Portal:New Genesis/Double Saber Photon Arts and Actions

New Genesis: Photon Arts and Actions
Hunter	Sword	Wired Lance	Partisan
Fighter	Twin Daggers	Double Saber	Knuckles
Ranger	Assault Rifle	Launcher
Gunner	Twin Machine Guns
Force	Rod	Talis
Techter	Wand
Braver	Katana	Bow
Bouncer	Soaring Blades	Jet Boots
Waker	Harmonizer
Slayer	Gunblade

New Genesis: Double Saber Photon Arts
Julien Dance	Unchained Circle	Quick Gash	Sky Climb

Overview

The Fighter's Double Saber focuses on dealing constant damage through the use of its Whirlwind mechanic, which is built up using any Double Saber attacks barring Dash, Dive, or special attacks that consume Whirlwind.

Though the Double Saber deals a considerable amount of damage to enemies in an area with a fully-built Whirlwind, it tends to be weakened during gaps between combat as you may lose your built-up Whirlwind. Without Whirlwind, its PAs also lack in power in comparison to other melee weapons.

Fighter's weapon PAs are split into two halves, and learning Fighter Skip Arts allows you to use the first half by inputting a directional key, or to instead skip to the second half by not inputting.
For Double Saber PAs, the first half provides various utilities (Julien's gap-closing, Unchained's generous autoguard and mobbing), while the second half focuses on damage or Whirlwind building. It is recommended to understand when to use each half according to your combat situation.

Features of Double Saber

Whirlwind

Whirlwind Stage	Power
WW1	32
WW2	80
WW3	144

Double Saber's built-in mechanic to deal damage to nearby enemies every second. By default, it can be built up to 2 stages; the 1st stage creates blue slashes around you, and the 2nd stage increases its damage and adds purple slashes. If Saber Wind Extra is learned, the 3rd stage is unlocked, further increasing the damage and slightly increasing the range of your Whirlwind. The Whirlwind will also appear as a purple circle surrounding you.
The skills Deadly Archer and Spiral Drive can be used as attacks in exchange for Whirlwind.
The skill Saber Glaze PP Gain allows Stage 2 and 3 of Whirlwind to generate 2 PP per hit, providing additional sustain.

Whirlwind will disappear in 15 seconds if no Whirlwind-building attack is made. In certain combat situations, it may be smart to consume Whirlwind with the aforementioned skills if you don't expect to hit an enemy in that time span. However, keep in mind before using them that the Double Saber relies on its Whirlwind to deal competitive damage to other melee weapons.

When using the Double Saber in a multiweapon setup, Whirlwind will deal 1/4th of its damage while using the other weapon. Though it is still a damage increase, it is recommended to use other melee weapons so you can stay in range to deal damage with Double Saber.

Normal Attacks

Icon	Stat	NA1	NA2	NA3	NA4	Spiral Drive
	Potency	45 x 2	46 x 2	55 x 3	255	350 x 2
	PP Recovery	3 x 2	3 x 2	3 x 3	14	15 x 2

Swing each side of the Double Saber to slash enemies in front of you. Saber Attack Extra adds the 4th NA. Spiral Drive allows you to perform a quick, damaging attack that restores 30 PP by holding down the NA input, at the cost of Whirlwind. Same Arts Skip Attack - Fighter and Another Arts Skip - Fighter allows you to skip to the 3rd and 4th NAs after using a PA twice or two different PAs, respectively.

Normal Attacks

• NA4 moves you forward and has a wide reach, allowing it to hit multiple enemies in front of you. It is also better in terms of damage and PP recovery compared to other NAs, making it effective to utilize Another Arts Skip for good and sustainable damage.
• NA4 autoguards from all directions from the beginning to the middle of the swing.
• NAs (barring NA4) can be canceled at any time with Weapon Action.

Spiral Drive

• Performs a gap-closing attack then a retreat.
• Using Spiral Drive during WW3 will revert it to WW2, and using it with WW2 will consume it completely.
• Can be effectively combo'd if used before a Photon Blast as it will return you to WW3 during the attack.
• You are invincible during the animation.

Weapon Action

Icon	Stat	Parry Counter	Another Counter	Deadly Archer
	Potency	125 x 3	500	140 x 9 + 168 x 2
	PP Recovery	4 x 3	7	0

Spin to guard yourself from all directions. You can completely negate attacks (excluding grabs and certain attacks) if you guard before an attack hits you.

Parry Counter

• Allows you to counter by pressing Normal Attack after successfully guarding an attack.
• You can move roughly 2 Sideteps in any direction using the respective movement input as you counter.
• Versus Another Counter, it provides better PP recovery and Whirlwind build-up value, but deals less damage, shorter gap-close, and less invincibility time; less invincibility however makes it better for multiple attacks.
• You are invincible until the end of its animation.

Another Counter

• Allows you to use an alternate counter with by pressing Weapon Action after successfully guarding an attack.
• Versus Parry Counter, it provides higher damage, a further gap-close, and longer invincibility time, but has worse PP recovery and very poor Whirlwind build-up value.
• You are invincible until the end of its animation.

Deadly Archer

• Hold down the Weapon Action to consume all Whirlwind to enhance your Double Saber, then toss it, where it spins rapidly to attack the enemy.
• Has a relatively long startup time, and you will remain in place while performing the attack.
• If you plan to fully consume your Whirlwind with WW3, consider using Spiral Drive first before using Deadly Archer.
• You are invincible until the end of its animation.

