A Weapon Art is an active ability attached to a Weapon. Every Art has its own cooldown, so otherwise similar Weapons can support different playstyles.
How Weapon Arts Work
The equipped Weapon determines which Art you can use. Because each Art has its own cooldown, it supplements rather than replaces standard melee attacks. Choose an Art for burst damage, area control, defense, status buildup, or ranged pressure.
Ranged and Status Arts
Official AMA material confirms projectile and radial Weapon Arts. Arts can also contribute to status plans such as Freeze, where multiple sources accelerate buildup before the target is frozen and shattered.
The status glossary separates the confirmed effects from thresholds and duration values that remain unknown.
Build and Co-op Combinations
Choose an Art that matches the damage type, status effect, or range supported by your Gear and Boons. In co-op, one player can use an Art to apply a condition that the other player's build exploits.
Choose the Weapon Art that supports how the build deals damage or stays alive, not the one with the most dramatic animation.
The Frost equipment plan shows one way to combine Winter Sun, a ranged Art and a defensive shield.
How to Evaluate a Weapon Art
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Which Weapons can carry it? | Compatibility determines the moveset and Gear plan around the Art. |
| How long is the cooldown? | The cooldown determines how often you can use the ability. |
| Is it damage, status, defense, or utility? | The role reveals which Boons and Armor effects can support it. |
| What range or area does it cover? | Projectile and radial Arts can solve different positioning problems. |
| Does a partner benefit from its effect? | Marks and status effects can set up attacks from a co-op partner. |
Confirmed Weapon Art List
All 28 documented Weapon Arts, with their effects and the equipment associated with them in the official weapon catalog. Effects are summarized here; item and ability names keep their original spelling.
| Weapon Art | Effect | Associated weapons and shields |
|---|---|---|
| Angelic Bulwark | Place a defensive zone on the ground for you and your allies. | Shield of the Zealot Sovereign’s Shield |
| Aura of the Burning Heart | Surround yourself with a fire aura. | Burning Heart |
| Avenging Pestilence | Surround yourself with a poison aura. | Belwayne Sword |
| Bleed Projectiles | Launch a homing projectile that applies Bleed. | Morning Star Obsidian Shard Axiom Telvaught Clan Shield |
| Cardinal's Staff | Shoot projectiles in every direction, dealing Magic damage and pushing enemies away. | Defiled Night |
| Earthen Strike | Raise a wave of stalagmites that deals Crushing damage to enemies along its path. | Soldier's Hammer Champion’s Sword |
| Egregore Explosion | Make a circle of egregore Hellgrowth burst from the ground, damaging enemies inside it. | Akyreon's Tongue |
| Empower | Raise your defenses and the damage you deal across all types. | Axe of the Gods Covenant Cleric Shield |
| Fire Burst | Throw a burst of flames at enemies and apply one Burning stack. | Dragon Assassin Broadsword Fiery Broadsword |
| Fire Trail | Leave a fire trail as you move. | Belwayne Aegis |
| Fireball | Fire a summoned fireball forward from your shield. | Mahkten Shield |
| Gouging Throw | Throw your weapon to apply Bleed. Attack again to call the weapon back. | Recantation Scirax |
| Homing Projectiles | Send homing orbs toward enemies to deal Fire damage. | Reaper Poleaxe |
| Ice Trail | Leave a Frost trail as you move. | Lunar Sentinel Shield |
| Impaling Throw | Throw your weapon at an enemy. Attack again to call it back. | Crimson Oath Broadsword Covenant Sword |
| Phoenix Flare | Deal damage and apply Burning to yourself and every enemy within 4 meters. | Sanctus Pyre |
| Pillars of Light | Summon bright pillars that deal Magic damage around the targeted enemy. | Lumenfel |
| Poison Caltrops | Dodge away, leaving a Poison zone at your previous position. | Blasphemous Accord |
| Poison Trail | Leave a Poison trail as you move. | Rotkin Shield |
| Purifying Blast | Consume every status effect on the targeted enemy to trigger a burst of damage. | Sovereign’s Sword |
| Reaper Whirlwind | Spin your weapon to create Frost projectiles and strike nearby enemies with a Frost attack. | Leviathan Great Axe |
| Rupturing Slash | Slash an enemy to deal damage and apply Bleed. | Wyrmtongue Cultravix |
| Shield Bash | Charge forward with your shield to deal Crushing damage. | Apostate's Shield Champion Shield Crimson Oath Shield Ornate Soldier's Shield Revenant Shield Shield of the Ram’s Glory Soldier’s Shield Tarnished Wooden Shield |
| Sword of Rot | Raise a wave of thorns ahead of you, dealing damage and Poison to enemies in its path. | Rotkin’s Thorn |
| Valak Slam | Slam your weapon down to release a spray of magical flames. | Gildenarch's Glory |
| Whirlwind | Spin with your weapon, hitting all nearby enemies with increased attack strength. | Drakeward |
| Winter Solstice | Raise a wedge of ice from the ground to apply Frost. | Crescent Moon Halberd |
| Winter Sun | Encase nearby enemies in Frost. | Revenant Blade Sword of the Lunar Sentinel |
These pairings come from the published catalog. They do not establish that an Art can be freely transferred to other equipment. Exact cooldowns, scaling, animation timings, and changes in later patches need separate verification. Note that Phoenix Flare also affects you, while Purifying Blast consumes the target’s status effects.
Official Weapon Arts catalog · checked September 6, 2026.
Official Weapons catalog · checked September 6, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every Weapon Art have a cooldown?
Yes. The official build guide states that each Art has its own cooldown.
Can Weapon Arts attack at range?
Yes. Projectile and radial Arts are officially confirmed.
How many Weapon Arts are documented?
The official Wiki currently lists 28 named Weapon Arts with effects. Exact cooldowns and scaling are still incomplete.
Sources and Evidence
Official sources explain the rules. Third-party gameplay reports are identified by author and describe the version or session shown; they are not our own tests.