In the past decade, the once-obscure Ys series has gained a modicum of appreciation for its relatively quick development cycles, freewheeling adventurous spirit, and engaging gameplay loop. While Ys is still far from a household name, a growing number of Falcom enthusiasts are drawn to the series due to its action RPG combat.
Each entry brings something new to the table gameplay-wise; while Ys X: Nordics serves upnaval combat, dual protagonists, and other new mechanics, most of you are probably still here to hack away at monsters. Karja has her playstyle; if you’re looking to excel as Adol, here are the skills you need to master.
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Falling Edge allows you to drive your sword into the ground for a small AoE attack. It doesn’t have a particularly wide range, but it activates even if you’re in mid-air, making it easy to usefor beginners. You can incorporate it into your dodges, as well as give enemies death from above in some dungeons.
The best effect of Falling Edge is that it gives you some invincibility frames, which are crucial if you’re playing the game on Nightmare difficulty. The more you use this skill, the better Adol gets at it - eventually, you’ll unlock Falling Blaze, which adds a Burn effect.
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Though weak by itself, Rising Slash is a good skill to kick off a combo. It launches an enemy - as well as Adol - into the air, allowing you to juggle enemies for a bit, or activate Falling Edge to slam them into the ground.
Another positive facet of Rising Slash is its stunningly low SP cost. This ensures that even during intense combat, you’ll have a fast-recharging skill at your disposal. Mastering Rising Slash turns it into Brave Ascent, which has anadditional flame effect.
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If you’ve playedDevil May Cryand seen Dante’s Stinger move, this skill will look familiar. Similar to the DMC attack, Assault Raid closes the distance between you and an enemy before delivering a vicious thrust.
Although Ys X offers to let auto-targeting control your attacks' direction in its combat settings, it’s best to leave it off. This allows you to dictate attack directions with the left stick, and incorporate skills like Assault Raid for crowd control. Unfortunately, mastering this skill doesn’t add any effects.
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Adol will have access to a weak skill called Quick Pierce relatively early in the game. Unfortunately, Quick Pierce has no real boons upon its activation apart from its cool animation. Mastering it, however, grants you Flare Lancer.
Not only does Flare Lancer retain Quick Pierce’s cool animation of multiple thrusts, it adds a Burn effect and knocks enemies back. It doesn’t do much more damage than Quick Pierce, but the additional effects make it worth the higher SP cost.
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Sword Slash is a viable skill, but its mastered version is much better. Quattro Blade is a stronger, Mana-imbued version of Sword Slash. Although Sword Slash ostensibly has more power, Quattro Blade’s Mana effect makes it more useful against certain enemies.
It has a relatively low SP cost, allowing it to be used twice or more in a combo, and it has a four-strike animation allowing you to stunlock enemies for longer. Use Quattro Blade against Griegr enemies to reap its full benefits.
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Raid Slash is the very first skill you obtain in Ys X. However, its early-game status doesn’t mean it’s not viable. Raid Slash has a low SP cost, a lightning-quick animation, and a charging nature. It doesn’t fare too badly in terms of strength, either.
Adol can use this skill to close the distance between him and his enemies and overwhelm them with a relentless assault. It can also be used as a transitional skill between normal attacks. If you exhaust Karja’s SP using Duo Skills, you can always switch to Adol for some Raid Slashing.
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Mana Shot is the weakest skill in the game by far, even if it has the lowest SP cost. However, you should master it as quickly as possible. Mana Shot has the most growth potential out of any Adol skill.
Mastering Mana Shot gives you Flame Shot, letting you shoot three fireballs with a Burn effect. Mastering Flame Shot and leveling up unlocks Flame Burst, which adds a knockback effect.Mastering that gives you Carmine Burst isa highly viable endgame skill.
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Lightning Saber is an AoE attack packed with Mana, with a manageable SP cost and relatively high strength. Its best use is for cloud control due to its wide range - it can hit essentially all enemies around Adol. This skill can also be used for overwhelming strong enemies, as it has a knockback effect that can cancel their animation.
Lightning Saber takes its toll on Adol’s ability to chain attacks, due to its heavy animation, but the results are worth it. It can also be upgraded to Arc Bringer for an additional Mana effect.
