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Greysoul Howling
May 23, 2026 at 09:20 PM
External-site reference cleanup (2026-05-24)
Greysoul Howling is anAbyss CoreinCrimson Desertthat calls forth the phantom ofGoyen, unleashing a sweeping strike of shadow energy across the target area. It becomes available after completingChapter 9of the main story and is widely considered one of the best abyss cores in the game for melee builds.
When Greysoul Howling is equipped, performing aTurning Slashcreates an afterimage of Kliff that strikes again immediately after the initial attack. This phantom follows the same trajectory as the player's turning slash and lands its own separate hit. The result is that every turning slash effectively delivers two full hits, with the phantom replicating the motion and impact of the original swing.
The afterimage appears as a translucent shadow of the player character, making it visually clear when the core is active. The second strike lands almost simultaneously with the first, and it applies physical stagger independently from the main weapon swing.
Testing by community players shows the phantom's sweeping strike deals approximately65% of the main-hand hit's damage. This is not quite a full doubling of turning slash damage, but it represents a massive boost to overall DPS. The phantom's hit can also score critical hits independently from the player's attack, further increasing its value when paired with high critical rate builds.
In practical tests, the afterimage follow-up alone has been shown to take roughly half of an enemy's health bar, and that is without counting damage from the initial turning slash itself. For players who build around turning slash, Greysoul Howling is the single highest-impact abyss core available.
Property | Value |
|---|---|
Type | Abyss Core(UniqueAbyss Gear) |
Activation | R1+R2 (consumesSpirit) |
Effect | Summons phantom ofGoyenfor a sweeping shadow strike |
Phantom Damage | Approximately 65% of main-hand damage |
Can Crit | Yes (independent from player's crit) |
Applies physical stagger independently |
WhenTurning Slashis performed with Greysoul Howling equipped, the ability summons ashadow clone of Goyenthat repeats the entire turning slash animation immediately after Kliff's swing. This effectively doubles the hit of the attack, with the shadow clone dealing its own independent damage tick. The clone appears as a dark, spectral silhouette that mimics the player's exact motion.
This doubling effect is what makes Greysoul Howling one of the highest-damaging Abyss Gears in the game. Because the shadow clone triggers on every Turning Slash (not just specific combos), it synergizes with any build that prioritizes Turning Slash spam during boss stun windows. The clone damage scales with the player's attack stat and benefits from all Turning Slash damage modifiers (such asTurning Slash ExpertiseandGround Searchfrom the skill tree).
The shadow clone is a visual reference to the boss fight where Greysoul Howling is obtained. The clone takes the form of Goyen himself, the original wielder of theFated Shadowsword, who fights with a Greymane shield and full armor set. Even after his defeat, his spirit continues to fight alongside the player through this ability.
Greysoul Howling is a cornerstone of the "Three-Sword Build" popularized in endgame optimization. The build usesdual-wield swordsfor crowd control and spirit generation, then swaps to a two-handed sword (using theQuick Swapskill at level 5 Armed Combat) during boss stun windows to spam Turning Slash with Greysoul Howling active. The loop is:
Fight with dual-wield swords to clear smaller enemies and build up spirit.
When a boss gets stunned (goes down on one knee), use Quick Swap to switch to the two-handed sword.
Spam Turning Slash repeatedly while the boss is stunned. Each slash triggers the Greysoul Howling shadow clone for double damage.
Switch back to dual-wield once the stun window closes and repeat the cycle.
For maximum Turning Slash damage, stack the following mods on the two-handed sword: Greysoul Howling, Ground Search (from Urden in the main story), Frostbite (fromBeloth the Darksworn),Malicebane III(12% extra damage to mighty foes), and aCritical Rate3 mod. If the sword has inherent Critical Rate, the mod stacks with it.
