Standard & Sha-Chi Combos
Offensive pressure relies on chaining two kinds of attacks to whittle down enemy health and break their stance:
| Combo | Input (PS5) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Combo | Square repeatedly | Steady offensive pressure and guard chip, no Sha-Chi cost. |
| Sha-Chi Combo | Triangle repeatedly (or woven into Square strings) | Heavy techniques that consume your Sha-Chi for massive guard damage. |
Because Sha-Chi is shared between offensive combos and defensive guarding, aggressive combo extensions must be balanced against incoming attacks.
Phantom Edges & Power Surge
Two types of resource-based special attacks sit on top of the basic combos:
| Attack | Input | Resource |
|---|---|---|
| Phantom Edge Attack | R2 | Consumes Remnant Spark, replenished when resting at Bells. |
| Power Surge | L2 | Consumes 1 Sha-Chi Essence per use. |
Sha-Chi & Guard Break
Both you and enemies have a yellow Sha-Chi gauge beside the HP bar. Dealing damage with combos or landing parries depletes the enemy's Sha-Chi.
Fully exhausting an enemy's Sha-Chi gauge leaves them Guard-Broken — staggered and unable to retaliate until the gauge recovers. That opens a window for high-damage combos or Executions. Certain weapon passives, such as Falling Petal Strike, amplify damage to Guard-Broken targets.
Guarding, Parrying & Dodging
| Action | Input | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Target Lock-On | R3 (click right stick) | Keeps an enemy in focus. |
| Guard Stance | Hold L1 | Defensive posture while moving; continuously drains Sha-Chi. |
| Block | Hold L1 through a combo | Negates damage at an extra Sha-Chi cost per hit. |
| Parry | Tap L1 just before impact | Deflects without Sha-Chi cost and heavily depletes the attacker's Sha-Chi. |
| Backstep Dodge | R1 (neutral) | Quick backward evade. |
| Directional Dodge | Left Stick + R1 | Lunge in a chosen direction to evade or reposition. |
Blue-Flash & Red-Flash Attacks
Enemies telegraph special techniques with colored cues that demand a specific counter rather than passive blocking:
| Telegraph | Correct response | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Blue-Flash Attack | Parry (tap L1) just before impact | Severely damages the enemy's Sha-Chi. |
| Red-Flash Attack | Dodge (R1) just before the attack connects | Unblockable — parrying will not work. |
Healing, Bells, Stealth & Executions
Medicine restores HP mid-combat (charges tracked on the HUD). Interacting with a Bell fully restores HP and Medicine, and touching one for the first time uncovers nearby map areas.
Approaching unaware enemies enables lethal Assassinations (including multi-target stealth kills). In open combat, depleting an enemy's guard enables Executions.
Related Pages
The core combat resource.
The passive and active skill tree.
The full weapon roster and their unique moves.