Combat
Health & Armour
All classes have differing amounts of health and armour, making some good for diving into combat, and others good for getting killed if they dive into combat.
Armour is of particular importance, perhaps just as much as health, as it absorbs 60% of incoming damage, while only the remaining 40% damages health.
If you land an attack that deals 50 damage on a Heavy Knight who has 125 health and 215 armour, he'll only take 20 health damage while he takes the rest on his armour, although he'll probably take great offense as well.
Speed & Specials
Most classes move at the same speed, but not all of them.
Carrying a chest or keg, aiming or charging a ranged weapon, being stunned, or blocking with a shield or weapon will all slow you down considerably.
The only ways to speed up considerably are with various special abilities.
Specials
Every class has a special attack that can be used when the meter is filled.
You can fill the meter by doing damage to your opponents but be aware, different classes need to accrue different amounts of damage.
When the meter is full, pressing the special button unleashes your special.
These powerful attacks can be used to easily finish off one or more enemies under the right circumstances, available specials include:
- Skirmisher: A forward lunge with the cutlass that deals extra damage to anyone in the way.
- Captain: An exploding cannonball loaded into the blunderbuss.
- Sharpshooter: An improvised grenade fashioned from a powder horn, and a match.
- Berserker: The Berserker becomes enraged, which increases his damage and speed for 15 seconds. Can be used with either weapon.
- Huscarl: A shield charge that deals damage and knock-back to anyone in its path.
- Gestir: A powerful charge with the spear, just watch out for walls!
- Bondi: A speed-shooting technique that delivers four deadly arrows at lightning speed.
- Heavy Knight: A 360-degree spin attack with the two-handed sword.
- Archer: A triple-arrow shot that deals extra damage and pierces shields.
- Man-at-Arms: An invigorating fart that boosts the Man-At-Arms' damage, and leaves behind a toxic cloud to slow and damage enemies.
Your special can also be used when carrying a chest; this will give you a temporary boost in speed, which allows you to quickly escape. This can be employed by any class.
Some specials can take a bit of practice to get the most out of them, and most can be ineffective if you don't time them or aim them right!
Melee Weapons
Melee combat involves four directions of attack and four directions of block. A player's movement direction will decide which direction they attack or block in.
Side Swings
When used while strafing, weapons will be prepared to swing in the same direction the player is moving.
For example: If the player is strafing to the left and holds the attack button, their weapon will be readied on the right side of their screen, and will swing towards the left when the button is released.
These attacks are easier to land, but will probably deal less damage because of the arc detection.
Overhead Swings and Stabs
When moving forwards, weapons will be prepared for overhead chops, while the back direction will ready stab attacks.
These attacks will deal more damage than side swings, but will be harder to land because of the arc detection.
Hit Detection
All melee weapons register their hits in an arc detection system. In other words, a weapon will deliver multiple hits along the arc of its swing.
For this reason, it is often easier to hit an opponent when swinging from side to side, but more damage can be dealt when engaging with an overhead or stabbing motion.
Charged Swings
As you ready your weapon, you'll notice a small charge bar on the bottom of the screen. This indicates how much damage the swing will inflict on the opponent when it lands.
A fully charged attack will deal the maximum damage possible for each hit (usually 120% of the base damage) whereas an uncharged hit will deal normal damage.
A fully charged attack will also damage opponents through shields and break through blocks.
Blocking
There are four directions of block; the direction will be chosen according to your nearest opponent's attack direction, though this can be changed to function the same as picking your attack direction in the options menu.
If you block in the same direction as your opponent's attack, you will achieve a "Perfect Parry" that will not only stun the opponent, but will also allow a quick counter-attack.
If your enemy's weapon is glowing, it means they're at full charge; blocking a fully charged attack will only mitigate some damage and stun you.
A small weapon cannot perfect parry a heavy weapon.
Weapon Sizes
The effect of blocking is also influenced by the sizes of each weapon. A large weapon will reduce damage more effectively from a medium weapon, whereas a medium weapon will not fare so well at blocking a large weapon.
A large weapon is able to Perfect Parry and Counter-Attack any weapon, whereas medium weapons can't Perfect Parry and Counter-Attack large weapons.
There is only one small weapon currently in the game, and as you might expect, it can't Perfect Parry or Counter-Attack anything.
Counter-Attacks
A Counter-Attack is a quick attack (much quicker than a normal swing) that can be used after a "Perfect Parry".
You can achieve a Perfect Parry by blocking in the correct direction, then using the attack button within one second (NOTE: While still holding down the right-mouse button) to quickly counter-attack your stunned opponent.
Shields
Shields can be used to block both melee and ranged weapons. Shields have a certain number of hit points depending on the class. Once a shield runs out of hit points, it will be unusable until repaired. You can repair your shield by picking up armour throughout the map.
Shields can also be used to bash opponents by attacking (mouse1) while blocking (mouse2) with the shield. A shield bash can be charged like a normal attack, and a fully charged shield bash can stun an opponent, and knock a chest out of their hands. The greater the charge of your shield bash, the further an enemy will be knocked back.
If you are struck while charging a shield bash, you will take full damage from the swing or projectile, but your shield will not lose hit points.
Rolling and Kicking
Players can initiate a rolling maneuver to help dodge incoming attacks and projectiles.
Players may also Kick other players, causing knock-back and damage. Kicking can be used to knock enemies off of cliffs, into traps, or into anybody trying to hit them instead of you, teammate or not.
Ranged Weapons
Ranged weapons are used to damage your opponent from a distance. The most effective ranged weapons are the Archer's Crossbow, the Vikings' Javelins and the Sharpshooter's Rifle.
All ranged weapons are affected by gravity. The best way to get used to their arcs is by practicing with them.
The gunpowder weapons are not affected by gravity as much, but have a bit of random spread to them; this makes them difficult to hit with at longer distances. They become even less accurate while running, making them better for close-range skirmishes.
The Blunderbuss is the Shotgun of the Pirates. This weapon's spread makes it useful only at close range, but its damage is worth the risk.
All ranged weapons except the Pirate's guns inflict more damage from further away. Shooting an enemy that is right next to you will deal as little as half of the original damage.
Headshots
The Sharpshooter's rifle, Gestir's Javelins, Bondi's Atlatl, and both Knight crossbows can score headshots, increasing the damage dealt by 50%. (Although if the headshot is at close range, it will still deal less damage than if you'd scored a regular shot further away.)