Stances

NOTE: as of Public Alpha 13, The stance system has been replaced with 2 attacks: Light and heavy attacks. Light attacks [a or/attack] are more or less the balanced attack mentioned below. Heavy attacks [shift + a or /attackheavy] have the following effects
 * in general, these attacks are slower, more powerful, and use more stamina
 * uses up weapon durability, as apposed to light attacks, which do not use any
 * will Trigger special weapon specific abilities. for example: attacking with a dagger will cause you to leap backward after the attack

Stances are ways to attack an enemy in combat. There are four stances: Evasive, Balanced, Offensive, Defensive.

Offensive Attack
Offensive attacks (/offensiveattack, /oa, or [ Shift + Up Arrow ]) deal more physical damage, use more stamina, have a chance to stun their target, and leave the attacker more susceptible to critical hits.

Balanced Attack
Balanced attacks (/balancedattack, /ba, or [ Shift + Down Arrow ]) have none of the advantages or disadvantages of offensive, defensive, and evasive attacks.

Defensive Attack
Defensive attacks (/defensiveattack, /da, or [ Shift + Left Arrow ]) deal and receive less physical damage, are more accurate with physical attacks, are more likely to block with a shield, and are more susceptible to being pushed down.

Evasive Attack
Evasive attacks (/evasiveattack, /ea, or [ Shift + Right Arrow ]) make the attacker more difficult to hit or parry, but are less accurate. Strikes directed at entities attacking evasivly have a chance to make the attacker stumble, delaying the start of their next action.===