Training with Subzarr [Advanced Swordplay Guide]

  • Today the self proclaimed best swordsman of these high sea's Subzarr himself is going to be teaching you scallywags how to use the strongest weapon out there, that's right... the cutlass. you thought it was the blunderbuss didn't you?.

    Three Hit Combo
    https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/ThickFluffyGecko

    Lets get started, the triple hit combo, you all know of it. It does 20 damage each hit and will continue its combo up to 3 as long as you hit something, and that something could be anything, it doesn't have to be another player. Now i want to point out the time it takes to complete the three swing combo and the delay from not hitting anything is about the same. That alone should tell you just how bad not hitting anything is, it leaves you completely open for about 1 and a half seconds.

    How to counter it, if you know you're not going to hit your target then simply aim at the floor so you can continue your combo, you may even bait your opponent into coming closer thinking your about to be wide open.

    Blocking And Dodging
    https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/BrokenComplicatedBushsqueaker

    Blocking, pretty basic... your getting hit or about to get hit? block. What everyone might not know is that while blocking you can move in a direction and jump and you will do a dodge in that direction. Also if you block the last hit of a combo you'll actually push you're opponent back, this can be quite useful if your being pushed back against a wall and need some space.

    I don't see the dodge being used nearly enough as it should be, this is a fundamental to increasing your chances of winning fights. I use this every chance i get, i probably look like some crazy frog on the battlefield. Someone has a pistol aimed at you? use it. You need to create or close a gap between someone? use it. you wanna look like a frog? use it.

    Now i want to tell you about a technique i regulary use, remember the delay in not hitting anything? well that's what you want to bait people into, get close enough that they think they can land a hit then you then simply dodge out the way, if you're fast enough you can land a whole 3 hit combo before they can even do anything.

    Lunge Attack
    https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/DistantPalatableHomalocephale

    Now we're getting to the fun stuff. The lunge heavy attack. It does 50 damage each hit and cannot be blocked. Most people think that this is only useful for moving around and isn't useful in combat, they're wrong.

    Something to know about this attack is that if you miss you'll receive a penalty and you'll not able to move or look around for about 2 seconds. So make sure you land your hit!.

    One rather obvious tip i'll give you is to start the attack out of sight and bait people into chasing. But one perhaps less obvious one i'll give you is to hold block while doing this attack. You'll notice that doing this will allow you to keep your speed and move freely while winding up, you can use this to close the gap between people to insure you hit them. The lunge attack just got twice as strong didn't it?. but it doesn't stop there.

    Jump Lunge Attack
    https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/ElasticSecondaryCrocodile

    Now for the strongest attack in cutlass's arsenal. The jump lunge. When you see someone winding up to do a lunge i bet you don't expect them to all of a sudden fly towards you like they were just shot out of a cannon, but that's exactly what this does.

    It's pretty simple, wind up the lunge attack and just before it completes, jump. You can also use the previous tip of holding block to keep your speed. The attack has many uses, a finisher, a gap closer, if used correctly you can even use it to keep your distance from people and then slash right through them and still keep a gap.

    Sloop Ladder Trick
    https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/AdmirableGlassAmericanindianhorse

    Now this trick isn't exactly a sword exclusive but its definitely useful to know. One of the ladders on the sloop you can actually go through the window and climb it. You're probably thinking this is a extremely situational trick, but you'll be surprised how regularly you can take advantage of it. The idea is to make your opponent think you went to the lower deck while you climb up the ladder and appear behind them to catch them off guard.

    Now.. take these teachings and you too can become a frog jumping, window climbing, speed demon.

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  • @subzarr [mod edit] THERES A [mod edit] DODGE!?!?! (FACE PALM) i can't even explain how useful that would have been, like on soooo many occasions, not to mention that jump lunge thing...

  • Thank you, u are my new God now
    No seriously, i didnt knew half of these and its amazing what can be done with the sword. I really want to try that now...... Rare pls open servers again!

  • @subzarr A fine guide indeed!

  • Most people amazed by this "I didn't know LOOOOL" when they played, only shows that they weren't curious enough. I do not mean this as an insult people so chill :D

    Please note that I can mend and sail a galleon on me own given that I don't sail it in a storm or I don't fight another galleon. Sloops I guess it depends if they can aim YO HO!

