Overview
Each playable character in Vindictus: Defying Fate has a set of active skills mapped to dedicated buttons on the controller or keyboard. These abilities are separate from the basic attack combos and precision actions. Each character can equip four active skills at a time, and each skill has its own cooldown timer. Players can use skills freely during combat as long as they are off cooldown, with no mana or energy cost.
Character abilities
Lann
Lann fights with twin swords and his abilities emphasize speed and multi-hit damage:
Cross Assault: A rapid slash combo that deals several hits in quick succession. Good for building stagger through volume of hits.
Windmill: An area-of-effect spin attack that hits all enemies around Lann. Useful for clearing groups of smaller enemies or hitting multiple parts of a large boss.
Raging Fever: An aggressive skill that ramps up Lann's attack speed and damage output temporarily, rewarding sustained offense.
Fatal Fury: A high-damage finisher that works best when enemies are pressured or near a stagger threshold.
Fiona
Fiona uses a longsword and shield, and her abilities complement her defensive playstyle:
Shield Bash: A forward strike with the shield that stuns enemies briefly. Can be chained after a Perfect Guard for quick punishment.
Focal Point: A precision thrust that concentrates damage on a single point. High single-target damage with good stagger contribution.
Bird of Prey: An aerial attack that Fiona uses to close distance or follow up after a Perfect Guard counter, dealing damage from above.
Shield Charge: A forward rush with the shield raised, useful for both positioning and dealing impact damage to enemies. Can interrupt smaller enemies' attack animations.
Karok
Karok swings a massive battle pillar. His abilities introduce the Beast Stance system, which temporarily buffs his combat performance:
Shoulder Check: A brutal body slam that uses Karok's mass to stagger enemies. Fast for its power level and good for interrupting smaller enemies' attacks.
Whirlwind: A wide spinning attack with the battle pillar that hits all enemies in a circle around Karok. Good for crowd control in group encounters.
Kodiak Rush: A charging attack where Karok barrels forward with the pillar, dealing damage along his path. Useful for closing distance and initiating combat.
Earthquake: A heavy overhead slam that sends shockwaves through the ground. Deals high damage and has the strongest single-hit stagger contribution of Karok's skills.
Karok's skills are built around raw power and crowd control. His kit rewards aggressive positioning and punishes hesitation. The Pillar Throw mechanic (a separate basic attack option) lets him fight at range temporarily, but his skills are designed for close-quarters dominance.
Delia
Delia carries a bastard sword and her abilities focus on wide, sweeping attacks with high damage:
Fearless Slash: A wide-arc attack that covers a broad area in front of Delia. Deals high damage to a single target and can clip multiple enemies if they are grouped together.
Bloom Waltz: A multi-target sweeping attack with a flowing animation. Delia moves through enemies with several consecutive swings, dealing damage across a wider area than Fearless Slash.
White Rose: A precision strike. The exact mechanics were observed during the alpha test but full details on its properties are not confirmed.
Blue Rose Crush: A heavy overhead slam that deals high single-target damage with strong knockback. Best used when a boss is locked in an attack animation or during a stagger window.
Skill upgrades
Skills can be upgraded through the progression system. Active Skills level up through use, gaining improved effects, reduced cooldowns, or combo extensions. The game also features a separate Ability system with permanent upgrades unlocked through an ability tree using Ability Points: Shared Abilities apply to all characters on the account, while Exclusive Abilities are character-specific upgrades that unlock new combat features.
Skill usage in combat
Active skills are woven into combat alongside basic attack combos and precision actions. A typical combat flow looks like: land basic attacks to build rhythm and stagger, use precision actions (Perfect Dodge, Perfect Guard, Clash) when the boss attacks, then activate skills when they come off cooldown for burst damage. Skills can be used mid-combo without breaking the attack chain, allowing fluid integration.
In multiplayer Special Missions, coordinating skill usage across the party can lead to powerful burst windows. For example, one player staggering the boss with Karok's Clash while the other three unload their strongest abilities during the stagger window.