Mmm not sure what you mean by combo. Well if it's like fighting games (as street fighter) it's happy for me that you explain the details because I just cannot play games requiring a precise series of buttons to be hit with a precise timing.
If that's this sort of controls ok I don't see how even you can throw one with a keyboard. I'll never play this type of game and State of Decay won't be the exception, with gamepad or not.
For finishers, LOTRWiTN also uses it but in a way discouraging click feast. There's intermediate finisher and final finisher, plus there's a mark to show a finisher is possible and it last some time. It's a final finisher only if the enemy is down on ground, otherwise it's a hit with much more damages and generally stunning the enemy or something equivalent. It's fun and very efficient to discourage click feast because ponder attacks and constantly care of finisher availability will kill much faster than throwing click feast, plus you get more control. But those finisher, intermediate or final don't require to throw special attacks. Special attacks are either attacks that are specials (he he) either sort of spells. Ok there's perhaps special a bit hidden combo with chaining something, but apart some suspect messages few time, I don't use any but perhaps with luck.
EDIT: For LOTRWiTN the controls are:
- Normal attack
- Heavy attack and is required to apply a finisher or an intermediate finisher.
- Roll, it's major in fights, roll in the direction you are moving. It also important just for moving because it allows you move through friendly or enemy.
- Run, rather important even in fights, many reason, from rescuing a companion to rush to an enemy.
- Parry, important but to use with spare because it's not a 100% parry, but also a modifier for 3 special actions.
- Long range mode, the game is designed to switch often and quickly between long range/close range, more over in this mode you move slowly, so to really move you need deactivate it or use a roll.
- 3 special actions, at least two are rather important, in fact the three are important but you could choose use just two.
- And the game is kind with you, for using potions it's either a command to open the items panel and it pauses the game, either two more commands for healing and mana/energy.
EDIT2: It means there's 4 modifiers (Roll, Run, Mode, Parry) and 6 actions buttons (3 special actions and it's same buttons for 3 other with parry modifier, 2 attacks and open items panel). My own setup is:
- Left Hand Little finger for my quicker/easier modifiers positions, Roll and Parry.
- Left Hand Little finger for a third efficient but less quick modifier position, Run.
- Mouse third button for range mode with toggle.
- Mouse left and right click for Normal and Heavy/finish attack.
- Left Hand Little finger for opening the items panel.
- Left Hand Index for the 3 special actions or the 3 actions with modifier (Parry) and for Right Strafe.
- Left Thumb for backward, Left Hand middle finder for forward, Last Left Hand Finger for Left Strafe.
In practice I could use some more actions commands for casual use ie 3/4 but if I need choose among too many commands during action I get lost in the number! Lol.