Overview
Winch is a Health Skill Tree ability exclusive to Kliff. It pulls an enemy in and slams them to the ground with the power of the Axiom Force. Winch is a cross-branch skill that requires advancement in both Grappling and Axiom Force before it becomes available, making it a mid-to-late game unlock.
Where Axiom Force normally pulls Kliff toward a target point, Winch reverses this dynamic by pulling the enemy toward Kliff instead. The target is yanked in by the Axiom Force and slammed into the ground, leaving them vulnerable to follow-up attacks. This makes it a powerful tool for isolating specific enemies from groups and pulling shielded or armored foes out of their defensive stances.
Skill Details
Property | Detail |
|---|---|
Skill Tree | Health (Cross-branch) |
Parent Skills | |
Spirit Cost | 10 Spirit |
Stamina Cost | None |
Characters | |
Prerequisites | Grappling Lv.3 + Axiom Force Lv.3 |
Unlock Cost |
How to Unlock
First, learn both Grappling Lv.3 and Axiom Force Lv.3. Once both prerequisites are met, spend 1 Abyss Artifact to unlock Winch. Because it requires investment in two separate skill branches (Stamina for Grappling, Health for Axiom Force), Winch takes significant point investment to reach. Plan your build accordingly if you want to access it early.
Input and Execution
To use Winch, hold and release the Axiom Force button (Tab on keyboard, L3 on controller) while targeting an enemy. Kliff will fire the Axiom Force line at the target and pull them toward him, slamming them into the ground on impact. The Spirit cost of 10 is relatively low, making it sustainable in extended fights.
Combat Tips
Winch pulls distant enemies toward you, making it excellent for isolating specific targets from a group. Single out dangerous ranged attackers or healers by yanking them into melee range.
The slam on impact deals solid damage and leaves the enemy grounded, creating a window for follow-up attacks like Lariat or Giant Swing.
Winch is particularly effective against armored or shielded enemies. Pulling them out of a defensive stance bypasses their guard entirely.
Combine Winch with grappling combos for extended control chains: pull an enemy in with Winch, follow up with a Lariat slam, then chain into a Giant Swing if they survive.
At only 10 Spirit per use, Winch is cheap enough to use repeatedly in prolonged encounters. The Spirit cost is much lower than the Stamina cost of most grappling moves.
Be aware that very large enemies and most bosses resist being pulled. Winch is most effective against human-sized and medium enemies.
Patch 1.04 Teleport Shortcut
Patch 1.04.00 simplified the input for triggering Ambush out of a Winch. The previous timing-based double-tap is still supported, but the easier alternative is to hold the light attack button at the same time as the Winch input: while held, the Winch resolves directly into the Ambush teleport rather than into the slam, putting Kliff beside the target instead of pulling the target inwards. Use the new shortcut whenever the goal is to close on a ranged enemy or reposition behind a boss in one input.
Double-Press for Pure Drag
If the goal is to keep the original drag-and-slam behaviour for an isolating combo, double-tap the Winch button instead of holding the light attack. The double press cancels the Ambush option, drags the enemy in cleanly, and is easier to execute consistently than the timing-sensitive single press. The double-tap version sacrifices most of the deeper Winch follow-ups, so reserve it for situations where the only goal is to pull a single target out of a group rather than to chain a longer combo afterwards.
The patch also added the Ambush branch to Damiane and Oongka, which means the Winch-to-Ambush flow described above now has an analog on the other two characters even though Winch itself remains exclusive to Kliff.