Feint command
| Combat maneuver that makes a very quick, barely fatiguing, balance-building attack with a held melee weapon. It is one of the specific maneuvers that make up weapon combos, and the usual choice for staying safely engaged while training defenses. |
| Unknown |
Syntax
- FEINT
- FEINT <enemy>
- FEINT <enemy> <body part>
- FEINT LEFT
- FEINT LEFT <enemy>
- FEINT HELP
- FEINT HELP FULL
- FEINT HELP LIST
A melee weapon must be held in the attacking hand, and you must be at melee range. Without a target, the attack goes to the enemy you are already engaged with, or defaults to a new one. The LEFT keyword attacks with the weapon in your offhand and trains the Offhand Weapon skill.
Game Helpfile
Feint launches an attack against an enemy. FEINT Attack enemy already engaged, or default to new. FEINT <enemy> Attack indicated enemy. FEINT HELP Basic HELP FEINT HELP FULL Expanded HELP FEINT HELP LIST This will list other valid combat options
Detailed Information
Feint is a damage dealing maneuver.
Feint tends to be a barely fatiguing maneuver. Attacking again too soon can make this worse.
Feint tends to be very balance building.
Feint is a very quick maneuver, but heavy or unbalanced weapons can slow the attack further.
Feint is more accurate than most maneuvers, and is equally suited to puncture, slice, and impact weapons.
Feint temporarily penalizes all defenses, but is equally suited to evasion, parry, and shield defenses.
Usage
Feint is the maintenance maneuver of the weapon set. It is very quick, costs less fatigue than any other weapon maneuver, and is very balance building, so it can be repeated more or less indefinitely without tiring you out or leaving you exposed between attacks. It is also the only weapon maneuver with no preferences at all: it is equally suited to puncture, slice and impact weapons, and penalizes evasion, parry and shield equally, so it works the same whatever you are holding and whatever you defend with. That makes it the default choice whenever the goal is to stay in the fight rather than to end it quickly.
- Training defenses. Evasion, parry and shield only train while an enemy is actually swinging at you, so a defensive hunt is limited by how long you can keep a fight open. Feinting holds the engagement without spending the fatigue or giving up the balance and position that a heavier maneuver would, letting the fight run as long as your defenses need.
- Building up to a big hit. Feint until your balance and position are where you want them, then spend them on a heavier maneuver such as SLICE, CHOP or BASH, and feint back up again.
- Staying alive. Balance and position drive both how hard you are to hit and how hard you hit back. If a hunting ground is proving dangerous, feinting more and attacking less is usually the fix.
- Offhand training. FEINT LEFT is a cheap way to work the Offhand Weapon skill, for the same reasons.
Notes
- Feint and JAB share the same minimum roundtimes: 1 second for light and medium weapons, and 2 seconds for heavy weapons and twohanders. See Roundtime for the full table.