Sonic Blast/Wailers?
Earth/Elementals?
Nature/Storm/Plants
While creating new powersets is not considered part of Proliferation, these are the new Power Sets we could use:
Earth Blast
Nature/Spines/Storm Blast
Gravity Blast
Electric Control
Dark Control
Sonic Control
Radiation Control
Gadgets/Non-Lethal Weaponry/Riot Control
Earth Buff/Debuff
Electric Buff/Debuff
Sonic Melee
Radiation Melee
Psi Melee
Sonic Defense
Radiation Defense
Sonic Manipulation
Rad Manipulation
Gravity Manipulation (similar to Super Strength and/or Kin)
(plus Dark, Spines/Plant and Earth mentioned above)
Sonic Assault
Rad Assault
Gravity/Super Strength
(plus Dark, Weapons Assault mentioned above) -
Quote:Broadsword and Battle Axe are measurably different. Like Broadsword and Katana. In fact, Battle Axe is more different. It has knockdown as its secondary effect, instead of -Def, lacks Parry, and replaces Slice with the more powerful Pendulum and a separate Tier 3 attack.Lethal damage weapon attacks.
Smashing damage weapon attacks.
That's basically what they are, right? Mace and Axe actually share the shovel model, though I believe it's turned 90 degrees. Mace hits with the blunt face of the shovel while Axe hits with the edge.
This is not to say that bladed weapons for Scrappers can't have Parry, and bladed weapons for Tankers and Brutes can't have Pendulum, but I think they are intended to have very different feels.
On thing I have noted is that Dual Blades is the two handed version of Lethal Weapon attacks, but there is no two handed Smashing weapon at this time. Which is a gap I hope Staff can fill. It even suggests the option to have the "staff" be a sometimes interlocking pair of staves. -
Quote:I don't believe that is the case. Stone Armor has a large Defense component as well, and yet no one complained about it interfering with Fury. Not to mention that Invulnerability's protection in large teams is at least 50% Defense, probably much more. Besides, Energy Aura was developed specifically as a Def-based replacement for Ice Armor.Also of note: Back then, fury was only built by getting hit, not by getting attacked. A purely defensive set would not build any fury if it was working right.
Fury has been built by attacks on the Brute, not hits on the Brute, for as long as I can remember. Although I suppose it could have been that way in early Beta. (And the rumor did continue to persist that it was hits, not attacks, long after release)
Dark ARMOR includes stun and fear effects, but Dark MELEE only includes a single target fear. Its secondary effect, -Acc, however, does not effect frequency of attacks on the Brute. -Recharge, or Slow, does effect frequency of attacks. Chilling Embrace's -Recharge is also massive (32%) and stacks with the attacks. While I think you can take 1/3 of the foes out of the fight with Dark's stuns and fears, you'll be losing hit points while doing it, and won't be stacking the effects.
Axe and Mace were said to interfere with Fury too (players have said it, the devs never confirmed that) and they were added after an adjustment to the redraw times. So it is possible that the Ice Armor/Melee problem can be resolved with some more testing and a few tweaks. (In fact, it's likely that all you need to do is just replace Chillling Embrace. The Melee secondary effect may need to be changed, but it may be fine without the stacking from Ice Armor. Hibernate may also be somewhat problematic to a Brute, although given what it does, losing Fury may be acceptable) -
I could make posts on this subject that would be a whole thread in itself.
I definately start with the concept first, but I still want to build the strongest character I can within the restrictions I set for myself. Which sometimes takes sacrifices, such as when I first created Bloodwolf, I gave him Flurry because I felt it fit a martial arts theme, but I wanted him to have some punches. Eventually I traded that for Boxing, despite the lower damage, because Flurry was just not the best power to use under those circumstances.
My main, Jade Dragon, was originally envisioned as a Green Lantern clone. This was thirty years ago, though, long before this game was a glimmer in anyone's eye. By the time the game came around, JD had already evolved a power based on a cloud of "mist" that surrounds his body, that he can levitate on and manipulate at a distance. As such, the Force Field power of "bubbles" was not graphically a good match.
Radiation would have been a better visual fit, and in all honestly if I had it to do over again knowing what I know now, he would be a Rad/Rad Defender. The imbalance in capability is in this case matched by a better conceptual match in application. While JD does not necessarily debuff foes by surrounding them in mists, he can do that, and typically will put up shields to block incoming fire as they are needed, instead of surrounding allies as a matter of course. Thus, the more proactive Rad Emission fits. The sole reason I avoided the set was Radiant Aura, which I felt I would be expected to take. JD cannot heal, though, period. And ironically, for a short time I planned on him taking Aid Other and Aid Self, although eventually I abandoned that plan. (Although not because of lack of usefulness. Instead I decided the sacrifice was not SO great I could not overcome it)
Radiation Emission instead became the foundational power for another conceptual character, JD's teammate (one of them, Blue Diamond being the other) Genie Gold. Originally, the character was a dog, named Element Dog, and he had the power of shape change, and the ability to reshape matter he touched. I could not create a dog character at the time, though, and so I decided to use the concept for a human character. I'd already come up with the genie for the concept, being as they are shape changers and tricksters, I just needed an AT and Power Sets.
Since I wanted to test Rad Emission to see if I wanted to use it in place of Force Field, and I already had a Defender, I went with Controller. So this is one time the Power Sets came first, and the concept was based on it. I wanted Element Dog's ability to merge with people to hold them, however, as well as his ability to break down defenses and heal people. It occured to me that instead of trying to fight hand to hand herself, Genie Gold might be more timid and instead shape extensions of herself to do the fighting, so I thought Illusion/Rad would fit.
