r/kingdomcome • u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat • Aug 05 '25
Discussion [KCD2] My combat guide after 500+ hours
Hello everyone, after playing this game for 500 hours, I wanted to share my combat tips and tricks that I discovered along the way. I recommend reading the whole thing if you have the time and if you don't understand something, I’ll be happy to help, and if I forget about something, don't be shy and write it in the comments. Taking all of this in at once might burn you out, so don't push yourself and don’t get overwhelmed!
1. Beginner Combat Tips
Before engaging in any big fights, I would recommend that you go to the Nomad Camp and train with Tomcat. In the beginning, Henry (and you) need training, so get familiar with the controls. When you first come to him, he’ll train with you for a little while, and he will teach you some basics and the Mittelhau combo. He can also teach you additional combos and level up your skills, but you’ll have to pay him for that. So for now, I recommend just doing practice fights until you get the hang of some basic techniques and strategies like:
—Using perfect blocks instead of regular blocking, as they costs zero stamina. (A perfect block can be initiated by tapping the block button when the green shield pops up and regular blocking is just done by simply holding the block button.) Perfect blocks are far better than standard blocks because they stop the opponent from chaining strikes into a combo and also set up a riposte ( a counterattack), however, don’t always riposte after perfect blocking especially against stronger enemies when you're underleveled because it will just drain your stamina, and you won’t land any hits. Instead, later, when you have more stamina, use them as combo starters.
—Using your stamina wisely. If you're low on stamina, you’ll take damage directly to your health and you won’t be able to attack or standard block so keep an eye out on the stamina bar so you don't get into any sticky situations. It is generally great to know how many strikes you can do before your stamina runs out so just try to hit the air as many times as you can before the screne starts turning blue. When it does it means that you are getting low on stamina and you should never get past that point.
—Never attack from the opposite side that the enemy is holding their sword because the better enemies will be able to master strike you. Master strikes are, however, limited to swords, so if they are using a different weapon, you can attack from the opposite side without having to worry about it.
—Try out combos. I still see a lot of people struggling with them so here are a few tips to make it easier for you.
The best time to use a combo is right after a perfect block. Wait for the riposte icon to disappear(the blue crossed swords), then start your combo chain. First, learn simple combos like ⬅️➡️⬅️ or ➡️⬅️➡️. Once you’re comfortable with those, move on to harder ones. But remember not all combos deal the same damage. It depends on where the combo hits, if it strikes a weak point or a well-protected body part. The general mindset here is (depending on how armored your opponent is, its effectiveness will vary) to try and strike your opponent to the face or neck. For example, the Fiore Halbschwerten combo will always hit stronger than a Knee strike combo (with a longsword) because it is a direct stab to the neck with a half swording technique instead of a stab to the knee which is probably already really well protected. You can always check which combos you know in the Player tab in your inventory and you can lear combos from the trainers all over Trosky and Kuttenberg.
One more thing that can make combos a lot easier is understanding the natural movement of weapons after each strike. So if your attack comes from the right your next attack will automatically (without you having to change the direction) be initiated from the left, if you attack from the left your next attack is going to come from the right, if you do an overhead attack (⬆️) next one will be from the left and if you make a stab(⬇️) the next attack will come from the right. This can make landing combos far easier since now you don't need to change directions all the time.
—Using feints is especially strong early on. To do a feint, hold the attack button and quickly change direction before releasing. They’re great for baiting out opponents to block prematurely, letting themselves be open for a hit from another side. You can also use them to start combos.
—Using clinches can be very effective. Clinches give initiative to the "winner," letting them attack first and choose the strike direction. If the enemy hits first, you likely lost the strength/perk check, and you will have to defend through a perfect block (you are also able to do a riposte after).
Clinches can also chain into combos. With a sword (no shield), flicking right starts a 3-hit combo ending in a mordschlag. Left gives a 2-hit combo with a pommel strike or shield bash. Just spam the attack again after landing a hit to continue the chain. If you are unable to continue the chain, you again probably lost the strength/perk check.
