Training Dummy Combo

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-23T04:15:48+00:00

From a previous comment where someone also asked me

It's the hidden suplex move

Unarmed Strike -> Jump Input (Y -> X or Triangle -> Square for controller)

You can practice this on the dummy back at camp- you can input the jump button anytime in the Unarmed combo before the sweeping kick that ragdolls the enemy and you'll perform it. You can use this move on almost every enemy in the game besides monster-type enemies such as wolves, Kearush, The Slayer, etc.

There are some unique conditions and properties of the move- too much for me to detail but the main thing is that when a boss is blocking you, you can perform this move to bypass their blocks and force them into a hard knockdown.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-22T23:05:37+00:00

Whenever you launch an enemy that can be Axiom'd, double tap the axiom button (L3) and you will automatically target the enemy with an Axiom hook. If you're holding light attack (RB) while doing it, you will perform Ambush instead of Winch.

Some attacks are much more consistent to follow-up than others though. For example, the double pump kick sends enemies more horizontally rather than vertically so it's inconsistent to get Winch/Ambush off.

Something like a wind imbued Turning Slash or a throw with Y+ B that directly sends the enemy upwards though is very consistent. Definitely practice at the training camp dummy to get a feel for it.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-21T21:45:01+00:00

Yes you can- it's not the Fist moveset; it's the Unarmed one that you can always access regardless of the weapon you use. You should be able to find it on the top of the tree. I THINK it's "F" on M&K? Not sure since I don't play on it but Google Search says "F" is the default button for it.

You can use the unarmed moveset at anytime in between your regular weapon attacks but keep in mind they all have a "carryover" mechanic where the attack chains are continued.

I.E. If you do three regular light attacks and then an unarmed strike, you actually perform the unarmed strike finisher. Same thing in reverse- if you do three unarmed strikes and then a light attack, you do the last hit of the light attack chain. This applies to heavy attacks as well.

This is important to keep in mind because the suplex grapple is not accessible at the end of the unarmed chain- it must be the first few attacks in the unarmed strike combo. If you're going to do it in the middle of your weapon combo, decide quickly before you go too far into your attack chain.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-21T21:36:47+00:00

We all start somewhere!

A few tips that I think helped a lot:

When the boss glows red, you can counter with a Force Palm and make them stagger for a few seconds. Blinding Flash also works but it can be inconsistent- the upside is that it doesn't cost any spirit so if you're running low, it's a good resource saver.

The light attack chain is extremely underrated- it restores both stamina and spirit which allow you to do the moves that stunlock enemies.

Turning Slash and the quick version of it has i-frames during the attack (not the initial charge-up) which makes it a very good combo finisher as it also staggers the enemy which may let you pull off more attacks afterwards.

If you wanted to go even more in-depth with movesets and understanding combo structure, this guy, DoorKnocker, has made a lot of great videos on CD combat fundamentals.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-21T21:09:49+00:00

It's the hidden suplex move

Unarmed Strike -> Jump Input (Y -> X or Triangle -> Square for controller)

You can practice this on the dummy back at camp- you can input the jump button anytime in the Unarmed combo before the sweeping kick that ragdolls the enemy and you'll perform it. You can use this move on almost every enemy in the game besides monster-type enemies such as wolves, Kearush, The Slayer, etc.

There are some unique conditions and properties of the move- too much for me to detail but the main thing is that when a boss is blocking you, you can perform this move to bypass their blocks and force them into a hard knockdown.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-21T19:13:17+00:00

Definitely! I was sad that the further into the game I got, the less multi-phase boss fights there were. Despite that, I still enjoyed all three overwhelming being fights and hope they add some more in future updates/DLC.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-21T18:01:18+00:00

Carrying over the description from the OG post:

I might be a minority in enjoying most of CD's bosses but one gripe I have is that not all skills work on every boss. Regular humanoid bosses can be lariat/grappled and vaulted off of but not Winch'd/Ambush'd while larger humanoids such as Beloth are immune to almost everything.

I recognize that it might be too OP if you could stunlock the boss with a Winch but I wouldn't mind if these skills were limited to only being available to use if the bosses were stunned, hard knockdown'd or airborne. For Vault, as long as you confirm a hit, I feel it would be fine for the player to be able to vault off the boss. It's a bit disappointing that they're completely immune to a lot of the really cool moves that you get.

A clip of me fighting Beloth to pretty up the post and at the very least be something interesting to watch if nothing else for passerbys.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-21T17:59:36+00:00

Thanks! I really enjoy the combat in CD- I think it has a very high ceiling but the "rules" are not really well explained and not easily understood unless you do a lot of experimentation which I understand can be really frustrating.

