Kenshi is a terribly brutal game to learn, but it’s oh so fun. There’s so much to learn that it can be overwhelming to some folks. Players coming to Kenshi for the first time will likely have questions about how to engage in combat in Kenshi. The processes are simple to start, but get more difficult as you learn more mechanics. This game has a lot fo moving parts, and you’re going to have to work on learning them to do well.
As we pointed out in our Kenshi Beginner’s Guide, things can be pretty rough out here. There’s a lot to learn about this game and its world. And the combat in Kenshi is going to be a big hurdle for new players. The combat process is tied deeply into the other systems, including the faction elements and World States. You must know what you’re doing when you want to enter a fight, so keep the tips below in mind when planning for a fight.
How to Attack Enemies in Kenshi
When you want to begin combat, there are a few choices you have for how to do it. The right-click menu is key here. Just like the rest of the game, combat in Kenshi hinges on the interactions via this menu. You can simply hover the mouse over an NPC. Note the color of the mouse cursor. Green is a friendly NPC to that character, or your faction. Red means that NPC is an enemy or already hostile. Many beasts will also turn red.
It’s worth noting that if you get spotted by a hostile NPC before you trigger a manual attack, they will charge in and attack. Some bandits might take the time to talk to you, demanding tribute, but most NPCs will just attack.
You could take another path if you wish. If you want to start a war against a previously friendly or neutral faction, you can. Just be prepared to beat a hasty retreat.
To attack an NPC you are not hostile with simply select the character you want to attack with, then put the mouse over the enemy you wish to attack. Click and hold down the right mouse button. This will open up an interaction menu where you can choose from a few different actions. Select ‘Attack Unprovoked’. This will trigger that character to engage in combat with that NPC. This will draw nearby NPCs into combat. Don’t do this in a town unless you want to fight a war on your way out.
Also, doing this will drop relations with the faction that the attacked character is a member of. Keep that in mind, and try not to end up losing access to vital trade posts or assets because you recklessly attacked some outpost.
The Attack Move Command
There’s one more thing that you must learn when it comes to combat in Kenshi. The Attack-Move command is vital to moving around an active fight. If you don’t use this command for a character while they’re in combat, they will simply drop their guard and run to the destination. Triggering a move this way will help you move without taking unnecessary hits.
To perform the Attack Move skill, select your character and then Hold SHIFT and Right-click a destination.
Beyond that, it’s all about learning what works best for you. But if you do decide to go to war, plan ahead. Have good weapons and armor, as well as a finely trained fighting force. You can also use a few tactics in your fights to do well against different enemies. The approach you take will depend on who or what you’re fighting.
Tactics for combat in Kenshi
Knowing how to be a better fighter in Kenshi is mostly dependent on knowing when and how to fight well. If you’re taking on a smaller and weaker force, maybe mobbing them with numbers is the way to go. You can even play NPC factions off against each other. These are just some of the most basic approaches to combat in Kenshi, here’s how they work.
Simply rush up and spam attacks against your foes until they go down. That’s the basic mob attack, and it’s kind of dangerous. You will get easily overwhelmed if you don’t have enough forces that can win the fight. A few untrained fighters can easily be taken out by a single skilled opponent. If you’re going to send entire armies into combat, make sure to spend some time using the training dummies first.
If fighting a more advanced force, the “hit and run” method may be the optimal approach. Simply bait a few enemies of a group into chasing a fast-moving character, drawing a few unlucky souls into a larger ambush. This takes some good timing and planning to setup. You will want to use the terrain to your advantage. Use natural bottlenecks to funnel enemies into your groups, making sure that only a few of the enemies can fight at once. Use the larger enemy force against itself, in a way.
The playing enemies off can best be viewed as baiting two enemy groups into attacking each other. By using a bait character to instigate combat with an enemy group and then running, some of them will chase you. If you time it right, you can rush right into an enemy group and have the two groups fight each other. Sneak the bulk of your forces up behind the two warring groups, and take out the stragglers. Be careful not to get overwhelmed by both, though, that’s a recipe for disaster. This is best done when you have two factions already at war, like the Shek Kingdom and Holy Nation.
You can also use this method to lure enemies out of buildings. This works great when dealing with Ancient Ruins and other locations filled with high-level enemies. It could save your life when hunting Engineering Research to use this approach.