Dual Swords

Dual Swords (DS) are high-speed weapons designed for relentless offense, trading the (SnS) ability to block and use items for some of the highest DPS in the game. While their motion values are relatively low, they excel when paired with appropriate elemental or status-inflicting weapons.

Dual Swords offers multiple Demon Modes, with the optimal playstyle revolving around using True Demon Mode, which drains health but enhances attacks, combined with the sharpening buff detailed below.

Pressing the Kick button while using

Dual Swords allows you to quickly sharpen your weapon, granting a 5% attack boost. Each successive sharpen, up to four times, increases this bonus to a total of 20%. Mastering this mechanic is key to maximizing performance, as it requires constant use during combos and strategic evades.

The sharpen buff expires as soon as a combo ends. However, as long as you keep attacking, evading, or sharpening, the combo continues, allowing you to maintain the 1.20x buff indefinitely without

Combat Supremacy active, provided you don’t make a mistake.

Demon Modes

In Frontier,

Dual Swords has two Demon Modes: Demon Mode and True Demon Mode. Demon Mode continuously drains Stamina, while True Demon Mode drains Health. Both modes significantly increase motion values, but True Demon Mode also introduces a fast evade that can be used to extend combos and maintain the sharpening buff.

True Demon Mode won’t directly kill you; when your health reaches 1, it depletes any remaining Red Health and further boosts your attack power.

In terms of performance, both modes increase motion values by approximately 1.25x, with True Demon Mode attacks being about 1.1x faster than those in Demon Mode. However, True Demon Mode also increases Red Health loss by about 1.375x, making it a challenging but rewarding mode for skilled players.

For an explanation on element damage, see our Elements page

. For more information on motion values, see the Damage Calculator

Earth Style

Earth Style is the base style for

Dual Swords and includes all the core features, including True Demon Mode. The main difference between this style and the Heaven and Storm Styles is the Demon Dance move, a long combo that locks you in place.

Heaven Style

Heaven Style is similar to Earth Style but replaces Demon Dance with Flurry Swipes, a quick set of three pokes that can be followed by a Flurry Rotation for three additional hits. In True Demon Mode, these attacks have a total motion value of 144, slightly higher than Demon Dance in physical damage but with two fewer elemental hits. Both the Demon Dance and Flurry combos deal only 70% elemental damage.

Storm Style

Storm Style is nearly identical to Heaven Style, with the main difference being the replacement of the Rush Slash (unsheath action) with a forward flip. This move is useful for hitting tails but can be tricky to execute.

Extreme Style

Extreme Style builds on Heaven Style, introducing new moves and the powerful Extreme Demon Mode.

This style allows you to run with your

Dual Swords unsheathed and adds the Sky Slash, an acrobatic combo that hits five times for a total motion value of 30, ending with a two-hit finisher dealing 20 motion each.

Extreme Demon Mode is an enhanced version of True Demon Mode. It consumes Green Health first, followed by Red Health, and shares the same increased attack speed and motion values. However, it introduces a new evade that deals 32 motion across two hits when evading forward or backward, and four hits when evading left or right, effectively doubling the elemental damage when moving sideways. Additionally, Extreme Demon Mode includes a unique Rising Slash, a more practical version of the forward flip found in Storm Style.


DS Tech Master	Twin Hiden, 30	Sharpness level +1 is added to DS Tech 【Dual Dragon】.
DS Tech 【Dual Dragon】	30	Gives Super High-Grade Earplugs, Attack x1.2 when wielding Dual Swords, Fencing+1 and Always recover 3 units of stamina per hit while attacking in either Demon Mode. Faster activation of Demon Modes.
DS Tech Kaiden	20	Increases attack by 1.1 and grants Fencing+1 when wielding Dual Swords.
DS Tech Expert	10	Fencing+1 when wielding Dual Swords.
DS Tech Novice	-10	Attack x0.8 when wielding Dual Swords.

Skill Interactions


	Adjusts the element hitzones by +10. Determination applies the effects of Dissolver without the need for hitzone requirements, effectively forcing element damage or reducing/negating negative hitzones.
	+3 True Raw per hit. Up to 80 True Raw can be gained through leeching.
	15 seconds uptime. The duration can be refreshed by successfully using i-frames again.
	+12 sharpness recovery. When using Stylish Up, get 5 free hits before sharpness is reduced.
	-2 sharpness per hit. Lavish Attack reduces the free hits granted by Stylish Up to 2.
	1/32/75 hits to reach stage 1/2/3 respectively. All weapons share the same stage decay timer; Ice Age Up only affects the third stage’s decay rate.
	17/850/? total Motion Value to reach stage 1/2/3 respectively. The third stage, exclusive to Rush Up, has a limited duration.
	11 seconds decay window. 16/38/45 hits required to reach stage 1/2/3 respectively (12/29/45 with Ceaseless Up). The third stage is also exclusive to Ceaseless Up, which decays by stages rather than all at once.
	30 seconds duration. 20/12 hits to reach stages 1/2 respectively (17/10 with Fencing+2). The previously hit hitzone is more vulnerable at Stage 2, and Fencing +2 slightly eases activation.
	2/3/7 evasions to reach stage 1/2/3 respectively. These effects apply to both successful evasions and perfect guards (where applicable), but attacking is necessary to advance stages.

Sigils Usability Ratings


		Boosts the Motion Value of the Frontflip Slash Attack (11･15 > 16･22). Storm Style Only.	Tech Boost
		Boosts the Motion Value of the Dash Attack (11･5 > 16･7 and 14･6 > 21･9 in Demon Mode). Earth and Heaven Style Only	Tech Boost
		Causes the first sharpen in a combo to count as two sharpens for multiplier building (Max 4 sharpens for a 1.20x attack multiplier).	Tech Boost
		Increases the length of your weapon and decreases your True Raw by 25. Does not affect the True Raw decrease if multiple of this sigil are used.	Other

Tips and Tricks

Like
Weapon
Sword and Shield , long length is generally an upgrade and is often found on modern weapons.
There’s no reason to use any demonization mode other than Extreme Demon Mode nowadays. However, in this state, you cannot receive any healing except from
Armor Skill
Vampirism . This means that users cannot heal you either while its active.
Each sharpen in a combo increases raw damage by 1.05x, stacking up to four times for a maximum of 1.20x. The attack evades in True/Extreme Demon modes maintain this combo state. The overlay has a counter for this.
When demonized, healing is entirely blocked, with
Armor Skill
Vampirism leeching being the only exception. This is especially noticeable on .

Weapons: Sword and Shield

Weapons: Great Sword