This guide will teach you all you need to know about the bayonet attachment in Day of Infamy. Ever since full release, I’ve seen too many new players complain about how the bayonet is useless or underpowered. WRONG! The devs have buffed/reworked the bayonet multiple times during early access, the most important addition being the OHK charge mechanic. Now, when used in the right situations, the bayonet is a force to be reckoned with.

In my experience, the bayonet is really only useful on bolt action rifles—the Kar98k, Lee-Enfield No. 4, and Springfield 1903. When using the Sten Mk. V, Ithaca, M1 Garand, or M1 Carbine (other weapons that can attach bayonets), you’re better off spamming hipfire in extreme CQB because of their comparatively high rates of fire. As such, my guide will mostly focus on using the bayonet with bolt actions. Trying to use bolt actions in CQB can really be a gamble. If you don’t kill the enemy with your first shot, you likely won’t have time to work the bolt and get off a second shot before he spam-fires you to death. Unless you have amazing twitch reflex skills, you’re going to miss frequently and die a lot of frustrating deaths. This is where the bayonet really shines: it offers bolt action rifles a more reliable means of engaging aggressively in CQB. But this means being aware of its limitations, and knowing when/how to use it effectively. Let’s start off with some basics.

The bayonet is available on these classes/weapons:
Wehrmacht
• Rifleman: Kar98k (1 supply)
• Engineer: Kar98k (2 supply)
Commonwealth
• Officer: Lee-Enfield No. 4, Sten Mk. V (2 supply)
• Radioman: Lee-Enfield No. 4, Ithaca (2 supply)
• Rifleman: Lee-Enfield No. 4 (1 supply)
• Engineer: Lee-Enfield No. 4 (2 supply)
Americans
• Officer: M1 Garand, M1 Carbine (2 supply)
• Radioman: M1 Garand, M1 Carbine (2 supply)
• Rifleman: M1 Garand, Springfield 1903 (1 supply)
• Engineer: Springfield 1903 (2 supply)

Weight is something to consider if you plan on actively using the bayonet. The more you carry, the slower you will sprint, and the longer it will take for you to get into melee range. When you’re charging an enemy, even half a second can mean the difference between you shanking him or he mowing you down. As such, my preferred classes to use the bayonet with are Rifleman and Engineer. Officers should not be charging in with bayonets, since they need to stay alive to call fire support from afar. Radiomen have a heavy radio that restricts movement speed, and they should be sticking close to their officer anyways.

When using bayonets with bolt action rifles, avoid the heavy kit. It weighs a bunch, only gives one extra grenade, and you don’t need the extra ammo with a bolt action. Light kit is fine if you want 2 grenades, but often I just run no kit at all to minimize weight, especially early round. Note that rifleman cannot attach a bayonet and rifle grenade at the same time, since both are classified as barrel attachments. Also, British riflemen can select between 2 bayonets: the regular sword bayonet, and the more historically accurate spike ‘pig sticker’ bayonet. The difference is purely cosmetic, so picking one is just personal preference.

Carrying a launcher does slow you down significantly as an engineer. However, a little known fact is that your weight decreases as you ‘use up’ your explosives. The weight of your launcher will be subtracted from your initial weight after you fire all the rockets. Therefore, it’s ideal to shoot off your rockets first to soften up the enemy and lower your weight before charging in with the bayonet. Besides, there's a decent chance of dying when bayonet charging, so don't risk letting those precious launchers go to waste! This applies to grenades as well, though it's not as big a deal because they're much lighter.

With your rifle out, press MMB to stab with the bayonet. Clicking MMB will perform an uncharged stab that kills in 2 hits to the front, or 1 hit to the head/back. You can perform uncharged stabs at a rate of about 1 stab per second. After clicking MMB, there is a short half-second delay of animation where your character pulls back the rifle briefly before thrusting forward. By holding down MMB, you can keep the rifle pulled back indefinitely. Letting go of MMB will then release the stab. The advantage of 'charging' your bayonet is twofold: First, you can throw out the stab much faster by effectively skipping the 'pulling back your rifle' part of the animation. More importantly, holding down MMB for about 1 second increases the stab damage to a 1 hit kill (OHK) anywhere on the body. Learn this timing by observing the animations: once your character stops pulling back the rifle and holds it in place, your stab is fully charged.

