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🎃 Night Of Hallows
The old warriors rise from their graves, and duelists from across lands may challenge them.
Game guide
Dueling Grounds Guide: Controls to learn before your first match
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About
OverviewDueling Grounds is a fast-paced PvP fighting game where players battle using melee weapons such as katanas, naginatas, and daggers. Wins come down to reading your opponent, managing spacing, and timing your attacks and defense — not luck or gear stats. This guide covers controls, weapons, core combat mechanics, advanced techniques, and habits that will help you stop losing and start improving.
What is on this page
Contents
01
Controls to learn before your first match
Check
02
Weapon ranges and when to pick each one
Table
03
Live and upcoming events
Events
04
How attack and defense actually work
Step
05
Advanced techniques worth learning
Tips
06
Positional play and arena control
Tips
07
Working codes
Codes
08
Common mistakes that stall progress
Warn
09
Ranked mode, coins, gems, and cosmetics
Summary
10
Glossary
Words
11
Common questions
FAQ
01
Controls to learn before your first match
Check
In short
Knowing what every button does before you fight saves you from losing to confusion rather than skill.
The default controls work on PC, mobile, and console, and you can remap them in settings if anything feels awkward. Mobile players can also use the Button Layout Editor added in the Battlepass update to reposition and resize on-screen buttons.
- M1 (left click) fires a light attack fast, low commitment, your most-used move
- M2 (right click) fires a heavy attack hits harder but leaves a bigger gap if it misses
- F (tap) performs a parry; holding F holds a block instead
- Q or Shift dodges
- M3 or T locks the camera onto an enemy so they stay centered on screen
- R uses your Ultimate once the gauge is charged
- Space jumps airborne jump attacks deal significant damage and can punish staggered opponents
02
Weapon ranges and when to pick each one
TableIn short
Your weapon decides your ideal fighting distance, so pick one that matches how you naturally want to move.
No weapon is universally best. Every weapon in the game is strong at the distance it was built for and loses when forced out of that range.
| Naginata | longest reach; controls space by making opponents walk into your attacks, punished hard if someone gets inside |
| Katana | mid-range; stable in most matchups, best fought at the tip of its range rather than chest-to-chest |
| Daggers | shortest range; very fast light attacks that punish hesitation, but struggles when forced to close distance against longer weapons |
| Gauntlets | close range; strong guard breaks and combos against passive players, limited reach against zoners |
| Kusarigama | variable range; unpredictable timing and angles, but commits heavily and punishes misuse hard |
| Warhammer | slow but crushing strikes that break through defenses, and its light attacks carry super armor |
| Curved Swords | rapid combo chains that deal intense burst damage through dual-strike attacks |
03 Live and upcoming events
Events
Events running now or coming soon. They have fixed dates, so check them first.
Upcoming
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04
How attack and defense actually work
Step
In short
Combat rewards controlled, well-timed actions — spam and reflex button-mashing are both punishable.
The three defensive tools — block, parry, and dodge — each serve a different purpose, and leaning too hard on any one of them makes you predictable. After blocking an attack, pause before you counter; experienced players expect an instant retaliate and will parry it. Posture regenerates after roughly three to four seconds of disengagement, but dashing, swinging, jumping, holding block, and spamming parry all interrupt that recovery. At 60 frames per second, a parry's active window shrinks with each consecutive use: 14 frames on the first attempt, 10 on the second, and 8 on the third, while recovery frames increase from 6 to 12 to 18. A dodge runs 20 active invincibility frames followed by only 4 frames of recovery.
- Block hold F to absorb most attacks, but your posture gauge drains over time; disengage before it empties
- Parry tap F the moment an attack lands; the window shrinks and recovery grows each time you chain it, so target one predictable attack rather than spamming
- Dodge use Q or Shift to pass through an attack during the 20 active invincibility frames; there are only 4 recovery frames after, but avoid instant chains with block or parry — that was patched out
- Ultimate gauge the bar fills automatically but charges faster through parries and landing attacks; watch the opponent's gauge too and avoid pressing in recklessly when theirs is nearly full
05
Advanced techniques worth learning
Tips
In short
Poking, block feinting, and dash punishing are the three techniques that pay off fastest once fundamentals are stable.
Once the basics feel solid, these techniques give you meaningful edges without requiring perfect reflexes.
Tips worth knowing
- Poking — fire only the first light attack swing and stop immediately; fast pokes are hard to react to and interrupt opponents who expect a full combo
- Block feinting — show the block animation, then cancel quickly into an attack; this baits an early parry and wastes your opponent's defensive window
- Dash punishing — dashes have a short window at the end of the animation before the dasher can act again; recognizing and hitting that window deals both health and posture damage
- Jump attacking — use airborne attacks aggressively or to punish staggered opponents; opponents who jump predictably can be punished the same way
- Bo Staff counter — this weapon's counter-attack grants invincibility frames during its startup
06
Positional play and arena control
TipsIn short
Holding the center and moving diagonally are positional habits that quietly win fights before the first swing lands.
The arena is circular, so where you stand matters almost as much as what buttons you press. The player closer to the center has more movement options; the player forced to the edge has fewer escape angles and is easier to pressure.
Tips worth knowing
- Control the center — staying near the middle gives you more directions to dodge and rotate
- Re-center early — if you catch yourself drifting toward the edge, reposition before continuing combat rather than after you're already cornered
- Cut angles when chasing — move diagonally inward rather than directly behind a retreating opponent; chasing in a straight line gives them room to escape on either side
- Advance with guard ready — close distance in small, guarded steps rather than sprinting; guarded movement is safer than aggressive chasing
- One-dash reset — when under pressure or low on posture, dash back once, stop, guard, and wait for the opponent to approach rather than spamming multiple dashes
07 Working codes
Codes
Oathbreaker
500 coins and 100 gems
500 coins and 100 gems
GemsUpdate
1k coins and 100 gems
1k coins and 100 gems
08
Common mistakes that stall progress
Warn
In short
Most losing streaks trace back to one or two repeated habits rather than a general skill gap.
