Animation Cancel in The First Descendant is an advanced mechanic that increases your damage output by skipping entire reload animations.
Animation Cancel is a unique technique in The First Descendant that can shorten the action animations and result in faster gameplay. Many players consider it to be an essential skill and a practical mechanic. Animation cancels can significantly increase your damage output (DPS) and overall efficiency in The First Descendant.
This guide will cover everything related to Animation Cancel in The First Descendant. We will explore the mechanic in detail, discuss its pros and cons, and explain why mastering this technique might benefit you in the game.
Why should you Animation Cancel in The First Descendant?
In the First Descendant, Animation Canceling is using dodge or a skill to end an animation early, allowing another action to take place. Therefore, animation canceling saves you time which results in increased damage per second (DPS). Every second counts in combat, especially against challenging enemies. By reducing animation lock-on times in The First Descendant, you can have the following advantages:
- Increase DPS: Get more damage output by reducing time spent in reloads.
- Improve survivability: Animation cancel gives more windows to react to enemy attacks.
- Enhance mobility: Move around the battlefield more efficiently.
Animation Canceling with Lepic in The First Descendant
Animation canceling can greatly help Lepic players fire two additional shots with his Overkill in The First Descendant. The timer for Lepic’s Overkill starts the moment you activate the ability. However, it has an annoying animation time, usually allowing players to fire four shots before the timer runs out.
This can be easily fixed with animation cancels by dodging (or rolling) immediately after you activate Overkill. This will completely skip the long animation and allow you to fire approximately six shots with Overkill. As a result, this greatly increases your damage output while ending the fights faster.
Additionally, look to equip reactors that extend skill duration and external components that increase MP. This will add more time and duration, thus damaging Lepic Overkill skill, the boss melting machine.
Animation cancel with Reload in The First Descendant
Animation cancels while reloading in The First Descendant involves interrupting the flow of the process. It is an advanced process, and understanding reloads is the most important step before you begin to master this mechanic. Normally, reloading takes a specific amount of time and completes the actions in certain steps. By interrupting the process, in a way you skip the entirety of the animation by forcing a different action instead.
When to Reload Animation Cancel in The First Descendant?
Reload Animation Cancels need to be completed around 75% of the time. It is important to get the timing right; otherwise, you might end up with the same empty magazine in the middle of a fight.
When you reload a gun, a small curved bar appears above the gun, which signifies the progress of the reload. The ideal time to reload animation cancel is when this bar is at least 75%. If you cancel the animation at a lesser progression, you risk not reloading at all, and the action becomes a singular dodge.
Examples of Animation Canceling with Reloads
Here are a few examples of using the reload Animation Cancels in The First Descendant:
- Reloading with dodge: Instead of waiting for the entire reload animation to finish, dodge right as the reload starts. This will instantly cancel the reload, allowing you to resume firing immediately.
- Skill Cancel Reload: Some skills can interrupt the reloading process. For instance, if you start reloading and then activate a skill, the reload might be canceled.
- Clip Long animations: Actions like aiming down sights or using certain abilities can have lengthy animations. By canceling these animations early, you can react faster to the situation.
When should you skip Animation Cancels?
Animation canceling isn’t always necessary in The First Descendant. Not all animations are lengthy, and some are short enough to finish quickly. Using the mechanic in these situations might not be beneficial or provide a significant advantage.
Since animation cancellation is a manual action, you need a bit of focus and awareness. This can be a cause for distraction in many cases and can potentially lead to mistakes till it is completely ingrained as a muscle memory for you.
How do you Animation Cancel in The First Descendant?
To cancel a reload in the First Descendant, dodge roll at or around 80% of the grey reload bar. To cancel a long-duration skill like overkill, activate the skill and immediately dodge the roll, which cancels the entire arm transformation.
Mastering Animation Cancels in The First Descendant requires a lot of practice and an acute sense of timing. To start, observe and experiment with the different actions and timings. Note the animation durations and find chances to cancel them effectively. It’s going to be a trial-and-error approach at first till you get the hang of it.
A good way to practice Animation Cancels is by using the Laboratory that you can access by talking to an NPC in Albion. You can practice animation canceling with various actions and timings here to eventually master them. Over time, it will become second nature and allow you to seamlessly integrate the feature into your gameplay.
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