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Blinding Flash Finisher - Version 17 vs Version 18
May 23, 2026, 03:43 PM
Added internal wikilinks
Jun 8, 2026, 09:42 PM
Removed duplicate in-body wikilinks
11Overview22Blinding Flash Finisher is a combat skill in Crimson Desert, available to Kliff. It belongs to the Spirit (Green) branch of the skill tree and functions as a follow-up to the base Blinding Flash ability. When triggered, Kliff dashes toward blinded enemies and unleashes a rapid flurry of approximately six heavy strikes while time slows to a crawl. The final slash creates a shockwave that knocks back any surviving targets.44Widely regarded as the single best early-game DPS option in Crimson Desert, the Blinding Flash Finisher is often the first combat skill recommended after players learn the fundamentals like Keen Senses and basic attack patterns. It remains effective well into the late game, particularly against bosses with limited vulnerability windows.66Skill Details99DetailInfoCharacterKliffSkill TreeSpirit (Green)TypeFinisher (follow-up)CategoryBlinding FlashCost5 SpiritCooldownTied to Blinding Flash connecting; the finisher can only trigger once per successful blindCast TimeApproximately 0.25 secondsSkill LengthApproximately 3 secondsControlsR2 / RT / RMB while enemies are blinded by Blinding FlashPrerequisite1 Abyss Artifact or observe the skill in actionHit CountApproximately 6 rapid heavy strikesFinal Hit EffectKnockback shockwave on all nearby enemiesTotal Damage EquivalentRoughly equal to 3 light attacks plus 1 heavy attack1111Platform Controls1212The full Blinding Flash into Finisher input sequence differs slightly across platforms. The table below lists the default bindings for each step of the combo.1414StepPCPlayStationXboxActivate Blinding FlashCtrl + Left ClickL1 + R1LB + RBTrigger Finisher (during blind)Right Click (RMB)R2RT1616Both inputs must happen in quick succession. The base Blinding Flash needs to connect and blind at least one enemy before the finisher input will register. On PC, some players rebind the Blinding Flash activation to Mouse 4 or Mouse 5 so that the Ctrl + Left Click combination does not interfere with the immediate Right Click follow-up. See the Controls page for full remapping options.1717Mechanics1919To activate the finisher, Kliff must first use Blinding Flash (L1 + R1 / LB + RB) to blind nearby enemies. While the targets are still disoriented, pressing R2 / RT / RMB triggers the finisher. Kliff then dashes toward the nearest blinded enemy and executes a rapid sequence of approximately six heavy strikes in quick succession.2121The window to trigger the finisher is very short. The base Blinding Flash only blinds enemies for approximately one second, so the R2 / RT / RMB input must come almost immediately. Hesitating even slightly can cause the blind to wear off before the finisher registers. Most experienced players treat the entire sequence as a single fluid motion: activate Blinding Flash, then press the finisher button without pause.2323Time Slowdown2525During the finisher animation, time slows down significantly. This slowdown is not just a visual effect; it actually prevents enemies from retaliating while Kliff attacks. The entire flurry plays out in roughly three seconds of real time, but the in-game time dilation means enemies are essentially frozen in place for the duration. This makes the Blinding Flash Finisher one of the safest high-damage options in the game, since Kliff cannot be interrupted once the animation starts.2727During the flurry, Kliff automatically dashes from one blinded enemy to the next as long as he has Spirit remaining. You do not need to aim or manually close the distance between targets. The auto-dash chains seamlessly across an entire group, making the finisher just as effective against enemies that are spread apart as it is against a tight cluster. Each press of R2 / RT / RMB delivers the next strike in the sequence.2929Knockback Shockwave3131The final slash of the finisher unleashes a shockwave that knocks back any enemies still standing nearby. Weaker enemies get sent flying outward, while sturdier targets are left staggered and exposed to follow-up attacks. This knockback serves a defensive purpose as well: it creates distance between Kliff and surviving enemies, giving the player time to reposition, heal, or set up another combo. The shockwave hits all enemies in range, not just the primary target.3333Spirit Economy3535The finisher costs 5 Spirit to activate. Because attacks and kills restore Spirit in Crimson Desert, the actual net cost is much lower than it appears on paper. When used against groups of weaker enemies, the multiple kills generated during the flurry often recover most or all of the Spirit spent. Against single targets like bosses, the Spirit drain is more noticeable, but it can be offset by building Spirit beforehand with Focus or landing a few basic attacks before initiating the combo.3737Damage and Scaling3939Each strike during the Blinding Flash Finisher is treated as a heavy attack for damage calculation purposes. This has an important implication: the finisher's total damage scales with damage per hit rather than attack speed. Upgrading your weapon or equipping gear that increases raw attack damage has a multiplicative effect, since every one of those six strikes benefits