You fight with whatever is in your hand. Every weapon has a combo on click or F, a running attack, a plunge from a jump, and a special. Attacks cost stamina, and every creature shows a tell before it strikes: watch for it, then parry, dodge, step aside or jump.
CONTENTS
Attacking and combos
- Press click or F to strike. Press it again while the strike is under way and the next strike of the combo follows. Wait too long and the combo starts again from the first strike.
- Each strike of a combo deals its own share of the weapon's POWER, and the last is the heaviest. With a mouse you aim at the pointer; otherwise you strike the way you face or the stick points.
- With the greatsword or war hammer, holding click or F through a strike charges instead (see Specials). With the mattock, holding it keeps swinging.
| Weapon | Combo |
|---|---|
| Sword | Slash 0.9×, Backhand 1.05×, Whirlwind (two turns: 70% then 100% of POWER, and a shockwave) |
| Greatsword | Plow 0.9×, Heave 1.05×, Sundering Arc 1.35× |
| Daggers | Twirl 0.95×, Low Sweep 1×, Flurry (eight stabs at 0.4×, then an X at 1×), Nightfall 1.6× |
| War Hammer | Strike 0.9×, Rebound 1.1× (two impacts), Tempering Blow 1.45× |
| Blade Staff | Crescent 0.9×, Wheeling Arc 1.15×, Skywheel (a double somersault, up to 1.4×) |
| Bow | No combo: hold click or F to draw, let go to shoot (full draw: 125% of POWER) |
| Mattock | No combo: one swing, again and again while held |
Running attacks
Hold Shift with a direction to run, then click or F while running: each weapon's running attack, as strong as its plunge (1.5 times POWER). On a touch screen it has its own DASH button.
- Sword: the Stinger, a burst forward and a driving stab, then on into the combo.
- Daggers: a spin along the ground, boosted forward, then on into the combo.
- Greatsword: a rising slash that leaps you up, then a crushing slash as you land.
- War Hammer: a short leap and a somersault into a ground pound that dazes.
- Blade Staff: an overhead swing, then a somersaulting leap down into a ring.
- Bow: a lunge and a full-strength shot at once.
Plunges
Space, then click or F while high enough in the air: you drive your weapon into the ground and a wave of 1.5 times POWER strikes everything in a ring round you. Pressed too close to the ground, the strike comes as you land instead. Afterwards the weapon is stuck for a moment: 0.25 seconds for the daggers, 0.3 the staff, 0.6 the sword, 1.05 the hammer, 1.2 the greatsword. The daggers whirl down and bounce instead (1.2 times POWER on each landing), the blade staff dives at 45 degrees, and the bow looses three arrows at once.
Specials
| Weapon | Special |
|---|---|
| Sword | right-click or R: parry, then an automatic Counter |
| Daggers | right-click or R: dodge |
| Greatsword | Hold click or F: charged spin, 1.6×, 2.2× or 3× by tier |
| War Hammer | Hold click or F: charged pound, 1.4×, 2× or 2.8× by tier |
| Bow | right-click or R: Arrow Rain, or the Dragon Shot with a full Focus |
| Blade Staff | right-click or R: Skyfall, ready every 10 seconds |
A charge reaches tier I after 0.5 seconds held, tier II after 1.15 seconds and tier III after 1.9 seconds (faster with a higher CHARGE).
Parrying and guarding (the Sword)
- Press right-click or R just as a blow lands. The parry window is the first 0.22 seconds after the press.
- A parry stops the blow completely, dazes the attacker for 1.6 seconds (a boss for 2.5 seconds), throws it back, and leaves you untouchable for 0.35 seconds.
- Then the Counter follows by itself: for 1 second you dash through every foe near the one that struck, each dash at 1.2 times POWER, and nothing can touch you. It needs 10 seconds to come back, and until then right-click or R does nothing.
- Held past the window, the sword guards for up to 1.2 seconds: a blow is blocked and you take a third of its damage, are pushed back a step, and the edge loses 1.
- Miss (let go with nothing caught) and you wait 0.32 seconds before you can try again.
Dodging (the Daggers)
With the daggers, right-click or R is a quick dash the way you're moving. You can't be hurt for its first 0.2 seconds. Dodge through a blow and your strikes are 35% faster for 3 seconds. Without daggers, get out of the way by stepping aside or jumping.
Stamina
Fighting costs stamina:
| Action | Stamina |
|---|---|
| A strike of a combo, a parry, a bow shot | 0.5 |
| A jump | 1.5 |
| A dodge, a charged spin, Skyfall, the daggers' running spin, the bow's special | 2 |
| A plunge, the daggers' whirl, the blade staff's running attack | 2.5 |
| A charged pound | 3 |
With no stamina left you can only walk, every swing runs at half speed, and attacks take health instead. Starve your health away like that and you faint. Some coats, charms and traits make fighting cheaper; being soaked makes everything cost more.
Damage
- A blow deals the weapon's POWER times the strike's share, raised by your Attack stat (see Stats). A dull weapon deals half (see Edge).
- Damage numbers rise from what you hit. A larger gold number marks a critical blow (50% more damage); other colours mark burning, bleeding, poison and lightning. They can be turned off in Settings.
- Blows from behind deal no extra damage on their own. Some traits and pairings add it: on the daggers, Backbreaker (50% more), Quarry Point and the Obsidian Fangs pairing (double).
- Critical blows come from traits and tiers that give a chance of them.
Knockback and staggering
- Every blow knocks a creature back; heavy strikes (finishers, plunges, spins, pounds) throw it much farther. Bosses are barely moved.
- A blow can knock a smaller creature out of the attack it was winding up.
- A parry and the hammer's pound daze foes for a moment.
- Bosses rage when they fall to 35% health.
Dying
- When your health reaches 0 you die, and wake at home: the Goddess you last prayed at, or the nearest one if she's gone, or where you first woke if there is none.
- You lose a quarter of each element's loose spirits (rounded down). Spirits bound into your gear are safe. The lost spirits are left where you fell as glowing wisps, marked on your maps: walk into them to have them back. Out in the world they wait until the next dawn; in a dungeon or lair, until that dungeon is renewed. Dying again leaves new wisps and the older ones fade.
- Items, gear, levels and Jewels are never lost.
