Were martial arts training dummies ever planned?

[SeattlePoliceman]

It really seems odd that there is no vanilla training equipment for martial arts. I feel like it really discourages you from trying to spec a character heavily into that as the only real way to train it is by getting into fights or beating up an unfortunate prisoner over and over again.

[Mokona]

probably not since there is no training dummies for weapons either. MA really isnt any different then other weapons except you cant hit the guys who crawl away from you until you learn what a kick is.

[bunny de fluff]

I'd never trained my units with anything at all, just order them to fight , but choose your targets carefully though.

[Lyrin]

No idea to your initial question but... There are several pieces of equipment that boost MA, could be a useful way to get your MA high enough to be at least semi-viable early on... let you stay in the fight long enough to actually get some attacks off and earn exp. Things like assassin's rags, (sleeveless) dustcoats, MA bindings, armored rag skirts, gi top/pants, etc.

[Cellar_Cat]

Vanilla training gear is... minimally useful IMO. It's not a complete set of stats, nor does it go very far, and you're only skipping over the quick and easy levels that sail by anyway. I use it essentially as decoration.

The game is really designed around learning by fighting. You can cheese your way around that in some cases by really stretching what constitutes a 'fight', but the vanilla training gear is clearly not meant to be a real substitute.

If you need someone to be combat effective right away (insofar as they can be) then you will just have to stack stat boosts on them. They won't be good or durable but they might land a hit. Conversely, if you need them to learn faster without annoying micro, you can smother them in heavy armour and just throw them into battles alongside a more competent squad.

[b1gf001]

I read somewhere yesterday that to level MA faster you actually want to wear gear that lowers your MA rating.

[Cellar_Cat]

Any stat that takes into account your opponent's stats to determine xp rate should work that way IIRC. The armour changes how you compare to them.

Never actually seen this confirmed but I speculate things like starvation and injuries on you and them might also be counted if it's using the modified stats rather than base stats.

[Lyrin]

Originally posted by b1gf001:

I read somewhere yesterday that to level MA faster you actually want to wear gear that lowers your MA rating.

This is true, however... the higher your skill the more frequently you attack, which is how you actually earn XP. Thus, when you're trying to fight with like 0-5 MA (or negative if you also stack MA penalty gear) you're going to have a hard time in most situations actually gaining XP. Combined with the long animation lock of dodging, and especially so if you're looking at a group combat, I prefer to start with some boosts. Once they reach around 15-20 I feel like they can actually attack often enough to train reasonably without boosts.

Now, this is gonna vary if you're cross-training an existing character who's had a chance to build up some strength, toughness and dexterity, cause those stats all help. Even then I'd recommend looking at either the bindings or some other equipment that protects your fists.

[VanillaLover]

Kicking guys who lost their legs and are lying on the ground is the quickest way to learn Martial Arts early on.

EDIT. Seriously though, even if dummies for MA were added I wouldn't expect them to go higher than 15, anything more would just feel cheesy. I think it was mentioned somewhere that Kenshi creator didn't want training dummies to be a substitute for the real thing, so to speak, from the start.

And personally I agree, though I'd go even further and remove them completely.

[Flare |UKCS|]

I thought the best way was to skill dex with katana's , then training ma.

[SaltyPeanuts]

Actually it's very simple: if you're having problems stick around the Hub and run into one of the bars when chased by enemies.

Just being indoors gives a +8 MA modifier. Low kick requires only 5 MA, so you can low kick at the beginning of the game with no exp.

If you want a serious advantage acquire MA gear: Assassin's Rags = +6 MA, Armored Rag Skirt = +4 MA, and Martial Artist Bindings = +4 MA- then that's 22 MA indoors which unlocks palm strike (only requires 15 MA). You get Double Strike and Double High Punch at 25 MA which you can get with just 3 more MA points. Between all of these techniques you are basically a fighting pro if you stick to fighting indoors with all appropriate gear.

[Synopse]

The fastest way to train dexterity is attack speed.
https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Dexterity

[Fnordian23]

At this point if I feel something should have been in vanilla but wasn't, I just add it to my playthrough with a mod.

The martial arts mats mod is balanced, it takes research and materials to get it unlocked and upgraded. I think it also comes with a melee defense mat. Another mod adds balanced weapon skill dummies. The weight lifting bench mod I have for Strength is OP, I only use it for short periods at a a time, and usually only for Shek and Skeletons (who I feel should naturally be much stronger than 1-15).