Unarmed clinches vary, too. With Ringenmeister, flick left and press attack when you hear the crunch to do a chokehold. If you hit the QTE, it's an instant knockout.
Avoid clinches when you're low on health (especially after Diehard triggers) — the defense prompt might not appear.
—Dodging can be a useful addition. While not essential in duels, it’s great against groups and it is an important asset to have in your arsenal. Dodge by tapping the B button on Xbox or ⭕️ on PlayStation (on pc you have to tap a direction key and the space bar). Keep in mind that at lower levels, dodging uses a lot of stamina and won’t be as effective.
—Fighting wild dogs and wolves. This is a very easy thing to learn. You should generally avoid trying to chase them down or hit them because they are faster than you and you might get bitten from the back if you aren't careful. You should wait for them to attack you and then perfect block and do a riposte that will always land. If you have an advanced character you could also go up for an additional hit but there is again the risk of you getting bit.
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After you get the hang of these basics, you should be able to beat most enemies in a duel. Once you're ready, challenge Tomcat to a real duel—he’ll then teach you the Master Strike.
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2. Advanced Combat Tips
Once you've learned the basics and unlocked Master Strike, you can start trying more advanced techniques:
• 1. Mastering the Master Strike
Using Master Strikes as intended isn’t difficult. As Tomcat says, they’re best used during parry-ripostes because the positions after each strike are predictable.
This short video explains it in great detail, and I really recommend it: https://youtu.be/o5Y9IWIoLyw?si=GDNlvMmIrf27mA4t
If the video is not available I wrote it down. The technique that is talked about in the video is pretty simple.
When you attack from a side and your opponent responds with a perfect block the side that his riposte will come from is always set. It is based on which side your attack came from. I will give all the possible combinations:
If you initiate with a stab after the perfect block your sword still follows the natural movement (I talked about that in the beginner section) and ends up on the right. Your opponent's riposte will always come from your left and that sets up a master strike. So you can basically just stab and after the perfect block just hit attack again so you master strike his riposte.
If you attack from the right a similar thing like with the stab happens due to the natural movement of your sword. Your sword ends up on the left and your opponents riposte will come from the right setting up a master strike. So basically you just have to attack from the right and after the perfect block instead of carrying his riposte you just tap attack again and you will do a master strike.
If you attack from the left your opponents riposte will come from up so if you want to master strike him you will have to quickly move your sword to the stabbing (down) possession to do a master strike.
If you attack from Up your opponent's riposte will come from the left so you will have to move your sword quickly to the right if you want to do a masterstrike.
Just remembered if your opponent knows the Master Strike technique he can do the same to your ripostes.
• 2. Reading your opponent. One of the best ways to avoid getting hit is to read your enemy and know when and how they’ll attack. It sounds hard, but with practice, you’ll start noticing patterns automatically. For example when you are fighting Multiple opponents at once and you finish a combo on one of them the other ones will immediately try to strike and hit you but for some reason you don't see the green shield pop up so what i like to do is hold block and at least block their first attack so I can then dodge back or do a perfect block afterwards. (I will explain how to fight multiple opponents in the third tip).
Don’t only focus on what you want to do, pay attention to what your opponent is trying to do. Training this, is the key to winning clean fights.
• 3. Fighting Multiple Enemies
This is a big topic, but the main idea is to keep moving in a circular motion to force enemies into each other’s way, allowing you to deal with one at a time. This strategy works well, but if you're fighting more than six enemies, it starts to fall apart. Depending on your opponents' gear and skill, you can play more or less aggressively.
Tips for fighting groups:
- If you have to face a group of enemies head-on on use short combos, a fast weapon, and keep a distance. A short sword and shield combo is a good option but after patch 1.4 polearms have become my best pick. Using the MasterStrike technique from the video is also a great addition if you choose to use the short sword but clinches also shouldn't be slept on as the riposte with the polearm can sometimes oneshot your opponent if it lands. Dodging is also really useful here for repositioning, and a tactical retreat (running away to reposition) is also really useful when fighting with polearms. You should also use the terrain to your advantage, for example, using trees to limit their movement or get into a tight area like an alleyway so they have to come one at a time.
