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Warning Spoiler Alert: This article or section contains details about plotlines not covered in the anime. Do not proceed unless you wish to be spoiled.

«Vorpal Strike» (ヴォーパル・ストライク, Vōparu Sutoraiku?) is a heavy, high-level 1-hit, One-Handed Sword category Sword Skill in Sword Art Online, New ALfheim Online and Project Alicization. In Sword Art Online, the skill is unlocked when a player's «One-Handed Sword» skill proficiency level reaches 950.[1]

Description[]

«Vorpal Strike» consists of a single ultra high-speed[2] and powerful thrust[3], which induces a long delay after a player uses the skill.[1] However, the reach of this Sword Skill is double that of the actual blade, possibly damaging more than one target if they are close together.[1] Additionally, its power is comparable to that of a two-handed heavy pole-arm, which is more than enough to compensate for the long delay.[1]

The skill is mostly effective against monsters, as players can easily read the timing of the skill and dodge it, while monsters are unable to counter it with their simple Artificial Intelligence.[1] When used, the skill lets out a sound similar to that of a jet engine.[4]

The skill is activated by folding an arm with the sword towards the shoulder and slightly twisting the body[2] to the right.[5] In New ALfheim Online, the skill has a damage property of thirty percent physical, thirty percent fire and forty percent darkness.[2]

Usage[]

Instance Description
Light Novel Anime Manga
Volume 1, Chapter 13 Episode 10 Aincrad Manga Stage.006 Kirito used this Sword Skill against Heathcliff in their duel after the paladin finished a 8-hit combo Sword Skill. Heathcliff successfully blocked the skill with his unbreakable shield, but his hit points did drop by a bit due to the impact.
Volume 2, Red-nosed Reindeer, Part 1 N/A N/A Kirito used the skill, along with several others, multiple times while fighting against multiple giant ants at the Ant Hill.
Volume 5, Chapter 6 SII Episode 05 Kirito used «Vorpal Strike» without the system assistance to finish off Uemaru.
Volume 6, Chapter 14 SII Episode 12 Kirito attempted to use this skill against Sterben after the latter's sniper rifle was destroyed. However, Sterben skillfully calculated the timing and successfully dodged the blow, then counterattacked by stabbing Kirito's left shoulder.
Volume 8, Calibur, Part 3 SII Episode 16 Calibur Manga Chapter 2 «Vorpal Strike» was the fourth skill that Kirito chained against the Golden Minotaurus.
Volume 14, Chapter 13, Part 1-2 Alicization Episode 22 Kirito used «Vorpal Strike» against Chief Elder Chudelkin, boosting the range of the skill with the power of Incarnation.
Volume 14, Chapter 13, Part 5 Alicization Episode 24 Kirito attempted to use the skill against Quinella, but was blown away by her «Zekkuu».
Volume 14, Chapter 13, Part 5 Alicization Episode 24 Both Kirito and Quinella used this skill against each other, slicing one another's arm off. Kirito also used it again with his second sword and pierced Quinella's chest.
Volume 17, Chapter 21, Part 4 Alicization Episode 41 Leafa used an Incarnation-boosted «Vorpal Strike» on the army of American players, defeating a large number of them at once.
Volume 18, Chapter 21, Part 8 Alicization Episode 43 Kirito used an Incarnation-boosted «Vorpal Strike» during his duel with PoH to block his Mate Chopper, shattering it and blowing off PoH's right hand.
Volume 19, Chapter 9 Kirito used an Incarnation-boosted «Vorpal Strike» on the chains sealing the massive obsidian doors of throne room inside the «Obsidia Palace».

Trivia[]

  • The adjective "vorpal" is a word coined by Lewis Caroll in the poem "Jabberwocky", which the author later references in the Alicization Arc.
  • «Vorpal Strike» is Kirito's most commonly used Sword Skill in Sword Art Online, which led to him considering the skill as a mark of his Black Swordsman persona. Due to Kirito's aversion of this persona, he has refrained from using the skill in Underworld until the battle at the top of the Central Cathedral.[6]
  • The anime portrays the light effect of «Vorpal Strike» to be yellow, while in the novel it is stated to be crimson in all instances.
  • «Vorpal Strike» is one of the three Sword Skills in the Sword Art Online series which share their names with Incarnate attacks in the Accel World series, written by the same author. The other two skills being Starburst Stream and The Eclipse.
  • A modified version of Vorpal Strike was included in «Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax» as a special move used by Kirito in the form of an Impact Skill[† 1]. The skill is also used as a midair-only special move by Konno Yuuki in «Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax Ignition», an updated version of the game.[7]

Notes[]

  1. Impact Skills are special moves with a simplified command that grant super armor on startup.

References[]

Navigation[]

Skills and Magic
Default Sword Skills
mostly common in SAO, New ALO, UW
Avalanche - Cyclone - Deadly Sins - Embracer - Explode Arrow[1] - Fell Crescent - Flashing Penetrator - Horizontal - Horizontal Arc - Horizontal Square - Howling Octave[2] - Lightning Fall - Linear - Meteor Break - Meteor Fall - Rage Spike - Reaver - Savage Fulcrum - Senda - Sharp Nail - Single Shot - Slant - Snake Bite - Sonic Leap - Spinning Shield - Star Splash[2] - Starburst Stream[3] - Treble Scythe - Tsumujiguruma - Tsujikaze - Ukifune - Vertical - Vertical Arc - Vertical Square - Vorpal Strike - Whirlwind
SAO Dual Blades - Extra Skills - Fishing - Hiding - Holy Sword - Searching - Sewing - Tracking - Unique Skills
ALO Original Sword Skill(Mother's Rosario (OSS))
Magic Butterfly Shield - Cold resistance spell - Concealment - Earth Wall - Fireball - Fire Spear - Healing Magic - Hit Point Buff Magic - Hollow Body - Ice Arrows - Metamorphosis - Moonlight Mirror - Night Vision - Purified Surface - Retrieve Arrow - Sacrifice - Searcher - Smokescreen - Strength Buff Magic - Vacuum Blades - Water Breathing - Wind Needles
Project Alicization Sacred Arts - Incarnation - Synthesis Ritual
  1. Only in ALO.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Only in SAO and ALO
  3. Only in SAO
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