Combat basics: defense, evasion and resources | The First Berserker: Khazan

Progression, practical choices and current mode rules.

Stamina, Spirit and health

Stamina supports ordinary attacks, guards and dodges. Long strings, repeated rolls or blocking an entire combo can leave too little for the next response. Start with a short sequence you can stop safely.
Spirit is a separate resource for the Javelin and Spirit-consuming skills. Build it through combat; extra Spirit from particular defensive actions depends on learned skills or equipment.
A Spirit-consuming skill does not guarantee that every part of its effect is stamina-free. A skill that triggers guards can still involve stamina costs. Read its tooltip and current balance notes.
Health measures damage you can survive; stamina measures actions you can sustain. If you repeatedly become exhausted with health remaining, review action costs before adding damage.

Resource	Main role	What to check
Health	Surviving damage	A safe window to heal
Stamina	Ordinary attacks, guards and dodges	Enough remaining for defense or escape
Spirit	Javelin and specific skills	Costs, activation conditions and recovery

Button assignments vary by platform and custom controls. Identify Guard, Dodge, Counterattack and Reflection in the controls menu before practising their timing.
Ordinary guard can help you observe a blockable string, but do not hold it indefinitely. Check stamina after each exchange, including elemental damage and ailment buildup.
Brink Guard is a guard timed just before impact. It reduces stamina loss relative to ordinary guarding and damages enemy stamina; it does not block every move or make defense universally free.
Brink Dodge is a well-timed dodge that briefly enhances dodge attacks. The resulting opening still determines whether a follow-up is safe.

Action	Timing cue	Purpose	Common mistake
Guard	Hold before a blockable hit	Observe unfamiliar attacks	Blocking a whole string with little stamina
Brink Guard	Guard just before impact	Efficient defense and stamina damage	Reacting to the windup instead of impact
Dodge / Brink Dodge	Read the path and evade before impact	Escape danger and adjust position	Spending all stamina on repeated rolls
Counterattack	Read the Burst cue and wait for impact	Answer a Burst Attack and create an opening	Inputting as soon as the warning appears
Reflection	After unlocking it, meet an attack with the skill’s animation	Create an opening against a learned move	Confusing it with Brink Guard or Counterattack

A Burst warning gives you time to prepare. Watch the actual incoming move rather than countering the moment the icon, sound or red flash appears.
Ordinary guard and Brink Guard do not stop Burst Attacks. Evade their path or time the unlocked Counterattack action at impact. A successful Burst counter restores stamina and creates an opening.
Do not assume grabs can be guarded. Move out of reach or dodge, and do not treat every special visual effect as the same counterable attack type.
Countering an ordinary attack does not promise the same recovery or interruption as a Burst counter. Beginners should first practise against clear Burst warnings.

Reflection is an active skill with unlock requirements. Its interception animation must meet the incoming attack; that differs from simply timing a guard before impact.
Practise on a familiar slower move before attempting it against a new multi-hit string. Failure can cost health and stamina, so keep using the other defensive options.
Weapon-specific skills such as Greatsword’s Counterstrike have their own costs and conditions. Do not treat similarly named actions as interchangeable.

Health damage is only part of an exchange. Attacks and effective defense can wear down enemy stamina toward exhaustion; running out yourself can leave you unable to act.
When the red Brutal Attack prompt appears, position correctly and act before its window ends. Extra normal hits must leave enough time to perform the finisher.
A Brutal Attack damages the target and restores stamina. Secure the finisher first, then practise adding damage before it.
Exhaustion windows vary by enemy and version. The first three main bosses received duration changes in June 2025; do not use one fixed timer for every boss.

First, use one weapon and a short string against ordinary enemies. Check the stamina left when you stop.
Second, learn a slower blockable string and its final hit before practising Brink Guard. Change one timing at a time.
Third, dodge when you need to leave an attack’s range or avoid a poor guarding matchup. Do not ignore grabs or elemental threats to force an all-guard approach.
Fourth, practise Burst counters at clear teaching encounters such as the Chapter 2 bear. Read the warning, then the path and impact.
Fifth, secure Brutal Attacks consistently before extending strings with Spirit skills and Reflection.

Always out of stamina: shorten strings, reduce aimless rolls and check weight and learned skills instead of adding health alone.
Damaged while guarding: identify a Burst Attack, grab, elemental effect or guard break before choosing a different response.
Punished while healing: wait out the full projectile sequence or combo, then heal during recovery. Distance alone is not a safe window.
Unused Spirit: choose one reliable skill and test it in a clear opening while retaining a defensive exit.
Correct buttons but failed counters: distinguish Counterattack, Reflection, Brink Guard and weapon skills, then check unlocks and animation timing.

Checked on 2026-10-21. Recommendations are editorial; patch-specific rules are identified in the text.