Resonant Strikes
What it is
A combo between a blade and a spell. Hit the same living foe with elemental spell damage and an Aura strike within 1.2 seconds, in either order, and the two react for bonus damage and a small effect. You can do it alone or with a mage ally.
How to use it
The swordsman needs Glow or higher, Aura switched on, a weapon in hand and 4 aura to spend.
These blade hits count: a full, coated normal swing, an Aura Slash, and the first hit of an art or written technique. Glancing swings and chain sparks don’t.
The spell’s element picks the reaction. Your breathing method can change its name and look:
| Spell element | Reaction | Special version | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire | Ember Shear | Gale: Bellows Cut | A little stance pressure |
| Frost | Rime Splinter | Ember: Thermal Cleave | Brief Slowness I |
| Storm | Forked Edge | Stone: Grounding Stroke | Moderate stance pressure |
| Wind | Crosswind | Hourglass: Borrowed Step | Speed I for the swordsman, 2 seconds |
| Earth | Faultline | Rime: Gravel Rime | Stronger stance pressure |
| Life | Greenwake | Crimson: Grafted Edge | Heals the swordsman up to 1 health (not against players) |
| Void | Hollow Seam | Starlit: Veiled Prism | Weakness I on creatures, 2 seconds |
| Arcane | Prism Cut | Hourglass: Second Hand | Briefly marks the foe Exposed for a follow-up spell |
| Time | Echo Beat | Gale: Slipstream Echo | Brief Resistance I for the swordsman |
| Blood | Red Thread | Hollow: Hollow Pulse | Extra stance pressure on wounded creatures |
A fused spell uses the element of its first damaging part.
Damage and limits
- The bonus is 25% of the weaker hit’s damage, capped at 3 health against creatures and 0.75 against players. Armour, shields and spell defences still apply.
- After a reaction, both the swordsman and the foe must wait 4 seconds before another. Switching weapons or targets doesn’t reset this.
- One cast can set up a given foe only once. Beams and storms that hit many times don’t stack it; a fresh cast does.
Tips and counterplay
- Partners are teammates, or players who can’t hurt each other under the server’s PvP rules. Duel opponents never count. Both must be within 32 blocks of the foe.
- Against players, slows and stance pressure are shorter, and the Life heal, Void weakness and Blood effect don’t apply.
- Practise on a Training Dummy. The Life heal doesn’t work on dummies.
- Pure healing or control spells that deal no damage can’t start a reaction.
- In a village tournament, a spell that touches your opponent disqualifies you, so practise this outside the arena.