Wiki / Combat
Directional and air attacks
A direction held with attack picks a different light or heavy; in the air there are four lights and the plunge.
Status: Built · Last checked: 14 Nov 2026
Holding a direction while you attack changes which attack comes out. This gives you a poke, a launcher and a low hit on the ground, and a set of attacks in the air.
The names here are for Hand and shield. Every other weapon has moves with the same jobs under its own names: see fighting styles.
On the ground
| Direction held | Tap attack (light) | Hold attack (heavy) |
|---|---|---|
| None | Slash: starts the string | Overhead cleave: the knock-out blow |
| Sideways | Thrust: a long quick poke (from a standstill) | Lunging stab: travels forward |
| Up | Rising slash: pops the enemy into the air | Skyward cut: hits in front, then overhead, and launches straight up |
| Down | Low sweep: low, and reaches enemies at the edge | Shield slam: hits on both sides on the ground |
- The Skyward cut, when loaded, leaps with the cut: a small hop with a little load, as high as a full jump with a full load.
- Running into an up or down light, your hero keeps some of the run's speed and slides into the swing.
In the air
| Direction held | Attack |
|---|---|
| None | Air spin: hits all round |
| Sideways | Air slash: reaches forward |
| Up | Air up slash: keeps a launched enemy up |
| Down | Air down stab: sends the enemy downward |
| Down, with attack held | The plunge |
A normal press in the air always gives the air light of the direction held.
The plunge
Down + a held attack in the air. Your hero drops straight down at full speed with the blade pointing down. It is dangerous from the moment it drops until it lands. If it misses, the landing is slow.
When to use which
- Thrust to keep an enemy at a distance.
- Rising slash, then jump and use air attacks, to keep hitting a launched enemy.
- Low sweep against an enemy at the edge: it reaches them.
- Overhead cleave when the enemy's damage is high: it is the knock-out blow.
What beats them
- A guard stops them from the front.
- Heavies are slow: a light attack interrupts one that is still loading.
- A missed plunge is punished on landing.
Nerd section: the exact numbers
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Skyward cut's leap | From a third of a second of load: a small hop at a third of the load, the height of a full jump at a full load |
| Plunge | 6% damage; drops from frame 6 |
| Plunge that misses | A long recovery on landing: almost half a second (28 frames) |
Damage and frame timings for every move in the tables above are on Hand and shield and in All the key numbers.