The Combat is Actually Easy

[TwoToneWilly]

Roughly an hour into the open game, shortly after the prologue conclusion and you are set free, I killed a bandit that could kill me in two swings for his plate armor and bastard sword in a fast travel encounter.

Combat from that point on became trivially easy but I have some pointers for those who are struggling to get to this point too.

If you are really struggling to string combos and take the initiative from an enemy, whether they are just that fast or strong, then you need to think of the fight as a boxing match and you are a counter puncher.

Go for perfect blocks consistently. Never, ever just hold your guard. You catch a block and then swing immediately. If they're notably fast on the riposte, then keep it to single return strikes until you've worn them down or caused a bleed.

They will noticeably start limping, failing to keep their arms up, or generally getting sluggish. From there you can take complete control of the fight and start stringing combos at will to finish it.

Key advice:

Go see Tomcat immediately. You will learn some pointers and skills that will completely change sword fighting.

Don't delay in finding out what happened to Mutt. The utility is invaluable for combat encounters.

Always stop to sharpen your swords at grindstones. That additional chance to proc a bleed on enemies comes in handy and takes all of 10 seconds of your time to buff your next fight you'll inevitably get into.

If you end up in a fight with multiple enemies, then stay on the back foot and switch your focus as needed to the target getting closest. Block-swing-target change - block - swing.

If the opportunity arises, usually groups have 1 or 2 individuals that are heavily armored. Kite shield, plate armor, helmet, etc. The rest are typically running with a gambeson and one-handed swords.

Single out the lightly armored targets and hit them as hard and fast as you can, without getting encircled or struck from behind. Crush these weaker targets as fast as you can, or at least injure them to the point that they become much less of a threat.

Above all: The game in general, not just in combat, rewards patience. Take it slow. Know when you can go fast and when you need to chip away at something *or someone*.

Good luck!

[Erios]

By the middle of the second map I was really struggling to find a challenge. I was taking risks and looking for the most powerful enemies I could just because things had become so trivially easy. Even outnumbered 8-1 against fully armored opponents was doable just by keeping focus on the footwork and not letting them surround you.

I'm really annoyed that certain named characters who are supposed to be extremely skilled are total pushovers compared to some unnamed soldiers in full black plate. With a dueling longsword 1-2 hits and they are done, even armored. Annoying.

Really had a silly effect on the story for me, since I just constantly thought 'well just send me I'll take the entire enemy army out alone...'

[SHINRA-CORP]

Combat isnt hard its just clunky. Imo

[Gekko]

can never hit after doing a perfect block, they instantly block.

[Mouse Rat]

keep bane and dollmaker pots on yourself.
you can put them on your ranged ammo and then a single tag from them against an enemy makes them impossible to run.

so you can easily kill them while on horse.
or your stabby stab and then poke them once and run way.

[TwoToneWilly]

Originally posted by SHINRA-CORP:

Combat isnt hard its just clunky. Imo

Certainly some clunk going on, for sure. I see complaints about combat difficulty and I really, really want to think that it's players not used to a game where you can get punished pretty hard by trying to rush.

I've had NPCs that I waxed the floor with give me a ticket back to the loading screen after having to fight them again after reloading a save because I didn't want to give them my attention again when I was just trying to get back to a specific area or point in my save.

[TwoToneWilly]

Originally posted by Gekko:

can never hit after doing a perfect block, they instantly block.

When you keep the hit-to-hit exchange up, you will inevitably get strikes in, especially if you're changing up where you are striking and keeping it from their sword side.

I aim for the head and the unguarded side.

[BenShinobi]

Originally posted by Gekko:

can never hit after doing a perfect block, they instantly block.

That's normal. The block/riposte/block again is meant to be an attempt to drain their stamina while keeping yours up. It will be really difficult early game cause Henry is starting from really low stats. It's supposed to take a while before you're on an equal level with other people after Henry's near-death experience.

[TwoToneWilly]

Originally posted by Erios:

By the middle of the second map I was really struggling to find a challenge. I was taking risks and looking for the most powerful enemies I could just because things had become so trivially easy. Even outnumbered 8-1 against fully armored opponents was doable just by keeping focus on the footwork and not letting them surround you.

I'm really annoyed that certain named characters who are supposed to be extremely skilled are total pushovers compared to some unnamed soldiers in full black plate. With a dueling longsword 1-2 hits and they are done, even armored. Annoying.

Really had a silly effect on the story for me, since I just constantly thought 'well just send me I'll take the entire enemy army out alone...'

I generally agree, yes. I'm really enjoying the combat still, even if it's much easier than I had anticipated. I really have to give kudos to the developers for adding depth and engagement to a lot of their systems that many, many games have never taken the effort to do.

My monkey brain could do masterstrikes, ripostes and blacksmith axes all day. Especially in lieu of the "make x" systems that I'm so accustomed to in other RPGs.

[BenShinobi]

Originally posted by Erios:

By the middle of the second map I was really struggling to find a challenge. I was taking risks and looking for the most powerful enemies I could just because things had become so trivially easy. Even outnumbered 8-1 against fully armored opponents was doable just by keeping focus on the footwork and not letting them surround you.

I'm really annoyed that certain named characters who are supposed to be extremely skilled are total pushovers compared to some unnamed soldiers in full black plate. With a dueling longsword 1-2 hits and they are done, even armored. Annoying.

