Based on specific sentences in the TWAB, it looks like [i]sword attacks[/i] will continue to use Ammo. From the TWAB (emphasis added): [quote]Sword Energy Swords now have their own reserve of energy that recharges naturally on its own, and [i][u]is not to be confused with ammo capacity[/u][/i]. This energy will overtake your melee slot while you’re wielding a sword and is [i][u]spent on various actions[/u][/i]. Guarding [i][u]Guarding now uses sword energy instead of consuming ammo[/u][/i]. Different guards have different consumption rates, damage resistance and behaviors, so be sure to experiment and find a guard type you like. [i][u]You’ll still need at least one ammo to begin guarding, though[/u][/i]. Back during Season of the Drifter, the Stronghold exotic for Titans was introduced, allowing them to guard with relative impunity and opening up a more interesting opportunities for swords to shine in a variety of content which caused us to take another look at the guard function itself. Although the guard function has always existed, it was never really considered worth the cost. With this change, we hope that players will use their guard intelligently to protect themselves instead of it being an almost unused button. Rest easy, Stronghold has also been modified to still allow Titans a unique guarding experience. Light Attacks Grounded light attacks for all Swords will now loop for an infinite combo, and all Swords can cleave. While the basic three hit combo is quite a staple of melee weapons in many games – In a shooter this leaves the player extremely open to enemies. By letting the light attacks loop, we also push them and the heavy attacks apart further. Cleaving on light attacks was previously only on the Aggressive Swords, but we opted to add it to the rest of them for more hack ‘n slash. Heavy Attacks [i][u]Heavy attacks now consume Sword energy[/u][/i]. While you are always able to perform a heavy attack, the attack is stronger when you have full energy, and weaker when you don’t. A lot of swordplay in many situations simply boiled down to endlessly mashing the heavy attack button instead of mixing up attacks which wasn’t quite the most interesting experience. [i][u]Do note that aerial heavy attacks as a general rule do not consume Sword energy, but that can vary based on the Sword[/u][/i]. Shield Bypass A portion of most Sword attacks can partially bypass elemental shields. We added this to give Swords a little bit of a personality difference from shotguns who share a very similar role in combat as powerful CQC weapons.[/quote] If Ammo was being replaced with the energy meter entirely, they could have said “Swords will no longer use ammo, all sword actions will now rely on an energy meter”. They didn’t. Instead they said the energy meter “is not to be confused with ammo capacity” and is “spent on various actions”. “Guarding now uses sword energy instead of consuming ammo” and “You’ll still need at least one ammo to begin guarding”. If ammo was replaced entirely by sword energy, they would just say “Guarding uses sword energy. You must have sword energy to begin guarding”. “Heavy attacks now consume Sword energy”. Notice the difference between that sentence and “Guarding now uses sword energy instead of consuming ammo”. This likely means Heavy attacks now consume sword energy [i]along with[/i] ammo. Additionally “aerial heavy attacks as a general rule do not consume Sword energy, but that can vary based on the Sword”. This, along with the fact that the section on light attacks makes no mention of energy usage whatsoever would mean that these two attack types would indeed be OP in Crucible of ammo was no longer used for sword attacks. But if all sword attacks require Ammo, then the fact that only ground-based Heavy attacks use sword energy makes sense as a means of throttling the damage when spamming these attacks (as well as a check against the ranged attack of Black Talon, the Teleport of Worldline, and whatever special attacks that may be coming with future exotic swords). Aerial heavy attacks had their damage reduced some time ago, so they don’t require the same throttling in this fashion. And one major thing [b]missing[/b] from the TWAB that would indicate that the ammo requirement for attack was indeed going away is any talk of balancing for Crucible. Without ammo, light attacks would eventually become free OHK, lunging melee attacks that could be spammed much more quickly than even unpowered melees. This would be a serious change to the PvP meta (alongside the obvious benefits of free sword guarding) and they would have spoken about the need to reduce the damage of sword attacks in Crucible. They didn’t. Taken altogether, the most likely meaning is that: a) sword attacks will still require and consume ammo, b) shielding will no longer drain ammo, it will use a special new meter that is visible to the player, but will still require you to have one ammo to activate so it can’t be abused in PvP, and c) while still requiring and consuming ammo, ground-based heavy attacks will also drain the energy meter in order to throttle the damage and encourage players to use light attacks more often. (΄◉◞౪◟◉｀)