Martial arts

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Martial arts allow you to push your Unarmed Combat and Melee Combat skills even further. Martial arts are divided in several styles, each one with its own advantages and peculiarities. Martial arts can grant you some very powerful combat techniques and useful abilities that cannot be found anywhere else.

Learning Styles

There are a few different ways to learn martial art styles:

• Selecting a martial art trait at character creation.
  • Martial Arts Training - Aikido, Judo, Karate, Pankration, Taekwondo, and Tai Chi
  • Self-Defense Classes - Capoeira, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Ninjutsu, Wing Chun, and Zui Quan
  • Shaolin Adept - Crane Kung Fu, Dragon Kung Fu, Leopard Kung Fu, Snake Kung Fu, and Tiger Kung Fu
  • Melee Weapon Training - Eskrima, Fencing, Medieval Swordsmanship, Niten Ichi-Ryu, Silat, and Sōjutsu
• Certain professions start with a martial art or a single style from a list:
  • Pugilist - Boxing
  • Competitive Fencer - Fencing
  • Martial Artist - Aikido, Capoeira, Crane Kung Fu, Dragon Kung Fu, Judo, Karate, Krav Maga, Leopard Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Ninjutsu, Pankration, Snake Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Tai Chi, Tiger Kung Fu, Wing Chun, Zui Quan
  • Blackbelt - Aikido, Capoeira, Crane Kung Fu, Dragon Kung Fu, Judo, Karate, Krav Maga, Leopard Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Ninjutsu, Pankration, Snake Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Tai Chi, Tiger Kung Fu, Wing Chun, Zui Quan
• Reading a martial arts manual. Not all styles can be learned through a manual.
• Using the Close Quarters Battle CBM will temporarily override the player's known martial arts while active.
  • Available martial art styles from the Close Quarters Battle CBM are: Aikido, Bionic Combatives, Boxing, Capoeira, Crane Kung Fu, Dragon Kung Fu, Judo, Karate, Krav Maga, Leopard Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Ninjutsu, Pankration, Snake Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Tai Chi, Tiger Kung Fu, Wing Chun, and Zui Quan.
• While the Close Quarters Battle CBM is active, the player has a very small chance to permanently learn their active martial art style each time they hit an enemy.
  • The chance is: 1 / (1400 - (50 * Intelligence stat)). For example, a character with the 8 Intelligence has a 0.1% chance to learn a martial art each time they hit an enemy. This chance is doubled if an Enhanced Memory Banks CBM is active.
• If a friendly NPC knows a martial art, it's possible to have them teach you the style.
• The Brawling style is automatically learned when the player reaches Melee skill 1.
• If you don't mind cheating, you can use the Debug Menu to "Learn All Melee Styles". This gives you access to every martial art in the game.

Keys

To use martial arts in combat make sure to first activate one of the styles you know, by pressing _, then selecting the style you want to use. You can learn more about a style you've chosen (including a list of compatible weapons) by highlighting the target style and pressing F1.

If you're wielding something that isn't compatible with your selected style, pressing w and then the letter of your wielded item will unequip it, freeing you for empty-hand styles. In the martial-arts menu (default: _) you can opt to not wield items for carrying purposes by activating the "keep hands free" option, avoiding this problem.

General Tips

• The best way to get a martial art style is to select the appropriate trait during character generation. Trying to find the correct manual during gameplay can be very difficult and unreliable.
• It is almost always better to use a martial art instead of nothing unless the style has a noticable drawback.
  • When in doubt, use Brawling.
• If you cannot use a weapon / style combination, the game will display a warning in the message log. Pay attention when equipping weapons or switching martial arts.
• Changing styles takes no time. However, you will not begin receiving the benefits of a martial art until the beginning of your next turn.
• For unarmed styles, using an unarmed weapon such as a pair of Brass Knuckles helps a lot to improve damage.
• Unarmed styles vs Weapon styles:
  • Unarmed styles have more variety in techniques and buffs.
  • Weapon styles do more damage than Unarmed styles.
  • Weapon styles cannot be used without an appropriate weapon. If the weapon: breaks, is disarmed, is lost, or cannot be equipped, the player may become helpless.
  • Some style such as Bionic Combatives, Krav Maga, and Ninjutsu are unarmed / weapon hybrid styles. These styles usually have restrictions on which buffs and techniques can be used while armed or unarmed.
• There is no limit to the number of martial arts you can learn.
• For the most part, all techniques and buffs can be used at Unarmed Combat 5 and Melee 5. However, there are some exceptions such as Brawling.

Mechanics and Terminology

Techniques - Techniques are the attacks performed by a martial arts style. The first and most important thing about techniques:

YOU DO NOT HAVE DIRECT CONTROL OVER WHEN MARTIAL ARTS TECHNIQUES ACTIVATE! Martial art techniques are picked randomly. They will be automatically activated when you attack if their required conditions and prerequisites are met; the reason for this is to prevent massive combat slowdown while fighting. Selecting a technique each time you attack an enemy doesn't sound bad against one or two zombies, but against a horde of strong zombies, picking a technique on every attack will slow the game to a crawl. That said, techniques can provide a wide array of effects and have a number of difference conditions on when they trigger. Aside from modifying damage and movement cost, there are a few other attributes to be aware of:

• Normal and Crit Techniques - By default, a technique can only be triggered on a normal hit. If set as a crit technique, the technique can only trigger on a critical hit. It is possible for a technique to be set to trigger on both normal and critical hits.

• Style Techniques vs Weapon Techniques - Some weapons have techniques that will trigger when you attack. If a weapon is compatible with your current martial arts style and both the weapon and style has techniques of the same type (normal, crit), the style's techniques will always used and the weapon's techniques will never trigger. On the other hand, if the style doesn't have the same type of techniques as the weapon, the weapon's techniques will be used instead.
  • For example, the weapon style, Sōjutsu, has normal techniques, a counter technique, but no crit techniques. If a Halberd is used with the style (which has a normal technique and a crit technique), the normal technique would never trigger but the weapon's crit technique would always be used on a critical hit.

• Rapid - Shorthand for a technique that has the follow attributes: 50% move cost, 66% bash damage, 66% cutting damage, 66% stab damage. Rapid techniques are common in a lot of styles and represent a quick but slightly less damaging attack.

• Disarm - The technique will force the target to drop their held item. A technique that has a disarm effect will never be used against a target that doesn't have a held item.

• Grab Break - Defensive technique that triggers when you are attacked with the Grab special attack used by zombies. Have a grab break technique does not automatically break a grab attack, it merely gives you a better chance to do so.

• Miss Recovery - Also called a feint, a miss recovery technique triggers when you attack and miss an enemy. Almost all miss recovery techniques have a 0 move cost which gives you more chances to make a successful attack. However, this doesn't mean you have unlimited attacks until you hit. The game's code is very complicated on how it determines move cost when you fail to hit (it cost more when you fail by a lot) and while feints help, you WILL eventually have your turn end if you keep missing.

• Down Duration - If the technique hits, it will knock down the target for the indicated number of turns. A creature that is "Downed" has its dodge chance reduced to 0. A technique with a Downed effect cannot be used against a target that is already knocked down. Regardless of the duration, a Downed creature can attempt a check (easier for stronger creatures) to get back up and end the effect. Getting up has a movement cost but it's possible for faster creatures to get up and act before you can move again.

• Stun Duration - If the technique hits, it will stun the target for the indicated number of turns. A creature that is "Stunned" cannot act during its turn.

• Knockback Distance - If the technique hits, the foe will be pushed back the given number of spaces if their is room.
  • Powerful Knockback - Knockback caused by the technique causes damage when colliding with an object or another target. It will also knock back other targets hit by the knock backed enemy.
  • Knockback Spread - This causes knockback techniques to move the target away in random directions instead of a straight line.

• AoE - This means the technique can strike multiple enemies. AoE techniques cannot trigger unless there are extra enemies to hit. There are three types: Wide, Impale, and Spin.
  • Wide - Strike enemies adjacent to the target.
  • Impale - Will also strike the enemy behind the target.
  • Spin - Hits every enemy adjacent to the user.

• Weighting - This increases the likelihood the technique will be randomly selected when attacking. When set above 1, "extra copies" of the technique will be added to the technique pool to pick from. Negatives reduce the chance of the technique being added to the list at all. Weighting only works if the technique wasn't disqualified for another reason such as a Disarm technique against an unarmed opponent.

Buffs - Buffs are passive effects that provide bonuses or penalties while active. Buff effects can vary greatly from increased damage, to reduced move cost, to bonus armor. Static buffs do not have a duration but all other buffs will last a certain number of turns. If a buff is triggered while that buff is already active, its duration is refreshed and will "stack" if allowed.

