Blocking
Hold the right mouse button and face the blow. A blocked swing costs the attacker dearly.
Hold Right Mouse to raise your guard. The guard is real: it has to be between you and the blade, so face your attacker. You do not need a shield.
| Holding | Blocks with |
|---|---|
| One-handed weapon with a shield | The shield |
| One-handed weapon, nothing in the other hand | The blade: you parry toward the mouse direction (see below) |
| Dagger or thrown weapon | Your off arm |
| Two-handed weapon, polearm or staff | The weapon itself |
| Raised fists | Your forearms and fists: they guard the head, not the body. See Fighting with your fists. |
| Bow or crossbow | Cannot block |
Parrying with a lone blade
Fencing with a one-handed weapon and an empty off hand, Right Mouse is a parry: you beat the blade aside toward where you moved the mouse (high, low, left or right; crouch for a low parry). Keep holding to stay in that guard, and move the mouse to turn the parry to another side; let go and you are back on guard at once.
What a block costs
- Holding the guard is free. Each blow you absorb costs you stamina by its weight: 8 for a one-handed sword's, about 12 for a two-handed sword's and about 16 for a halberd's or pike's, a little more for a finer weapon. You can still block at zero.
- A blocked attacker pays 12 stamina on top of the swing and cannot swing again for half a second, while you are ready almost at once. Block, then counter.