Strategy:Combat knife

(v.0.9.9.3) The combat knife is what all melee players should use before they get to The Chained Court. You have to start the game with fists, yes, but as soon as a knife appears (end of Phobos Base Entry for berserkers, probably dlvl2 for everything else) you sure as heck better equip it. 2d5 vs. 1d3 simply isn't a contest. Of course, once you get yourself a chainsaw, there's little reason to keep using it as your primary source of damage. It has a little bit extra accuracy, too, in case you happen to need it.

Combat knives are required for the following achievements:

• Malicious Knives Cross (Everything has to die while equipped with either knives or fists, guess which one you should be using!)
• Strongman Silver/Gold (Same as above, though the Gold requires playing on HMP)

As mentioned in the fists' strategy section, the restrictions of these achievements are only that you have to be holding the knife whenever an enemy dies, meaning you can still freely use weapons for non-lethal means. However, since you can assemble a chainsword under these conditions, there's little reason to risk damaging enemies with anything but.

Combat knives' alternate fire, the throw, is only a practical ranged weapon in Angel of Berserk and knife-only games. In these cases, however, it is considered a reasonable use of your inventory to carry around extra knives for utility purposes. Destroying barrels when you can't use ranged weapons is best done with a thrown knife, for example, and it couldn't hurt to pitch a shot at a demon as it approaches (at least before you get a chainsaw). Some enemies tend to wander unless they take a hit, so this will help you lure them into a less open area. To a more radical extent, it is the sole exception of a ranged weapon (since the knife itself is considered melee) in the Unholy Cathedral, and can be used there if you're well-prepared to spend some time doing so. Game Hunter 18:51, 4 August 2011 (CEST)