Combat techniques

Overview
Combat in Mordhau is much more intricate than simply swinging and stabbing away at enemies; Players can employ multiple layers of strategy, positioning and techniques in order to reign victorious. Here are some of the various means of fighting opponents. Some are as simple as pushing a button or two, while others require multiple inputs to pull off.

Basic techniques
Slashing

Also known as a swing, this is one of the the simplest techniques. To perform a slash, simply left click. The character will swing their weapon in front of them, though the actual angle that they swing is dependent on which way the camera is moved prior to swinging, indicated by a short line originating from the crosshair. For example, looking down and to the left will perform a downward chop towards the left side. Some weapons fare better when swinging as opposed to thrusting, such as axes or hammers.

Thrusting

Another simple technique; thrusting is a quick stab forward performed by pushing the scroll wheel upwards. Thrusting often generates the longest reach of any attack with a given weapon. Of course, some weapons are much better for thrusting than others; a spear for instance, which has a much more damaging thrust than a pickaxe.

Parrying

An essential defensive maneuver, putting a weapon or shield between the characters' body and the opponent's weapon for a brief moment. A parry is performed with a right click; this creates a brief window indicated by a shield icon appearing over the crosshair. During this time, almost any attack or projectile that hits the player's weapon will simply be deflected, though it will drain both player's stamina in the process.

There are very few means of being able to "hold" a parry beyond using a shield wall which is situational, or bare fists, which are ineffective unless used against bare fists. Additionally, after performing a parry, there is a short recovery period where actions cannot performed besides moving and jumping. This can leave players vulnerable. An experienced player can take into consideration the speed of their own and targets' weapon in order to determine whether it is worth parrying at all, or using a different mechanic such as a chamber or simply trying to dodge the attack in order to create a larger window for a counter-attack.

Kicking

By pressing F, the character stops moving to deliver a quick kick in front of them, dealing a small amount of damage and knocking opponents back a slightly. Wearing heavier Leg armor increases the damage dealt by kicking significantly; almost twice as much across the board. Kicks are unique in that they can easily break past an opponent's guard; the only way to defend against a kick is for the opponent to perform one of their own. If you stand in front of a door and kick it rather than opening it normally, the door will open with enough force to knock over any unfortunate players on the other side of the door, which can provide a solid opening to begin pummeling them. Crouching at a door will prevent it from being opened, or kicked open. However, performing any attacks will allow the door to once again knock the player over.

Feinting
By performing a swing or thrust, then pressing Q during the small windup period (before the attack actually commences), the attack can be cancelled in exchange for 10 stamina. This is mainly meant to throw off and confuse opponents, sometimes making them instinctively parry in response, especially if multiple parries are strung together. It is recommended that players do not develop patterns with feints (or attack combinations in general), as a good player will recognise and exploit patterns. When fighting against someone who frequently feints, it is recommended that the player relies on either muscle memory of when the windup phase ends or listens for their opponents grunt; signalling that they are past the point of being able to feint.

Morphing
Morphing is changing a swing into a thrust or vice versa, by performing a second (different) attack before the windup period finishes. This costs 7 stamina to perform, but can be useful for throwing off an opponent's parry timing.

Dragging/Accelerating (drag & accel)
Arguably one of the most common techniques among experienced players. Whenever an attack is performed, a player can influence the location and timing of the hitboxes by moving their mouse around during the attack. Common applications of this include looking in the direction of a swing to make it hit an enemy sooner (an 'accel'/acceleration of the attack), or looking away to make it hit later and screw up their parry timing (a 'drag'/dragging the attack away). Another example is to perform a thrust to the side of an opponent as they block, then move the mouse towards them as the stab's hitboxes are about to end in order to sneak the attack around their guard. When practicing this, it can be helpful to turn on hitbox tracers to have a better idea of how this technique works.

Chambering
When an opponent performs a swing with their weapon, swinging in the same direction at roughly the same time will cause both weapons to scrape against each other, allowing the person chambering to quickly follow up with a counter attack. This will also happen if two thrusts hit each other with roughly the same timing. Chambering is often difficult for new players to reliably perform, but it's not uncommon to see it happen by accident, particularly with its thrusting variation. In most cases, it is better to perform a chamber over a parry where possible.