MORDHAU: Beginner-to-Advanced Combat Guide

Everything that makes MORDHAU's melee click: directional attacks, parries, ripostes, chambers, feints and morphs, stamina management, building a loadout from points, which modes to learn in, and how to survive team fights in 64-player Frontline.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Patch #30 (November 6, 2024), the most recent MORDHAU patch; crossplay with PlayStation and Xbox has been live on official servers since Patch #29 Hotfix 2 (June 4, 2024). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status in 2026

• MORDHAU (Triternion) launched on PC on April 29, 2019 and on PS4/PS5/Xbox on July 12, 2023.
• The last major content drop was Patch #30 (November 2024): four new Demon Horde maps (blighted versions of Grad, Contraband, Feitoria and Taiga), Horde maps back in rotation, updated weapon animations, throws added to farm tools (Hoe, Pitchfork, Rake, Wooden Shovel, Metal Fork, Rusty Shovel, Sickle), horizontal cleaving throws for the Falx and Scythe, banner and bear-trap fixes, and the Banisher weapon-skin pack DLC.
• No newer patches have been announced on Steam as of September 2026, so treat the Patch #30 ruleset as current.

Quick Start

• Do the tutorial, then practice against bots. The offline modes let you learn parry timing without getting farmed.
• Parry is your default defense. A successful parry lets you riposte (counter-attack) quickly.
• Don't spam attacks. Every swing costs stamina, and running out while parrying gets you disarmed.
• Kick breaks turtles. A kick bypasses a parry-holding opponent and drains stamina; use it on people who just hold block.
• Learn one weapon first. Pick a forgiving mid-length weapon like the Messer or Longsword and stick with it until parries become automatic.
• Stay with your team in Frontline. Wandering alone into three enemies is how most new players die.
• Watch your stamina bar. When it's low, back off or switch to safer play.
• Use third person for awareness if you struggle with flanks; first person helps some players read attacks more precisely. Try both.
• Build a balanced loadout. 16 points to spend on weapon, armor and perks; don't max armor and bring a weak weapon.
• Horde and Demon Horde are great warm-ups. Co-op PvE against waves teaches spacing and target priority.

Combat Fundamentals

Attacks

Attack | How it works

Slash | Direction follows your mouse/stick movement; horizontal and diagonal swings

Overhead | Vertical strike from above; hard to read in a crowd

Stab | Straight thrust; usually fastest and good for reach

Kick | Short-range, interrupts parries and drains stamina; low damage

Combo | Attacking again during a successful hit's recovery chains a faster follow-up

Check your keybind settings: many players move overhead and stab to the mouse wheel for fast access.

Defense

• Parry: Raise your weapon to block an incoming hit. Timing and facing matter; the parry window is short and the parry covers an area in front of you.
• Riposte: Attacking right after a successful parry gives a faster counter that's hard to interrupt. This is your main damage source against good players.
• Chamber: Attack into an incoming strike with a matching (mirrored) attack at the right moment to block and counter at the same time. It costs stamina but beats players who rely on parry-then-riposte timing.
• Dodge/footwork: Stepping out of range (a "whiff punish") and attacking as their swing misses is often safer than parrying.

Deception

• Feint: Cancel your attack during the windup. Bait an early parry, then hit them in the recovery.
• Morph: Switch attack type mid-windup (for example, slash into stab) to change timing and direction.
• Drag / accel: Rotate your camera during a swing to delay (drag) or speed up (accel) the hit. Subtle drags and accels are the backbone of high-level play.
• All deceptions cost stamina. Overusing them loses you the stamina war.

Stamina

• Attacking, feinting, morphing and parrying heavier hits all drain stamina.
• Running out while you parry disarms you. At low stamina, stop parrying heavy weapons and reposition.
• Landing hits and good parries help you win the stamina trade. Chambers and certain perks affect it too.

Loadouts and Customization

• Every loadout has 16 points for weapons, equipment, armor and perks.
• Armor tiers (0 to 3) for head, torso and legs. More armor reduces damage but slows you and costs points.
• Perks tweak your playstyle (examples: Second Wind, Scavenger, Smith, Tenacious, Rat, Brawler, Cat, Fireproof). Read each description in the customization screen.
• Weapons range from cheap daggers and farm tools to heavy greatswords and polearms. Cost scales with power.
• Cosmetics are purchased with in-game gold and are purely visual (plus paid DLC packs like The Archduke armor set and the Banisher weapon pack).

