Breathing
Water Breathing
The beginner's safest pick — flowing combos, Dead Calm i-frame ultimate.
About Water Breathing
Water is the most forgiving breathing style: fast fillers, a hold-variant hyperarmor wheel and a strict-stun X that extends combos. Its 11th Form, Dead Calm, grants a full invulnerability window during boss ultimates — community rankings put it A-to-S for new players.
How to unlock
Train under Sakonji Urokodaki near the mother-bear cliff (level 25+): a quest chain of meditation, strength training and the parkour dungeon, plus about 10,000 Wen and 20-30 Demon Horns.
Moveset
| Key | Move | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Z | Water Surface Slash | Tap: quick slash with i-frames during the approach (v.09). Hold: Water Wheel — hyper armor removed in v.09; travel speed raised 35 → 60 (launch patch). |
| X | Striking Tide | Hold activates instantly (0.15s delay removed); tap applies a 0.35s Strict Stun combo extender (launch patch). |
| B | Dead Calm (11th Form) | Ultimate window with full i-frames against boss attacks (community documentation). |
Move notes cite the official launch balance patch (September 19, 2026) where a change is listed — patch language like "Hyper Armor" and "Strict Stun" is the game's own.
Notes
- v.09 (2026-09-20): Whirl Pool damage up and now applies a 3.3s strict stun through the spin, usable while stunned; Basin dashes faster with its slam stun raised 1.5s → 2.25s; Water Wheel tap deals 25 damage across 9 ticks, refreshing a 0.35s strict stun per tick; the hold variant now carries opponents through the combo.
- v0.17 (2026-09-24): Whirl Pool can no longer be used while stunned (the v.09 buff reverted) and its tap strict stun dropped 3.3s → 1.8s; the Water Wheel hold threshold rose 0.15s → 0.25s to stop accidental holds, and the tap barrage applies regular stun instead of strict stun.
- V0.2 (2026-10-03): letting go of the Water Wheel early now frees anyone it caught right away; ranked-only PvP nerfs — Surface Slash stun 1s → 0.7s, Striking Tide cooldown 13s → 15s, Water Wheel damage scaling 100% → 80%, and the V moves to hyper armor with stuns 0.3s shorter.
Sources
Official Discord launch balance patch + creator runs (2026-09-19); patch notes through V0.2 (2026-10-03), transcribed 2026-10-24.
Other breathing styles
Breathing
Flame Breathing
Hard-hitting duelist kit — the C counter now answers skills, not just M1s.
Breathing
Thunder Breathing
PvP burst king — Thunderclap and Flash, two combat variants per the devs.
Breathing
Wind Breathing
The combo-extender rework winner — every windup cut on launch day.
Breathing
Sound Breathing
Explosive area pressure from the Uzui school — Bursting Bloom to Strength Performance.