Opponents always counter

Combat system
#1

Hey folks, maybe someone could enlighten me on what I’m doing wrong and tell me how I’m expected to be able to do combat in this game.

I have a sword skill of 15. I have a warfare skill of 14. I have a strength of 17 in the wilds. I am using Herod’s Sword longsword. Yet, every single time I try to begin a combo strike the enemy always COUNTER ATTACKS on the first attack. Meaning, offense is utterly completely histerically out of the question. I try either the longsword technique from starting low to the left (then stab stab) or mid to the left (then low right, stab.)

fighting defensively against one opponent because its literally impossible to get through anyone’s guard (if I attack they will just master stroke me and bash my face in) is the only option in the game. However since I first beat the game on release (and they revamped combat to include enemies whose guard is literally impossible to get past) multiple opponents now attack at once from all directions. Meaning, if I don’t take opponents out quickly I am a dead man. But again, it’s literally impossible to get past the guard of the opponents and the only chance to win a fight is now master stroking enemies to death so…

Does anyone have a recommended mod to fix this? Is there some great combat technique that I’m missing because combo strikes no longer work. They only work when your opponent doesn’t parry or master stroke you and now they parry/master stroke EVERY SINGLE ATTACK… This is the first game I’ve bought that patches have slowly made the game unplayable. I’m not sure if I’ll buy warhorse’s second game at this rate.

#2

Yeah… Browsing reddit and steam forums I have discovered that people universally seem to have this issue and every solution appears to be exploiting failures in the game design (enemies not blocking if you’re not locked on ect.)

And I considered, I bought this game early on to support it’s development. Well before it was on steam. I put 226 hours into it. Over the years I’ve watched the AI become master swordsmen (save for the most pathetic threadbare tunic wearing bandit) able to master stroke every single attack I made regardless of making feints first. I also notice things like the developers changing the combat AI from it’s first release that let you fight nearly 1v1 to now where the AI is like rabid zombies with 3 people hitting you at once. Then you added dogs, which bite onto you and hold you there WHILE three people hit you all at once ending the game right then and there. And for all of this all the players recommend not using intentional game mechanics but rather exploits to overcome.

It’s a game that on release was a damned masterpiece. Now I have a pile of unplayable trash on my hard disk. I don’t think I’ll buy another warhorse game.

#3

You might want to read that thread that pretty much explains how to fight, you might find useful info. I guess everyone has his own technique, I explained mine in that thread

99% block - 0% hit (how do I hit an enemy?) - Gameplay - Kingdom Come: Deliverance Forum (kingdomcomerpg.com)

1 Like
#4

Thanks for the reply trying to help :).

You got useful tips in there. Try feints (they never work.) Always circle the enemy so they don’t circle you. Yup that’s the entire fight right there, frantically running and tapping the block button to parry the 47 attacks coming all in at once. I can parry pretty much EVERY time and master stroke much of the time. I got no problem timing.

As you suggest in the thread I got full plate (really I got a millanese brig, better.) Not hard to get, poaching is a profitable pass time. So the enemy has a really really hard time actually hurting me. I even sometimes go in with the potion that reduces damage by 50% but if I need that it means that I’ve lost and the fight is over anyway. I’m out of stamina and I just got four literally untouchable men hammering on me without stop, like apprentices at an anvil.

Nope nope nope, the problem simply is one and only one thing. The enemy will parry and likely master stroke EVERY SINGLE MELEE ATTACK PUT AT THEM. End of story. Now it does turn out that I exaggerated my characters skill. I got a 15 sword skill and a mere 12 in warfare. But expecting me to have a 20 in warfare to even lay a finger on the enemy is as retarded as booting up skyrim and the game telling me “well you need to chop wood to pay for sword lessons till your sword skill is at 90-100% before you can go adventuring.” Just plain stuuuuuuuuupid.

Going back to Bernard (a master opponent like I’d face near sassau) it doesn’t seem to matter where his sword is for where I strike. I’ll get countered every time. Same with the BANDITS (freaking BANDITS) near Sassau. Only the most threadbare pathetic peasant larping at knighthood won’t parry my attacks and that’s because they fall backwards after the first sword stroke blocked. Most opponents seem to have shields and with shields there is no “off side”, if I swing to my right it’s going into his shield. If I swing to my left it’s going into his sword. Either way it doesn’t matter I always get master stroked every time I try something.

Game appears to be pretty broken. Release day years ago it wasn’t like that.

#5

I think with these new patches you can’t really fight with only one kind of weapon anymore. Now you need to use the right tool for the opposition you encounter, personnaly in dangerous areas (Skalitz and north of Talmberg) where you have good chances to face guys in full plate I have a mace and shield in hand, when I fight against ennemies that are not full plate but have some pieces of plate armor I use an axe and the longsword in areas where I know I will face medium-light armored ennemies. I use the short sword and shield in battles mainly.

I feel like the game wants us to use the right weapon and make us understand that when we’re facing 5 full plate dudes we’d better have 20 in Warfare or find alternative ways to reduce the number of ennemies like using the bow in the face at short distance or simply flee.

#6

The bow is an interesting tool to use. I kinda got dissapointed mastering it (like actually being able to aim it.) All because it takes 3 seconds to draw the thing AFTER it takes forever to knock an arrow which is an impossibly stupidly long time. Then you add to the fact that if you try to flee the enemy just grabs you and then spins you around endlessly while his buddies bash you with bats. You can’t run faster than them don’t bother it seems. So the only way to do it is cheese it with a horse and the horse makes combat so uneven that its the most boring crap ever.

I discovered the only way to win really is to poison the sword, counter an enemy and wait for him to die tbh. Again when an enemy with MACE no shield, no armor nothing will master stroke my attacks 4 times in a row even though I’m attacking from various directions offense is just simply out of the question. I mean parrying with a MACE perfectly every time? As a flee bitten peasant? Cmon… Something is horribly wrong here.

The longsword (now with 19 skill for my character) does plenty of damage to enemies in armor tbh. But I have like the best sword in the game so that might be a help. As well as an absurd amount of strength. The problem isn’t causing damage when I connect it’s the fact that A: the enemies ALWAYS master stroke my attacks and B: enemies behave like rabid 28 days later zombies. 3-4 at a time disengage from you at a time and SRPINT to your rear. if you disengage and even take one step the guy you’re fighting gets to automatically, you get no defense grab you and throw you. So the AI just SPRINTS around you and you’re not allowed really to do anything back.

Add the dogs and it’s just the developers giving me a big middle finger.

I remember when game was released the enemies would fan out but they would stay locked on and therefore walk or at most do the little jog that you are doing. They have systemically patched this game worse and worse.

#7

Group fights are not much fun due to the lock-in, IMHO.

I think your warfare has a lot to do with Henry’s ability to get past his opponents guard. I am rarely able to initiate a combo without first clinching or dodging or perfect blocking or fairing (often works for me). Initiating your attack from the same direction two times in a row always gets me either master struck or perfect blocked.

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