Cyclone Slash

Cyclone Slash is the Nail Art taught to the Knight by Nailmaster Mato. It lets the Knight performs a multi-hit spinning attack. The Nail Art will be executed for a longer amount of time if ATTACK is pressed repeatedly during the attack.

How To Perform

Hold ATTACK + UP/DOWN until fully charged, then release ATTACK. Deals 1.25 x Nail damage/hit.

If this is the only Nail Art that has been learned, UP/DOWN does not need to be pressed to execute this ability.

Function

The Knight spins around like a cyclone while constantly attacking its vicinity. The attack effectively covers both sides of the Knight. While performing this attack, the Knight cannot perform any actions until the Nail Art is finished, except moving left and right. Taking damage cancels the Nail Art immediately. This attack pushes foes back like normal nail attack for each hit.

The attack has two phases:

The first phase lasts about 0.45s after unleash. In this phase, the Knight will perform a total of 3 attacks.

The second phase can last up to 1.2s, depend on the amount of ATTACK mashed during this phase. The Knight can attack up to 4 more times, (total of 3-7 times). This phase ends prematurely if ATTACK is no longer mashed.

It is possible to start mashing ATTACK in both phases. However, it will not increase the total hits in the first phase. While mashing, the Knight's movement speed is heavily limited. If used in the air, this will slow the Knight's falling speed dramatically. However, if used in the air without mashing, the Knight's falling speed is rapidly increased to terminal velocity.

Usability

Advantage

Cornered foes or large one cannot be pushed away from the cyclone, and will take heavy damage.
It can deflect many projectiles from both sides. It also fully protect the Knight against many foes with a charge attack (e.g. Squit, Baldur and their variants).
This Nail Art is very powerful against swarms of foes, constantly deal damage and push them back to keep the Knight from being overwhelmed.
By constantly mashing ATTACK, the Nail Art will hold the Knight mid-air in a short amount of time, making it possible to deal substantial damage to aerial targets without spells. Although in most cases, Great Slash is a superior choice.
Against bosses with long down-time between attacks, this nail art can deal a large amount of nail damage without the need of Quick Slash.

Caveat

The Knight's movement is heavily limited when using this nail art, so it is much harder to dodge incoming attacks. This is especially an issue in the first phase as it cannot be cancelled prematurely.
Many foes cannot be knocked back and therefore can land a hit easily if the Knight keeps spinning for too long.
Projectiles that cannot be deflected have a higher chance to hit the Knight as it is not possible to dash or jump while spinning.
Agile foes can quickly move away from the cyclone, making it deal sub-optimal damage.

Damage Values

Cyclone Slash damage is not affected by Fragile Strength or Fury of the Fallen. Its range is also not affected by Mark of Pride or Longnail.

Nail	Damage Per Hit	Total Damage (3-7 hits)
Old Nail	6	18-42
Sharpened Nail	11	33-77
Channelled Nail	16	48-112
Coiled Nail	21	63-147
Pure Nail	26	78-182

How To Acquire

Cyclone Slash is taught by Nailmaster Mato who resides in the Howling Cliffs.

Mato's location in the Howling Cliffs