the parries don’t look too different from a regular block, so you wouldn’t know when to riposte. it’s probably done to avoid combat devolving into button mashing because people can’t figure out correct time to riposte and do other moves, as there are different categories of attacks and each has their corresponding action. for riposte, it has to be done in a certain time window after a successful parry. design wise, the visual indicator is intuitive enough. anything else would be inelegant.
I have no idea where to write this, but i just gotta ask it here. Where do we find the cumans from the Smoke on the horizon quest?
the are in the forest very upper north end of map.
You can see little tents in a clearing on the in game map itself.
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Here is a nice lil fight of me getting owned.
Stamina is terrible though 3 hits and your out of stam, is Henry the most unfit guy on the planet or something, It’s unique and original and you can get quite good with practice. Something feels a little off i don’t know…
He is supposed to be a novice.
I am not positive that my stamina has changed or if I have just become wiser in the way I spend it but I feel the more I fight the higher my overall skills become and its less challenging.
I have had several fights with the beginner and intermediate fighter that I one in 30 seconds.
yeah thx Ill tryit 
,
but at the end (or middle) of 2016 Id love to be able to fight and block how its supposed to be 
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Still been trying to get used to the combat system, 2h of no progress coz the mouse doesnt respond at all, i move it accross my mousepad aaaallll the way to the right and it catches it at the very end (I have steelseries qck heavy+, really big mousepad, my ingame sens is half way) and just arghhhh so frustrating…
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I did not do much combat yet but I did not have those mouse control issues as some od you here. I actually think that it was even better with mouse than with controller. Did not bothered with your reference points I just started to slide the mouse the direction I wanted (very slightly), than clicked to attack. Took a moment to be precise on the mouse sliding directions, and I still got beaten up
I played more of the combat today, to see if I can change my muscle memory after all and it worked in the end. I stopped moving the mouse cursor to the side while strafing, and actually managed to keep it quite centered. Now I can select the attack direction much more consistently. I was able to beat all of the opponents and the Cumans. But I am still convinced that the current mouse mechanic could be improved.
In any case, I have to say, hands down, this is the best melee combat I’ve seen in a game. The attacks and blocks just feel so satisfying, with the proper collisions and physics. Love the half-swording.
I’m finding the combat against the ‘‘training’’ opponents fairly easy. All I do, Is when my stamina is up I walk to the guy so the sword ‘‘clash’’ or whatever it’s called. Then I hit the stab button and my character will hit the opponent to the face with the pummel and push him forwad, Then I keep hitting the stab button and I usually get about 4 or 5 stabs in before my stamina runs out. Then I will let my stamina refill and repeat the process.
Although combat seems fun and all, i find it incredibly frustrating. For one you can’t move and do anything at the same time. What i mean by this is if you try to parry and move, moving takes priority and your parry is ignored. Another one is moving and attacking, whenever your character attacks he stands still and plays hes animation. You can’t backstep and attack which is a good defensive move.
I feel like their needs to be a separation in the animations from the top body and the lower body because as it is when some animations play out you lose complete control of your character (especially during riposte actions)
Another thing is how do you parry??? I’m playing on mouse and keyboard and people say that it’s better on controller but i can’t for the love of me find when you have to hit block to parry when your opponent engages. The only thing that seems to work is if i frantically spam parry like a mad man then, maybe and only maybe, does my character perform a parry.
Another thing is when after you deliver a succesful parry and riposte your riposte can be parried. But the same problem occurs if i want to counter parry again (which i have managed once or twice) when do hit block? I would have thought it to be more fluid with bullet time but again i can’t find the right moment to block.
Also, it seems attacking takes priority over blocking so their isn’t really a way to feint and go back on the defensive.
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They should also integrate different difficulty settings for combat that for example modify the time you have in order to parry or dodge attacks. You know, not everybody has cat-like reflexes. There should be a difficulty setting for people who just want to enjoy the combat without being overly frustrated. 
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I have not been having these issues with a gamepad, I haven’t attempted back stepping with an attack but I can side step and move into my attacks easily.
You have to hit block as they begin their back swing, its very subtle and takes time learning the proper timing. From some of the others I have talked to its harder on Keyboard, overall I have been told Keyboard and mouse controls feel sticky.
Ive been trying to get it recorded but I have had this a few times a solid 30 second of back and forth until I side stepped and ended it with a stab.
Did you do the full tutroiral with the trainer? I do feints all the time and end in block. (again could be an issue between gamepad and keyboard controls).
Am I the only one who thinks that the combat is unnecessarily too complicated without being really intutitive?
I would change it to:
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There should be a “neutral” frontal stance to which the player always returns after he performed a strike or after he doged or paried (which means the “compass” shows no direction). That only changes if the player again moves the thumbstick or mouse, either for defense or attack (maybe a button to reset the stance to the neutral position could be included on top).
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Automatic, constant blocking is pointless and too simplistic. It should be removed from the game because it imo adds nothing to the fun and it takes away from the more complex system of directional blocking/parrying. I think blocking and parrying should actually be only ONE system, not two (like in real battles).
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Blocking/parrying the enemy should be reaction-based but depending on the direction of the attack without being forced to press a button. That means if your enemy e.g. attacks from above you just have to push your thumbstick or the mouse into the same direction (coming from the neutral stance) in time.
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Attack works just like it works now but the player also starts at a neutral stance. That is benefitial for both the visuals/animations (a real fighter would always have a neutral stance and only change position in case he really wants to attack himself or parry an attack) and the gameplay because it makes feints and fast attacks more viable and fun.
So my suggestion has three new/changed aspects: neutral stance (most important), removal of automatic, constant blocking and easier and more intuitive parrying by moving the own sword to the correct position.
What do you think?
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This game was originally intended to be played on a PC with mouse + keyboard. So, this control scheme SHOULD get a priority over anything else. If the problems persist, @warhorse must try their best to fix it!
Mouse + Keyboard on a PC FTW! Please, don’t forget your early Kickstarter backers 
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You sir deserve more likes!
I’ve never seen better suggestions for combat in Deliverance! You have my full support +1
Never exclusively PC. Not everyone who games on PC uses a Keyboard and mouse.
Nonetheless I do agree that the PC controls need work, I just hope that it does not compromise the game pad controls because as is its solid (not perfect).
They were well aware of the issues with Keyboard mouse controls they even left a little note on the changelog screen about joypads having better functionality.
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I’m not sure what do you mean by neutral stance but I don’t think there is something like that in real sword fighting. Being in stance means you can initiate some actions (offensive or defensive) immediately, without the need to eg. raise sword first, so that those actions come down faster. What you seem to suggest is a state where you don’t pose any threat to your opponent nor can you effectively defend against their attacks.
These links seem to have more information on the subject (didn’t read them yet):
http://www.thearma.org/essays/StancesIntro.htm#.VZpTU_lsGko
As for blocking: I don’t think anyone trained with sword fighting would ever use this, but a novice might. The clear disadvantage of using this blocking is that the blocking person would have to absorb the entire kinetic energy of the attack with their arms and body – you definitely want to avoid this. That’s why blocking drains so much stamina. If an attack costs less stamina than blocking it, then by blocking, you’re losing, so try not to use it. I think it’s intended as panic button in the game. I don’t think blocking would be a viable defence in a real sword fight.
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I’m interested in how well the Steam Controller will work with this combat system.