RuneScape Forum Archive | Footwork in Combat

heretic hary

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Footwork in Combat (2nd Edition)

Welcome to the second edition of Footwork in Combat , a starter's guide to a skill that makes a world of difference between being a death machine and a corpse. The first edition was posted twice, the second posting came after deleting the first for personal reasons.

Part 1: Stance

Terms and Definitions
- Lead : used to describe the side of the body in the front, i.e. Sicarius' left side leading, .
- Rear : used to describe the side of the body in the front, i.e. Sicarius' right side in the rear, .
While what side of your character is in front can be shown graphically by the in-game avatar, some roleplayers will only focus on the text during moments that are inconvenient for you and convenient for them. So, describing this never hurts. Between graphics and describing one side to be in the lead, it's pretty obvious that the other side is the rear, so no need to describe that.

In any part of footwork, there are three different ways the character can be facing when focused on the opponent: with the broad of the chest, facing an opponent diagonally, or facing an opponent sideways. Look at the techniques you know for your character's various armaments, and then decide what will work best for your character to use.

20-Apr-2014 15:45:29 - Last edited on 29-May-2018 03:50:08 by heretic hary

heretic hary

Posts: 3,137 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Broad of the chest - the broad of the chest is facing the opponent. This gives off the largest appearance in the way of width and is good if a character is trying to intimidate someone. This is done by a huge amount of roleplayers, but makes the character much easier to hit with all sorts of attacks and hinders the use of proper footwork. Legs can often be bent or close to straight, with the second option also providing the most in the way of intimidation. I personally find this to expose a character more than it's worth, and depending on the weapon, use of this stance is a sin as neither side of the body is in the lead to power attacks with the whole body through passing forward . (This will be covered later.)

Facing diagonally - the chest is facing the opponent diagonally. The broad of the chest usually faces the opponent 45° to the left or right, depending on which side is in the lead. So if the opposing character is to the north, my in-game avatar would be facing north-east if the left side was leading. This is less intimidating that the first option, but keeps the character slightly harder to hit and lets the character engage in good footwork and provides better balance. Often used with bent legs, thus reducing a character's height and the area an opponent has to hit even further but still keeping everything apart enough to allow good motion. Thrusts and flails are much more likely to glance of a cuirass this was than with the broad of the chest. Same applies to projectiles.

20-Apr-2014 15:45:39 - Last edited on 20-Apr-2014 15:55:48 by heretic hary

heretic hary

Posts: 3,137 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Facing sideways - the side of the chest faces the opponent. The body facing completely sideways is something done by archers, rapier/foil fencers, and more. This position reduces the amount of area that can be hit by thrusts, spells and projectiles and depending on the kind of armor, makes deflection of what does hit be frequent. Of course, if an attack hits directly at the side where armor straps for plates are usually present, be glad you aren't your character.

Part 2: Moving your Feet the Best Way Possible

Terms and Definitions
- Pass Forward : the rear foot passes forward to become the lead foot. Ideally done with the chest facing an opponent diagonally.
- Pass Backward : the lead foot passes backward to become the rear foot. Ideally done with the chest facing an opponent diagonally.
- Off Line Step Left : If your left foot is the lead foot, then it moves to the left. A pass is often performed after this. The "line" referred to is the line of your opponent's attack, making this another term for a sidestep. The difference is the amount of detail.
- Off Line Step Right : If your right foot is the lead foot, then it moves to the right. A pass is often performed after this. The "line" referred to is the line of your opponent's attack, making this another term for a sidestep. The difference is the amount of detail.
- Rotate : With either foot in the lead, you turn on your toes to:
1.-Turn around to face the opposite direction, able to be used for catching a pursuing opponent by surprise.
2.-Switch which foot is in the lead without actually lifting your feet from the ground. This is a much less common use.
As a rule when moving, the foot nearest the direction you want to go should move first. This is especially true for dodging. Try this out in real life: move your rear foot backward, and you'll notice how the body immediately moves back. Then, try the same thing with the lead foot.

20-Apr-2014 15:45:45 - Last edited on 20-Apr-2014 15:56:37 by heretic hary

heretic hary

Posts: 3,137 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Because the lead foot has to move behind the rear foot before pulling your body back, there is a greater window of opportunity for an opponent to land an attack. Passing forward or backward is different, as the objective in that case is momentum for attacks, or setting the body for another pass forward.

For attacking, if your character is going to strike from their left, then they should have the right foot be in the lead with the left foot in the rear, heel of the left foot raised. When striking from the right, the left foot should be the lead foot with the right foot in the rear, heel of the right foot raised.

There are two reasons behind this: the wrong foot forward will cripple the attack and having the heel of the rear foot raised will pre-load a step and let you perform the attack quicker. By having the wrong foot in the lead, the side making the attack stays behind, reducing the reach and force behind it. The idea is to have the side making the blow pass forward. By keeping the attack's point of origin away from the opponent, they cannot stop the attack before it gains most of its power. The heel of the rear foot lets the side making the attack pass forward with greater haste than normal, meaning your opponent will have much less reaction time. So while this would appear to take more time than an attack made without this form, it actually takes less.

Part 3: Examples of Commendable Footwork
For those who are beginning to heavily use sword such as the Sicarius Cleaver, footwork that can provide a solid defense in itself is a must. Below are some examples where footwork alone can provide a defense against common attacks.

20-Apr-2014 15:45:50 - Last edited on 20-Apr-2014 15:57:28 by heretic hary

heretic hary

Posts: 3,137 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Footwork against a thrust
If an opponent thrusts at your character, sidestep to whatever side works best. However, only the novice stops here. Because the point of the adversary's weapon can still move to your character, pass forward while striking at the opponent so the thrusting weapon is behind your character, who can then make a mighty attack of his/her own. A stab of your own would have the opponent practically run into it, while an cut to the arms would do fine too.

Footwork against a low horizontal cut
If someone would make a low horizontal cut to the legs in an effort to get your character to jump up to avoid it, don't fall for this. That exact move is typically followed by a low, full-body tackle, an old Sicarius trick against the Longclaws. Instead, pass back so the lead foot (the only thing that should be in range if facing the enemy diagonally) moves out of range, and make an easy attack to the head or wherever your weapon can reach in the process.

If the stance wasn't diagonal but your weapon is something that can parry, thrust it to the ground so that the ground supports the weapon when the opponent's weapon connects. Both weapons occupied, a quick kick to the face (steel-capped boots?) is a very close, immediate attack. Go for a knee to the face if you expect the opponent to try getting up, as this will be even closer and the leg can extend into a kick.

20-Apr-2014 15:45:55 - Last edited on 11-May-2014 19:33:50 by heretic hary

heretic hary

Posts: 3,137 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Special Thanks goes to the following roleplayers for enabling me to write this guide and bring it here:
-Rai Sicarius
You probably won't read this, but in the two years of being in the Sicarius, I've acquired both a desire to learn and knowledge, in addition to experience from applying it. From being the person whose guide introduced me to roleplaying to teaching me lots of things I wouldn't have learned until far later, thank you.

-Ellen
Until you said in that thread that I should post the guides I had written for the Sicarius here, I felt that posting what I had written would be a violation of the Sicarius' trust in me, for various reasons. Thank you for clearing up my conscience so that I could post this here on the forums in such a simple fashion.

20-Apr-2014 15:46:00 - Last edited on 20-Apr-2014 15:59:36 by heretic hary