I’ve seen quite a few people asking in Tiger Knight: Empire War’s lobby about how to perform combo attacks with melee weapons. So here is a quick guide to teach you how to fight like a pro.

Before we get started, you need to make sure that you have a smooth framerate and a stable internet connection, because a choppy FPS and a high ping will make the timing for combos more difficult, but not impossible.

Setting Up Your Training Exercise

I have practiced these techniques quite a bit because for the longest I didn’t understand it, so I can now perform the attacks pretty consistently at this point. The training for the game is a REALLY good way to practice, especially the log chopping training exercise because it teaches about cutting in different directions quickly while under pressure.

But if you want to practice in a more relaxed environment, the best way to do it is with the Training Actual Combat game mode. The first round is the best way to practice because it doesn’t have many enemies, and if time runs out you can just restart the match.

Training Parry is also a good way to practice because when you start the mission you are standing on a platform with no one attacking you and you have a sword in your hand to attack freely.

However, you have to use preset NPC equipment and not the gear you will have when playing the actual game. I need to point out that it is important to practice with your actual gear because every weapon operates a bit differently in combat and timing varies, so practicing with the preset gear in the other modes may not work the same as your equipment when you enter real combat.

So to practice, the Training Actual Combat mode is the best because you can use your own character and your own gear.
Alternatively, if you are over level 10 and can create a custom game mode, you can invite a friend in a 1 on 1 PVP duel and put a password on the match to practice together.

The Basics Of Combat

Melee combos operate with a three hit combo system that you can perform based on a timed click game mechanic. As mentioned above, HOW you perform the combo varies depending on the weapon, but I will give you a basic overview about how it works in general.

You can attack in four directions — up, down, left and right. One thing I learned is that you don’t have to constantly move the mouse in the direction you want to attack. If you set your attack direction to the right, your attacks will stay there and you won’t have to readjust the mouse again to perform a second right swing. For practice, this will make comboing a bit easier if you pick a direction and just leave it there, that way you can focus purely on your timing.

When you hold down your attack button you will do a charge attack, for example, you do a right slash attack, you will see a charge bar show up on the right side of the screen and if you keep holding it your weapon will glow to unleash a powerful attack. In that same bar you will see three stars, refer to the above picture to see an example. Even if you don’t charge up your weapon, that same bar will still appear. More-or-less, that is your window of opportunity to perform your combo.

If you have ever played Rhythm dancing games then you’ll be familiar with this because Tiger Knight’s combo system works in a similar fashion. When you attack, that small bar will flash and quickly decrease over time. I think you get the idea at this point. You have to click your mouse before that bar disappears to perform the second attack in your combo. If you do it correctly, the second star will light up and your character will do a quick two hit combo attack. If you do it too fast or too slow you’ll just do a normal one hit swing.

For certain weapons the timing is different, so sometimes you have to attack as the animation finishes its swing or while it is in mid-swing, so this is why you have to practice to learn the specific timing for that specific weapon. The last hit in the combo is a bit more difficult because the window of opportunity is a lot faster so you will have less time to click your mouse.

I pretty much click the second and third attack in rapid succession for my spear and shield attacks, but after awhile you will master the timing for all the different weapons. If done correctly, you will chain your attacks into a series of deadly special combo moves that can wipe out several enemy units at once

Advanced techniques

At this point you will have learned that you can also block attacks in different directions, but sometimes your opponent will do the same thing and you won’t be able to get any attacks in. This is where advanced tactics come in and you can feint your attack, or chain combos for different attack directions.

To perform a feint attack it is similar to doing a normal combo, but you have to choose one direction to swing, then quickly switch to another direction. For example, start the attack low (so your opponent will block low), then quickly click to do an upward swing after that.

Starting combo low, then ending high.

The above mentioned tactic will cause your character to start the low poke animation, then quickly transfer into an UPWARD chop, catching your opponent off guard and getting a hit in. Chain this with your combo, and if you time it just right you can perform a feint-chain-three hit combo to quickly kill your opponent.

You can also link in multiple directions, so you can start the chain with right swing, right swing, up swing, and your character will perform two right slashes and then a swinging over head slashing chop.
Make it more complex and you can start with a feint left swing, then right swing and finish with an overhead chop. Mix it up, practice and come up with different combos. Your opponent will never know what hit ’em!

Cutting a arrow out the air as it splinters into pieces.

Last but not least, when you get REALLY good with melee combos, you can actually cut arrows out the air! Same thing, watch the arrow, see it soar through the air, and attack and watch as it shatters into pieces as it makes contact with your weapon. The timing is ridiculous, but it’s useful against an archer when you don’t have a shield.

Now go practice my young padawans!

Need help with archery? Horseback riding? Soldier tactics or gaining experience? Let me know down in the comments and I’ll write more guides for Tiger Knight: Empire War!