    So I trained like 3/4 crews of 3 members each during this weekend's scale test. I would proceed as follows:

    • wait for all to be on board and observe.
    • experienced crews: we do the usual and everyone find their marks pretty quicly (one at the wheel, one or two at the sails, and the usual slacker).
      -Inexperienced crews: I'll let them play around the ship and eventually they will sink it without me having interfered (I did not sink it). I would only help if attacked by other pirates for I wanted them to experience the game for themselves.

    After the ship sank or help is asked, I'd get involved. Much like with the experienced crew, I'd just do everything in order spamming the chat wheel thus informing me crew of what I am doing.
    And only doing turned out to be very efficient. Bare in mind I wasn't using a microphone and used text chat as little as possible.

    So, I am just saluting a fellow capt'n looking to share his experiences and knowledge.

  • I challenge you sir, to a grand duel to decide who the real sword champion is! I have fought off many attackers on a bridge with my sword and claimed victory against them all, I have slaughtered entire ships with the sword, and I claim to be the first pirate to realize the block affected the lunge waaaay back in the day when the sword first came out(obviously meaningless and up for debate lol) the grand duel will take place whenever they allow us to crew and duel, or whenever I see ye on the seas! Lol

    Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, great sword fighting thread, you cover pretty much everything we know at this point!

    Good read for newer players especially.

    Edit: not unrealistic but not a huge fan of the sloop window ladder trick.

  • Why would you reveal the secrets of old..

  • I love you for the clear information and I hate you for making it public, now everyone will now some of my tricks :(

  • @dennis-box @jack-littleshoe @APOCACIDE @Ironuzuka
    Thanks for the kind words. I did try to get this guide out before the end of the stress test so people could actually put it to use but getting good clips and editing took longer than expected.

    @A-Cranky-Eskimo
    I accept your Challenge good sir, should we meet on the seas it shall be settled :P.

  • Thank you soooo much for this! I had been looking for a while for some swordplay tips as I am total rubbish at sword fightin'. SUPER appreciated!

  • @crude-jc-gamer @wTurok
    I considered not making this guide in order to have some sort of advantage on release, but in the end these are just tools, those who use them better will still come out on top.

  • Did you mention the damage of a sword lunge? I'm trying to get a certain damage number for all the weapons (damage per shot/pellet, etc.) by the time open beta comes around, to find the most efficient combo and how to use each weapon with each other.

  • @subzarr wow amazing dude u found all this by urself ? Seriously gonna help on next scale test ^^ was doing great without those tips gonna be awesome now i know them thx again !

  • @toxiom I'm not 100% sure but i believe its damage is 50. I wanted to have a damage indicator for it like i have in the first link but looking through all my recordings from the stress test i was never on the receiving end of it.

  • This is great thank you. I have taught quite a few people the charge movement and the dodging but the charge jump and combo breaking dodge hop are definitely new to me, as is that sloops window.

  • This was the only thing that was pretty awful for me.

  • Just wanted to tell you that I've coined the Sword Lunge Jump as "Leapy Jump" and it should be referred as such from now on.

    Other than that, great work @Subzarr. I hope to duel you sometime soon.

    You also forgot to mention that when your Sword Lunge hits a target, your recovery time is practically instant. So, you can move right after the animation is over rather than catch you breath.

  • absolutely great info, thank you for this matey

  • Good stuff. I knew all of this. There's one thing to add, and that's about holding block while slashing. Just like how it speeds you up while charge attacking, your movement is also much faster while slashing or comboing if you started from a blocking state. One tactic I have been using in sword duels is to kite the opponent backwards, doing single jabs by attacking only once. They tend to block this, expect 2 more hits, and when those don't come they slowly react by trying to counter-attack. In doing so, because they didn't attack immediately after you attacked, you now have an opening to do a quick slash set on them upon whiff.

    I'm curious if you have any advice on dealing with getting boxed into a corner, particularly when there are multiple attackers. You can block for days if there's 2-3 people just swinging at you while you're standing in a corner, but I don't think there's really any avenue for escape as you are just going to be stun-blocked the whole time. I guess it would make sense that even a master swordsman wouldn't be able to escape such a situation. Guess the best advice is to just not get boxed in to begin with.

  • Fantastic post and thank you for sharing. This is much deeper than I thought. My terror level has just increased.

