Dual Blades

Dual Blades (二刀流) is a Unique Skill in Sword Art Online which allows the use of unique Sword Skills that are executed with two blades simultaneously. Kirito wields Dark Repulser and Elucidator for this Weapon Skill.

According to Heathcliff, who is in fact Kayaba Akihiko, this skill is awarded to the player with the fastest reaction time and the chosen player is supposed to be the one who will stand against the final boss (Heathcliff) on the 100th Floor in the Ruby Palace, regardless of the outcome of the said battle. It was awarded to Kirito for being judged to have had the fastest reaction speed in the game.

Techniques
Kirito estimates that there are slightly more than 20 techniques to the Dual Blades skill.

Known techniques:
 * Double Circular: 2-hit combo
 * Starburst Stream: 16-hit combo
 * The Eclipse: 27-hit combo
 * Cross Block: Defensive skill

Skill Description


A skill that allows one to attack using two swords simultaneously.
 * Attack Speed Bonus: 1.80x
 * Weapon Defense Bonus: 1.50x
 * Cooldown Time Bonus: 1.20x

Usage

 * Volume 2, Warmth of the Heart, Part 3:
 * Kirito used one of the Dual Blades Sword Skills to demonstrate his secret skill to Lisbeth after she asked why he needed another sword. Kirito requested for Lisbeth to not tell anyone about the skill.


 * Volume 1, Chapter 11/Episode 9:
 * Kirito used Dual Blades for the first time in public in his fight against The Gleam Eyes while trying to save several members of the Aincrad Liberation Force from the boss.


 * Volume 1, Chapter 13/Episode 10:
 * Kirito used the skill his skill during a duel against Heathcliff, though Kirito lost the duel due to Heathcliff using the system assistance past its normal limits to help him win the duel.


 * Volume 2, Morning Dew Girl, Part 3/Episode 12:
 * Kirito used his Dual Blades while battling against Scavenger Toads in the Hidden Dungeon
 * Kirito attempted to use Dual Blades against The Fatal Scythe at the end of the dungeon, but was easily knocked out.


 * Volume 1, Chapter 21/Episode 13
 * Kirito used the skill in a raid against the 75th Floor boss, The Skull Reaper.


 * Volume 1, Chapter 22/Episode 14:
 * Kirito tried dual wielding against Heathcliff, who was revealed to by Kayaba Akihiko, without using any Sword Skills, since Akihiko was the maker of the skill. However, Kirito accidentally unleashed the 27-hit Dual Blades Sword Skill «The Eclipse», which allowed Heathcliff to easily block every single hit and make use of the opening created by the post-motion delay.

Trivia

 * Kirito had discovered Dual Blades a year before the battle with The Gleam Eyes, however, because Kirito did not know the conditions of unlocking the skill, he chose to keep his skill a secret to avoid unnecessary attention and problems, training the skill only when nobody was around to see it and, even after nearly completing it, he did not use the skill against monsters unless in very dire situations.
 * Dual Blades does not exist in ALfheim Online. Even if a player imports the skill from Sword Art Online, they will find that the skill cannot be identified by the system.
 * Players may dual wield two swords even without having the Dual Blades skill.
 * In Sword Art Online, attacking without using Sword Skills is inefficient, as a regular attack with a sword is much weaker than an attack using a Sword Skill.
 * In ALfheim Online, as there is no system assist for dual wielding, players need a lot of practice and experience for such a style to be efficient.
 * In New ALfheim Online, with the introduction of Sword Skills, it is possible to chain in multiple one-handed sword Sword Skills by performing an activation motion with one sword during the post-motion delay phase of the other sword, thus cancelling out the delay. This strategy can only be used for skills where the last hit of a skill leaves the player in a position similar to that of another skill's activation motion. This strategy is known as the Outside System Skill «Skill Connect».
 * Although the Dual Blades Sword Skills are not available in ALO, with the introduction of Original Sword Skills, Kirito has been trying to reproduce his old Dual Blade skills as Original Sword Skills. So far, he has reproduced 3 of his Sword Skills, but he is having a hard time reproducing Starburst Stream.
 * Kirito said that if Konno Yuuki had played Sword Art Online, she would have received the Dual Blades skill instead of him, due to her reaction time being much faster than his.
 * In the PSP and PS Vita game adaptations of Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment and Hollow Fragment, the Dual Blades skill has several Sword Skills that were never used/seen in the light novels, anime, or manga. Though The Eclipse and Starburst Stream were included in its skill tree, their slashing motions were completely different.
 * In Episode 4, a member of the Titan's Hand guild that attacked Kirito was armed with two axes and was still able to use Sword Skills, even though it is impossible to use Sword Skills armed with two weapons without the Dual Blades skill and Kirito was the only player to have this skill.
 * In Project Alicization, Kirito is able to use dual blades for a brief amount of time in the final battle against Quinella, relying on pure skill, due to the absence of system assist for sword skills in the Underworld.

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