Here are all the katana attacks:
basic slash
Basic Slash combo.
power attack.
Block + slash defensive attack that will leap in a direction.
Sheath slash combo - start with katana selected but holstered, you can run, sprint, or just attack and it will start the attack from the draw and keep going.
Sliding attack.
dodge attack
counter attack.
This can be furher exploited by doing a bleed build with reflex tree, or poison build with stealth tree. or stealth build with ninjitsu from stealth tree.
Katana needs to stack armor. armor includes both damage reduction and evasion.
Commit to melee, which means your cyberware needs to reflect your melee life, attack speed and melee damage for skeleton, berserker or sandevistan cyberdecks, time slows for dodging, being spotted. flashbang grenades, defensive mods like microgenerator for your circulatory system. weakness detection for your eyes.
Learn to dodge, learn to cover hop, learn to hit and run. Aim for the head, keep bounceback upat all times and start fights with a flashbang if youre not doing a stealth initiation. and keep the flashbangs stocked.
Here are some perks i consider to be traps:
Unbroken spirit - you will not be trying to counter attack outside of 1 on 1s and even when you do, you dont need its heal, just use a medkit.
Offensive is defence - The only defense is offense. Dodge, kill, find a damn crate, reposition. Youre playing like a sniper at a faster pace. Hit and run tactics.
Shifting sanders - Not necessary at all. certainly not for 3 points. You should not be engaged in combat long enough to be stamina starved.
Here are perks from other trees you should shoot for:
TECH TREE
Cant touch this - Grenades have status effects, thermal, chemical and shock all result in soft ccs when they proc, causing the target to stop moving intermittently, which means they arent attacking, this creates a layer of defense. This mod is only a problem if you hve HIGH COOL and you want to use thermal grenades for your CC for the burn effect, and then the Skin mod that makes you immune to burning but gives you increased damage while youre on fire. IF youre going to be grenade heavy, the perk SHRAPNEL should be considered.
Bladerunner
Increased damage to robots, good for obvious reason. Robots explode, aim for the head.
COOL TREE
Assassin
15% increase damage to humans - the majority of enemies are humans. Anymore questions?
Strike from shadows:
Increased crit change while sneaking - only good if youre doing a heavy stealth build.
Ninjitsu
Allows melee weapon to deal 100% more damage and crit from stealth. - here is how melee stealth works, as long as you kill the target you will not be detected. Without this perk, you need a juiced up katana and a lucky crit to kill your target outright on very hard. If they survive at all you will be in combat.
hasted retreat
movement speed increased by 50% when detected, pairs well with the time slow.
From the shadows
On entering combat, crit chance is increased by 25% for 7 seconds. pair this with the sandevistan cyberdeck, and everything should be dead before this cooldown is up.
IF YOURE DOING A POISON BUILD (chemical katana)
Hasten the inievitble:
20% more damage to enemies affected by poison.
Rattlesnake:
Poisoned enemies are slowed
Aggrieve anti toxin
Grants immunity to poison, allows you to use poison grenades for CC and let you stand in the cloud. debatable if necessary as a cybermod does this if you have the points.
Neurotoxin:
damage from poison is doubled.
I dont find cold blood to be appealing, if i was to invest in it id focus on armor and crit but i honestly think its a trap unless you take Cold and calculating. Its usless in 1 on 1 fights because you have nothing to kill.
Finally, LEVEL UP ALL YOUR SKILL TREES. You need the perk points to put into your melee.
melee is hard, and rewarding, and way more complex than shooting.
