Combat Basics: Dash I-Frames, Blocking, Parrying and Stamina

Rogue Blight’s combat is deliberately simple on the surface — move, attack, jump, dash, block — but three rules give it the souls-like feel the store page promises: dash i-frames, aimed attacks, and stamina discipline. This page covers the rules that don’t change between builds.

The default controls

Action	Default input	Notes
Move	A / D	Side-scroller movement only.
Walk (slow)	Shift	Quieter, more deliberate positioning.
Jump	Space	Airborne attacks are allowed.
Attack	Left mouse	The swing direction follows your cursor — you can hit upward at flyers.
Block	Right mouse (shield equipped)	Holds a guard; see blocking below.
Dash	Ctrl (commonly rebound)	Grants invincibility frames while active.
Left-hand weapon skill	Q	Uses the off-hand weapon’s skill if one is equipped.
Weapon skill	2 (varies)	Each weapon carries its own skill; mana cost applies.
Map / Bag	Tab	Toggles between the node map and your inventory.

All bindings are rebindable in the settings, and the game supports full controller play.

The dash is your real health bar

The tutorial says it outright: you are invincible while dashing. That reframes every fight:

• Dash through enemies when they swing — you come out behind them with a free punish window.
• Multiple players note you cannot dash mid-attack, so don’t commit to a third swing against an enemy that’s winding up. Two hits, reset, react.
• Dash also crosses gaps and repositions you vertically, which matters enormously against bosses that lunge.

If you die to the same boss attack three times in a row, the fix is almost always “dash later”.

Blocking and parrying with a shield

With a shield in hand (or in your unlocked off-hand slot), right-click guards:

• A held block eats most normal hits but does not necessarily hold through full combos — several players report chip damage or breaks at the end of multi-hit strings. Block one or two hits, then reposition.
• Shields with a parry skill deflect an attack and stagger the enemy, opening a punish. The game’s shop stocks at least one basic parry shield, and better ones drop later.
• Some shields carry skills of their own (the tutorial-mentioned example grants brief invincibility after use). Check a shield’s skill line before deciding it’s “just armor”.

Jumping and aerial attacks

You can attack in the air, and your swing still tracks the cursor. The normal limit is one aerial hit per jump; multiple players report that certain legendary gloves and blessings raise this to two and extend airtime. Aerial hits are the natural answer to jumping enemies and are a decent way to avoid ground hazards like poison pools mid-fight.

Stamina rules worth memorizing

Attacks, dashes, and blocks all drain stamina. Three consequences:

1. Don’t chain more swings than the bar allows — an exhausted dodge is how stagger-locks happen.
2. Dexterity quietly raises your stamina regeneration (visible on the equipment screen: DEX shows a Stamina Regen Bonus line), so dex-leaning builds dodge more often for free.
3. Some armor and blessings cut the stamina cost of attacking or blocking; if a fight is winning by attrition, look for those lines.

Enemies follow the same status rules you do

Enemies can bleed, burn, and poison you — and several streamers describe being poisoned by ground pools as worse than the hit that left it there. Your own Status Resist stat (shown on the equipment screen) and specific resistance blessings are the counterplay. The full mechanics live in our Status Effects guide.

One rule for bosses specifically

Boss fights in Rogue Blight are pattern fights: nearly every dangerous move has a wind-up long enough to dash through once you’ve seen it twice. Expect to lose the first attempt at any new boss while you learn the tells — that’s the intended loop, and the run’s meta progress is never wasted. Our Wendigo and Lady Blight pages break down the two best-documented fights.