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Sorry! 🫣 I messed up, so I made the executive decision and skipped straight to the Remastered Edition. 🥳 The data is all the same. The interpretation was what needed correcting. Enjoy!
Preface
I've been trying to master the Clone class over the years. And, on closer examination this time round, I noticed the Clone's sprint ability is meant to play a much larger role than I thought. So I started messing with it, and I found a few things... Some I never knew, and others that didn't seem right.
It wasn't my intention to make a long post, but I kept finding more and more weird stuff. I can't say "I've definitely found some bugs." as I don't know enough. They're all related to holding down sprint, but minor, if any. So feel free to take a look, and let me know if you can.
If nothing else, there might be something here you didn't know.
Expectations
This was my perspective before embarking on this journey.
- Crouch moving and walking have the same travel speeds
- Crouch moving and walking are as fast forwards as they are backwards
- Crouch/walk + sprint, in addition to speeding you up, will also allow you to shoot, but halt stamina regeneration
- Stamina levels vary only by their rates of regeneration
Movement
I decided I needed a way to compare them all. So I came up with my own test. And, with hindsight, I think it ended up fitting rather well.
Test: On the 'Battle of Kamino' map, in the Storage Corridor (between the Armoury and Stairway), cover the distance of the longest part of the black 'L' in the least amount of time, and record how long for each travel method.
Lined up my aim reticle with the edge of the black line, pointing straight down at the floor.
Oriented myself as needed.
Began moving toward the other side, the moment the clock would end on a 0, maintaining as straight a line as I could, but corrected as needed.
Counted along with the clock, until I believed my reticle had passed over the edge.
Added on reasonable microseconds, and recorded the results.
Oriented myself as needed.
Began moving toward the other side, the moment the clock would end on a 0, maintaining as straight a line as I could, but corrected as needed.
Counted along with the clock, until I believed my reticle had passed over the edge.
Added on reasonable microseconds, and recorded the results.
- All times recorded are ball park figures, measured in seconds, backed by the in game clock. I didn't bother averaging, or anything fancy.
- I'm quite sure the first two columns in the Stamina 0 set are the baseline for all Clones.
- I gave up on other travel methods past Stamina 0 as they seemed no different.
- I didn't bother testing all other directions rigorously as I got the impression 'strafing' and 'diagonal forwards' are both as fast as 'forwards', and 'diagonal backwards' is the same as 'backwards', but this was tested before I realised stamina levels altered stuff, so don't quote me on these.
- I didn't find any differences between Stamina 2 vs. 3, beyond doubled drain when purely sprinting and shooting for 2, and of course faster regen for 3. But by that point I couldn't care enough, so I didn't bother recording anything.
| Travel method | Forwards | Backwards | Forwards + shooting rifle | Backwards + shooting rifle | Forwards + shooting pistol | Backwards + shooting pistol |
| Running (default) | 7 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 10 |
| Sprinting | 5.25 | 7.5 | 7 | 10 | 5.25 | 7.5 |
| Walking | 19.25 | 19.25 | 19.25 | 19.25 | 19.25 | 19.25 |
| Sprint + Walking | 14.5 | 14.5 | 19.25 | 19.25 | 14.5 | 14.5 |
| Crouching | 14 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 14 | 20 |
| Sprint + Crouching | 10.5 | 15 | 14 | 20 | 10.5 | 15 |
| Travel method | Forwards + shooting rifle | Backwards + shooting rifle |
| Sprint + Walking | 19.25 | 19.25 |
| Sprint + Crouching | 14 | 20 |
| Travel method | Forwards + shooting rifle | Backwards + shooting rifle |
| Sprint + Walking | 14.5 | 14.5 |
| Sprint + Crouching | 10.5 | 15 |
Thoughts:
Concentrating on the first set of results, it's clear that 'walking' and 'crouch moving' are not the same.
Walking and sprint walking are similar, with their speeds consistent in all directions. But crouching and crouch sprinting vary greatly in their speeds, depending on direction.
Sprint crouching is the fastest force push immune travel method forwards. But walk sprinting backwards just manages to eclipse crouch sprinting backwards.
It's interesting to note that crouch sprinting forwards is almost as fast as plain backwards running.
But the fact it's faster forwards while crouching than walking, regardless of sprinting, stood out to me as the first oddity.
I expected them to be similar, or the other way round. I mean, who the hell moves forwards faster with their body low down instead of upright?! Unless the Kaminoans are that good at genetics... And what's more, you're a smaller target, and silent. Whatever the case, it makes for much sneakier Clones than I thought.
Now incorporating the second and third set of results. When I read the library info on the Clone, I expected to be able to shoot and sprint no matter what. This is clearly not the case for a Clone with Stamina 0 or 1, when using the rifle. But it is true for them when using the pistol. I think it's also true when using melee, but I didn't bother to record that, and can't be arsed.
It does accurately describe any Clones with Stamina 2 or 3 however, which is very important (at least for me), because now we know the minimum level required to use the rifle unconditionally.
But overall I'm left feeling that the information provided in the library is pretty misleading.
Now, when it comes to taking on a Sith. They can cover the same test distance forwards while defending in 11.5s vs. a Clone's 14.5s sprint walking backwards. So even in the best case, a Clone is buying time. But it's a significant improvement, compared to walking backwards alone, or trying to weave in normal backwards running like a game of Statues, like I attempted to.
