Thunder Breathing¶
Thunder Breathing alternates between fast forms that build marks and finishers that spend them. Its dashes close distance quickly, while its later forms gather enemies, chain lightning between targets, or hold a group for a finishing combo.
You can learn it from Zenitsu Agatsuma or a Thunder Slayer. See Hashira and Slayers for the NPCs and Using Techniques for controls.
Forms¶
These are defaults before Dexterity, marks, and damage mitigation. Damage is in HP; multi-hit damage is per hit unless specified. Server settings can change these values, and the in-game technique sheet shows the server's configuration. Detailed tuning is listed in Technique Balance.
First Form: Thunderclap and FlashLv 1
Builds marks. Hold the assigned skill key for 1.5 seconds to charge the ring at your crosshair. Once it is full, release within the two-second firing window to dash up to 15 blocks. Releasing early or holding beyond the window cancels the charge.
The dash damages and marks enemies along its path. Press again during the two-second chain window to dash without another charge. Each link costs more stamina: 12, 18, 27, and so on. Walls and unsafe fluids shorten the arrival point.
Second Form: Rice SpiritLv 3
Consumes marks. Five rapid slashes cover a 90-degree frontal cone with a 3.8-block radius. All five can hit the same enemy. The first connecting slash spends three marks by default and fixes its bonus from the full previous stack for every remaining hit. Starting at five marks inflicts Paralysis and resets Rice Spirit's cooldown once per cast, leaving two marks.
Third Form: Thunder SwarmLv 5
Builds marks. Afterimages sweep outward and pull the enemies they cross toward you. You leap and slam down on the gathered group, dealing damage in a five-block radius. The landing hit applies two marks by default.
Fourth Form: Distant ThunderLv 10
Builds marks. Travel along eight alternating lightning segments, following the ground as you move. Enemies close to the route take contact damage and are pushed along the travel direction; each enemy receives two marks on its first accepted contact by default. Later contacts in the same cast can deal damage but add no marks. Walls, blocked terrain, or a rise or drop beyond the route's limits end the run early.
Fifth Form: Heat LightningLv 16
Consumes marks. After a 0.45-second wind-up, strike every enemy in the 2.5-block half-circle ahead of you and spend one mark by default. Targets below five marks are launched upward and away.
Starting the hit at five marks instead applies five seconds of Paralysis, lifting the target up to nine blocks beneath a continuous blue electric tether and leaving four marks. Solid ceilings limit the lift. Ten additional damage pulses strike while the target hangs in the air. This form overrides the passive's normal three-second Paralysis reward.
Sixth Form: Rumble and FlashLv 24
Builds marks. Aim at a point up to 28 blocks away. A bolt strikes the nearest enemy within three blocks of that point, then jumps to nearby enemies that already carry Thunder Marks. Each jump can reach 20 blocks and deals 1.5 times the initial strike's damage. Connecting strikes add marks; this form never consumes them.
Seventh Form: Honoikazuchi no KamiLv 37
Consumes marks. The caster and dragon charge together along a validated lane of up to 50 blocks. Walls and unsafe space shorten the lane. Targets crossed within 2.5 blocks are paralysed, carried to the finisher point, and held for 2.5 seconds plus 0.3 seconds per mark they carried at capture.
The dragon finishes with a bite and an explosion. Its first accepted finisher hit spends three marks by default and fixes the bonus from the previous level for the cast. A stack below three is still spent but grants no mark bonus; starting at five leaves two and keeps the maximum-stack effects.
Eighth Form: Thunder SixfoldLv 50
Consumes marks at the closing blow. Charge up to eight blocks, capturing enemies along the path and holding them Paralyzed through the combo. Five afterimage strikes cross the group before you land the closing blow yourself. The closure spends up to three live marks per captured target by default.
Each captured target's marks are recorded at capture. A snapshot of at least three increases the afterimage and closing damage, without adding extra strikes. Eligibility and bonus stay tied to that snapshot; the closure only spends what remains live, so expired or externally spent marks are never recreated. The initial charge does not receive a mark bonus. Afterimages use 87.5% of the passive's damage bonus: +17.5% per mark by default, while the closing blow receives the full +20% per mark.
| Phase | Default base damage |
|---|---|
| Initial charge | 6 + 0.2 per DEX |
| Each of five afterimage strikes | 3.5 + 0.3 per DEX |
| Closing blow | 10 + 0.2 per DEX |
Passive: Thunder Marks¶
Thunderclap and Flash, Thunder Swarm, Distant Thunder, and Rumble and Flash add Thunder Marks when their marking hits connect. Marks stack above the enemy, glow at the maximum, and refresh together whenever a new mark is added.
Rice Spirit costs three marks per target by default; Heat Lightning costs one, while Honoikazuchi no Kami and Thunder Sixfold cost three. A consumer only earns mark damage when the previous stack covers the full cost, but an insufficient stack is still spent. Any remainder is refreshed to the full mark duration. Each target has its own stack, so one cast can resolve different bonuses and remainders across enemies.
| Property | Default |
|---|---|
| Maximum marks per target | 5 |
| Stack duration | 10 seconds |
| Consumer damage bonus per mark | +20% |
| Consumer damage at five marks | ×2 |
| Paralysis from consuming five marks | 3 seconds |
| Immunity after Paralysis ends | 2 seconds |
| Bonus to base stamina regeneration | +20% |
Paralysis blocks movement, techniques, and interaction, but leaves the camera free. A Paralyzed target cannot receive new Thunder Marks. Once Paralysis ends, its brief immunity prevents immediate reapplication. Heat Lightning and Sixfold have additional interactions described below.
The stamina bonus applies only to base regeneration; Concentration is added afterward. See Stamina for regeneration and HUD settings.
Passive: Mark Recovery¶
Consuming a Thunder Mark immediately restores 4% of your maximum stamina, subject to the cast's recovery limit. Rice Spirit, Heat Lightning, Honoikazuchi no Kami, and Thunder Sixfold trigger this recovery when their consuming hit connects. Only marks actually removed count: spending two available marks toward a three-mark cost can restore up to 8%, while spending three from a five-mark stack can restore up to 12%.
At 100 maximum stamina, each mark restores up to 4 points; at 350, it restores up to 14 points. All enemies and hits of one cast share a recovery limit equal to that cast's paid stamina cost, so a cast can recover its cost but cannot generate extra stamina. The bar cannot exceed its maximum. Expired marks give no recovery, and you must have enough stamina to pay for the consumer before it can restore any.
Lightning Color¶
Learning Thunder Breathing rolls gold or blue lightning, with an equal chance of either. Your variant is saved with your character. This changes the appearance of variant-aware effects, not technique damage. Heat Lightning's tether and Honoikazuchi's dragon follow the caster's saved variant. Operators can change a player's variant with a command.