What you have to do is have one of your 2 weapon slots filled with a melee weapon (batleth only atm), or no weapon at all.
You then swap to that weapon (default Z I think) and start pressing the 1,2 keys for combos or 3 for knockdowns.
Don't know if it's just me or a bug (probably bug) but when I try to do martial arts and swap to the empty weapon slot with Z my bridge officers put away their weapons as well and fight either melee or with abilities only, very annoying. However if I use a Bat'leth instead of martial arts they use their weapons normally. Also probably related, when I hover over a weapon to compare it to what I already have equiped I only see the stats for the Bat'leth and not the energy weapon. I've tried with different weapons, swapping which slot my melee/energy weapon is in, pressed Z to swap an still the same thing. Haven't bugged it yet but after reading this guide I'm thinking my weapons slots are bugged.
Great guide by the way and absolutely needs sticky.
Just another example of Cryptic's lack of understanding of thier player base. This one thing alone, had they explained it, would have cultivated players. I have a RA5 tac officer and had no idea this was part of the game. If you have actions like this built into the game, let the players know. They put tutorials in for all other aspects of the game. Why not this? I feel like I wasted 45 levels of ground play with Lunge, Leg Sweep, Punch. Why hide aspects of the game from your player base guys?
Just another example of Cryptic's lack of understanding of thier player base. This one thing alone, had they explained it, would have cultivated players. I have a RA5 tac officer and had no idea this was part of the game. If you have actions like this built into the game, let the players know. They put tutorials in for all other aspects of the game. Why not this? I feel like I wasted 45 levels of ground play with Lunge, Leg Sweep, Punch. Why hide aspects of the game from your player base guys?
I totally agree. I've subbed to this thread for a while but only just now found the time to read it (and the other thread), and I have a whole new eagerness to try out ground combat. This was a missed opportunity on Cryptics' part for sure. Hopefully they'll sticky this (hint, hint) to help make up for that.
Also, I hear tell that in PvP combat the "3" key AoE general melee attack no longer stuns (still knocks down though). I haven't verified this yet, does anyone have info about this? If it's true we just got a nice boost.
Did they remove melee vaporisations in season 1?
After they added some klingon explore missions finaly got to see my away team, but I never got any vaporisations from lunge like I had before.
Lunge was the only ground ability that vaporized and they have now corrected that so it does not vaporize anymore.
I understand it didn't make sense, but it was so darn cool, I wish they had left it in.
No other ground attack ever vaporized as far as I know.
This thread taught me so much, and a week ago I finally made a Melee Tactical officer just so I could put all this into practice. Have had a great time with it.
I did try the Bat'leth, but the animations seemed so SLOW compared to the quick and timely martial arts animations, that I ended up switching back. I know the Bat'leth does more damage, but I'm just a lot better at the unarmed fighting and I think the moves look more cool.
I have perfected the art of shooting with my double disruptor pistols while I close, then engaging in hand to hand. Love the martial arts.
Note to GMs and Devs reading this thread: more hand weapons, please! My Tac officer is an Andorian, and I want an Ushaan ice mining tool to fight with! I'm sure your Klingon players would like the triple-bladed knife as well.
This thread taught me so much, and a week ago I finally made a Melee Tactical officer just so I could put all this into practice. Have had a great time with it.
I did try the Bat'leth, but the animations seemed so SLOW compared to the quick and timely martial arts animations, that I ended up switching back. I know the Bat'leth does more damage, but I'm just a lot better at the unarmed fighting and I think the moves look more cool.
I agree, martial arts is faster to get off, and their combos get interrupted less. It just takes so darn long to actually kill anything :P still, when surrounded by enemies, spin kicks are pretty nice. It would be reasonable to use a Bat'leth in one weapon slot and unarmed in the other... and then switch as needed.
Note to GMs and Devs reading this thread: more hand weapons, please! My Tac officer is an Andorian, and I want an Ushaan ice mining tool to fight with! I'm sure your Klingon players would like the triple-bladed knife as well.
More melee weapons would be nice. At the very least Federation needs one. However, since it would also be nice to have its own set of moves, that's a bit more work than just coding a new melee weapon, so I can see why it might take a bit longer than we'd like. I would like a dev to comment on this sometime though, and please, sticky my guide :P
Using a bat'leth, it seems that when I alternate 1 and 2 repeatedly, I get the bat'leth to start twirling. What is this called, and is it any good? It doesn't seem to do a lot of damage, but does seem to keep the enemy off balance.
