Whirlwind Attack
Whirlwind Attack
Whirlwind Attack is a Special Move — one of the canonical melee specials in Britannia — that lets a warrior strike every adjacent enemy in a single mighty spinning swing. Unlike normal melee attacks that target a single creature, Whirlwind Attack scans the 8 tiles surrounding the attacker and applies the swing's damage to every valid target in those tiles. It is the anti-add signature move: a Sampire surrounded by a champion-spawn pack uses Whirlwind Attack to clear the swarm before getting overwhelmed; an Archer or Throwing Gargoyle has equivalent specials but Whirlwind is the canonical melee form.
The move requires a specific weapon class (most two-handed swords, axes, and pole weapons), a Tactics skill threshold, and a stamina cost. Critically, the spinning swing does not strike Innocent (Blue) characters in the AOE — only valid combat targets (already-flagged opponents, monsters, or Murderers). This is what makes Whirlwind Attack viable in mixed PvE/PvP environments without accidentally flagging the user as an aggressor.
Mechanics
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Move type | Primary or Secondary special, depending on weapon (most weapons that have it list it as Secondary) |
| Weapon eligibility | Two-handed axes, halberds, lajatangs, no-dachis, several Throwing weapons; some swords; tooltip lists per weapon |
| Skill required | Tactics ≥ 50 + the weapon's Skill Required |
| Stamina cost | Base ~30 stamina (modified by weapon and Special Move discount via Bushido) |
| Mana cost | None |
| Range | 8 surrounding tiles (1-tile radius around the attacker) |
| Damage | Each target in range takes a full swing roll — independent rolls per target |
| Innocent (Blue) protection | Whirlwind does NOT strike Innocent characters in the AOE |
The "independent roll per target" rule means Whirlwind is a damage multiplier through swarm density — against 5 close enemies, the move delivers 5 separate damage rolls in the cost of 1 swing's stamina. The DPS scales linearly with the number of valid targets in range.
Damage formula
Each target in range receives a full swing damage calculation:
Damage_per_target = Roll(weapon_min, weapon_max)
× (1 + Tactics + Anatomy + STR + Lumberjack + DI / 100) # capped at 300%
× Slayer_multiplier # 2× / 3× if matching
× Exceptional_1.30_to_1.35 # if Exceptional crafted
× Phys_split × (1 - target.PhysResist/100) # post-resist
This is the same formula as a normal swing — see Base Damage — applied to each target independently. The cost is a single stamina spend for the whirlwind action; the engine does NOT charge per-target stamina.
Weapon eligibility table
A representative slice of weapons that have Whirlwind Attack in their special-move slot:
| Weapon | Class | Whirlwind Attack slot |
|---|---|---|
| Halberd | Two-handed sword | Secondary |
| Bardiche | Two-handed sword | Secondary |
| Two-Handed Axe | Axe | Secondary |
| No-Dachi | Two-handed sword | Secondary |
| Lajatang | Two-handed sword | Secondary |
| Composite Bow | Archery | Primary (some configurations) |
| Crossbow | Archery | Primary (some configurations) |
| Cyclone | Throwing (Gargoyle) | Secondary |
| Soul Glaive | Throwing (Gargoyle) | Secondary |
The full list is hundreds of items long; Whirlwind appears on most two-handed melee weapons by default. One-handed weapons typically have Concussion Blow, Disarm, or Mortal Strike instead.
Tactical use
| Situation | Whirlwind Attack value |
|---|---|
| Champ Spawn add cluster | Massive — 3+ adds in melee range = 3× DPS multiplier |
| Solo Tamer + pet | Less useful — only 1 target usually |
| PvP melee scrum (3+ aggressors) | Massive — one swing damages all opponents who chose to brawl |
| Single-boss DPS | Useless — 1 target = 1 normal swing's worth |
| Bardic Provoke setup | Useful — both Provoked targets in range |
The canonical Whirlwind use is the add-clearing attack at champ spawns. A Sampire surrounded by 5 champion pets uses Whirlwind to clear them in a few cycles, then transitions to normal swing on the boss.
Stamina cost optimisation
The canonical "Whirlwind sustainability" build aims to regenerate stamina between Whirlwind uses:
| Optimization | Effect |
|---|---|
| Stamina Regeneration items | Faster recovery between Whirlwinds |
| Bushido Special Move discount | Bushido at GM reduces special-move stamina cost by ~50% |
| High Stamina stat | Larger stamina pool → more Whirlwinds in a row |
| Ankh Pendant (Stamina Regen) | Stacks with stat-based regen |
The Sampire build's 120 Bushido is partly responsible for sustainable Whirlwind use — the special-move discount lets the Sampire chain Whirlwinds back-to-back without fully draining stamina.
Whirlwind Attack vs. parallel specials
| Special | Equivalent move on which weapons | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Concussion Blow | One-handed maces, hammers | High single-target damage |
| Mortal Strike | Many weapons (Bushido-locked) | Bleeding + heal-block |
| Disarm | Most one-handed weapons | Force opponent to drop weapon |
| Whirlwind Attack | Most two-handed melee | AOE damage |
| Lightning Strike | One-handed, Bushido | Single-target high-damage hit |
Whirlwind Attack is the only widely-available AOE melee special; this is why two-handed melee builds prefer it. One-handed builds trade AOE for higher single-target burst.
Critical PvP rule: no Innocent friendly fire
The "Whirlwind does not strike Innocent (Blue) characters" rule is canonical and load-bearing:
- A Whirlwind in a city where Innocents are nearby will not damage them — the engine filters AOE targets by aggression status.
- A Whirlwind targeting flagged opponents or monsters only damages those — Blue bystanders are unharmed.
- The Whirlwind user does not get flagged for accidentally hitting Innocents (because they didn't).
This makes Whirlwind safe in mixed-faction city brawls and at busy public spawn points — a player can freely use it without risk of becoming a "Murderer" by accident.
See also
- Tactics — the universal melee skill that gates Whirlwind Attack at 50.0
- Base Damage — the damage formula applied per Whirlwind target
- Bushido — the discount-providing skill for special-move sustainability
- Stamina — the resource Whirlwind consumes
- Skill Required — the weapon-skill gate that must also be met
- Slayer — the post-cap multiplier on each Whirlwind hit when matching
- Exceptional — the crafting bonus that boosts each Whirlwind hit
- Resistances — the per-target defense layer that reduces incoming Whirlwind damage