In the end, I came up with the perfect concept. Where Element Dog had applied his power almost entirely to himself, Genie Gold learned how to extend it through the air. By blending with the air around her, in a manner similar to JD's mists, she could extend her power so it was a "field" around her. She could then reshape the air into illusory fighters, create clouds of smoke and gas to choke and weaken foes, and even make direct contact with a target's body to either cause wounds or heal them. She could also turn into air herself, a trick Element Dog used constantly to fly and move around without being seen.
Although at first the color schemes of the Primary and Secondary didn't match, I have been VERY impressed with the visual effects after I recolored them gold. Although it looks a bit more like she is manipulating light instead of air, the fact that her costume is gold brings it all back together again.
Anyway, that should do for starters. Maybe after a few pages I will post something else. -
Quote:It does. Believe me, everything that Vash does to make you think he's an idiot is entirely intentional. Once you see the reality you'll understand why.there have been all-too-brief glimmers that Vash has a cooler alter ego, but I'm really hoping that side of him will become more dominant.
Watching Meryl come to that same realization is the other good reason to watch the show.I will say that he never really stops being a child. But you understand why, and it's not so annoying.
-
Honestly, I interpreted that as that only Influence/Infamy can be mailed, but you can't trade anything between Heroes and Villains, INCLUDING ITEMS, since that's currently the case. In other words, unless confirmed otherwise, I'll assume items were not mentioned as being able to be emailed because they cannot be.
-
I would think it would clip, so it might be disallowed, but technically speaking there should be no problem with it. Unless as I said, it is made to use the lower slot or actually uses the lower slot.
I would think capes with tails wouldn't be a problem, though. While most will clip, there should be a few "split" options (or the scarf) which wouldn't clip most of the time. -
[thinking] I wonder if "butt capes" could be moved to the lower slot, so you don't just have the tails in the lower slot. You'll have the choice of butt cape or tail in the lower slot, or wings and tail in the upper slot. So, for instance, wings and trenchcoats would be a possible combination.
-
I17: Does this butt make my tail look big?
And the *sniff* "hold me" from the MA line was hilarious. -
I honestly thought this post was going to be about Freak Tanks. Big wusses.
Hopefully it's a bug. Not the Freak Tanks, but those guys. -
Well, I'm hoping this also means animated hair in the future. But I have to admit if we're limited to capes OR animated tails/hair I wouldn't mind that. As long as the option is available.
Both would be even better, of course.After all, my main character that would use a tail also has wings.
-
Quote:Which is why my assumption it was a conceptual thing, the Stalker is not expected to sustain damage like a Scrapper. (Although there's good evidence that view changed when the changes came out)Direct reply back, at the time, was that Stalkers would not get Quick Recovery type powers, period.
I would like to see what Castle would do to a Set that has both Quick Recovery and a damage aura, however.
Ultimately, I think the thing is that while Quick Recovery is a useful power to have, it does NOT enhance your defense in any way. Endurance recovery is, for the most part, an offensive power, not a defensive one. While it does enable you to run more defensive toggles, what it REALLY allows you to do is sustain constant attacks while NOT losing your defensive toggles. You can always stop attacking and maintain your role as a meatshield.
This is not true of, say, Reconstruction. While it would be nice if Quick Recovery's effect was rolled into Reconstruction (say, giving an End boost as well as HP) this would not be consistent with the other Sets which lose a power in order to gain Hide. The design of Stalkers seems to include that their Primary and Secondary is slightly weaker compared to the other versions, disregarding Hide and AS. (Although it can be argued that Hide and AS are equally as valuable powers as the ones sacrificed) -
Quote:Sonic has some pretty powerful control effects, and it doesn't seem to be overpowered on Blasters because of that. In fact, the set is considered a better match for Defenders and Corruptors because its secondary effect allows them to boost their low damage, just as Dark would let Blasters supplement their low defenses.Personally I'd be more concerned about the AoE controls in Dark Blast than the -to hit. Sure the -to hit is nice but I don't think it's game breaking for a Blaster.
Quote:That being said Dark Blast is a pretty low damage set for a blaster so either way I'm betting it won't get ported directly to blasters.
Note also that Psi Blast isn't particularly strong for Defenders, but it IS for Blasters. To the point where it was nerfed from it's original "port". There's no reason why Dark Blast couldn't gain an Aim power just as Psi Blast did. This would both reduce its AoE reliance and increase its damage, and provide additional options for the Dark Secondary. (Again, as with Psi Blast) -
Quote:One potential solution, since we now have the capability to "lock" power sets depending on which others you pick, is to make it so Bow Manipulation is only unlocked if you choose Archery, and then if you pick anything else, you get the same set with only the Martial Arts attacks. However, the devs are probably not going to be likely to do this, since it means creating two identical power sets, probably three or four, if you include Assault Rifle and Dual Pistols as well, all of which will have to be maintained and kept identical.The simple solution is to have the kick animations put the bow away before activating. Sure it's a bit annoying for Archers but it means that non-Archers look a lot more sensible (only pulling out the bow for powers that actually use it).
Plus, while it may be stupid to pull out the bow to kick, it IS required to fire off the Trick Arrow powers fired from the bow. So perhaps a better solution would be for the melee attacks to USE the bow in some way, perhaps even combining use of the bow as a club with a kick in the same animation.
Using the same idea for Dual Pistols or Assault Rifle would be a little more awkward, since in that case the non-attack effects would NOT be generated by the rifle/guns. At least if you just used standard martial arts attacks, you would only have to redraw the gun after you made the melee attack. The melee attack itself would not draw a weapon of its own.