The combat makes me want to kill myself

[Saylor]

Sorry for the dramatic title but the combat in this game is the single most frustrating game mechanic I’ve ever experienced.

The problem is that no matter how hard I train, how long I practice, I can’t work with this system. It just doesn’t work. Enemies block my strikes EVERY single time, no matter how long or often I beat them, they block and then, for some reason, they get to deliver a strike I can’t evade or parry myself, which is a move I can’t do. I have mastered dodging and parrying in perfect timing but I can’t take advantage of that because whatever my next strike is, no matter from which direction, it gets blocked. Again. And the next and the next and the next until I’m out of stamina. Altering my strike direction doesn’t do shit. Striking explicitly from the opposite direction of my opponent’s sword doesn’t do shit. All the explicit guides and tips don’t do shit. It just doesn’t work and I’m this close to just closing the game forever and removing it from my steam account just so I don’t have to remember this shit combat system every time I read the name.

This game NEEDS a difficulty setting.

I understand that people will say “git gud” and think they make a fair point but the reality is that I have a job and I can’t spend 5 hours practicing swordplay in a video game every day. The rest of the game is so much fun and the fact that there is no way at all to make the combat easier, if that is the way I want to play it, just sucks the fun out.

I don’t want to turn on a game and feel like I’m facing a huge chore every time there’s an enemy. I don’t want to feel like I need to drink a savior schnapps every time some lowly bandit holds me up on the road while I’m decked out in armor and a huge sword.

It’s tiring and it’s frustrating and it isn’t fun. Combined with the absolute shitshow of a save system, this game, in its current form, is just unplayable to me. KCD isn’t Dark Souls where the whole point of the game is to “git gud”. KCD has so many elements that I can enjoy and do enjoy immensely but they’re all just dragged down by this combat system.

I don’t know if the devs read this forum but if you do, I beg you, add something to make combat easier for folk like me who just want to play the game to have fun in the afternoon. Adding something like this doesn’t mean more skilled players can’t enjoy the more difficult combat anymore, they just have to enable it. You’re excluding a lot of players from enjoying your game with this and it’s just really sad.

Thanks for reading my little rant.

[Imbazil]

I will copy my answer from another similar thread here, hope it helps:

I had a similar feeling at the beginning and I got killed or lost 90% hp to most bandits.

The tutorial is decent, but not great, and you need to get into the ring and fight with Bernard to learn the mechanics of combat a bit better. but here is what I would recommend:

Riposte! this is a move that is triggered when you time the block “perfect” with the opponents attack, and will respond to the attack by blocking it and automatically striking with a unblockable attack of your own. You also stagger your opponent and should have enough time for a free strike after a successful Riposte.

To do a riposte you must first unlock the move by talking to Bernard and complete the Special moves training for your weapon, (and unlock the riposte perk in warfare, i think. its one of the first ones.)

after this focus you eyes on your opponents weapon in a fight, when he begins to draw it back to charge his strike, press Q to riposte. this is before the green shield icon appears in the middle so if you wait for that it will be too late. Look at the animation.

With this you can win all 1v1 fights, and probably 2v1 as well, just keep changing your focus target and run in a circle so you only face one at a time. Once you get the hang of it start incorporating other moves and get more offensive. If you mess up and start getting raped keep Q held and you will block everything (until you lose all stamina) while you back off and try again when the stamina is back.

[Voxdalian]

I think the devs have made it plenty clear that it’s not the sort of game where you can go wreck every enemy at any time of day. You’re not some hero, not even a knight, you’re just a peasant who’s never swung a sword before in the service of a lord and getting better with experience.
Practice, practice, practice (with Sir Bernard at the Rattay training grounds) to get experience for both yourself and Henry.

You’re only allowed to whine if you can pick up a sword in real life and defeat a master swordsman without any preparation time. If you can’t than you also shouldn’t expect Henry to do so.

[OneAntArmy]

I trained with bernard for 45 min and after that I have not been in any trouble. Get a shield, blocks everything almost. Put on heavy plate armor and use the right weapon type. mace and bash the head for plate armor and sword for light armor. Only attack after a won clinch (just spam stab after the animation begins), a god block/riposte or feint. And BAM you can now take on 20 bandits in heavy armor in one go. If you still have trouble look up some treasures and get the good gear from them.

[Saylor]

I’m sorry but this is some BS.
"You’re only allowed to whine if you can pick up a sword in real life and defeat a master swordsman without any preparation time."
I’m not playing games to be just as capable as myself in real life. I play games to have fun. If a game isn’t fun to me, I have every right to complain and explain why.
"I think the devs have made it plenty clear that it’s not the sort of game where you can go wreck every enemy at any time of day."
Never said I wanted that and I never said that THIS is my problem. The problem is that I can’t defeat any enemy at any time of day.
"Practice, practice, practice"
I have, as I have said in my original post.