Buffs that "stack" means multiple versions of that buff can be applied to the player. For example, a buff with "+2 bash damage" that can be stacked three times can potentially give the player "+6 bash damage" if triggered three times. Regardless of a stacking buff's duration, the "intensity" (stack size) will go down by one per turn unless the buff was triggered again on that turn and when a buff's duration expires, the buff will fade regardless of stack size.

When you switch from one martial arts style to another, you will lose all active buffs of the previous style. However, if a buff is marked as "persists" then the buff will remain active after changing styles.

Below is list of the different buffs used in the martial art styles.

• Static - Static buffs are always active while you are in a style. They do not have duration.
• OnAttack - Triggers when the player performs an unarmed or melee attack. The attack does not need to hit an opponent.
• OnBlock - Triggers when the player successfully blocks an attack. The amount of damage blocked does not matter.
• OnCrit - Triggers when the player scores a critical hit with an unarmed or melee attack.
• OnDodge - Triggers when the player successfully dodges an attack.
• OnGetHit - Triggers when the player successfully blocks an attack or is hit by an enemy. The attack does not need to deal damage to the palyer.
• OnHit - Triggers when the player successfully hits an opponent with an unarmed or melee attack.
• OnKill - Triggers when the player kills an opponent with an unarmed or melee attack.
• OnMiss - Triggers when the player misses with an unarmed or melee attack.
• OnMove - Triggers when the player moves.
• OnPause - Triggers when the player passes their turn. i.e presses numpad 5

Arm Block and Leg Block - Some styles will allows the user to block with their arms or legs. In order to arm/leg block, at least one of the user's arms/legs must not be broken.

Bonus Block and Dodge Attempts - Some styles have buffs that can increase the number of times a player can attempt to block or dodge attacks made against them.

• A brief note about blocked and dodging.

When a player is attacked they will attempt to defend themselves by blocking or dodging the attack. By default, a player can attempt to block one attack and dodge one attack each turn. Bonus Block Attempts and Dodge Attempts give the player the ability to block or dodge additional attacks. For example, a player with +2 Block Attempts could attempt to dodge a single attack each turn and block three separate attacks each turn.

For each individual attack, the player only has one chance to dodge it and one chance to block it. A player will first attempt to dodge an attack from an enemy. If the dodge attempt fails, the player will attempt to block the attack if they are wielding an item that can block or can block with their martial art (arm block, etc). If the block attempt fails, the player will be hit. A failed block or dodge still counts as an attempt for that turn. Having additional sources of blocking (wielding a weapon, arm block, leg block, etc) do **not** provide additional block chances.

List of Styles

Below is a list of martial arts styles with buff and technique information.

Name - Name of the technique or buff.

Requirements - List of requirements that need to be achieved before the technique/buff can trigger. Skills requirements usually indicate if the technique/buff can be used unarmed (Unarmed skill) or armed (Melee skill) but some techniques will indicate that they can be triggered either way. Other conditions such as a active buffs or stunned / downed / armed opponent may also be required.

Type - For buffs this is the action that triggers the buff. For techniques this what kind of technique it is. Offensive techniques trigger when attacking and the type of hit (normal, crit) that can trigger the technique is listed in parenthesis. Grab Break and Miss Recovery are self-explanatory.

Duration - The number of turns a buff will remain active. If the buff can stack, the maximum stack number will also be included.

Effects - Any special effects the buff or technique possesses.

Aikido

“ Aikido is a Japanese martial art focused on self-defense, while minimizing injury to the attacker. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Spirit of Aikido

Starting Trait: Martial Arts Training

Style Weapons: Unarmed, no unarmed weapons except: Bionic Claws, Cestus, Nail Knuckles, Pair of Brass Knuckles, Pair of Steel Knuckles, Tiger Claws

 

Aikido Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 0		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Aikido Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	Blocked damage reduced by 100% of Dexterity, +1.0 Dodging skill, +2 Block effectiveness
Fluid Blocking	Unarmed 0	OnBlock	1 turn	-10% move cost, Enables Counter Throw (block) and Disarming Throw (block) techniques
Fluid Dodging	Unarmed 1	OnDodge	1 turn	-10% move cost, Enables Counter Throw (dodge) and Disarming Throw (dodge) techniques
Intermediate Aikido	Unarmed 3	Static	-	Blocked damage reduced by 100% of Dexterirty, +1 Block attempts, +1 Dodge attempts, +1 Block effectiveness
Advanced Aikido	Unarmed 5	Static	-	+1 Block attempts, +1 Dodge attempts, +1 Block effectiveness

Aikido Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Counter Throw (block)	Unarmed 0 Fluid Blocking buff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	-30% move cost, Knockback distance: 1, Knockdown duration: 1
Counter Throw (dodge)	Unarmed 2 Fluid Dodging buff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	-30% move cost, Knockback distance:1, Knockdown duration: 1
Grab Break	Unarmed 3	Grab Break
Disarming Throw (block)	Unarmed 4 Fluid Blocking buff Armed opponent	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	-30% move cost, Disarms opponent, Knockback distance: 1, Knockdown duration: 1
Disarming Throw (dodge)	Unarmed 4 Fluid Dodginging buff Armed opponent	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	-30% move cost, Disarms opponent, Knockback distance: 1, Knockdown duration: 1

Advantages:

• Has the best group defense by granting +2 block attempts and +2 dodge attempts.
• Has an improved chance to block and very high damage reduction when blocking attacks.
• Techniques are much quicker than normal, which allows multiple attacks per turn.

Disadvantages

• Slow killing speed, due to no damage bonuses and repeated knockback.
• All techniques require you to either block or dodge before they can be used.
• Groups can still be dangerous if you get surrounded or do not have any space to move enemies away from you.

Strategies

Aikido is the most defensive style in the game, meaning it is good at protecting but bad at killing. You are very hard to hurt, and can use your techniques to make space if you are attacked. If you need to kill with Aikido, equip one of the few unarmed weapons and position the enemy so that they are between you and a wall. The wall will prevent the knockback from the counters while you slowly kill the creature.

Bionic Combatives

“ A modern combat style for the post-modern human. Nicknamed "Biojutsu", Bionic Combatives combines integrated weaponry, armor and augments into an consolidated fighting discipline. ”

Martial Arts Manual: N/A

Starting Trait: N/A

Style Weapons: Unarmed, Bionic Claws, Monomolecular Blade

 

Bionic Combatives Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Arms Alloy Plating CBM		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Leg Block	Legs Alloy Plating CBM		-	Able to block melee attacks with legs
Biojutsu Stance	Melee 0 Unarmed or Melee	Static	-	+2 Blocks attempts
Binary Hardening	Melee 4 Unarmed or Melee	OnBlock	4 turns Stacks 3 times	+3 Bash, Cut and Stab armor
Optimization	Melee 4 Unarmed or Melee	OnKill	3 turns Stacks 3 times Persists when switching styles	+1 Accuracy, +15% damage

Bionic Combatives Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Measured Strike (melee)	Melee 0	Offensive (Normal)	80% move cost
Measured Strike (unarmed)	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	80% move cost
Disarm	Unarmed 1 Armed opponent	Offensive (Normal)	Disarms opponent, Weighting: 2
Biojutsu Takedown	Unarmed 2	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	Knockdown duration: 2, Weighting: 2
Biojutsu Impale	Melee 3	Offensive (Crit)	+50% damage, Stun duration: 1
Biojutsu Cleave	Melee 5 Opponents nearby	Offensive (Crit)	AoE: Wide, Weighting: 2

Advantages:

• This is the only style in the game to feature an AoE technique (Biojutsu Cleave); when combined with the style's buffs, it becomes very strong against groups.
• The style can be used armed (for damage and groups) and unarmed (for control).
• It's one of the most reliable styles due to the way the techniques are setup.
• Because the Close Quarters Battle CBM boosts all melee skills to 5 and is required to obtain the style, even an unskilled character will have access to all techniques.

Disadvantages

• CBMs are necessary to get the most out of the style:
  • Without a bionic weapon, half the style is unusable.
  • Arm and Leg Blocking require specific CBMs to use.
  • The Close Quarters Battle CBM is required for the style. This makes the style very difficult to use and learn.
• The Close Quarters Battle CBM will lower your melee skills to 5 if they are above 5, and it will prevent you from gaining any melee skill experience while active. If you manage to learn the style permanently from it, this is no longer an issue.

Strategies

Once you get past the roadblocks, Bionic Combatives is an amazing style. It has defense, control when unarmed, and great damage when armed. Fight unarmed if you need to apply control to an annoying creature and switch to armed to finish it off or deal with weak groups.

