The Power Stance - All You Need to Know (Research Complete!)
by BLA1NE » 14 Apr 2014 09:01
You've been waiting for it (I hope!), here it is: All You Need to Know about the Power Stance. Specifically: weapons compatibilities and movesets (I'll skip over the basics, like how you need to hold the triangle button to enter the power stance or that you need 1.5x the base wielding stats to be able to Power Stance a weapon, etc. Also: you only need to meet the Str and Dex requirements to Power Stance, not Int or Fth when applicable).
- First off, generally speaking, when you Power Stance two weapons, the weapon in the right hand will determine the Power Stance moveset. However, there is a certain weapon class hierarchy at play. As such, some weapons classes, even when they are in the left hand, will override the right hand weapon's moveset and will instead determine the Power Stance moveset.
- As far as Power Stance movesets go, there are essentially two types of compatibility, classified according to the resulting moveset: weapon and class specific moveset or bash movesets. The main distinction between the two is that weapon and class specific movesets will change depending on which hand two different weapons are wielded in, whereas bash movesets will result in the same moveset regardless of which hand either weapon is in. I say weapon and class because most weapons of a class will have the same Power Stance moveset, but there are exceptions within each weapons class that have a unique Power Stance moveset. Also, bash movesets, plural, because there is more than 1 type of this moveset. Further detail:
- All Bash movesets don't have the same swing angles, neither do they all have the same swing speed. They all have the same attack patterns, though, which are simultaneous swings of both weapons and single-strike attacks (1 button input = 1 attack, as opposed to combo moves that hit more than once per button input). They do, however, take the same amount of stamina to execute (with 40 Endurance, you can execute 2 L1 attacks and finish with an L2), no matter the size of the weapons you are using. There are a few different types of Bash attacks, and the main difference between them is their swing angle and attack speed.
- Similar to Bash movesets, certain weapons classes share the same Power Stance movesets. I will not group them according to the same class, however, because doing to might end up being misleading when considering using a weapon with a unique moveset. For example, the spears and lances have the same moveset, but saying that using a straight sword with a lance would end up with the spear moveset could be confusing if you're using a lance with a unique moveset. Instead, saying that using a straight sword with a lance results in the lance moveset implies that, if the lance has a unique moveset, that is the moveset the combination will result in.
I won't go into descriptions of movesets, I'll just list what resulting moveset, according to weapon class, you'll get from using the Power Stance. I will however make a distinction between the Bash moveset speeds (all speeds--slow (S), medium (M), and fast (F)--are estimates, due to my testing limitations--namely: observation only!). The weapon class being tested (in capitals, underlined) is the one in the right hand, the one in the left hand is the one listed below it, and the resulting moveset is in italics. Example:
WEAPON CLASS IN RIGHT HANDWeapon class in left hand: Resulting Moveset
POWER STANCE MOVESETSDAGGERS
Dagger: Dagger
Straight Sword: Straight Sword
Curved Sword: Curved Sword
Katana: Katana
Thrusting Sword: Thrusting Sword
Spear: Spear
Lance: Lance
Dagger: Thrusting Sword
Straight Sword: Straight Sword
Curved Sword: Curved Sword
Katana: Katana
Thrusting Sword: Thrusting Sword
Spear: Spear
Lance: Lance
Twinblade: BASH (M)
Dagger: Spear
Straight Sword: Spear
Curved Sword: Spear
Katana: Spear
Thrusting Sword: Spear
Spear: Spear
Lance: Spear
Dagger: Lance
Straight Sword: Lance
Curved Sword: Lance
Katana: Lance
Thrusting Sword: Lance
Spear: Lance
Lance: Lance
Dagger: Straight Sword
Straight Sword: Straight Sword
Greatsword: BASH (M)
Curved Sword: Straight Sword
Katana: Straight Sword
Thrusting Sword: Straight Sword
Axe: Axe
Hammer: Hammer
Spear: Spear
Lance: Lance
Dagger: Curved Sword
Straight Sword: Curved Sword
Greatsword: BASH (M)
Curved Sword: Curved Sword
Katana: Curved Sword
Thrusting Sword: Curved Sword
Axe: Axe
Hammer: Hammer
Spear: Spear
Lance: Lance
Dagger: Katana
Straight Sword: Katana
Greatsword: BASH (M)
Curved Sword: Katana
Katana: Katana
Thrusting Sword: Katana
Axe: Axe
Hammer: Hammer
Spear: Spear
Lance: Lance
Straight Sword: BASH (M)
