4-hit combos... realistically?

[Vim]

I just got my first four hit combo and I was so excited to try it out, but I haven't yet been able to pull it off. The chance of landing four hits without the enemy riposting a single time seems to be very small. And the targets that are bad enough at combat to where it might work, usually die by the first or second hit of simple chain strikes...

The only thing I could think of ti increased my chance was to do a master strike, since then at least my first hit will always land, but then they just go back to parrying and riposting me again...

[DargonBlak]

i don't use combos - 3 hits are really hard to pull off until you are rather high skill level, and i have never tried 4-hit combos.

And by the time i have high skill level, normal hits score often enough to wear down the opponent's stamina so that i can crush them.

Again, just another thing in the "grand design" of the melee combat that was rather a waste of time and money, imo

[Lieste]

I found the enjoyable spot in the combat with a sword around the level of the merchant's sword - those which are worse are ineffective vs opponents in general, those which are significantly stronger (added to damage boosting perks) invalidate even heavy armour. Initially I did this by choosing to use this type of sword, and just having 'shiny ones' for my collection, later I constrained all weapons to damage clustered more or less tightly around this 'level' differing mostly in charisma, value and durability - with the impact and thrust type weapons doing slightly better against armour because of the differences in protection offered by the layered pieces.

There is no particular problem with performing 4 hit combinatory devices - they only require 3 attacks to 'beat the odds' and you can lead in with a feint - the purpose of the device is to offer the final attack 'for free' - and this is always unblockable by the target of your attacks (note that other opponents *can* block your attacks - so also ensure that you manoeuvre to keep your fight as close to 1v1 (with adds) as possible, rather than trying to fight in a 1v many... This, for me is best practised by forward and lateral movement (turning the enemy line) rather than rearward (walking backward, drawing on the enemy line, which can run to catch up and overwhelm), plus you can see where you are going to step...

Watch for the opponent 'defeating' an attack, and instantly void to reduce the risk of being hit, or at least limit it to a single attack. To make voids work, keep your fingers off the movement buttons, except for the brief tap to reposition or to void when needed. Holding movement buttons, like the parry button blocks the timed action, which fires on the release of the button, and needs to start within the action being defended against.

I perform feints using a held attack from a deceptive guard, using the key to release the attack without performing it, switching line to the new guard and tap-release the first attack. Many devices don't require any subsequent change of lines, and those which do, only require one change. You are probably overthinking combinatory devices if you find they are very challenging to perform - I routinely throw several back-back, when I choose to act offensively... sometimes I will dodge several attacks to wear down my opponent before responding with my own sequence of attacks, and once you are in the ascendant your combat effectiveness increases (if you get injured it falls - especially if you have 'the best weapon you can wield' in the unmodded game, where you suddenly find yourself 25% below the minimum stats to use it effectively. - another argument for a 'modest' weapon)

[SenatorAri]

Yeah you can pull 4 hit combos off every now and then, obviously not all the time, but that makes it so much better when you do land them. :) Best not to try and use them in fights that you could easily use, but rather when you are fighting easier targets for fun. And like you said, attempting them after Master Striking yields much higher results.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGOjQIP6bn8&ab_channel=AliceArisen

[Veny]

I am not using combos at all. I am not sure if combos were made to be the meta in this game, but from what i saw, they are not that great.
Combat is pretty much based on these things: Stats (stamina, strenght, weapon skill, and other stats you gain naturally OR through potions) and gear. Improving these is a way to go.
The only truly useful skills are blocks, perfect blocks and riposte since they have all pros and no cons.
And to kill the enemy all you have to do is pretty much bash him so long he loses all stamina and then his blocks become inefficient.

And with top gear and top stats (and especially if you are boosted by potions) i am able to kill most enemies pretty quickly. With luck even with 3-4 hits with no combo.

Btw. maybe combos are useful against enemies taunted by dog? They cannot defend themselves for quite a long time.

[Humbled]

Originally posted by Veny:

I am not using combos at all. I am not sure if combos were made to be the meta in this game, but from what i saw, they are not that great.
Combat is pretty much based on these things: Stats (stamina, strenght, weapon skill, and other stats you gain naturally OR through potions) and gear. Improving these is a way to go.
The only truly useful skills are blocks, perfect blocks and riposte since they have all pros and no cons.
And to kill the enemy all you have to do is pretty much bash him so long he loses all stamina and then his blocks become inefficient.

And with top gear and top stats (and especially if you are boosted by potions) i am able to kill most enemies pretty quickly. With luck even with 3-4 hits with no combo.

Btw. maybe combos are useful against enemies taunted by dog? They cannot defend themselves for quite a long time.

If there was a meta it would be master strikes and clinch. More so clinch with Clinch master perk. Easy to trigger with a guaranteed hit. Rinse and repeat.

Also eventually master strike will replace perfect blocks. Combos are fun but don't feel impactful and are not as easy to pull off as a clinch exchange.

[Simple Kind of Man]

i faint my combos so they block the wrong spot.

[Lieste]

That is certainly an alternative option. Not quite sure how an opponent would deal with that... probably just stab you while you lie there to be honest.

Feinting is a probably more useful technique.

[noxteryn]

Combos are very easy to use and extremely effective, as long as you know when to use them. There are two main situations in which you can use them:

1. Immediately after a masterstrike. After a masterstrike, there is a small window of time when any attack you make is unblockable. If you start a combo immediately after a masterstrike, it's going to be 100% successful, as long as you execute it perfectly.

2. After a successful feint. Early in the game, you learn how to feint. Most players forget about it and never use it. Feints work. If you feint, you can do combos without getting blocked.

[IvantheFormidable]

Originally posted by noxteryn:

Combos are very easy to use and extremely effective, as long as you know when to use them. There are two main situations in which you can use them:

1. Immediately after a masterstrike. After a masterstrike, there is a small window of time when any attack you make is unblockable. If you start a combo immediately after a masterstrike, it's going to be 100% successful, as long as you execute it perfectly.

2. After a successful feint. Early in the game, you learn how to feint. Most players forget about it and never use it. Feints work. If you feint, you can do combos without getting blocked.

This is probably the best advice (and matches my experience) that I've seen regarding combos. Opening with a feint is basically a free hit most of the time, which you can chain into a combo fairly easily.

[Vim]

I've been playing for a while since I made this thread and Feints have about the same chance to hit as any random normal attack in my experience. And you can get a free hit after a master strike for sure, but each attack that follows has about 50%+ chance of being countered, so yeah, you can pull off combos, but they will be rare, and they certainly don't feel like they hit any harder than just "Master Strike -> Strike" spam.

[IvantheFormidable]

Originally posted by Vim:

I've been playing for a while since I made this thread and Feints have about the same chance to hit as any random normal attack in my experience.

Are you making sure to set yourself up so that your feint hits them in an area that is opposite of whatever guard stance they have set up?

Originally posted by Vim:

Master Strike -> Strike" spam.

Maybe not, but they're a lot more fun to use imo, and they can be used to rapidly dominate the battlespace by eliminating a weaker opponent when fighting a small group.