In any RPG series, one of the greatest features within the genre is the power fantasy. In games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or Dragon Age, players can be anything from an imposing warrior who trembles the battlefield to a powerful mage who can decimate it entirely. These are just a few examples, of course, as games like these and other RPGs give players that kind of power and freedom that can’t be found within others outside the genre.

In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 however, it’s an altogether different matter. Players aren’t some imposing warrior or powerful mage, but an incredibly ordinary person, an average individual in a wide world filled with danger. As a completely grounded RPG, players will find the odds against them in more ways than one, and their means to combat them are severely limited. However, what if there was a way to put the odds in their favor?

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Difficult Combat Can Be Overcome With One Unique Skill

A Technique Like No Other

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a grounded, realistic RPG, which means that anything and everything in the game is much the same, particularly its combat. There are no spells or powers that players have when it comes to dealing with the enemy. All they have – aside from the weapon in their hand – is their wit, skill, and luck.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s combat can be difficult to master
Unique enemies, the number of enemies, and the player’s own skills can make or break them in a fight
A unique skill can be a literal game-changer for players

Even that may not be enough when it comes to certain enemies, especially if outnumbered. Make no mistake: combat in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a grounded, realistic, and oftentimes unfavorable affair, and players will need every advantage they can get if they want to have a chance in its world. Thankfully, there is a way to gain that advantage, especially earlier on in the game.

It comes in the form of a technique; a unique skill that not only gives players a fighting chance but also helps put the odds just a bit more in their favor. It can be found early on in the game, and the means to get it are for the most part simple. This unique technique is called the Master Strike, and it is arguably the most valuable technique that players can earn in the game.

Getting the Master Strike Involves Winning Respect and Winning a Duel

Pain for Gain

Image via Warhorse Studios

To acquire the Master Strike is a brief, albeit challenging, affair. The easiest part involves finding a group of nomads within the game’s first region Trosky. This can be done by talking to Bara, an NPC who is seen right after the end of the game’s prologue. She will offer players valuable information to take note of during their journey, particularly where to find the group of nomads mentioned earlier.

It involves a bit of a journey to get there, one that will be made easier if players have a horse, perhaps a trusty need by the name of Pebbles? Either way, by horse or by foot, once players reach the camp, they will find a group of nomadic travelers; Romanians that are ostracized from the majority of Trosky’s populace. In this camp, there is a certain NPC that players need to seek out, a man by the name of Tomcat.

Getting the Master Strike involves a quest and a bit of traveling
Players must reach the nomad camp and find Tomcat
Beating Tomcat in a duel gives players the Master Strike

Tomcat is a boastful, albeit skilled warrior, and one that offers to teach players plenty of techniques if they’ve got the coin for it. Useful as these techniques are, they are inconsequential when it comes to the Master Strike, a technique that not only Tomcat offers to teach, but also costs no money. But that doesn’t mean it comes without a price to pay.

To gain the Master Strike, players don’t pay a price of groschen, but that of blood. They must beat Tomcat in a duel to get the technique; a seemingly simple task that is anything but. Tomcat may be a boastful person, but he has the skills to back it up, and fighting him early on can be a difficult affair. He possesses a unique and vast range of skills that he can use against players; one of those skills includes the coveted Master Strike.

The ideal method for beating Tomcat is to get better gear to fight him. Players should duel him when equipped with a decent set of armor and protection, especially a shield. This will help protect players from the damage that Tomcat’s strikes will bring them. However, it’s not impossible to beat him with simple gear and a sword, just more difficult.

Either way, whether with better gear or regular gear, the best way to beat Tomcat comes down to three words: strategy, conservation, and patience. Players should not be tempted to attack blindly, especially after a perfect block. A riposte is not a friend to have in this fight, as Tomcat will likely counter with the Master Strike, which can and will whittle down health and stamina rapidly.

Instead, tire him out; attack the side he is guarding or avoid his attacks with a perfect block/dodge. Wear his stamina down before attacking, and the chances to land a blow increase substantially. Repeat this method throughout the fight, and eventually victory will be claimed, along with the Master Strike.

The Master Strike is the Most Valuable Skill Within Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

A Technique That Trumps All Techniques

Image via Warhorse Studios

The Master Strike is one of the most unique techniques that players can use, and the most valuable when it comes to combat. To use it is pretty straightforward, as it works almost the same way as a perfect block or dodge. However, instead of dodging or blocking the enemy’s strike, players attack the strike itself. This is done by attacking the opposite direction of the enemy’s incoming strike, just when they’re about to attack themselves. If they attack from the top, strike from the bottom. If they swipe from the left, attack their right.

The timing is the most important aspect of landing this technique. Using it too soon will result in a block from the enemy, and using it too late will leave the player open to a blow themselves. It will take some practice to use it effectively, but when it’s successful, the payoff is glorious. The Master Strike not only stops the enemy’s attack in its tracks but also strikes them in the same stroke.

The Master Strike is the perfected riposte
Using it involves attacking the enemy from the opposite direction of their intended strike
It parries, damages, and leaves the enemy open to another attack or series of attacks

In addition, this leaves them wide open and open to another attack, and even another after that when paired with other techniques and combos. The Master Strike is the perfected, unblockable riposte, one that’s guaranteed to give players the opening they need to bring down their opponents.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s world is a difficult one to travel through, especially for those unprepared for the dangers ahead. There are many challenges in front of them, and few advantages to help in dealing with them. But the Master Strike is one advantage – in fact the advantage – to have that will definitely help players in their journey throughout Bohemia.