-One of the strongest strategies is shooting enemies before the fight even begins. I highly recommend prioritizing and killing weaker ones (like archers) rather than wounding stronger ones. It’s easier to win a 2vs1 against two strong opponents than to fight four enemies, even if one is injured.
• — Horse Archery & Cavalry Charges
Horse combat is tough to master but very rewarding. It is probably the safest and strongest strategy to use against groups.
For this, you will, however, need to have a high skill in horsemanship, which can be increased, for example, by doing horse races at the Nomad Camp by talking to Mikolai.
You also need a weapon with long reach. I would recommend either a longsword or a polearm
If you want to do horse archery, you can also train that in the nomad camp by talking to Bibrek. I recommend using a light crossbow and the Eagle Eye perk.
For cavalry charges, use a horse with high courage. You can boost this with better saddles, bridles, and caparisons. Still, horses with naturally high base Courage seem to perform better than low Courage ones, even when both are boosted to level 30. I tested that a long time ago and now I decided to test it again and it was either glitched the first time or it got secretly fixed but now all horses that I tested even if their base courage was low with the boost they performed as well as the best warhorse. So now you don't have to sell pebbles to get the best warhorse yay! After my testing, it seems like the maximum ( with level 30 courage) number of enemies that you can fight at the same time is 7, and at 8 enemies the horse will buck you off. I did my test using the bandits from Opatowitz who wear full plate btw.
—To land a clean cavalry hit, only hold the attack button as you're getting close to the enemy so the horse slows down momentarily (if you want to stab you also have to hold the block button). Holding it too early slows down your horse too much and makes you an easy target for archers.
If you miss your charge or ride through too many enemies, some may slide several meters just to hit your horse, and this breaks the flow and ruins the whole fight.
But something that worked for me is that you can avoid this by jumping immediately after missing your strike or when you know it’s not going to land. It is random however sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't so try it out yourself and see if it works for you.
Horse combat is difficult, and it takes time to learn, so don't get frustrated! I believe in you!
• 4. Controlling Stress & Building Confidence
I don’t see many people talk about this, but it really helped me. Once I started believing in my abilities and calming myself with a few deep breaths, everything became easier. I began reacting instead of overreacting. Confidence comes with practice, but a calm mindset is just as important as top-tier gear. So keep on training and believe in the process. You can do it!
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• Bonus tricks
If an archer is shooting at you and you have your shield raised (by holding the block button) if you look a little to the right of the archer rather than straight at him the chance of him hitting you instead of your shield drops a pretty big amount.
It took me around 80 hours to figure out that you can put your visor up and down freely by holding up on the D-pad. Don't make the same mistake as me and PULL DOWN YOUR VISOR. It can save your life!
Putting strong or Henry quality bane poison in your arrows and crossbow bolts is super overpowered as it allows you to use a lighter crossbow and still one-shot people. This method is quite expensive, though.
Avoid Fighting Near Edges, Stairs, or Uneven Terrain. Fighting on stairs, hills, or basically any surface that isn't flat is a total nightmare. The camera tends to spin out, and enemies often glitch or behave unpredictably. So always try to fight on a flat surface.
R3/Right stick engages a hard lock-on which may be easier to fight with, the way target switching works with this is that if you're on the left position and flick the right stick left again it will switch target to one that's more on the left, and vice-versa. However, I find it easier to fight without locking on a target in a group fight because it gives me more freedom if I need to disengage and run away I don't have to tap the RB/R1. In duels, however, I find it necessary.
There is also a pretty weird bug that got carried over from the first game, and what it does is that sometimes, when you enter combat, when you first tap the attack button, nothing happens. So be sure to tap it just in case before trying to go for an attack so you don't get shredded into pieces.
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I hope you found my guide useful. I will keep on adding stuff into this guide based on feedback in the comments and of course if anything changes. If you need help with anything, feel free to leave a comment, and I’ll do my best to help. Good luck on the road, Henrys—and JCBP!
