Dual Blades

DUAL BLADES
DUAL BLADES
Weapon Quote	“Melee weapon balancing offense and defense. Delivers rapid strikes and can enter a defensive stance to deflect incoming bullets back at attackers.”
Profile
Build	M Medium
Icon
Type	Melee
Unlock	500
Damage
Primary attack	Precise - 60×2; Glancing blow - 39×2
Alt-attack	Precise - 155; Glancing blow - 100; Deflect
Lunge Distance	5m
Precision zone	14°
Environmental	?

The Dual Blades are a Medium class melee weapon designed to either deal contact damage or to use its unique ability to ricochet incoming fire in its defensive stance, which also reduces damage taken.

Usage

The Dual Blades can be selected as the weapon of any Medium loadout.

The Primary Attack button can be used to slash opponents in front of the user and damage them. The attack button must be released before attacking again. The attacks will alternate between two quick slashes, from left to right.

The Secondary Attack button can be held down to enter a defensive stance, which can be held for any duration but stops the user from sprinting. During this stance, any incoming bullets or other small projectiles will be deflected and have their damage blocked if the user has the attacking contestant within the precision zone at any range. Incoming melee damage is also reduced if the user is facing the general direction of the attacking contestant.

To control the direction of the deflected projectiles while in defensive stance, the user must aim their crosshair directly at an opponent. The accuracy of these deflected projectiles depends on the accuracy with which they were fired at the user. For example, a deflected bullet from the SR-84 will be very accurate, but a deflected pellet from the SH1900 will not be.

If the dual blades user presses their primary attack button during the defensive stance, they will perform a Special Attack, dashing forward and attacking with a high-damage cross slash. This special attack costs stamina and performs a full-range lunge if the user's stamina bar is full, or performs a much shorter lunge at no cost if the user's stamina bar is not full. Hitting an enemy with the special attack will always refill the stamina bar, even if it is not a precise hit.

Controls	PC	PS	XBox	Key
Equip Dual Blades	1	△	Y	Weapon
Attack (Tap)		R2	RT	Primary fire
Defensive stance (Hold)		L2	LT	Secondary fire

Stats

The primary attack slashes twice, with each dealing 60 damage on precise hit or 39 damage on glancing blow.
The special attack deals 155 damage on precise hit and 100 damage on glancing blow. Both the full-lunge version and the short-lunge version deal the same damage.
Deflected projectiles deal the same damage as the original attack, including range modifiers and headshots. Deflecting bullets deals 100% damage to the enemy and reduces incoming damage to 0.
Blocking a melee attack reduces its damage to 25% of the original hit.

Properties

Weapon

Melee — Strikes targets close to the contestant. Can attack forever without reloading.

Single Fire — Attacks once when the trigger is used. The trigger must be released before attacking again, though the next attack can be buffered.

Attack Sequence — Has a consistent pattern of attacks.

Alternate Attack — Has an alternate attack that can be held to maintain a defensive stance.

Blocking — Absorbs part of the damage from enemy attacks and deflects ranged attacks, but does not block explosive damage.

Minor Structure Damage — Damages structures. Takes a very long time to break a concrete wall.

No Critical Hit — Melee hits do not critically hit for increased damage, even if the target was struck on the head.

Critical Hit — Deflected ranged attacks critically hit on headshots and apply a damage multiplier, as long as the shot being deflected can also critically hit.

Unique Mechanics

Block

While blocking, incoming fire in front of the user has its damage reduced. For ranged attacks, the angle of the block must be between -14° and 14° around the crosshair, matching the precision attack cone. For melee attacks, the angle must be between -65° and 65°. If a ranged attack is successfully blocked it is reduced by 100% and deals no damage. If a melee attack is blocked it is reduced by 75% (for example, a 100 damage attack would become 25 damage).
The Dual Blades cannot block the following: RPG, grenade launchers (CL-40 and MGL32), grenades, thrown objects (including canisters), mines, fire/flames, Winch Claw, cannonballs, Orbital Lasers, Meteor Showers, Alien Invasion/Retro Invasion 82.
The Dual Blades can block the following: Bullets from Guardian Turret, any melee damage (including the quick melee and Charge 'N' Slam), Throwing Knives, arrows from the Recurve Bow.

