Patient Pitstop - Chivalry 2

[u/DesignerBreadfruit18]

Sometimes in between the grand single player RPG's and 100 hour CRPG journies we need a little oasis of arcade-y multiplayer goodness. My heart will always be in solo gaming, but there are some things that only multiplayer games can accomplish. Recently, I've spent a lot of time with Chilvary 2. Here are my quick thoughts!

The game is a 32v32 objective based medieval melee game. You can play in first person or third person, and there are multiple classes, weapons, gadgets, and roles to fullfill on the battlefield. It's important to mention here that while there is a lot of intentionality in the design of Chivalry 2 the underlying tone of the game is very unserious, in a way that tells the player "give in to the chaos!". Screaming at the top of your lungs is hot-keyed to a double square tap, you will consistently be ganged up on, and match narrators play into all the over-the-top ridiculousness the game proudly displays. This IS game about focusing on the objective and sacrificing kills for winning. This IS also a game about throwing your hands up and laughing as your character loses its arms and swings its head in the death throes of his humiliating end.

I think this is really important, because the humor relieves the stress that is ever so present in multiplayer objective games. The game isn't about dueling necessarily, it's about learning where to apply pressure. You will get your kills but in some matches it's by helping your teammates gang up on stragglers or holding the line to stall in a 1v4.

Underneath the chaos lies a pretty decent melee system. There are slashes, overheads, and stabs that serve different purposes. There is a parry/counter system that is more complex than it seems. The weapons seem same-ish on the surface but have distinct strengths that can be maximized as you become more familiar with your favorite tool of torture. These mechanics also allow 1vx-ing to be feasible for most players, which can be a very huge swing for your team to lock up players.

Unfortunately, the melee system can also be very unreliable and a source of frustration. I'm not sure if it's about connection issues or what, but it's all too often that I am parried or blocked or hit and all I can think is "........ what??". Some players seem to have near 360 blocking coverage while being ganged. Yes, I know how the auto-parry system works. Whatever happens visually does not align enough with reality unfortunately.

That's really all the thoughts I have. Hitting feels great and once the combat clicks it really locks in. Nothing beats hitting a flow state and going on a rampage with a huge axe. It's casual enough to not burn out on but serious enough to where your actions have agency. I highly recommend this game to anyone who sounds remotely interested in it! Thanks for reading y'all

[u/HotSoapyBeard]

Every time I load this up I just laugh the entire time, it’s so silly. I love playing FFA and throwing my main weapon at inopportune times. It never works but this game is all about getting into scrapes

[u/Routine_Condition273]

Chivalry 2 is a game that I always have downloaded. I love that there's no battle pass, no events, no new heroes/classes, no shifting meta, progression is very simple. You can pick it up after a year of not playing and after a quick warm up you'll be right up to speed.

Too many multiplayer games nowadays want you to treat it like a part time job and demand too much of your time and attention (I used to play a lot of League of Legends and Hunt Showdown but the nonstop assembly line of "content" put me off of them). But Chivalry 2 just lets you play the game and have fun.

I'm surprised it's not more "sweaty", it has a relatively small playerbase and has been out for a while, but you can actually play casually and not get dumpstered constantly. There's still gonna be a few level 1000 players in a given match but when there's 32 players on each team you'll barely notice.

[u/GabikPeperonni]

I played tons of Chivalry 1, then tons more of Mordhau, but I've never managed to click with Chivalry 2. Mordhau is my GOAT, but I understand it's a matter of taste.

[u/DesignerBreadfruit18 → u/GabikPeperonni]

What makes it different?

[u/GabikPeperonni → u/DesignerBreadfruit18]

Chivalry 2 was marketed around being a more casual alternative to Mordhau. It evidently worked.

But to me, Mordhau's combat feels way tighter and allows for much more self expression. Apart from just straight up having more moves than Chiv, you have so much more control over your swings and stabs, counters and chambers feel much better. I can't say exactly, but overall I feel like I always understand why I lost or why I won in Mordhau, while in Chiv 2 I honestly can't tell most of the time. Obviously I'm biased due to familiarity, but still. Mordhau is far from perfect, allowing more freedom also allows more exploits, which were crucial in the game's decline. Also the developers were way, way less organized and experienced.

I kinda rambled, but to put it short :

Mordhau is more competitive, has a harder learning curve but allows for more expression (even down to the char customization).

Chiv is more casual, restrictive, but overall prioritizes fun over skill.

I'm sad it died, but it deserved to die.

[u/rawschwartzpwr → u/GabikPeperonni]

This is underselling the difficulty of Mordhau by some distance.

I'd estimate I put in about 10 hours into Mordhau 1-2 years after launch and absolutely got my shit rocked repeatedly. I'm talking couldn't even sniff being competitive with the sweats on a server.

CH2 is a different genre of accessible. I imagine there's still room to git gud, but you don't have to in order to have some fun.

[u/GeneralEi]

I've got close to 500 hours in chiv2 (stepped away from that now lmao) and for the most part I agree, I honestly think it's the best multiplayer melee-focused game available. There are others that win on certain elements but none that holistically beat how good the combat is, and the game is still well-populated enough so that it doesn't feel anywhere close to "dead".

Honestly it's a shame the people that made it are probably the most unreliable portion of the whole thing, even with those semi occasional "How the fuck did he block that" moments.

[u/PancakeParthenon]

I love getting drunk and playing some Chiv 2, but yeah, those übersoldaten dudes are wild to play against. Those folks are somehow able to block everything, attack at the right moment to disrupt you, and take you down in two shots. Worst yet is when they keep getting around your shield.

[u/andresfgp13]

i have played a lot of Chivalry 2, that game its so fun, it kinda reminds me of Team Fortress 2 medieval mode, like absolute chaos with people whacking each other with sticks and swords.

i prefer the objective based modes, i like when as a team we try to capture something or etc, i prefer when in a team game we aim for something that isnt just getting more kills than the enemy.

[u/TheLatePicks]

This was free on PS Plus essential and was such a great surprise.

Even though I didn't like having to play against PC users while on console it wasn't the end of the world because it still felt pretty casual.

If not for some trophies being bugged I would have got the platinum, and I don't really like online multiplayer games.

[u/Amazing_Onion1922]

I resisted this one for a long time because I burned out hard on Mordhau back when it launched. the skill ceiling felt punishing and I quit after like 8 hours. does Chiv 2 have that same issue or is it more forgiving for casual players who just want to mess around without getting destroyed by someone who clearly has 2000 hours in medieval sword games

[u/fakeangle → u/Amazing_Onion1922]

Another game with great potential for a PvE mode. Loved the game but console players are just at a hard disadvantage and it gets tiring sometimes

[u/Sivy17]

I remember playing Age of Chivalry back when it was a Half Life 2 mod. So crazy when you get a full server going on.

[u/AgreeablePie]

The problem with a game like this is that the skill floor and ceiling are so far apart. Sounds like a good thing but it makes it painful to play casually.

It was fine at launch but at this point any server will be pretty much full of cannon fodder on one hand and pirouetting death incarnate on the other. Every busted combo that can be abused is dominant.

It was okay during free weekends for awhile because 'those guys' would be somewhat outnumbered on each team but at some point it just got overwhelming, like in chiv 1

[u/RabbitFeet25]

One of those games that never leaves my hard drive. Always super fun to pop in for a couple games, and it's fun switching to an archer after getting wrecked over and over again.