Combat troubles with multiple NPC's

[Shaabhekh]

As per the title really.

I'm having troubles fighting groups of enemies.

1v1 is fine, i find that the mob is either dumb and prevents little overall threat and i can just stab/slash etc or its smart and i'll have to engage 'properly' to avoid being hit here and there - Target Lock in 1v1 is fine (though the way the camera looks down at an angle is a tad annoying)

When its 2+ targets i find i'm having some real issues.
First off, whenever they attack, they tend to stagger me, meaning the attack i was about to do is canceled - this happens far too frequently for my liking because it means i cant use a 2 handed weapon effectively.
That they tend to stagger their attacks too, so that as im recovering from the 1st attack the 2nd attacker is making his move thus i end up in a sort of 'stun lock'

And im not talking about the knock down attacks, thats something else entirely...

So im just wondering how do people fight agasint multiple opponents?
Target lock doesnt help at all, if anything it hinders me in a 2+ fight because moving with TL means youre sort of encircling the target and thus unable to really move freely, thus meaning your opponents lands their hits.

Dodging uses up so much stamina too, i'll take a hit or too where needed but by the time ive dodged a couple of heavy blows and to counter attack, i've got minimal stamina left to press on with.

Bar running away and trying to kite just the one mob into combat, how are people faring themselves?

I find it frustrating to say the least and its the one thing i loathe about the game thus far.


Couple of other issues i've had is having been knocked into a tree and being unable to get out og it via normal movement or rolling - thus leading me to get killed - i've even been stuck between 3 NPC's like this before too...

So any help on how to combat more than 1 opponent would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Sweet Briana 💋™]

I 1 v 2 often, even against named NPCs. 1 v 3 becomes more difficult, but here is what you must do:

#1 - Dynamic weapon choice - USE A SPEAR/TRIDENT/PIKE/etc a weapon with REACH.

#2 - Target lock closest NPC approaching and attack with the NPC at a distance but within reach of your weapon.

- You will get 1 or 2 strikes before they are on you.

#3 - You have to master the "hit and move" - this means, strike - then roll immediately.

If you have 2-3 NPCs on you, in range to strike you, then you will take double-triple hits and be stun locked/staggered/interrupted.

#4 - The long reach of the spear etc will allow you to damage multiple enemies at short / medium ranges.

#5 - When 3 NPCs are on you, you must roll, and move backwards, roll twice if necessary and and make sure to target the lead NPC as they come at you again.

You will and should own them with the reach weapons.

I personally recommend: Javelin + Shield - hoplite style, as that is my fighting method.

If you are fighting 1 v 2 - dual axes, thought offering no protection, can slaughter 2 NPCs flanking you at arms reach at the same time.

And remember what is best in life:

- Crush your enemies.
- See them driven before you.
- And hear the lamentation of their women.

[Fast Johnny]

Yeah, it is tough to deal with multiple enemies, especially when they get you backed up and trapped. The dodge key is your best friend in that situation.

Although, I find that certain weapons will help greatly in that situation.

A war hammer is a good one to knock back enemies (I've knocked back as many as 5 at once) and give you some breathing room, usually staggers the enemies and sunders some as well, but don't get over confident, get out of that situation and save yourself.

Another is the two handed sword, which can sunder, knock back and cripple enemies, especially with the light attacks being able to use the really broad swing to clear the area to give you some room to work with.

But both of these weapons are really, really bad friendly fire weapons, so don't go wading on in when you have a friendly in combat with the same adversaries, and don't go near a friendly swinging one around or you will get hit.

[BigBombz]

There is nothing better against multiple npc's than good two handed sword imho. Use light attacks only, do a full combo to get the knock back effect, then dodge and walk backwards to regain stamina, rinse and repeat.
Other than that get yourself a good fighter thrall and let him/her do the facetanking for you.

[Nightwolf]

orbs can help too if you dont have a bow, the grease orb or the gaseous orb or demon fire,

[Shaabhekh]

Originally posted by Sωεε† βríάηά 💋™:

I

I personally recommend: Javelin + Shield - hoplite style, as that is my fighting method.


:csgob:

soon as i saw the stone spear as craftable when i started this game i went with javelin/shield

ive found issues with the spear tho, namely that its not quite capable of hitting the hitboxes correctly - but its is nice and fast and has a bit of reach - shield though ive grown out of because i still suffered from the knockback/staggering when faced with flankers etc

Pike on the other hand, thats a fave weapon too, i'm going to try sticking to that from now on, just not fond of stab, roll, stab roll, not enough time in the day or stamina in the HUD for that, lol - but we'll see how it goes.


Something else ive noticed is that NPC's with single hand weapons (especially the maces) tend to ignore the knockdown effect on them - they will animate going down but instead of 'getting up' they will jst swing at me and be up and ready to go, thus no time to get the extra stab in :/

[Sweet Briana 💋™]

Originally posted by Groggy:

Originally posted by Sωεε† βríάηά 💋™:

I

I personally recommend: Javelin + Shield - hoplite style, as that is my fighting method.

soon as i saw the stone spear as craftable when i started this game i went with javelin/shield

ive found issues with the spear tho, namely that its not quite capable of hitting the hitboxes correctly - but its is nice and fast and has a bit of reach - shield though ive grown out of because i still suffered from the knockback/staggering when faced with flankers etc

Pike on the other hand, thats a fave weapon too, i'm going to try sticking to that from now on, just not fond of stab, roll, stab roll, not enough time in the day or stamina in the HUD for that, lol - but we'll see how it goes.


Something else ive noticed is that NPC's with single hand weapons (especially the maces) tend to ignore the knockdown effect on them - they will animate going down but instead of 'getting up' they will jst swing at me and be up and ready to go, thus no time to get the extra stab in :/

Groggy, if you use mods: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1457324634

That is what I use.

It lets you craft any Pike//Spear/Trident (2-H reach spear types) so that it is wielded and mimics the animations of: Axe, sword, javelin, mace.

This means I carry a "Spear" (Lemurian pike to be exact), with a shield, and I get all the THIS IS SPARTA Hoplite Javelin attacks.

I carry multiple crafted versions so I have an Axe and Sword version so i can switch in combat.

It's pretty dang awesome. I may upload a youtube of a 3v1 combat against Level 2/3 thralls.

[It'sMatt]

daggers and spears are the best. and use bows while running

[Sweet Briana 💋™]

Originally posted by Lost_dog:

daggers and spears are the best. and use bows while running

i used to use daggers, but you will get destroyed in Boss areas with them, unfortunately, the shield becomes mandatory at times for certain engagements.

I'ld like to see someone Dagger kill Jhebbal Sag or fight him without a shield.

[Voidwalker Violet]

Im quite fond of daggers for avoiding damage. As long as you break line of sight with any archers, its quite easy to stay alive. As long as you make sure you have space to move, you can heavy attack with daggers to apply Bleed Damage over Time, then use the block key to quickly flip away before they can hit you. The dagger flip is faster and uses less stamina than normal dodges, and the bleed stacks up to 20 times, refreshing the timer every time you apply it. Keep in mind though that skeletons dont bleed though. Learned thatthe hard way in the Black Keep boss fight.
I also use axe/shield and axe/throwing knife(mod of mine) to defend and be a bit more aggressive, as well as a greatsword for crowds. Some attacks(most heavy attacks, a couple greatsword light attacks, all hammer attacks) also have "Hyper armor" that prevents stagger.