Can anyone tell me if there are any ways to handle combat that are better than others? Does switching the type of attack do much to improve your hit chances? Does moving around make a difference? Should I be constantly dodging?

On the recommendation of others I went with a strength-favoring druid.

Thanks!

Each weapon has a preferred attack type (bash for axes and maces, swing for medium to large swords, and thrust for daggers and shortswords). You're always best off to use that preferred attack type unless the enemy is at such a weird angle that you can't hit it without using a different one, even with the look up/down function, but in those cases it's probably better to maneuver the enemy into another position.

It's best to charge an attack up to full power unless an enemy is nearly dead and a partly-charged one will kill it. The better the power, the less efficiency you'll lose to the enemy's armor.

Moving around can make a difference, most obviously if it lets you evade ranged attacks, but it can also let you fake out enemies to avoid their melee swings. It takes some practice to get the timing right and you'll need to use the keyboard and mouse together to pull it off, but you can move in just close enough to start them swinging, back just out of their swing range, and then step back in to release your own attack and pull back before their next swing comes. (You're charging up your attack while out of range.) This is really only feasible when you have some room to maneuver and aren't being swarmed, but it can be handy when fighting very tough melee opponents.

Garran is right, and an extension to that is that swords seem to be better in the Underworld games. I find the "move backwards and prepare attack, then charge forwards and thrust" combat strategy to be the simplest, most effective battle tactic in the game, though that could be quite subjective and others might have different opinions.

Also, swords found in the game seem to be of generally better quality than other weapons.

But don't let that stop you from choosing a different weapon - it is a role playing game so just pick whichever one you like more :)

Why should whether the game is an RPG determine whether you should use the weapon you like more? Is there any reason why, in say Castlevania or Mega Man, I shouldn't use the special weapon I like the most?

No, just in RPG games people usually like to model their choices on some fantasy character, picking their weapon of choice. There's no reason not to do that in Underworld.

Actually maybe there is a good reason - don't pick Missile weapons. They weren't well implemented and you'll hate that decision later in the game.

Thank you all for the great advice! This is exactly the information I thought people must have from experience, but I couldn't find anything about it online. This should help my results in-game especially.

Anyone know if maces do more damage to skeletons than other weapons? I am using a mace because that's what it felt like to me, but I couldn't be certain. Oh boy, some times I feel like I'm the only person in the world who does that. Everyone now a days just picks for gameplay efficiency and exploitation.

Thank you all again!

What I am saying is, why limit it to RPGs? Why shouldn't I, say, do a run of Castlevania where I use only the dagger subweapon? Or how about using only the stopwatch (which, by the way, works on bosses in the original Castlevania)?

Or in Castlevania 3, why shouldn't I use my favorite character over the "best" character?

As a side note, I often prefer to play setups I find fun over those that are objectively the most powerful, especially once I am already familiar with the game.

Oh I wasn't refuting your post at all, just responding to rmeakins post because of, well, what I said. ;) I didn't mean to exclude your comments.

I completely agree with what you're saying. I wish a way could be found to exercise more player-driven character building in genres outside of RPGs. RPGs just offer the most freedom in that respect because of how character-centric they are by nature.

Usually you'll want to handle combat with melee weapons (which includes your fist, a perfectly viable weapon if you choose to put the points into that "weapon" skill). All of my advice here applies to pretty much every character.

Moving around makes a HUGE difference in your combat performance, and you should almost always be dodging in and out of melee range. Close in on enemies that use ranged attacks (mages, imps, gazers, etc.) to make them switch to melee, which usually lowers their damage output (gazers perhaps being the notable exception here, though even they go down easily after you've powered up). You generally don't want monsters throwing fireballs or lightning at you.

I almost always use just the mouse for moving around. If you start charging a swing while moving, you can keep moving while charging. If you start charging a swing while standing still, you will NOT be able to move (with the mouse, don't know about keyboard) while you are holding that swing. Practice starting a swing while moving, and practice moving forward and then backward while swinging. You can unequip your weapon and practice by punching a wall while weaving; you'll be able to see the damage graphic pop up to help you get a feel for distance and you won't risk damaging your weapon of choice while practicing (no, you don't take damage from punching inanimate objects). Dodging in and out can help you avoid a LOT of hits from dangerous foes, and you may be able to escape damage entirely if you consistently back out of range by the time they start their attack. Things like Reapers, Trolls, Golems, and Dread Spiders can be lethal if you stand and fight, but are significantly less so by dodging in and out of their range when you go to land your own hits. If you find yourself backed into a corner, you may be able to get more space by running forward into your opponent; if nothing is behind them, you can push them backwards (though not off ledges, and you'll definitely be in their attack range while doing so).

You should pick one weapon skill (sword, axe, mace, or unarmed) to use for the game, and put points into just that skill. Also add points to the Attack skill. Both of these skills influence how often you can hit an opponent and whether you damage your weapon while trying to do so. As mentioned, swords are an excellent choice for your first game, but any of the others are perfectly viable (I've used Unarmed to complete the game when I was using a low strength character). Choosing Missile weapons is not a good idea for a first play through: you can't shoot when at melee range, monsters that don't have a ranged attack are going to try and move into melee, monsters that have a ranged attack are likely to out damage you in ranged combat, ammo is both limited and heavy, and the targeting can be rather wonky. In my experience, any targeted combat spells end up functioning similar to range combat. Do keep a wand or two of magic arrow around, in case you are fighting a lurker and it tries to flee; pop it with a magic arrow and it will come back so you can kill it.

Someone else has already talked about charging to full power (the green orb color) before releasing your swing. I second his statements.

I don't know if different types of swings are better for particular weapons; I usually just use the cross-body swing (slash?). I also don't know if skeletons take more damage from maces; I have had no issues killing them with other weapon types. Just pick one (melee) weapon class and use weapons from that class during the game and you should be fine. You shouldn't use your favorite special weapon if it won't accomplish whatever you are trying to do. For example, if your favorite special weapon won't kill a particular boss, then you should probably choose something else. It doesn't matter how cool you think the Flash Stopper is, you shouldn't use it against Metal Man. :P

AFAIK there's no special rule regarding skeletons. The only thing that might influence it is that long-charge/heavy hits are better against heavily armored enemies in general, and maces tend toward the slow/heavy end of the spectrum (though there are exceptions).

Weapon types do have better performance if you use the appropriate swing type. Thrusting with a mace or axe will produce a very weak hit compared to bashing with it.

Some sort of fire protection is useful for wielding that axe. The first time I tried it out I seem to recall getting a little too warm... There's leather armour of Flameproof in one of the later worlds that works well with it.

Black swords are too slow. Jeweled swords are the best.

Well, there is that sword of stone strike. It may not deliver the largest amout of DPS, but it's side effect of turning your enemies to stone means that they can't fight back and you don't really have to kill them quickly. Just remember to scratch everybody every once in while if you're fighting groups of enemies, since the petrification effect doesn't last forever.

In UW2 the cudgel of entry is also quite useful. Not so much for bashing heads in, but for opening those pesky locked doors without draining your mana reserves. Too bad it doesn't work on locked chests.

And since it is a talisman and I need to carry it around anyway, I might as well use it. Same goes for the shield of valor. :-)

One thing I discovered the hard way in UW2 is that some area effect combat spells aren't blocked by walls. I thought I was being clever using Shockwave when mobbed at one point, only to discover the friendlies in the areas behind the walls had also been hit by my spells and the entire previously safe area had turned hostile.

While a pre-readied combat spell can be very handy in a fight, it pays to avoid using anything with an area effect in places with friendly NPCs about.