Combat
Basic Combat, Combat: Advanced Techniques, and Surrender are tutorial codex entries in Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
Basic Combat
When things get out of hand, it can escalate to a fight. It's possible to fight unarmed, with various weapons and even mounted on horseback.
Using [MOUSE LEFT CLICK on PC / right trigger on Xbox / R2 on PlayStation] you execute a basic strike, which is strong, but slow. In a fistfight, this control executes a right or left hook to the head, in armed combat a slashing strike.
Using [MOUSE RIGHT CLICK on PC / right bumper on Xbox / R1 on PlayStation] you attack with a faster, but weaker strike. In unarmed combat that means a jab to the face, with a weapon a stab with the point of the blade.
You can block any strike that comes from in front with [Q on PC / left bumper on Xbox / L1 on PlayStation]. For a normal block, you don't have to hold your weapon in the same zone that your opponent is aiming at.
You can kick your opponent away using [F on PC / left trigger on Xbox / L2 on PlayStation]. If you're close to your adversary, you can use [? on PC / left trigger on Xbox / ? on PlayStation] to get into a clinch with him.
You can lock the combat rose onto one foe using [TAB on PC / right thumbstick down on Xbox / R3 down on PlayStation] and, if you're facing more than one opponent, you can toggle between them by pressing [? on PC / right stick down on Xbox / R3 down on PlayStation] again. You can disengage from the opponent using [? on PC / B button on Xbox / ⭕ on PlayStation].
You select the zone of attack in the combat rose using [MOUSE MOVEMENT on PC / right thumbstick on Xbox / R3 movement on PlayStation]. If any of the zones is greyed out, it's not possible to strike there for now.
[missing image: single combat rose with top point highlighted in red]
You can tell how well you're doing in combat by the indicator at the bottom of the screen.
[missing image: enemy health bar]
The red bar shows your level of Health, the yellow your Stamina. The purple bar [where the green bar is] shows roughly how much life your opponent has left.
Every strike executed costs stamina. Once it's completely depleted, you can't attack again until it regenerates. Stamina also functions as a shield of sorts. As well as strikes, blocking depletes stamina. The strong the opponent's strike, the harder it is to block and the more stamina it costs. Once your stamina is gone, hits taken will cost you health, even if you block them. If your opponent is very strong, or if you don't succeed in blocking, his strikes will deplete your health along with your stamina.
A big impact on your health can wound you and cause bleeding. Wounded limbs will incapacitate you and bleeding can result in death.
[missing image: bleeding debuff icon]
You can take the edge of a foe's strikes by wearing armor. The better the armor, the less health and stamina his strikes will cost you. You can also save some stamina by using a shield to block. If you're wearing plate armour and carrying a shield, sometimes that alone will save you without having to defend yourself actively, especially against a less experienced opponent. On the contrary, if your foe is in plate armour, you'll have to wear him down and exhaust him before you can cause him any real damage.
The best weapons to use against armour are those with high blunt impact (maces, axes, hammers), while against a lightly armour opponent it's better to use a weapon with a higher level of slashing and stabbing power (swords, sabres).
You'll know you're in cmobat or someone is about to attack you from the crossed swords icon beneath the compass at the top of the screen. During combat, you can switch weapons in your inventory; you can't change your armour or eat to recover health.
[missing image: engaged in combat swords]
If you're still in combat, but no one is attacking you directly, the icon below the compass changes to an uncrossed pair of swords. At this stage, more options are available to you in the inventory.
[missing image: disengaged from combat swords]
Combat: Advanced Techniques
The fundamentals of combat are movement, speed and good timing of strikes and blocks. Mastery of theme three things give you control of the combat arena.
Normal Attacks
You can strike with a weapon at any of the five zones [? on PC / right trigger on Xbox / R2 on PlayStation], which you can select with the aid of [? on PC / right thumbstick on Xbox / R3 movement on PlayStation] and the selected zone then turns red on the combat rose. Polearms can not strike overhead.
You can stab to the head in the topmost zone [? on PC / right bumper on Xbox / R1 on PlayStation], or to the body in any other zone. Polearms can not stab at the head.
After each attack, your attack zone changes naturally and the next strike then comes from a different direction, unless you change it yourself before striking. Your opponent will find it harder to block a strike in a zone other than the one where he is holding his weapon or shield.