Bōjutsu

“ "The Way of the Staff", is the Japanese martial art of fighting with a staff. Bōjutsu focuses on maintaining a good stance to effectively block and counterattack.. ”

Martial Arts Manual: N/A

Starting Trait: N/A

Style Weapons: QUARTERSTAVES

 

Bōjutsu Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Bōjutsu Stance		Static	-	Blocked damage reduced by 100% of Dexterity.
Skilled Striking	Melee 1	Static	-	Melee skill increases bash damage.
Rolling Staff	Melee 3	OnMove	1 turn	+10% bash damage. Enables "Rolling Strike" technique.

Bōjutsu Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Front Thrust	Melee 1	Offensive (Normal & Crit)
Knee Strike	Melee 2	Defensive (Block Counter)	-20% move cost, Knockdown duration: 1
Overhead Front Strike	Melee 3	Defensive (Block Counter)	+40% bash damage.
Rolling Strike	Melee 3 Rolling Staff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	-25% move cost, +50% bash damage
Feint	Melee 4	Miss Recovery	-20% move cost.
Hooking Disarm	Melee 5 Armed opponent	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	-20% move cost.

Boxing

“ Sport of the true gentleman, modern boxing has evolved from the prizefights of the Victorian era. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Practical Pugilism

Starting Trait: N/A

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Boxing Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 0		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Boxing Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	+1 Accuarcy, Blocked damage reduced by 50% of Strength
Footwork	Unarmed 3	OnMove	1 turn Stacks 2 times	+1.0 Dodging skill
Counter Chance	Unarmed 5	OnDodge	1 turn	+25% Bash damage, Enables Cross Counter techniques

Boxing Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Cross	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal)	+20% Bash damage
Jab	Unarmed 2	Offensive (Normal)	Rapid
Uppercut	Unarmed 4	Offensive (Crit)	+40% Bash damage, Stun duration: 1
Cross Counter	Unarmed 5 Counter Chance buff	Offensive (Crit)	+50% Bash damage, Knockback distance: 1, Knockdown duration: 1, Stun duration: 1, Weighting: 2

Advantages:

• All of Boxing's techniques have a higher than normal damage compared to other styles. Counter Chance makes them even stronger!
• Cross Counter is strong and the Footwork buff makes it easier to trigger.

Disadvantages

• Cross Counter's knockback can make it difficult to use with Counter Chance since you need to follow your opponent to continue fighting.
• Counter Chance and Footwork have very short durations and it can be difficult to capitalize on them.

Strategies

Boxing is a solid style with above average damage with a little defense thrown in. Its best to focus on fighting one enemy at a time and let Cross Counter to keep you safe. Cross Counter's knockback gives you a chance to gain Footwork when you follow an enemy, allow additional counters. If you trap an enemy against a wall, you can make use of Counter Chance instead to do more damage.

Brawling

“ You're used to hand-to-creature fighting. You know how to fight when unarmed or with any weapon to a certain extent. It's not stylish or sporting, but it gets the job done. ”

Martial Arts Manual: N/A

Starting Trait: N/A

Style Weapons: Everything

 

Brawling Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 1		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Enhanced Blocking	Unarmed 5	Static	-	+1 Block attempt
Autolearn	Melee 1		-	Characters automatically learn this style

Brawling Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Feint (unarmed)	Unarmed 3	Miss Recovery
Power Hit	Unarmed 4	Offensive (Crit)	Knockback duration: 1, Knockback spread: 1, Stun duration: 1
Trip	Unarmed 5	Offensive (Crit)	Knockdown duration: 1
Grab Break (unarmed)	Unarmed 6	Grab Break
Disarm (unarmed)	Unarmed 6 Armed opponent	Offensive (Normal)	Disarms opponent
Feint (melee)	Melee 3	Miss Recovery
Grab Break (melee)	Melee 6	Grab Break
Disarm (melee)	Melee 6 Armed opponent	Offensive (Normal)	Disarms opponent

Advantages:

• Automatically learned at Melee 1. As long as you have even a small bit of combat still, you can use Brawling.
• Brawling can be used unarmed or with any weapon.
• Gains a wide variety of techniques that can be used armed or unarmed.

Disadvantages

• It takes longer to learn all of the techniques compared to the other styles.
• No improved damage and minor defense. Your power is based mostly on the weapon you use.
• You will need to train both Unarmed and Melee to get the entire set of techniques.

Strategies

Brawling is the ultimate backup style. If you are not sure what style to use at any point, you can fall back to using Brawling. Brawling doesn't have much in strategy, just equip your best weapon and start swinging. If you need some sort of control, switch to unarmed Brawling to use Trip and Power Hit.

Capoeira

“ A dance-like style with its roots in Brazilian slavery, Capoeira is focused on fluid movement and sweeping kicks. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Capoeira 100

Starting Trait: Self-Defense Classes

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Capoeira Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Capoeira Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	+1 Dodge attempts, +1.0 Dodging skill
Capoeira Tempo	Unarmed 1	OnAttack	1 turns Stacks 3 times	+5% Bash damage
Capoeira Momentum	Unarmed 2	OnMove	3 turns	+1.0 Dodging skill, Enables Spin Kick and Sweep Kick techniques

Capoeira Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Push Kick	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal)	+20% Bash damage
Sweep Kick	Unarmed 2 Capoeira Momentum buff	Offensive (Normal)	75% move cost, +20% Bash damage, Knockdown duration: 1, Weighting: 2
Feint	Unarmed 3	Miss Recovery
Circle Kick	Unarmed 4	Offensive (Crit)	+40% Bash damage
Spin Kick	Unarmed 5 Capoeira Momentum buff	Offensive (Crit)	75% move cost, +40% Bash damage, Stun duration: 1, Weighting: 2

Advantages:

• The kicks do good damage and are fast.
• Capoeira improves your Dodging skill by a decent amount as long as you remember to move.
• Capoeira Tempo helps make the most of a missed attack.

Disadvantages

• If you can't move, you can't gain access to the stronger kicks or dodging skill bonus.
• Getting hit by a Grab attack is very bad.

Strategies

To get the most out of Capoeira, you need occasionally move to keep Capoeira Momentum active. With this buff active, you are better at dodging and get access to the better techniques of the style. Knowning when and where to move and when to attack is the most important aspect of this style.

Crane Kung Fu

“ One of the five Shaolin animal styles. The Crane uses intricate hand techniques and jumping dodges. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Red Crane

Starting Trait: Shaolin Adept

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Crane Kung Fu Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 3		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Crane's Precision	Unarmed 0	Static	-	Dexterity determines bonus bash damage instead of Strength
Crane Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	+2.0 Dodging skill
Crane's Flight	Unarmed 1	OnDodge	3 turns	+1 Accuracy, +1.0 Dodging skill, Enables Crane Kick and Crane Strike techniques
Crane's Grace	Static 5	OnDodge		+2 Dodge attempt

Crane Kung Fu Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Crane Wing	Unarmed 0	Miss Recovery
Crane Kick	Unarmed 2	Offensive (Normal & Crit) Crane's Flight buff	+25% bash damage, Knockback duration: 1
Crane Flap	Unarmed 3	Grab Break
Crane Strike	Unarmed 2	Offensive (Normal & Crit) Crane's Flight buff	+50% bash damage, Stun duration: 2

Advantages:

• High dexterity improves damage as well as defense.
• Crane Kung Fu is good at "keep away" thanks to Crane Kick, Grab Break, and Dodging skill bonus buffs.
• Provides powerful control effects with both of its techniques.

Disadvantages

• Both techniques require you to dodge an attempt before they can be used.
• Not very good unless you completely focus on Dexterity.
• Not as damaging as offensive styles.

Strategies

Crane Kung Fu is the most offensive, defensive style in the game. While most defensive styles disregard offensive techniques, Crane Kick and Crane Strike not only protects you with decent control effects but they provide decent damage bonuses too. Combined with Crane's Precision, you will be able to hold your own against most threats. However, you must first dodge an attack before you can use your techniques. Crane Kung Fu favors solo fights but can handle small groups with a little practice.

Dragon Kung Fu

“ One of the five Shaolin animal styles. The Dragon uses fluid movements and hard strikes. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Jade Dragon

Starting Trait: Shaolin Adept

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Dragon Kung Fu Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 2		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Dragon Wing	Unarmed 2	OnDodge	3 turns	+10% bash damage
Dragon's Vortex	Unarmed 2	OnBlock	3 turns	+10% bash damage
Dragon Power	Unarmed 3	OnPause	2 turns	+2 Block effectiveness, +1.0 Dodging Skill, Blocked damage reduced by 100% of Intelligence.

