This is how you too can reduce Master level opponents into minced meat in all their varieties.
مقدمة
This is an unofficial combat guide aimed to help you bully all the AI scum that stands in your path to become unrivaled under heaven. THIS GUIDE IS FULL OF TEXT WITH VIDEOS IN BETWEEN TO SHOWCASE THE METHODS IN MOTION.
I’ll be going through all the AI types that are in the game and explaining how to both identify and beat them to that first cut. This guide is aimed specifically at HIGH difficulty enemies and how to beat them one on one. Lower difficulty enemies have more openings and are generally easier to chop down in a wider variety of ways so you may not need the methods listed here at all, though they can still make enemies easier to kill once you get the patterns down. I won’t be going through all the basics in the game though some of them will be explained so you can pull off the methods brought up in the guide.
These methods have been practiced in Duels in particular but do work in Scenarios as well. I can personally beat Master level AI consistently using these tricks and I’m not even good at the game. The methods are of course tougher to pull off in Scenarios because you’re often facing multiple enemies at once, you don’t know what type they are before identifying them, and some of them have slight variations/attributes that demand a different take to make the most out of the methods in this guide.
There is one method in particular listed at the end of the guide in the “Standard/Mixed Type AI” segment that is extremely effective against most AI types, but it’s also riskier than most of the methods I’ve listed in the segments before it. Let’s start with something simple, probably the easiest type to beat…
Aggressive/Charger Type AI
Easy to identify. These guys are practically always advancing towards you while holding a charge attack ready (you can tell when their sword is held back rather than facing you in front of them, you can see how it looks in different stances using your own character). They usually prefer attacking from above and some of their weaker variants fold completely when getting shoved and MID attacked (هجوم, shove, هجوم, shove, إلخ). They seem to be attempting to stance up high to swing past your block on those occasions. The way to beat the tougher variations is pretty simple, but in order to do it effectively you have to understand something.
When you attack the direction you’re holding dictates your footwork. If you attack standing still there’s none, if you hold towards the opponent your character steps into the swing, if you hold away from your opponent you step back during the swing. All of these options gain more distance the more you charge your attack.
Footwork that backs away from the enemy during your swing is the key to cutting down Aggressive/Charger type enemies. You will charge a MID attack and wait for them to rush in with their own, stepping back as you swing and cutting them down at the end of their attack.
For this to work there has to be enough distance between you and the opponent. The default starting distance in Duels (and seemingly slightly closer as well) is perfect. If you do not have the distance you can create some by doing an aggressive MID attack to close the gap, shove the enemy further away, and then dodging back a couple times to charge your swing.
These types also have a habit of mimicking your attack timing to clash swords if they’re already charging an attack at the same time as you are. You can use this to your advantage by taking retreating swings to make the enemy mimic you and move themselves further back with their own footwork. Note that if you do this too close they’ll start advancing after you with their swings instead.
When you have the correct distance start backing up with a MID attack charged. The enemy WILL charge at you (you can tell when the attack is coming when they suddenly speed up). Unleash your attack while holding/moving away from the enemy in that moment. If you time your attack right you will step out of the enemy’s reach and simultaneously cut them down with your own attack from the middle. If the timing is slightly off you will clash attacks and have to create some distance to try again. If you’re too far away both of you will miss.
Defensive/Cautious Type AI
Easy to identify from the way they stop advancing just out of your reach and try to maintain that distance. If you back up they follow, if you approach they back up. If you get too close swinging they will often dodge past your attacks, take counter swings from blocks, or try to shove you away.
The method for beating these guys is actually the exact same as with Aggressive/Charger types, however the setup is more difficult. These types will almost NEVER come in for an attack first unless you just stop playing altogether. They maintain a distance and try to beat you up with passive aggression. However there is an exception to this, which is when they start holding a charge attack when threatened (you can tell when their sword is held back rather than facing you in front of them, you can see how it looks in different stances using your own character).
You need to use some subtlety through footwork for this method to work. Charge your MID attack and advance towards them a few steps at a time. Sometimes they react faster, sometimes slower… but this will make them start charging an attack of their own. When you see them react this way back up a few steps to return to the default distance these guys like to keep you at. Now you have to flirt that charge attack out of them by stepping towards them (doing a few steps forth a few steps back is the safest method) until they try to rush you down (you can tell when the attack is coming when they suddenly speed up).
Unleash your attack while holding/moving away from the enemy in that moment. If you time your attack right you will step out of the enemy’s reach and simultaneously cut them down with your own attack from the middle. If the timing is slightly off you will clash attacks and have to create some distance to try again. If you’re too far away both of you will miss.
