2H sword vs 2H sword: Chamberblocking downward attacks

[Tale Words]

Hi guys, just a couple of questions about chamber blocking downward slashes in a 2H sword vs 2H sword scenario.

When we watch the animation of a downward 2H sword attack, it appears to come straight down the middle of the sword wielder’s body. Therefore, two questions come to mind.

First: where should my crosshair (aka center of screen) be when I initiate a chamberblock to such an attack: in the center of the opponent’s body (ie where his sword is while slashing downwards), or on the side of his body where he was holding his sword immediately before initiating the downward slash?

The second question is, does it matter on which side of my body my own sword is positioned? For example, if the answer to the first question is “aim to the opponent’s side” (rather than center), and my opponent holds his sword on my left, are my chances of chamber blocking correctly increased if I also hold my own sword on my left (same side as opponent’s sword)?

Thank you guys in advance for any tips!

 

[Tale Words]

Does anyone know?

@Dejan @MArdA TaleWorlds @Shiroin

 

[Count Talbar]

Chambers are heavily reliant on the transitional animations because your windup swing has to physically connect with the incoming attack. So generally, it's actually easier to chamber if your weapon is on the opposite side of the incoming attack because your windup swing will be more pronounced. If you hold a block in the correct direction and then try to chamber from that position, you'll have a very small window to chamber because your weapon isn't moving much.

Now, it's also important to note that different rest states and stances will affect your windup animation. So, in your example, the most reliable way to chamber an overhead with a 2H sword would be to hold a downward block and then do an overhead attack. Or, you can tap downward block and let your weapon go into the rest animation where your character holds the sword at his waist with the point facing the enemy and overhead from there. That's one of the most reliable animations for a 2H sword to overhead chamber regardless of stance, but of course it isn't really practical to play that way because the rest state only lasts a few seconds. Your crosshair placement shouldn't really matter much when you use a reliable wind up animation.

 

[Tale Words]

Chambers are heavily reliant on the transitional animations because your windup swing has to physically connect with the incoming attack. So generally, it's actually easier to chamber if your weapon is on the opposite side of the incoming attack because your windup swing will be more pronounced. If you hold a block in the correct direction and then try to chamber from that position, you'll have a very small window to chamber because your weapon isn't moving much.

Now, it's also important to note that different rest states and stances will affect your windup animation. So, in your example, the most reliable way to chamber an overhead with a 2H sword would be to hold a downward block and then do an overhead attack. Or, you can tap downward block and let your weapon go into the rest animation where your character holds the sword at his waist with the point facing the enemy and overhead from there. That's one of the most reliable animations for a 2H sword to overhead chamber regardless of stance, but of course it isn't really practical to play that way because the rest state only lasts a few seconds. Your crosshair placement shouldn't really matter much when you use a reliable wind up animation.

Thank you for this very insightful post!

Never thought about rest animations. So in the 2H sword vs 2H sword scenario, does rest animation (ie. sword point upright vs sword at waist with sword point facing enemy) also matter for the left and right chamber blocks? Or will these two chamber blocks (ie. chambering horizontal slashes at my left and right flanks) usually be successful regardless of rest stance?

Thank you again for the great reply.

 

[Count Talbar]

Thank you for this very insightful post!

Never thought about rest animations. So in the 2H sword vs 2H sword scenario, does rest animation (ie. sword point upright vs sword at waist with sword point facing enemy) also matter for the left and right chamber blocks? Or will these two chamber blocks (ie. chambering horizontal slashes at my left and right flanks) usually be successful regardless of rest stance?

Thank you again for the great reply.

In this scenario, the rest animation will technically have some effect. For the waist held sword facing the enemy (I think I'll refer to these types of animations as "transition rests"), you'll have a nice sweeping animation in both directions regardless of stance due to it being held in the center.

As for the default rest animations, you'll have a wider swing animation if you chamber to the opposite side of your stance. So if you're in the right stance with the sword resting on your right, you'll have an easier time chambering attacks on your left and vice versa for the left stance. Now, you can still pretty easily chamber attacks on the same side as your default rest because 2H swords still have a good enough windup from that position.

Also, here's some general information regarding chambers: Chambering is only really possible when your weapon is roughly equivalent in speed or faster than your opponents. Lengthy weapons also have an easier time due to having a wider swing to catch the enemy's swing animation, assuming the weapon isn't too slow. Therefore, the theoretical best weapons for chambering would have good length, handling, and speed. Also, there are 3 different animations sets to learn for chambering which are 1H weapons (no shield), 2H swords, and pole arms (including 2H axes). Another tidbit, you can chamber attacks behind you.