Deflect

When a ranged attack is blocked, it will be deflected towards the player's crosshair. All blocked ranged attacks are also deflected.
When deflecting a hitscan weapon, the deflected projectile will also be a hitscan. When deflecting a projectile weapon like the Recurve Bow, Throwing Knives or KS-23, the deflected projectile will retain the same speed and bullet drop characteristics of the original projectile.
The damage of the deflected shot matches that of the gunshot being deflected as if the dual blades user had shot it themselves. Range and headshot multipliers apply.

Hit Registration

As of Season 12, the blocking angle is calculated entirely server-side, but if a ranged attack is successfully deflected it is calculated and confirmed normally as if it were shot by the deflecting player (ie. client-side unless at high ping). Effectively, deflected shots are aimed as if the Dual Blades user themselves had shot them, but the block that engages those deflected shots may fail to register even with perfect aim because of server-client aim desync. This worsens with higher ping and faster moving targets due to the small size of the Dual Blades' blocking/deflection cone.
The block/deflect registration is at its most inconsistent when a target is moving fast relative to screen-space (ie. how fast they are moving across the Dual Blades player's screen), or when moving laterally together with an opponent at close range (ie. both players looking at each other and strafing the same direction). Given the aforementioned small block/deflect angle and server-side block registration, these scenarios in particular will cause a very high number of missed blocks/deflects. Other players moving fast enough or at close enough range effectively outpace even perfectly tracked blocks due to the time it takes for the server to catch up to where the Dual Blades user's aim actually is.
Since projectiles are fired from around the head area on other clients (where a player's camera is positioned), a dual blades user engaging targets at closer range may also find that they have to aim higher towards enemy contestants' heads in order to successfully block shots.

Guide

Strengths

The Dual Blades are strong in close-quarters combat.
The Dual Blades' defensive stance can be used while moving towards an opponent to close the gap.
The Dual Blades can block incoming fire from long range, and even deflect it back at other contestants.
The Dual Blades' defensive stance offers a significant damage reduction against melee attacks in addition to ranged attacks.

Weaknesses

The Dual Blades' defensive stance is easily countered if the user is attacked by multiple opponents that are not attacking from the same direction. If a Dual Blades user is blocking and walking up to an opponent in one direction, another opponent can assist by going around the Dual Blades user and attacking them from the side.
Explosions and fire are not blocked by the defensive stance.

Tactics

To approach an opponent with a ranged weapon, a Dual Blades user can walk up to them while using the defensive stance similarly to the Riot Shield. Once close enough and they stop firing to run away or to reload, the user should switch to the melee attack to deal heavy damage and move quickly.
Dual Blades can excel with good movement. Shockwave can be a fantastic choice for gap-closing if the Dual Blades user propels themselves with it towards the enemy. The special attack can also spend the user's stamina to force a full-distance lunge, even with no enemy in range of the precision attack cone. Both can be used in combination with Jump Pads or other gadgets to cross large distances quickly and close in for melee eliminations.
Player momentum can be carried into the defensive stance to move faster while blocking, even if sprint cannot be used while it is up. To use the momentum from a Jump Pad, Launch Pad or Speed Tunnel before slowing down, a couple of short hops can be used while the defensive stance is up. Additionally, if a sprint is engaged before putting up the defensive stance, a slide can be engaged while blocking if the Dual Blades user still has enough momentum.
Due to the small blocking area for ranged attacks, a dual blades user should always try to single out targets or force enemy players to group up tightly using terrain or other methods. Engaging spread out groups without proper planning can be a death sentence if the attention of more than one enemy is caught.
To counteract the server-side block registration behavior while it is an issue, a Dual Blades user should keep other players at a distance and only close in when they know there's an advantage that could be taken by a non-blocking melee player. When forced into close-range high-movement scenarios (at around 5-7m), the Dual Blades user will also have to aim ahead of the opponent if they are trying to block, predicting the opponent's movement based on their own estimated ping. In such scenarios, it is better to accept that no deflections will land due to how far out of sync the client and server is at that point, and to try to keep the crosshair towards where the other player is moving towards. (Note that it is possible to see where the server thinks the client's aim is by watching where the bullet trails are landing. While the shots do register at the crosshair, the trails can give information on how far off the server and client aim actually are. If the trails manage to connect with the opposing player, it will register as a hit. An example can be seen with the old behavior below, which is still technically present in the game.)