Dragon Kung Fu Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Dragon Claw	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+20% bash damage
Dragon Tail	Unarmed 4	Offensive (Crit)	+40% Bash damage, Knockdown duration: 1
Dragon Strike	Unarmed 5 Downed opponent	Offensive (Crit)	+50% Bash damage, Stun duration: 1

Advantages:

• All techniques do good damage and Dragon Tail and Dragon Strike have controlling effects.
• Dodging and Blocking make your attacks stronger and using Dragon Power makes it easier to do both.

Disadvantages

• All of Dragon Kung Fu's techniques compete with each other when you crit. It can be hard to get the technique you want at the right time.
• You need to invest in Intelligence to get the most out of the style.

Strategies

Dragon Kung Fu rewards players for successfully defending by improving their offense for a short time. Likewise, a successful critical hit will help protect the player by inflicting a status condition on the enemy. Dragon Kung Fu works well as a patient style that defends first then attacks repeatedly to eliminate their would be assailant.

Eskrima

“ Eskrima, also known as Kali, is a Filipino martial art. It emphasizes rapid strikes with knife and baton weapons, along with a variety of improvised substitutes. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Practical Eskrima

Starting Trait: Melee Weapon Training

Style Weapons: Bee Sting, Bowling Pin, Combat Knife, Copper Knife, Copper Tubing, Cudgel, Dive Knife, Fungal Fighter String, Heavy Stick, Expandable Baton (Extended), Glass Shiv, Hammer, Hunting Knife, Kukri, Loaded Stick, Machete, Makeshift Knife, Makeshift Machete, No. 9*, Pair Of Scissors, Pipe, Plank, Pocket Knife, Pr-24 Baton (Extended), Punch Dagger, Rm42 Fighting Knife, Screwdriver, Sharpened Toothbrush, Shillelagh*, Shishkebab*, Stone Hammer, Stone Knife, Suvival Knife, Survivor Machete, Switchblade, Tactical Tonfa*, Tanto*, Tonfa, Wooden Tonfa, Trench Knife, Umbrella, Walking Cane, Wasp Sting, Wrench

• Includes all variations.

 

Eskrima Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Eskrima Stance	Melee 0	Static	-	+2 Accuracy
Eskrima Combination	Melee 2	OnHit	3 turns Stacks 3 times	+15% damage, Enables Combination Strike technique

Eskrima Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Snap Strike	Melee 0	Offensive (Normal)	80% move cost
Fan Strike	Melee 2	Offensive (Normal)	75% move cost
Combination Strike	Melee 2 Eskrima Combination buff	Offensive (Normal)	80% move cost, +50% damage
Stunning Strike	Melee 3	Offensive (Crit)	80% move cost. Stun duration: 1
Round Strike	Melee 4	Offensive (Normal)	60% move cost
Low Strike	Melee 4	Offensive (Crit)	Knockdown duration: 1

Advantages:

• Eskrima is the fastest of all weapon styles. You have a lot of chances to attack which allows you to fight against groups to an extent.
• The large amount of improvised weapons makes it easier to use than most weapon styles.
• Eskrima crits can knockdown or stun an opponent while also activating Eskrima Combination.

Disadvantages

• Eskrima lacks in damage due to its weapon selection.

Strategies

Eskrima is the easiest weapon style to use. Its broad weapon selection means you will always have something you can use and its fast techniques let you deliver multiple strikes before your opponents can retaliate. However, late game enemies with armor like Zombie Hulks and Skeletal Juggernauts are going to be a problem. If you can't damage something with Combination Strike, you are not going to be able to win the fight.

Fencing

“ The noble art of fencing is taught with flexible competition blades, but the techniques are derived from (and applicable to) more functional examples. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Modern Swordsman

Starting Trait: Melee Weapon Training

Style Weapons: Broadsword*, Cavalry Saber*, Cudgel, Expandable Baton (extended), Fencing Epee, Fencing Foil, Fencing Saber, Firebrand*, Loaded Stick, Pipe, Pointy Stick, PR-24 Baton (extended), Rapier*, Shillelagh*, Umbrella, Walking Cane

 

Fencing Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Fencing Stance	Melee 0	Static	-	Blocked damage reduced by 50% of Dexterity
Parry	Melee 1	OnBlock	1 turn	+1 Accuracy, Enables Fencing Reposte technique
Remise	Melee 3	OnMiss	1 turn	+1 Accuracy, Enables Compound Attack technique
Counter Time	Melee 4	OnPause	1 turn	+2 Block effectiveness, Enables Compound Attack technique

Fencing Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Fencing Lunge	Melee 2	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	80% move cost
Compound Attack (Remise)	Melee 3 Compound Attack buff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+25% damage, Weighting: 4
Compound Attack (Counter Time)	Melee 4 Counter Time buff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+25% damage, Weighting: 4
Feint	Melee 4	Miss Recovery
Fencing Reposte	Melee 5 Parry buff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+20% damage, Stun duration: 1

Advantages:

• Fencing's biggest benefit is its Accuracy bonuses. Even missing will improve Accuracy. Combined with a good weapon, you should never have trouble hitting something.
• The style is quicker than normal thanks to Fencing Lunge.

Disadvantages

• All the bonus damage comes from attacks that you need to "set up".
• The OnMiss version of Compound Attack is something you will "grow out of" when you level up Melee since you need to miss to activate it.

Strategies

Fencing works best in a one-on-one situation but Fencing Reposte might be able to protect you if another enemy or two joins the fight. Finding a good weapon to fence with is a high priority for user of this style. Without it, you are not going to be able to fight armored opponents.

Fior Di Battaglia

Fior Di Battaglia is a Historical European martial art (HEMA).

“ Medieval Europe's martial techniques for fighting with polearms. The "Flower of Battle" places great focus on countering one's opponent and knocking them down before landing a killing blow. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Fior Di Battaglia

Starting Trait: Melee Weapon Training

Style Weapons: Battle Axe*, Copper Axe, Fire Axe, Glaive*, Halberd*, Hockey Stick, Hoe, Ji, Lucerne Hammer*, Makeshift Glaive, Pickaxe, Sledge Hammer, Wood Axe

• Includes all variations

 

Fior Di Battaglia Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Stand Your Ground	Melee 0	Static	-	+1 Block attempts, +2 Block Effectiveness, -1.0 Dodging skill, Blocked damage reduced by 50% of Strength
Tactical Retreat	Melee 0	OnMove	2 turns	-1 Block attempts, -2 Block Effectiveness, +1.0 Dodging skill, Blocked damage increased by 50% of Strength, Forbids High Round Strike technique
Defense Break	Melee 1	OnBlock	1 turn Stacks 3 times	+1 Accuracy, Enables Displace and Hook technique
Tactical Feinting	Melee 3	OnMiss	2 turn,	Enables Hook and Drag technique

Fior Di Battaglia Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
High Round Strike	Melee 2 No Tactical Retreat buff	Offensive (Normal)	+10% damage
High Round Feint	Melee 2	Miss Recovery
Displace and Hook	Melee 4 Defense Break buff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	-50% damage, Knockdown duration: 2, Weighting: 2
Grab Break	Melee 4	Grab Break
Hook and Drag	Melee 3 Tactical Feinting buff	Offensive (Normal)	-50% damage, Knockdown duration: 2
Colpo di Grazia	Melee 5 Downed Opponent	Offensive (Crit)	+50% damage, Weighting: 2

Advantages:

• This style has a lot of focus on blocking, making it extremely good defensively.
• Colpo di Grazia can do a lot of damage with a strong weapon.
• Works well against groups as long as you do not move.

Disadvantages

• Stand Your Ground is negated if you move. If you find you're in over your head against a group, it can be very hard to get away.
• Most of the good parts of the style come from blocking. Successfully dodging an attack will not allow you to make use of most of what makes Fior Di Battaglia worthwhile.
• Colpo di Grazia requires some set up to trigger and you may not be able to use it when you need it the most.

Strategies

Aside from finding a good weapon, proper positioning is the most important thing when using Fior Di Battaglia. You can handle groups easily if you find the right place to stand. If you need to move, do it sooner rather than later. Lastly, be on the lookout for when you knock an opponent down. If you can crit that opponent, you will deal heavy damage with Colpo di Grazia.