When the same problems keep appearing, fix one at a time rather than changing everything at once. Each item below either interrupts posture regeneration or signals your next action to the opponent.
Worth watching out for
Spamming parry two or more times in a row shrinks the active window and stretches recovery, leaving you exposed between inputs
Firing heavy attacks while the opponent can move freely almost always results in a punish
wait for a whiff or a posture break
Holding block while posture is already low guarantees a posture break; disengage and walk backward instead
Dodging only straight backward makes your movement easy to read
mix in lateral and diagonal dodges
Using the Ultimate while the opponent can move freely wastes it; save it for after a posture break or a whiff
Auto-retaliating immediately after blocking gets you parried by experienced players
block, pause, then decide
09
Ranked mode, coins, gems, and cosmetics
Summary
In short
Skill determines ranked performance; spending only changes how your character looks.
Ranked matches affect your rating, which determines your position on the global leaderboard. Winning increases your rating and losing decreases it, with the amount depending on your opponent's rating. Matchmaking pairs players of similar rating. The top three players on the leaderboard are represented by statues on the map that update as standings change. All matches — both casual and ranked — now reward gems, scaled by match duration and capped at 40 gems per day resetting every 18 hours. Because combat outcomes depend on timing and decision-making rather than equipment stats, a free-to-play player with strong fundamentals competes evenly against anyone.
- Coins earned through matches win or lose, used to unlock weapons
- Gems earned through codes and from match rewards (capped at 40 per day), used for cosmetic items like weapon skins
- Weapon cosmetics purchased with gems; they change visuals, strike effects, and style but not combat stats
- Battlepass costs 795 Robux and has 20 tiers; free tiers include weapons, maps, and gems, while paid tiers add Oathbreaker skins and the Chapel map
- Titles unlocked by meeting in-game milestones such as win counts, parry counts, posture breaks, and Ultimate finishes
Glossary
Glossary- Heavy Attack (M2)
- A slower, harder-hitting strike fired with right click that leaves a significant gap if it misses.
- Parry
- A tap of F timed to the moment an incoming attack lands, deflecting it and opening a counter window; the active frames shrink and recovery grows with each consecutive attempt.
- Block
- Holding F to absorb attacks at the cost of the posture gauge draining over time.
- Posture Gauge
- A meter that depletes while blocking; emptying it causes a posture break that leaves you wide open.
- Posture Regeneration
- The gauge refills after roughly three to four seconds of disengagement, interrupted by dashing, swinging, jumping, holding block, or spamming parry.
- Dodge
- A quick movement with Q or Shift that grants 20 invincibility frames during the animation, followed by 4 recovery frames before your next action.
- Iframes
- Invincibility frames during a dodge or the Bo Staff counter-attack startup where attacks pass through you.
- Lock-On (M3 or T)
- Keeps the camera fixed on one opponent so they stay centered on screen during fast movement.
- Ultimate (R)
- A powerful weapon-specific move that becomes available once the gauge fills from dealing attacks or landing parries; the gauge charges faster through parries and dealing damage.
- Coins
- In-game currency earned by playing matches, spent on unlocking new weapons and some maps.
- Gems
- A second currency obtainable through codes and post-match rewards, used mainly to unlock cosmetic items and gem-priced maps.
- Poking
- Firing only the first light attack swing and stopping immediately, used to pressure opponents who have read a full combo.
- Block Feint
- Showing the block animation and then quickly canceling into an attack to bait an early parry out of the opponent.
- Super Armor
- A property on certain Warhammer attacks that lets the attack continue through incoming strikes without being interrupted.
Common questions
FAQWhat should I focus on learning first?
Master dashing before anything else. Effective dashes let you evade unpredictable strikes, create distance, and reposition without having to rely on parry timing.
Why does spamming parry keep getting me killed?
Each consecutive parry attempt has a smaller active window and longer recovery — at 60 fps the frames go 14, 10, then 8 active, while recovery goes 6, 12, then 18. That gap between inputs is exactly when opponents punish you. Focus on parrying only the first attack in a string, then decide whether to block or counter.
Can I play well without spending Robux?
Yes. Weapons unlock with coins earned from matches, and gems for cosmetics are obtainable through official codes and post-match rewards. Spending money adds cosmetic variety — skins, maps, and the Battlepass — but does not change combat effectiveness.
How do I report a cheater?
Record video evidence that clearly shows the cheater in action with their in-game username visible, and gather their Roblox profile link. Submit the recording and profile link to a moderator through the official Discord server.
How do I redeem a code?
Launch the game, click the star icon on the left side of the screen, type the code exactly as it appears — including capitalization and symbols — and press Redeem. Coins and gems are added immediately, and each code can only be used once.
Is the game playable on mobile?
The game supports mobile with on-screen buttons for all actions including parry and dodge. The Battlepass update added a Button Layout Editor so you can reposition and resize those buttons to suit your device.
Does the Warhammer ignore parry and block?
The Warhammer's attacks ignore parry and block stun. Its light attacks also carry super armor.
Updated Oct 21, 2026
Game updates can change what is on this page. If you spot something, get in touch and let us know.
Game updates can change what is on this page. If you spot something, get in touch and let us know.
