Lords of the Fallen II Doubles Weapon Movesets to Nearly 30

Lords of the Fallen II will ship with almost 30 fully distinct weapon movesets, nearly twice the 15 in the 2023 game, according to the latest episode of CI Games’ Lifting the Veil development series. Episode 11, titled Steel & Sorcery, is what the studio calls its most extensive gameplay reveal for the sequel to date, and it focuses on a combat overhaul that has benefited from the extra development time after CI Games delayed the game to Q1 2027 back in June. Each weapon class gets its own maneuvers, including repositioning strikes, infinite combo chains, and area-of-effect attacks. The studio says melee, magic, and ranged combat have all been expanded, with a much greater focus on hybrid builds than the original, which has sold more than 2.5 million copies.

Players can now switch weapons in the middle of a combo, moving between one-handed and two-handed stances or swapping between two separate melee loadouts without interrupting their attacks. That means a combo that starts with dual daggers can finish with a scythe swing. Each melee loadout also has two Quickfire abilities, letting players use magic, ranged projectiles, or buffs without switching stances, such as throwing a javelin in the middle of a combo. Other melee changes include more distinct weapon classes, a clearer split between one-handed and two-handed movesets, new counterstrike attacks, and boss weapons with their own signature attacks.

Magic and ranged combat each get a dedicated stance with the same mobility as the default melee stance. Spellcasters can equip four spells on one catalyst and swap to a second catalyst for four more, all of which can be cast instantly, with some offering charged variants. There are seven schools of magic, and mana can now be replenished with the Sanguinarix instead of relying on separate consumables. Ranged weapons get infinite base ammo, with more powerful ammo types refilled at set points in the world, which CI Games says makes a ranged build viable for an entire playthrough. Players can also recover weapon upgrades at a small cost, making it easier to switch weapons later in the game instead of sticking with whatever they’ve already invested in.

Ryan Hill, chief creative officer, leads the episode alongside lead combat designer Mike Vermeulen and two members of the Launch Creative Team, content creator Travis “Pastorgainz” Hughlett and Chandler Huddleston. The team consists of experienced soulslike players with at least 1,000 hours in the genre who work with the developers daily on everything from combat and exploration to narrative and progression. Their feedback was also part of CI Games’ stated reason for delaying the game. “We want players to feel like a Swiss Army sword, ready to draw from an arsenal of combat options at any moment,” Hill said. Lords of the Fallen II is targeting Q1 2027 for PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, with PLAION handling physical distribution. CI Games has also posted a separate combat gameplay montage alongside the episode.

Lords of the Fallen II | Lifting the Veil Ep.11: Biggest Combat Reveal Yet!

Lords of the Fallen II: NEW ‘Steel & Sorcery’ Gameplay