With the May 2013 patch nudge got introduced to all gamemodes, at least for 1h without shield players. Updated to the 3.0.3 patch:
So what is nudge? Nudge is a mechanic I stole (at least the idea) from Jedi Knight Academy mod Moviebattles II. There it is used in (very blockheavy) lightsaber duels as a quick interrupt and as a way to punish mistakes. It's a quick slap with the off-hand there, doing very low damage, but being able to knockdown under certain circumstances.
In cRPG I made this to spice up fighting a bit, giving players a new option in facehug distance to break blocks or to create distance to the opponent. Even then shieldless 1handers will still get the most out of nudge though, using their off-hand for quick punches or pushing. All nudges will knockdown a jumping target player.
Nudge is triggered by the v key. Later with forced WSE2 clientside we might get a gamekey instead, so that it will be customisable then. As it is now there are three types of nudge; normal nudge, attack+nudge and defend+nudge. There is a 5 second cooldown between each nudge attempt and during this cooldown the player can neither kick nor nudge.
The amount of stagger it puts on the victim depends on his atack/defend status. The longest stagger will go to an attacking player, then one in non-attacking/defending stance and a blocking player will receive the shortest interuption. All staggers are counterable by its dominating nudge. So an attack nudge can be countered by a normal nudge, a normal nudge by a defend nudge and a defend nudge by an attack nudge.
Shield, unarmed and 1h get all 3 nudge types while polearm and 2h get only 2. Polearm gets normal nudge and defend nudge. 2h gets Normal nudge and a special form of attack nudge(pommel strike).
Low left cross(normal nudge):
Triggered with pressing v while not holding attack or defend. It is a quick punch that causes a very short stagger if it connects. The damage is very low, zero against most armor, even though gauntlet weight helps a bit. On the upside the punch itself is very quick, leaving oneself open for attacks for just a moment. As it is now ALL styles apart fron shield get this nudge
It can knockdown someone who is doing a kick when he is getting nudged - but only when used by 1h without shield.
Quick shield bash(normal nudge):
Shielders get a left to right shieldbash that shortly interupts. Very low damage.
Left straight(attack+nudge):
This one is done by holding attack and then pressing the v key. It is a stronger punch that causes a longer stagger and does a bit more damage than the normal nudge. It has a longer animation duration and it is thus less safe. However it can be a great tool to open up turtlers in group fights and with clever movement one can even land a follow-up attack in one-on-one. Only 1h without shield and unarmed get this.
For 1h without shield one special thing about this nudge is that it can knockdown someone who is attacking while running backwards. It is a shorter knockdown than from blunt weapons, but it still gives good chances to land a follow up attack.
Pommel strike(attack+nudge from overswing position):
2h get something special in form of the pommel strike. It can only be triggered from the overhead strike position. It puts a good amount of stagger on the receiver if it connects.
Left shield bash(attack+nudge):
Shielders get a special outward shield bash that moves the victim a bit to the left side. It is a good tool to get someone out of the way. It does the most damage of all shield bashes but it is still lowish.
Shove(defend+nudge):
This one is triggered with holding the defend key and pressing v. It a pushing move that does (iirc) no damage but moves the target back a bit. Great to create some space or even get away from a pursuer in some situations. Also good for throwing someone into his doom from high places. However it is a long-ass animation and when it fails to connect one can be in serious trouble.
Polearm gets it's own version of this.
Shield shove(defend+nudge):
Shielders get a nudge that allows to push the enemy back. It is rather slow and creates a big opening but it might be a good way push forward or create a chance to run away. No damage at the moment.
When getting hit by a nudge blocking prevents all incoming damage, even from the attack nudges including pommel strike.
Knockdown happens for every type of nudge when the victim is jumping or aiming/releasing a ranged weapon.
Fin.