  • @natsu-v2 Well the answer if this was real life would be try and funnel your opponents to turn the fight from a 1v3 to a bunch of separate 1v1's, but being honest you can't do much about it currently as people can just swing through their shipmates to hit you leaving you constantly on guard.

  • @subzarr Don't get me wrong, I've definitely won a few fights against 3 people with swords. But that's only when I have the space to backpedal and kite them with fading jabs (which have the hitbox of a flamethrower, might I add). It's just getting block-stunned that I always have an issue with. It also really bothers me when I block a combo but get flung off the side of the ship. I think the takeaway is that blocking with the sword is last resort, and you should think more about your positioning and avoiding attacks rather than attempting to block them.

    Another thing to add, (and I hope this gets patched by launch) is that your sword can cut through walls. I've killed many people on sloops who were above or below me. And you can also easily kill people who run into shops to hide on an outpost. I always smile when someone I'm chasing on an outpost runs in there and waits with the blunderbuss pointed at the door.

  • @ironuzuka Dude you sound like a massive pain to play with - condescending and obnoxious.

  • @routinespark296 Ahoy!
    Maybe me lad but ye cannot judge a book by its cover or the tales you heard about 'em!

    This was part of an experiment to see if a tutorial was really needed. Me action and intention be well hidden on these shores. Should ye find them let me know hear yer take on it.

  • Thanks for making this post and those videos @Subzarr

    I did figure most of this stuff out during the first Closed Beta, and shared what knew to any fellow crewmates I've encountered.
    I was getting sick of people saying the sword play was dull on the forums, and the over-use of the Blunderbuss in game because no one realized the potential of a Cutlass and went for the "OP" weapon.

    I always encourage sword play, and invite all pirates to engage in clashes of steel before opening fire.

    Cheers.

  • @subzarr ........ I didn't know basically all those lunge tricks so thank you!! I remember accidentally pulling off that jump lunge and just thought it was a bug LOL! Oh man how that would've help to know.

  • Really good guide, thank you.

  • it's great but it misses my favorite attack the bucket of puke mortal !

  • @xredx-harlow I HEAR YE LAD!!!! the feels ...

  • @subzarr this is an incredibly informative write up mate, thanks and congratulations! I've shared it through the Plundercast_SoT twitter, so hopefully it finds its way to as many Pirates as possible. Do you do twitter mate, I'd love to give you the appropriate credit?

  • Thanks for sharing. You're right about the sword dodge. In my experience, it's probably the most underutilized move in combat.

  • @logpowerslave Just checked out your twitter, good to see other aussies in the community. Your tweet links back to here so i pretty much get credited anyway so don't worry about it.

  • @subzarr dude! I had no idea you were an Aussie. You'll have to come on the podcast some time to talk about this. I mean, all are welcome on the cast, but you being Aussie makes it so easy!

    Drop me a line if you ever need anything mate!

  • @subzarr Though I can't help but have the sharp feeling of annoyance that the secrets of swordplay has finally been brought to the public eye, I can't help but rejoice with the knowledge that now there will hopefully be far more swordplay in the game now that there is something that eliminates the common assumption that the Blunderbuss is the close range king.

    BTW, can this PLEASE be stickied deckhands?

  • Gobsmacked ^^!

    Ok now that adds a whole new dimension to the game...
    Fighting skills could possibly have room for a lot more progression than I had anticipated or imagined.

    I dare say that most fps-like pvp games lack this highly technical/tactical dimension in found in games such as Quake 3 or Gunz for instance. Such play styles eventually prove to be far superior to basic ones... and incite hardcore gamers to forego human existence...

    These features could really open up the game if used right: one could suggest that this game should provide a solid pvp framework to keep the most hardcore people out there satisfied...

    One could think of proper duels of course, bounties as mentioned many times, and a pvp rank system. One will suggest a system that has non-permanent top tier ranks, say, something along the lines of the old wow vanilla wild pvp system. The thing is, games that have outstanding play styles do not necessarily require gear upgrades: they're about skill... So these special moves are really good news in my opinion.

    Additionally, add-ons and third party websites (they're bound to pop up anyway) could do some datamining as to provide stats so that the community could then take an even deeper interest in actual swordfights / free fights altogether, and true pirate legends could then emerge ;)

    Cheers,

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