I'd like to begin this introduction by stating that you don't have to read this introduction. In fact, no section is mandatory. Scroll through and gather snippets of ideas that interest you! The guide has specific teachings in it; however, I do recognize it will attract only a few. I hope you will find some of the presented concepts useful and apply them for greater joy!

Although the guide contains advice for developing tactical superiority over an opponent, its main aim is to inspire a mindset of having fun, learning, and self-development.

If you wish to skip straight to the practical stuff, please jump to "Weapons: Stats and Applications." Chapters before that are dedicated to the discussion of frustration and stress experienced while dueling. The main idea behind this discussion is that victory in dueling is a little bit more complex than a mere proof of skill superiority. Do you really win if you don't have fun? And if you believe the fun part is important, how exactly do you go about it? You can't derive an easy-to-follow pattern for "having fun." The manuscript approaches the problem from a different angle and asks: "What makes us frustrated in dueling?" and offers ways to regulate this frustration mechanism to achieve desired results.

This discussion is the heart of the manuscript. The heart is dedicated to the frustrated.

Since the concepts of the guide were developed under one-vs-one ranked duel conditions, the target audience of this guide is mainly duelists.

However, if you seek inspiration for massive battlefields, you may be interested in sections under "The Practicalities." Although the techniques in these sections are mainly intended for "one vs. one" scenarios, they might be useful to keep in mind in large-scale warfare. Battletest it if in doubt!

Beginners who have learned the basics and crave more may find the guide's technical advice to be somewhat of a continuation of the fundamentals.

Another group this guide would like to attract has no concise name. The group can be described as: "players who are lost and disappointed in Mordhau." People, who hit "a progress wall" and don't know where to grow. The ones who see Mordhau gameplay only as a mind-numbing "drag-block-feint" loop, where the one with the sharpest reaction and the most time invested always wins. For these people, this guide strives to give the game a second breath by revealing some of its complexities. However, in doing so, it will not provide "the ultimate techniques and holy knowledge," but rather a platform that can be used for further development. Following the aforementioned analogy, help to break the progress wall and walk behind it in any direction one desires.

Whether you fall into some of the aforementioned groups or not, if this guide is of use to you, reader, then writing every single line of it was worth it.

If victories are overshadowed by stress and defeats make you red from anger, heartwarmingly welcome to read! This chapter will attempt to soothe negative feelings by outlining the source of frustration in a competitive multiplayer game and advice on how to overcome it. Of course, if the answer was as simple as: 'defeat opponents, get more points', there wouldn't be so much text underneath.

By definition, games are designed to provide fun and gratification. Yet, in an online game, one may frequently find oneself dissatisfied and frustrated. Why? In answering this question, I will use some help from YouTube content creator 'My name is Dan' (channel).

In one of his videos (link), Dan expressed his frustration with online multiplayer games.

He pointed out that challenges in competitive multiplayer games, unlike those in single players, are not predetermined and are largely random. The human factor makes every contest unique, thus chances of success are unpredictable. There is no gradual increase in difficulty nor clear patterns to master, which makes the learning curve of competitive multiplayers very steep. Thank you for the inspection, Dan!

Learning multiplayer games is hard and requires considerable amounts of dedication and time, however, that's not the sole reason for the frustration. At first, climbing the steep learning curve may not be as discouraging: everything is new, progress is certain, and there is a general idea where to grow. The orthodox believe is that the more you play, the better you become, and the more you win over other people. It feels good to out better someone and see yourself at the top of a leaderboard. Nevertheless, the curve gets increasingly steeper. It is not as prominent in massive multiplayer battlegrounds, but it is as clear as day in matchmaking systems.

Matchmaking aims to resolve the issue of random difficulty and it succeeds to some extent. Since it's not very likely to match perfectly equal players each time, matchmaking instead limits the possible pool of opponents to a specific range. With rank progression, boundaries of this range shift. Progressively, competition becomes tenser and tenser, and so does the mood. Victories become infrequent. Learning is reduced and replaced by mind-numbing practice. Matches become stressful and not fun. YouTube content creator 'ANDROMADA' (channel) managed to capture this progression superbly.

In his video (link), Andromada shared his experience of being deeply emotionally invested in a competitive multiplayer game.

Being himself very competitive by nature, Andromada wanted nothing less but to be the best. He practiced numerous hours, eventually rising to the top of leaderboards. He felt ecstatic from winning, opening high-level skins, and hearing sounds of successful hits. He felt like he was masterful at the game. But, with the rising rank, the strength of his opponents grew. At one point, Andromada started to face mostly equally skilled opponents, abilities of which were way above previous encounters. He still managed reasonably well. However, as he played, opponents got only tougher and tougher, and Andromada's leaderboard place went lower and lower. This caused a lot of very negative emotions. It made Andromada doubt his abilities as a player. It made him unreasonably angry. When finally reaching the bottom of a scoreboard, Andromada asked himself: 'Am I still having fun?' Simple question on the surface, yet it brought profound positive changes. Thank you for sharing your experience, Andromada!

Before I continue with the discussion, I would strongly recommend checking Andromada's and Dan's videos. Short summaries of their experiences presented here miss a lot of depth and charm. Their work helped me to shape my opinion from 'I feel it is right' to 'I know why I feel it is right'. I believe their videos to be of great importance for people who seek to understand the frustration of multiplayer experiences. Understanding allows for a meaningful change.

Let's continue with the discussion to understand why steep learning curve and tough competition cause so much irritation.

I would like to share an amusing observation: from a competitive standpoint, there is practically no difference between the moment players begin to play a multiplayer matchmaking game and the moment 'game starts to be more infuriating than fun'. I will draw parallels to showcase the similarity.

When a player just begins to play, potential opponents tend to have an advantage. They had likely invested more time, thus probably are more familiar with the game's mechanics. With skills and knowledge about the game, opponents may heavily skew the probability of success towards themselves. It's reasonable for the player to expect to lose more than win at this point.

Now, exchange 'begins to play' with 'enters a high matchmaking league", or any point where competition begins to seriously overwhelm, and it will most likely sound just as accurate. Yet, there is a clear difference in mindsets between the two. Somehow, the focus shifts from lighthearted fun to the traditional victory values.

