Revision 5

Retaliation is a weapon effect in Windrose that increases melee damage on successful Perfect Blocks. Each parry applies a Retaliation stack, and the stacks remain until the player takes any damage. Retaliation rewards aggressive parry-focused play by snowballing damage output across clean defensive exchanges.

What Retaliation Is

Retaliation is not a separate button, a parry talent, or a counterattack move. It is a passive effect printed on certain melee weapons that fires automatically whenever you land a Perfect Block. The Perfect Block itself is the universal defensive timing window; Retaliation is the bonus a Retaliation-tagged weapon grants on top of that block. A weapon without the effect blocks the same way but gains no stacks. Because it is a buff on the player rather than a debuff on the enemy, the stacks carry between targets and persist as long as you avoid taking damage.

Stacking Rules

Retaliation's damage bonus per stack varies by weapon, and every Retaliation weapon caps at three stacks. The Dueling Greatsword carries the highest per-stack value at +15% (max +45%). The Captain's Greatsword trades a lower +10% per stack for a built-in 10% Health restore on Perfect Blocks once it reaches max stacks, which makes it the standout sustain option. One-handed Retaliation weapons such as the Dueling Saber swing faster but carry a smaller per-stack bonus. Reported saber values sit in the +8% to +10% range across sources, so treat the exact figure as build-dependent and confirm it in your own inventory.

How to Build Stacks

1. Equip a weapon that lists Retaliation in its effects.

2. Time your block to the incoming hit so it registers as a Perfect Block, not a normal block.

3. Each clean Perfect Block adds one stack, up to three.

4. Spend the boosted damage window on heavy attacks before a stray hit resets the stacks.

5. On the Captain's Greatsword, keep blocking at max stacks to trigger the 10% Health restore.

Reset Condition

Taking ANY damage removes ALL Retaliation stacks, including damage-over-time effects like Bleeding, Corruption, or plague status, and chip damage from a non-perfect block. This makes Retaliation weapons high-skill-ceiling: players who can chain Perfect Blocks flawlessly will output significantly more damage than players who trade hits. A single sloppy dodge resets the accumulated damage bonus to zero.

Retaliation Weapons

Confirmed Retaliation weapons include:

• Captain's Greatsword - +10% per stack with a 10% Health restore at max stacks, found in chests across the Coastal Jungle and Foothills and ascendable at the Weaponsmith Workshop

• Dueling Greatsword - the highest per-stack bonus at +15%, with the Epic version adding the health restore at max

• Dueling Saber - a faster one-handed option with a smaller per-stack bonus; the Epic version grants extra critical hit chance

• Other greatswords and one-handed melee weapons with Retaliation passives (the community-documented list continues to expand as the build updates)

Build Synergy

Retaliation pairs with the Fencer talent system branch (Perfect Counter, +5% to 12% crit after block) and the Toughguy branch (Flawless Defence, 15% to 35% block posture cost reduction). The combination creates a parry-focused build where every Perfect Block amplifies damage, recovers stamina, and potentially restores HP. Crit-leaning gear also stacks well here, since the boosted base damage from Retaliation scales the value of every critical hit landed during the window.

Tactical Notes

• Avoid Damage-over-Time statuses before engaging; Bleeding or Corruption pings from previous fights will reset Retaliation stacks

• Cleanse food buffs do not block DoT resets; prevention is the only counter

• Boss fights with visible, telegraphed combo attacks are ideal Retaliation opportunities because each swing is another chance to block and stack

• Enemies with predictable melee combos, such as Savage Boars and Pirate Sergeants, let you build and hold stacks reliably

• Multiplayer groups can have one player draw aggression while the Retaliation wielder stacks against a different target

See Also

• Perfect Block - parry mechanic

• Captain's Greatsword - signature Retaliation weapon

• Combat - combat mechanics

• Weapons - weapon categories