Clipping

Most of the powers in the game have character animation that goes along with them, such as throwing something at an enemy.  This animation can take a few seconds to play out.  In some cases, it's possible to "clip" the animation, and use a second power or consumable before it ends.  Chaining together multiple actions this way is referred to as clipping.

Clipped combinations still use the same amount of power, which means they will burn through a character's power bar significantly faster.  In group play that form of clipping can stress the power refill capabilities of controller characters to keep up.

Clipping powers can also be done with consumables.  Consumables that refill power, debuff, or stun fit well into power clipping for damage.

Sample Power Clipping Combinations[]

• Sorcery (heal): Rejuvenate (instant two person heal) has a fairly long animation--even longer than its cool-off time. But it can be clipped to cast other healing powers, including Invocation of Renewal (health over time) and/or Boon of Souls (shield). You can chain all of those together if you use the order Rejuvenate/BoS/IoR, which then gives all three properties (instant power, power over time, shield) in one burst of power. The other way around doesn't work. IOR has a very long animation, and you can't clip it with other powers the way Rejuvenate can be clipped.

• Fire (tank): Fundamental fire tank taunt/pull power Backdraft has a long animation for both the character and impacted enemies. It can be clipped to add many other fire powers. A "turtle" tank, one who fires off powers and then blocks for extended periods, might chain together Backdraft/Burning Determination/Burnout with clipping very quickly, gaining many self-healing and resistance effects. Other similar combinations are also possible. You can't clip Backdraft to add Enflame, but you can clip Enflame to add Burning Determination/Burnout. A set like these three power examples will use up most of the power bar in typical tier V tank armor, so this is only effective if you expect heavy controller (or Soder) power refill. The main benefit of clipping this way is minimal odds you will be hit while not blocking. And in group play, it can also increases odds that controller power refill powers aiming at the least power will land on the tank. This may be considered abusive by controllers, but it's a useful tactic to compete for power refill against players who aggressively drain their own power bar. It's easy for a tank to be short on power when you combine a single tank with many skilled damage players, since some or all of them will be clipping attacks for maximum destruction.

• Fire (damage): Inferno can be clipped to add additional damage effects like Fiery Weapon.

Consumable Clipping[]

Consumables can be added to a clipped power, or themselves clipped. The exact possibilities vary just as much as powers do. Karmic Hex is one example that fits easily into clipping combinations. Meanwhile, Explosive Detonator has similar specs but does not. Some of the preference for consumables in the game is based on their clipping potential.

One way to work out the combos that work well is to purchase or craft tier 1 consumables and then practice against a sparring target. It is difficult to be a competitive PvP player without some amount of consumable clipping.

Weapon Clipping[]

Some weapons in the game have a very long animation time with damage spread over that period. One of the longest is the Two Handed weapon ranged attack Hammer Throw. It's possible to clip that animation by jumping, which is referred to as a jump cancel. Jump cancelled attacks will yield some partial damage relative to the full animation. It's possible for combinations with a jump cancel to give more damage than letting the full attack animate out, especially when clipped powers or consumables are also involved.

Controversy[]

Clipping is controversial in the game. Detractors might argue that skipping animation ruins the game visuals, or more commonly that it's a form of game exploit.

Fans of clipping point out it is similar to the combos in fighting games, usefully adding complexity to advanced play. The way clipping lets you do a large amount of actions in a short period can be used against other players in PvP, but it's just as useful against enemies in the regular PvE game. It is possible to clip all sorts of powers too, not just damage ones. High tier PvE content can be easier to survive if tank and healing moves are clipped, at the expense of higher power use. Controllers may themselves clip to meet the demand for higher power generation efficiency.

As an example of a difficult situation to cope with in PvP, players on the Playstation 3 and 4 are currently mixed onto the same servers, and PS4 players can act more quickly sometimes. That's normally reported as the PS3 side lagging. Even in regular PvE play, it's possible to be hit for many seconds by enemies that aren't even visible yet. In PvP, that lag means it's possible for a PS3 player to receive a lot of damage from a clipped PS4 combo before their system allows them to react. In extreme cases that can seem like instant PvP death to the person who receives the clipped combo. The ability to use block breaking moves in a clipped combo means that blocking may not even be an effective defense.

In Legends PvP, characters like John Stewart can clip several of their hard-light powers in a way that's difficult to react to, and there are complaints that these characters are overpowered partly due to that.