So how does the AI pull off all those sweet moves?

[BlueLaguna]

I'm talking about 3 hit combos, holding an attack indefinitely then resuming it immediately, attacking from the left without looking like their weapon just gained 50 pounds of weight and instant overheads. I've also not found how to aim side swings high reliably. The only edge i seem to have vs the computer is being able to aim at their feet. Has anyone figured out how to do those moves reliably?

 

[XxBoDxX]

Ive found that combat in Exanima is complicated, and the longer you play the better you can feel the limitations of your character. Just like with anything in real life you start to get a sense of how things need to be to accomplish certain things. For instance, if you were training with a quarterstaff and saw someone who had been practicing for awhile do some cool things and made it look easy you might think to yourself, how do they do that? I can't do that! But, with time and practice you will start to see and realize it wasn't very hard to do in the first place.

 

[MindSliver]

In general I find that you have to be very particular about where you start and end your swings and also where you step while swinging. If I step forward while swinging from right to left so that I'm close enough to hit with the middle of the blade on a 2 handed sword and I have my cursor directly on my opponent I will usually hit him/her high in the left thigh as that combo of controls tend to start the swing low and end high. If I turn more to my right when starting to swing and end with my cursor closer to the right side of my opponent it gives the swing more time to rise which can result in higher arm/shoulder/head shots though getting to the head is less common. Left to right shots I find to be somewhat in the other direction, starting higher and losing only a little altitude as it travels. if you're seeking head shots swing left to right and really turn your body into it so you start with your cursor far to your left and end with your cursor far to your right. if you can get your opponent to swing and miss just before you hit, or better still catch their attack in a parry just as you start to wind up your big shot you will usually land a clean head shot on their right ear/neck for big damage. that's my go-to shot and it wins most of my duels for me. holding an attack is also possible, you need to start your back-swing and then stop and then start it again. it's not as clean as holding an attack in say, mount and blade but it can be done with a little practice and released on queue when it's needed. though honestly I don't find much use for it against the AI. you're not going to trick them haha. I follow a simple strategy. if they swing left-right then I swing right-left. if they swing right-left I swing left-right. I let their blow pass and hit them in their exposed flank. The only place I change things up is with polearm users in which case I try and attack when they start the backswing so my faster weapon will hit before their attack instead of after it.

 

[-Tim-]

In general I find that you have to be very particular about where you start and end your swings and also where you step while swinging. If I step forward while swinging from right to left so that I'm close enough to hit with the middle of the blade on a 2 handed sword and I have my cursor directly on my opponent I will usually hit him/her high in the left thigh as that combo of controls tend to start the swing low and end high. If I turn more to my right when starting to swing and end with my cursor closer to the right side of my opponent it gives the swing more time to rise which can result in higher arm/shoulder/head shots though getting to the head is less common. Left to right shots I find to be somewhat in the other direction, starting higher and losing only a little altitude as it travels. if you're seeking head shots swing left to right and really turn your body into it so you start with your cursor far to your left and end with your cursor far to your right. if you can get your opponent to swing and miss just before you hit, or better still catch their attack in a parry just as you start to wind up your big shot you will usually land a clean head shot on their right ear/neck for big damage. that's my go-to shot and it wins most of my duels for me. holding an attack is also possible, you need to start your back-swing and then stop and then start it again. it's not as clean as holding an attack in say, mount and blade but it can be done with a little practice and released on queue when it's needed. though honestly I don't find much use for it against the AI. you're not going to trick them haha. I follow a simple strategy. if they swing left-right then I swing right-left. if they swing right-left I swing left-right. I let their blow pass and hit them in their exposed flank. The only place I change things up is with polearm users in which case I try and attack when they start the backswing so my faster weapon will hit before their attack instead of after it.