from the bonus.4141For example, if a weapon upgrade adds 10 extra damage per hit, the Blinding Flash Finisher gains roughly 60 extra damage across all six strikes. This makes weapon upgrades and damage-boosting Abyss Cores particularly valuable for players who rely on this skill. Attack speed bonuses, by contrast, do not affect the finisher's animation speed or damage output.4343The total burst delivered in a single finisher is roughly equivalent to three light attacks and a heavy attack combined, all compressed into a three-second window. Against standard enemies in the early and mid game, this is frequently enough to kill outright.4545How to Acquire4747Blinding Flash Finisher can be unlocked in two ways. The first is spending 1 Abyss Artifact through Kliff's skill tree menu. It sits in the Spirit (Green) branch under the Blinding Flash category. The second method is the "watch and learn" system: if Kliff observes an enemy or NPC performing a similar technique during combat, he can learn it without spending an Artifact. See the Watch and Learn Skill Locations page for details on where each skill can be observed.4949When Kliff observes the technique being performed during gameplay, the screen darkens and a "Learning in Progress..." notification appears on screen. Once the observation completes, the skill is added to the skill tree at no Abyss Artifact cost. This typically occurs during story combat encounters or when watching an NPC use a similar slash technique. Because the observation method is free, it is worth keeping an eye out for the prompt even if you plan to spend the Artifact.5151The base Blinding Flash skill must be available before the finisher can activate, since the finisher requires enemies to already be in the blinded state. Most players unlock Blinding Flash itself very early through the story, so the Finisher is typically the first Artifact-purchased upgrade on a new save.5353Combo Strategies5555Basic Combo5757The standard combo loop is straightforward: activate Blinding Flash (L1 + R1) to blind a group of enemies, then immediately press R2 to trigger the Finisher. After the shockwave knocks survivors back, follow up with heavy attacks, Forward Slash, or another skill to clean up remaining targets. The blind window is short, so do not hesitate between the flash and the finisher input.5959Force Palm Debuff Combo6161One of the strongest damage combos in the early and mid game uses Force Palm before the Blinding Flash Finisher. Force Palm applies a defense reduction debuff to the target, which means every subsequent hit deals increased damage. The sequence is: Force Palm (to debuff) followed by Blinding Flash (to blind) followed by R2 Finisher (to deal six boosted heavy strikes). Because each of the six finisher strikes benefits from the defense reduction, the total damage increase is substantial.6363This combo works especially well against bosses and elite enemies that survive the initial flurry. The Force Palm debuff stacks the odds further in your favor, turning what is already a strong burst tool into the single highest damage sequence available in the early chapters.6565Nature's Echo Combo6767If you have Nature's Echo unlocked, it can replicate the last attack performed. Using Nature's Echo after a finisher effectively doubles your burst output in situations where you have the Spirit to spare. Even at rank 1, Nature's Echo replicates the final strikes of whatever skill was used, making it a worthwhile investment alongside the Blinding Flash Finisher.6969Boss Fight Applications7171The Blinding Flash Finisher is not limited to clearing groups of standard enemies. It performs well against bosses too, particularly those with brief vulnerability windows where you need to deal as much damage as possible in a short time.7373Against bosses like Ludvig, the Blinding Flash stun interrupts attack patterns and creates a safe window to land the full finisher. In Ludvig's second phase, combining Blinding Flash with Force Palm stuns the boss for an extended period, giving you the main opening for real damage. Similarly, against Antumbra's Sword and other world bosses, the time slowdown during the finisher provides a safe burst window that does not leave Kliff exposed to counterattacks.7575Because the finisher locks you into an animation for about three seconds, timing matters. Against bosses with predictable attack rotations, initiate the combo right after dodging or parrying an attack when the boss is in recovery frames. Starting the finisher at the wrong moment can result in taking a hit before the time slowdown kicks in.7777Why it is the Best Early Game DPS7979Several factors combine to make the Blinding Flash Finisher the strongest damage option available in the opening hours of Crimson Desert. The blind from Blinding Flash provides crowd control that prevents enemies from swarming Kliff, the time slowdown during the finisher animation prevents any retaliation, and the raw damage output of six heavy strikes compressed into three seconds outpaces every other skill available at that point in the skill tree.8181The Spirit cost is effectively self-sustaining against groups. If the finisher kills even two or three enemies, the Spirit restored from those kills recovers most of what was spent. This means the skill can be used repeatedly across multiple encounters without running dry, unlike