Left: Running with a fully charged bayonet. Notice how far back the rifle is pulled.
Right: Releasing the charged OHK stab

While sprinting with a fixed bayonet, pressing LMB performs a stab instead of firing a bullet. Similarly, you can hold down LMB while sprinting to charge the bayonet, and letting go of LMB will release the stab. In other words, LMB and MMB are interchangeable when sprinting. What's the point of this, you might ask? Simple ergonomics. Holding down MMB for a long time is tiring, and it's easy to accidentally let go of MMB prematurely. Holding LMB is not only more comfortable, but gives you finer control over when to release the stab. Since you're usually running towards the enemy when trying to stab them with the bayonet, I use LMB for charged stabs 90% of the time, and mainly use MMB for uncharged stabs.

Another useful mechanic to be aware of is that melee in this game takes priority over most actions. For fans of Red Orchestra or Verdun, this sort of functions like manual bolting in the sense that you can shoot once and immediately use your bayonet without waiting for your character to cycle the bolt. Stabbing with or charging back the bayonet will override those animations, meaning you don't have to wait for a bolting or reloading animation to finish before initiating melee.

In order for you to use the bayonet to its fullest extent, you must have the proper mindset. Most players who complain the bayonet is useless are merely using it wrong. If you treat it as a convenient melee weapon for when you run out of ammo, it's not going to be very effective. Sure, it has farther range than weapon bashing, and is faster than switching to a knife, but that's not where it truly shines. To master the bayonet, you have to know when and where to use the charged stab. The charge mechanic is very well balanced because you have to preemptively charge the stab for a second to get that sweet OHK. When you hold melee and your character pulls back your rifle in preparation for a charged stab, you can't immediately fire a round. There's no button to quickly 'cancel' the charged state, so you either have to release the stab or switch to another weapon/equipment to return to normal position. This means that at any given moment, you have choose between being able to quickly ADS and shoot your rifle, or having your bayonet charged and ready to OHK stab.

When you prepare a stab, you must think of your bayonet as more than just an attachment. It is an extension of your rifle, the physical manifestation of your offensive spirit. Wanna PTFO with bolt action rifles? Simply sitting back and plinking away at targets won't bring you glorious victory. When the time calls, you must fix bayonets and charge the objective! That doesn’t mean you should adopt a suicidal playstyle where you blindly charge every enemy you see. An effective rifleman should fluidly switch between roles depending on the situation. Across open spaces, advance cover to cover and pick off targets with precise shots. Once you close in with the enemy, hurl your explosives and rush in vigorously with cold steel!

As mentioned previously, you don't want to be running around with a charged bayonet all the time. You won't be able to ADS and react quickly when you come across an enemy outside of melee range. Maps in DOI have plenty of urban or indoor areas where you're likely to run into enemies in extreme CQB. When moving through these tight spaces, it's not a bad idea to keep your bayonet charged for such a surprise encounter. If you and an enemy 'bump into each other' when turning a corner, you can release your stab for a quick OHK before they have time to react. The narrow alleyways and corridors around Ortana church are great for surprise stabbing enemies, as shown in the video below.



This tactic is excellent for clearing out bunkers, particularly the ones at Dog Red A or Reichswald B (shown above). In these small maze-like structures where an enemy could be hiding behind each corner, there's plenty of opportunities to quickly stab an opponent.

However, even inside bunkers, there's places with long lines of sight where it's not a good idea to have the bayonet charged. An example would be the long corridor leading into C bunker on Dog Red, where there's often a MG watching from behind the box on the far end of the bunker. You'll be running exposed for several seconds, during which time there's no cover or corners to duck behind and it's highly unlikely you'll 'bump into someone'.

Bayonets also shine on enclosed staircases. With most weapons, the safest approach is to advance slowly while aiming down sights. A bayonet allows you to aggressively and quickly clear staircases, because the distance between each blind corner is extremely short. The best example of this is the tall staircase leading up C church tower on Bastogne (shown below).