Using a bat'leth, it seems that when I alternate 1 and 2 repeatedly, I get the bat'leth to start twirling. What is this called, and is it any good? It doesn't seem to do a lot of damage, but does seem to keep the enemy off balance.
That is Bat'leth spin. It's the only melee attack that takes effect *immediately* and thus is not interruptible prior to starting - this is very handy for when you have a lot of foes and feel like you're going to get knocked down or stunned. If you manage to target 2 or 3 people with it it will do a pretty good amount of damage overall.
If you feel like you aren't going to get interrupted, using Bat'leth Rake is usually more effective for CC.
Check out the combo list in the original post for details... there's a lot more than just this going on.
I've tried to create a melee-only BO ground team with 3x Tac BO (using Leg Sweep I + Lunge I) and 1x Sci BO (using Mediacal Tricorder I + II),
a) each with a Bat'leth
b) each with no weapon
well, it did not work out that good, as of now (06.18.10) BOs do not seem to use any combos (or am I missing something?)
Unfortunately, BOs will not choose to melee on their own. They will only use a melee attack if an enemy specifically attacks them at melee range. They'll do this with or without a gun, so you might as well give them one.
I hope one day they'll fix the AI on this, since enemy NPCs seem to have no trouble making use of their melee attacks.
Is there some sort of trick to timing or speed of combo-entry? I hit 112, 121, 221, etc and end up just throwing a a couple of punches. I rarely actually get a combo out of them and I can't figure out why. I've varied how quickly I hit the buttons and all that jazz but still no joy. Thoughts?
Unfortunately, BOs will not choose to melee on their own. They will only use a melee attack if an enemy specifically attacks them at melee range. They'll do this with or without a gun, so you might as well give them one.
I hope one day they'll fix the AI on this, since enemy NPCs seem to have no trouble making use of their melee attacks.
Just to update and bump this thread...
My fed-klingon science officer is equipped with a batleff and engages properly on his own now. The batleff doesn't actually show on his animation until he is in a fight, but i can live with the sight of him carrying an invisible batleff so long as he uses it.:D
Hm. Do BOs melee properly? My tac Gorn just sorta stands there when I give him a Bat'leth, can they not use Bat'leths? Can Nausicans? Can Klingon bo's for that matter? It'd be a little disappointing if the BO melee AI still isn't any better than it was when the game opened :P
After starting a science alt and getting ripped up by PvE Klingon Swordmasters in the early going, I just got hold of a couple bat'leths and am seeing if my alt and her tac BOff will take lessons on its use.
Please sticky this! I used the original guide back in beta and am thankful it's still around now as I'm planning to make a melee-oriented Tac officer soon!
Sorry for double post (though to be fair the other one is 20 days old!) but I went through the combos for the
Tsunkatse Falchion and the Lirpa. I have edited this post to more closely resemble the format used in the original guide.
Tsunkatse Falchion:
This one-handed sword is fast and it seems tough to get interrupted. The downside to using it seems to be less chances to Expose as compared to the Bat'leth or Lirpa. Because the Button 2 attack does not have a chance to Expose, the sword Exposes less overall than the other weapons. However, damage is good and the animations are pretty cool.
1 - Slash - Basic damage, 10% chance to Expose.
2 - "Heavy" Slash - Slightly more damage. Does not Expose.
112 (222, 212) - Cleave (EXPLOIT) - Single target, knocks back, does a LOT of damage if it Exploits.
121 (122, 211) - Spinning Jump - Single target, Disables, 10% chance to Expose.
Lirpa:
Lirpa's damage, speed, and combos are the same as a Bat'leth, though the Vulcan weapon has some unique animations. Refer to the original post for appropriate combos.
Nice work, Merg! That pretty much confirms what I had figured out for the Tsunkatse. They also seem to be the same combos for the Nausicaan sword, but I haven't done quite as much playing with it yet.
Comments
Don't know if it's just me or a bug (probably bug) but when I try to do martial arts and swap to the empty weapon slot with Z my bridge officers put away their weapons as well and fight either melee or with abilities only, very annoying. However if I use a Bat'leth instead of martial arts they use their weapons normally. Also probably related, when I hover over a weapon to compare it to what I already have equiped I only see the stats for the Bat'leth and not the energy weapon. I've tried with different weapons, swapping which slot my melee/energy weapon is in, pressed Z to swap an still the same thing. Haven't bugged it yet but after reading this guide I'm thinking my weapons slots are bugged.
Great guide by the way and absolutely needs sticky.
I totally agree. I've subbed to this thread for a while but only just now found the time to read it (and the other thread), and I have a whole new eagerness to try out ground combat. This was a missed opportunity on Cryptics' part for sure. Hopefully they'll sticky this (hint, hint) to help make up for that.
