Wiki / Weapons
Fighting styles
What your hero holds decides the fighting style: its moves, its bar and its guard.
Status: Built (all six: Hand and shield, Staff, Dual wield, Two hands, Bow, Punches) · Last checked: 14 Nov 2026
A fighting style is the set of moves your hero fights with. You never pick a style directly: you pick what the hero carries, and the game reads the style from the hands. There are six, and the rule behind them is "different, not stronger".
The six styles
| In the hands | Fighting style | In a few words |
|---|---|---|
| A one-handed weapon and a shield | Hand and shield | The all-rounder. Its guard is a block |
| Two one-handed weapons | Dual wield | Fast four-hit strings, no block: a sidestep. Five move sets, by the pair held |
| One two-handed weapon (the greatsword) | Two hands | Slow, long reach, big hits; a brace for a guard |
| A bow | Bow | Arrows from a distance, kicks up close; the guard is a leap back |
| A staff | Staff | Crystal shots on a blue magic bar; an energy shield |
| Nothing | Punches | The quickest string, the shortest reach; a weave and a counter punch |
What the style decides, and what the item decides
- The style decides the moves, the bar (stamina, or magic for a staff) and what the guard does.
- The item decides the look. A sword, an axe, a mace and a dagger with a shield all use the Hand and shield moves.
- In dual wield the pair decides which of five move sets you get: one shared by any mixed pair (such as sword and dagger), and one each for two daggers (quick, light), two swords (balanced), two axes (slower, harder) and two maces (slowest, heavy smash). Two-handed weapons can never be dual-wielded.
How each style defends
One guard button; what it does depends on the weapon.
| Style | Hold or press guard | Perfect guard |
|---|---|---|
| Hand and shield | Block | Costs nothing, fills the bar, leaves the attacker open |
| Staff | Energy shield held in front; strong against shots and spells | Sends a shot back |
| Dual wield | No block: a sidestep through attacks | You vanish for about a second |
| Two hands | Brace: take the hit at half damage without flinching | Nothing taken, and the next hit is stronger, once |
| Bow | Leap back while firing one arrow | Untouchable during the hop |
| Punches | Weave: hits from the front slide off for a moment | A counter punch |
Which to pick
All six are built to the same budget, so pick the one whose rhythm you like. How they measure up against each other is on How the weapons compare.
See also: weapons in each hand for the items a hero can carry.
Nerd section: the exact numbers
| What | Status |
|---|---|
| All six styles | Built. Hand and shield came first (13 Nov 2026); the five others were built on 14 Nov 2026, are checked by automatic tests and are marked "not yet played by people" on their pages |
| A one-handed weapon and an empty hand | Planned: Hand and shield without the block, with a faster evasive step. Not built: an empty other hand still plays as full Hand and shield (To check, row 14) |
| Signature strings, weapon skills | Planned, not built |
The game asks one place which style two hands make: styleOfItems(main, off) in src/sim/weapons.ts. The list of styles is STYLES there. Each style has a name and a label ("Dual wield: two daggers"). In the address, ?weapon= tries a style with any hero: staff, daggers, swords, axes, maces, dual wield, two hands, bow, punches.
The guard table above was first written as working names from the design; the six guards are now built as described on each weapon's page.