Difference between revisions of "Beginner's Guide"

Latest revision as of 09:32, 25 September 2025

	Core game types, classes, and combat basics

Gameplay

Game Types

Nations At War

The original Napoleonic-era setting for Holdfast. Players fight as 18th–19th century armies and navies using muskets, bayonets, cannons, and sailing ships. Nations At War features classic line battles, sieges, naval engagements, and conquest modes.

Frontlines WW1

A World War I–themed experience within Holdfast. Players take on the role of early 20th-century soldiers with bolt-action rifles, pistols, machine guns, and artillery. The gameplay emphasizes trench warfare, attrition, and combined arms tactics.

Class System

Each team has access to a wide variety of classes with unique gear and abilities. Some classes provide direct combat power, while others serve essential support roles such as healing, boosting morale, or providing artillery fire.

Command

Army Infantry Officer

Leads infantry lines on land.

Issues orders and formations
Provides buffs to nearby soldiers

Naval Captain

Commands an entire ship.

Steers the vessel and sets sail orders
Coordinates crew actions in naval battles

Rank & File

Line Infantry

The backbone of the army.

Armed with musket and bayonet
Disciplined volley fire under officer orders

Guards

Elite frontline fighters.

Protect officers and key positions
Superior melee ability and durability

Grenadiers

Heavy melee specialists.

Large, powerful soldiers
Absorb more damage than regular infantry

Skirmisher

Light Infantry

Fast-moving harassers.

Reach key terrain quickly
Good mobility and firepower

Rifleman

Long-range sharpshooters.

Higher accuracy than muskets
Limited numbers, deadly at distance

Customs

Naval skirmishers.

Strong swimmers and agile fighters
Harass enemies from water or shore

Support

Artillery

Masters of cannons, mortars, and rockets.

Devastating firepower
Require coordination and skill

Cavalry

Shock troops on horseback.

Armed with sabers and carbines
Break lines with charges and flanking

Crewman

Experienced sailors.

Strong swimmers
Skilled in naval melee with cutlass or pike

Aiming

Musket accuracy is limited. Use the bottom of the reticle to judge range:

At short range: aim center mass with the reticle at knee height.
At long range: gradually aim higher. At ~100 meters, place the reticle bottom at head height.

Lateral bullet spread cannot be compensated – firing in volleys improves effectiveness.

Melee

Attacking

Press X to switch to melee mode.
Left-click to attack.
The mouse direction when attacking determines strike direction (e.g., moving the mouse up performs an overhead strike).
Attacks can be cancelled early by blocking, allowing faster follow-up swings. (You can cancel after hearing the “whoosh” sound mid-swing.)

Blocking

Blocking is only possible in melee mode.
Hold right mouse button to block.
The mouse direction determines the block angle (e.g., move the mouse up to block an overhead strike).

Tips

Hold Y to use voice chat (can be rebound in settings).
Press P to open the voice chat mute menu. Find a player’s name and click the sound icon to mute them.
Press K to mute in-game voice entirely.
Press Tab while in text chat to cycle through chat channels (General, Recruitment, Team, etc.).

