Combat Quickstart Guide
This is a quick start guide designed to help new players get proficient at the basics of combat quickly. For a more detailed explanation of exactly how all the combat mechanics work, see here.
Understanding Damage Output
To deal significant damage you need to charge your attack and hit with the blade of your sword, not the hilt (hitting with the hilt or cross guard is called a Handle Hit and makes a different sound effect). In addition you get bonus damage for head shots, you deal more damage when you hit with the sweet spot of your sword (mid blade or upper blade for slashes, point for stabs) and when you hit at the strongest point in your animation.
For details see here.
Blocks and Ripostes
Blocks and ripostes are the core combat mechanic in Swordai. Blocks are directional, which means you must block in a direction that matches your opponents attack, more details are here.
For about 1.5s after you block an attack your cursor will have a sword icon in the center which means that you can riposte. Any attack released during that time will instantly charge to full power and you get 50% damage reduction while swinging.
Check out this video for a full tutorial on the fundamentals of blocking and riposting:
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Kicks and Feints
One you can consistently block and riposte you'll need to kick and feint to get past your opponents defenses. Kicking will stagger an opponent, but only if your foot makes contact with their body while they are blocking. Feinting cancels an attack and lets you start a new one.
Kick takes an ability slot and must be unlocking in the Ability menu while feint is free and is bound to the Q key by default.
Here is a video tutorial on how to use feint and kick effectively:
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Combos and Combo-blocks
When you hit an enemy with an attack your cursor will briefly turn into a +. During this time you can start a new attack, or block or activate an ability.
This video shows how to use combos and combo blocks to deal extra damage, conserve stamina and steal initiative:
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Note you cannot buffer into a combo by holding down the mouse button, you must actually start inputting the attack during the combo window.
Kiai and Dodge
Kiai can be used while charging an attack and instantly powers it to full charge. Dodge dashes directly backwards. Learn how to use them in combat here.
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Using your Home to practice
In the "Learn" menu you can visit your "Home" which has trainers for both blocking and attacking. These trainers let you practice your skills and provide detailed statistics on your performance. You can use these tools to quickly improve your skills.
Each trainer also has instructions that you can view by holding TAB which provide detailed breakdowns of the combat mechanics which you can view by holding TAB while at the trainer.
Benchmarks
The "Initiation Trial" in the "Learn" Menu is a great way to benchmark your combat skills. It has three phases, a blocking test, an offensive test and a duel. For new players even completing the trial with the minimum grade is difficult. For experienced players, coming back to the challenge from time to time until you can achieve an S grade is a good way to measure your skill. An S grade means that your fundamental mechanics are at an intermediate level (or higher).
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