Get comfortable with the combat mechanics first, Tomcat has this training routine that's absolutely essential for mastering your strikes and blocks. When you see that green shield indicator flash, that's your perfect window to counter - timing is super precise here but once you nail it you'll breeze through most fights. Keep practicing those Master Strikes with Tomcat until they're second nature, the animation has this subtle tell right before the opponent swings.

For the bigger story moments watch for those Crucial Point warnings, they're basically signaling "hey things are about to get serious." Stock up on repairs and potions beforehand, and maybe interesting - check your quest log for anything marked urgent since those typically expire after these points. During actual combat positioning is critical, you'll want to keep enemies in front of you and use doorways or bridges to prevent getting surrounded, especially when dealing with multiple opponents.

The real game-changer is stamina management during fights. Watch how enemies move and wait for openings instead of spam attacking, you'll notice they get tired after certain combos which is your chance to strike. Different weapons have specific advantages too - maces absolutely wreck plate armor while longswords give you those fancy half-swording techniques for close combat. Good to know: practice switching between weapons at the training grounds first, getting comfortable with different move sets before actual battles makes a huge difference.