Tools

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Holdfast: Nations at War is a competitive multiplayer game, set in the Napoleonic War era. Here you will be introduced to a few game modes and maps the game has to offer.
+{{DISPLAYTITLE:Beginner’s Guide • Gameplay}}
+{{ContentTemplateModernInline
+ | welcome          = [[File:Forum Logo.png|link=|left|alt=Beginners Guide]]
+ | blurb            = Core game types, classes, and combat basics
+ | sections_title   = On this page
+ | sections_content =
+* [[#Game Types|Game Types]]
+** [[#Nations At War|Nations at War]]
+** [[#Frontlines WW1|Frontlines WW1]]
+* [[#Class System|Class System]]
+** [[#Command|Command]]
+** [[#Rank & File|Rank & File]]
+** [[#Skirmisher|Skirmisher]]
+** [[#Support|Support]]
+* [[#Aiming|Aiming]]
+* [[#Melee|Melee]]
+* [[#Tips|Tips]]
-==Game Modes==
+ | featured_title   = Gameplay
-===Army Battlefield===
+ | featured_content =
-Army Battlefield is a Team Deathmatch. Players can select between two different nations and fight to the death. You can win by either having more kills as a team or have the enemy team run out of respawn tickets and subsequently killing all remaining enemies.
+== Game Types ==
-===Army Siege===
-Army Siege is attackers vs defenders style game mode. It adds in capture points that start off captured by the defending team. You can win by either waiting for the round timer to end while holding at least one capture point as the defenders or capturing all the capture points as the attackers.
+=== Nations At War ===
+The original Napoleonic-era setting for Holdfast. Players fight as 18th–19th century armies and navies using muskets, bayonets, cannons, and sailing ships. Nations At War features classic line battles, sieges, naval engagements, and conquest modes.
-===Army Conquest===
+=== Frontlines WW1 ===
+A World War I–themed experience within Holdfast. Players take on the role of early 20th-century soldiers with bolt-action rifles, pistols, machine guns, and artillery. The gameplay emphasizes trench warfare, attrition, and combined arms tactics.
-Army Conquest is a capture the points style game mode. It adds in capture points that will increase your teams score over the period of the match. The more points you control, the faster your teams' score will increase. When the round timer ends the team with the most points wins.
+== Class System ==
+Each team has access to a wide variety of classes with unique gear and abilities. Some classes provide direct combat power, while others serve essential support roles such as healing, boosting morale, or providing artillery fire.
-==Class System==
+=== Command ===
+==== Army Infantry Officer ====
+'''Leads infantry lines on land.'''
+* Issues orders and formations
+* Provides buffs to nearby soldiers
-Each team has a wide range of different classes you can pick from. Some classes receive different gear and special abilities that will help them or their team. For example Medics can heal players while holding the “E” key.
+==== Naval Captain ====
-Every class serves a specific purpose, so it is important to have an understanding of them. Some Classes can be very essential in taking over Enemy territory, while others are designed to protect other Players and keep them from dying.
+'''Commands an entire ship.'''
+* Steers the vessel and sets sail orders
+* Coordinates crew actions in naval battles
-===Command===
+=== Rank & File ===
-====Army Infantry Officer====
+==== Line Infantry ====
-The infantry officers govern the course of battles on land. They are able to issue Orders to gather their troops into firing lines, and provide bonuses to men who follow them.
+'''The backbone of the army.'''
+* Armed with musket and bayonet
+* Disciplined volley fire under officer orders
-====Naval Captain====
+==== Guards ====
-The captain rules the soggier side of the battlefield, commanding a ship and her crew to do his bidding. They have priority over steering ships.
+'''Elite frontline fighters.'''
-===Rank & File===
+* Protect officers and key positions
-====Line Infantry====
+* Superior melee ability and durability
-The stalwart line infantryman. Armed with a musket and bayonet, he is motivated by the orders of the Officers.
-====Guards====
+==== Grenadiers ====
-The guards are the elite infantry of the ranks. Their primary job is to guard the command, helping them survive where the common man may fall. Their additional training makes them unparalleled combatants in melee.
+'''Heavy melee specialists.'''
+* Large, powerful soldiers
+* Absorb more damage than regular infantry
-====Grenadiers====
+=== Skirmisher ===
-The grenadiers are the largest of the soldiers, able to take far more punishment in melee than their fellow men. As a result, they are also highly proficient in melee combat.
