Turning Slash

Turning Slash is a spinning melee attack that strikes all enemies within close range simultaneously, dealing area-of-effect slashing damage. It is unlocked in the Blue Stamina tree's Armed Combat branch and comes with three rank upgrades: standard, Double Turning Slash (extended spin), and Mastery. The Mastery rank is particularly valuable because it grants the Super Armor Break property, allowing Turning Slash to interrupt enemy attacks that would otherwise be invulnerable to standard strikes.

Super Armor Break is one of the most strategically important combat tools in the game. Bosses and elite enemies use Super Armor states during their most powerful attack animations, making those attacks both unstoppable and invulnerable to interruption by ordinary means. Turning Slash Mastery is one of only two reliably accessible Super Armor Break tools in the early-to-mid game (the other being Stab Mastery), making it a high-priority investment for any boss-progression build.

In Imbue Elements builds, Elemental Turning Slash applies elemental damage to every enemy hit in the spin, potentially applying Burn, Freeze, or Shock to multiple targets simultaneously. Against the Black Bear Captain mini-boss encounters throughout Pailune, which specifically rely on Super Armor during their charge phases, Turning Slash Mastery is often the most reliable way to interrupt their attack sequence and create a safe window for full-combo retaliation.

Turning Slash synergizes exceptionally well with Blinding Flash as a follow-up: blinding a group first ensures that the Turning Slash animation completes without interruption from surrounding enemies. At maximum upgrade level, the Double Turning Slash variant hits up to five times per rotation, and each hit can independently proc elemental status effects, making it one of the fastest ways to build status stacks on multiple targets. For late-game Abyss encounters where enemy density is high, chaining Turning Slash with Evasive Roll for repositioning between spins creates a highly mobile area-damage rotation that scales well into endgame content.

Turning Slash is a spinning attack that hits all enemies in a 360-degree arc around Kliff, making it one of the best area-of-effect melee abilities available. It works with any melee weapon but shines particularly with Dual Blades and Greatswords, where the wide weapon arc multiplies the ability's coverage. Use it when surrounded by enemies to damage everything nearby simultaneously, and follow up with targeted single-enemy abilities to finish off weakened foes. Upgrade it for additional spin hits and damage.