Traditionally, victory is defined as "an act of defeating an enemy or opponent in a battle, game, or other competition. Victory is typically considered to be a positive outcome since it usually indicates the achievement of desired results and avoidance of negative ones. The higher the stakes, the more desirable victory is: nobody wants to settle with a defeat in a multimillion poker tournament or in case of war. However, being desperate for a victory while playing board games at home is considered to be out of place. There seems to be a certain contest between 'having carefree fun' and 'taking things very serious', which is related to stakes of potential victory or defeat. Following this logic, why victory in competitive multiplayer games is treated as very serious by some?

Science provides an answer supplied by evidence. Throughout evolution, our brain has developed a specific response to human vs. human social rank competition. This response consists of releasing hormones “testosterone” and “cortisol”. In crude terms, testosterone (T) is responsible for the competitive assertiveness to achieve and maintain a higher social status, whereas cortisol (C) is responsible for the feeling of stress (among other things). Winners of a competition enjoy a rise in T-level, while on the contrary losers suffer a fall in T-level. This phenomenon is hypothesized to be used to encourage further successful competition in winners and discourage further potentially harmful competition in losers. This creates a loop, where hormones regulate competitive assertiveness and competition outcomes regulate hormones. The loop may explain streaks of “victories” and “defeats”. C-level is not affected by the status of victory or defeat, but rather by how much one has contributed to winning or otherwise stressed about it.

However, as with anything, there are exceptions. For instance, for the change in T-levels to take place, competition has to be taken seriously. There is typically little to no change before, while, and after a contest between friends, family, game NPCs, etc. Another exception comes to the light when victory is not supported by a positive mood change, for instance, if one evaluates a win as undeserved. On the contrary, if one evaluates own performance highly, it significantly increases T-level rise. This peculiarity had inspired an interesting hypothesis: mood is responsible for T-level changes.

Now, this is interesting and all, but how does it relate to Mordhau? Here's the answer: from a hormonal point of view, our brain treats games very similar, if not the same, as a social rank competition. This includes competitive multiplayer video games.

This indicates that while we participate in matchmaking games our brain assumes we engage in a social rank competition. In a sense, our brain does not distinguish between a real-life social rank and a virtual one while we compete. Considering humans are hypersocial beings, social ranks are of utmost importance for us. Social rank, or social status, is associated with one's value in society. Higher status, compared to a lower one, provides access to more resources, leadership positions, and other forms of power. Thus, it is evolutionary more desirable to have a relatively high status.

It's assumed by some researchers, that this phenomenon is one of the main appeals of competitive multiplayer games, especially of ones with ranked matchmaking.

Regardless of this assumption being completely correct or not, some developers certainly implement the social rank theory in their games to manipulate player engagement. Mordhau ranked dueling is a prime example. It's designed to evoke the social rank competition response in our psyche. Every round is a literal contest for a rank. Depending on the outcome, players either lose or gain rank points. There is even a global leaderboard that keeps track of the top 100 players, as to keep one informed what amount of points is needed to be considered a high-status player. As well as 'The Best Mordhau Dueler'. Who doesn't want to be in a hall of fame? Especially in the most important place. Our brain assumes that's where we get access to power and resources.

With the knowledge about the social rank competition response, we may understand why steep learning curve and tough opponents cause so much irritation.

There is an instinctive response to competition in our brain which compels us to take matchmaking games seriously. Thus, we treat the stakes of an in-game victory as 'high'. This in return prioritizes winning before having fun/relaxation/etc. Progressively tougher competition and steeper learning curves make winning harder and harder, which consequently decreases positive responses from our social rank competition instinct and increases negative ones. A vicious cycle is established where one gets better at the game, but the game gets harder.Thus, we get progressively more and more frustrated.

When frustration hits the highest point, we may ask ourselves the question 'Am I still having fun?' That's the point of inevitable positive change. Generally, there are three ways things can progress:

1) You accept frustration as a fundamental part of the game and continue to climb the learning curve indefinitely. Improving gaming performance becomes a priority. Perhaps, the competitive thrill is what you seek and frustration is something that spices things up and motivates you to improve. Since multiplayer games don't really have a defined end, a vicious cycle will last until you arrive at option number 2.

2) You quit the game and pursue something else. Not much can be added.

3) You learn to derive value from something else but rank progression. Put simply, you focus on other things within the game and have fun with them.

This manuscript is devoted to option number 3. However, it does not mean ideas here won't help players who chose option number 1.

With the source of frustration outlined, it's time to learn how to manipulate it.

Youtube Content Creators:

Andromada:
Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfgEK8a0OjRWwnQUrDeeWvQ
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG-NqiOyo2g

My Name is Dan:
Channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/DarthCalinovsci/featured
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB57_oQnjWA&t=13s

This chapter will discuss possible ways to manipulate our social rank competition response instinct in video games. To clarify, 'manipulate' does not equate to 'suppress'. Attempts to suppress an instinct will most likely do more harm than good. As such, the manuscript will offer advice within instinct's inescapable confinements.

In one of the above sections, it's outlined how the response works: we engage in a competition, our body releases hormones testosterone and cortisol, the outcome of competition changes levels of these hormones and affects our mood. There are three main factors we may use to manipulate the response:

1. For a testosterone level change to take place, competition has to be treated seriously.

2. Emotional response or lack of thereof greatly affects testosterone change.

3. Cortisol levels remain the same despite the result of a competition.

Let's go through each factor step-by-step.

The weight of competition is usually defined by its potential outcomes. Let's assess how much sense does it make to treat a virtual competition serious by discussing the degree of control we possess over its outcomes and examining their contribution towards achieving desirable results.

It's natural to assume that the only thing which can be used to directly influence the competition response is the outcome of a competition. On the surface it seems reasonable: we do not have precise control over our hormonal levels nor emotions. The outcome of a competition, however, is the result of our actions and inactions, which we are free to choose. Nevertheless, an interesting equivalence arises: an outcome for our opponent is also the result of his own actions and in-actions. This fact can be used to challenge the notion of a competition outcome being entirely under our control.