Paragraphs, my friend

 

[MindSliver]

Paragraphs, my friend

*balls up fists and makes a twisty motion next to each eye whilst making a sad face XD

 

[Orlacktherof]

Spoiler

In general I find that you have to be very particular about where you start and end your swings and also where you step while swinging. If I step forward while swinging from right to left so that I'm close enough to hit with the middle of the blade on a 2 hande\d sword and I have my cursor directly on my opponent I will usually hit him/her high in the left thigh as that combo of controls tend to start the swing low and end high. If I turn more to my right when starting to swing and end with my cursor closer to the right side of my opponent it gives the swing more time to rise which can result in higher arm/shoulder/head shots though getting to the head is less common. Left to right shots I find to be somewhat in the other direction, starting higher and losing only a little altitude as it travels. if you're seeking head shots swing left to right and really turn your body into it so you start with your cursor far to your left and end with your cursor far to your right. if you can get your opponent to swing and miss just before you hit, or better still catch their attack in a parry just as you start to wind up your big shot you will usually land a clean head shot on their right ear/neck for big damage. that's my go-to shot and it wins most of my duels for me. holding an attack is also possible, you need to start your back-swing and then stop and then start it again. it's not as clean as holding an attack in say, mount and blade but it can be done with a little practice and released on queue when it's needed. though honestly I don't find much use for it against the AI. you're not going to trick them haha. I follow a simple strategy. if they swing left-right then I swing right-left. if they swing right-left I swing left-right. I let their blow pass and hit them in their exposed flank. The only place I change things up is with polearm users in which case I try and attack when they start the backswing so my faster weapon will hit before their attack instead of after it.

Lemme fix this...

In general, I have found that you have to be very particular on how you carry out attacks.

If I attack while moving forward swinging RtL to strike with the strong of my blade, it will hit at the left thigh. If I give myself a longer start up on my swing, It gives it more time to rise to hit the upperbody and head. LtR swings can seem to start high and stay high compared to RtL attacks. If you're trying to get them in the head, try for a really, really long swing to hit them.

If you can dodge their attack or parry them for the counter-attack, you can get a nice, long strike to the head for massive damage. It's a good power hit that can win duels.

Holding an attack is possible, you need to back-swing, and hold it there. It's not as easy as some other games, but with enough practice, it can be kept on queue. It doesn't appear to be much use against the AI as it's not possible to trick them like so.

A simple strategy would be to swing RtL if they swing LtR, or vice-versa. It lets my attack get right past and get them in the flank.

The only time it's better to change strategy would be when your opponent is using a polearm. When they backswing, attack immediately to catch them with your faster attack.

 

[Nynuc]

Pretty sure the instant overhead is a glitch atm, it should be fixed.

 

[MindSliver]

Lemme fix this...

In general, I have found that you have to be very particular on how you carry out attacks.

If I attack while moving forward swinging RtL to strike with the strong of my blade, it will hit at the left thigh. If I give myself a longer start up on my swing, It gives it more time to rise to hit the upperbody and head. LtR swings can seem to start high and stay high compared to RtL attacks. If you're trying to get them in the head, try for a really, really long swing to hit them.

If you can dodge their attack or parry them for the counter-attack, you can get a nice, long strike to the head for massive damage. It's a good power hit that can win duels.

Holding an attack is possible, you need to back-swing, and hold it there. It's not as easy as some other games, but with enough practice, it can be kept on queue. It doesn't appear to be much use against the AI as it's not possible to trick them like so.

A simple strategy would be to swing RtL if they swing LtR, or vice-versa. It lets my attack get right past and get them in the flank.

The only time it's better to change strategy would be when your opponent is using a polearm. When they backswing, attack immediately to catch them with your faster attack.

It's good to know that my hastily written (and un-proof-read) advice is at least of enough inherent value that you guys feel the need only to fix my grammar and sentence structure XD.

 

[Orlacktherof]

It's good to know that my hastily written (and un-proof-read) advice is at least of enough inherent value that you guys feel the need only to fix my grammar and sentence structure XD.

I just don't have anything better to do, so I do this. But, I'll be doing this sort of thing.