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Combat in Windrose is not for the faint of heart, especially on higher difficulties, with the combat not entirely dissimilar to soulslike games. Don't let that put you off though, as there are many ways in this game you can gain the upper hand and increase your power level.
In this guide we'll run through the various combat mechanics you will need to learn in order to become the most fearsome pirate in the High Seas... or at least so you are able to get past the boars on the first island (seriously what's up with those Charging Boars!).
Windrose Combat: Mastering The Basics
1. Dodging and Blocking
The most basic combat mechanics in Windrose are the two simplest defensive tools you have at your disposal: blocking and dodging.
You can block attacks (RMB) with any melee weapon, but every successful block will chip away at your 'Posture' which is represented by shields in the middle of the screen. Once your Posture is broken, you will become temporarily staggered and unable to take any actions.
You can dodge attacks (CTRL) to evade enemy strikes, but this does consume Stamina so you need to be careful there as running out of Stamina will prevent you from attacking, dodging or sprinting. In general, especially as you get further into the game, you will combine both blocking and dodging but most of the time you will also want to be making use of Perfect Blocks.
2. Perfect Blocking
Perfect Blocking is essentially the parry system in Windrose. If you block at the right time, when your enemy's attack animation has begun but not yet reached you, you will Perfect Block the attack, causing it to deal no damage and consume none of your Posture. Importantly it will also reduce your enemy's Posture.
Note: Enemy posture works just like yours. Reduce their Posture (shields) through attacks and Perfect Blocks to stagger them, rendering them temporarily defenceless.
3. Posture Points & How Posture Works in Windrose
Understanding and managing Posture is critical to combat in Windrose. The amount of 'Posture damage' that you do will depend on the weapon you are using with heavy weapons like Halberds dealing huge Posture damage, whereas Rapiers deal much less.
If you come across the term 'Posture Points', such as on the Knight's Ring, then you might be wondering what that means. A Posture Point is one additional 'shield' that must be broken before you become staggered, so essentially it just increases your total Posture.
Tip: Some enemies will have 'weak spots' such as Plague Crushers, which will deal huge Posture damage to them when struck.
4. Unblockable Attacks (Red Glint Attacks)
Some tough enemies (Savage Boars, Plague Crocodiles) and all bosses will also have access to 'unblockable attacks' which, as the name suggests, cannot be blocked or Perfect Blocked. Instead the only way to deal with this attacks will be to dodge them. you can see what one of these attacks looks like in the image below.
5. Making Use Of Ranged Attacks (Passive Reload)
In Windrose, ranged weapons passively reload (albeit fairly slowly) when they are not in use. This allows you to weave between melee and ranged attacks without having to wait for your character to reload a pistol, musket or blunderbuss.
When you are running a one-handed build with a pistol also equipped, you'll be able to see the progress of the passive reload as a small white dot on your screen. If you don't have a ranged weapon equipped then you won't see it and this process will just take place in the background.
6. Stamina Management
Managing your Stamina is one of the most important aspects of combat in Windrose. If you run out of Stamina you won't be able to take any actions and will be left vulnerable, however you regenerate Stamina very quickly, especially when you have the Rested buff active.
You should always ensure you have the Rested buff active when you are outside your base, regardless of what you are doing. If you are running a Stamina-heavy build then consider the Marathon Runner Talent and Endurance food like Coffee.
Tip: Ranged weapons do not consume any Stamina when fired, allowing you to almost completely forgo Endurance for ranged builds.
7. Learn Enemy Combat Patterns
Last but perhaps the most important of all, is to learn the combat patterns of the enemies you are fighting. Once you do so, you'll find that the combat becomes much, much easier to deal with.
For example, Plague Crocodiles deal huge damage and have massive health pools, but they have a limited move set and their attacks are predictable. When they perform their lunging bite attack, be prepared to Perfect Block twice and then look out for the red glint as they are about to use Tail Sweep.
Once you can predict the attack patterns of your enemies, you'll find that you can take down even the toughest foes without losing any health at all.
Hopefully some of these tips helped! Consider checking out our best builds guide if you aren't sure what set-up to run.
