Wiki / Combat
Hit freeze and stun
A hit stops the fight for an instant, then leaves the enemy unable to act for a moment.
Status: Built · Last checked: 14 Nov 2026
Two things happen when a hit lands. First the whole fight stops for an instant (the freeze): it is what makes hits feel heavy. Then the fighter who was hit cannot act for a moment (the stun).
What you will notice
| What happens | Why it matters | |
|---|---|---|
| The freeze | Both fighters stop for an instant. A light hit hardly at all; a fully loaded heavy clearly; the ultimate longest of all | It lets you see what landed |
| The stun | The enemy cannot act for a moment. A harder hit stuns longer | It is the time you have to land the next hit |
| The stagger | A few moves force a short stun that interrupts whatever the enemy was doing | It breaks the enemy's attack |
How to use it
- After a hit, the enemy is stunned: that is your moment to continue the combo.
- Later hits of a combo stun less and less, so do not expect a combo to go on for ever.
- The game has no long stun. The stagger is the nearest thing: short, and it only interrupts.
Moves that stagger (Hand and shield)
Shield ram (the first hit of the sprint string), the shield bash, and a broken guard.
Nerd section: the exact numbers
The freeze
| Hit | Freeze |
|---|---|
| Any hit | 2 frames, plus about 7 frames for every 6% of damage, at most 14 frames (0.23 s) |
| A light hit | About 3 to 4 frames |
| A fully loaded heavy | About 14 frames (0.23 s) |
| A perfect guard | A few frames longer than a hit would give |
| The charged tackle | 4 frames |
| The ultimate landing | 22 frames (0.37 s): the one dramatic beat of a fight |
Time spent frozen never counts toward holding a button.
The stun
| Shortest | 12 frames (0.2 s) |
| Grows with | How hard the hit launches |
| Longest | 70 frames (1.17 s) |
| In a combo | Each further hit stuns 10% less, never below half |
The stagger
The enemy is stunned for at least a set time, whatever else applies.
| Move | Stagger at least |
|---|---|
| Shield ram | 0.33 s (20 frames) |
| Shield bash (guard + attack) | 0.27 s (16 frames) |
| A broken guard | 0.77 s (46 frames) |
Other weapons' staggering moves (the Pommel strike, the Pinning shot, the Flank cut, the Slip punch, the Counter jab, a mace pair's heavy, the Clearing ring) are on their own pages.