Abilities

In Swordai you can have a total of 9 abilities: 2 war cries, 2 offhand abilities, 2 passives, a dodge, a kick, and a kiai upgrade. Abilities are unlocked by crafting them in the tower entrance, and must be placed in an unlocked ability slot in order to equip.

List of Abilities

War Cries

These abilities can be cast instantly and at any time by just pressing the associated button.

Kiai

Instantly charges your current attack to full power. This ability can also be modified in many ways with any of the three kiai upgrades listed below. (10s Cooldown)

Reckless Kiai

Increases the damage your kiai attacks deal by 50%, but if your kiai attack is blocked you get staggered.

Disrupting Kiai

Unblocked kiai attacks now cancel your opponent's action when they are hit. Handle hits do not trigger this effect.

Crippling Kiai

Unblocked kiai attacks now cripple your opponent for 5s, reducing their movement speed by 40% and preventing them from sprinting or jumping. Handle hits do not trigger this effect. (1s Cooldown)

Combo Parry

For 0.6s after using, your next successful block will stagger your opponent, but if you don't successfully block an attack within the 0.6s, your block is cancelled and you cannot block for another 0.6s. This ability requires a combo charge to use.

Blood for Blood

Instantly heals you for 30% of your current damage streak. Also, if your streak is over three times your current sword's base damage, you gain a stack of rage.

Winter's Call

Slow nearby enemies for 5s, reducing their move speed by 40%, and give them a stack of winter's bite. Any affected NPC's are also taunted, forcing them to target you.

Offhand Abilities

These abilites require you to channel them for a varying amount of time, and they cannot be casted while doing anything else.

Zealot's Might

Gives you +6 Strength and +25% lifesteal for 25 seconds. Killing an enemy resets the timer. (2s Channel, 180s Cooldown)

Siphon

Drains 40hp from the target. If the damage is lethal, there will not be a cooldown. This ability requires a riposte charge to use. (1s Channel, 60s Cooldown)

Ember Shift

Gradually slows the target over one second, before teleporting the caster behind them after they are fully slowed. Requires that you keep your cursor on the target the entire 1.25s cast time. If you cancel the ability midway through, the target will stay slowed but you will not teleport and the cooldown will be halved. (0.25s Channel, 30s Cooldown)

Equality

Applies pure to yourself and all nearby players and deactivates their flasks and amulets for 15s. (0.25s Channel, 60s Cooldown)

Shatter

Fires a projectile that, on hit, slows the person hit and consumes all of their stacks of winter's bite, dealing 10 damage per stack consumed. If more than three stacks were consumed, the cooldown is reset, and if the damage was lethal, the caster gains a stack of fortified. (0.3s Channel, 20s Cooldown)

Cleanse

Removes all slowing, crippling, or rooting effects and makes you immune to them for 10s. During that 10s, you movement speed is also greatly increased. (0.5s Channel, 30s Cooldown)

Undying

Allows you to survive your next otherwise lethal hit on 1hp and makes you immune for 2s, with an additional second for each stack of rage you have. (0.5s Channel, 300s Cooldown)

Recall

This is a special ability automatically granted in Beyond the Wall. It cannot be used anywhere else, and does not require a slot. It teleports you back to the starting bind stone and restores your health. (10s Channel, 10s Cooldown)

Passives

These are permanent buffs that are always active.

Colossal

Grants +5 armor and +2 absorption. Staggering an opponent drains 20hp from them.

Sanguine Riposte

Grants +15% lifesteal on ripostes.

Head Hunter

Fully-charged head shots restore 50 stamina and reduce kiai's cooldown by 5s.

Wrath

Every 25hp you are missing gives +1 strength and +1% lifesteal.

Reaper

Grants +10 strength on combo attacks if your new target is different from your previous. This stacks until the combo ends with a max of 5 stacks.

Blood Harvest

Restore 10% of your missing hp when you kill an enemy. Also, if your streak is over three times your current sword's base damage, you gain a stack of rage.

Backstab

Deal 25% more damage when you hit a target from behind them.

Focused

Hitting an opponent with a fully-charged attack increases your attack charge speed by 20% until you miss, handle-hit, or get blocked. This stacks up to five times, at which you will charge attacks twice as fast. If you reach this point, you also gain a stack of resilience.

Winter's Chill

Any attack that deals zero damage to you gives the attacker a stack of winter's bite, up to five stacks.

Dodges

Dodges are abilites mainly used to dodge attacks.

Dodge

Dodges backwards a reasonable distance when used. It cannot be used while swinging, channeling, or blocking, and it blocks those actions until the dash finishes. (10s Cooldown)

Mist Step

Blinks a reasonable distance in the direction you are currently moving. Does not cancel other actions, but it cannot be used while moving. (14s Cooldown)

Frost Armor

Roots you in place and makes you invulnerable for 1s. If you are hit during this time, the ability immediately ends, the cooldown is reset, and you gain a riposte charge. (16s Cooldown)

Kick

Kick is a unique ability that is the only one in its slot. It causes your character to kick, interrupting channels and staggering the target if they were blocking. It also grants a riposte if you kick someone who is currently kicking. If the kick succeeds in doing something, the cooldown is reset. (5s Cooldown)