I'd like to purpose the idea that a control degree we possess over a virtual competition outcome varies from opponent to opponent, which makes it somewhat random. Although it's up to us to decide our actions, it's not up to us to decide how effective they are against an opponent. If anyone, it's is our opponent who makes these judgments. Judgments based not on logic and rationality, but rather own mastery and ability to use it against us.

If you were to punch the air, how effective would your moves be? The answer is: not at all. Doesn't matter how masterful or cool, every move would bring the equal result of 'nothing'. The effectiveness of a move is judged against an opponent. We don't just decide: 'Okay, this hit will be successful, this hit will not...' We want every hit to be 'a success'. It's our opponent who doesn't and tries his best to make each of our hits 'a fail'. If we were to face a hypothetical opponent who has perfect defense and can counter every our move, there would be no successful, effective hits despite us wishing otherwise. On the other hand, we can decide to make each opponent's hits reach its goal by simply letting the opponent hit us without any counter measurements. We hold the power to give our opponent a certain victory. An opponent has this power too. So, if someone can decide to give us a certain victory, it's not us: it's our opponent.

This argument may seem to go against the orthodox belief of skill being the deciding factor of a competition outcome. This, however, is not the case. A more skilled player is most likely to win over a less skilled one. There is no denying that skill has great leverage of power. This section does not attempt to devaluate skill from its decisive importance. This section is here to state that we have limited control over a result of the competition despite our skill. We can not decide how skillful our opponent is and we can not decide how good we are against the said opponent. All we are able is to do our best to create the most favorable probability of success. In this sense, an opponent acts like a random value generator, albeit with a range limited by our capabilities. Being relatively more skillful does produce favorable probabilities over an opponent, but never a certain victory. Even if the margin of failure or success is minuscule, there is always a chance, never a certainty. Everyone is prone to make mistakes. This becomes more apparent when there is no clear skill dominance between players. In this case, skill certainly is not the main decisive factor. What is, then?

Well, luck. 'Luck' as not some magical roll of dice by destiny, but rather a multitude of all kinds of variables we have little to no control over. The most obvious of these variables would be reaction time and internet stability. The list can go on from reasonable to ludicrous: from 'having a trained eye from playing sports' to 'losing focus because of a mosquito bite'. There are countless variables that cannot be influenced, cannot be accounted for, which are chaotic, and yet they, to some degree or the other, contribute to 'who wins who'. The matchmaking process by itself bears an element of luck!

There are so many random chances involved, an outcome of a round might as well have been a gamble if it weren't for our limited ability to influence it. Perhaps in a single round against a relatively weaker opponent, there are good odds of winning. But chances are drastically reduced when looking at matchmaking as a sequence of rounds, each having a chance of putting you against a stronger or 'luckier' opponent. In matchmaking systems where you can go down the rank, rank progression is never certain. In the long run, it's always negative. Observe Mordhau top 100 duelers. The list changes daily and even the best of the best eventually give their place to someone else.

To conclude, we have very little control not only over the rank progression but the success of each of our moves. There is no definite control and all we can do is temporarily increase chances of success little by little through playing more and more. Although, the learning curve and matchmaking, as was discussed previously, will eventually turn skill imbalance against you and work has to be started all over again.

Psychological freedom from the obsessive attachment of success and failure to matchmaking's outcomes is important for taking things less seriously. But, it's certainly not enough by itself. Saying something outside of our control does not mean achieving that something cannot be important to us. Otherwise, gambling in casinos wouldn't be a thing. The long-reaching influence of the social rank competition response spreads to victories and defeats which are not results of one's performance, but sheer randomness. For this reason, it's essential to question how important it is to win in a competitive multiplayer game by assessing to what degree virtual victories bring us desired results.

In their essence, video games are simulations of experiences. As such, results and consequences of in-game experiences stay within its game: nobody will get arrested for a crime committed in a video game nor praised for saving a world. But associated emotions are kept in real-life. Thus, unless you treat a virtual life as more important than the physical one, emotions are much more valuable than the results of a video game. This showcases, that feeling good in real life is more important than a victory in a video game.

Nevertheless, the social rank competition response loop suggests, that to feel good, one first has to win. This makes virtual victory to precede feeling good. However, exceptions of the response suggest that things are more complex than that.

Testosterone levels tend not to be affected when a competition was not treated seriously or its outcomes were not supported by an emotional response. Through elaborating these observations, it appears that testosterone is affected not specifically by factual results of a competition, but by the perception thereof. Intuitively, that makes sense: there is not any celebration from killing an AFK player or much sorrow from losing because the electricity went out. That allows to argue, that instead of the response working like this:

Competition outcome -> emotional response

It may function like this:

Competition outcome -> perception of the outcome -> emotional response -> hormonal regulation.

This revelation conceivably illuminates the link in the chain which is under our full control: our own perception. The perception of events and experiences can be consciously shaped by us. Since experiences and results in video games are virtual simulations that do not affect physical life directly, the perception of in-game events is limited only by our values. In the case of matchmaking, presuppositions about victory.

And that's where an inadequacy seems to emerge: real-life victory concept values winning beyond emotions. It makes sense in the physical world, but, as was discussed before, such a mindset is ineffective in a virtual one.

Victories in real-life are used to secure our physical existence, whereas having fun in a video game motivates us for our virtual being. This equivalence suggests that having fun in a game is conceptually much closer to real-life victory than a virtual simulation of a victory. This calls for the conceptualization of a unique notion of virtual victory, which can be efficiently applied in competitive video games.

To summarize, we have little control over virtual competition outcomes. However, these outcomes have little control over us, unless dictated otherwise by our perception. By modifying our perception, we can achieve the desired results, which are, according to the purpose of video games to provide fun and gratification, be entertained, have fun, and experience positive emotions. With this mindset, a game doesn't tell you if you won or lost. It is you who answers the question: 'Am I still having fun?' Well, if the answer is 'yes', then no rank nor scoreboard can tell you otherwise.

'Just relax and have fun', although not entirely wrong, is a piece of somewhat vague advice. There is no instruction for having fun and experiencing positive emotions. Everyone is free to come up with their own ideas. However, there is a certain concept this manuscript will offer to give a push in the right direction.

