The core gameplay loop of Half Sword revolves around the art of dodges and stabs, and mastering the two techniques can be pretty tricky.
Executing the moves isn’t the difficult thing. There are dedicated controls for performing the stab and dodge. However, mastering the moves is what will help you win more rounds against harder opponents.
How to stab in Half Sword
Here are the key controls related to the stab.
- Use your mouse to aim the weapon tip towards the target.
- Press Alt to enter the correct stance.
- Pull the mouse back, as this creates range. Having range is necessary for your stab to have force.
- Move the mouse forward to land the stab. This movement should be as clean as possible.
For stabs, there are two primary ways to get the job done. You can either go for longer thrusts, but they’re far less effective. Instead, you should aim for quicker and shorter jabs. While they do less damage per hit, your chances of landing the strikes go up.
There are some key things to remember as well.
- Your mouse movement should be swift and clean. If the motion is too small, your stabs won’t cause any damage.
- Taking the half sword grip is significantly better.
- Don’t rush landing a stab. You’ll want to wait for the correct opportunity to appear.
With practice, you’ll soon become perfect with your stabs.
How to dodge in Half Sword
Unlike stabs, dodges are based on animation. You have to press and hold the Shift button to make your character move forcibly towards a chosen direction. This is effectively how dodge works in Half Sword. By shifting your body parts towards a side, you aim for the incoming attack to miss.
There is no instant dodge button in Half Sword. You have to combine the Shift and direction buttons to perform a dodge. While dodges are effective, you don’t want to spam them. Focus on the incoming attack, and try to predict the opponent’s move. Doing so will allow you to skip past their attack (if you manage to time your dodge in the correct direction).
