Power Attack

Heavy Attacks, also known as charged attacks, power attacks, or smash attacks are attacks that deal more damage than your regular swing and have a higher chance of knocking down enemies, depending on how long you hold down your attack button. However, they require a large amount of time to charge up in order to be effective, so it is wise to learn how long it takes to fully charge up an attack.

Gameplay
Every heavy attack, no matter the weapon, uses 23 points of stamina. Heavy attacks have the same speed of attack regardless of the weapon type or its upgrades. What this means is that weapons that do more damage like the modern axe are far superior than fast, lower damage weapons weapons like the katana. Heavy attacks can be used even when they have less than 23 stamina. One of the benefits of a heavy attack is that they have a much higher chance of knocking down an enemy, especially on Normal Mode. However, on Hard Mode or Hard Survival Mode, the chance of an enemy being knocked down is significantly reduced. Whilst performing a heavy attack, player movement is stalled and they cannot move. However, if the player has Ultimate Cheat Menu installed, they will be able to move.

How to perform a heavy attack
To perform a heavy attack, hold down  (R2 on the PlayStation 4) to perform the attack.

Items and Heavy Attacks
Not all items can perform heavy attacks. Here is a list of what CAN and CANNOT perform heavy attacks:

Items that CAN perform heavy attacks
However, due to a bug, the Modern Axe, Bone, Arm, Leg, and Climbing Axe all do 20 damage with a power attack. For reference, a modern axe with max damage upgrades does 20 damage.
 * Crafted Axe
 * Rusty Axe
 * Katana
 * Machete
 * Upgraded Stick
 * Tennis Racket
 * Modern Axe
 * Plane Axe
 * Climbing Axe
 * Club
 * Crafted Club

Items that CANNOT perform heavy attacks

 * Repair Tool
 * Weak Spear
 * Upgraded Spear
 * Incendiary Spear
 * Chainsaw
 * Crafted Bow
 * Modern Bow
 * Slingshot
 * Flare Gun
 * Flintlock Pistol
 * Meats
 * Animal Heads
 * Upgraded Rock
 * Skull

Tips and Tricks

 * Bait enemies running straight towards you into a charged attack. This can knock them down, allowing for a devastating finishing blow.
 * While an individual enemy is burning, figure out the direction the enemy is shuffling towards and prepare a charged attack. By the time it finishes, the enemy should be right next to you.
 * While your friend is attacking an enemy (Multiplayer), figure out the direction he's hitting the enemy towards and position yourself in a way that the enemy will eventually reach you, and charge up a massive finshing attack!
 * Recommended weapons are the Modern Axe, the Club, and the Crafted Club.