Cortisol is the hormone that is responsible for the feeling of stress, among other functions. Stress typically has a negative connotation. Nevertheless, its benefits are widely recognized. Although stress is a type of psychological pain, it plays a role in our motivation, adaptation, and reaction to the environment. Naturally, maximizing positives and minimizing negatives is most desirable. This section will discuss possible ways to manipulate cortisol, thus will talk about how to turn stress to one's advantage.

Relaxation is one of the most established ways of coping with stress. Although, that's not the main recommendation of the manuscript, it's nevertheless a completely viable option. If Mordhau causes negative feelings such as anger, annoyance, and irritation, the game can be a perfect virtual playground where one can learn to deal with these emotions. One may establish maintaining the state of relaxation to be the main goal; the main condition of victory. It helps to develop strategies to deal with negative emotions; strategies that can be consequently used in real life.

Another option is the opposite of relaxation: overstressing. The idea behind overstressing is to improve performance and motivation through consciously increasing cortisol levels; 'stressing oneself out'. The major flow of such an option is that the negative part of stress, emotional pain, increases as well. Overstressing may be, albeit inadvisably, used to finish urgent work in a short span of time. However, anyone who used such a strategy to prepare for an exam/finish an assignment/complete a task right before the deadline is well familiar with the catastrophic exhaustion and dejection this option leads to. But things can get even worse if the task at hand does not progress despite the best efforts and motivation. In such cases, the negative side of stress absorbs the positive one, jeopardizing the task and causing immense psychological pain. This option is absolutely not recommended to anyone.

Both options are aimed at setting certain levels of arousal. These levels are polar opposites on the performance/arousal curve (refer to diagram below). And both options are far from the optimal point, the peak of the curve.

Stress by itself is a neutral response. It is the perception that gives it an emotional color. Perception is shaped by the judgment about the importance of the challenge and the capabilities of successfully facing it. This translates into an arousal response. Too little arousal can mean either boredom or relaxation. Too much arousal is known as distress. Distress is the negative manifestations of stress: psychological pain, anxiety, and sorrow. The optimal amount of arousal is known as eustress. Eustress is the positive manifestations of stress: motivation, fulfillment, joy, and optimal performance.

Eustress is characterized by engaging in an activity which is challenging, yet it can be overcome through a slight boundary push of own capabilities. The epitome of eustress, the highest point on the curve, is the state of flow.

Flow is described as the moments when one is completely absorbed into an enjoyable activity with no awareness of the surroundings. It is characterized by being an extremely productive state in which one experiences full absorption, enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation. Some describe the state of flow as "the single most joyous, happiest, most blissful moment of your life."

To summarize, cortisol is a stress hormone. It is not affected by the outcomes of competition and is everpresent even if the competition itself is not taken seriously. However, cortisol can be used to reach the most optimal performance along with a positive response; reach the state of flow.

This manuscript is purposed to motivate whoever is interested to get away from the influence of the social rank competition response and seek the state of flow instead. It's not a strict step-by-step instruction. It is a compilation of information that will hopefully inspire ideas for a positive change.

This part of the manuscript is devoted to the mindset. The next part is devoted to the set of techniques and principles, which will help to seek the flow. These techniques and principles are designed to evoke an internal change. To spark new ideas, feelings, mindsets. However, the successful application may lead to numerous tactical advantages. Be careful not to fall back under the influence of the competitive response.

The main utility of techniques and principles presented here:

1. Give a specific set of techniques to increase familiarity with the game and decrease its complexity to create the most optimal level of engagement.

2. Evoke intense and focused concentration on the game.

2. Merge action and awareness; inspire a playstyle based on observation and counteractions rather than reflexes and aggression.

3. Give a sense of personal control over the game; put attention into the flow of the game, rather than being overstimulated by superfluous things.

4. Experience intrinsically rewarding and meaningful engagement; make playing the game to have a meaning.

I'd like to clarify point 4. Learning to achieve the state of flow in the game is not a 'game exclusive skill'. It can be applied in real life. One may use the principles devised in Mordhau in real-life application to increase general well-being! In this regard, Mordhau becomes not just a way to spend some free time, but also an opportunity to learn.

And with that, I would like to conclude by stating the point of the presented mindset: The point is to inspire fun, engaging, meaningful play. The mindset works as long as there three factors hold true. Feel free to modify anything, as long as it makes the game more enjoyable for you!

Hell, even if after reading all this you think: 'This guy is a complete idiot! What he wrote is a total waste of time. But, at least it made me think of this one little idea I can try...", for all intents and purposes, I am happy to have written every character of this manuscript.

Thank you. And have fun!

Mordhau is a complex system. Operating blindly in this system can be overwhelming. Some comfort can be found gaining experience through trial-and-error, but it doesn't take long for the complexity to catch up again. To combat the issue, this guide will offer a single coherent framework to interpret Mordhau's complexity mindfully. The framework aims to provide a systematic approach to reducing Mordhau's untamed complexity to a practical collection of simplicities.

The framework consists of a set of assumptions. These assumptions are not dogmatic rules, allowing for the flexibility to shape them at own accord and purposes.

The assumptions are as follows:

1. Mordhau has clear boundries and variables it operates within. This fundamental assumption establishes Mordhau to be a system with defined variables.

2. Every interaction with Mordhau changes its variables.

3. Competition in Mordhau should be regarded as 'an interaction', not 'a fight'. There are numerous reasons for that. First, to help neutralize the social rank competition response discussed in chapters 1 and 2. Second, to put attention to how our actions affect Mordhau's variables, instead of focusing on superfelous things. For instance, when one 'fights', attention is put to: "Did I hurt my opponent? How close am I to victory?". When one 'interacts', attention is put to: 'How did my actions affect certain variables? How should I manipulate these variables further?' So, instead of producing 'yes/no' answers, one begins to analyze and plan.

4. In order to effectively learn and interact, it is essential to underestand and research how Mordhau variables interract with each other.

5. The peak of engagement and performance is to learn how to manipulate every variable with maximum efficiency.

Please do not be worried about the word 'variables'. It's just a word to cathegorize things like 'weapon damage', 'stamina points', 'length of a weapon' etc. under one term. From this point on, the guide will discuss these variables, connect them with each other, and analyze their relationships, and showcase how this knowledge can be exploited to create a tactical advantage.