Z
Also, I hear tell that in PvP combat the "3" key AoE general melee attack no longer stuns (still knocks down though). I haven't verified this yet, does anyone have info about this? If it's true we just got a nice boost.
Lunge was the only ground ability that vaporized and they have now corrected that so it does not vaporize anymore.
I understand it didn't make sense, but it was so darn cool, I wish they had left it in.
No other ground attack ever vaporized as far as I know.
Nothing made you feel more dangerous than turning someone into dust with a punch.
I did try the Bat'leth, but the animations seemed so SLOW compared to the quick and timely martial arts animations, that I ended up switching back. I know the Bat'leth does more damage, but I'm just a lot better at the unarmed fighting and I think the moves look more cool.
I have perfected the art of shooting with my double disruptor pistols while I close, then engaging in hand to hand. Love the martial arts.
Note to GMs and Devs reading this thread: more hand weapons, please! My Tac officer is an Andorian, and I want an Ushaan ice mining tool to fight with! I'm sure your Klingon players would like the triple-bladed knife as well.
I agree, martial arts is faster to get off, and their combos get interrupted less. It just takes so darn long to actually kill anything :P still, when surrounded by enemies, spin kicks are pretty nice. It would be reasonable to use a Bat'leth in one weapon slot and unarmed in the other... and then switch as needed.
More melee weapons would be nice. At the very least Federation needs one. However, since it would also be nice to have its own set of moves, that's a bit more work than just coding a new melee weapon, so I can see why it might take a bit longer than we'd like. I would like a dev to comment on this sometime though, and please, sticky my guide :P
No sticky yet - if you want it, say so (and maybe PM your favorite mod?)
That is Bat'leth spin. It's the only melee attack that takes effect *immediately* and thus is not interruptible prior to starting - this is very handy for when you have a lot of foes and feel like you're going to get knocked down or stunned. If you manage to target 2 or 3 people with it it will do a pretty good amount of damage overall.
If you feel like you aren't going to get interrupted, using Bat'leth Rake is usually more effective for CC.
Check out the combo list in the original post for details... there's a lot more than just this going on.
And bump.
Z
I've added this and my new firearm guide to my .sig to increase awareness. Feel free to do the same
I've tried to create a melee-only BO ground team with 3x Tac BO (using Leg Sweep I + Lunge I) and 1x Sci BO (using Mediacal Tricorder I + II),
a) each with a Bat'leth
b) each with no weapon
well, it did not work out that good, as of now (06.18.10) BOs do not seem to use any combos (or am I missing something?)
Unfortunately, BOs will not choose to melee on their own. They will only use a melee attack if an enemy specifically attacks them at melee range. They'll do this with or without a gun, so you might as well give them one.
I hope one day they'll fix the AI on this, since enemy NPCs seem to have no trouble making use of their melee attacks.
Bump!
Just to update and bump this thread...
My fed-klingon science officer is equipped with a batleff and engages properly on his own now. The batleff doesn't actually show on his animation until he is in a fight, but i can live with the sight of him carrying an invisible batleff so long as he uses it.:D
... and please sticky this.
After starting a science alt and getting ripped up by PvE Klingon Swordmasters in the early going, I just got hold of a couple bat'leths and am seeing if my alt and her tac BOff will take lessons on its use.
Tsunkatse Falchion and the Lirpa. I have edited this post to more closely resemble the format used in the original guide.
Tsunkatse Falchion:
This one-handed sword is fast and it seems tough to get interrupted. The downside to using it seems to be less chances to Expose as compared to the Bat'leth or Lirpa. Because the Button 2 attack does not have a chance to Expose, the sword Exposes less overall than the other weapons. However, damage is good and the animations are pretty cool.
1 - Slash - Basic damage, 10% chance to Expose.
2 - "Heavy" Slash - Slightly more damage. Does not Expose.
12 - Spin - AoE damage, knocks back, 10% chance to Expose.
21 - Backslash - Cone damage, DoT, 10% chance to Expose.
111 (221) - Double Strike (EXPLOIT) - Cone damage, knocks back, Exploits.
112 (222, 212) - Cleave (EXPLOIT) - Single target, knocks back, does a LOT of damage if it Exploits.
121 (122, 211) - Spinning Jump - Single target, Disables, 10% chance to Expose.
Lirpa:
Lirpa's damage, speed, and combos are the same as a Bat'leth, though the Vulcan weapon has some unique animations. Refer to the original post for appropriate combos.