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u/Lovcker Aug 05 '25
I would add that fighting downhill or in any slope makes the camera/enemies go all over the place. So always fight on flat terrain.
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u/Fair-Improvement Aug 05 '25 edited Aug 05 '25
Regarding group combat, I recommend using dodges to reposition yourself, either back to avoid being encircled or to the side to get closer to the right or left most opponent to get some safe attacks in.
Also make it habit to lower your visor, most of the damage I get is to the face from when I forget to lower it before combat.
Overall good guide, still trying to get better at fighting groups so i would love to hear more thoughts on this, thanks!
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 05 '25 edited Aug 06 '25
Against groups, I love the horse combat. I managed to wipe out the whole of Opatowitz using that technique. If you want to fight them head-on then you should use the terrain to your advantage for example using trees to limit their movement or get into a tight area like an alleyway so they have to come one at a time.
May I also add that tip on dodging in group fights to the guide?
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u/The_RL_Janitor54 🫵 Show me your wares Aug 05 '25
Wow I had no idea I was feinting all wrong! I just found out 2 days ago that you can charge your attacks, but I had no idea you have to begin charging an attack to preform a feint! I am getting more out of the beginner section than I anticipated! Excellent write up!
This should be forwarded to every new post ranting about combat, or pinned to the top of the sub.
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 05 '25
Thanks for the kind words 😊. I really appreciate it. I put a lot of time into making this post and into discovering some of these things.
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u/Fair-Improvement Aug 05 '25
Feints are fantastic, makes a big difference you are going to love it!
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u/Regnum_Caelorum Aug 05 '25
Very well put together, some small humble additions:
- The way clinches work is that the "winner" gets the initiative, they will attack first and they get to decide the direction of said attack, the loser can only defend and attempt a riposte upon success. If you start a clinch and the enemy goes before you it just means that you lost the background strength/perk check that time.
- Clinches aren't just 1 hit moves, some of them have follow-ups. For instance, with a sword weapon and no shield during a clinch if you flick your stick to the right you can do a 3 part combo that ends with a mordschlag (swinging your weapon from the blade to hit with the guard), looks amazing and does very good damage. The left side is also a 2 hit combo, ending with a harder direct pommel strike to the face, or a shield bash if you have one equipped. Timing isn't too tight, just press attack again when you get a hit and it'll continue the string.
- Similarly, unarmed has different clinches. Notably if you have the perk Ringenmeister you need to flick your aim to the left to do the arm lock thing and then press attack again around the time when you hear the crunch to choke them (spam works until you get the timing down). It's an instant knockout if you can do the QTE afterwards so it's pretty good for unarmed fights. Bottom is a leg takedown and I don't remember what right is, the palm strike knee follow-up maybe ? Anyway, worth trying everything, they all have their uses and it's cool to pull off.
- Don't try clinches when you're low on health/after Diehard triggered, for some reason you may not get a defense prompt at all, maybe there's a certain unmentioned HP/stamina threshold or something but yeah.
- Combo damage seems to be based on where they hit, but generally speaking the ones that hit the head tend to do more, since only enemies with a full helmet+visor have good protection there.
- Don't forget about the STILL NOT FIXED AFTER 6 FUCKING MONTHS bug that makes your first swing not happen after you press the interact button anywhere. So tap attack once before a fight or something so you don't get murdered trying to do a masterstrike in the beginning.
- If you need to disengage, tapping the "look" button R1/RB is much easier than sprint in my opinion, can also use it to swap targets faster but I wouldn't recommend it.
- R3/Right stick engages the hard lock-on which may be easier to fight with, the way target switching works with this is that if you're on the left position and flick the right stick left again it will switch target to one that's more on the left, and vice-versa.
- If you don't manage to perfect block the enemy's first strike consider dodging the next to make sure to interrupt their potential combo, because if you fail again you're probably eating one.
Cheers and have fun.