The crosshair is seen roughly moving along with a target dummy, with reflected shots trailing behind the crosshair. Despite the crosshair staying relatively on target, not a single hitmarker can be seen. — An example of the deflect's old hit registration behavior at low ping (20-30ms). This shows server-client aim desync, an issue that still affects the blocking component of the Dual Blades. This is still technically present in the game, just now with an additional client-side hit trace so the shots will actually hit. In the current version, if the bullet trails and the crosshair get too far apart due to desync (usually at close range or high speed) the block will not register.

Item Mastery

Item mastery XP for the Dual Blades can be earned by actively using it.

Source	XP Reward
XP Breakdown
Damage dealt by the Dual Blades	0.2 × Damage Dealt
Opponent eliminated by the Dual Blades	50
Assist on an opponent damaged by the Dual Blades	20

Each time a certain XP threshold is reached, the item levels up. This does not improve the item, but rewards a unique item customization.

Default

Level 1

STANDARD ISSUE

9,000 XP

Level 2

DYE JOB

9,000 XP

Level 3

DYE JOB

36,000 XP

Level 4

DYE JOB

54,000 XP

Level 5

DYE JOB

162,000 XP

Level 6

TRIANGLE TWINKLE

144,000 XP

Level 7

STRIPED GRAZER

136,000 XP

Level 8

PAINTED PREDATOR

200,000 XP

Level 9

PREDASHEEN

150,000 XP

Level 10

ALTITUDE SICKNESS

200,000 XP

Level 11

CLOUDPIERCER

200,000 XP

Level 12

PEACH HORIZON

200,000 XP

Level 13

TWILIGHT RIPTIDE

200,000 XP

Level 14

MOLTEN CURRENT

200,000 XP

Level 15

WORLDSEED

200,000 XP

Level 16

RED MATTER

Cosmetics

Skins

150

150

Default

Animations

Name	Rarity	Source	Description
TRACTOR BEAM	EPIC	S11 BATTLE PASS LEVEL 70	Please remain calm.
SLICE VIEW	RARE	S3 BATTLE PASS LEVEL 31	For contestants who like to sharpen their focus
STEEL WALTZ	RARE	S9 BATTLE PASS LEVEL 23	A clean motion that keeps your weapon dancing even under pressure.

