I’ve seen a lot of discussions where people are talking about the two combat blade marks. Everyone always comes to the conclusion that the Mk.6 is objectively better than the Mk.3, but why is that?
It seems to me that it would come down to personal preference, the Mk.3 is better at single target, while the Mk.6 seems to have a more rounded moveset with Vanguard swings added to it.
The only thing I can see the Mk.6 being better at by a bit is light attack spamming for crits, but even then I think the Mk.3 is pretty much just as good, but actually better since the strikedowns are readily available. So, once I’m done spamming light attack, I can actually start stabbing people, unlike the Mk.6 that you have to memorize and practice because it’s hard to tell which attack is actually the strikedown, with 2 out of 3 of the heavy attacks being Vanguard. Even if I was able to hit the strikedown with the Mk.6 whenever I wanted, I would still rather chain strikedowns over and over with the Mk.3.
Also, I think the knife is one of the best weapons for killing elites and specials quickly, and the Mk.3 being more single target oriented makes that and killing monstrosities easier. So yeah, why does everyone say the Mk.6 combat blade is better no matter what? I would only say the Mk.6 is a better option if you’re planning on using it as more of a secondary weapon and for movement purposes rather than to kill everything.
I always thought people where addicted to and preferred the the III because of all the reasons you mentioned. It’s heavies are always the ‘running forward’ heavies for sprint speed maneuvers while out of stamina, the push attack is a downward slice that seems to do close to heavy attack damage making it a perfect chaining tool to nuke a thing in front of you while managing a wave, and the light attack string, while absolutely abysmal at killing a crowd, will destroy targets per swing in front of you, letting you dance around the edge of a crowd and still eventually deal with it even if you are nowhere near efficient.
I know for me I just use the VI for when I’m using a build that uses the combat knife as it’s ‘main weapon’, for as you mentioned it does better in hordes with it’s ‘sweeps’ and can learn to chain the light into heavy sweeps for relatively good clear for such a short range weapon, while still being able to stab big targets if you get the timing right.
But if you want it for ‘big target clear’ or maneuverability first and foremost, then the III is the better choice, paired with an ad clear main weapon like the double barrel shotgun or a whole raft of choices on the Psyker. Or good nades/a boltgun for when things get thick.
All knife attacks that aren’t light attacks are considered heavies for talent purposes (so the special combo in addition to push). The reason its better is because it has the push attack cleave/damage profile for the first 2 heavies, and the push stab (which still has the same cleave profile as Mk3) has more reach than most Ogryn melees. The light stab the Mk3 does spamming lights is about the only notable thing here, along with having a much stronger special combo.
I have no idea what blade most ppl favour tbh. But if it’s mk. VI, I imagine it’s because of its better cleave & faster push-attacks.
Personally I too far prefer mk. III. It has much simpler combos, higher single target dmg, and its special + L, PA’s (push-attack) and heavies are stronger than on VI. Also helps that Lacerate & Mercy Killer are my favorite blessings on almost every build, and III has naturally superior synergies with those. Its PA has that up → down pattern, so aiming for top chest → light → PA guarantees Mercy Killer. Its predictably horizontal lights vs. up → down heavies also make it easy to proc MK from anywhere.
But VI definitely has some interesting combo mix potential.
I like the MK6 more than MK3 because of the heavy attack helping with deal with hordes.
Light attack spam isn’t kind to my wrist so I rather use heavy attacks whenever I can.
Mk 6 Vanguards for decent horde clear, sweet horizantal slash means I can dodge backward then leap forward for a solid attack on multiple enemies at once. Mk III is definitely better for single targets and armor though.
It’s quite a rush when Warp Speed, Mettle and DD are all active. Supernatural speed almost.