'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
As any Skyrim veteran will know, the game really shows its age when it comes to combat encounters.
The dragonborn is bestowed with many tools over the course of the game, including magic and shouts, giving them interesting approaches to combat. But those who like to depend on melee combat find it a frustrating pageant of loosely exchanging blows until someone dies.
dTRY's Valhalla Combat is not the first mod to change the game into something more exciting. But it is the final piece of the modding puzzle that makes Skyrim's melee gameplay both rewarding, fair, and up to the standards of the current gaming generation.
Note that it also needs a few other mods to fully emulate the combat system for its inspiration, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, including an attack commitment framework and dodge mod like distar66's MCO:ADXP and DMCO.
5 new features Valhalla Combat adds to modernize Skyrim gameplay
1) Stamina management
The fatigue meter of earlier Elder Scrolls games including Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Oblivion makes a return to Skyrim as the stamina meter. Unlike previous games, however, stamina is not tied to movement or regular attacks. Stamina is depleted only upon sprinting, bashing, or power attacking.
A number of overhaul mods, such as Requiem, make a harsher stamina economy the baseline for their melee combat balance. Yet other mods try to implement the Souls-like stamina system with rapid stamina recovery.
Valhalla Combat takes a page directly out of the Assassin's Creed Valhalla playbook here, adding a stamina cost to missed attacks, but also adding the provision of stamina retention upon landing regular attacks.
2) Parrying
Blocking in Skyrim is a rather lazy implementation of simple, passive damage mitigation with the press of a button. More advanced options like bashing are open to exploits, whereas skills like block charging only unlock late into the game.
Valhalla Combat brushes up the blocking mechanic by making blocked attacks consume stamina rather than health,. However, more importantly, it also implements a parrying mechanic. Blocks timed in a small 0.15 second window before an attack connects counts as a parry. This consumes no stamina and staggers the attacker, complete with a satisfying slowdown and sound effect.
3) Projectile blocks
Shields in vanilla Skyrim do not block arrows and bolts. In its peculiar Elder Scrolls logic, projectiles seem to phase through them until a certain perk is taken in the block skill tree.
Valhalla Combat, however, enables projectile-blocking from the get-go. Unlike regular blocking, deflecting a projectile requires magicka rather than stamina. More importantly, projectiles can also be parried with their timed blocking system - rewarding skilful gameplay by sending the projectile back to the attacker.
4) Exhaustion mechanic
As discussed previously, Valhalla Combat improves the stamina consumption system by adding stamina costs to regular attacks, while also making it so that melee hits regain stamina. Another pillar of this system to make the stamina economy come through is the exhaution system.
Depleting stamina fully puts the player in an exhausted state as their stamina bar becomes white. During this time, they only deal 50% base damage until the stamina is back to full. This mechanic also applies to NPCs, wherein they stop attacking at zero stamina, letting the player bait out attacks to then unload counterattacks.
5) Real-time executions
Thanks to TrueHUD special bars, Valhalla Combat adds its own polished and functional execution mechanic. The idea is very similar to the shinobi combat in Sekiro. All enemies now have a special 'stun' meter distinct from their health.
Attacking and parrying chips away at this stun meter. If it reaches zero, the target is put to a 'stunned' state and their health bar flashes red. With the press of a specific bound button, players can finish the target off without needing to remove the rest of their HP. This uses vanilla Skyrim special killmoves for the most part, adding brutal edge and pace to the combat.
