Starlight Wardens Wiki
Melee: Grit, Challenge and breaking a wind-up
From Expert up, melee fighters get help. Hitting builds Grit, a dash into a pack or a perfect block makes the pack turn on you, and your hits can call off an attack that is winding up. On Easy, Normal and Hard none of it is on.
Grit
Every hit your weapon lands fills Grit, a thin amber edge on your health. A blow breaks the amber first, before your health is touched. It fades 2 s after your last hit, and it is gone when a wave ends or you go down. The more monsters crowd within 3 m of you, the faster it fills, by 25% for each extra one. Skills and extra effects do not fill it, only your weapon's own hits.
In a party, Grit is smaller, and for some weapon kinds there is none. The blade, spear and heavy lean on their shields and on Challenge instead.
Challenge
A dash that ends within 3 m of a monster, or a perfect block, makes the monsters around you turn on you. After a dash, every monster within 6 m goes for you; after a perfect block, the one you blocked and those within 3 m of it. They keep at you for 4 s, and shooters and casters come in close instead of keeping their distance. A monster answers once every 8 s. A boss or a mini-boss never answers.
In a party only some weapon kinds can challenge.
Breaking a wind-up
A hit on a monster that is winding up an attack can call the attack off, and the monster starts its pause again. It works for the weapon kinds marked below, and on any one monster only once every 3 s, so twin blades cannot keep one silent. Bosses and mini-bosses are not called off, and an attack already committed still lands.
In the fray, and a firmer shield
For 2 s after one of your hits lands, you take a little less damage from everything. And a held shield holds out longer than before. Its guard counts for more on these difficulties. The table below gives both.
Which weapons get what
Marked with a tick. Ranged weapons get none of it.
- Grit
- Grit in a party
- Challenge
- Challenge in a party
- Breaks a wind-up
- In the fray
Off on Easy, Normal and Hard.
The numbers
Every number here is the game's own.
Grit gained for a second of hitting · Damage taken less in the fray · A held shield's guard
| Difficulty | Grit gained for a second of hitting | Damage taken less in the fray | A held shield's guard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expert | 2% | 2% | x1.3 |
| Master | 2.5% | 3% | x1.58 |
| Nightmare | 3% | 4% | x1.94 |
| Impossible | 7% | 5% | x2.84 |