Like many other aspects of the game, map knowledge is key in knowing when to keep the bayonet charged. This can only be learned through playing the game yourself. You'll die a lot before you start figuring out the ideal spots and situations, but here's some general tips. Wait until you're close to turning a corner or entering a doorway to charge the bayonet. Always think "Am I likely to suddenly bump into someone?" If not, there's no point in having the bayonet ready to stab. You don't want to be in a situation where you're caught with your pants down unable to ADS quickly. Below are some examples of enclosed areas where a charged bayonet is handy.

We're all used to seeing the dreaded prompt "WARNING YOU HAVE ENTERED A RESTRICTED AREA". After about 3 seconds, your character automatically lowers his weapon, leaving you unable to shoot, ADS, melee, etc... However, by charging your bayonet before you become disabled, you can keep it charged indefinitely even if you stay in the restricted area. Releasing MMB/LMB performs a normal OHK stab, and only then do you you enter the 'weapons lowered' state. In other words, you can utilize the charge mechanic to stab once with the bayonet before becoming disabled again. There are many flanking routes extending into restricted areas that you can use to sneak behind enemy objectives. Normally, such maneuvers are highly risky because you have to gamble on not bumping into any enemies while you're running through the red zones. The bayonet makes this a much more viable tactic since you are no longer completely helpless. You only get one stab though, so use it wisely! While you're still in the restricted area, resist the urge to stab the first enemy you come across. Save your stab for someone who notices you, or is blocking your path back into the non-restricted area. If you can bypass an unaware player, do it.

Once you're behind enemy lines, it's often better to stab instead of shoot. Stabbing makes almost no noise, meaning you're less likely to give away your position. Unaware stationary targets are the easiest victims. You can quietly dispose of them one by one. Even though uncharged stabs can OHK to the back, it's still safer to fully charge your stabs. Observant players might hear your footsteps and turn around. If you notice an enemy running away from your direction, however, don't get tunnel visioned into pursuing him. Though it might be tempting, chasing after him with a charged bayonet is the worst thing you can do. You're unlikely to catch up to him until he stops sprinting, which could take a while. Meanwhile, you're running through enemy territory not paying attention to your surroundings, and will probably get noticed by his teammates. Either shoot him with your rifle, or ignore him entirely. It's often better to keep a low profile. If the enemy team doesn't know you're there, you can continue with your backstabbing rampage.

When ambushing a group of enemies, stabbing can be very advantageous. If you're up against competent players, the slow ROF of your bolt action rifle means you'll probably only shoot one or two of them before the others hear your shots, turn around, and mow you down. When flanking a row of enemies from the side, stab the ones closer to you and methodically work your way down their line. In cases when you sneak up behind a cluster of enemies, it's wise to prioritize killing certain classes first. Here's some general guidelines:


• If you see an officer and radioman together, ALWAYS prioritize them first. You'll be doing your team a huge favor if you prevent them from calling in fire support. Generally, it's better to stab the radioman first. The officer often has their binocs out, meaning even if he turns around and notices you stabbing his radioman, he won't be able to shoot you immediately.
• Snipers and machine gunners are the most unaware opponents you'll stumble upon. Save them for last and prioritize other enemies first. When looking down their scope or deployed with their bipod, they usually won't notice their friends being stabbed until it's too late. MGs also have a short delay animation of un-deploying their bipod before they can turn to shoot you.
• If you sneak behind a flamer in extreme CQB, it's always better to stab rather than shoot. Your bullet will likely rupture his fuel tank and you'll be incinerated in the resulting fireball.

Given that most weapons in DoI have extremely short TTKs, frontal bayonet charges can seem suicidal. The previous two sections dealt with using the bayonet against surprised or unaware enemies, but what about when your opponent is aware of your presence and actively aiming in your direction? There are two common situations where I would consider charging head on. If the enemy is right around a corner or object close by, seize the initiative by charging when they duck back behind cover. You can often surprise players because they expect you to be stationary trying to shoot back, not running up to them. A less frequent scenario is if the target is lying prone in an open area. Instead of charging directly at them, run diagonally towards their side. Players can't ADS while moving prone, so you have a few seconds to outflank and stab them while they try to adjust position to target you. This is especially effective against machine gunners due to the limited turning radius with a deployed bipod.

