How to 1V1 in Mordhau

Many players are drawn to Triternion’s Mordhau by the promise of visceral medieval warfare. Grand-scale battles are a sight to behold, but for many, the most rewarding part of Mordhau is the 1v1 battles. As it turns out, this is the part of the game with the highest skill ceiling, and veterans will demolish new players until they learn the ropes. If that sounds like you, let me show you the basics of 1v1 combat in Mordhau.

Related: Are you a newcomer looking for a weapon recommendation? Check out our guide to the best weapons in Mordhau

How to 1v1 in Mordhau

1v1 combat in Mordhau is as deep as an ocean but usually boils down to tricking your opponent into a misplay and capitalizing on the opening. There are several ways to attempt this, but what makes it hard is your opponent will be trying to do the same to you as well.

Keep your opponent guessing

The moment you become predictable in a 1v1 is the moment you lose the fight. Even if you’re just getting used to the controls, you can still mix up the angle of your swings. With a slight mouse flick, you can change the direction of your attacks before you swing. Some players crave more precision for this and bind mouse buttons to the various directional swings.

Accels/Drags

Turning yourself to match the direction of a weapon swing is known as an ‘Accel.’ Turning away is known as a ‘Drag.’ These techniques speed up and slow down your attacks and are a great way to throw off your opponent’s timing. Ensure you don’t lose track of your opponent while doing this, as they may be readying an attack when you aren’t looking.

Ripostes

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It took me far longer than I’d like to admit to get the timing right for Ripostes, but they are essential to winning 1v1s in Mordhau. To initiate a Riposte, press the swing button immediately after parrying. If you’re struggling, you can even press both buttons together.

Ripostes let you follow up a parry with the fastest attack possible. The best thing about this technique is it grants you ‘Hyper Armor’ during your attack. ‘Hyper Armor’ means your attack can’t be interrupted, which is helpful in 1v1s and can be a game-changer in larger battles.

Feints

You can feint out of any attack by pressing Q, and this is a great way to trick your opponent into parrying. Try feinting as late as possible for the best results when your opponent is more likely to commit.

Morphs

Similarly to feints, morphs usually work best when you do them as late as possible. Remember, in Mordhau, most 1v1s are won when you bait your opponent into a misplay. Morphs are when you cancel a swing into a stab or vice versa by pressing one command and then the other. Morphs are easier to read than feints, but you should still incorporate them into combat to keep your opponents guessing.

Chambering

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The tutorial covers Chambering at length, and you can perform one by mirroring an incoming attack causing a deflection. Chambering is much easier against stabs, as the direction does not matter. For as excited as the training AI gets when you do one, I don’t recommend putting much time into learning Chambering until you’re comfortable with the other techniques. Chambers work great against opponents that like to feint but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t consistently do these.

When all else fails, get out of the way!

Movement is essential in 1v1’s in Mordhau. You can be ready with a perfect counter-attack, but it means nothing if your opponent just ducks underneath it. Ducking works great in Mordhau, and even crouching or looking away manipulates your character models in more impactful ways than you may think.

Putting everything together

It’s one thing to know what all these fancy terms mean but quite another to incorporate them into your gameplay. You may hate this next bit of advice, but the best way to improve in Mordhau 1v1’s is to practice. Like a fighting game, you won’t improve without getting demolished first, and many Mordhau players have years of experience. Try not to get disheartened, as once you improve, you won’t want to put this game down!

Can I practice 1v1s in Mordhau against bots?

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A bot will never provide the same experience that fighting a real player will, but they are an option in Mordhau.

You’ll only learn so much here as a bot won’t try and trick you or react to your play style. Mordhau‘s AI isn’t terrible and may provide a decent challenge if you’re a beginner. The skills you learn here should translate nicely into the main game. Just don’t expect any cheap tactics to work against seasoned players for long.