Dark Souls 2 Countering Chaos Blade Guide

Dark Souls 2 Countering Chaos Blade Guide by __MCC__

Whether you know it or not, chances are that if you have more than a few hours of PvP in Dark Souls 2, you’ve seen the Chaos Blade. The Chaos Blade is a katana that is the bane, or backbone depending on your stance, of many players’ experience in PvP of Dark Souls 2. There are a variety of reasons as to why it’s widely considered to be overpowered, and its attributes are unlikely to be nerfed (lessened via an in-game patch) any time soon.

Most already know its attributes through experience, but I’d like to give a brief overview of the weapon for those that don’t.

What is the Chaos Blade?

As previously stated, the Chaos Blade is a katana, which generally have the same attack speed as Straight Swords, perhaps a little less (although it would be almost negligible if it were slower in any way). When used in conjunction with Dark Weapon and Sacred Oath, it has an enourmous AR, rivaling most unbuffed Ultra Greatswords. But perhaps the attribute that makes it so resented is its Counter Damage: A whopping 150 multiplier. This is more than most rapiers, which are designed for counter damage. With this incredibly high AR, swing speed, and counter damage, the Chaos Blade can easily hit for over 1,000 damage in a two hit combo. In my time of using it, I even 3-shot some people for over 1800 damage.

Countering the Chaos Blade

While the Chaos Blade can usually end fights in a matter of a four or so hits, there are some methods to fighting it. Many of these stem from the fact that Chaos Blade users are predictable – They use their weapon as a crutch to fight, and this can be exploited.

  • The Chaos Blade has an effect in which it damages the user by 50 points when a hit is successfully landed. Normally this is negligible, considering a successful hit with the Chaos Blade can mean 600 or 700 damage against your oppinent. But! What most don’t know is that because of Netcode, the Chaos Blade will register hits that connect on THEIR screen, but you avoided on your own. This is the effect in which you hear the attack noise and see the blood, but because of netcode the attack didn’t register. Unfortunately for Chaos Blade users, the self-damage DOES register for themselves. Because Chaos Blade users are so aggressive and itching to 3-shot you, it’s easy to bait attacks and roll dodge them to make them damage themselves. I’ve managed to get an easy 300-400 damage on Chaos Blade users using this method. A word of caution; This takes a lot of practice with rolls and ADP. One missed roll means you eat 700 damage from a single swing.
  • Most of these counters take advantage of the fact that Chaos Blade users are predictable. Because of their predictability, it’s actually fairly easy to punish them with practice. Chaos Blade users will almost always use two R1 attacks in a row. It’s as simple as walking within range, baiting an attack, and the waiting for them to start their second R1. Once you have distance, use either a jumping attack, throwing knife, or spear to catch them in that second R1. I find that this works with most Chaos Blade users, with the exception of some who really know what they’re doing and avoid that second R1.
  • I highly recommend keeping an upgraded spear in your inventory to menu-swap to to fight the Chaos Blade. Menu-swapping takes practice, and is much, much easier to do with an organized inventory. Spears are generally my go-to weapon against the Chaos Blade, both because of their reach, speed, and ability to catch them in whiffed R1s. I recommend practicing menu-swapping for this purpose.
  • Learn the Chaos Blade moveset. It’s rather simple, and can be done in a few matches. Most Chaos Blade users also use the same tactics, so they can be translated to other fights as well.
  • Finally, play on the defensive. I cannot emphasize this enough. Chaos Blade users WILL win every single trade against you. It is imperative that you be patient and bait attacks. To be honest, I will roll dodge all of their attack for a solid minute or two, just to get them frustrated. They usually will either switch weapons, or get sloppy. This is your prime moment to watch their movements and capitalize on punishing their predictable attacks.

What NOT to do

  • Do not play aggressive. Ever. They will win every trade and will love every moment of it.
  • Do not attempt to parry. The risk is not worth the reward; because of netcode, even a seemingly well-timed parry will equate to you getting salty. If you must, make sure you’ve got their attack pattern down-pat. Of all the parries I’ve gotten against it, they are incredibly rewarding, but the risk is so high it’s generally not worth it.
  • No shield. The Chaos Blade has a decent split between physical and elemental damage, rendering most shields useless. Aside from perhaps Havels.
  • You will inevitably lose some matches against it. Don’t send hatemail. It’s what they want.
  • Did I say don’t trade with them? Don’t trade with them. YOU WILL LOSE.
  • Also don’t trade against the Chaos Blade. You’ll probably lose.

That pretty much sums it up. In over 700 hours in Dark Souls 2, this is the information I’ve gathered against this weapon, both by fighting with it and against it. I hope this guide can help some of you PvPers out there that are frustrated when matched against the Chaos Blade.

TL;DR: Don’t trade with a Chaos Blade

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