Combat

This page covers the various **battle mechanics** that can be employed in the *Infinity Blade* series.

## Preventing damage

There are several ways to prevent damage to the character (Siris). These consist of the following:

### Blocking

**Blocking** is the main technique used to defend against attacks. Most attacks can be blocked, but certain attacks break blocks, such as shield bashes and giant enemy stomps.

Holding down the shield icon at the bottom allows you to block attacks. Each attack blocked reduces the number of stored Shield points, which are displayed on the block icon. Stronger attacks, especially those from giant enemies and titans in later bloodlines/rebirths, can reduce Shield points more quickly than those in earlier bloodlines or rebirths. Losing all shield points breaks your shield; afterwards, blocking can only prevent some damage. Additionally, enemies are not affected by block breaks when your Shield is broken. Blocking is the easiest method of avoiding damage, but because it depletes Shield points, dodging and parrying are preferable when possible. Blocking, however, is the only way to avoid damage from certain attacks.

In *Infinity Blade I*, blocking does not defend against an enemy's elemental attribute unless the shield has resistance to that element. This has changed in *Infinity Blade II*, in which a Perfect Block nullifies all damage. In *Infinity Blade I*, the element is only applied if the enemy's attack breaks through the shield. In *Infinity Blade II*, all attacks employ the enemy's attack element to its full advantage.

In *Infinity Blade II*, Perfect Blocks are achieved by performing the block just as a titan's attack is about to touch you. Your shield or weapon is raised with thrusting force, pushing it against the strike. This also reduces damage to the shield by two thirds (or 66.6%).

When using dual weapons, the player is unable to block. The Block button is instead replaced by a third Dodge button, which makes Siris duck. This can be used to avoid additional attacks, but does not work for all attacks blocking would normally prevent.

### Dodging

**Dodging** is used to quickly move out of the way of an enemy's attack. It is best against magic attacks or powerful attacks that cannot be blocked or parried. To dodge, press one of the two arrow buttons at the bottom corners. Many attacks can only be dodged from a certain direction.

In *Infinity Blade II*, players now have points that deplete with each dodge, resulting in exhaustion. An Exhausted Dodge is slower than normal, deals damage to the player, and results in even more damage if the player is struck. Dual weapons give players extra Dodge points and replace the block button with a **duck** button. Ducking costs two dodge points.

### Parrying

**Parrying** is the practice of stopping an opponent's attack with your own weapon. It is achieved by swiping the screen in either the opposite direction of the enemy's attack or the same direction as the enemy's attack. For instance, if the enemy strikes to the left, a parry can be performed by striking to the right *or* the left.

Unlike blocks and (in *Infinity Blade II*) dodges, the amount of parries Siris can perform is never exhausted. However, in some situations, parrying may still not be the best countering solution. Shield bashes and attacks such as kicks and headbutts cannot be parried. All attacks by Monstrosities, except for bites, cannot be parried at all.

On occasion, parrying an attack results in a tap sequence.

### Other techniques

**Super** and **magic attacks**, covered in more depth below, stop an enemy's attack immediately.

## Inflicting damage

A **strike** is performed when the player swipes the screen during ordinary battle. This swings Siris's weapon in the direction of the swipe. While the enemy is attacking, this results in either a parry, a scratch, or a block (performed by the enemy). When the enemy is dazed, striking results in damage to the opponent based on the player's Attack level and elemental affinity, as well as other factors. At this stage, combos can be employed.

A **scratch** is a weak attack that is performed while the enemy is not dazed, but is open to attack. It deals only one fifth (1/5 or 20%) of the damage a normal strike deals. Also, scratches never deal elemental damage. Scratches can be used to finish off opponents with very little remaining health.

### Breaks

**Warning**: This section contains unverified information.
After blocking, parrying, or dodging an enemy's attacks consecutively, the player "breaks" the titan, offering a moment to attack. The break size is dependent upon several factors, including how many hits you had taken before the titan was broken. Completely avoiding all damage offers a larger period of time to attack. The number of exclamation marks shown when the break begins indicates how long it will last.

* **!** = 1 Hit
* **!!** = 3 Hits
* **!!!** = 5 Hits (6 hits for dodge breaks, but sometimes also applies to block breaks as well)
* **!!!!** = 7 Hits (sometimes 8 or 9, depending on whether you blocked or dodged to break the titan)

Other factors can also affect the regular attack window size. There are hexagon gems called Titan Break gems that can be used to obtain a larger attack window when fighting a titan. Values of +1 or +2 allow for one or two more hits, respectively. Also, Monstrosities generally break for two more hits than usual. This applies only to breaks with two or less exclamation marks.

### Combo attacks

**Combo attacks** are series of strikes that are chained together, resulting in greatly increased power. The three basic ones are as follows:

Huge Hit
Swipe in one direction, then swipe the opposite direction, and then the opposite of that.
For example: **left**, **right**, **left**.
The final strike deals **200%** damage.
Mega Hit
Swipe twice in one direction, then twice in the opposite direction.
For example: **left**, **left**, **right**, **right**.
The final strike deals **250%** damage.
Ultra Hit
Swipe once in any direction, then in the opposite, then once in a way you haven't already, then the opposite, then in any direction.
For example: **left**, **right**, **up**, **down**, **left**.
The final strike of this technique deals **300%** damage.
### Super attacks

A **super attack** is an ability used to stop an enemy's attack (if it's attacking) and then stun opponents immediately. It can only be used when fully charged; charging it involves either damaging a titan or being damaged by it. Super attacks in *Infinity Blade II* also allow stab attacks (light weapons), slashes (heavy weapons), or tap stabs (dual weapons).

### Magic

**Magic** attacks, granted by rings, charge over time. They can be activated by tapping the Magic icon at the top right of the screen. They also stop enemies' attacks, but only if the spell's symbol can be correctly drawn. Magic attacks vary greatly depending on the spell used.

There are both offensive and defensive spells. Offensive spells deal elemental damage to the enemy; defensive spells perform helpful effects on the player. The **Holy** spell is a hybrid; it steals health from the enemy and then heals the caster immediately.

The strength of spells depends upon the caster's innate Magic stat as well as the Magic stat points gained from equipment. These also affect spell Magic regeneration speed. The enemy's elemental resistance is important as well; if an enemy is resistant to a certain element, it will not receive much damage from a spell aligned to that element. On the other hand, if it is resistant to the opposite of a certain element, it receives increased damage from that element.

#### Spells

Offensive

* Ice
* Poison
* Shock
* Water
* Dark
* Light
* Crystal
* Holy

Defensive

* Holy

### Other techniques

Stab
In the middle of a titan's fury chain, a blue circle sometimes appears somewhere on the opponent. Tapping this circle before your opponent recovers or finishes the fury chain allows you to stab him for double damage in *Infinity Blade I* (normal damage in *Infinity Blade II*). This also stops its fury chain and gives you a brief time frame to attack.

Finishing combo
When an enemy is defeated, a brief window begins in which the enemy can be rapidly struck. Each strike yields bonus experience points. Normal ombos can also be used in finishing combos. In later bloodlines/rebirths, the bonus experience gained increases.