Mastering Power Stance Combat on DS2 Keyboard

To perform the powerful dual-wielding Power Stance in Dark Souls 2 on PC, hold down the Y key while having two compatible weapons of similar type equipped in your left and right hand slots. This opens up new attack animations that strike with both weapons simultaneously, greatly expanding your offensive options.

Getting to Grips with DS2 Keyboard Controls

Before unleashing advanced combat techniques like the Power Stance, it‘s important to have the basic keyboard controls for Dark Souls 2 mastered:

Movement

• WASD – Character movement and camera control
• Spacebar – Roll and backstep
• F – Jump (tap for standard jump, hold for jumping attack)
• R – Lock-on to target

Actions

• Enter/A – Interact and confirm (light bonfires, open chests etc.)
• I – Open menu
• E – Use items
• Q – Switch Spell / Item
• Mouse Wheel – Cycle through consumables

Combat

• Left/Right Mouse – Standard and strong attacks
• E – Critical attacks (after parry/backstab)
• Y – Two-hand weapon / Enter power stance

Tip: Rebind Kick from F to an unused mouse button, as using F to jump is more vital

It takes practice to smoothly control your character and handle combat utilizing both mouse and keyboard inputs. But learning advanced skills like toggle escaping, jump attacks, ripostes and buffing your weapon will give you a big edge against enemies.

A Brief History of Power Stance

Power stance originated in Dark Souls 2 as a way for players to unleash their inner badass. Wielding a weapon in each hand unlocks new attack animations where both weapons strike simultaneously.

The combined force amplifies damage significantly and provides more versatility in combat. Certain weapons even gain additional poise damage when power stanced to more easily plow through an enemy‘s guard.

Elden Ring adopted its own take on the technique called "paired armament", with power stance returning in full force. The iconic stance retains its crowd-pleasing flair, satisfying weighty animations and big damage potential.

Unleashing Power Stance in DS2

To enter power stance, equip two compatible weapons of similar type in your left and right hand slots. This means weapons within broader categories like straight swords, greatswords, and so on.

While power stancing, holding left or right mouse buttons will trigger dual-wield attacks striking with both equipped weapons. Movesets are expanded compared to standard dual wielding.

For example, straight swords gain additional wide slashes and spinning attacks. Ultra greatswords become even more punishing with charging double smashes and uppercuts. Katanas gain flurries of quick slashes.

Below are compatible weapon matchups ideal for power stance:

Experiment with various pairings to find your perfect flow. I‘m fond of power stanced rapiers for elegant and precise attacks, along with hefty ultra greatsword smashes to flatten groups.

Stats and Damage Scaling

Minimum stats will still grant access to power stance moves, but their damage potential will be severely reduced. Invest points into each weapon‘s corresponding attack stats for optimal scaling.

For example, power stancing two straight swords demands decent investment into Strength and Dexterity. Massive GUGS require mammoth Strength to dish out their true heavyweight pain.

Power stance attacks alternate between both weapons. So even if one doesn‘t meet stats, the other weapon will better scale and boost overall DPS. Resist the urge to spread stats thinly!

Infusions can also help tailor weapons toward your focus stats. Mundane infusions make both scale evenly off the lowest stat. Lightning removes all scaling but adds high flat lightning damage.

Recommended Weapon Matchups

Through extensive power stance testing on keyboard, I found some weapon combinations excel due to speed, damage and stagger potential:

Twinblade + Twinblade

• Fast, flurries that shred poise
• Unique strong attack aerial spin-to-win

Dagger + Mail Breaker

• Extreme critical damage for deadly ripostes
• Additional tools for parry masters

Mace + Craftsman‘s Hammer

• Bludgeons even armored enemies
• High poise damage with strike attacks

Mirrah Greatsword + Manslayer

• Bleed build-up melts bosses
• Hefty slash/thrust moveset mix-ups

I never expected dainty daggers and mail breakers to hit so brutally hard together! Meanwhile mace and hammer is the ultimate bonk combo, trading speed for unrelenting stagger potential.

Conquering DS2 with Power Stance

While initially tricky to wield effectively on mouse and keyboard, mastering power stance combat opens up new worlds of pain to unleash on unfortunate enemies.

The additional options make the slower pace of DS2 fights more engaging, allowing you to pressure foes, tank hits with poise, and counter-attack explosively.

So don‘t be afraid to load up on weapons and embrace your inner badass. Two-handing is for casuals – power stance or go home! What are your favorite weapon matchups? I‘m always seeking new vicious combinations to try on my next run.

Sources

darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Power+Stance
youtube.com/c/IronPineapple
fextralife.com/forums/t29828/power-stance-weapons-matchups-guide-data-testing