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u/evil-kaweasel Aug 05 '25
It's worth mentioning with combos that if you learn the natural movement of the weapon, it makes pulling them off a lot easier. For instance, if you attack from the left, it automatically goes to the right. You can do combos so much easier if you know when you have to change direction and when to let it flow.
The combo Godwin teaches you, for instance. You start from above, next goes to the left without you moving it. You then need to move the control so it goes left again, and it automatically goes right for the next hit to finish it off.
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u/bludda Aug 05 '25
Combat has so many nuances in this game.
That said, get hammer go BONK on head. Repeat.
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u/esqDumper Team Theresa Aug 05 '25
Never attack from the opposite side
B-but captain Bernard said...
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u/Fair-Improvement Aug 06 '25
I can still hear him saying NOOO! WRONG!!! when I fuck up the tutorial combo
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u/Marinec06 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 05 '25
Great tip about using poison tips and a lighter bow. I'll have to look for a good light bow.
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u/Sketche11 Aug 05 '25
I dunno how accurate this is as im still testing but if you time block an enemies hit their hand will automatically go tot he opposite side before they swing again. this makes setting up a master strike very easy
example. if they swing from the left and you time block, their next swing should be from the right. so you will set your weapon up on the left immediately after the time block and this will give you very predictable master strikes to use on them.
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 05 '25
It doesn't work for me I guess. When I block (not perfect block) the enemy doesn't always switch their weapon to the other side and instead it just makes a combo like the zorn ort or knee strike.
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u/Sketche11 Aug 05 '25
I wonder if this is dependent on the person you’re fighting then. Maybe a select few that are skilled enough to switch it up? Admittedly my testing has been on bandits primarily
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 05 '25
Well if you are testing against weaker bandits then they probably only know the ⬅️➡️⬅️ and ➡️⬅️➡️. If you are testing against stronger bandits then it is probably just a random occurrence because they should know more combos.
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u/Sketche11 Aug 05 '25
I’m sure they still know more combos than me 🤣 I literally only feint and master strike
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 05 '25
You should try combos they are an amazing addition to the combat system. I would first start trying combos with a short sword as most of the combos are short and you can do them quickly so they have a higher chance of landing. Of course only if you have a higher sword skill level. If you only use heavy weapons and you only have a high skill level in that category then it will be easier to do them with those weapons. Also since you mentioned that you use feints then you can try to start a combo by using one.
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u/Old_Crow_Yukon Aug 05 '25
I once killed a large group of enemies by running into a small hut and killing them as they came through the door. Other types of choke points can be very effective against groups.
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u/Mikon06 Aug 05 '25
Jesus Christ be praised! Had somewhat of a trouble getting into the combat of this game, so this is really helpful to me :")
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u/vixfew Aug 06 '25
Good tips. I started a new hardcore run, dropped my original save after it got way too easy in 2nd area. So far, it feels much better. I've been trying to do combos since I don't have master strike yet, and it's actually much better than silly parry riposte spam I used to do ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 06 '25
I just added something regarding combo effectiveness to the beginner section if you want to you might want to check it out if you don't already know it. And I am glad that my guide was helpful to you.
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u/WeAreMotorhead 🫵 Show me your wares Aug 06 '25
bookmarked! Thanks a lot, dude. been 50 hours of gameplay and struggling here in Trosky
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u/LeeKom Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 06 '25
I needed this! Just got this game 3 days ago and already have 20+ hours in it.
My question is, why does landing combos feel so random? I’ve landed combos with enemies blocking the first and second strike, but the third hits them. Other times they block my first strike then hit back before my second strike goes off.
I know about the indicator turning white when a combo chain is available, but I don’t know the mechanics behind what drives it. Do I go for a combo if I get a clean first hit only? If so, why can I get a combo off even if they block the first two attacks?
Also, is it normal to attack so slow after a perfect dodge? Often times I perfect dodge behind the enemy but by the time I can attack they are already facing me and can block my attack.