Be aware! No guide can capture the whole complexity of Mordhau. What presented here is just a limited scope theory. Strive to expand your knowlegde on your own.

The practical part begins here.

Weapons are used to deal damage and drain stamina. To win, one has to deal greater damage than opponent's health. To deal damage, one has to pass through opponent's defense. One way to pass through enemy defense is to throw off his timing of block either through speed (fast weapon, drag acceleration/deceleration) or animation manipulation (feint, mophp, obscuring drag). This way seems to be the main focus for many. However, this focus proves inefficient against opponents who are experienced in defending themselves against these techniques. Does that mean a hypothetical player who has learned to block every hit is unbeatable? For someone who focuses purely on throwing off block timing - yes. For someone like you, who seeks to recognize other ways to manipulate your opponent, it is a matter of time and observation.

Without further ado, allow me to direct your attention to weapon stats. Specifically, to "stamina drain" and "parry drain negotiation". Stamina drain (SD) is your ATTACK value. This value is deducted from opponents parry drain negotiation number (PDN), his DEFENSE value, when you hit his block. The result is the amount of opponent's you deplete per hit. As an equation, it looks like this: SD-PNG = how much stamina your attack drains from opponent's stamina upon hitting his block. I will use an example to clarify:

Zweihander vs. Dagger

Zweihander stats:                                                                              Dagger stats:
Stamina Drain: 20                                                                              Stamina drain: 14
Parry drain negotiation: 13                                                                 Parry drain negotiation: 6

When Zweihander hits Dagger block: 20-6 = 14 stamina drain each hit. 100/14 = 7.1, so it would take 8 hits for Zweihander to disarm Dagger, given no stamina was restored or used on other actions.

When Dagger hits Zweihander block: 14-13 = 1 stamina drain each hit. 100/1 = 100, so it would take 100 hits for Dagger to disarm Zweihander, given no stamina was restored or used on other actions.

This shows that in a "block-hit-block-hit" exchange weapon which drains more stamina per hit will disarm FIRST, given players hit each other long enough and there are no other factors influencing stamina. Other influencing factors will be examined later, now let's learn how to decide if your weapon drains more stamina per hit than your opponent's weapon or not.

Although Mordhau features a variety of weapons, each having unique stats, there is no reason to fret: weapons can be easily categorized by their stamina drain and parry drain negotiation stats. Here's a list:

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.__._._._._._._.

□ Small One-handed Weapons (Short sword, Dagger, Cleaver, Wooden mallet):
Stamina drain: 14
Parry drain negotiation: 7

□ Light One-handed Weapons (Arming sword, Short spear, Rapier):
Stamina drain: 14
Parry drain negotiation: 11

□ Heavy One-handed weapons (Warhammer, Falchion, Bastard sword, Axe, etc):
Stamina drain: 18
Parry drain negotiation: 12

□ Two-handed weapons (Zweihander, Eveningstar, Battleaxe, etc):
Stamina drain: 20
Parry drain negotiation: 13

There are few exceptions:
1. Blacksmith hammer acts like a heavy one-handed weapon, although it's a small one-handed weapon.
2. Mace acts like a two-handed weapon, although it's a heavy one-handed weapon.
3. Estoc acts like a heavy one-handed weapon, although it's two-handed weapon.
4. Wooden mallet and Lute stats are missleading. Despite their PDN, every weapon drains 30 stamina per blocked hit from them.

Note: to distinguish between "heavy" and "light" one-handed weapons, imagine holding a replica of this weapon in your hand. A short spear would not be as heavy as a handaxe nor would falchion be as light as a rapier.
_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.__._._._._._._.

There is no need to memorize this table: once understood, information from it is recalled automatically. All you need is observation. The values can vary plus/minus two or one, but on practice it plays a little role. Instead of memorizing an excel table for exact values, you can apply the following thought chain:

"Enemy weapon type -> my weapon type -> which drains more stamina per hit?"

Example:
Is opponent's weapon two-handed or one-handed? -> one-handed -> light. My weapon is two-handed. So, I will deal more stamina drain per hit.


Information above is not enough without discussing the peasant class. One may wonder: "What about it? The peasant is for jokesters and trolls. Why should I bother with it?" I would like to insist that there is a good reason to bother.

Most two-handed peasant weapons have the following stats:
Stamina drain: 20
Parry drain negotiation: 15.

What this means is that Rusty shovel drains more stamina per hit than Zweihander. Peasant class weapons have stamina advantage compared to their counterparts, albeit with exceptions. Although peasant weapons do tend to have comparatively low damage, their stamina advantage may make it a menacing force in right hands. As for an example, peasant class has the weapon which drains the most stamina per hit in the game: Sledgehammer (SD 28, PDN 16). To contrast, Maul, the weapon which drains the most stamina per hit available for a normal class, has SD of 24 and PDN of 13. Sledgehammer can disarm any two-handed weapon with PDN 13 in 6 hits. It also worth to mention that peasant weapons have many hidden advantages, which can be successfully implemented in a dueling scenario.

This "the more you know" section is purposed to warn you not to underestimate peasant opponents and to bring your attention to peasant weapons. Peasants tend to be tossed aside due to their low damage and speed values. Although these values are crucial on massive battlefields, in a dueling situation they don't play as prominent of a role. In duel, peasant weaponry can be a practical choice, especially if you understand stamina management.


---Practical application---

Note: "Practical application" sections are optional to read. These sections give practical application examples of the knowleldge presented in their above written section. These examples will attempt to serve as tips, but by no means as an exhaustive lists of possibilities. You are free to skip these sections without missing any theory.

● Fighting against a weapon with the same SD and PDN stats: when faced against such weapon, it makes sense to punch first. This way, given you don't lose or use stamina on something else, you will disarm your opponent first in "block-hit-block-hit" exchange. This is especially useful in a fist fight.

● Fighting against a faster weapon: typically, faster weapons tend to have lower SD and PND values. This means that as long as you block and return hits, you will eventually disarm your opponent. So, there is no need to perform risky manuevers to throw off their block timing. Focus on defense. This is especially useful against Dagger and Rapier. When violently attacked by these weapons, don't lose your head, block, and hit back.

