Learning goals
- Understand melee follow-through.
- Understand melee range.
- Understand blocking.
- Understand parrying.
- Understand Lifted status.
- Learn how these affect real melee performance.
Explanation
Melee performance depends on more than damage numbers. Follow-through affects how damage is handled when one swing hits multiple enemies. Range affects how safely and consistently you hit targets. Blocking and parrying belong to melee defense, but they are not replacements for survivability. Lifted status is a crowd-control effect where enemies are suspended or lifted by certain interactions.
What should I do?
When melee feels bad, check whether your range is too short, whether crowd hits are being reduced by follow-through, whether you are standing too close without defense, and whether movement or crowd control would make the weapon safer.
How to avoid wasting time
Do not assume a wide animation means equal damage to every target. Do not treat blocking as full invulnerability or Lifted as a damage solution by itself.
Common mistakes
Watch for these mechanics mistakes before spending rare weapon resources.
- Ignoring melee range.
- Assuming every enemy hit by a swing takes equal damage.
- Treating blocking as complete safety.
- Ignoring positioning while attacking.
- Confusing crowd control with killing power.
- Using short-range weapons without survivability or movement support.
Practical example
A weapon may look like it clears a crowd but feel inconsistent because range, stance movement, or follow-through limits the real result. A short weapon may become more comfortable when paired with better positioning and survivability.
Key Takeaways
- Melee mechanics include reach, crowd behavior, and defensive interaction, not just damage.
Practical task
This reveals whether melee problems come from damage, reach, or positioning.
- Equip a melee weapon that feels inconsistent.
- Test it against one enemy.
- Test it against a small group.
- Notice how close you must stand.
- Notice whether all targets seem affected equally.
- Try repositioning before each attack.
You can identify whether range, crowd behavior, or positioning is part of the problem.