Universal Actions

Action	Potency	PP Recovery
Sidestep Attack	80 + 80	4 + 4
Sidestep Counter	190 + 190	9 + 9
Dash Attack	280	15
Dive Attack	200	0

• Sidestep Attack/Counter: After a Sidestep, press Normal Attack to spin the Double Saber and hit the enemy twice. If you dodge an enemy's attack with Sidestep, the damage is increased and you instead perform a diagonal slash that hits the enemy twice.
• Dash Attack: Swing the Double Saber in front of you.
• Dive Attack: Nearly the same across all weapons. Dive deals damage to nearby enemies and restores no PP, and is mainly used to reach the ground faster.

Photon Blast

Focus photons into your Double Saber to perform multiple slashes, following up with rising spin slashes, then finishing off with an explosive slam that summons a tornado.

• A relatively long Photon Blast that deals an average amount of damage for a Photon Blast alone, but has its damage greatly increased with Whirlwind active.
  • From no Whirlwind build-up, the Photon Blast will generate enough Whirlwind for WW2. With WW2, it will generate enough for WW3.
• You can move relatively quickly in any direction until you perform the slam. The Photon Blast moves you upward, but returns you to your original position with the slam.
  • Consider activating the Photon Blast somewhat lower than the part you intend to hit.
• Like all Photon Blasts, you are invincible until the end of its animation.
• Potency Notation: Deals 180% x 3 hits (slashes), 120% x 9 hits (rising spin slashes), 1560% (explosive slam), then 144% x 5 hits (tornado).

Photon Arts

Julien Dance

Icon	Name	Stat	Lv.1	Description
	Julien Dance	Potency	780	Double Saber Photon Art. Quickly close in on an enemy and unleash a string of strikes. Generates a whirlwind when used.
		PP	20

• Rush towards the enemy and perform a slash in the first half, then rapidly slash the enemy in the second half.
  • If an enemy is targeted, the PA can travel the furthest out of all PAs in the first half.
  • Without a target, the rush will typically not occur and you'll instead perform the initial slash.
• Can generate a good amount of Whirlwind in the second half, and the final slash is the most damaging attack of this PA; overall PP efficient for generating Whirlwind (-20).
• You will move slightly forward while performing the second half.
• Can be canceled before the slash in the first half with Sidestep or Weapon Action, and at any time during the second half.
  • The slash cannot be canceled at all until the start of the second half, so be wary when canceling the PA to traverse.
• Potency Notation: The first half deals 26% of noted potency, and the second half deals 7% + 7% + 5% + 7% + 6% + 42%.

Unchained Circle

Icon	Name	Stat	Lv.1	Description
	Unchained Circle	Potency	450	Double Saber Photon Art. Perform a sweep attack after your thrown weapons attack the surrounding enemies. Generates a whirlwind when used.
		PP	30

• Throw your Double Saber to hit enemies around you in the first half, then follow up with a frontal slash in the second half.
  • The frontal slash in the second half can lightly launch smaller enemies.
• Both halves of this PA notably autoguards from all directions during their attacks; however you are vulnerable during the transition from the first half to the second half.
• Excels in mobbing for both damage and generating whirlwind in the first half. The second half's slash is strong and provides safety, but using it alone is not very PP efficient (-30) and does not generate much whirlwind.
• You cannot move in the first half, and you will take a small step forward in the second half.
• Potency Notation: The first half deals 12.2% x 5 hits of noted potency, and the second half deals 39%.

Quick Gash

Icon	Name	Stat	Lv.1	Description
	Quick Gash	Potency	700	Double Saber Photon Art. Spawn a tornado while moving backwards after a quick sideway sweep. Generates a whirlwind when used.
		PP	20

• Perform quick slashes in the first half, then retreat backwards to create a tornado a step away from you in the second half.
• The second half can generate a good amount of Whirlwind. However, it is not recommended to spam this half for the Whirlwind as you will continuously move backwards.
• Provides invincibility during the slashes for the first half, and autoguards from the front during the retreat in the second half.
• Can be canceled in the first half with Sidestep or Weapon Action.
• Potency Notation: The first half deals 20% + 20% + 23% of noted potency, and the second half deals 22% + 3% x 5 hits (tornado) in the second half.

Sky Climb

Icon	Name	Stat	Lv.1	Description
	Sky Climb	Potency	435	Double Saber Photon Art. After jumping in the air and doing a spinning slash, you slam your photon-charged weapon down unleashing a whirlwind.
		PP	17

• Jump and spin with your Double Saber in the air in the first half, then follow up with a slam in the second half.
  • Can launch smaller enemies in the first half, and sends them downwards in the second half.
• Using only the first half will have you ascend, while using only the second half will descend you if you are in the air. Otherwise, the ascend-and-slam motion roughly returns you to your original position/altitude if using the full PA.
• The second half is very quick and deals decent damage, but generates a modest amount of whirlwind compared to the second halves of Julien Dance or Quick Gash.
• Provides super armor in the second half, and also autoguards from the front before the slam.
• Can be canceled between the first half and second half with Sidestep or Weapon Action.
• Potency Notation: The first half deals 16% x 3 hits of noted potency, and the second half deals 52%.

Reference

PSO2 NGS Japanese Swiki: Double Saber PAs and Actions