Well, I wonât name addition to currently existing combat UI âcore changeâ. Just some user-friendly interface, something on the same level with how they changed the look of lockpicking.
I really hope they see this thread, I think there is a lot of productive discussion here. Maybe for KCD 2?
Nevertheless for there first time out this is a fantastic game. I way prefare it over the witcher 3 but I really hate BS level scaling which is rampant in TW3 (dont attack things with red skull, constantly having to get better weapons to the point where swords from eary game may be made from cardbord etc I still enjoyed TW3 though).
I agree they wouldnt be changing how the combat works just modifying the UI, but god knows how much work that actually involves??? They are still making DLCs though so hopfully?
Hope so.
One issue WH will have to grapple with is combat levels:
âIndividual
âSquad
âBattle
In Bannerlord parlance, squad = formation and battle = tactics
Currently, KCD battles (esp at battle spawn points) seem like little more than a summation of a lot of individual fights. True the Cuman line up in baptism, but once the fur flies group cohesion seems to disappear. Hope that changes.
I would love for these combo techniques to be integrated/reconciled with the higher layers. Squads could have different expertise levels. Etc. Having this functionality would be sublime and worth AAA price without all the nuanced backstory.
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I tried to have an open mind about the combat system in the game. But after ~250 hours (80 in Normal mode, 170 in hardcore with a few mods, none of which change the mechanics of combat) I just do not like it. There are the elements of a very engaging system here but the overall effect is not effective. The fact the OP started with: that players who have âfinishedâ the game are obviously just ignoring the combos is symptomatic of this.
The âlock onâ is pure bullshit. I know what they are trying to do, it ainât workinâ its just bullshit.
The leveling is ridiculous. You go from utter gimp to best combatant in the land in the span of a couple weeks. The way experience is gained is completely inconsistent and irregular.
Despite all this effort to create all this immersive, dynamic, developmentally engaging combat, it really just boils down to a couple factors: Have skills/levels that are enough that your opponent doesnât auto-cock-block you, swig potions, smash keys = win.
Still, if the combat must be compelling enough for you to play 250 hrs of the game??
Ye I wish leveling was slower, I really enjoy being under powered in games
Well you can combo as an alternative to smashing keys 
I have 160h in the Game and iâm on my second playthrough, but i never managed to make a Combo. I win my Fights so its not that much of a Problem but the Slow Motion Effects are destroying my Combat Time feeling and the Mouse controls make it difficult for me to Hit the exact dirction i want to hit. I will try the No Slow Motion mod and the Tipps i read in this Thread and go to Bernard for practice, maybe iâm getting at least one Combo out.
agree. problem is donât think WH has worked out collision mechanics especially of off strikes in great enough depth
The game has to be playable in a manner consistent with the narrative of the game. In that respect, the leveling is ok. The larger problem is the game itself. The game implicitly sets the expectation that Henry is an ass kicking fiend by the attack on Talmberg (if not Vranik or Pribyslavitz), and that can be achieved in 60h of playtime (ie, the time WH at least initially estimated was needed to complete the MQ).
Beyond the narrative consideration, I completely agree.
i struggle with the potions. on one hand, itâs a neat feature and has some basis in medieval life. on the other hand, i think potions are overpowered. marigold and the others should have a more noticeable delay between ingestion and impact.
regarding button/key smashing, i like the star in normal mode. it helps quite a bit to develop timing. melee fighting in KCD involves a lot more than the button/key smashing in FO4, Dragon Age, etc. that said, the jab and the other directional strikes never involve development/improvement. thatâs what could use rework. might lose some players but it would add much more depth to melee combat
I certainly have never done a combo at about 40% of the way through the game. (but I just realized using a long sword and shield pretty much makes you helpless at low levels) Maybe a practice post or manquin that gives no xp but does have the aiming star on it and two branches for arms and the Captain can demo the combo, explain why you use it, and then you start trying.
Combos are not necessary but they sure as hell are fun and make combat feel more complete
However, the combat system in KCD is clunky as fuck. The already mentioned magnetism really fucks all combatants around including NPCâs and there are loads of glitches that break the flow of combat entirely for example how an NPC can tackle you if you are sprinting near them but not necessarily sprinting away from them.
what i think they should have done is made swords almost useless against armour without combos BUT if you pull off a combo you will actually really hurt your opponent. As it is now you can just button mash your opponent to death once you get the advantage, even on hardcore. You just need to be a decent level and there are a few perks that help too.
Rather than repeating myself, a long post I just made which talks alot about combat and my experiences with it so far: Master Strike is OP, needs serious nerf for player and AI
The game is delightful, addictive, beautiful, beguiling, wondrous, meticulous, shockingly lovingly done, did I mention beguiling?, Jesus Christ be Praised, the MUSIC! 
, even combat âis funâ . . . but it is not Optimum, and it produces a lot of âmixed emotionsâ
The fact I can get stuck in with Captain Punching Bag with wooden short sword and shield, try to actually hit him with my sword and watch as he pulls some combo/master strike/awesome block/slow-mo-badassery, reaches over my shield, jabs me in the face, gives me a wedgy and chucks my chin with his smelly glove and I go wobbling backward aghast at the stench . . . and gain ZERO XP in anything (and moreover, THIS is how training combat with bernard basically goes: you try stuff, he cock blocks you, or worse, pulls some master-fu on you and you stand there wasting your time).
