dont think anyone besides the devs really know what combat will look/feel like

I'm not sure I understand this definition of yours, but as Jakeman said, we don't know a whole lot about it just yet. We are going to get some better information on combat in the near future, and probably a video as well.

in 3d combat u got on every target hitbox which is in 3d space, it has x y z variables, like every modern fps, there where you aim u hit that space as a 3d space, in 2d combat is just x and y, it doesnt matter if target is on high ground or low ground as long as you are in range and u have it locked(like in eso hiden lock on target) u will hit target, if u played old games like doom 2 u will see that u can aim only to left and right not up and down but still u hit targets on highground. Same we can see in EVE online 2d vs Starcitizen which is 3d.

yes, hitbox on target, it shouldnt be same if u hit target in head or in leg. Or example in eso it didnt matter if u aim beside the targed, it will still be a hit.

well its about aiming, if u dont need to aim, then there is just rotation and timing of spells.

I think the question is: Are we having a locking target combat system. "Locking a Target"-Combat like in EVE Online or World of Warcraft are some sort of "2D" you do have to consider range and sometimes the rotation. Doom 2 was a 2D Shooter, but ... this is so old no one would consider to compare it to any game today i guess. My guess for CoE would be, that we have a "non-locking-target" combat, similar to games like Life is Feudal, War of the Roses, Mount and Blade. So to speak, you have to aim on the target to hit and, for projectiles like arrows, calculate flight path and pre-aim a moving target. I mean we are 2016, there aint not 2D-Games in 3D Space anymore, are there?

Exactly, well u have lot of new mmos which are "Locking a Target" - ESO but hidden, so they show you cool and new combat hahaha. I was comparing games like WoW, EVE Online, ESO with doom2 coz they are basically doom2 with more spells with cds and 3d graphics in sense of combat. I strongly agree that mmo rpgs in 2016 should be aim combat with hitboxes, probably like Life is Feudal, War of the Roses, Mount and Blade didnt actualy play these.

As it seems combat will definitely be tab or tab hidden targeting, "Auto-lock-target"-"Locking a Target". Well it seems reasonable because its probably very demanding to make mmorpg on bigger scale without "Auto-lock-target", especially when it needs to run very smooth. So to speak there is no space for all things like this: "you have to aim on the target to hit and, for projectiles like arrows, calculate flight path and pre-aim a moving target."

Reference: "The combat system is something we're still working on and will provide more details later. Our goal is to make combat feel comfortable with a Keyboard + Mouse, as well as a Game Pad. We'll be iterating quite a bit on the targeting system until we're happy with our ability to engage and unengage from targets quickly.

Cheers! -Caspian"