Judo

“ Judo is a martial art that focuses on grabs and throws, both defensive and offensive. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Kodokan Judo

Starting Trait: Martial Arts Training

Style Weapons: Unarmed, no unarmed weapons except: Bionic Claws, Cestus, Nail Knuckles, Pair of Brass Knuckles, Pair of Steel Knuckles, Tiger Claws

 

Judo Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Judo Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	Immune to most knockdown effects, Counter Grab attacks with a Judo Throw
Perfect Position	Unarmed 4	OnDodge	1 turn	+30% bash damage

NOTE: "Judo Throw" is a hardcoded counter that works against the standard Grab attack of zombies and the Biojutsu Takedown of the Zombie bio-operator. If the player resists the grab and successes on an to-hit check, the player will deal 10-20 + bash damage equal to their Unarmed skill level and knock down the attacker for 5 turns.

Judo Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Throw	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+25% Bash damage, Knockdown duration: 1
Disarming Throw	Unarmed 1 Armed opponent	Offensive (Normal)	Disarms opponent
Back Throw	Unarmed 2	Offensive (Crit)	+50% Bash damage, Knockdown duration: 1, Opponent is moved to the opposite side of the user
Grab Break	Unarmed 3	Grab Break

Advantages:

• Judo Stance makes you immune to most knock downs.
• You can counter Grab attacks, takedowns, and also have a dodge counter.
• Back Throw lets you move opponents in a way that no other style can.

Disadvantages

• Once your opponent is on the ground, all you can do is normal attacks until they stand up. It takes longer overall to kill with Judo.
• Back Throw can potentially cause you to become surrounded if you are not careful in groups.
• Despite the crowd control options, groups can be very dangerous if you are not careful and plan ahead.

Strategies

Judo is very good at disabling opponents because every attack will causes knockdown. Since knockdown techniques cannot effect Downed opponents, it might be wise to attack a different target while your first opponent tries to recover. Even though you can fight groups, make sure you don't trap yourself with Back Throw.

Karate

“ Karate is a popular martial art, originating from Japan. It focuses on rapid, precise attacks, blocks, and fluid movement. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Shotokan Karate Handbook

Starting Trait: Martial Arts Training

Style Weapons: Unarmed, all Quarterstaves

 

Karate Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 2		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Karate Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	+2 Accuracy
Karate Kata	Unarmed 3	OnHit	2 turns	+1 Dodge attempts, +1 Block attempts, -10% move cost, blocked damage reduced by 50% of Strength

Karate Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Roundhouse Kick	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal)	+20% Bash damage
Backfist Strike	Unarmed 1	Offensive (Normal)	Rapid
Knifehand Strike	Unarmed 4	Offensive (Crit)	+40% Bash damage, Stun duration: 1
Staff Strike	Melee 3	Offensive (Normal)	90% move cost
Heavy Staff Strike	Melee 4	Offensive (Crit)	+10% damage, Knockdown duration: 1

Advantages:

• All of Karate's gameplay is straightforward.
• Karate Kata is a powerful buff that makes group combat easier.
• Being able to use quarterstaves improves allows the style to be used at all stages of gameplay.

Disadvantages

• Karate lacks complexity and that means it doesn't get the tools that other styles have such as a Grab Break, Feint, damage buffs, etc.
• You must have Unarmed 3 if you want to use Karate Kata with a weapon.
• Karate Kata only lasts 2 turns and is your primary tool for group defense. If you need to fight a group, you MUST keep landing hits to stay alive. If you need to run, there is a good chance Karate Kata will wear off and you will be in trouble.

Strategies

Karate is not a complicated style. Karate Stance makes you more likely to hit and activates Karate Kata. Karate Kata gives you more chances to dodge and block. Blocking lets you counterattack. You can even use quarterstaves to boost your damage later on. Sometimes the simplest approach to combat is the best one.

Krav Maga

“ Originating in Israel, Krav Maga is based on taking down an enemy quickly and effectively. It focuses on applicable attacks rather than showy or complex moves. Popular among police and armed forces everywhere. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Complete Krav Maga

Starting Trait: Self-Defense Classes

Style Weapons: Unarmed, Combat Knife, Copper Knife, Cudgel, Dive Knife, Honey Scraper, Hunting Knife, Makeshift Knife, PR-24 Baton (extended), RM42 Fighting Knife, Switchblade, Survival Knife, Tactical Tonfa*, Trench Knife, Wooden Tonfa

• Includes all variations

Pistols:: FN Five-Seven, FN 1910 .380, Glock 17, Glock 18C, Glock 19, Glock 22, Glock 31, L2032 Lookout, L39B, L39, M17, M1911, M1911A1, RM232 IDW, S&W 22A, SIG P226, SIG P320, SIG Pro .40, SIG Sauer Mosquito, SIG Sauer P230, Tokarev TT-33, USP .45, USP 9mm, Walther PPK

Rifles:: AR-10, AR-15, AK-74M, AN-94, FN FAL, FN SCAR-L, H&K G3, H&K G36, L523-CAR carbine, L523-DSR rifle, L523-LMG, L523-MBR rifle, M14 EBR-RI, M24, M27 IAR, RM51 assault rifle, RM88 battle rifle, SIG 552, SKS, Steyr AUG

 

Krav Maga Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 2		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Leg Block	Unarmed 4		-	Able to block melee attacks with legs
Krav Maga Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	+1 Accuracy, +1 Block attempts
Strike Vitals	Unarmed 4	OnBlock	1 turn	+5% Critical Hit Chance

Krav Maga Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Jab	Unarmed 1 Melee or Unarmed	Offensive (Normal)	Rapid
Cheapshot	Unarmed 2 Melee or Unarmed	Offensive (Crit)	Stun duration: 1
Grab Break	Unarmed 3 Melee or Unarmed	Grab Break
Takedown	Unarmed 3 Melee or Unarmed	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	Knockdown duration: 1
Bone Breaker	Unarmed 4 Humanoid opponent Downed opponent Stunned opponent	Offensive (Crit)	+100% Bash damage, gains Bash armor penetration equal to 100% of Strength, Stun duration: 1, Weighting: 2

Advantages:

• Krav Maga is a "jack of trades" style. It gains access to stuns, a knockdown, a Grab Break, a disarm, and can be used unarmed and armed.
• Bone Breaker is a very strong unarmed technique that will ruin your opponent's day.
• The stunning and knockdown capabilities of this style can lessen the risk of zombies being able to bite the player, vomit acid onto the player and overall prevents monsters from using their special attacks easily.

Disadvantages

• Nearly all of Krav Maga's offensive techniques are restricted in some way.
• Guns are not meant to do good close range damage. Krav Maga might be able to finish off a weaken opponent but using a gun in melee is usually worse than using a melee weapon.

Strategies

Just like everything that is a "jack of all trades", it's important to make sure you don't spread yourself too thin. In Krav Maga's case, this means making sure you do not get caught in a bad position while trying to do something else. For example, getting attacked in close range while using a gun or trying to use Bone Breaker on a zombie as more enemies approach. Krav Maga can do a lot but it's up to the player to figure out which approach is best for a given situation.

Leopard Kung Fu

“ One of the five Shaolin animal styles. The Leopard focuses on rapid, strategically planned strikes. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Deaf Leopard

Starting Trait: Shaolin Adept

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Leopard Kung Fu Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Leopard's Strategy	Unarmed 0	Static	-	Dexterity determines bonus bash damage instead of Strength
Leopard's Ambush	Unarmed 0	Static	-	Gain Critical Hit Chance equal to Dexterity
Leopard's Agility	Unarmed 1	OnCrit	2 turns	+1.0 Dodging skill, Enables Leapoard Pounce technique

Leopard Kung Fu Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Leopard Swipe	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal)	Rapid
Leopard Claw	Unarmed 1	Offensive (Crit)	+30% Bash damage, 80% move cost
Leopard Fist	Unarmed 3	Offensive (Crit)	50% move cost, Stun duration: 1
Leopard Paw	Unarmed 4	Miss Recovery
Leopard Pounce	Unarmed 5 Leopard's Agility	Offensive (Crit)	+100% Bash damage, 80% move cost, Knockdown distance: 1

Advantages:

• Leopard Kung Fu is a fast style that gains a lot of benefit from a high Dexterity.
• Leopard's Stalk and Leopard's Pounce are strong ways to begin combat.
• Dexterity improves your damage instead of Strength.

Disadvantages

• Leopard Kung Fu doesn't have a way to block or break grabs. Dodging is your only defense.
• You are very reliant on scoring critical hits. Without a crit, your damage is very subpar.

Strategies

If you want to do lots of critical hits, Leopard Kung Fu is your style. Style offers a lot of fast ways to attack enemies with respectable damage. However, you do not have the defense of other styles so you need to make sure you can win fights you start. If you cannot damage an enemy with Lepoard Pounce, you are unlikely to win.