There are two ways to get Greysoul Howling:
Fated Shadow Sword:TheFated Shadowone-handed sword comes with Greysoul Howling pre-slotted. This sword is found in a cave at the Nest of Valor in the Forebearer's Barrens, near Dry Valley in the Abyss region. It only appears after completing the "Unwavering Steps" main quest inChapter 9and defeating the boss Goyen. After the boss fight, instead of exiting to the left, turn right to find a hidden room containing the sword.
Crafting:Can be crafted separately at anyWitchvendor using Destruction I x1, Swift I x1, Haste I x1, and Insight I x1. Greysoul Howling can also be extracted from the Fated Shadow and placed on any other weapon.
Greysoul Howling is the cornerstone of turning slash builds. It pairs exceptionally well with:
Momentum- Increases turning slash damage further, stacking with the phantom's bonus
Element imbument abyss gears (fire, lightning, ice) - The phantom's strike benefits from element imbument damage applied to turning slash
Critical rate fromaccessories- Since the phantom can crit independently, high critical rate effectively doubles the benefit
Nature's Echo- Adds even more follow-up hits to attacks, creating a devastating chain with the phantom
After defeating Goyen in Chapter 9, do not leave through the exit on the left. Turn right to find the hidden room with the Fated Shadow sword and Greysoul Howling.
If you want to use Greysoul Howling on a weapon other than the Fated Shadow, extract it at a Witch and socket it into your preferred weapon.
The spirit cost of activation means you should carry healing items that restore both health and spirit for extended boss fights.
Greysoul Howling's single biggest contribution to a melee build is the second hit it adds toTurning Slash. A standard Turning Slash on a target with Greysoul Howling equipped fires once on the player's swing and a second time as the phantom afterimage follow-up. Stacked with the Turning Slash Damage modifier (the +35 percent Abyss Gear from a Sanctum), the result is two swings of buffed Turning Slash on a single button press, which is the cleanest single-encounter damage spike available to a longsword build.
Boss fights are where the pairing earns its reputation. A buffed double Turning Slash lands as one of the most efficient burst windows in the game, and against rematch bosses with parry-window stuns or stagger phases it can shave whole rotations off the kill time. Builds aiming for raw boss damage favour the stack across nearly every two-handed weapon path, which is why bothTurning Slashand theTurning Slash Nuke Buildarticle treat Greysoul Howling as a default inclusion rather than a niche option.
Greysoul Howling can be embedded multiple times on the same two-handed weapon's open Abyss Gear slots. Each copy fires its own afterimage follow-up, so two slots stacked on the same weapon give a triple Turning Slash on each button press (the player swing plus two afterimage hits). Three copies on a weapon with enough slots stack a fourth swing on top. The cap is the weapon's slot count and the player's stock of Greysoul Howling gear; there is no diminishing return on the second or third copy.
Two-handed weapons with three or more Abyss Gear slots are the natural home for stacked Greysoul Howling. Most one-handed weapons run out of slots after a single copy and a damage modifier, so the multi-stack version of the build is a two-handed pattern. Players running the Three-Sword swap from the existing build guide can keep one slot on the side weapons for utility and concentrate stacked copies on the burst-damage weapon.
Greysoul Howling can be moved between weapons at no resource cost by using aWitch's Workshop. Extraction at a workshop returns the Abyss Gear to inventory rather than destroying it, so swapping the copy off a sidearm and onto the main damage weapon for a boss fight has no penalty. The full routine is to visit any witch workshop, open the extract menu, pick the slot the gear sits in, and confirm. The gear lands back in inventory and the slot becomes empty. Re-embed in the same menu by picking the target weapon, the empty slot, and the Greysoul Howling copy from inventory.
Two practical patterns come out of this. The first is a single-weapon burst build that stacks every available Greysoul Howling copy onto one two-handed weapon before a boss fight, then redistributes the copies across utility weapons for general play. The second is a parallel two-weapon build that holds a Greysoul-stacked weapon for boss windows and a separate utility weapon for mobs, swapping between them with the weapon wheel rather than visiting a workshop mid-session.
