In this guide, we will show you how to block melee attacks in The Outer Worlds, and how to increase your blocking ability.
While you’re going to be shooting a lot of enemies in The Outer Worlds, knowing how to melee and block melee attacks is also essential. Fights can get hectic, and if you have lousy melee knowledge and an enemy gets close to you, this can prove to be a disaster.
How To Block Melee Attacks In The Outer Worlds
First up, let’s run through some melee basics. You can only melee with a melee weapon equipped and in your hand. You cannot punch things, because a lot of those things are metal, so this is a bad idea. To hit something with your weapon, just hit the same attack button you use to fire, make sure you have your melee weapon equipped.
To block an enemies melee attack, you once again need to have your melee weapon equipped. Hold L2 on the PS4, the right mouse button on PC, or the left trigger on the Xbox One to block.
It’s a good idea to always have at least one melee weapon in your loadout. This way, you can quickly switch to it if a melee-centric enemy gets too close to you, and you need to block some incoming damage. You can also only block melee attacks. You can’t prevent the incoming fire from enemies. If you find yourself getting picked apart, you need to run for cover.
You can increase your ability to block by putting skill points into Defense. When you hit 20 points in the Block ability, you will unlock Perfect Block. The Perfect Block allows you to stagger enemies if you perfectly time a block against them, giving you a free opening to do more damage.
If you need help with other parts of the game, we have lots of useful guides to help you out. If you need to know how to fast travel, where to get more ammo, how to change your outfit and armor, or how to change the difficulty setting, then we have you covered.
Best of luck in your new life as a colonist!