Infighter Type AI
Everyone knows this guy, everyone hates this guy. He’s that one enemy that’s دائماً dashing at you, he’s always slipping past you, and he’s always cutting your head off by disorienting you with his positioning. You identify him by that simple fact, he’s always actively dodging attacks and trying to get behind you.
The way to beat him is simple, أنت DO infighting yourself.
There is a blind spot in-game that makes it so your opponent’s swing misses you, but yours cuts them down. This blind spot is more or less directly on top of the enemy themselves. You can use the blind spot against all AI types but it is vastly more difficult against certain variations due to how they play defense.
The most effective way of breaching past an Infighter’s defense to reach this blind spot is to force them to block you clean to bait out a counter attack. This means that their sword STOPS yours in a block. It’s important to pick out when that happens and when it doesn’t because if the enemy just clashes with you with their own attack (both swings do a complete arc), or dodge past your attack they’re more likely to cut you down in retaliation by demanding a different defensive response. The enemy dodging is the hardest to handle because the counter attack from a dodge comes out faster than a normal swing with added momentum behind it so you have to respond correctly or get cut down. Shoving is generally pretty effective, but be sure to be facing them or you’ll leave yourself wide open.
The way I personally force the situation on them is by backing up while charging a MID attack to bait them to chase after me. As they approach crash your charged up MID attack into their guard. The AI seems more likely to block MID attacks in particular and commonly dodge attacks from above or below. The moment you see your sword get stopped by the block dodge into the enemy and take another MID attack as fast as possible. If you do this correctly and land on their blind spot the enemy’s swing will miss you completely and you will cut them down. If your timing and positioning is off they will have the chance to retaliate after dodging or blocking your attack.
Note that distance is key for this method to work. أنت MUST be borderline face-to-face with the enemy for your dash to land you in the blind spot or you will get cut down. This is why I recommend the charging attack method up above in particular, but you can try getting right in their face in other ways as well. Some Scenario variations also dodge charge attacks so you have to get more creative. Try to be slightly further behind the enemy rather than up front because in that case even if you overshot past the blind spot they still miss their attack. (edit: there are additional infighting methods at the bottom of the guide you might find more success with).
Standard/Mixed Type AI
يا ولد, here’s the hard part… Ironically enough the Standard/Mixed variations are the toughest high difficulty opponents to deal with because their AI is more varied than the rest. They dodge attacks, they block attacks, they counter, they shove, they maintain a close distance and chase after you if you’re backing down or will back down themselves if you’re being aggressive enough. They’re harder to identify because they can do it all to some degree, but a general rule is that if your opponent doesn’t fall in any of the previous categories they’re a Standard/Mixed type enemy.
If you can beat these guys it shows that you really know your stuff and can survive long exchanges until your opportunity comes or have the precision to cut them down in a single stroke. I will list a bunch of methods and details here but the most consistent and challenging means of cutting these enemies down is at the bottom of the segment.
The Standard and Mixed AI are very similar, but the Mixed types seem more prone to occasionally try and hit you with a charging attack with a running start. Standard types do it as well but much less often. In these cases you can use the Aggressive/Charger method from earlier in this guide to cut them down. Otherwise things are about to get complicated…
The Infighter method mentioned earlier in the guide can land on all of the other AI types as long as you can get close enough. The problem is that the Standard/Mixed type enemies often maintain balanced footwork to retreat when pursued which makes it much harder to land in their blind spot to begin with. The charging attack method I listed off in the Infighter segment does work, but they often move back with the attack on block so if you try to dash in at the wrong time you will get cut down. هو - هي يستطيع work and is how I often get my kills on these guys, but you have to be very attentive on whether they backed off with the swing or not. (edit: there are additional infighting methods at the bottom of the guide you might find more success with).
If you attack with up and down swings, even in alternated succession (which is faster) the Standard/Mixed enemy will almost ALWAYS dodge both attacks without fail unless you can manage to slip behind them through infighting. They are more prone to block MID attacks for whatever reason just like many of the other AI types, so you can manipulate them into slipping up when they counter attack. NEVER attack twice in a row when your first attack was stopped in its tracks by a block, أنت will get cut down.
Standard/Mixed enemies in particular tend to counter attack (the sped up flashing attack done immediately after a successful block) very consistently if they block your MID attack when you’re close to them. If you dash backwards for the full length of your dodge in this moment you can just barely get out of their range and use the opportunity to cut them down at the end of their own attack. I typically counter from the middle to avoid accidental stance feinting which slows your attack down and might get you killed if used at a bad time.
The trick works on all AI types that are prone to use the counter from block but is harder to pull off if they back down instead of advancing during their attack. The Master level AI in particular can dodge this attack very regularly, but it will land on them sooner or later if your timing is good enough. This method kills Duelist level AI more or less every time when used correctly so you can practice it pretty well against them.
