When Steam finally activated multiplayer access for my copy of the game, I didn't mess around with large battles for 400 people, I didn't join any sieges - I wanted to learn how to fight, so the only logical consequence was to participate in duels. I didn't win one of them. Not a single one. It seemed that, no matter how well I believed I had timed my swings, no matter how often I dodged and parried, my opponents would always attack faster, kill me with just one swing and kick my ass with zero difficulty whatsoever. Which was true to some extent, simply because I didn't understand the combat system.
I'm starting to figure it out now. After watching several videos, guides and how-tos, I'm starting to understand just how brilliant the whole thing really is. There is as much strategy and wit involved as fast reflexes and you can actually outsmart an enemy, no matter how fast they are or how big their sword is, if you can read them and anticipate and counter each and every move. I don't wanna bring up the ancient comparison to chess, since I don't usuall pick up the board in order to beat the shit out of my opponent when playing chess. I've felt the urge on several occasions, though.
Simplified, there is really just three things you need to know about combat in this game:
- Basic attacks: You can swing your sword left or right, thrust it or try and land a massive overhead blow. Obviously, the whole thing varies a bit if you use different weapons. Each type of attack has its own speed, damage and accuracy.
- Blocking: A basic block works exactly like attacking. Left block, right block, overhead block, thrust block. If you raise your sword to block an overhead attack and your opponent decides to thrust, you're fucked, of course. If you're really good, you may parry and counter an attack instead of just blocking. The whole thing works by attacking a split second after your opponent - if they swing left, you counter by swinging right, if they thrust, you do a counter-thrust and so on. If you time it just right, their blow will be deflected and you'll either do instant damage or you get a chance to have another quick swing at them. Or be a pussy like me and use a shield. Shield blocks are a lot easier to pull off, but they're less offensive than parrying, you don't get the damage or reach of a massive two-hander and if your shield gets smashed, you're armed with nothing but a toothpick.
- Feigning: Most fights usually follow a sequence of sorts. Attack-block-attack-block etc. where your opponent waits for you to strike, then lowers their defense to attack back. You may, however, cancel your attack in mid-swing. This will usually trick your opponent into believing your attack is done, so you get to land a blow the second they stop blocking. Of course this also works the other way 'round and if you keep feigning, the other guy will eventually stop falling for it and keeps on defending until your swing actually connects.
Sounds like a huge load of horsecrap? It sure did to me. If you know me, then you're aware of the fact that I like to make fun of things. I want to make fun of how people treat combat in this game as some kind of science. I wanna make fun of the guys who talk about it like it was more than just simple button mashing. But the moment I started paying attention to the attack patterns of other players, how, when and where they were swinging their weapons, when I started timing my feigns and counter-attacks, I started to win.
I'm still crap at blocking and parrying with a sword. I heavily rely on shields, usually along with a bastard sword. The moment an opponent smashes my shield, I can two-hand the bastard sword and sometimes get a lucky one-shot that way. I'm not great, I still need loads of practice and I don't think I'll ever start running around with no shield at all, even though that seems to be the most popular strategy in most battles, where people swing nothing but greatswords.
I think I'll try a large-scale battle server next, see if I can kill a few people there, then have some more duels for practice. Stupid, stupid addiction!
-Cat
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