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The lock-on system orients the camera and your character's attacks toward a single target in Windrose. It is essential to the combat rhythm: dodges track the locked target, guard orientation follows the target, and attack direction resolves correctly even when the camera moves.

Keybinds

All three bindings are the default PC keyboard layout. Controller players have equivalent stick-click/swipe bindings; see Controls and Keybinds for the full remap.

What Lock-On Actually Does

• Dodge direction. Without lock-on, dodges track the forward direction of the camera. With lock-on, dodges track strafing movement relative to the target: left/right dodges move laterally around the enemy instead of rolling away, which is what lets you side-step committed attacks and get behind the target for Perfect Block counters

• Guard orientation. Without lock-on, the shield or guard faces the camera direction. With lock-on, the guard faces the locked enemy, so attacks from that target are blocked correctly even when the camera has swung away

• Attack alignment. Light and heavy attacks commit toward the locked target rather than the camera's center. This is most noticeable with Halberds and Greatswords, where a missed swing can leave you badly out of position

• Camera tracking. The camera orbits the target as you strafe, keeping both you and the target on screen even during chaotic fights

When to Toggle Lock-On Off

Lock-on is not always the right tool. Breaking lock helps in three specific situations:

• Clearing groups. When surrounded by more than three enemies, free-camera movement lets you reposition faster and spot flanking attackers. The Combat loop for groups is "lock once, swing, break lock, reposition, relock"

• Heavy attacks against clustered mobs. Wide heavy swings from Greatswords and Halberds deal damage to anything in the arc. A locked attack commits toward one target; an unlocked heavy swings toward the camera direction and can hit multiple enemies

• Environmental hazards. When a fight takes place near cliff edges, water, or large props, free camera lets you see the hazard boundary; locked camera tends to clip against geometry

Target Cycling in Fights

Tapping [ or ] cycles through visible targets. Because cycling happens based on screen position relative to the currently locked target, swinging the camera slightly before cycling changes which enemy appears as "next." The practical habit: if [ is not picking the target you want, nudge the camera a few degrees in the desired direction and tap [ again. Fights against Pirate Sergeants with Grenadiers behind them are classic examples where precise cycling is more useful than brute-force combat.

Lock-On vs Ranged Weapons

Firearms in Windrose do not auto-aim on a locked target. Lock-on still helps by fixing the camera to the target so you can place the crosshair more accurately, but the shot resolution remains manual. Muskets and Blunderbusses particularly benefit from lock, because recoil and reload cadence are easier to manage with a stable camera.

See Also

• Controls and Keybinds — full key reference

• Combat — the broader combat loop

• Perfect Block — the mechanic that leans on lock-on orientation

• Soulslite Combat — Windrose's take on the Soulslike parry model