You can take advantage of this to execute a feint: draw your weapon back, but before striking, change the direction suddenly, strike at a zone where you opponent doesn't expect it.
By striking repeatedly you can execute a chain of strikes. You should press the attack button at the moment your weapon hits the opponent or his weapon or shield. Mastering chained strikes is essential for performing combos.
A combo is chain of specific strikes executed quickly one after another in a given order. If you succeed in hitting your opponent with all the strikes in a combo and he does not block or evade them, your last strike will take the form of a special technique against which there is no defence. Some combos demand not only a combination of strong and weak strikes, but also changes in direction between strikes.
Clinch
As soon as you near your opponent and press the Kick button [? on PC / left trigger on Xbox / L2 on PlayStation] your weapons will cross in a clinch and you will have to press the attack button quickly to overpower your opponent and break his defence. The difficulty of a clinch is influenced by the difference between your strength and combat skills and those of your opponent. Following a successful clinch break, your opponent is briefly disoriented, which you should quickly take advantage of.
Perfect Block, Master Strike
Main Article: See Perfect Block and Master Strike
Timing is the key to perfect weapon mastery.
You can hold a block without moving, which will let you fend off standard attacks, but it costs a lot of stamina and leaves the initiative to your opponent. If, however, you execute a block [? on PC / left bumper on Xbox / L1 on PlayStation] right into your opponent's strike just at the moment when the green shield lights up in the centre of the combat rose, you will execute a perfect block.
[missing image: perfect block combat rose]
The advantage of a perfect block is that it costs no stamina and it can be used to interrupt an opponent's chained strikes.
After executing a perfect block you also can carry out a riposte by pressing one of the attack buttons during the block - [? or ? on PC / right trigger or right bumper on Xbox / R1 or R2 on PlayStation]. Your opponent can only defend against a riposte by means of a perfect block. Ripostes and perfect blocks can be chained one after the other until you or your opponent is hit. Or you can just execute a perfect block and end the chained strikes.
You can even execute a perfect block against an attacker that your combat rose is not locked on. However, you have to time the block well without the benefit of the green shield.
You can also dodge blows.You dodge by means of a well-timed step sideways or backwards; you must sidestep just when the opponent draws back his weapon. Usually that means even before the green shield indicating the time window for a perfect block appears on the combat rose. By dodging, you can move cleverly around the combat space and attack your opponent from unexpected angles.
The most advanced combat techniques consist of the Master Strike. A Master Strike is performed similarly to a perfect block or dodge. Once Captain Bernard has taught you this technique, by pressing the block button [? on PC / left bumper on Xbox / L1 on PlayStation] during the first stage of an opponent's strike you will execute a very powerful counter-attack, against which there is no defence. The greater your combat skill and weapon skill, the longer the window for executing a Master Strike. At the highest level, the Master Strike will in practice replace the window for a perfect block.
Surrender
Surrender in Combat
Life is God's gift and combat doesn't always have to end in death! So when it's clear that a combatant is beaten, he always has the options to surrender honourably, and the honourable response is to accept his surrender.
If someone yields to your mercy, it's up to you to decide how to deal with them. You can simply let them go, or refuse to accept the surrender and finish the fight. Another option common in the middle ages is to accept your opponent's surrender for a price - either money or equipment.
Similarly, you can also surrender in combat using [left bumper + A button on Xbox / L1 + ❌ on PlayStation] and hope your opponent respects knightly virtues. You can only surrender at a range of up to a few metres. You will always see the interactor.
Interactor [left bumper + A button on Xbox / L1 + ❌ on PlayStation] on guards, but not on other foes, which doesn't mean that you can't surrender to them.
You can't surrender to all adversaries though, for example to bandits or Cumans. Neither will you be able to surrender to a mortal enemy with whom you have a very low reputation.
If you surrender to someone once, you will one be able to surrender to that same person again after some time has passed.
Surrendering to Guards
If a guard, catchpole or other figure of authority challenges you to surrender or to agree to a personal search, you can do so by using [left bumper + A button on Xbox / L1 + ❌ on Playstation]. But you'd better decide quick, because the guardians of the law have little patience in these troubled times and they won't hesitate to use force if you don't cooperate.