The most consistent, skill-demanding way to cut bastards down.
If you approach a Standard/Mixed typed enemy with an attack charged from a close distance they will often try to charge an attack to clash with yours or cut you down first similarly to how Defensive/Cautious type enemies behave. لكن, this is MUCH closer range than you’d have against those enemy types. The range for this behavior to show itself is just about where the enemy lands when you shove them once. A good example of the maximum range where you should attempt this can be seen as the gap between you and the enemy when a Duel starts.
You have to start charging an attack and approach the enemy at this close range and then back up with your swing the moment they attack you. If your timing is right they will miss and get cut down, if you swung too early or were too close to them they will clash swords with you, if you swung too late you get cut down. There is a chance for your swing to miss just barely as well if the positioning is slightly off. This can work on all AI types, but I just find the methods listed in the respective earlier segments more consistent to pull off overall.
A few tricks to keep in mind
– Oftentimes attacking is the best defense you have. When you take a swing on approach against an enemy you force them to act. If they attack as well you clash swings and nothing happens, if they dodge your exchange continues from there (be prepared for their quicker attack out of dodge), if they block you can prepare yourself to counter their counter. Approaching with charged MID attacks like this is the second best option for forcing an exchange on an enemy I’ve found aside for the up + dodge bait.
– Shoving is very effective in covering your tracks. If your opponent gets a solid block on you and is about to counter? Shove wins. If your opponent dodged your attack and is planning to cleave your head off? Shove wins. Use the shove as a safety net for when you mess up or don’t have a different plan in mind. However a shove can be dodged which can leave you open. It also has a small cooldown if you try to spam it twice in a row and won’t come out at all if you’re not holding a directional input for it which can lead to a similar situation. Trying to shove an enemy from too far away will also get you cut down. Use the back + shove move to swap positions when cornered so you’ll have more room to work with, and especially to crowd control enemies when you’re fighting groups (they might cut each other down in the process too).
– When you use counters from blocks I’d recommend delivering them from an opposing angle. So for example you blocked from above, so hold down + forward as you hit your counter attack window to make your character sprint forward to deliver the strike. The sprinting counter in particular works very effectively all the way up to Duelist level opponents. Do note however that if you mess up the timing you might accidentally do a slower stance feint that will slow your attack down, leaving you open to get cut down. If you’re too close most enemies will attempt to shove you back. To counter this you can move back during your block which stops AI from attempting their shove due to the distance being too far in their mind.
Countering from blocks is naturally less safe than countering out of dodges because you have to be right out of three options (أعلى, تحت, mid), while when dodging there’s only two options to worry about (up dodge for verticals, ducking for horizontals).
– Holding up + dodge down forces the enemy to take a MID attack because it’s the only one that can hit you like this. You can then swap from a standing dodge to a ducking dodge and sweep an advancing attack up at them. An attack out of a successful dodge comes out faster and has some extra momentum to it (you’ve probably died to enemies doing this without knowing why they were so fast all of a sudden). The running start to the attack doesn’t happen if you didn’t either dodge an attack or dash past the enemy themselves.
A lot of lower level AI get cleaved in two right here, especially if you do the up-down or down-up flow of attacks that come out faster when alternated in succession. Otherwise it’s just a good means of forcing your enemy to approach you the way you want them to. This is an absurdly easy way to get the dodging achievement as long as you dodge only when an attack is actually coming. Note that if you dodge before your opponent has visibly started their attack they’ll adjust and cut you down. You can use this as another method of infighting against Master level enemies by dodging into the enemy’s blind spot at the end of the exchange. Blind spot explained in the “Infighter Type AI” segment.
– There’s another pretty good way to enforce infighting on your enemy by running at them in MID stance and doing an up + dodge the moment you see them take the bait and swing at you vertically. You can slip behind the enemy and attempt to cleave them in two right then and there. Note that while in Duels your character automatically faces your opponent, in Scenarios that’s not an option. You can also do some sneaky dodge counters by facing away from the enemy and sliding behind them when they run in for a swing. Higher level AI types (Duelist-Master) can often dodge, shove, or block the initial swing you take from behind them. Against them you’ll more than likely have to aim for the blind spot explained in the “Infighter Type AI” segment.
There is a way to extend your dodge distance by dodging during the initial windup for a charge attack. This means charging an attack, letting it go while moving forward, and dodging immediately before the actual swing comes out. The momentum of the advancing charge carries over to the dodge. This can be used to close the distance between you and the enemy, often charging straight past them to position yourself right behind them if you execute it correctly. Adding another dodge in a row can help you get that positioning just right.
That’s all for now, cause this guide has bloated into a big ass pile of text as is. Hope it helped. Feel free to ask questions if you’re struggling with something or just can’t understand what I’m talking about.