+==== Light Infantry ====
+'''Fast-moving harassers.'''
+* Reach key terrain quickly
+* Good mobility and firepower
-===Skirmisher===
+==== Rifleman ====
-====Light Infantry====
+'''Long-range sharpshooters.'''
-The light infantry classes move at a greater speed than the rest of the player classes, able to outpace lines to reach tactical positions.
+* Higher accuracy than muskets
+* Limited numbers, deadly at distance
-====Rifleman====
+==== Customs ====
-The Rifleman class is the sharpshooter of the game, demonstrating deadly accuracy compared to their musket wielding peers.
+'''Naval skirmishers.'''
+* Strong swimmers and agile fighters
+* Harass enemies from water or shore
-====Customs====
+=== Support ===
-Customs are the light infantry of the sea, able to swim and run at a greater pace to reach an optimum position to take shots at the enemy.
+==== Artillery ====
-===Support===
+'''Masters of cannons, mortars, and rockets.'''
-===Artillery===
+* Devastating firepower
-===Cavalry===
+* Require coordination and skill
-===Crewman===
-==Aiming==
+==== Cavalry ====
+'''Shock troops on horseback.'''
+* Armed with sabers and carbines
+* Break lines with charges and flanking
-In general using the bottom of the reticle will help you better find your range. At short range you should aim for center mass with the bottom of the reticle at about knee height. At longer distances you will have to progressively move the bottom of the reticle up higher. At 100 meters you aim with the bottom of the reticle at head height. This won't help with bullet spread from left to right since it is an inaccurate weapon.
+==== Crewman ====
+'''Experienced sailors.'''
+* Strong swimmers
+* Skilled in naval melee with cutlass or pike
-==Melee==
+== Aiming ==
-===Attacking===
+Musket accuracy is limited. Use the bottom of the reticle to judge range:
+* At short range: aim center mass with the reticle at knee height.
+* At long range: gradually aim higher. At ~100 meters, place the reticle bottom at head height.
+Lateral bullet spread cannot be compensated – firing in volleys improves effectiveness.
-*Pressing the 'X' key switches you into melee mode.
+== Melee ==
+=== Attacking ===
+* Press '''X''' to switch to melee mode.
+* Left-click to attack.
+* The mouse direction when attacking determines strike direction (e.g., moving the mouse up performs an overhead strike).
+* Attacks can be cancelled early by blocking, allowing faster follow-up swings. (You can cancel after hearing the “whoosh” sound mid-swing.)
-*Left clicking will start an attack.
+=== Blocking ===
+* Blocking is only possible in melee mode.
+* Hold right mouse button to block.
+* The mouse direction determines the block angle (e.g., move the mouse up to block an overhead strike).
-*The direction you move your mouse when you left click determines the direction you attack. ( For example if you move your mouse up when you click, your character will strike from above.)
+== Tips ==
+* Hold '''Y''' to use voice chat (can be rebound in settings).
+* Press '''P''' to open the voice chat mute menu. Find a player’s name and click the sound icon to mute them.
+* Press '''K''' to mute in-game voice entirely.
+* Press '''Tab''' while in text chat to cycle through chat channels (General, Recruitment, Team, etc.).
-*The attack animation can be canceled early by blocking, letting you attack faster. (Once you hear the resulting 'whoosh' sound effect half way through your animation you can cancel the animation.)
+ | image_content   =
+ <!-- Optional: add a right-side image/thumb here or leave blank to hide the aside -->
+ <!-- Example:
+ <div class="thumb tright">
+   [[File:Holdfast_Banner.png|400px|alt=Holdfast banner]]
+   <div class="thumbcaption">Community spotlight</div>
+ </div>
+ -->
-===Blocking===
+ | layout          = auto
+ | left_width      = 320px
-*You can only block in melee mode.
+ | aside_width     = 320px
+ | gap             = 0.5rem
-*Hold down the right mouse button to block.
+ | show_toc        = no
+ | show_section_edit = yes
-*The direction you move your mouse determines the direction you block (For example if an enemy melee attacks from above you have to hold your right mouse button while moving your mouse up.)
+}}
-==Tips==
-*Holding the 'Y' key will enable your mic in voice chat. (You can also change the key bind in your settings.)
-*Pressing the 'P' key will open the menu to mute player in voice chat. If someone is annoying you just press the 'p' key, search for their name, and click on the sound icon to mute that person.
-*Pressing the 'Tab' key while in text chat cycles you through the various text channels in game. (General, Recruitment, Team, ect.)