Greatsword: BASH (M)
Ultra Greatsword: BASH (M)
Curved Sword: BASH (M)
Curved Greatsword: BASH (S)
Katana: BASH (M)
Great Axe: BASH (F)
Great Hammer: BASH (M)
Greatsword: BASH (M)
Ultra Greatsword: BASH (M)
Curved Greatsword: BASH (M)
Great Axe: BASH (F)
Great Hammer: BASH (M)
Greatsword: BASH (S)
Ultra Greatsword: BASH (S)
Curved Greatsword: BASH (S)
Great Axe: BASH (F)
Great Hammer: BASH (S)
Straight Sword: Axe
Curved Sword: Axe
Katana: Axe
Axe: Axe
Great Axe: BASH (F)
Hammer: Axe
Great Hammer: BASH (M)
Straight Sword: Hammer
Curved Sword: Hammer
Katana: Hammer
Axe: Hammer
Great Axe: BASH (F)
Hammer: Hammer
Great Hammer: BASH (M)
Greatsword: BASH (F)
Ultra Greatsword: BASH (F)
Curved Greatsword: BASH (F)
Axe: BASH (F)
Greataxe: BASH (F)
Hammer:BASH (F)
Greathammer: BASH (F)
Greatsword: BASH (F)
Ultra Greatsword: BASH (F)
Curved Greatsword: BASH (S)
Axe: BASH (F)
Greataxe: BASH (F)
Hammer:BASH (F)
Greathammer: BASH (F)
Halberd: BASH (M)
Reaper: BASH (M)
Twinblade: BASH (M)
Halberd: BASH (M)
Reaper: BASH (M)
Halberd: BASH (M)
Twinblade: BASH (M)
Whip: Whip
CLAWS & FISTS*
Claw/ Fist: Claw/ Fist
*(Bare fists count as a fist weapon when you are wielding another claw/ fist weapon in either hand, can Power Stance. The Work Hook, despite being a claw weapon, can not Power Stance.)
*
Crossbow: Crossbow
*(The Avelyn can only Power Stance with another Avelyn. The Shield Crossbow can not Power Stance.)
*
*(Only Reeve's, in the right hand, and Orma's, in the left hand, Greatshields can Power Stance.)
INTERESTING NOTES and WEAPON COMBOS
- The weapons Hierarchy, then, seems to be:
Spears/ Lances
Axes/ Hammers
Straight Swords/ Curved Swords/ Katanas
Thrusting Swords
Daggers
That is, if the two weapons classes are compatible: if they are equal in the hierarchy, the right hand weapon determines the Power Stance moveset. If one is above the other in the hierarchy, it will determine the moveset regardless of which hand it is in. (Hierarchy only applies to non-Bash compatibility, since Bash-compatibility results in the same moveset regardless of which hand either weapon is in.)
- Warped Sword (right hand) & Washing Pole (left hand): the Warped Sword has a unique Power Stance moveset. Its downside, though, is that it has a tendency to miss some of the hits in its multi-hit attacks. Combining it with the Washing Pole, obviously for the extra range, diminishes that drawback.
- Dagger (right hand) & Warped Sword (left hand): due to the fact that daggers yield the Power Stance moveset to Curved Swords (among other weapons) even when they're in the left hand, this combo still results in the Warped Sword Power Stance Moveset. But quickly switching Power Stance off will allow you to parry using the curved sword (one of the most effective ways to parry) and riposte with the dagger without having to swap weapons. Possibly even more useful when using a buff on your dagger.
- Blue Flame/ Mace of Insolent (right hand) & *anything compatible* (left hand): allows you to take advantage of the Power Stance moveset and simultaneously be able to cast magic or miracles with your right hand.
- Curved Dragon Greatsword (right hand) & *anything compatible* (left hand): similarly to the above example, allows you to use the Power Stance moveset and the weapon's special R2 simultaneously. In fact this applies to any weapon with a special right-hand 1-handed R2.
- Bandit Greataxe: this weapon is a bit of an oddity. When I speak of exceptions, this is one among them! As a Greataxe, it shares the same Power Stance class compatibilities as other Greataxes, but it behaves wildly differently regarding the resulting moveset. This weapon, no matter which hand it is wielded in, and no matter what is in the other hand, will result in the Straight Sword Power Stance moveset. Potentially broken? I don't know, you tell me! The Bandit Greataxe with a Greatclub, both swinging like a pair of Straight Swords? Maybe broken... Strangely, the only exception to this is when you wield the Bandit Greataxe with another Greataxe, in which case the resulting Power Stance moveset is the regular Greataxe moveset.
I hope you found this educational or interesting! I sure did while testing it. You can use this information to decide what weapons classes you'd like to combine, but most importantly don't be afraid to experiment. As the Warped Sword and the Bandit Greataxe prove, you'll never know what you might stumble on! And if you do find more exceptions, please share them here. I'll edit them into this post.
(Google Spreadsheet done. Will add this info to the wiki eventually.)
(04/14 Edit: Fixed mistake: wrote Gyrm Greataxe when it should have been Bandit Greataxe.)
