Missive VII - Stamina and Energy

In Hunger, most close quarters melee vs melee fights are not lost because of numbers alone. They are lost because of resource mismanagement. Players overextend, panic, or commit too early, and arrive at the critical moment without the capacity to respond or defend.

Two underlying systems govern this outcome: Stamina and Energy. They serve different purposes, recover under different conditions, and are designed to create meaningful trade-offs between movement, aggression, and defence. Understanding how they interact is fundamental to surviving close combat.

We began the process of building Hunger’s melee combat by starting simple, as crucially the presence of firearms in the game drastically alters the way we can make melee viable. We didn’t want to just look at melee-only FPS slasher games and spend lots of time building something similar, only to discover that it was irrelevant in light of the combined arms aspect of Hunger. In effect, we didn’t want to create too many “Indiana Jones” moments.

We feel that what we’ve arrived at now mixes complexity of the slasher FPS that creates depth on melee vs melee, but is also viable when going up against firearms in close range (and also giving you the capability to close that gap). We’ll describe some of the core systems below, but please be aware that we are continuously refining and tweaking the melee experience.

Stamina - Movement and Traversal

Stamina governs movement and traversal. It is consumed by sprinting, jumping, and vaulting - actions that allow you to reposition, disengage, or create space under pressure. The goal of Stamina is not to restrict movement, but to make it intentional.

Players who manage Stamina well dictate tempo and spacing across a region. Players who burn it carelessly lose options, arrive late to engagements, and struggle to recover once pressure is applied. Stamina regenerates when you are stable and grounded, rewarding pacing and restraint rather than constant motion. You can affect Stamina gain rate, consumption and more with Masteries, Food, Drink, Trinkets and other items.

You will tend to find most melee builds necessitate efficient Stamina management, whereas firearms specific builds often need to sacrifice it to achieve different efficiencies.

Energy - Melee Combat Control

Energy governs melee combat. Every attack and every block draws from the same pool, representing physical exertion during close-quarters fighting. Aggressive play that ignores Energy costs will slow weapon handling, weaken defensive coverage, and gradually hand control of the exchange to the opponent. Losing all your Energy makes you Exhausted, causing slow attacks and inefficient blocks. You can still fight, but you’re likely to be quickly bested by someone who has managed their Energy more efficiently.

Energy only regenerates when pressure is released. Attempting to fight continuously through exhaustion prevents recovery and accelerates collapse. In practical terms, Stamina determines whether you can enter or exit a fight. Energy determines who controls it once you are there. Energy can also be manipulated with Masteries, Food, Drink, Trinkets and other items. Critically, it is also affected by the type of weapon you’re fighting with.

Committing Versus Holding

A core design principle is the distinction between committing to an action and holding it. Charged heavy attacks are powerful, but holding a heavy attack without releasing it drains Energy before any value is gained. Initiating a heavy and then missing the target is inefficient and deliberately punished.

Heavy attacks are most effective when used decisively. Initiating an attack early and hesitating creates fatigue without pressure and leaves you worse off than if you had waited.

Blocking follows the same logic. Blocking is a survival tool, but sustained blocking is one of the fastest ways to lose control of a fight. The system favours deliberate, well-timed defence over passive play.

Feints - Creating Pressure Without Cost

Feints exist to let players apply pressure without spending Energy. During a brief window at the start of an attack animation, a player can cancel the strike (pressing R) and return to idle. Executed correctly, a feint costs no Energy.

If the feint provokes a defensive reaction, the opponent pays the Energy cost instead. This mechanic supports mind games, timing, and control rather than constant damage output. Forcing an opponent to block on your terms is already a positional and resource advantage.

Blocking Discipline - Quick Block Versus Hold

Blocking is never free, but not all blocks carry the same cost. A “perfect” block - the shortest possible block raised to intercept an incoming strike - consumes a small, fixed amount of Energy.

Holding block beyond the moment of impact changes the cost profile entirely, rapidly draining Energy, turning defence into attrition. Consistent success in melee comes from late, brief, and intentional blocks rather than early or sustained ones. This is to encourage skillful tempo and to make turtling disadvantageous.

Exhaustion States and Consequences

When Energy is depleted, the effects are systemic rather than cosmetic. Attacks slow and lose effectiveness. Defensive actions become unreliable. Blocks begin to leak damage.

At this point, the player is no longer just inefficient, they are exposed. The intended combat flow rewards players who push opponents into exhaustion and then capitalise while recovery is no longer possible.

Weapon Size and Block Coverage

Weapon choice directly affects defensive capability. Larger weapons provide broader block coverage and greater forgiveness when positioning is imperfect. Smaller weapons reduce that coverage and demand tighter timing and spacing.

This is a deliberate balance choice. Small weapons remain viable defensively, but only when used with precision. Larger weapons trade speed and commitment for reliability.

Direction, Positioning, and Solving the Opponent

Positioning and attack direction are as important as raw execution. Blocks are directional and contextual, not absolute. Players are expected to read angles, adjust positioning, and vary attack vectors.

Repeating obvious swings into a prepared block is not meant to succeed. Effective melee play is about identifying weaknesses in an opponent’s setup and exploiting them, not brute-forcing exchanges.

Direction of Attack

All melee weapons have a huge array of directional attacks available to use.

• top right

• top left

• top (overhead swing)

• thrust

• left

• right

• bottom left

• bottom right

They also have a charged heavy attack unique to that weapon. It’s important to use directional attacks to both thwart the enemy's directional blocking, as well as to maximise the damage done by your weapon (and in turn, maximally wear down the enemy’s Energy). Attacking with an appropriate direction will maximise damage (eg. an overhead swing with an axe), while attacking with an inappropriate direction (eg. a thrust with an axe) will deliver a weaker blow. Be aware, thrusting and narrow attacks are often best in close quarters so that wide swings don’t collide on nearby walls and objects.

Core Design Takeaway

Energy is not a currency you spend in order to attack. It is a constraint you manage in order to remain dangerous over time.

Players who panic-swing will exhaust themselves. Players who defend too early will drain their resources before pressure arrives. Players who stay composed, defend only when necessary, commit with intent, and disengage when appropriate will consistently reach the decisive moment with options still available.

That is the balance the system is built around.

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