One Shot, One kill

[JJ Styles]

So you're basically playing your basic online multiplayer game and you suddenly found yourself dropped dead by an enemy opponent who shot you with a very powerful sniper rifle, or dropped you down with a powerful combination of abilities. Or you could be the one using said power weapon or having the necessary abilities to achieve such.

"One shot, one kill". Its a phrase that's often heard in multiplayer games that people tend to enjoy. That joyous feeling of simply deleting an enemy player off the map in one full skill combo or one shot from a particularly powerful weapon is not only gratifying to do, but also satisfying to watch.

Characters or weapons that can deliver devastating one shot kills are limited though. They are either very difficult characters to use and master, or they are weapons that are very risky to use. But they get the job done. Being able to deplete an enemy target within a single shot or a few seconds with the enemy opponent having little to no chance of fighting back.

Some people argue that these "one shot, one kill" moments are just part of the game and being able to execute these or fulfill the conditions in doing so is a fulfillment to players who are able to do it, while there are others who complain that it ruins the "fun" for those who can't play against it.

So what are your thoughts about the "one shot, one kill" gameplay design or element in multiplayer? Do you like it? Do you think that it should be part of the game? What's your overall opinion in one burst/one shot kills in general? Discuss

Examples of One shots, one kills
AWP or the Arctic Warfare Magnum in Counter Strike:

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Various champions in League of Legends:

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Call of Duty 4:

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Overwatch - Widowmaker

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[TY]

I don't really mind it for the games I play(ed). In Destiny for example you can oneshot someone if you hit someone in the head with any sniper rifle. And nowadays its hard to pull that off cause of the resurgence of flinch and pulse rifles in the game :P

 

[ThatsTakao]

I'm not against it if it's specifically happening when you out play whoever you're playing against. If you get a 0 to death in Smash because you predicted your opponent's DI it because they didn't smash DI well then that's cool. What I don't think is so cool is when a character presses a single button and is going to get a guaranteed kill without having to aim or execute anything. (See McCringe in Overwatch)
Part of one shots that makes them so appealing is that it makes the person who does the one shots seem powerful so I feel like they should only happen if that's the case; a one shot shouldn't happen just because "lol time to it" or something of that nature.
Just my 2¢.

 

[Lusus]

They are either very difficult characters to use and master, or they are weapons that are very risky to use.

Ah if only this was true. Granted i only played 2 PvP games where one shotting was an actual thing (CS:GO and LoL), but still.

In LoL most one shot mages require barely any skill at all, only thing that makes it balanced is usually low range and the fact that they are useless when all their spells are down and are a free kill. Late game ADCs also just right click you once and you die instantly, not really fair since basically everyone else has to actually land skills.

In CS:GO, the only thing that stops AWP from being broken OP is the fact that it is one of the most expensive items in the game, gives almost literally no money for kills and doesn't even have a crosshair when not zoomed in(fixed by just marking the center of your screen) + really inaccurate when moving. Even I can buy an AWP in CS:GO and end up with a good score just because I camped myself somewhere and killed everyone I saw going in my general direction.

I'm fine with most weapon headshots being an instant kill though since for the most part you need to know how your weapon will spray to get one, and very rarely do you not damage them outside of a headshot anyway.

 

[JJ Styles]

Rummaging through a collection of One shot one kill examples i found some rather decent examples:

Kunnka of Dota/Dota 2. When everyone thought that one shot KO's in other comparable games were busted:

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Actually this is a different kind of "one shot" where instead of one shotting a single player from a 100 to 0, how about One shotting an ENTIRE TEAM from whatever HP they had into nothing instead?

Yep. There was a time back in the days I played Dotes that everyone wanted to play Kunnka aka NOT Gangplank aka Not jack Sparrow aka Tidebringer is working as intended. Myself included.

To understand why Kunnka can deal that amount of Splash Damage, well those who played/play DOTA may have a rather decent explanation.

Oh and playing Kunnka himself is not as easy as the many "Pro Kunkka Montage" videos make it seem to be. He is one of the most rewarding characters to play since he can literally one hit KO an entire team with enough gear and the right set up. Totally not OP.

Gangplank from League of Legends, one shotting an enemy Marksman with his skill set up:

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Its always fun to watch someone actually pull it off. Basically just sniping the enemy near that barrel and instagibbing him. I've played Gangplank before and pulling these kinds of One shots is always satisfying since it takes a couple of actual effort and in-game knowledge to pull the stuff that the Saltwater Scourge can do.

Also, what's with me and sharing videos of Pirates one shot killing enemies in their respective games. Because Pirates are OP? Maybe. Anyway back to your regularly scheduled discussion:

I feel that a lot of people get frustrated with One shot KO's because they either don't know how to counter act against it, they aren't playing the characters who are capable in doing them, or they simply hate the idea of just being instantly deleted off the map within mere seconds. Don't get me wrong. I've been into those moments where me and my team would suddenly get deleted off the map by some LCS Level LCK Pro Korean/RussianRushBCyka/NA>EU(Maybe but since I love NA doesn't matter NA prideeventhoughIbelonginSoutheastAsia) sniper with his AWP and I just hear those terrifying AWP Roars as i watch my kill feed just that one deleting us one by one and carrying his team into the next round.

Though in my view, having some "one shot, one kill" capabilities in certain games add to the overall fun factor for me. I remember playing Heroes of the Storm and I would definitely want to play it more since i have friends who seem to main this game now, and since I'm an experienced MOBA/Hero brawler player, i can easily handle myself to not feed, the lack of "one shots" in HOTS is discouraging me from playing the game more. There isn't that feeling of "BANG!" or "BOOM HEADSHOT" moments in HOTS where you actually feel that through some efforts YOU DID, you actually get to see the fruits of your labor, quick and delicious solo kills. I could be wrong though. Maybe there are some heroes in HOTS that are capable of 100-0'ing a hero within mere seconds but again, Blizzo seems to be not fond of the whole 1HIT KO design which extends to Overwatch where Widowmaker, the game's traditional Sniper (Hell, SHE EVEN SAYS "ONE SHOT, ONE KILL" as one of her voice lines) saw a couple of nerfs that made her a Top tier pick into barely viable because she couldn't do what she was originally designed to do: "One shot, one kill" as efficiently as she once did back during Overwatch's Launch.

Of course, not every "one shot, one kill" moments in games are actually fair or took skill to do. I'd provide examples of the other side of the coin but member input is far more important than the random sh*t i spout at times. ;)