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In this guide we will set up a 5-hit Combo chain that will play out only if the player character equips a two-handed axe.
Once you have understood the basic principle of which animation files go where, you'll be able to create any combo you want and combine them with other DAR conditions freely.
0. Prerequisites
We've installed the CAF main file and its requirements (DAR, SKSE, SkyUI), activated the plugin Combo Attacks SE.esp, and installed the CAF DAR folders for Weapon Types from CAF's files section.
1. Picking out Animation Files
For a 5-hit battleaxe combo we will need:
- Two sets of vanilla battleaxe attack replacers (attackright, attackleft), so four normal attack animations in total
- A fifth attack to play after the initial four normal attacks (a "combo finisher")
- Ideally, three different sets of power attacks to play after the first, second and third normal attack. But if we're lazy, we can just use the same power attack animations for multiple stages of the combo chain, so we only have to pick one extra set.
In this example we will use Leviathan Animations - Two-Handed Normal Attacks by Verolevi for the first and second swing, Battle-Axe Animations by LilBadJj for the third and fourth swing, Battle-Axe Power Attack as well as Orakin's Battleaxe-Warhammer 3-Hit Power Attack Forward for the fifth attack/finisher, and finally Leviathan Animations - Two-Handed Power Attacks for mid-combo power attacks.
Of course if you prefer other replacer mods over any of those, you absolutely can and should use the animations of your choice.
We're downloading all the above mods manually (doesn't matter which version of Battle-Axe Power Attack you choose) and put their .zip files aside.
2. Replacing the Vanilla Battleaxe animations
In this step we will set the "base" or initial animations for battleaxes. They will be the first and second swing of our 5-hit combo chain. It's the two normal attack animations that just endlessly loop when not using this mod.
If you have already set up Battleaxe-exclusive animations using Genesis AR or a similar file structure, you can skip this step!
If you have not, navigate to
...\CAF DAR folders for Weapon Types\meshes\actors\character\animations\DynamicAnimationReplacer\_CustomConditions\46000
Inside this folder you'll find a text file _README - 2hAxe Standard, meaning that this is the correct folder to put your 2handed Axe base animations inside.
Drag all of the .hkx files starting with 2hw_ from Leviathan Animations - Two-Handed Normal Attacks inside the folder 46000:
We ignore the files starting 2hm_ because they're for 2-handed SWORDS instead of axes.
3. Setting the Third and Fourth Attacks
Move to
...\CAF DAR folders for Weapon Types\meshes\actors\character\animations\DynamicAnimationReplacer\_CustomConditions\46002with the file _README Combo 2hAxe after 2 attacks inside. This is the folder where the 3. and 4. normal attack of a battleaxe combo chain go.
Drag the two attackright and attackleft files from Battle-Axe Animations inside the folder 46002:
5. Setting the Fifth Attack/Combo Finisher
You would think that the fifth attack will go into folder 46004, wouldn't you?
Actually, for all combo loops with an odd number of normal attacks I had to use a trick, making the last normal attack into a power attack (although it works like a normal attack ingame). This is because a two-hit loop is hardcoded in the behavior. So the final attack for all odd-numbered combos is always inside the same "combo finisher" folder. 46004 is only used for combos LONGER than 5 hits.
Navigate to
...\CAF DAR folders for Weapon Types\meshes\actors\character\animations\DynamicAnimationReplacer\_CustomConditions\46011
with the file _README - Combo 2hAxe Finish inside. This is the folder where the final attack of any battleaxe combo with odd-numbered length (the third attack of a 3-hit combo, the fifth attack of a 5-hit combo, the seventh attack of a 7-hit combo, the ninth attack of a 9-hit combo or the eleventh attack of a 11-hit combo) is read from. For combos of even-numbered length (2,4,6,8,10-hit) this folder is never used. Since we want a 5-hit combo, we put our fifth and last attack in here.
Drag 2hw_attackpower from Battle-Axe Animations inside the folder 46011:
This only replaces the standing power attack though, let's also put a forward power attack file in here.
Drag 2hw_attackpowerforward from Battleaxe-Warhammer 3-Hit Power Attack Forward inside the folder 46011 as well:
All animation files inside the Combo Finish folder must be named as power attacks, but they will be triggered like normal attacks in game (tapping, not holding, the attack button 5 times) and they won't consume stamina. You can put most normal attack animations in here and rename them to power attacks.
6. Setting the Mid-Combo Power Attacks
Now that the 5-hit normal attack combo is done, we replace the animations that will be played if a power attack is triggered AFTER a certain number of normal attacks.
Move to
...\CAF DAR folders for Weapon Types\meshes\actors\character\animations\DynamicAnimationReplacer\_CustomConditions\46001
with the file _README Combo 2hAxe after 1 attack inside. This is the folder where battleaxe power attacks made after one normal attack (in game: tap attack button -> hold attack button) are read from.
Drag all files starting with 2hw_ and with power in their filename from Leviathan Animations - Two-Handed Power Attacks inside the folder 46001:
Since we did not put any power attack animations into the base battleaxe folder (46000), the game will play vanilla animations for the initial set of battleaxe power attacks (unless you have another replacer mod installed), and the files we just dumped into 46001 will only play if we make a normal attack before the power attack.
In this example we will also leave the folders 46002 and 46003 without power attack animations. This way, power attacks made after two or three normal attacks will be the same as those after one normal attack.
If you want unique power attacks for the combo normal->normal->power, drag them inside folder 46003. If you want unique power attacks for the combo normal->normal->normal->power, drag them inside folder 46004.
7. MCM Settings
We're done setting up the animation files!
We can now start up the game and wait for CAF to initialize (a debug message will appear when the mod is first installed). Once it has loaded, head to the MCM menu.
Make sure the option Combo Length Override on the left panel is unchecked.
On the right panel, find the slider for 2-handed Axes/Hammers. We have prepared a 5-hit combo for battleaxes, so set this slider to 5.
You can now equip a 2-handed axe and test out the combo. Provided that you followed all the steps correctly you should see the following things:
- If you keep quickly pressing normal attacks over and over (while standing still), the animations will change after 2 swings (the third attack will be different from the first)
- There's a short intermission after the fifth attack, then the combo will start again from the first swing
- Your power attacks look different if you do them in the middle of a normal attack chain, compared to starting with a power attack
Congratulations, you've successfully created a Combo attack pattern!
Now you should be able to apply these exact same steps to make your own combos of any length for any other weapon type. CAF supports up to 11 looping attacks, so your only limit is the amount of animation replacer mods you can find.
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