Gallery

Dual Blades Deflect vs EVERYTHING - Jinko

History

Patch	Changes
12.0.0	Primary Attack Updated maximum lunge speed based on the changes to lunge prediction Updated the attack’s hit sweeps to make the weapon more accurate and reliable Increased damage for precise hits from 57 to 60 Increased the base damage from 37 to 39 Increased the size of the precision angle from 12 degrees to 14 degrees Secondary Attack - Cross Slash Updated the attack’s hit sweeps to make the weapon more accurate and reliable Increased the width of the weapon’s hit box from 0.3m to 0.55m to adjust for the updated hit sweeps Increased damage for precise hits from 140 to 155 Increased the base damage from 91 to 100 Increased the size of the precision angle from 12 degrees to 14 degrees Secondary Function - Deflect Deflected bullets will now follow the player’s crosshair more accurately, making it easier to aim deflected bullets back at opponents Removed the Imprecise Deflect angle to make deflecting bullets feel more reliable and less ambiguous. The Precise Deflect remains as the only deflection angle for bullets Precise Deflect angle is now matched to the 14 degree precision angle of melee attacks. This means the precision angle crosshair can now be used to help players more accurately block incoming bullets The deflect angle for melee attacks remains 65 degrees Bullets deflected now give hit markers if the player hits an enemy with them
11.6.0	Primary Attack Increased precision zone angle from 9 to 12 degrees, making it easier to land precise strikes Fixed an issue where not all attacks dealt a consistent 25 environmental damag Secondary Functions - Deflect Fixed an issue where the wide angle deflect blocked damage completely instead of the center of the deflect radius Imprecise Deflect angle damage modifier updated from 0% to 20% Precise Deflect angle damage modifier updated from 20% to 0%
11.3.0	Increased Precision zone angle from 8 to 9 degrees, making it slightly easier to land precise strikes Increased lunge distance on primary attacks from 4.5m to 5m Increased max lunge speed slightly to support the increased lunge distance Updated the Cross Slash attack to always lunge forwards when at full stamina, even when stationary. Previously the attack required some forward input to trigger the lunge Increased player movement speed when using the Deflect stance by 25%
11.0.0	Added Stamina and Precision Added Stamina regeneration time of 3s Primary Attacks Removed the cross-swipe attack from the end of the three-attack strike sequence, leaving two double-swipes Replaced old attack sequence damage values of: First attack - 50 x 2 Second attack - 60 x 2 Third attack - 100 Set damage for precise hits to 57 x 2 Set base damage to 39 x 2, this damage value is used for ‘glancing blows’ Lunge distance remains at 4.5m Decreased lunge target angle from 25° to 20°, meaning players need to be more precise with their aim to get the benefits of the lunge Set Precision zone angle to 8° Secondary Functions Deflect Decreased movement speed while deflecting by 50% Increased damage multiplier while deflecting from 0.1 to 0.2, meaning enemies now do slightly more chip damage through Dual Blades’ deflection Cross Slash Added a new Cross Slash attack that can be executed by pressing the Primary Fire button while in the Deflect stance. This triggers a fixed distance lunge attack (no target required) followed by a cross-slash attack for high damage Set damage for precise hits to 140 Set lunge distance to 5m Set base damage to 84, this damage value is used for ‘glancing blows’ Added a small pushback to opponents when hit by the Cross Slash attack Set Precision zone angle to 8°
9.0.0	Increased the damage of the the third attack in the attack sequence from 65 to 100
8.0.0	Increased how quickly sprinting is re-enabled after the second attack animation begins by 25% Increased how quickly sprinting is re-enabled after the third attack animation begins by 15%
7.6.0	Increased the hit sweep range by ~40cm, to bring it more in line with other melee weapons Increased the hit sweep height by ~5cm, making the weapon more reliable Decreased the inner width of the hit sweep nearest to the camera, to prevent it hitting objects just outside the player’s field of view, making the weapon slightly more reliable
5.0.0	Basic attack Increased the speed and duration of the lunge for each attack animation, making it easier to reach targets that are just out of range Deflect Decreased the dispersion angle of deflected bullets from 2.5 to 1, meaning deflected bullets are now more accurate Decreased the damage modifier for direct hits from enemy bullets from 0.2 to 0.1, meaning players will now take less damage when deflecting hits at the center of the Blades' deflection angle Decreased the damage modifier for glancing hits from enemy bullets from 0.4 to 0.3, meaning players will now take less damage when deflecting hits at the edge of the Blades’ deflection angle Increased deflection angle from 25 degrees to 35 degrees, making it easier to block and deflect bullets Decreased incoming melee damage modifier from 0.33 to 0.25, meaning players will take less damage from melee attacks when trying to deflect
3.0.0	Dual blades introduced into the game