In deciding whether or not to charge, ask yourself a few key questions. How many enemies are there? Your chances of survival diminish with each additional gun pointed in your direction. How far away are they? You don't want to be running exposed for more than 4 or 5 seconds. What weapons are they using? The higher the ROF, the more likely you are to get mowed down, so avoid charging against automatic weapons. Conversely, the lower the ROF, the better your chances are of a successful charge. Bolt actions are an ideal target, since you can time your dashes in between their shots during the bolting animations. Be wary of semi-autos, as a good player can magdump and shut you down just as effectively as someone with a SMG. And of course, never charge flamethrowers, that's just silly.

In situations where a frontal charge is too risky, it's possible to play defensively with the bayonet as well. If you're defending a room/bunker and you know the enemy is going to assault your position, hug the wall right next to the door. Keep your bayonet charged and when the enemy walks/runs through, release your stab for an easy OHK. This works well if you're facing multiple enemies, as they have to funnel through the door one by one.

Regardless of what weapon you're up against, the best moment to charge is when your enemy is reloading. You'll have a few seconds to close the distance and possibly catch them mid-reload. A less well known audio mechanic is that only you and your teammates hear the "I'm reloading!" yells your character makes when reloading. Therefore, you can't use voice cues to tell when your enemy is reloading. If you're close enough, you'll still be able to hear the actual sounds of the weapon itself. For example, you know when a M1 Garand runs out of ammo by its distinctive metallic 'ping'. You can also try to keep track of how many shots they've fired, and how many rounds they have left. This works best with low-capacity non-automatic weapons, such as bolt actions, semi-auto rifles, and pistols. But never charge flamethrowers, BECAUSE THEY NEVER HAVE TO RELOAD.

Enemies who just fired a rifle grenade are particularly vulnerable to a sudden charge. Chances are you'll catch them off guard trying to reload a new rifle grenade or switch back to the default firing mode. Enemy engineers who fired their first rocket are similarly susceptible while they're reloading their launcher. Also consider charging if an enemy close by throws a grenade at you. Most people toss their grenade, wait for the explosion, and then pop out of cover. Use those few seconds of relatively safety to get into stabbing range and surprise them. Better yet, if they have multiple grenades, you might catch them with their pants down holding the second grenade. The exception is if he's a British soldier preparing to throw the No. 69 impact grenades or No. 76 white phosphorous grenades. These will detonate when he drops them on the ground after you bayonet him, killing you in the process as well.

If you have grenades equipped, throw them right before a charge to disorient your foes. Getting caught in the radius of an explosion causes a tinnitus ear ringing effect, blurs the screen, and increases weapon sway. Residual smoke obscures vision. Injuries splatter red blood across the screen, which takes on a dark red tint. All these distractions will throw off your opponent's concentration and make it harder for them to aim at you. The German Splitteringgranate is a great choice because it not only has a larger explosive radius, but causes suppression for an extended duration. Smoke grenades are best used to block the enemy's line of sight before flanking around, but avoid charging directly into the cloud of smoke. Likewise, don't charge into your own white phosphorous cloud. It's hot.

When charging across an open space, avoid sprinting straight at the enemy. From your opponent’s point of view, you’re a stationary target that's getting larger and larger the closer you get. Instead, zigzag left and right in a snake pattern while running towards him. It’ll take you a bit longer to close the distance, but dodging unpredictably will make you much harder to hit and enhance your chances of survival. This is most useful against enemies with bolt action rifles or shotguns, as they are likely to mistime their shots. Skip to 5:00 in the Rising Storm tutorial below to see a demonstration of the serpentine maneuver.


Only charge in a straight line when you’re flanking an unaware enemy, when he's clearly out of ammo, or if there's multiple enemies. With the latter, maneuver yourself in a line with them such that your target's body is blocking the line of sight of his teammates behind him. Even if you fail to successfully stab your nearest opponent, his own buddies might kill him with friendly fire while attempting to shoot you, especially if you managed to get into melee range.