Again, I’m sorry but I just don’t subscribe to this git gud mentality. When I pay full price for a video game I want to be able to play it and have fun with it. It should be my decision how difficult or easy I want to have it and if I want to sacrifice a degree of realism in order to have fun, that should be a choice I have. You’re free to feel differently about this but that’s my opinion and I am allowed to voice it as much as you are yours.

[Saylor]

Thanks for that. I didn’t know there was a key move I need to learn to start being somewhat competent. Thanks again, I’ll see to it that I learn that and hope it helps!

[Draugadrottinn]

First, let me say that I understand where you’re coming from. Combat was a bitch for me when I first picked up the game. The fighting tutorial should be better. That being said, I had restarted a new game and tried the combat tutorial with Bernard again. The second time, I paid closer attention to the dodge mechanics as well as the blocking and reposite. I was treating it like For Honor, and that’s where I went wrong. I know you’re tired of hearing this, but you’ve got to practice. You as a player have to get better, and Henry as a character has to get better.
I’m curious, what’s Henry’s current stats?
As far as having an easy button for this game, it’s not needed. People aren’t lying when they say they can take on a full camp of bandits.
My first character, I kept getting killed are the bandit/Cuman camp in the main story quest. My second character was able to take the camp out with little to no damage.
It’s not as hard as you think. And the game isn’t meant for you to rush through. Take your time, live the life of Henry, and focus on what you want to get better at.

[10Kay]

I myself had trouble too. I found the light armor perk was very helpful, for me anyway. I cant wear heavy plated armor but 50 percent easier dodging was worth it. I want to take fast striker perk also, but I’m really not sure if that perk is worth it. Any way just keep at it you’ll get.

[Dacrimal]

You shouldn’t bei joking about suicide mate, Not kind a funny subject.

As for your Post: i’m Not Sure what you want to Hear. It reads as If you already read a Lot about other people complaining that it’s too hard. So why Start a new Thread? Because the Last one is already a day old?
I’m telling you, there will be a time when you think it’s to easy. You Just can’t Rush this Game, it needs time. Take a Walk if you’re that angry, because Anger isn’t helping you with your Fights.

[Saylor]

I know this is waaaay off topic for this category but if you’re gonna start forbidding some humor, you’d have to forbid all humor because everything has the potential to offend someone. And if you’re over the age of 5, nothing is funny without it being offensive on some level.

But as for your reply, I made the thread because at some point, the frustration builds to a level where you have to say something and the more people complain, the more likely it is the devs will take action. Simple as that.

[Saylor]

I’ve learned the riposte skill now and I think I’m slowly getting the hang of it. That skill really is a game changer. So I suppose my criticism is more towards the fact that I need to learn a skill that is hours upon hours into the game and there, buried under obtuse menus and dialogue options and never mentioned by the tutorial if you don’t go out of your way to talk to Bernard again after hours of frustration with the combat system.

[Callaghan]

You need to learn to feign. Start preparing an attack on one side then quickly move your sword and release the mouse button to attack from an unexpected side. Sounds like that’s what you are missing. You need to press the advantage of a successful strike with a combo.

[Saylor]

I actually did use feign all the time in combat. It didn’t help. The only skill that is actually helping me is riposte because it is a guaranteed hit and stagger which allows me to plant at least one more blow.

[BolekPolifka666]

I would argue that this isn’t a game for you.

[Saylor]

But you’d be wrong because I like every other aspect of the game.

[MaverickAU]

I will say I enjoy the difficulty of the combat system, and enjoy a game with a challenge and a learning curve. Only wish in unarmed combat I didn’t feel like I was facing Anderson Silva! Lol, I say that in terms of all the sways and clinch knees. Saying that I totally understand and appreciate why the devs made it this way. I mean Henry is no professional brawler, he’s a skinny son of a blacksmith lol

[Saylor]

Oh I appreciate a good challenge, too. But there is a difference between a challenging but manageable system and a system that just kills you over and over without really much feedback on how to improve. That’s just frustrating.

[MaverickAU]

I understand, my first play through I didn’t play any side quests really and didn’t have many issues, other than the massive overmanning (just ran from them) at the windmill and runt at the end, for which I was severely undertrained, when I decided to make a new game. Used more sneak tactics for multiple enemy situations, such as bandits, etc

[Zourin]

For mouse and keyboard, the combat is trash tier at best. The mouse is garbage for selecting attack positionings, which change randomly from one second to the next, and I’ve been “training” with Daddy Bogard in Rat town and all he does is perfect parry every attack. NPC’s also attack faster than I do, causing interrupts, and I haven’t successfully dodged an attack in 20 hours without sucking an iron lollipop.

So. yeah. Combat is trash in this game. It stays trash because it won’t let you learn it so some scraggly ass apprentice mason dressed like an elf in spanx can master-class one-combo kill you in full armor.

[Gibb]

You can learn it by training, but my guess is you are way too casual to walk to an actual training field.