● Fighting against a weapon with higher SD and PND stats: this will be discussed in details in the next section. As for now, if you wish to increase PND value of a one-handed weapon, you can use shields. Shield block has unique PND, which can be checked in "advanced stats". So, please, if you are playing with Buckler and Rapier, STOP THROWING YOUR SHIELD AWAY IN HOPES TO DELIVER MINISCULE DAMAGE. This shield is there to give you extra PND, not a decoration.

Most actions in Mordhau affect your stamina. When you run out of stamina, you are at risk of being disarmed. Your stamina will begin to restore itself after about a second or two since it was drained last. It takes about a second to restore 25 stamina points (1 bar). The full restoration period, from 0 to 100, takes five seconds. In order for the restoration to take place, you should avoid getting hit or performing actions which affect stamina. Let's observe actions that affect and do not affect stamina:

Actions that do not affect stamina:

● Your attack if it hits opponent's block
● Your throw attack, whether it hits opponent, his block, or nothing
● Crouch
● Mouse/keyboard movements
● Sprint
● Getting hit
● Kicking opponent's block or environment (wall, obstruction, etc.)

Note: Although these actions do not drain or gain any stamina, performing them prevents stamina restoration. Avoid these actions if you want to restore your stamina (with the exceptions of "crouch" and "mouse/keyboard movements").


Actions that drain stamina:

Action - stamina points drain
● Opponent's attack if it hits your block - this value depends on SD and PDN of colliding weapons
● Jump - 10
● Kick if you hit nothing - 10
● Getting kicked - 10 (restores 10 stamina for opponent!)
● Feint - 10
● Morph - 7
● Chamber - 15 (except for small one-handed weapons: dagger, cleaver, short sword. For them it's 20)
● Dodge - 10
● Miss - unique to each weapon. I have not derived a clear system to assume values by mere observation. However, most values vary from 8 to 13. There is no need to deduce an exact number each duel, just keep in mind missing a hit drains about 10 stamina
● Combo - combo drains double of "miss" value whether the hit reaches opponent's block or not.
● Missing but hiting environment - half of miss value
● Sprint - although sprint does not drain any stamina, it prevents it from restoring. Avoid sprinting if you want to restore your stamina
Getting hit - same as "sprint"


Actions that gain stamina:

Action - stamina points gain
● Your attack if it successfuly hits opponent with:
Small or Light One-handed weapon - 5
Heavy and Two-handed weapon - 10
Peasant weapon - 5
● Kick if it successfuly hits opponent - 10
● Kill - 35 (not much use in a duel, but interesting to know)


Again, there is no need to specifically memorize any of these. Nearly every action drains 10 stamina, with the exceptions of morph, miss, and block. However, if you remember that morph drains 7 stamina points, and assume miss to be 10, and combo 20, that's good enough unless you wish to do precise math in your head.

Understanding how stamina works does not merely help you to be more aware of your actions, but also allows to analyze stamina use of your opponent. This analysis suggests preferable distance, pressure, and own stamina use. Allow me to elaborate.

As was determined in the previous section, weapons have diverse Stamina Drain and Parry Drain Negotiation stats; values which are responsible for calculating stamina drain per hit. Although these values can be used as a predictor to "which weapon is most likely to disarm first in 'hit-block-hit-block' exchange", duels are more dynamic than a simple comparison of stats. You may get hit. You may get kicked. You may try to use an action that drains stamina and fail to do any damage to the opponent. There is no certainty that your stamina will be used as effectively as you wish. On the other hand, your opponent may use his stamina carelessly. You may hit or kick him, regaining stamina back. In the end, the one who is able to put the right amount of pressure on opponent, whilst using stamina most efficiently, is the one to disarm .

To put pressure means to repeatedly hit your opponent in a rapid succession. In order to
decide the right amount of pressure, one has to have a more or less accurate estimation of opponent's stamina. There is no need to deduce an exact number, it's enough to approximate whether you have more stamina than your opponent or not. If you have more stamina then it makes sense to get close and put pressure. Remember, it takes only one-two seconds for stamina to start regenerating: pressure is used to prevent it and eventually drain stamina to zero. However, if you find yourself in an unfavourable stamina situation, it is advisable to create some distance, thus decreasing pressure on yourself, in order to regenerate stamina. How much distance is enough to ease the pressure is largely influence by weapon length and opponent's aggressiveness.

The longer the weapon the more distance is required to avoid being hit by it, and vise versa. Although sprint can be used to quickly close distance between the opponent and you, even a second is enough to restore some stamina. Another thing to consider is that while sprinting there is no stamina regeneration. This means, that if your opponent carelessly runs at you and you manage to restore some stamina, you may turn the tables and have stamina advantage. Or at least make the gap smaller. If you have longer weapon, use the distance advantange to "play it safe". When your opponent gets out of breath, you may get closer to prevent him from escaping your range. If you have shorter weapon, be very cautious of your stamina. Decide upon level of stamina you start to escape to regenerate your stamina back. This decision is influenced by opponent's aggression, weapon length, and stamina use. To determine these, ask the following questions:

● How agressive your opponent is - are you able to regenerate your stamina in peace or does your opponent put constant pressure?
● How long is your weapon compared to the opponent's - are you able to retreat early or do you have to sprint for your life?
● How does your opponent use his stamina - is he careless or is he conservative?

Based on answers for these questions, you can decide your strategy and own stamina use. Do you stay away or come close, do you use feints and morphs or do you conserve you energy, etc.
This is especially important if your weapon has lesser values of SD and PDN. In such case, you may put emphasis on delivering damage to your opponent through throwing off block timing, however, you should not forget about stamina management. In some scenarious, you may even have stamina advantage and be able to disarm opponent who uses a weapon with higher stamina drain per hit. You can spot this moment and apply pressure in the right time if you observe your opponent's stamina use.



