Since launch, PC players have been asking for a dedicated melee equip key. The old “Hold to Knife” system was clunky, inconsistent, and often left you slashing air when you meant to interact with a door.
Patch 1.1.2.0 finally delivered. Hidden in the keybinds menu is a new option: “Equip Melee Weapon”.
It sounds like a minor quality-of-life change, but for competitive players, it unlocks a new tier of movement tech and CQC lethality. Here is why you need to rebind it immediately.
The Setup: Unbinding “Hold to Melee”
The default interaction key (usually F or E) is overloaded. It opens doors, revives teammates, picks up weapons, and pulls out your knife if you hold it. This “hold” delay (approx. 300ms) is an eternity in a close-range fight.
The Fix:
- Go to Options > Key Bindings > On Foot.
- Find “Equip Melee Weapon” (it is likely unbound or set to a number key).
- Bind it to an easily accessible key.
- Recommendation: Mouse 4 or Mouse 5 (Thumb buttons).
- Alternative: V or C (Thumb/Index access).
Watch Out:
Pro Tip: Do not unbind your standard “Melee Attack” (Quick Melee) key. You still need that for panic situations. This new bind is specifically for equipping the knife to run faster or prep a specific move.
The Tech: Why It’s Faster
Why bother equipping the knife instead of just pressing the quick-melee button? Animation priority.
When you use “Quick Melee,” your character has to:
- Lower weapon.
- Raise knife.
- Slash.
- Raise weapon again.
When you Equip Melee, you bypass the “Lower Weapon” recovery frames if you time it right, and you can sprint instantly with the knife out.
1. Instant Window Breach
The Old Way
Sprint at window → Press Melee → Wait for animation → Glass breaks → Vault.
The Quick-Knife Way
Sprint → Tap Equip Melee (Mouse 4) → Left Click (Slash) → Vault.
2. The “Shoot-Slash” Combo
In CQC, if you run out of ammo or an enemy is one-shot, the “Shoot-Slash” combo is the fastest TTK finisher in the game.
- Mechanic: Fire your last bullet → Immediately tap Equip Melee → Left Click.
- Why it works: The “Equip” action cancels the firing recoil animation of your gun instantly.
- Damage: 50 (Knife) + whatever bullet damage you landed.
3. The “Lightweight” Sprint
It is a classic Battlefield mechanic, but it is often forgotten: you run faster with your knife out.
- The Data: Sprinting with a primary weapon caps at approx. 6.05 m/s. Sprinting with a knife (or repair tool/defib) hits 7.15 m/s.
- The Advantage: That ~18% speed boost is the difference between making it to cover and getting sniped.
- Execution: Tap Equip Melee → Sprint across the open street → Equip Primary before you enter the next building.
4. Vehicle Exit Readiness
Patch 1.1.2.0 fixed the “ghost bullet” bug when exiting vehicles, but there is still a delay before your primary weapon is ready to fire.
- The Trick: If you are bailing from a doomed vehicle in CQC, tap your Equip Melee bind as you exit.
- Why: The knife equip animation is faster than the primary weapon “ready” animation. You can slash a nearby enemy (like the C4 runner who blew you up) faster than you can shoot them.
The 5-Minute Drill
It takes time to break the muscle memory of “Holding F”. Hop into a Portal Sandbox or an empty server and do this:
- Window Run: Find a building with multiple windows. Sprint through them, equipping your knife before you hit the glass. Try to vault without stopping.
- Swap Speed: Practice shooting one bullet, then instantly swapping to knife and slashing. Do this until it feels like one fluid motion.
- Ladder Drop: Jump off a ladder, equip knife in mid-air (cancels the “heavy landing” animation if timed with a slide), and keep running.
Success:
Final Verdict: The “Equip Melee” bind is a small setting with a massive skill ceiling impact. It makes your movement more fluid, your breaches faster, and your CQC finishers instant. Bind it today.