Last updated: December 16, update #3681

Swords do not influence a weapons range, nor do they change your attack animation.

What each sword type does is offers its own damage model and blocktech (rmb ability) suited to different playstyles. Some might synergize with a character's identity more than others, but that isn't to say that you can't use whatever interests you.

Listed below is a detailed description of all sword types.

Blocktech: Block

Damage values:
- Forward attack damage: 70%
- Side attack damage: 80%

Multihit values:
- High multi-hit rate [0.06 interval]
- Damage scaled down to 25% per multihit
- Minimum multi-hit damage: 2

Sword properties:
- Knockback: 100%
- Hitstun: 100%

Blocktech properties:
Block chipdamage: 2 per multihit
Block angle: 120 degrees
Block locktime: 0.4s
Block knockback: 1.3x
Cooldown for blocking after attacking: 0.15s

The longsword is the baseline sword. It has the 3rd forward attack damage, 2nd highest side attack damage, and 2nd highest multihit rate, allowing it to consistently output high damage with any type of attack.

Its block is a reliable, powerful tool that blocks any incoming attack that isn't fully charged, although it is exposed to attacks from behind.

Its versatility makes it a great choice for any character. It's the ideal tool for both newbies and higher tier players that prefer consistent offense and potent defense over a more specialized tool-set.

Blocktech: Intercept

Damage values:
- Base damage: 70%
+ Air stance damage: 120%

Multihit values:
- Moderate Multihit rate [ 0.12 interval ]
+ Damage scaled down to 35% per multihit
- Minimum multi-hit damage: 1

Sword properties:
- Knockback: 110%
- Hitstun: 100%
+ Cuts 0.15s off attack recovery on hit
+ Turns opponent 15 degrees on parry

Blocktech properties:
Intercept locktime: 0.8s
Intercept Startup time: 0.0s
Intercept window: 0.4s (0.0s->0.4s)
Intercept recovery time: 0.4s (missed intercept) or 0.2s (successful intercept)
Recovery time after getting intercepted: 1.0s
Momentum when intercepted: 0%

Jian is all about manipulating timing.

Offensively, it's got the 2nd best base damage, 3rd best multihit rate, a bonus to air damage, and it shaves off some recovery frames from your attack if you hit.

Defensively, its blocktech, "intercept," stops an opponent's attack in their tracks if the opponent hits you 0 to 0.2 seconds into your intercept animation, giving you a +800ms advantage to punish.

It's a natural fit for the combo-oriented Ryoku, but the decent damage means any other character can be great with this if they learn to use intercept and capitalize off the air attack bonus.

Blocktech: Block

Damage values:
- Forward attack damage: 35%
- Side attack damage: 35%
- Min multi-hit damage: 2

Multihit values:
+ Extreme side multi-hit rate [0.05s interval]
- Low forward multi-hit rate [0.15s interval]
+ Damage scaled down to 65% per multihit

Sword properties:
+ Can cancel forward attacks early with a forward attack from a different string
+ Recovers 80ms quicker on hit
- Knockback: 100%
+ Charge time: 40%
+ Charge run speed: 200%
+ Can multihit during tier 3 attacks
- Tier 3s don't cause knockdown
+ Minimum Tier2 & Tier3 multihit damage: 3

Blocktech properties:
Block chipdamage: 2 per multihit
Block angle: 120 degrees
Block locktime: 0.4s
Block knockback: 1.3x
Cooldown for blocking after attacking: 0.15s

The scimitar is all about exploiting multihits.

It offers low base damage, but extreme multihits on side attacks. Unlike other swords, the scimitar can consistently multihit with T3 attacks, and damage does not lower immensely on consecutive hits. It also charges attacks super fast, and is unable to cause knockdowns with its T3 attacks.

Defensively, it currently uses the longsword's block.