---Practical application---

● Observe your opponent's actions carefully. Feints, misses, chambers, morphs, etc. Each of these counts as if you hit your opponent's block. It would take approximately 20 hits from a two-handed weapon to disarm another two-handed weapon. However, if your opponent actively uses stamina consuming actions, this number can go down very quickly. For this reason, you may try to disarm your opponent even if your weapon deals much less stamina drain per hit.
● Most of us have encountered the tactic where your opponent continuously feints until your nerves give up and you block. It may be very annoying and feel cheap, however, knowing stamina management can turn the tables around very quickly. Even if you got hit - your opponent wasted a lot of stamina. Put pressure! Soon enough this juggler will be unnarmed and at your mercy. Do not let "juggler-feinters" hit you and restore their stamina. Attack back immideately!
● If you try to throw off opponent's block through applying complex action combos, keep an eye on your stamina. Take a break after you drain much of your stamina.
● Allow your opponent to make mistakes. For instance, if you see your opponent hitting stamina draining combos on a safe distance from you, let him. Let him drain stamina, don't intervene until he is done. Sometimes the best action is inaction. But don't be inactive for too long: it takes 1-2 for stamina restoration.

The next two sections will focus on block-defense, whereas the section after will focus on mobility-defense. To underestand block-defence is first and foremost to underetand attack. This section will provide basic information about drag manipulation and provide practical advice how to mitigate "panic blocks". Disclaimer: I will use the term "drag" loosely here. Usually drag involves active mouse movement while attack, however, here I accept it as a certain timing position for the purposes of clarity. If you wish to learn more about drags and their offensive applications, please refer to other guides which specialize in them.

Every swing in Mordhau follows a curve. Doesn't matter the direction, it is always a curve. Some weapons trave a bigger curve, some follow a smaller one (these are defined by weapon length). Here's how it looks:


Idle
 
 
Wind-up
 
 
Release (attack)
 
 
 
When you touch the curve, you receive damage. To avoid receiving damage, you can block. Your block should be active at the moment when you touch the curve. The moment you touch the curve depends on your body position relating to the hips-turn of your opponent and weapon swing position (don't worry, pictures will make it clear). Manually controling this positioning is called "drag manipulation", or "drag acceleration/deceleration". Here's the list of hip positions:
 
 
 
Hips straight. Opponnent looks right at you.
 
 
Hips towards. Opponent faces you with the side he holds his weapon at.
 
 
Hips outwards. Opponent faces you with the opposite side he holds his weapon at.
 
 
Hips down. Opponent looks down.
 
 
Hips up. Opponen looks up.
 
 
 
When you move your mouse, you don't control your hands: you control your hips. Hips turn you around and change the position of your weapon related to your opponent. When you press "swing button", your hands perform a fixed animation. This animation cannot be sped up, it has fixed timing. However, this animation "draws" a curve. By moving your hips you are able to change at which point the curve crosses over opponent. It takes time for the curve to travel through space, so there are many points and timings it can interact with another player. The reference point is typically considered to be the "hips straight" position. If you hit your opponent "faster" than as if you were keeping hips straight position, then you perform a drag acceleration. If you hit "slower", then you perform a drag deceleration. I drew graphs to clarify this explanation. These graphs are visual representations of an idea and should not be treated as accurate timing predictors. There is no need to memorize them, only to "get the point". The white point with red outlines represents where the curve interacts with player:


[Normal swing] This graph represents at which point the curve will "normally", in hips straight position, interact with another player. It's useful as a reference.
Hips straight, swing from the left (right swing)
 
 
Hips straight, swing from the right (left swing)
 
 
Hips straight, swing from the down
 
 
Hips straight, swing from the up
 
 
 
[Accelerated swing]
Hips towards, right swing
 
 
Hips outwards, left swing
 
 
Hips down, upper swing

Hips up, lower swing


[Decelerated swing]
 
 
Hips towards, left swing
 
 
Hips outwards, right swing
 
 
Hips down, lower swing
 
 
Hips up, upper swing
 
 

From observing the images above, one may derive a couple of patters:
1. On horizontal axis, speed is positively affected when slash comes from the same direction opponent is, and vice versa. For example, if your opponent is to your left and you attack with a left slash, you will perform an acelerated drag. However, if you attack with a right slash, you will perform a decelerated drag.
2. On vertical axis, speed is positively affected when slash comes from the opposite vertical direction which you are looking to, and vice versa. For example, if you look up and attack with a lower slash, you will perform an accelerated drag. However, if you attack with an upper slash, you will perform a decelerated drag.

From the denfensive point of view, it allows you to better anticipate when opponent's weapon curve will colide with you by observing hips position and direction of attack. If opponent turns his hips outwards and winds up an attack from the opposite direction to you (hips outwards, right swing), then you know to wait a little before blocking. If your opponent looks down and winds up an attack from up (hips down, upper slash), you know to react quick. If your opponent uses acceleration drag - react. If your opponent uses deceleration drag - wait. Normal drags usually cause no problems.

However, anticipation is not sufficient without observation. Opponent can feint or morph. Opponent can shift his hips while attacking, thus changing "speed" mid-air. These can make your anticipation to play against you and throw off your block. To prevent this, it's important to observe specific moment: the moment when weapon starts to go forward.

Refer to the first three pictures of this section: idle, wind up, release. These are stages of attack (including "recovery"; weapon coming back to idle). Your opponent can feint or morph ONLY during wind up stage. During wind up stage, a weapon goes backwards. As soon as the weapon goes forwards, it attacks. So, as soon as the weapon goes forwards it is impossible to cancel the attack or morph it. Before weapon goes forward, do not block. It will take time to build discipline to block only as you see a weapon going forward, but it's necessary to progress. You will meet highly skillful players who will play with your anticipation and throw off your block masterfully. In the beginning you may be seduced to only rely on your anticipation: it works against most opponents. However, if you wish to stand a chance against very experienced fighters, it's necessary to learn this discipline. I dare you to lose all your ranks just to learn this one thing and I bet you it will be worth it in the long run.

However, anticipation is not sufficient without observation. Opponent can feint, or even shift his hips while attacking, thus changing "speed" mid-air. These can make your anticipation to play against you and throw off your block. To prevent this, it's important to observe a specific moment: the moment when weapon starts to go forward.

