It’s nice to play smart and counter-attack against your enemies, but if you want to earn additional points, you want to take the Keepers out fast and furious. Even if the Keepers aren’t vulnerable, you should keep on attacking them all-out, reducing their health and cracking away at their armor. This would allow you to deal greater damage when you’re able to launch a counter attack.
You’ll need to meet certain conditions in order to unleash a power strike on your foes. You will know that you’ve met these conditions and that the move is available to you when you see three blue arrows pointing down. This is very important, because you have to swing from top to bottom, and not any other way, in order to launch the power strike. Otherwise, you’ll lose the chance to do it. On the plus side, though, power strike opportunities sometimes show up completely at random, so do watch for those as well.
We did advise you to go for an all-out attack earlier, but there are merits to prioritizing counter attacks. If you’re able to counter your enemies consecutively, this will leave them vulnerable, which is just where you want them.
It’s as easy as swiping quickly in the direction in which your enemy is about to swing. Keep a close eye on their arm movement, and remember that timing isn’t as important as you may think when it comes to blocking their attacks, just as long as you’re attacking in the same direction.
Aside from winning in the shortest possible time, you can also get more points with a “flawless” kill, which means killing your enemy without getting hit at all. And in boss battles, you get a health bonus depending on how much health you’ve still got after having taken care of the boss.
It’s tempting to upgrade the weapons you start with, but it’s still better not to. These weapons, after all, can carry you well enough in the initial levels. Instead, make use of your essence to purchase stronger weapons; these are the ones you want to upgrade, as they typically come with Brutality and Critical abilities.