The Storm Bat, the quintessential weapon of precise striking and brute force.  Dealing the most damaging combo out of any melee weapon, the bat is to melee weapons like the railgun is to most guns: One precise shot will end the fight there and then, instantly killing your opponent… but miss, and you’re in deep trouble.
This clumsy looking oversized weapon comes with 3 different methods of attack:

The Swing.

Unlike the Plasma Sword or the Counter Sword, the Storm Bat doesn’t have a heavy and light slashes… In fact it doesn’t have any slashes at all… A left-click on the mouse will always deliver the same: the classic bat swing. This simple looking swing will send your enemy flying back, delivering 34 damage on a normal hit, and 68 damage on a critical hit, with the possibility of an additional 14 to 20 damage if your opponent is sent against a wall. The kind of swing Barry Bonds would envy.

The Jump Attack.

The very core of the Storm Bat. Contrary to the PS or the CS, the bat’s jump attack has no delay, meaning a single mouse click will instantly bring down a massive attack on your opponent. Delivering 65 damage on a normal hit, and an impressive 116 damage on a critical, this jump attack will also stun your opponent for approximately 1.5 seconds, leaving them open to a follow up swing. It’s a one-hit-kill.

The Storm Wind.

The secondary attack of the bat is a moving, spinning, swing that can be chained up to 3 times in a row, hitting all opponents in it’s path, delivering approximately 54 damage if all hits connect. If each click is timed correctly, the storm bat will unleash the Storm Wind, a devastating electrical hurricane that delivers anywhere from 72 to over 130 damage (if all 3 hits critical) in it’s path, knocking any surviving enemies down with the last spin.

The normal whirlwind.

The Storm Wind.

The Bad.

But no weapon is without it’s flaws. While this bat will deliver unforgiving damage and knockback on a hit, it’s also equally unforgiving of your own mistakes. The jump attack will leave you open for no less than 2 seconds, if you take the extra swing after, another 1-1.5 seconds where you cannot move or in any way avoid an enemy. The Storm Wind comes with an equally painful 2 seconds of punishable recovery time. On top of that, it does not have any “quick moving high damage” attacks like the plasma sword’s dash, or the counter sword’s jump attack, limiting its range… It’s the hefty cost of its own power.

Strategy.

As seen above, the Storm Bat’s biggest advantage lies in its quick attacks, and it’s biggest disadvantage in its slow recovery time. As such, you’ll want to use and abuse the normal swing. Surprisingly, the very simple swing is fast, let’s you move while attacking, does decent damage, and better yet, knocks the enemy back, preferably into a wall. Not only is this attack of exceptional tactical use in Touchdown (to knock enemies away from the ball carrier, or the enemy ball carrier away from your base), but also for regular fighting, as knocking the enemy into a wall leaves them stunned long enough to allow a follow up with the deadly jump attack.

Save the jump attack as a “punisher”, as it has no starting delay, making it fast enough to hit any enemies stuck on their own attack animations. It’s also particularly useful on unsuspecting enemies.

The Storm Wind is best used as a “crowd control” tool (especially when several enemies are engaged fighting allies in a small space like the Station 2’s train) or to finish off a nearly dead opponent.

But above all, remember to plan your movements ahead and not take unnecessary chances. Take your time, use normal swings until your opponent is knocked into a wall or makes the mistake of missing an attack of his own.

(Return to main)