The Best Sword Skill For Every Kind Of Weapon In Echoes Of Aincrad

It's already enough work to figure out which weapon type works best for you in Echoes of Aincrad, a Sword Art Online title putting you and the cast into Aincrad once more, but extra layers come into play when you try to factor in which weapons give you access to which of the game's Sword Skills.

Every weapon has ten unique Sword Skills in Echoes of Aincrad, and knowing what's ahead might just help you choose which weapon type you'd like to use the most. Here's a look at the best Sword Skill for every weapon in Echoes of Aicrad.

Swords

The Sword is the very first weapon to which you'll be introduced in Echoes of Aincrad during the game's tutorial, and though you'll have plenty of other options later on, we definitely won't judge if you stick with the Sword and Shield.

Breakrift unlocks at Sword Proficiency Lv. Six, and you'll probably find yourself using it quite often, especially as you find better weapons and synergize them into something truly noteworthy back at the Smithy. The damage Breakrift does to an enemy on impact is based on your character's current Attack stat, so the higher you can boost your overall hitting power between spending your GP carefully on attributes and boosting your weapon levels with Upgrades, the better.

It's best used when you not only need to hit hard, but also when you need breathing room in a fight, since the blow knocks the enemy back quite a way. This is a great choice if you're playing on Death Game Mode, since it keeps foes at a distance and may allow you to use some all-too critical healing at just the right moment.

Rapiers

Rapiers are some of the quicker and more nimble weapons in Echoes of Aincrad, and with so much focus on Agility and Dexterity to use them, it's no surprise to see that by Rapier Proficiency Lv. Four, you've become so light on your feet.

Oblique Strike sees your character leap into the air and slam back down with their Rapier of choice, which does a lot of things for you in battle! Not only does it generate an impressive amount of damage to any enemy it hits directly, but Oblique Strike is a powerful AoE attack that covers a large space around your character's position, sending out shockwaves when they land.

These shockwaves deal a staggering 250 percent of your current Attack stat, between your ACV impacting your handiness with Rapiers and any Ex-Mods you might have on your weapon of choice. It's also a good way to close distance between you and your enemies, getting you back into the fight quicker than normal if you need to break away for a moment to heal up.

Daggers

Though you'll never do as much outright damage with a single blow if you're using a Dagger in Echoes of Aincrad as you will using other, more powerful weapon types, the advantage of a Dagger is its speed, so you'll find plenty of the Dagger's Sword Skills to be based on your nimbleness.

Rapid Bite unlocks at Dagger Proficiency Lv. Three, so not only is it one of the better beginner's Sword Skills for any weapon, it's also one you'll likely find yourself going back to throughout the game, even as you unlock more abilities as you get better with your weapon. The advantage of Rapid Bite is that you can use it to fool enemies easily, gaining the upper hand in combat.

The Sword Skill swings your character behind the monster they're currently targeting and gives you a quick opening to land a devastating backstab, with a damage output based on your weapon's current Attack stat. Not only can it swiftly get you out of the way of an incoming attack, but it gives you a quick way to fake out your foe so you can land the final blow to end the fight with ease.

Maces

The Mace can be a bit of a tricky weapon to master, since it's a bit slower than your typical one-handed weapons but lands for quite a lot more power per blow. If you're looking to maximize the number of ways you can use your Mace outside of equipping it with a Shield for excellent parrying power, then Bull Rush might be the way to go.

It's another good beginner's Sword Skill, arriving when you hit Mace Proficiency Lv. Three to give you an early boost to your power output. You'll charge at an enemy from across the battlefield, making it a good way to gain the upper hand at the start of a battle as you ram into them with your weapon.

After this, you'll swing your Mace twice to land some devastating Severing Attacks, which can easily end the battle if your first rush move did enough damage and your foe is low on HP. Get ready for plenty of slow-motion kill cams with this one!

Two-Handed Swords

If you can handle the slight slow-down when it comes to using claymores and other Two-Handed Swords in Echoes of Aincrad, you'll get quite a powerful bang for your buck! Keep your Agility stat high and you'll master claymores in no time in this game, and with plenty of good Sword Skills for them, it can be a little tough to narrow down your list of them for each fight.

We wound up using Cascade a lot after it unlocked at Two-Handed Sword Proficiency Lv. Three, since it's a great way to cover a lot of ground in a single attack. Though it's got a bit of a longer cooldown time than other Sword Skills in Echoes of Aincrad, you do some truly powerful damage with it, especially if you take the time to charge the attack to make it more powerful.

It's a great way to use a ranged attack with a weapon type not notoriously renowned for its ranged attack capabilities, since the blast from the weapon will travel quite a way to hit an enemy. It keeps you relatively safely out of harm's way, and it can easily end the fight if used at the right time against a single-target enemy like a boss.

Two-Handed Axes

Last but not least is the Two-Handed Axe weapons in Echoes of Aincrad, some of the most powerful weapons in the game when it comes to brute force alone. These are meant to be used as AoE weapons, so you'll find it no surprise that the best Sword Skill for a Two-Handed Axe is one that makes ample use of its attack range.

Volcano Slam unlocks at Two-Handed Axe Proficiency Lv. Three, making it another excellent early-game choice for those who choose to focus on this weapon type, and it sees your character rake their axe powerfully through the earth so they can toss enemies into the air on the final upswing.

Not only is 270 percent of your Attack one of the higher percentages used to calculate attack damage, but with Two-Handed Axes requiring so much Strength, you'll likely have your ACV pretty high for it, giving you that much more impressive a damage total. This move is a great way to both damage and disrupt enemies at the same time, since they'll take damage when tossed, which also cancels any attacks they may have been charging up.