Performing master strike

[ElDuderino]

Did the training and got it every time. Now I'm doing a regular combat training and can only do the blocks. So what's the trick that Bernie forgot to mention during "training"?

[MerlinTheGameWizard]

So far. In my experience (which isn't much I'll be honest). It seems to be related to pressing the strike button right as the perfect block executes. I'm still personally trying to master it myself. I have a feeling it gets easier to pull off with skill level, kind of like the perfect block itself. Just won a tourney through only using the Master strike. and was pulling it off 60% of my blocks. Could also be related to the direction your sword is pointing at the moment of the perfect block. I'll tell you if I figure it out for certain!

[Lieste]

For defence actions you have a variety of options and timings.

First. Being out of measure. No timing or action requirement - he just misses.

Second. Dodging. While standing, tap and release the ASD keys during the strike animation, not too late, because it doesn't have I frames, but if you go before he attacks, his attack will be sent to where you are, not where you were. You can attack following your dodge (if you use lateral movement), but it doesn't give me (at least) much advantage to do so. It is however less damaging to your equipment and doesn't use stamina. Stops combination attacks from your enemy.

Third. Simple Block. With the Arming Weapons, this is the weakest defence. Press and hold 'Q' - your guard is shifted to the current threat line, but won't shift to follow a change of guard or a feint - absorbing a hit takes stamina, doesn't interrupt enemy combination attacks.

Fourth. Perfect Parry. (Masterstrike known). After the timing for the 'green shield' starts, tap and release 'Q'. Your guard is shifted to intercept the attack, time slows, and after the parry animation ends you are both in a neutral situation. If you attack now it is easily blocked. Takes less or no stamina to parry in this way, interrupts a combination of attacks.

Fifth. Parry Riposte. (Requires masterstrike training). After the timing for the 'green shield' starts, tap and release 'Q'. Your guard is shifted to intercept the attack, time slows. During the parry animation use your attack button 'LMB/RMB' to deliver a Riposte action.

Sixth. Masterstrike. (Requires, unsurprisingly, Masterstrike training). *Before* the timing for Parry-Riposte, but after the start of the attack, tap and release 'Q'. You will 'attack' into his threat in a manner which defeats his attack and strikes him with no further input. The guard you are in does seem to work in combination with his attacks to 'select' the masterstrike you will use, but isn't important to the function. The act of masterstriking does the 'matching of the guard position' which Bernard mentions - it is a special purpose 'counter cut', which IRL uses an 'offered opening' and a step away from the centreline to deliver an attack 'simultaneously' behind the parry.

(Without masterstrike training, you will get a simple 'Perfect Parry' even with the early parry timing, and you can only simply attack *after* the parry ends, and cannot get the advantage that Parry-Riposte gives).

Polearms differ. They use a 'held' block 'Q', to parry sequential attacks, and you can attack out of the block by clicking an attack and releasing the parry button - which is 'safe' after a successful block.

A shield or weapon which 'gets in the way' will go some way towards protecting you, but isn't as effective as an intentfull momentary defence.



If you are engaging an opponent, and a second attacks you, you can parry, parry riposte or masterstrike this second opponent with no difference to how you would do if you were locked to him. I prefer to *lock* my camera to one opponent with the hard lock, so that this change of target is only a single action change, and I get my preferred target back for continued fighting. I find the soft-lock changing of target to be relatively confusing. I can always unlock (Shift) and look around, or cycle locked targets in view with 'Tab' or Mouse Scroll Wheel.

[ElDuderino]

Wow. I didn't get any of that from the training. Came out of it thinking I just had to time the block right to do an automatic riposte. Thanks Lieste, I'll give it another try.

[Lieste]

Essentially your version is 'correct', but it is ... simplistic.

[Lieste]

I did also miss one. Standing and eating the hits, relying on stamina, armour and health. Not recommended.

[✪ Wuhan Warrior 🍉🍉]

The window of opportunity to perform master strikes is related to your defense skill. The higher it is, the longer window you have to perform them.

It doesn't matter what stance you have. However, there is a "pause" in between attacking and doing a master strike, so you'll need to practise to get familiar with that.

[ElDuderino]

Originally posted by Lieste:

Essentially your version is 'correct', but it is ... simplistic.

Well the game made it seem that simple from the training. I wish it had made me do a few in real time instead of just the slow-mo. Now I guess I have to try to get some in while fending off Bernie's incessant combos and his own masterstrokes.

To clarify, you said *before* the parry timing to get the masterstrokes? As in, before the green indicator pops up?

[Premier666]

speaking of combos, are the special combos any use? When I try against the trainer guy, he just parries me on the first or second strike and I never can do the full combo
Am I doing it wrong or is he just hardwired to always stop your combos?

[Lieste]

It is a little imprecise, but if you are aiming to get your parries in following the cue from the green shield, you will seldom or never get masterstrikes... These are definitely biased towards the first part of his swing... but be careful that he is actually swinging forward. A parry too early (in his back swing/tell) is also not a masterstrike.


For combinatory attacks, the easier ones are (Longsword), Fehler and Drei Wunder. These are both from entries in the lower left, and end with a double thrust - the Drei Wunder inserts a falling cut from the right between the entry and the double thrust.... this is easy to consistently perform, and it only requires your opponent to not perfect parry or dodge the first cut(s). False Edge (the one Bernard teaches, requires a minimum of one change of cutting line, manually, and it is easier to mess up even against a cooperative target)

With lower warfare, defence and weapon skills you will be thwarted more often than not... as your character improves they become higher odds propositions though, and with chain strike and a non-blockable final attack can do significant damage even with weaker weapons against heavier armour.
Balance issues make them less useful than they should be though - higher level weapons and skills scale to high damage too much, rendering simple actions too risky, and multiple hits somewhat unnecessary against those enemies you can safely attack repeatedly. Simply reducing the damage spread of weapons makes the more complex combat options much more usable and useful.