Defense
Blocking and chambering
Directional block
Match the incoming overhead, left, right, or thrust direction. Raise the guard after reading the wind-up and keep stamina in reserve. A blocked weak attack staggers the attacker; that is your clean punish window.
Chamber
Begin an attack from the matching direction as the enemy commits into release. Your weapon intercepts theirs and your attack continues. Do not pre-load it during the early wind-up: a patient opponent can feint and punish the guess.
Held guard against multiple contacts
Hold a directional block and turn that guarded side toward the attacking group. As you rotate across their attack lines, the held guard can collect a series of contacts rather than only the first hit. Downward slashes and arrows remain separate threats: move out of the overhead line and use a shield, hard cover, or distance against missiles.
Do not plant yourself in the center of the group. Kite around its outside edge or slip through a gap after the formation commits to following you. Pursuers naturally stretch into a line as faster and closer enemies lead while the rest fall behind. That narrows the number of weapons able to reach you at once and turns a surrounding mob into a sequence of smaller contacts.
- Turn the guard: keep the blocking direction between you and the nearest weapon.
- Orbit the edge: move laterally so opponents obstruct one another instead of forming a complete circle.
- Sell the chase: let the group commit, then change angle or pass through the opening they leave.
- Fight the front: punish the first pursuer while the rest are still falling into line.
Timing note: no universal chamber duration is published. Weapon speed, reach, animation, latency, and relative movement change the practical window. Train the release cue, not a guessed millisecond count.