Revision 9

Overview

Blinding 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.

Widely 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.

Skill Details

Platform Controls

The full Blinding Flash into Finisher input sequence differs slightly across platforms. The table below lists the default bindings for each step of the combo.

Both 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.

Mechanics

To 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.

The 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.

Time Slowdown

During 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.

During 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.

Knockback Shockwave

The 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.

Spirit Economy

The 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.

Damage and Scaling

Each 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.

For 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.

The 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.

How to Acquire

Blinding 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.

When 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.

The 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.

Combo Strategies

Basic Combo

The 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.

Force Palm Debuff Combo

One 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.

This 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.

Nature's Echo Combo

If 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.

Boss Fight Applications

The 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.

Against 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.

Because 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.

Why It Is the Best Early Game DPS

Several 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.

The 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.

Many 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.

Tips

• Use 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.