Overview
Controls
Melee actions are built around holds, strikes, and blocks. In normal play, that means choosing a direction, holding or releasing an attack, and changing your block as needed.
| Action | PC | Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | Left Click | RT / R2 |
| Block / Aim | Right Click | LT / L2 |
| Choose Direction | Mouse movement | Right Stick |
| Hold Attack | Hold Left Click | Hold RT / R2 |
| Cancel / Feint | Block while holding the attack | LT / L2 while holding the attack |
| Melee Mode | X by default | Controller bind / weapon state toggle |
Version 3.00 made the melee-mode switch indicator visible for keyboard and mouse players. If the indicator is distracting, check the Reload Hint setting.
Blocking
Blocking is about matching the incoming strike, not where the weapon visually lands on your screen.
- High and low blocks cover the common bayonet and pike thrust directions.
- Left and right blocks matter most against swords, knives, fists, and cavalry.
- Do not panic-swap directions once the attack is already landing.
- Practice wide inputs at first. Small mouse or stick motions are easy to misread in a crowded fight.
Early 2.x releases increased melee leeway, and later updates fixed several input and timing issues. The system is still unforgiving, but it is more readable than older builds.
Attacking
A good attack is not just pressing the button. You can hold a strike, release late, cancel, or force a bad block from your opponent.
| Attack Habit | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Hold before release | Makes opponents guess early and can pull out a bad block. |
| Do not spin wildly | Dragging too hard can reduce damage and cost you the one-hit kill. |
| Use range | Bayonets and pikes want distance. Swords and knives need you closer. |
| Punish reloads | A player aiming or reloading is usually far easier to finish in melee. |
If you are learning, fight slower than you think you need to. Read the other player first, then answer.
Weapons & Damage
Not every melee weapon plays the same way. Damage depends on the strike direction: overhead strikes are usually the strongest, while downward thrusts and side swings often deal less. Reach determines how far away you can land a hit. Damage is the percentage of a player's health removed by a clean strike.
Nations at War & American Revolution
| Weapon | Overhead | Down | Sides | Reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pike | 100% | 100% | - | 2.05m |
| Bearing Flag | 60% | 60% | - | 2.40m |
| Musket Bayonet | 100% | 100% | - | 1.15m |
| Short Sword | 100% | 60% | 50% | 0.75m |
| Officer Sword | 100% | 60% | 50% | 0.95m |
| Two-Handed Axe | 100% | 100% | 100% | 0.75m |
| One-Handed Axe | 70% | 50% | 50% | 0.45m |
| Knife | 35% | 35% | 35% | 0.70m |
| Fists | 25% | 25% | 25% | 0.40m |
Pikes, flags, and bayonets only thrust, so they have no side attacks. The bearing flag has the longest reach in the game but cannot kill in one hit; its melee damage was increased in the 5.00 class redesign. The two-handed axe is the only weapon that one-hit kills from every direction, and it gained its three-direction swing and block in 5.00.
Frontlines (WW1)
| Weapon | Overhead | Down | Sides | Reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle Bayonet | 100% | 100% | - | 1.15m |
| Trench Gun Bayonet | 100% | 100% | - | 0.90m |
| Short Sword | 100% | 100% | 100% | 0.45m |
| Long Sword | 100% | 60% | 50% | 0.95m |
| Trench Knife | 80% | 80% | 80% | 0.45m |
WW1 short swords (trench clubs and shovels) trade reach for one-hit kills from every direction. The trench knife is far deadlier than its Napoleonic counterpart but still needs two hits.
For related weapon and role context, see Weapons, Shooting, Classes, Defences, and Naval Combat.
Current weapon notes:
- The 5.x redesign lets Line Infantry and Grenadiers equip swords.
- Grenadiers keep a melee-resistance identity through their Resilient trait.
- Officer Charge improves nearby melee pressure, so a line under charge is more dangerous than isolated infantry.
- Light Infantry lost the old passive movement-speed/melee-debuff tradeoff and now uses Dash for short bursts of movement.
- The Carpenter's two-handed axe now swings in three directions and can block.
- Buffed officers and surgeons no longer survive point-blank firearm shots, reducing some old health-stack edge cases.
- Moveable artillery can now be damaged with melee weapons.
Hitboxes & Hit Detection
The player hitbox is a simple body collider that follows the player's stance and position, not a limb-by-limb outline of the character model. Combat animations change how the soldier looks, but they do not create a custom hit shape for every moving limb. Crouching and sitting do change the stance and lower the space a player occupies.
What this means in melee:
- Block direction, release timing, reach, and player position matter more than the exact visual path of the blade or bayonet.
- If a strike looks like it barely clipped someone, the server is resolving the attack from the combat state, not from every animated point on the weapon.
- Keep your crosshair and movement focused on the opponent's body rather than the weapon trail.
- Against crouched players, adjust your strike to their actual body position rather than standing height.
- Do not rely on gestures or decorative animation movement to dodge; the body collider is what counts.
- Expect clutter to interfere: fences, windows, palisades, ship rails, and rocks have their own collision and can eat a swing.
Version 0.40 made crouched strikes stay in the hold position longer, making crouched melee timing more readable. Version 5.00 improved hit detection for the two-handed axe and fixed melee strikes getting interrupted by objects further to the side. For how hitboxes affect firearms, see Shooting.
Melee changes when the ground is moving under you.
- Cavalry: Speed adds threat, but it also makes timing harder. Swing as you pass, not after you have already crossed the target.
- Infantry versus cavalry: Stakes, small chevaux de frise, and good spacing matter more than chasing horses.
- Naval boarding: Ship movement used to make hit detection rougher; Age of Sail improved firearm and melee strike detection on moving ships.
- Ship decks: Expect clutter, ladders, cannons, and teammates. Short, clean attacks are safer than huge camera swings.
For cavalry-specific controls, see Horseback Riding. For ship fights, see Naval Combat.
Recent Changes
Key melee changes:
- 0.x-1.x: Cavalry, trampling, bayonet, kick, melee arena, and early melee combat fixes shaped the base system.
- 2.12: Melee leeway was increased, and Carpenters received a short sword.
- 2.x: Block/default stance rotation speeds were aligned, combat-mode hints were added, and multiple weapon-switching issues were fixed.
- 3.00: The melee-mode indicator and controller melee aim assist were added.
- 4.00: Melee detection on moving ships was improved.
- 5.00-5.20: The class redesign changed swords, axes, grenades, satchels, artillery damage, melee timings, and several class survivability cases.