Combat arts and upgrades

Spend durability for useful combat effects

Use combat arts to cover gaps such as Hit and Range. A safe kill matters more than a few extra Might. Spend Magic Echo Shards on your regular arts first.

• Normal attacks do not consume durability; combat arts do. Arts provide more than Might: they can change Hit, Range, healing, movement, or attack order.
• Combat arts come from four sources: skill ranks, secret arts, class mastery, and weapons. Characters can learn different moves at the same skill rank. After learning an art, you usually need to equip it in Preparations. There are three basic slots; weapon-specific arts do not use them.
• Dietrich's story lets you strengthen arts with Magic Echo Shards, separately for each character. Collect shards from Blade Resonance encounters. Part 3 also offers Karma Shard exchanges.

Choose arts for weaknesses, not just Might#

Slow characters can learn Hidden Windpierce. It only works with Range 1–2 spears and adds 20 Hit when the enemy's Attack Speed is at least 4 higher than yours. Upgrades increase its Might modifier further. The right art can turn low Speed into a reliable ranged attack. You can still suffer a follow-up, so attack from a position where the enemy cannot counter.

Weapon choice matters too. The Damina series boosts combat art Hit, and upgrades also add combat art Crit. Frequent art users can build around those bonuses rather than comparing weapon Might alone.

Use the three slots to cover your immediate needs: reliable Hit; handling high defenses or dangerous counters; and escape, healing, or control. Choose the functions you lack instead of forcing one of each. See Sen No Sen, Go No Sen, and combat arts for attack order, and Durability and forging for repair costs.

Keep a high-critical art for emergencies and healing. When comparing Dietrich's exclusive swords with a Silver Sword, look beyond normal-attack Might. The Answerer line's weapon-specific arts have high Critical, giving you an active option when you need a critical to trigger Sacred Gem healing, instead of simply waiting for one. Equip the weapon-specific art and healing equipment first, then check forecast Hit, Critical, and room to heal. A critical can still fail, so do not rely on it for survival.

Learning arts and equipment slots#

Source	Method	What to remember
Weapon skill ranks	Raise the relevant skill through combat, arena training, and similar activities	Characters learn different arts at the same rank. Check the individual skill list.
Secret arts	Accept Dread Warrior challenges in Dietrich's story and win the duels	Dietrich learns the art first, then teaches companions at Smyrnos's temple.
Class mastery	Master the relevant class	Check the class entry for the exact art.
Weapon-specific	Equip a weapon with its own art	Switching weapons removes access through that weapon. Its art does not use a normal equipped slot.

For other learned arts, check the equipment section under Inventory. You can normally equip three; Combat Arts + class skills increase the number. If an art is missing from the battle menu, first check whether it is equipped and whether the weapon type and range qualify, rather than continuing to grind skill ranks.

Nine Secret Teachings: Renown requirements and uses

Check an art’s Hit, range, and healing before upgrading or deciding whether to teach it to teammates.

Renown level	Challenger	Secret Teaching	Main effect or cost
2	Borges	Hidden Soulrend	Restores HP equal to half the damage dealt; Hit modifier −20
3	Aguirre	Hidden Birdbane	On hitting a flying enemy, Movement −3 until the next player phase
4	Sepiente	Hidden Flowform	Avoid +20 and a follow-up regardless of Attack Speed, but damage is halved
5	Camilo	Hidden Giantsbane	Halves damage taken when fighting large enemies
6	Il Ira	Hidden Windpierce	Hit +20 if the enemy has at least 4 more Attack Speed; only range 1–2 lances, attacks at range 2
7	Cabaye	Hidden Twinblade	Dodge +20 during and after combat until the next player phase
8	Damian	Hidden Truesnipe	Range 3–5, durability cost 30, Hit modifier −20, no follow-up
9	Berenguera	Hidden Evilbreak	On hit, disables the enemy’s Underworld Boon for one combat
10	Ouko	Hidden Bladerule	Crit modifier +100, but Hit is set to 10; no follow-up

Where should you spend Magic Echo Shards first?#

Upgrade your regular arts first, especially those that reduce durability costs or cover a class weakness. Axes often need accuracy, so consider Hit bonuses and ranged attacks first. Bows and gauntlets can benefit from post-combat movement. For spear users already able to follow up, consider arts that move the follow-up before the enemy counter.

Choose the correct character before upgrading at Smyrnos’s temple reception. Upgrading an art on character A does not upgrade the same art on character B. Weapon-exclusive arts cannot be upgraded this way. Upgrades do not always simply add Might; compare every before-and-after value.

Magic Echo Shards come from enemies in Blade Resonance encounters, rather than any random field battle. Part 3 also offers 1 Magic Echo Shard for 100 Karma Shards, a costly exchange. Calculate your shard needs from the upgrade menu.

Equip arts before checking follow-ups and Hit#