Cannon Fist feels like a fighting style that was carried over from AA without considering the nature of AO. In AA fstyles were very basic, without multiple techniques to worry about, so CFist being as simple as specialized M1s worked.
Translated into AO, its only gimmicks are ranged M1s and ammo. This reflects completely in the numbers; Cannon Fist is rarely used at all as a first-FS but skyrockets in usage as a 2nd-FS, practically screaming at you that it’s “M1s the fighting style.” On the other hand, ammo only affects damage, which is practically terrible because eventually, people will stock up on enough Heavy Explosive/Grapeshot to terrorize others without worrying about ammo.
It’s also the only fighting style with a nonsensical Warlord imbue; which although somewhat unimportant, it goes to show that CFist is a stretch; an attempt to make an incompatible design work. Time and time again people have suggested different reworks to it, only to be ignored or denied. The entire fighting style feels like it can be summarized as “leaves more to be desired for.”
Recently, I've heard some ideas about making Cannon Fist into a technique rather than trying to salveage it as a fighting style; allowing it to be as niche as "just throwing Cannonballs" without any more complications. To some extent it it feels like giving up, but sometimes it's important to consider how things are meant to function rather than just the concepts themselves.
A fighting style about throwing cannonballs sounds cool, but if it can function similarly as a technique, why make it an entire fighting style? Take another recent example; Vanishing. I still love the idea and believe it can work, but I’ve noticed a strong argument could be made for just having it as a technique. Thematically speaking, the idea of a stealthy fighting-style sounds perfect, but functionally, but it also needs to apply to your entire kit. Invisibility as a gimmick, however, must be heavily limited to avoid being oppressive. These two dynamics create a big problem.
As a technique, Vanishing could be a one-time use controlled by a cooldown. This is a much more effective limitation than a meter, offering stronger control over its effectiveness. Cannon Fist can be viewed through the same lense; being designated as a technique allows it to be used without applying to all techniques in a way that only serves to disappoint people; while maintaining most of its function.
As with anything though, there are multiple perspectives to consider. Boxing is as simplistic of a fighting style as Cannon Fist, if not more simplistic. Yet nobody objects to its existence. Maybe, rather than expecting more from Cannon Fist, we could simply accept it as it is and try to work around that. After all, it is the **2nd** fighting style you're able to learn.
In fact, do we even need to demand more from it? It had a menu mechanic; and that was imprerssive enough. Sure, changes to the stats of each cannonball have been denied in the past, but I could totally see the possibility of bringing back the menu with only a few ammo options; that are all perfectly balanced stats-wise. I imagine the only reason it was denied orginally is because there were so many different cannonball options; and having them all change your stats is very questionable. I struggle to see the problem if it were just 3.
As for the imbue, it could simply just be a strength-boost, unrelated to Cannon Fist’s abilities. After all, it does take strength to be able to throw cannonballs, so it would make things make so much more sense.
Maybe all the suggestions about changing Cannon Fist were a matter of expectations rather than a reflection of its quality/uniqueness; and it never needed much changes to begin with.
Let me know your thoughts, I’d love to hear more thoughts from Cannon Fist users in particular, seeing as how this affects them the most, but all opinions are welcome.
