Couple these attacks with the Dodge Counter and you can frustrate your opponents by waiting for them to attack, then countering or evading and shifting right into the Valkyrie’s Spear Sweep shenanigans. Both the Hunter’s Strike and Pouncing Thrust take the place of the first attack in the Boar Hunter and Thrust and Slash chain combos, allowing you to transition right to either combo immediately following these two attacks.

The Hunter’s Strike is a sidestep attack that allows the Valkyrie to evade an incoming attack and start her offensive at the same time. The significant damage of the attack, plus the bleeding effect make this one of the Valkyrie’s most important tactics. This can be blocked, but it happens so fast that you will rarely see an opponent block the Shoulder Pin. When successful, the Shoulder Pin causes a bleeding effect that will slowly drain the life of your opponent for a short time. It’s important to press Heavy Attack as soon as you see the deflect animation of the Dodge Counter. If you successfully auto-block with the Dodge Counter, follow with an immediate Heavy Attack to initiate a Shoulder Pin. This makes it very difficult for an opponent to interrupt the Valkyrie’s sidestep or forward dash with a Light or Heavy Attack. For example, if she dashes to the right, she will block to the right as well.

Any direction she dashes in, whether it’s a sidestep to the left or right, or a forward dash directly ahead, she automatically blocks in that direction.

The Valkyrie has great sidestep attacks with the Hunter’s Strike, but that’s not the only advantage of her sidestep.

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