Starter loadouts

Style | Suggested core | Why

Balanced duelist | Longsword or Messer, medium armor | Forgiving speed, good at everything

Frontline brute | Zweihander or Poleaxe, medium armor | Reach and damage for team fights

Support | Mid weapon plus Engineer tools or banners | Build fortifications, spawn banners and help objectives

Ranged | Longbow, Recurve Bow or Crossbow, light armor, backup sidearm | Picks off distracted enemies

Skirmisher | Short weapon, light armor, throwables | Fast, flanking, finishing wounded enemies

Game Modes

Mode | Players | What you learn

Frontline | Up to 64 | Team play, objectives, sieges, cavalry. Teams have ticket pools and fight over capture points

Invasion | Up to 64 | Attack/defend objectives on a timer. Great for learning maps

Horde | Co-op | Waves of AI; earn currency to buy equipment between waves

Demon Horde | Co-op | Overhauled horde (April 2024) with demonic maps, new enemies, bosses, blessed weapons and Prestige difficulty scaling

Skirmish | Small teams | Round-based elimination; the best place to learn real team fighting

Duel | 1v1 | Pure mechanics practice

Deathmatch / Brawl / TDM | Varies | Fast, chaotic fighting

Swordgame | Free-for-all | Progress through 20 weapons by getting kills

Ranked | Matchmade | Competitive ranked matchmaking

The old Battle Royale mode has been removed from the game, so ignore older guides that recommend it.

Team Fighting (Frontline, Invasion, Skirmish)

• Hold the line with your team. Fighting side by side means enemies can't swing at you without risking friendly counter-attacks.
• Watch your swings. Friendly fire is on; wide horizontal slashes in a crowd hit teammates. Use stabs and overheads in tight spaces.
• Target the distracted enemy. The player fighting your teammate is the free kill.
• Back off when outnumbered. Retreat toward your team rather than trying to "1v3".
• Use siege and cavalry. Catapults, ballistas and horses decide objectives; kill enemy engineers and archers who support pushes.
• Engineers matter. Fortifications and spawn banners help your team hold ground. Patch #30 aligned banner spawns to the direction the banner faces.

Horde and Demon Horde Tips

• Buy equipment through the buy menu (items were moved there in Patch #28 Hotfix 1) rather than hunting it on the map.
• Explosive kegs are in the buy menu (added in Patch #29 Hotfix 1).
• Blessed weapons have special effects, but some don't affect bosses (for example, the Blessed Crossbow and Blessed Eveningstar stun were adjusted).
• Prestige scales difficulty; learn a map on low Prestige first.
• Stick together at objectives. Demon Horde maps ask you to defend or complete objectives before a final battle.

Settings Tips

• Raise your FOV for awareness in team fights.
• Try third person for crowd awareness, first person for precise reads in duels.
• Turn off gore if you find it distracting (blood and gore are optional).
• Mouse sensitivity: Lower sens gives more controlled drags and accels; higher sens makes turning around faster. Find a middle ground.
• Crossplay is enabled on official servers; you'll meet controller players.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Spamming attacks until you run out of stamina and get disarmed.
• Holding parry instead of timing it. Good players will kick or feint you.
• Wide slashes in crowds that hit your own team.
• Running off alone in Frontline.
• Max armor, weak weapon loadouts that can't finish fights.
• Only playing Frontline. Duels and Skirmish teach mechanics far faster.
• Ignoring footwork. Stepping back out of reach is often better than parrying.

Advanced Tips

• Mix up timings. Alternate straight attacks, drags, accels and feints so opponents can't parry by rhythm.
• Chamber predictable players. If someone always opens with the same attack, chamber it.
• Punish whiffs. Step out of range, let them miss, and hit their recovery.
• Stamina bait. Feint and morph until they burn stamina on panic parries, then pressure.
• Riposte feints. Feinting your riposte into another attack beats players who parry ripostes on reflex.
• Crowd control with overheads and stabs in narrow spaces; save horizontals for when you have room.
• Learn weapon matchups. Longer weapons want range; shorter weapons want to close and combo.

FAQ

Is MORDHAU still updated? The most recent patch is Patch #30 (November 2024). Official servers remain online with crossplay.

Does MORDHAU have crossplay? Yes. Since June 4, 2024, PlayStation and Xbox players can join official servers with PC players.

Can I play offline? Yes. You can practice offline against AI, and Horde modes support co-op with friends.

What's the best weapon for beginners? A mid-length, forgiving weapon like the Longsword or Messer.

How do I stop getting disarmed? Manage stamina: don't parry heavy hits at low stamina, and don't spam attacks.

What is a chamber? Attacking into an incoming attack with a mirrored strike at the right time, which blocks and counters at once.

Is the gore optional? Yes, blood and gore can be turned off.

Sources

• MORDHAU on Steam
• Steam news: Patch #30, Patch #29 hotfixes (crossplay), Patch #28
• Mordhau (video game) — Wikipedia