Confused about combat and how it evolves

[Ragnar]

The movement in this game makes it feel like they did their best to make it really fluid. But combat couldn't be stiffer, you get fully locked into the animation and it moves at a snails pace. I feel like the only fluid way to play is to freeze enemies with ice and use the bow, or throw stuff from a distance.

Am I missing something, or is just combat and movement on opposite sides of the spectrum?

[Quvades Gaming]

most of the time i just burn every small enemie or perfect block them to do a few sword hits

[yellowbrickgames_devs]

Hey there! We're working on an action plan to help improve the feel of combat (among other things), so hopefully you stay tuned! 😊

[Mttlxndr]

I'm really struggling with the combat. Playing on PS5.
Enemy damage seems absolutely insane at times. 200+ standard, enemies chase after you, homing hits. Ark of the Stricken Earth on the 2nd round does 800-1000 damage. If I block hits it hurts my stamina, which makes me unable to move and then I take more damage. Why??????????? That's so paradoxical and problematic. I'm playing on EASY mode too

[Prinny]

for starters... use your powers so the enemy can't hit you.
Using the grasp you get from the very start, you can grab an enemy and slam them right in front of you, they will be staggered/prone for quite a while.
do a charged attack or two, they might be stunned. keep whaling on them until they are defeated. rinse and repeat.
The flying fire insect wont be as easy tho.

I've been playing on normal from the start, on a controller. It wasn't all that easy but I felt like it was more manageable than most similar games. I've finished the story and the final quest, while on normal.
Focus on gathering resource and finding new smith recipe at first. when you upgrade the forge via Casmyn, you'll have plenty to survive and deal damage. More resource = better gears. If normal enemies are a problem, focus on getting lower weight and higher armour as much as possible. Most basic enemies deals 0-30 dmg when most of your gears have 30-40 armour on them, each.
If bosses / epics are what you struggle with, try to learn what they do. There is no durability on your gear, so there is no shame in rushing in and getting whooped. As long as you do not change map, the boss/epic will keep every little bit of damage you dealt to it no matter how many time you die. There are two exceptions, wintertide and the final boss.
Playing on easy will also refill all your potion when you die and respawn. The lost loot is hard to accept but the boss will give more interesting stuff.
Try to destroy both legs of any boss first, then their arms. Some have more defined mechanics but I found those 4 limbs to be much more valuable in destroying when they don't slam me around as much or as hard as before.

While it IS quite hard at the start, crafting mostly blue-ingredient gears will definitely help you. Don't focus on a set of gear either, you can mix and match. Dismantling gives you back ALL the material used, reforging also gives you back all the material replaced. So do not be afraid to use valuable materials. You can always gather more with a little effort.

Killing a boss will grant you MUCH MORE materials and loot than harvesting the strands/locus point. The only exception is the very first encounter with them, it will count as though you harvested it, so it will give less materials overall.
Breaking bits and pieces that stick out of bosses before killing them is also a great source of bonus materials.

and finally... do not neglect to block with your shield. this is what will change your progress and by a large margin. Blocked attack will consume a lot of stamina instead of health... perfect block will briefly stun the enemy and allow you to perform a more damaging combo than usual.
Be patient, be attentive.

[greg.shackleford]

Love the look and feel of this game, and the voice acting and story are superb.

However, I'm a casual player and enjoy the story and exploration over combat - which I'm never very good at ;-D So it's very disappointing that Easy Mode is far from easy! I'm still getting absolutely mashed by loads of enemies. I'd expect easy to be that I hit way harder and take minimal damage. Instead the first Ark can literally wipe out my health bar in one hit, but takes a million hits from me to kill.

That's seriously spoiled an otherwise awesome game for me, and I may have to shelve it with the hope that a future update actually makes easy - easy - so I can play the way I prefer.