Refer to the first three pictures of the previous section: idle, wind up, release. These are the stages of attack (including "recovery"; weapon coming back to idle). Your opponent can feint or morph ONLY during the wind up stage. During the wind up stage, a weapon goes backwards. As soon as the weapon goes forwards, it attacks. So, as soon as the weapon goes forwards it is impossible to cancel the attack or morph it. Before weapon goes forward, do not block. It will take time to build discipline to block only after you saw a weapon going forward, but it's necessary to progress. You will meet highly skillful players who will play with your anticipation and throw off your block masterfully. In the beginning you may be seduced to only rely on your anticipation: it works against most opponents. However, if you wish to stand a chance against very experienced fighters, it's necessary to learn this discipline. I dare you to lose all your ranks just to learn this one thing and I bet you it will be worth it in the long run. It is certainly not easy. Unfortunately I cannot provide a detailed instruction how exactly to spot the exact moment. However, if you conciously put your attention to the fact, you will gain the necessary skill and knowledge yourself. To help you a little, I will offer a little fact: attacks are loud, feints are silent .

When a weapon goes forward, character screams. Every "YEAAAH!", "UAAAA!", "HUUUAH!" you've heard indicated that an attack was initiated; a weapon went forward. It's is a tremendously helpful thing to keep in mind if you are not visualy sure whether a weapon goes forward or not. Nevertheless, relying completely on this audio signal is not sufficient: if your opponent attacks with a stab or an accelerated drag, your reaction to the sound will most likely be too late. Visual observation does not mitigate the need for anticipation, but makes anticipation more accurate . It's when you combine both visual and audio observations you begin to better deflect oncoming attacks.



Having said that, I do admit that defense theory is inexhaustible. What I've written here is by no means enough to grant you perfect defense against every opponent. Practice is the key to mastery. I strongly encourage you to be observant and spot countless factors I have missed. I would be very thankful if you could teach them to me.




---Practical application---

● Underestanding how to speed or slow down a drag on horizontal and vertical axes allows you to manipulate your drags in sophisticated manner. Try combining knowledge from vertical and horizontal slashes!

Armor allows to take more hits, thus allowing for more mistakes. However, armor also decreases your mobility. But what exactly goes away with mobility? Your control of distance. This means:

● It's harder for you to put and escape pressure.
● Opponents with longer weapons or no armor will have an advantage over you.
● It's harder for you to evade oncoming attacks using movement. For example, stepping out of your opponent's weapon range.
● If you get disarmed and have no back up weapon, every advantage of having armor nullifies.

What are the advantages of having armor? The advantages are:

● You have more time to learn your opponent.
● You can tolerate more mistakes
● You can learn more from your opponent (since you will make more mistakes compared to if you had no armor).


An important question is "How good is my defense?". "Is my block-timing solid?". The better your defense skill, the more offensive tactical advantages you can enjoy. In dueling, it's just you and your opponent; there are no archers or backstabbers. If you can successfully deflect most of the hits most of the time, you can loosen up your armor and move more freely. If you are still struggling with blocking or your opponent gives you a hard time throwing off your block, you may want to use heavier armor.

All the same applies for your opponent. If your opponent wears heavy armor and wields heavy weapons, a light armored class may exploit all the advantages of mobility: you use stamina more freely, put a lot of pressure, escape at your leisure to recover. You may even attempt to dodge opponent's hits using movement (although, it can be very risky). Again, these advantages nullify if you cannot block attacks of your opponent most of the times.

In any event, it's a balance between security and freedom. There is no right answer with such diversity of skills. If you like to adapt your class to the opponent you are facing, I'd recommend to make different armor classes with different weapon lengths (e.g "light class short weapon (for the most aggressive playstyle) to "heavy class two-handed weapon" (for the most defensive playstyle). If you play one class, I'd recommend to learn to adapt to all kinds of playstyles and overcome inherit class disadvantages.

The last issue I would like to adress is the usage of kick. Kick is a powerful attack and many are tempted to use if offensively. Such usage is not very effective, since kick is mostly a defensive move. I will explain as to "why?".

Kick has a very limited range. So limited that if your opponent takes two steps away you will hit the air. Worst part about it is that the opponent will most likely hit you back. To hit someone with a kick this someone has to "hug" you; be so close you would smell his breath in real life. Kick is designed to kick out intruders from your personal space and cool down careless opponents who sprint towards you.

Many may argue that a kick can be used offensively combined with a jump. Indeed, a jump-kick may work against an inexperienced opponent. However, against an experienced opponent, a jump-kick is an extremely risky move. The main reason lays within how easy it is to counter: with a kick back! It doesn't matter if your opponent kicks, attacks with weapon, feints: your ground-kick is faster. Either you will block his kick or kick your opponent out of attack. One way your opponent can trick you is by stopping mid-air, so you are the one kicking the air and he is the one slashing you with his weapon. However, this happens only if your opponent jumps from afar. In this situation, it's recommended to step back and either use your weapon (to hit defenseless opponent) or do nothing (and let your opponent waste 20 points of stamina).

All in all, kick is a risky offensive move but it can be a viable defense move in some situations. It can be successfuly used:

● If your opponent was very close to you and began to get closer as soon as he initiated his attack.
● If your opponent carelesly sprints on you and will get very close before his weapon goes forward.
● If your opponent runs circles very close around you.
● As a last resort. For example, if you have no stamina left (it restores 10 stamina per hit for you and drains 10 stamina from your opponent).


I would not recommend to use kick unless it is necessary. Unsuccessful kick may leave you defenseless.

To conclude, this theory does not claim superiority over any other theory or one's ideas. In this guide I put my experience into words in hopes it will help someone. I may be mistaken somewhere or the whole thing might seem like garbage to you for one reason or the other. The reason I took time to wrtie these things down was that I love sharing my experience with people. When I did so on Ranking Duel servers, many were interested in what I had to say. I do not aim to capture "the ultimate truth" or "write the best guide". The goal is modest: inspire an idea which will make your gameplay bettter. And, hey, if you've read this guide and at least one thing made you think: "Huh, I will experiment with it", then it was all worth it.

I would like to thank everyone who scrolled this far. I want to thank everyone I had a pleasure to duel, to thank every friend I made on Mordhau dueling servers, to thank every person I chatted with there, and to thank you, the reader. I also want to thank Kevain for the inspiration to undertake this work. I want to thank Solace for his believe that this work was worth all the struggle. I especially want to thank my best friend Lawrence for assisting me all the way through.

And if you are a stranger I met sometime in Mordhau and you managed to remember my name - thank you for stopping by. I hope you had fun dueling with me. Because I certainly did.