Blocktech: Feint

Damage values:
- Base damage: 90%

Multihit values:
- Moderate multi-hit rate [0.1s interval]
- Multihit damage scaled down to 25% per multihit
- Minimum multi-hit damage: 2

Sword properties:
- Knockback: 150%
+ Hitstun: 115%
+ 70% recovery on side parries
+ Does 1.4x damage after winning a parry
- Charge run speed: 90%

Blocktech properties:
Percent of the animation played during feint: 35%
Cooldown between feint cancels: 2.30s
Cooldown between feints: 1.50s

An advanced weapon. The katana is all about baiting and punishing.

Offensively, it offers the highest damage, but has the lowest multihit rate. It also receives less of a run speed bonus from charging.

Its blocktech, "feint," is definitely the hardest to use. Feinting allows you to cancel out of an attack if you right click before your attack draws tracers, and also allows you to feint an attack by pressing the right click button. It's worth noting that it doesn't matter how quickly you feint cancel, as you will always cancel out of the attack the moment before tracers draw; normal feints, on the other hand, always play 35% of the attack's animation.

Feints are best used to bait your opponent into making bad (easily punished) committals-- hopefully bad committals you can outstance, so you can benefit off the katana's key trait: 1.5X damage on parry wins. The katana can also use parries defensively, by making use of its ability to recover 30% faster when parrying with side attacks.

Because of its lack of a traditional block, the katana has no way to directly defend against fast pressure, and the slower charge runspeed makes it horrendous at chasing and pressuring. It makes up for this by punishing for beastly damage.

It's a natural fit for Judgement, who has the highest single attack damage (and the most heavy strings), but it's still very useable on other chars, as they get their heavy attacks out a lot faster. It's a lot easier to bait with Phal's quick heavy sides feints, for example, but a Judge Heavy String 3 parry punish does 80 damage. It's tougher to pull off, but much more rewarding.

Blocktech: Guard

Damage Values:
- Forward attack damage: 52%
- Side attack damage: 60%
- Heavy attack damage: 70%
+ Does more damage [up to 150%] with thrusting attacks

Multihit values:
- Extreme forward multi-hits [0.038s rate]
- Can't multi-hit with side attacks
- 40% multihit scaling

Sword properties:
- Knockback: 115%
- Hitstun: 100%
+ 15% recovery on side parries
- -1.4x recovery on forward parries
+ Turns opponent 45 degrees on parry
+ Immune to parry turning on self

Blocktech properties:
Guard locktime: 0.5s
Delay between guards: 0.15s
Length of a successful guard's hitstop: 0.15s

Guard knockback (heavy stance): 250
Guard recovery time (heavy stance): 0.85s

Guard knockback (balanced stance): 400
Guard recovery time (balanced stance): 0.4s

Guard knockback (fast stance): 500
Guard recovery time (fast stance): 0.35s

An advanced weapon. The Rapier is all about maintaining proper spacing and manipulating parries.

Offensively, it has a high forward multi-hit rate, mediocre forward attack damage, and even worse heavy and side attack damage. It also gains a huge bonus for thrust attacks-- the straighter your sword's tracer when it intersects with your opponent's model, the more damage you do.

Side attacks do pitiful damage and do not multi-hit with the rapier, but the rapier has two additional properties if it enters a parry with a side attack, regardless of stance:

1. The rapier recovers 85% faster.
2. The rapier turns the opponent 45 degrees away from you.

On a similar note, if the rapier enters a parry with a forward attack, it recovers 40% slower than other swords.

Its blocktech, "guard," isn't the most potent, but it's a good tool for manipulating spacing. It works by blocking the first portion of an attack and not the multihits, and then pushing away the opponent after successfully guarding the attack. Guard automatically goes down after successfully guarding, with a 0.15s cooldown that leaves a small gap between guarded attacks.

It's a lot more suited to Phalanx than any other character, as Phalanx is built around pokes and quick, sweeping side attacks. Judgement & Pure have higher damage thrusts than Phalanx, but lack parrying tools when using the rapier , making making it a plausible, albeit difficult to use weapon choice.

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