Medieval Swordsmanship

“ The art of the longsword and sword & shield, preceding the later development of fencing. Designed for combat both unarmored and in armor, it includes grappling as well as defensive and offensive sword techniques. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Historic European Swordfighting

Starting Trait: Melee Weapon Training

Style Weapons: 2-by-Sword, Arming Sword*, Broadsword*, Crude Sword, Estoc*, Flammenschwert*, Longsword*, Nord, Zweihander*

• Includes all varations

 

Medieval Swordsmanship Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Swordsman's Stance	Melee 0	Static	-	+1 Block attempt, Blocked damage reduced by 50% of Strength
Conserve Momentum	Melee 2	OnHit	2 turns	-20% move cost
Half Swording	Melee 3	OnPause	2 turns	-1 Accuracy, Blocked damage reduced by 50% of Strength
Mastercut	Melee 5	OnBlock	1 turn	+10 damage, -10% move cost

Medieval Swordsmanship Techniques

Technique Name	Technique Type	Requirements	Effects
Flow Drills	Melee 1	Miss Recovery
Lethal Strike	Melee 3 Half Swording buff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	Gain Cut and Stab Armor Penetration equal to 150% of Strength, 0% Bash damage
Grab	Melee 4 Half Swording buff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	50% Cut damage, 33% Stab damage, Knockown duration: 2

Advantages:

• Conserve Momentum and Mastercut give a much needed speed boost to heavier weapons.
• Half Swording allows gives you access to crowd control and armor penetration techniques.

Disadvantages

• Weapons make the style. If you can't find a good weapon, the style isn't going to help you very much.
• Because Half Swording is an OnPause buff, you might trigger it by accident when you don't want to.

Strategies

If you can get a good weapon, Medieval Swordsmanship will take you very far. Most of the style is support based and gives you ways to control groups. Use Half Swording when you need are fighting a dangerous opponent to apply knockdown with Grab. As long as you don't let the groups get too big, you should be fine.

Muay Thai

“ Also referred to as the "Art of 8 Limbs," Muay Thai is a popular fighting technique from Thailand that uses powerful strikes. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Ultimate Muay Thai

Starting Trait: Self-Defense Classes

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Muay Thai Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 2		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Leg Block	Unarmed 4		-	Able to block melee attacks with legs
Muay Thai Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	Blocked damage reduced by 50% of Strength
Determination	Unarmed 3	OnGetHit	5 turns	Bash damage increased by 25% of Strength, Blocked damage reduced by 50% of Strength

Muay Thai Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Power Kick	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+30% damage
Elbow Strike	Unarmed 1	Offensive (Crit)	50% move cost
Grab Break	Unarmed 3	Grab Break
Flying Knee	Unarmed 5	Offensive (Crit)	+40% Bash damage, Stun duration: 1

Advantages:

• Muay Thai's techniques can do a large amount damage in a short amount of time.
• Having high Strength really shines when using Muay Thai.

Disadvantages

• While the style does have some blocked damage reduction, it doesn't have any way to handle groups of enemies other than trying to kill them as fast as possible.
• Critical hits are where most of the damage comes from in Muay Thai. All three techniques will compete with each other to be the randomly choosen technique for a crit and you may not always get the one you want.

Strategies

Muay Thai favors high Strength and battles of attrition. It isn't very good against groups but can do pretty well against a single, strong opponent. If you do have to fight a group, focus on one weaker target at a time to thin out the numbers.

Ninjutsu

“ Ninjutsu is a martial art and set of tactics used by ninja in feudal Japan. It focuses on rapid, precise, silent strikes. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Essence of Ninjutsu

Starting Trait: Self-Defense Classes

Style Weapons: Unarmed and 2-by-Sword, Arming Sword*, Bionic Claws, Bokken*, Broadsword*, Calvery Saber*, Combat Knife, Copper Knife, Cutlass*, Crude Sword, Dao, Dive Knife, Firebrand*, Hunting Knife, Ironshard Quarterstaff, Jian*, Katana*, Kopesh, Kirpan*, Kris, Kukri, L-stick*, Loaded Stick, Longsword, Machete, Makeshift Knife, Makeshift Machete, Monomolecular Blade, Nodachi*, Nord*, Powered Quarterstaff, Quarterstaff, Rising Sun*, RM42 Fighting Knife, Scimitar*, Shillelagh*, Shishkebab*, Sickle, Survival Knife, Survivor Machete, Switchblade, Sword Bayonet, Tanto*, Trench Knife, Wakizashi, Xiphos

• Includes all variations

 

Ninjutsu Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 3		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Ninjutsu Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	Attacks are Quiet (generates no noise), movement is stealthy (generates 50% base noise)
Sneak Attack	Unarmed 0 No Loss of Surprise buff	Static	-	+25% Critical Hit Chance
Loss of Surprise	Unarmed 0	OnAttack	3 turns Persists when switching styles	-25% Critical Hit Chance
Momentum Shift	Unarmed 2	OnMove	2 turns	+1.0 Dodge skill, Accuracy increased by 20% of Dexterity
Escape Plan	Melee 3	OnKill	3 turns Persists when switching styles	+2 Dodge attempts, +10 Speed

Ninjutsu Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Swift Strike (normal)	Melee 2 Unarmed or Melee	Offensive (Normal)	80% move cost
Swift Strike (crit)	Melee 2 Unarmed or Melee No Lose of Surprise buff	Offensive (Crit)	80% move cost
Assassinate	Melee 5	Offensive (Crit)	+30% damage, Stun duration: 1 turn
Ninjutsu Takedown	Unarmed 5	Offensive (Crit)	+100% bash damage, Knockdown duration: 2 turns, Stun duration: 2 turns

Advantages:

• With the right weapon and a critical hit, you can do so much damage on your first attack that you might outright kill your opponent.
• Slient attacks and stealthy movement allow you to pick and choose your fights in areas with less light.

Disadvantages

• Your first attack can make or break how you perform in combat.
• As a hit-and-run style, you are going to spend a lot of time moving around just to get in a few good hits.
• Being stealth doesn't really matter if your enemies can see you from 20 tiles away.

Strategies

It takes a bit of effort to use the stealth aspect of Ninjutsu. Explore at night and pick off lone enemies one by one. While you cannot benefit from Sneak Attack if you attack repeatedly, you do not suffer any other damage penalties for doing so or you can make your attacks count to make the best out of not so sneaky Sneak Attack damage buff. Just watch out for groups!

Niten Ichi-Ryu

“ Niten Ichi-Ryu is an ancient school of combat, transmitting a style of classical Japanese swordsmanship conceived by the warrior Miyamoto Musashi. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Book Of Five Rings

Starting Trait: Melee Weapon Training

Style Weapons: 2-by-Sword, Bokken*, Crude Sword, Katana*, Nodachi*, Nord*, Rising Sun*, Wakizashi

• Includes all variations

 

Niten Ichi-Ryu Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Niten Ichi-Ryu Stance	Melee 0	Static	-	Gain Bash and Cut Armor Penetration equal to 50% of Perception, Blocked damage reduced by 100% of Perception.
Waning Moon	Melee 0	OnMove	1 turn	-5.0 Dodging skill
Falling Leaf	Melee 0	OnAttack	1 turn Stacks 5 times	-1.0 Dodging skill, -5% damage
Stillness	Melee 0	OnPause	1 turn	+2 Accuracy, Dodge skill increased by 50% of Perception
Moonlight	Melee 5	OnDodge	1 turn	Enables "In-One Timing"

Niten Ichi-Ryu Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Feint	Melee 2	Miss Recovery	80% move cost
Red Leaf's Cut	Melee 3	Offensive (Normal)	Knockdown duration: 1
Flowing Water Cut	Melee 4	Offensive (Normal)	175% move cost, +100% Bash and Cut damage
Fire and Stone's Cut	Melee 5	Offensive (Crit)	+50% Bash and Cut damage, Stun duration: 1
In-One Timing	Melee 5 Moonlight buff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	50% move cost, +50% Bash and Cut damage, Stun duration: 1

Advantages:

• Niten Ichi-Ryu has the highest damage of any style, even with the worst weapons available.
• A properly timed pause can grant an extremely high Dodging skill bonus.

Disadvantages

• You MUST pause once in awhile to clear the negative buffs. Trying to attack recklessly will result in you taking a lot of damage.
• A combination of increased technique move cost and losing Dodging skill makes this style the absolute WORST style to use against groups.
• Getting Grabbed is really bad too.