Role | Why It Pairs | |
|---|---|---|
Turning Slash Damage (+35%) | Damage modifier | Multiplies both the player Turning Slash and the Greysoul Howling afterimage, so every stacked copy benefits. |
Stat roll booster | Keeps Critical Rate and Attack Speed close to the practical 15 cap so both Turning Slash hits crit reliably. | |
Element follow-up | Adds a fire follow-up on top of the double Turning Slash for an additional damage tick per swing. | |
Additional Greysoul Howling copies | Multi-stack | Each copy adds another afterimage hit. Stack until the weapon's slot count or your inventory of the gear runs out. |
Critical Rate and Attack Speed are the two stats that determine whether the stacked swings actually crit and chain. A loose build that ignores those two stats can leave a Greysoul stack hitting for less than a tighter single-copy build that has both stats capped. Slot one or two copies of Greysoul Howling alongside a critical rate or attack speed accessory rather than chasing four copies on a build that has not yet hit the practical cap.
Greysoul Howling can also be obtained outside the Goyen Chapter 9 boss reward through an abyss-island pickup that opens at any point in the game. The route is short on combat but front-loads a single puzzle that requires stamina recovery, so the run is best attempted with food on hand.
Travel to the ice-locked tower that links to the abyss island. The outer ice shell blocks normal entry; break the ice on the tower to expose the gateway and warp through to the island.
Reach the puzzle chamber on the island. The room runs a stamina-drain mechanic that punishes brute-force attempts, so come prepared.
Carry honey tea (or any other stamina-restoring consumable) into the chamber. Sipping it during the puzzle keeps the stamina bar above the failure threshold long enough to complete each phase.
Clear the puzzle to spawn the reward, which delivers Greysoul Howling directly to the player's inventory. The gear can then be socketed onto any compatible weapon at a witch's workshop.
Slotted onto a weapon, Greysoul Howling fires a sweeping shadow strike from the Phantom of Goyen whenever the player commits a Turning Slash. The phantom strike effectively doubles heavy attack damage on the swing because it lands as a second connected hit on the same input. The phantom's hit also rolls its own critical check independent of the player's swing, so high critical rate builds can crit twice in one button press.
Fated Shadow- Sword that comes with Greysoul Howling pre-slotted
Turning Slash- The skill that triggers Greysoul Howling's effect
Abyss Gear- Overview of all abyss gear
Momentum- Companion turning slash abyss gear
The following community rating comes from theAbyss Gears Tier Listvideo walkthroughs ranking guide, which scores everyAbyss Gearout of 30 across three pillars: damage, usability, and utility. The breakdown below reflects that community ranking onGreysoul Howling, not an objective measurement from the game's data files. Treat the scores as a useful reference for build decisions, then test the gear in your own loadout.
Tier breakpoints used by the guide:Scovers 25 to 30 points,Acovers 20 to 24,Bcovers 15 to 19,Ccovers 10 to 14,Dcovers anything under 10, andFis reserved for the lowest scorers under 8.
Damage:10 out of 10. The follow-up soul hit consistently one-shots smaller enemies in the guide's testing, putting it at the absolute top of the damage scale.
Usability:9 out of 10. There is no aiming or setup required: the soul triggers automatically as part of theTurning Slashattack, so it folds into normal combos without changing how you play.
Utility:8 out of 10. The follow-up has a sizeableAoEfootprint, which adds clear-speed value on top of the raw damage.
Total:27 out of 30. S tier.
Greysoul Howling is the headline pick of the turning-slash family in the rating guide. MostAbyss Gearpieces force a tradeoff between high damage and easy activation; this one is rated maximum on damage and almost maximum on usability at the same time. The reviewer flags it as one of the standout S-tier pieces overall, alongsideHound's Claws,Lightning God's Affliction, and the parting gift boots, calling it a default inclusion in most builds rather than a niche option.