some higher-tier abilities that demand careful resource management.8383Many guides recommend unlocking the Blinding Flash Finisher as the very first Artifact purchase, ahead of upgrades like Keen Senses enhancements or Stab follow-ups. The reasoning is that it handles both group fights and boss encounters effectively, while other early skills tend to specialize in one or the other.8585Tips8787Use Blinding Flash first to blind a group of enemies, then immediately press R2 / RT to trigger the finisher. Do not wait; the blind window is short.Position the camera and left stick to aim the initial Blinding Flash at the largest cluster of enemies. The more targets you blind, the more damage the finisher deals across the group.Pair with Force Palm before the flash for the highest burst damage. The defense debuff applies to all six finisher strikes.Prioritize weapon upgrades and damage-boosting Abyss Cores over attack speed bonuses. The finisher scales with damage per hit, not speed.Against bosses, wait for a dodge or parry window before starting the combo. Getting hit before the time slowdown begins wastes the opportunity.The shockwave on the final hit creates breathing room. Use the knockback window to heal with consumables or build Spirit with Focus for another round.In the early game, the Spirit cost is almost free against groups because kills restore Spirit. Do not hesitate to use it in every fight.The finisher still works against single targets; the six hits deal full damage to a lone enemy. Do not save it exclusively for crowd situations.8989Tashkalp Fighting Pit Crowd Control9191Blinding Flash Finisher is the recommended opener for the Tommaso Guard XP farm. When the two fighting pits in Tommaso start piling onto the attacker after the first mask-on strike, a single Blinding Flash hits every blinded enemy and the followup shockwave shoves the rest of the crowd away. That buys the breathing room to focus golden-armor guards and, when visible, the tanky variants that pay the largest XP chunk.9393Spirit Budget for the Farm9595Because each cast spends spirit, the Abyss Artifacts Farming Guide recommends pairing the skill with spirit-recovery food so the loop keeps moving between pit resets. Players with a fully set up weapon abyss gear build (for example Wind Slash on the Umbra Sword) can thin crowds without Blinding Flash, but it remains the most reliable crowd-control pick early in the farm.9797Patch 1.07.00 Unarmed Variant9999On May 15, 2026, Patch 1.07.00 extended Blinding Flash Finisher to work while Kliff has no weapon equipped. Earlier patches required an equipped weapon to trigger the finisher animation. With the unarmed variant in 1.07, the same setup now executes a punch flurry instead of the sword strike.101101How It Triggers103103The unarmed variant uses exactly the same activation sequence as the standard finisher: Kliff first casts the base Blinding Flash to blind the targets, then triggers the finisher within the short follow-up window. The only difference is that no weapon is held when the second input fires.105105The dash-and-strike portion of the move still pulls Kliff between blinded enemies during the time-slow window, and the finisher still costs 5 Spirit per cast. The economy and the time-slow duration are unchanged from the armed version.107107Punch Flurry109109Instead of the rapid sword slashes that close the standard finisher, the unarmed variant ends in a flurry of approximately six punches per target. Each strike during the flurry is treated as a separate hit for damage calculation, which is the same model used by the standard variant. With no weapon equipped, the damage scales off Kliff's unarmed values rather than the equipped weapon's. The final closing strike still produces the knockback shockwave that flattens grouped enemies.111111Unarmed Build Application113113Before 1.07, players running pure unarmed Kliff builds had no high-burst finisher available, since Blinding Flash Finisher required a sheathed weapon to be drawn. The unarmed variant closes that gap. The combo now anchors unarmed builds the same way it anchors weapon builds: an opener that levels a crowd while delivering serious single-target damage.115115Pair the unarmed variant with the existing Force Palm debuff and Nature's Echo combos described elsewhere in this article. Both work without modification, since they trigger off the finisher itself rather than off the held weapon.117117Wrestling Match Compatibility119119The unarmed variant unlocks Blinding Flash Finisher as a viable opener in any combat context where weapons are restricted, such as the wrestling matches where rules require fists only. Where the rules allow Spirit-cost techniques in unarmed-only encounters, Blinding Flash Finisher is now a high-burst option.121121Cross-Character Parallel123123The unarmed variant is currently exclusive to Kliff. The 1.07 update added the parallel Damiane Fists tree for Damiane and extended Aerial Stab to both Damiane and Oongka, but the Blinding Flash Finisher itself is still a Kliff-only ability. A similar finisher pass for the other playable characters has been requested by the community and may appear in a future patch.125125Patch History127127PatchChangePatch 1.07.00Added the unarmed variant. The finisher now functions while no weapon is equipped, ending in a punch flurry instead of the sword strike