Questions:
Why is walking upright slower than being crouched down, instead of being similar or the other way round?
Will this be changed to be more inline with reality? And if not, why?
Also, why the split in sprint attacking capabilities with the rifle between Stamina levels 0 & 1 vs. 2 & 3?
And why is this not conveniently coveyed to the player?
Reloading
The second oddity came while running some imaginary combat scenarios.
Colouring in what seemed reasonable allowed me to construct this matrix...
Hint: Read row headers, then column headers, then their respective contents, ignoring brackets.
| Normal sprinting is pressed and then released (A) | Crouch/walk + sprint have been held down (B) | |
| Reloading before (1) | Ignores all sprinting attempts until the reloading is complete | Ignores all sprinting attempts until the reloading is complete |
| Reloading after (2) | Will initiate reloading and maintain sprinting speed | Is not allowed until the sprint button is released |
Thoughts:
Ideally there'd be no hiccups in intiating sprint or a reload, but it's 2B I have the biggest problem with.
Consider you're more likely on the back foot as a Clone; what with having to make sure your path is clear, watch and adjust your position and aim, and maintain the highest speeds you can against a Sith player (along with any others). Making sure you have enough ammo is yet another thing to keep on top of, but if you're likely to trip over yourself to make it happen, in the heat of the moment, it might just... which I think that's a step too far. Compare that to a Sith player, who just needs to hold down defend, and decide whether to keep pressing or not...
But I can't imagine it was done on purpose. So what's going on for 2B? Is it some sort of input limit, or maybe even my PC that can be fixed? Or is it as intended? 😱
I'll add that I can't taunt or flourish while holding crouch + sprint, but can do if holding walk + sprint...
I'm also not hitting any NKRO limits, as I've moved crouch and sprint to my mouse.
And even when carefully choosing keys that don't interfere, so as to use the keyboard exclusively, leads to the exact same outcome.
And it doesn't seem related to stamina levels either. Speaking of which...
Stamina
The third and final oddity.
It is stated that Clones can't regenerate stamina while holding sprint + walk/crouch. And yet...
Clones /w Stamina 0
Melee attacking/shooting the pistol + sprint crouching/walking enables stamina recharging, halting only when they stop attacking/shooting.
Clones /w Stamina 1
Melee attacking/shooting the pistol/shooting the rifle + sprint crouching/walking enables stamina recharging, halting only when they stop attacking/shooting.
Clones /w Stamina 2 or 3
Can't recharge stamina via any weapon attack while sprint crouching/walking.
If any of the things I've raised are bugs, this one has to be the closest. But I defer to the experts...
Review and conclusion
Reviewing expectations:
Crouch moving and walking have the same travel speeds ❌
A: Crouching and sprint crouching are much faster forwards than their walking counterparts. The opposite is true for going backwards, but only just.
Crouch moving and walking are as fast forwards as they are backwards ❌✅
A: This is only the case for walking. When travelling by crouching, moving forwards in some way or strafing are both faster than any direction backwards.
Crouch/walk + sprint, in addition to increasing your pace, will also allow you to shoot, but halt stamina regeneration ✅❎
A: Only for Clones with Stamina 2 or 3. Those with 0 or 1 can still use their pistol for max speed, and currently can also regenerate stamina while attacking with it, and with some others (stamina level depending), for reasons unknown.
Stamina levels vary only by their rates of regeneration ❌
A: In addition to what's above, Stamina 2 allows you to sprint and shoot at full speed with double the drain rate. Doing the same with Stamina 3 drains at the normal rate.
Conclusions (I think?):
If you want to close in to a Sith without worrying about being force pushed to the ground, hold sprint + crouch for max speed forward.
If you want to move away from a Sith that's coming for you and nearing force pushing range. You can't out run them, but you can buy the most time by shooting at them, and holding down sprint + walk while moving backwards in direction.
Stamina 0 or 1, allows using the pistol at all sprinting speeds, but not the rifle, which would drop you back to normal speeds until you stop firing.
Stamina 2 and 3 allows any type of sprinting with any weapon.
Closing thoughts
Having been completely unaware that the Clone could power walk for basically all the time that I've known of MBII (five years?) until a few days ago, has been shocking to say the least. Like, the amount of times I've been fucking saber fodder to Sith players over the years, all because I didn't know that one tid bit of information is fucking nuts. And the more I thought about it, the worse I felt. There were so many damn flashbacks! Actually made me consider changing my name to Zen-ish. 😂
I think I'll consider running a poll to see if it's just me that's been really oblivious, or whether it's also been the case for many others too. I mean, I know it's my fault for assuming, but it's not in the tutorial (for the Clone no less!), it's no more obvious on the wiki as it is in the library (being right at the bottom without any hint that it's at all different from normal sprinting), and the in game text when hovering over it only hints at stamina regeneration rate improvements!
I suspect many brain cells died to bring us this information, out of frustration most likely. At one point, I thought I only needed the first two columns of data, believing it would give the full picture, until I realised there was quite a bit more to the rabbit hole; so I hope it's not just been me who didn't know.
But I'm glad I know a bit more now, and that I can share what I've learnt, because the Clone Trooper seems a lot more promising with this knowledge.
And you need not worry Sith players. I'm sure, even with all this information, I'll still find a way to trip myself up.
Feel free to share your thoughts anyway, and I hope a dev or someone in the know can fill us in. Otherwise I hope to see you in a game some time.
Cheers!