Really had a silly effect on the story for me, since I just constantly thought 'well just send me I'll take the entire enemy army out alone...'

I hope a hardcore mode/mod is made. Give back the additional angles of attack from kcd1, but improve on the overall formula & rebalance so those supposed big-bads are genuinely nasty. I understand why difficulty for mandatory fights has to be at a certain level to not soft block people out of progression.

[Gekko]

Originally posted by Felonious Sophist:

Originally posted by Gekko:

can never hit after doing a perfect block, they instantly block.

When you keep the hit-to-hit exchange up, you will inevitably get strikes in, especially if you're changing up where you are striking and keeping it from their sword side.

I aim for the head and the unguarded side.

nope not for me, the bandits always exhaust me and then just beat me to death.

Originally posted by BenShinobi:

Originally posted by Gekko:

can never hit after doing a perfect block, they instantly block.

That's normal. The block/riposte/block again is meant to be an attempt to drain their stamina while keeping yours up. It will be really difficult early game cause Henry is starting from really low stats. It's supposed to take a while before you're on an equal level with other people after Henry's near-death experience.

how do you level up then?

[Mouse Rat]

Originally posted by BenShinobi:

Originally posted by Erios:

By the middle of the second map I was really struggling to find a challenge. I was taking risks and looking for the most powerful enemies I could just because things had become so trivially easy. Even outnumbered 8-1 against fully armored opponents was doable just by keeping focus on the footwork and not letting them surround you.

I'm really annoyed that certain named characters who are supposed to be extremely skilled are total pushovers compared to some unnamed soldiers in full black plate. With a dueling longsword 1-2 hits and they are done, even armored. Annoying.

Really had a silly effect on the story for me, since I just constantly thought 'well just send me I'll take the entire enemy army out alone...'

I hope a hardcore mode/mod is made. Give back the additional angles of attack from kcd1, but improve on the overall formula & rebalance so those supposed big-bads are genuinely nasty. I understand why difficulty for mandatory fights has to be at a certain level to not soft block people out of progression.

couple of the high skill npc are nasty.
it's just atk speed on top of all the features.

you can but you need to be careful. in second map you have multiple chances to duel some of these ppl.
if you try to duel the dude in siggy camp without skills you will have a rough time of it. especially with low atk speed.

[TwoToneWilly]

Originally posted by Gekko:

Originally posted by Felonious Sophist:

When you keep the hit-to-hit exchange up, you will inevitably get strikes in, especially if you're changing up where you are striking and keeping it from their sword side.

I aim for the head and the unguarded side.

nope not for me, the bandits always exhaust me and then just beat me to death.

Originally posted by BenShinobi:

That's normal. The block/riposte/block again is meant to be an attempt to drain their stamina while keeping yours up. It will be really difficult early game cause Henry is starting from really low stats. It's supposed to take a while before you're on an equal level with other people after Henry's near-death experience.

how do you level up then?

You have to manage distance too. It's not advised to just stay in a phone booth with them when you're stamina limited, especially in the early game.

I've never had an issue with backing up and circling until my stamina comes back.

Even if they get a combo going while you're stamina drained, you can still effectively block to some degree without getting destroyed for it.

In the early fight, you keep strikes limited until they're hurt, as I said above. block-riposte-block-riposte.

You will chip away at them as strikes start to go through. Then they'll bleed, then they'll stagger, then their arms will drop. From there, you can pretty much beat them to death.

[Gekko]

Originally posted by Felonious Sophist:

Originally posted by Gekko:

nope not for me, the bandits always exhaust me and then just beat me to death.


how do you level up then?

You have to manage distance too. It's not advised to just stay in a phone booth with them when you're stamina limited, especially in the early game.

I've never had an issue with backing up and circling until my stamina comes back.

Even if they get a combo going while you're stamina drained, you can still effectively block to some degree without getting destroyed for it.

In the early fight, you keep strikes limited until they're hurt, as I said above. block-riposte-block-riposte.

You will chip away at them as strikes start to go through. Then they'll bleed, then they'll stagger, then their arms will drop. From there, you can pretty much beat them to death.

doesnt work for me, im not standing still like a tree and tried b/r/b/r.

[TwoToneWilly]

Originally posted by Gekko:

Originally posted by Felonious Sophist:

You have to manage distance too. It's not advised to just stay in a phone booth with them when you're stamina limited, especially in the early game.

I've never had an issue with backing up and circling until my stamina comes back.

Even if they get a combo going while you're stamina drained, you can still effectively block to some degree without getting destroyed for it.

In the early fight, you keep strikes limited until they're hurt, as I said above. block-riposte-block-riposte.

You will chip away at them as strikes start to go through. Then they'll bleed, then they'll stagger, then their arms will drop. From there, you can pretty much beat them to death.

doesnt work for me, im not standing still like a tree and tried b/r/b/r.

If you think you're not having success with the methodical method, then you can start attempting combo stringing from the rip after an initial riposte.

Of course, you risk them getting in a riposte as well, but those can just be blocked and countered too.

It's basically a rhythm game.

[BenShinobi]

Hell, even the occasional single attack can get you through if you do it from an unpredictable angle by changing last moment.