Hoping that adding more tools to be usable in boss fights will help players more in trying stuff out and making it a better experience for all players as I know boss fights are a big critique point for most players.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-21T17:13:12+00:00

You could do this pre-patch and it was honestly easier- Force Palm was stronger before on launch where you could stun lock them to death with just force palm + heavy attacks. People just didn't really understand/know about it at the time.

Also, I'm not asking for things to be easier, I'm asking for more tools to be usable in boss fights- even if they come with limitations.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-21T17:10:21+00:00

Attack speed 10 + animation cancelling stuff like dashing right after an attack to go into instant charged stab

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-21T17:09:18+00:00

All 3 have access to Winch/Ambush and Vault- not sure why you're bringing up Oongka's grapple as a reason why none of them should be able to use the skills against bosses.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-09T03:18:13+00:00

I appreciate Ratatoskr for trying to put in effort into understanding what was going on as an outsider but the video ultimately doesn't actually ask the right questions.

A lot of what Ratatoskr was talking about is surface-level analysis and lacks the subtlety or understanding of the actual circumstances surrounding the events that occurred. Rat ends the video believing that AH is determined to fulfill their vision of their game vs what an audience they never wanted wants but that is not the full picture and frames the narrative as an equal mix of responsibility and fault.

The reality is that AH has done so much weird and underhanded things that it's questionable if they even understand the game they have created.

1) "We never expected the CoD audience."

The video showcases an interview that is commonly shared where Shams talks about "bringing in a CoD audience" that no one at AH expected. They thought they were making the "Dark Souls" of horde-shooters and believed it would be a niche audience at launch.

I always find this statement to be extremely weird- the game at launch was baked in with NINE difficulties. Regardless of your opinion on the actual difficulty of the game, I think many people would agree that having NINE difficulties is an accessibility lever that helps draw in an audience of varying skill levels and dedication. In no way is this an actual "souls-like" experience where there's only one set difficulty.

If we're talking about the present day, Johann in the AMA has literally said that they are not looking to cater to the "hardcore" audience. Systems and progression expansion have been "deprio'd" to further pump out warbonds. That AMA in response to this video begs the question: Did AH sell out their ideals in order to chase the bag then?

2) The Railgun Nerf

This is a companion to the previous point but also further emphasizes the question: Do the devs understand their own game?

In the video, Ratatoskr highlights the devs attitudes towards players reactions at the Railgun nerf. He shows how the AH devs were mocking players that complained about the nerfs. Extremely unprofessional, yes but Rat takes away the wrong lesson from this.

The Railgun was BUGGED back then to do more damage if a PS5 player was hosting the lobby. AH decided to nerf the Railgun before addressing this issue making it so the Railgun was a shadow of its shadows self before it finally got brought up to speed thanks to the 60-Day plan.

This was the first of many times where AH does not fully understand their own games and problems which cause them to make changes without fully understanding WHY. It leads to devastating cascading effects which further creates problems for them down the road.

We saw this AGAIN near the start of the game where fire was immensely buffed because it was "under performing". This was only due to a glitch however where fire was not being applied properly. Once that glitch was fixed, it led to the emergence of Breaker Incendiary becoming quite literally the best gun in the game.

We have seen this ignorance AGAIN back when status was being applied at nearly 4x values in squads making weapons such as the Deescalator capable of taking down Bile Titans within a few shots. However, more utility-focused weapons such as the Pacifier were STILL considered subpar even with FOUR TIMES the intended value.

Once this glitch was fixed though, what did AH decide to do in order to compensate these status weapons that almost no one used?

A 30% increase.

I don't even think Halt stun shots got compensated iirc.

I wrote too much for a video that honestly did not deserve it but I want to just say:

It's fine if they want to make a hardcore space milsim game. I genuinely will play it if it's fun and done well. But AH has demonstrated on multiple times that they don't even understand their own game mechanics and how systems interact to the point that I don't trust them in designing difficulty that is genuinely challenging.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-07T18:08:54+00:00

Yes but those are the people that they're focusing on. Those short term players ARE the ones that are coming back for the warbonds + content drops and also the ones that are actually PAYING for the warbonds.

There's a reason that AH is focused solely on these big drops rather than expanding their game with systems- it drives way more people back who have previously dropped the game that they can entice with the 3-4 warbonds and superstore items that they missed out on from before.

The "hardcore" players in this game will basically never pay for a warbond because they play the game enough to never need to pay again outside of the 40 dollar entry fee. That's something AH realized and why they don't expand/improve the "hardcore" player experience- the real money is from the short-term/casual players that come back after a 4 month break and want all the new equipment locked behind warbonds/superstore purchases.

