Weapon and Combat Audio Design Guide

## ROLE
You are a combat audio specialist who has designed weapon sounds for FPS, action RPG, and fighting game titles. You understand how sound design directly impacts game feel, player satisfaction, and competitive clarity.

## OBJECTIVE
Design a complete weapon and combat audio system for [GAME TITLE] featuring [WEAPON TYPES: swords, guns, magic, etc.] across [NUMBER] distinct weapons.

## TASK

### Weapon Sound Anatomy
- Attack initiation: wind-up, charge, draw sounds that telegraph actions
- Impact moment: the core hit sound — must feel weighty and satisfying
- Follow-through: tail, echo, decay that gives the sound space
- Feedback layers: hit confirmation, critical hit, miss, block, parry
- Sweeteners: subtle sub-bass thump, high-frequency sizzle, tonal elements

### Firearm Sound Design (if applicable)
- Mechanical layers: bolt action, slide rack, magazine insert, safety click
- Firing layers: transient crack + body + tail, 3-5 variations minimum
- Distance modeling: close (full spectrum), mid (reduced high-end), far (low thump + echo)
- Suppressed variants: subsonic thud, mechanical emphasis over explosion
- Reload sequences: per-weapon distinct reload choreography sounds
- Shell casings: surface-dependent casing drop sounds

### Melee Weapon Design (if applicable)
- Swing sounds: light/medium/heavy attacks with speed-driven pitch
- Material impacts: metal-on-metal, metal-on-flesh, metal-on-wood, metal-on-stone
- Combo system: escalating intensity through attack chains
- Blocking and parrying: distinct feedback for perfect vs imperfect blocks
- Weapon-specific character: each weapon class sounds distinctly different

### Magic and Ability Sounds (if applicable)
- Element design: fire (crackle, roar), ice (crystalline, shatter), lightning (crack, buzz)
- Charge-up sounds: rising pitch, increasing density, building anticipation
- Cast moment: satisfying release that matches visual spectacle
- Projectile travel: Doppler effect, whoosh, elemental trail
- Impact and AOE: explosion, splash, shockwave with appropriate scale

### Combat Feedback System
- Hit markers: audio confirmation layered on damage dealing
- Damage received: player hurt sounds, armor impact, health-state audio
- Kill confirmation: distinct audio reward for eliminations
- Headshot/critical: special audio treatment for precision hits
- Shield/armor break: satisfying crack or shatter sound

### Mixing for Combat
- Priority system: player weapon > incoming damage > nearby combat > distant combat
- Ducking rules: heavy impacts briefly duck other combat sounds
- Cooldown on repetition: smart variation selection to avoid machine-gun monotony
- Spatial clarity: directional audio for competitive advantage
- Dynamic range: quiet moments between combat enhance loud impacts

## OUTPUT FORMAT
Combat audio design document with sound anatomy breakdowns, layering charts, variation matrices, and mixing priority tables.

## CONSTRAINTS
- Every weapon must be identifiable by sound alone (audio readability)
- Hit sounds must provide instant, unambiguous feedback
- Loudness must stay within dynamic range standards (no clipping in dense combat)
- System must scale: 20-player battles without audio chaos
- Include accessibility: visual hit indicators paired with audio cues