General discussion for tactics and strategies

[illiniath]

I've been thinking about how I approach combat scenarios, and I think it would be interesting to have a discussion about different tactics and strategies for certain situations. Like how we approach Zweihander waves, the best way to get out of being surrounded, or whether it's better to have reach, speed, or damage etc.

With all that being said and to start the discussion, when do you think it's best to strike an opponent?
I tend to block until I see an overhead swing, and then quickly do a horizontal swing, do you think that's effective, or is there a better method?

[Sparhawk]

Good subject Ill, I'll see if I can answer some of your questions.

Zweihanders, RUN!! Kite if possible, get as many stuck as you can and if you are infantry, good luck. For an archer it is super easy as long as you don't get cocky.

Being surrounded, it depends on the kind of troop. The only way that I knowof is to backpedal and duck around corners as often as you can. Don't try to turn around until there is a good distance between you and the nearest enemy.

Reach, speed, or damage depend on your fighting style and the troop you play. I prefer speed over reach or damage, mostly because I am an archer and can't take a lot of hits so I try to spam them to death.

As to hitting your opponent, I always block, hit, block, hit. If you block more than once or twice he will most likely start feinting on your. And it depends on whether you use manual or auto. I use manual because that is what I know. Most of the time, I can block their chamber if they do and hit before they recover, but some people probably can't.

[Dag]

My character is a sergeant.

Once I was surrounded completely by skirmishers except my back was to a wall. Health was halfway down and I was starting to take a lot of hits. I turned to my right and kicked the skirmisher there and then an overhead sword to his head which killed him. Then I ran out the hole and kept left slashing as I ran and a couple more fell. Finally I had recovered enough and fought them normally, backing up turned around about 160 degrees from where I started and was able to solo the rest to finish the round.

For any troop below Huscarl I rarely try to block them but instead try to strike first. Most often I step right (sometimes back) so their swing misses while I swing at the same time. Occasionally it will chamber block their swing and if you are fast you can slash for a free hit. For troopers I usually shield (they do have javs!) but as I approach one I then feint and then strike them overhead for the kill since they don't wear a helmet.

[genpuu]

Well, I found that a good tactic to use as an archer is to take advantage of the "flinching effect". That is, if you are chased by an NPC, and you can't outrun them, if they are close enough you can jump up and turn around and aim at them. This will cause them to flinch, giving you enough time to quickly turn around and start running again, or maybe even fire off a shot if that'll give you some time to breathe. This isn't a surefire method though, but it's saved my life tons of times, especially in situations where the NPCs have actually caught up with me and hit me once or twice. Making them flinch gave me enough time to run away.

This method is perfect for berserkers, which are normally hard to kite, though it's a bit tricky, because you need to be within their range for the flinching effect to work...