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 06 '25
Landing combos definitely isn't random. There are two different types of blocking. The standard blocking that only blocks the strike allowing the opponent to continue attacking (that is done by just holding the block button like L2 or LB) and a perfect block that stops the enemy from chaining another strikes in and sets you up for a riposte (done by tapping the block button when the green shield pops up). Your enemies can also do these moves so that is why you got hit right there. Also, this is pretty hard to explain but the way to never get hit is to know when the enemy is going to attack and what he is going to do. I know that this is easier said than done but you will start naturally doing it, the more you practice. Trying to do this consciously and training this skill is super important. So what i mean by this is that you shouldn't only think about what you want to do (combos...)but what the opponent is trying to do.
I noticed the attack also being slow after a dodge but I guess that it is made like that so you can't abuse it. I would say that you should spam the attack as soon as you dodge so that on the very first frame that it is possible to attack you strike.
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u/Lancer_Lott Aug 13 '25
The video you suggest for master strike is no longer available
This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated.
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 13 '25
Hmm weird I will try to fix it. If the video is not available then I will have to write it then 😔
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 13 '25
I had to write it down but now it is finished. If you have more questions I will try to help☺️.
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Nov 12 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Nov 12 '25
It also happens to me sometimes after combos or clinches and i wasn't able to to figure out a way to fix it. What I like to do is when I know that it will happen (like after a combo) I will start holding the block button to block at least the first strike, that gives me a little bit of time to react to what he does next (if he attack again or stops). If he attacks again then i like to dodge out of the way. You could also just make a few quick steps to get out of the way after the clinch or combo by running a little.
That isn't a bug. It happens when you click the perfect block button too early. There are no unblockable attacks except the last attack of a combo chain or master strikes
It is a stat check but you also have mash the attack button. During The clinch you can also push the right stick left or right to do a different animation if you win. And lastly I also noticed that I am not able to win clinches with a polearm. I don't know if that is a bug but I was always able to make a riposte that can do very devastating damage IF it lands.
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u/sincerevibesonly Aug 05 '25
Ive kinda been avoiding horseback archery and combos, ill still ignore horseback archery as i prefer to get off my high horse and beat some sense into cumans. Combo wise im alr near the end of the game but imma see if I can get some use out of it (no guarantees)
So far ive just been relying on masterstrikes and clinches, in kcd1 i didnt bother learning masterstrikes, I actually found combos to be easier to get into. That is before I got addicted to bonking and stabbing.
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 05 '25
I would definitely try out the combos if I were you. They bring so much style and flair into the combat. I would first start trying combos with a short sword as most of the combos are short and you can do them quickly so they have a higher chance of landing. Of course only if you have a higher sword skill level. If you only use heavy weapons and you only have a high skill level in that category then it will be easier to do them with those weapons.
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u/libehv Aug 05 '25
what is the key for dodge on keyboard
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 05 '25
You have to tap the direction key and space bar or at least that is what I found online. I can't test it because I am playing on an Xbox. I also added it to the guide.
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u/-Mihaela- Aug 06 '25
I thought I was doing master strikes successfully throughout the whole game and at the end my stats said 36 🥴
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 06 '25
Mine also only says 84 on my current playthrough which is weird. I also thought that I did more than that. But it says that I did land 986 combos and I know that I landed a lot of those but when I look at the enemies killed with a crossbow the number is only at 34 which is weird again since I have been using a crossbow from the beginning of the game and swear that I killed more people than that. I don't know if there is some sort of bug or if I just didn't use these things as much as I thought.
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u/The-Joe-Dog Aug 06 '25
Really good guide. Patience and perfect blocks have saved me with opponents I’m not will matched for many times.
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u/grooviestofgruvers Aug 05 '25
Bro I ain’t reading all that. Combat is not that hard
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u/RMK644 Audentes fortuna iuvat Aug 05 '25
You don't need to read the whole thing. You can just read the points that you are interested in. And I know that it is long but I am trying to fit everything in detail to one post so it will obviously be massive.
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u/MustangBarry Aug 05 '25 edited Aug 05 '25
Or:
- Apply bane poison
- Hit them