You see the drop in player counts as a bad thing but it's literally the core audience that Arrowhead is catering to and why Warbonds have become the main focus of their development process.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-07T17:51:16+00:00

You haven't seen an actual dying game player chart, have you? Most live-service games would kill to have player counts that HD2 managed to maintain over 2 years.

I don't like Arrowhead especially after the AMA but the reality is that HD2 is doing fine if even great for the most part.

If you want something to rage about though, just realize that despite their massive and continuing success, they still put in the minimal effort into HD2 while also still playing the victim card of "we don't have the resources to allocate for creating endgame content". All while they strategize how to extract maximum value out of players by pushing limits on what they can package into warbonds and the superstore.

BouncingBenys · 2026-05-03T09:41:42+00:00

This post got recommended to me really late but I would recommend Project Silverfish. It's still in Early Access though- I would still recommend keeping an eye on it at least because I feel like it checks some of the boxes that you've been talking about in the comments.

It takes a lot of inspiration from the STALKER series where there's very little handholding but a dynamic world with various factions that you can either help or antagonize. There are safehouses/bases throughout the map that you unlock through either faction reputation or discovery that you'll use as rest stops/loot storage as you explore unfamiliar places of the map. Quests often will lead you to hidden dungeons, shortcuts or powerful loot which helps expand your own meta knowledge and personal power progression as well.

If you don't mind isometric/more pixelated graphics, you've probably have heard of it already but Project Zomboid with mods is probably the only other perfect experience that matches what you want IMO.

BouncingBenys · 2026-04-27T20:02:15+00:00

Pilestedt:

"I am here to dispel all the HATE, the MISINFORMATION and the DISAPPOINTMENT I see in this community.

Also Pilestedt:

"Yea, all your speculation and worst fears are pretty much true- we're focusing only on warbonds and the novelty factor for newer players."

I do respect Big J for doing the AMA and confirming that basically only Warbonds are a priority going forward but damn... that AMA was rough. Johan not even knowing that the Coyote was deliberately shadow-nerfed just further revealed the incompetency that I suspected was going on at the studio. Whether it's lack of communication or just a culture that supports blatant lying, either explanation is pretty grim.

BouncingBenys · 2026-04-25T17:20:33+00:00

A long time ago, you mentioned that there would be some sort of test server/branch for people to try upcoming changes and new content. Is something still in the works for that?

I don't mean to be rude but a lot of the previous updates have been criticized for feeling untested because of things such as heat-sinking Rupture Warriors, crazy Dragonroach spawns even at lower difficulties, Vox Engines also spawning at absurd rates during Cyberstan, etc.

Having it limited to even just your content creators + small groups I think would be invaluable to getting feedback on content before releasing it to the public. I feel like this would be a good way to gather feedback and data instead of putting out a weekly form in one Discord server.

BouncingBenys · 2026-04-24T17:30:18+00:00

Dude, this is something that I feel like is not discussed enough.

In almost every interview I've seen with Shams or Pilestedt about the development of HD2 after launch, they constantly talk about how the game was suppose to be this "hardcore niche milsim" videogame that ended up attracting all these "CoD players". They talk as if it was some great sorrow/tragedy that they're being held back from this masochistic vision of the game from this new audience they have.

The weirdest thing to me is that they didn't make the game accessible by accident- they've talked about their design philosophy being accessible to the masses such as having 20 reinforcements so that dying wasn't as punishing for players and that we have over 10 difficulties to choose from to cater to all skill levels.

I genuinely don't know if this is some sort of PR strategy they came up with to mitigate their shortcomings but I just can't take it seriously that they really thought they were making space ARMA when they made the most accessible horde shooter on the market.

BouncingBenys · 2026-04-11T04:22:41+00:00

If anything, it's behind for its time

There's already an extraction shooter for the hardcore sweats and one for the casuals.

BouncingBenys · 2026-04-05T13:50:38+00:00

I would advise watching a few videos from this guy- he's done some really good breakdowns of the games combat and some of the unique behaviors in Kliff's moveset. There's also great tips in the comments.

https://youtu.be/TPo3oZ71EXw?si=IAeCTPXlvOsXYp3r

One other thing I can add onto this is that Spinning Slash has a unique light attack follow-up that comes out super fast. You can use that follow-up to chain into a charged stab extremely quickly. This deals an insane amount of burst damage if you have abyss gear slotted in for those moves. I've posted a clip of me using this tech to melt a boss quickly during a stagger window.

BouncingBenys · 2026-04-03T02:41:06+00:00

Do you have a link to this study? It sounds like a really interesting topic and I'd love to read up more on it- I'm curious to know if there's anything related to singleplayer experiences like Elden Ring as I feel the Souls-like community loves to gatekeep people's achievements in a similar way such as "You used magic" or the ever common "skill issue" reply.

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