In contrast, If I want to min-max my way through training with the good captain, all I gotta do (with a version of Henry who is trained up from Cow-punching, flower picking, bunny hopping, and bandit kiting, i.e., high strength, reasonably high unarmed, Clinch Master and maybe one or two other perks): approach him close and fire off a combination of block (space for my remapped keys), advance (w) and punch/clinch (F) and maybe toss in a right mouse Button click (this seems to turn a simple clinch into a clench with pommel hit). Once I back him into the corner with these fancy moves, I can literally just keep spamming that same sequence interminably; the only factor weighing against grinding it to max level of Defense, Warfare, Sword and as much bonus to STR, AGI, VIT as possible is player endurance with repeated key strokes and grinding tedium.
All this to say: amazing system with much promise but badly in need of much polishing/tweaking.
Personally, never been a fan of combos. Completed the game two times (normal and hardcore) using different melee weapons, just never wanted to use combos. They are a nightmare to perform. And when the situation is kill or be killed there is no need for showing off when a regular sword to the head works just fine.
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i have over 1k hours and all 999 hours were spent with out using a single combo. they are useless, when everyone figured out all you ever need to do is just master strike everything and every one. combos went out the window once i realized that.
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Well, may be combo is hard to use for most guys but I find it really over powered, I beat Runt with long sword knock down combo and hit his head once. Fight overâŠCG timeâŠ
Slow motion is because the enemy perform perfect block to you and interrupt your combo. Thatâs why is hard to perform a combo because enemy always perfect block. Even a farmer in the middle of no where can perfect block like master swordsmanâŠ
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Well, poor peasant bandits are usually not good in blocking, so in theory they canât interrupt combo, but here is the thing - you donât need some combo-mastery in a fight with them. Stab couple of times and it is over, come for next one. With high level weapons even one strike is enough.
And those fights, where you can want to try combo because enemy is too well armored - well, there is nearly impossible to finish combos, thanks to the fact that enemy will block. My best bet in such fights is a âStingâ shortsword and fast stab strikes multiple times in a row. It is easy, fast and pretty efficient - right as real knife fight is just about entering the clinch and cosplaying sewing machine.
Maybe problem is in weapon stats progression - top-level weapons make you some real one-shot-killer. Donât know actually.
Combo tutorial doesnât need to be reworked. PPL donât use combos because they are just out of meta or in other words shit. They are not effective in actual fight and very risky to perform. As I said before: Master Strike / Clinch / Chains (1-2 strikes) are much more reliable atm.
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I have been trying and trying to trigger a combo. But playing on a PC I find it impossible. I guess my game is to watch them move and see a chance to poke them with my long sword and then if that works follow it up with a chain. It works great. Both the master strike and the combos seem to be out of sink with just actually watching the enemy weapons and movement. I cannot take my eyes off of them long enough to do this special stuff. But I will keep trying, maybe once I see it in action I will get to see the fun of it. But it kind of sounds like the mercy kill thing, More fun to just keep chopping him for me.
is it me or are master strikes from NPCs much more common now
@nopinkcreations
I havenât noticed an increased frequency. But this is obviously ancedotel.
Keep trying. They will come. Itâs all in the muscle memory, which takes a while to develop as the AI will perfect block and master strike messing up your timing. Also get rid of all mo
Yep, Iâm one of those 1% which get the Fighter achievement . Thereâs unspoken rules regarding how to execute combos. Believe me, itâs written in one of the Bernard tutorial combo chat script, which is really important. He mentioned;
âstrike overhead, then slash from the right, then slashâ
which mean you do not need to move your cursor when executing the third move, since the second slash will move your blade to the third direction, if it doesnât move basically you miss the timing or youâre equipping shield while wanting to execute stab combos with short swords. you just need to click once the second strike hit the enemy WHEN the directional combat icon is TINTED/or once your blade hit the enemy. this is the same for all combos, the 3rd/4th strike always auto positioned. If it not auto positioned you miss the timing, period.
In the tutorial, the most important part to execute the combo is the second part timing, when you should move you cursor to the right. This can be done when the first overhead strike ALMOST hitting the enemy(why?simple we want the direction combat icon to end up at the right, before the TINTING happen), cannot be way earlier where it will become altogether right slash or to late to become normal strike, pass the timing of second strike.
It is much more easier to execute combo with feint rather than after master strike or cinch since the gap between you and your opponent is way to wide and both animation is too long.
Donât ever equip high damage weapon such as St.George to execute combo. your opponent died way to quickly. Use damaged blade or low damage weapon such as Thumper or Grandadâs old sword. Ignore head cracker perk (I always need to wait them wakeup), if your already pick it up head to the monastery and get the potion recipe to reset your perks. this way you basically worn the enemy armor by taking damage from your combos.
The combat never favor the AI unless you 're outnumbered, its much more satisfying killing your enemies with combos rather than finishing with 1 or 2 normal strikes/stabs + headcracker or just with master strikes alone. If you want to go crazy do a play through without learning master strike.
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