There's no auto-lock on with melee, so aiming with the bayonet is important. Since a charged stab is OHK anywhere on the body, don’t bother aiming for the head. It’s not hard to bayonet a stationary target, or one who’s slowly backpedaling away from you. However, if the enemy is dancing around or moving erratically, it’s much easier to miss your thrust. Upon releasing the charged stab, you still have a brief moment to adjust your aim before the bayonet connects. Use that half a second to ‘flick your mouse’ and center your screen on the victim's torso. Practice learning the range of the bayonet by stabbing at random objects like trees whenever you're running back to the fight from spawn. Misjudging the distance and stabbing too early will usually get you killed.

In the event that you're still alive after missing a stab, immediately hipfire once with your rifle. If your shot missed as well, proceed to spam uncharged stabs. Don't waste time waiting to cycle another round. As mentioned previously in the Controls & Mechanics section, melee overrides bolting/reloading animations. Uncharged stabs take 2 hits to kill, so while you're poking away, circumvent around your opponent. Continuously rotate around his side so you're never standing still in front of him. This is also my preferred technique when weapon bashing or using a handheld melee weapon.

On rare occasions, you’ll stumble upon another player (usually high level) actively using a melee weapon, like the knife, shovel, entrenching tool, etc... Against such an opponent, use the longer reach and OHK capability of the bayonet to your advantage. If you notice them approaching you, charge up your bayonet and wait patiently for them to run close before stabbing them for an easy kill. However, smart players will wait for the right moment to pop out of hiding and ambush you. In these cases, avoid using uncharged stabs. You don’t want to end up in a brawling match where you’re just exchanging blows hoping for the best. Your goal is to end the duel as cleanly as possible with a single charged stab. The key is to remain mobile and NOT panic as he rushes at you. Dodge his swings while you wait the full second to charge up your bayonet. He's probably expecting you to backpedal away like most players would, so be unpredictable. Sprint diagonally to his side and run circles around his blind spots. Once you're ready, close the distance and release your stab.

If your opponent succeeds in slashing/smacking you once, my favorite tactic is to drop prone. At this point, he is usually already in your face, making it difficult for you to disengage and evade the next lethal hit. Instead, hit the floor and immediately start charging your bayonet. This will usually throw him off completely. To reliably melee a prone target, you have to be crouching right over them and aim straight down. Your opponent will be expecting an easy kill with one more swing, but suddenly they’re swiping empty air. This gives you the precious second you need to fully charge your bayonet. Then, just stab upwards as a charged stab is OHK even to the legs. Use these same fighting techniques on enemies who run out of ammo and try to weapon bash or bayonet you. Most players with the bayonet make the mistake of treating it as a backup melee weapon and only using uncharged stabs. Demonstrate your superior bayonet fighting skills by dodging their pathetic jabs and finishing them off with a clean thrust to the gut.

If you're bent on mastering the bayonet, accept the fact that you're going to die A LOT. There's going be plenty of frustrating moments where you just ALMOST stabbed your target. But at the end of the day, my best advice is to simply have fun with it. Bayonet charging is a entirely different playstyle that is inherently risky, but extremely rewarding when you pull off some amazing plays. To maximize stabbing satisfaction, I highly recommend going on the workshop and subscribing to Ribbon's Revamped Bayonet Sounds mod, if you haven't already. When you stab someone, it'll actually sound like you're sinking your bayonet into flesh rather than cardboard. The link is below, as well as his video showing the improved audio. If you have additional tips, post them in comments and I'll update the guide accordingly. Good luck, and happy stabbing!

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=880365031&searchtext=bayonet


Photo Credits:
echo1 for the image "To the Death" as the branding image
SNAFU for the image 'United We Stand' in Backstabbing section
Bert for the image of German with shovel in Melee Fighting section

Video Credits:
BurntCornFlakes for "Day of Infamy: Beware the Bayonet"" in Charging Head On section
williamthetard for "Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm - Banzai Tutorial" in Executing the Charge section