Fight in person: hero combat guide

Who goes out and what's at stake

• The prince — if healthy; if he falls he's wounded for 4 minutes.
• A warrior from your band — if he falls he dies for good (the game warns you).
• A villager — if the village sent people; falls wounded.

The more enemies the hero downs personally, the weaker the band ends up. Bring down the chief and the duel is won.

Controls

Phone: the joystick appears under your finger; buttons Strike, Shield, Dash, War cry. Mirrored controls for left-handers. PC: move with WASD, strike with left click (hold for a combo), shield with right click, dash with Space, war cry with Q.

How to win fights

• Three-hit combo — the third hit is heavy (×1.7).
• Before striking, an enemy shows “!” and a red arc — dash: you can't be hit while dashing.
• A perfect block — shield up just before the hit — stuns the enemy, and finishing a stunned enemy hits ×1.6.
• Every hit in a row adds +5% damage (up to +50%).

Don't swing blindly — wait for the “!”, dodge, then hit with a combo.

The prince's skills by level

• Level 2 — lunge: longer reach, harder hit.
• Level 3 — shield bash.
• Level 4 — war cry: your band hits twice as hard for 6 s.

There are 10 levels; each adds health and striking power.

Enemies

• Archer — a red line shows the arrow's path; hide behind huts and the palisade.
• Shield-bearer — hit from the side or with a heavy blow.
• Arsonist runs to set a hut on fire — a hit knocks the torch out.
• Looter runs off with a sack — chase him.

Bosses and trophies

The band chief and the bear wear three armour plates: a heavy hit, a parry or a shield bash knocks one off, then for 1.5 s it's “staggering — strike!”. Downed bosses give trophies for the brewery wall: the chief's sabre (strength), a Cuman standard (loot), a bear hide (healing), a wolf tail (fewer wounded).

More on village defence: raids and defence.