Strategies

Niten Ichi-Ryu is the most complicated style to play. Play right and you will do very high damage. Play wrong and you will die pretty quickly. The style is meant to be played with as little movement as possible to avoid the Waning Moon buff. Attack as needed with the ocassion pause to gain the Moonlight buff and clear the Falling Leaf buff. Avoid groups unless you are sure you can kill them very fast. Even if you are killing things in one hit, it still possible to be overwhelmed.

Pankration

“ An ancient Greek martial art once used by the Spartans. It combines boxing and wrestling techniques to create a brutal sport, though modern revival of the art is less of no-holds-barred in nature. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Modern Pankratiast

Starting Trait: Martial Arts Training

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Pankration Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 3		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Leg Block	Unarmed 4		-	Able to block melee attacks with legs
Counter Chance	Unarmed 1	OnDodge	1 turn	+10% Bash damage. Enables "Close Combat" buff
Close Combat	Unarmed 4 Close Combat buff	OnHit	-	+20% Bash damage

Pankration Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Cross	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal)	+20% damage
Kick	Unarmed 2	Offensive (Crit)	Stun duration: 2
Grab Break	Unarmed 3	Grab Break
Grab and Knee	Unarmed 3 Stunned opponent	Offensive (Normal)	50% move cost, Weighting: 3
Arm Lock	Unarmed 4 Stunned opponent	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+25% damage, Disarms opponent, Stun duration: 1, Weighting: 3
Grab and Toss	Unarmed 5 Stunned opponent	Offensive (Crit)	+100% Bash damage, gains Bash armor penetration equal to 100% of Strength, Knockback distance: 2, Knockback spread: 2, Knockdown duration: 2, Weighting: 3

Advantages:

• Pankration is really good at locking down a single opponent.
• The stun from Kick lasts longer than most of the other crit techniques.

Disadvantages

• The most damaging techniques in Pankration require you to stun an opponent before you can use them.
• This style can be hard to use against groups.

Strategies

Pankration's greatest strength is the ability to completely lock down an opponent while killing them. Granted, Grab and Toss can make that harder but you are very likely to get a bunch of hits in prior to that happening and you can always follow the enemy to continue the fight.

Silat

“ Pentjak Silat, of Indonesian origin, is a fighting style that covers the use of short blades and bludgeons. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Indonesian Warrior

Starting Trait: Melee Weapon Training

Style Weapons: Bowling Pin, Combat Knife, Copper Knife, Copper Spear, Cudgel, Dive Knife, Forked Spear, Heavy Stick, Hockey Strick, Homemade Halfpike, Hunting Knife, Iron Javalin, Ironshod Quarterstaff, Glaive, Golf Club, Knife Spear, Kris*, L-strick*, Loaded Stick, Machete, Makeshift Glaive, Makeshift Knife, Makeshift Machete, Naginata*, No. 9*, Pipe, Pipe Spear, Pointy Stick, Pool Cue, Powered Quarterstaff, PR-24 Baton (extended), Quarterstaff, Rebar, RM42 Fighting Knife, Scimitar*, Scythe, Sharpened Rebar, Sickle, Simple Knife, Shillelagh*, Shishkebab*, Spike on a Stick, Steel Spear, Stone Knife, Survival Knife, Survivor Machete, Survivor Naginata, Switchblade, Tactical Tonfa*, Tanto*, Trench Knife, War Scythe, Wooden Javelin, Wooden Spear, Wooden Tonfa

• Includes all variations

 

Silat Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Silat Stance	Melee 0	Static	-	+1 Dodge atttemps
Silat Appraisal	Melee 1	OnDodge	2 turns Stacks 3 times	Accuracy increased by 15% of Dexterity
Silat Ambush	Melee 1	OnMove	1 turn	+5% Critical Hit Chance

Silat Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Hamstring	Melee 2	Offensive (Crit)	Knockdown duration: 2
Vicious Precision	Melee 3 Downed opponent	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+33% damage, Weighting: 2
Dirty Hit	Melee 4	Offensive (Crit)	Stun duration: 2
Silat Brutality	Melee 5 Stunned opponent	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+33% damage, Weighting: 2

Advantages:

• Silat can both stun and down opponents, allowing you to finish them off with high damaging techniques.
• With enough Dexterity, Silat Appraisal can generate a lot of bonus Accuracy.

Disadvantages

• Silat has a heavy reliance on critical hits. If you can't crit, Silat will not be very effective.
• You can't stack Silat Appraisal unless you are fighting more than one opponent.

Strategies

Silat is mixed style that focuses on harassing one opponent while having defense against groups. Target the weakest enemies first for best results. If your skills are high enough to crit often, you can alternate your attacks to control multiple opponents at once.

Snake Kung Fu

“ One of the five Shaolin animal styles. The Snake focuses on sinuous movement and precision strikes. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Black Snake

Starting Trait: Shaolin Adept

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Snake Kung Fu Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 2		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Snake's Sight	Unarmed 0	Static	-	Perception determines bonus Accuracy and damage instead of Dexterity and Strength
Snake's Coil	Unarmed 1	OnPause	4 turns Stacks 3 times	+1 Accuracy, +5% Critical Hit Chance, Enables Snake Strike trechnique
Snake Bite	Unarmed 2	OnHit	3 turns Stacks 4 times	Gain Armor Penetration equal to 25% of Perception.
Snake Fang	Unarmed 3	OnCrit	1 turn	Gain Armor Penetration equal to 100% of Perception.

“ Aim as your opponents approve and attack their weakness without mercy! ”

Snake Kung Fu Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Snake Snap	Unarmed 0	Dodge Counter (Normal)	Rapid
Snake Slide	Unarmed 4	Miss Recovery
Snake Slither	Unarmed 4	Grab Break
Snake Strike	Unarmed 5 Snake's Coil buff	Offensive (Crit)	+50% bash damage, gain Armor Penetration equal to 100% of Perception, Stun duration: 1

Advantages:

• Snake Kung Fu has the largest amount of armor penetration in the game, but only for a brief time.
• This style has all the basic techniques that makes a style good: Rapid, Feint, Grab Break and even a stun.

Disadvantages

• You need time to "charge up" Snake's Coil and doing it in the middle of combat probably isn't a good idea.
• You need to pause at least once in a while to get Snake's Coil because it is required to use Snake Strike.
• Armor penetration will let an attack ignore armor but it has no effect beyond negating the armor. If an opponent with little or no armor is attacked, their armor will be negated but any extra armor penetration will have no effect.

Strategies

Stacking Snake's Coil is the best course of action when using Snake Kung Fu. Let enemies come to you while you prepare Snake's Coil. Attack the first enemy that reaches you as much as possible until Snake's Coil wears off. At that point, you can finish the enemy off if they are weak enough or retreat and prepare again.

Sōjutsu

“ Sōjutsu, "The Way of the Spear", is the Japanese martial art of fighting with a spear. Sōjutsu focuses on keeping opponents at a distance in order to maintain advantage in combat. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The Way of the Spear

Starting Trait: Melee Weapon Training

Style Weapons: Copper Spear, Dory, Forked Spear, Glaive, Halberd*, Homemade Halfpike, Ji, Knife Spear, Long Pole, Makeshift Glaive, Naginata*, Pike*, Pipe Spear, Pitchfork, Qiang, Simple Knife Spear, Sharpened Rebar, Spike on a Stick, Steel Spear, Survivor Naginata, Wooden Spear

• Includes all variations.

 

Sōjutsu Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Sōjutsu Stance	Melee 0	Static	-	+1 Block atttemps, +2 Block Effectiveness
Sōjutsu Positioning	Melee 0	OnMove	1 turn	-1 block attempts, +10% damage

Sōjutsu Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Shove	Melee 2	Offensive (Normal)	-50% damage, Knockback distance: 1
Trip	Melee 3	Offensive (Normal)	-50% damage, Knockdown duration: 1
Feint	Melee 4	Miss Recovery

Advantages:

• Sōjutsu Positioning improves the damage of reach attacks.
• This style is effective at keeping opponents away from you.

Disadvantages

• Reach attacks are the key to using Sōjutsu.
• Fast enemies might be able to move close to you after a Shove or recover from Trip quicker than normal.

Strategies

Sōjutsu works best when used to "kite" opponents. That means attacking with reach attacks and then moving away from them when they move next to you. Other than that, the style lets you deal with small groups and create distance with knockback techniques.

Taekwondo

“ Taekwondo is the national sport of Korea, and was used by the South Korean army in the 20th century. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Official Taekwondo Training Manual

Starting Trait: Martial Arts Training

Style Weapons: Everything*

• All buffs and techniques can be used while armed unless otherwise noted.

