If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Ready to try Dark Souls 3 PvP? Here's a great combos primer

Hitstun. Combos. What does it all mean?

Cover image for YouTube video

Ready to try Dark Souls 3 PvP? Here's a great primer

Dark Souls 3 can be beaten with determination and patience; you do not ever have to git gud. But if you want to try your luck in PvP - to advance through a covenant, protect yourself from invaders, or just experience some of the most interesting gameplay the franchise offers - you're going to have to step it up a bit.

Observing what weapons, armour and abilities your opponents use or looking up builds is all very well, but when you first have a go against real people it's often over so quickly you're unable to absorb what happened. Unlike mobs and even NPCs and bosses, other players will parry and riposte you constantly, and unleash weapon arts that lock you in place and hammer you with repeated blows.

YouTuber neptunusequester has put together a handy primer. It does assume some background knowledge of the game's mechanics, but starts with an optional explanation of hit stun before going on to examine a number of combos for use in PvP. The meta shifts regularly but with a working knowledge of combos you'll find it much easier to understand what your opponents are doing and how to counter it while duelling.

Don't be that chump spamming R1 and being eaten alive by opponents: get a handle on this business and you'll soon be seeing genuine applause rather than sarcastic claps when you rock up to Fight Club.

Sign in and unlock a world of features

Get access to commenting, homepage personalisation, newsletters, and more!

In this article

Dark Souls

PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Dark Souls III

Video Game

Related topics
About the Author
Brenna Hillier avatar

Brenna Hillier

Contributor

Based in Australia and having come from a lengthy career in the Aussie games media, Brenna worked as VG247's remote Deputy Editor for several years, covering news and events from the other side of the planet to the rest of the team. After leaving VG247, Brenna retired from games media and crossed over to development, working as a writer on several video games.

Comments