 

Taekwondo Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 1		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Leg Block	Unarmed 3		-	Able to block melee attacks with legs
Taekwondo Stance	Unarmed 0 Unarmed only	Static	-	Blocked damage reduced by 50% of Strength
Unhindered	Unarmed 3 Unarmed only	Static	-	+33% bash damage

Taekwondo Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Roundhouse Kick	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal)	+20% bash damage
Side Kick	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal)	Knockback distance: 1
Sweep Kick	Unarmed 2	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	Knockdown duration: 1
Feint	Unarmed 3	Miss Recovery
Snatch Weapon	Unarmed 4 Unarmed only Armed opponent	Offensive (Normal)	Steals equipped weapon from opponent, Weighting: 2
Spinning Back Kick	Unarmed 5	Offensive (Crit)	Stun duration: 2

Advantages:

• Taekwondo is the go-to style when using any sort of firearm. Its kick based techniques allow you to keep fighting in the event that something gets close while you are shooting.

Disadvantages

• Firearms are the only reason to wield something in this style. You gain no benefit from using a melee weapon, only your footwear matters.
• Taekwondo has no defense against groups aside from a little knockback and a stun.

Strategies

While Taekwondo can work on its own but it's usually best to use the style as a fallback while using a gun. If something gets too close while shooting, you can use Taekwondo to finish it off. While you can steal (and equip) guns from NPCs, you have a very good chance of taking heavy damage or dying from the attempt. Steal responsibly.

Tai Chi

“ Though Tai Chi is often seen as a form of mental and physical exercise, it is a legitimate martial art, focused on self-defense. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Becoming One with the Tao

Starting Trait: Martial Arts Training

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Tai Chi Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 0		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Tai Chi Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	+1 Block attempts, Block damage reduced by 50% of Perception
Cross Hands	Unarmed 1	OnPause	3 turn	+2 Block Effectiveness, blocked damage reduced by 50% of Perception, Enables Palm Strike and Double Palm Strike techniques
Repulse the Monkey	Unarmed 3	OnBlock	2 turns	Accuracy increased by 20% of Perception, gain bash Armor Pentration equal to 50% of Perception, Enables Grasp the Sparrow's Tail technique

Tai Chi Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Palm Strike	Unarmed 1 Cross Hands	Offensive (Normal)	+50% Bash damage, Knockback distance: 1
Grasp the Sparrow's Tail	Unarmed 2 Repulse the Monkey buff	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+20% Bash damage, -25% move cost, Knockdown duration: 1
Disarm	Unarmed 3 Armed opponent	Offensive (Normal)	Disarms opponent
Double Palm Strike	Unarmed 4 Cross Hands	Offensive (Crit)	+100% Bash damage, Knockback distance: 1, Stun duration: 1

Advantages:

• With some planning, you can keep multiple opponents at bay.

Disadvantages

• Tai Chi is a defensive style that takes longer to kill than other styles. It's not as bad as Aikido but it's still pretty slow.

Strategies

Make sure to take the time to keep Cross Hands active while fighting. Tai Chi does decent damage but its primary goal is to keep enemies away from while you slowly wear them down. Because of this, it has a limited way of dealing with groups.

Tiger Kung Fu

“ One of the five Shaolin animal styles. The Tiger focuses on relentless attacks above all else. ”

Martial Arts Manual: The White Tiger

Starting Trait: Shaolin Adept

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Tiger Kung Fu Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Tiger's Strength	Unarmed 0	Static	-	Strength determines bonus Accuracy instead of Dexterity
Tiger Fury	Unarmed 2	OnHit	3 turns Stacks 3 times	+1 Accuracy, +5% damage

Tiger Kung Fu Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Grab Break	Unarmed 0	Grab Break
Tiger Takedown	Unarmed 1	Offensive (Normal)	+25% damage, Knockdown duration: 1
Tiger Palm	Unarmed 3	Offensive (Crit)	+25% damage, Gain Armor Penetration equal to 100% of Strength
Tiger Claw	Unarmed 4	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+25% damage
Tiger Rampage	Unarmed 4	Offensive (Crit)	+25% damage, AoE: Wide

Advantages:

• All your attacks are stronger than normal and after a few hits, you will be being doing a high amount of damage with every strike.
• Techniques can stun and knockdown enemies, making it harder for them to fight back.
• Tiger Rampage is very helpful against groups allowing you to dish out a lot of damage to multiple enemies at once.

Disadvantages

• Tiger Kung Fu offers no defensive abilities aside from a Grab Break. You can only dodge to protect yourself.
• Taking too much damage will cause your Accuracy to drop from the pain which can make winning much harder.

Strategies

Tiger Kung Fu isn't hard to play. Walk up to an enemy and keep attacking until it dies or you die. This style is very much a "glass cannon" that has no defense but does the most damage of all unarmed styles. Beware of groups unless you can kill enemies very quickly.

Wing Chun

“ Wing Chun is a Chinese martial art that began by selecting the easiest-to-learn effective techniques from the various Shaolin animal forms. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Beautiful Springtime

Starting Trait: Self-Defense Classes

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Wing Chun Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Arm Block	Unarmed 2		-	Able to block melee attacks with arms
Leg Block	Unarmed 3		-	Able to block melee attacks with legs
Chi-Sao Sensitivity	Unarmed 0	Static	-	Dodging Skill increased by 25% of Perception
Chain Punch	Unarmed 1	OnHit	2 turns Stacks 3 times	-10% move cost
Biu Ji	Unarmed 4	OnPause	3 turns	Accuracy increased by 20% of Perception, Enables Straight Punch (Knockback) and L-hook (Knockback) techniques

Wing Chun Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Straight Punch	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal)	+10% bash damage
L-hook	Unarmed 2	Offensive (Crit)	+20% bash damage, Knockdown duration: 1
Feint	Unarmed 3	Miss Recovery
Straight Punch (Knockback)	Unarmed 4 Biu Ji buff	Offensive (Normal)	+10% bash damage, Knockback distance: 1, Follow opponent, Weighting: 2
L-hook (Knockback)	Unarmed 4 Biu Ji buff	Offensive (Crit)	+20% bash damage, Knockdown duration: 1, Knockback distance: 1, Follow opponent, Weighting: 2

Advantages:

• Wing Chun is a fast style that gets even faster the more you attack.
• Knockback Follow let you attack and move at the same time at a lower move cost.
• Perception improves both Accuracy and Dodging skill.

Disadvantages

• Knockback Follow can easily move you into dangerous situations.

Strategies

Wing Chun is similar to Centipede Kung Fu. The more you attack, the faster you get. The difference comes from Wing Chun doing more damage but losing its speed if it misses too much. Knockback Follow can be "turned on" by pausing to enable the Biu Ji buff. Knockback Follow works well at separating an enemy from a group while the group attempts to chase after you.

Zui Quan

“ AKA "drunken boxing", Zui Quan imitates the movement of a drunk to confuse the enemy. ”

Martial Arts Manual: Zui Quan and You

Starting Trait: Self-Defense Classes

Style Weapons: Unarmed

 

Zui Quan Buffs

Buff Name	Requirements	Buff Type	Duration	Effects
Zui Quan Stance	Unarmed 0	Static	-	+2 Dodge attemps, Dodging skill increased by 20% of Intelligence
Drunken Dodging	Unarmed 1	OnDodge	1 turn Stacks 3 times	+10% damage, Accuracy increased by 20% of Intelligence.
Drunken Stumble	Unarmed 5	OnMove	2 turns Stacks 2 times	+1.0 Dodging skill

Zui Quan Techniques

Technique Name	Requirements	Technique Type	Effects
Drunk Fist	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Normal & Crit)	+20% Bash damage
Drunk Feint	Unarmed 2	Miss Recovery
Grab Break	Unarmed 4	Grab Break
Whirling Strikes	Unarmed 0	Offensive (Crit)	+30% Bash damage, 150% move cost, AoE: Spin

Advantages:

• This style is actually better against groups instead of single opponents.
• Every successful dodge makes your attacks get stronger thanks to Drunken Dodging.
• Whirling Strikes allows you to hit every enemy around you.

Disadvantages

• Not as strong as other styles against a single opponent.
• While the style is good against groups, things will go downhill very quickly if you get surrounded, grabbed, or lose too much stamina.
• Intelligence is extremely useful for every part of the style.

Strategies

Zui Quan is a rare style that is actually better against groups than single opponents. Drunk Dodging can activate multiple times per round depending on how many times you successfuly dodge. This makes your techniques much stronger when you attack back. However, you are not invincible. Whirling Strikes is strong but don't assume you can be surrounded by a horde and still win.

Possible mods

• The Mythical Martial Arts adds several new styles and a trait and books to learn them with.