Keen Edge - Ability ID 271

In-Game Description

"Boosts the power of slashing moves by 1.3x."

Extended In-Game Description

For use in Elite Redux extended ability UI (IMPORTANT: exactly 280-300 chars counted WITH spaces)

Keen Edge enhances all slashing attacks by 30%, significantly boosting moves that involve cutting, slicing, or slashing motions. Works with claws, blades, leaves, wind slashes, and similar cutting attacks. Includes both physical and special moves. Stacks with other damage modifiers.

Character count: 298

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

Core Mechanics

Keen Edge provides a flat 1.3x (30%) damage multiplier to any move that has the FLAG_KEEN_EDGE_BOOST flag set. This multiplier is applied during the offensive damage calculation phase.

Technical Implementation

constexpr Ability KeenEdge = {
    .onOffensiveMultiplier =
        +[](ON_OFFENSIVE_MULTIPLIER) {
            if (gBattleMoves[move].flags & FLAG_KEEN_EDGE_BOOST) MUL(1.3);
        },
};

Activation Conditions

• Move must have the keen_edge: true flag in its definition
• Works on both physical and special slashing moves
• No additional requirements - always active when using eligible moves

Complete List of Affected Moves

Classic Slashing Moves:

• Slash - Always crits, Keen Edge boost
• Night Slash - High crit ratio, Keen Edge boost
• Leaf Blade - High crit ratio, Keen Edge boost
• Razor Leaf - Always crits, hits both foes, Keen Edge boost
• Fury Cutter - Multi-hit with increasing power, Keen Edge boost
• False Swipe - Can't KO, 50% bleed chance, Keen Edge boost

Specialized Cutting Moves:

• Air Slash - 30% flinch chance, air-based, Keen Edge boost
• Psycho Cut - Psychic blades, high crit ratio, Keen Edge boost
• Cross Poison - Hits twice, high crit, 10% poison, Keen Edge boost
• Sacred Sword - Ignores stat changes, Keen Edge boost
• Razor Shell - 50% Defense drop chance, Keen Edge boost

Elemental Blade Moves:

• Cryo Blade - Ice slashing, 10% frostbite chance
• Shock Blade - Electric slashing, 10% paralysis chance
• Flame Blade - Fire slashing, 10% burn chance
• Stone Axe - Rock slashing, sets Stealth Rock
• Steel Blade - Steel slashing, 10% Stealth Rock chance

Wind-Based Cutting:

• Razor Wind - Super effective vs Rock, +1 priority in Tailwind
• Air Cutter - Sharp wind strikes, high crit ratio, air-based

Multi-Hit Slashing:

• Fury Swipes - 2-5 hits with claws/scythes, high crit rate
• Dual Chop - Hits twice with brutal strikes, high crit ratio

Interactions with Other Abilities

Synergistic Abilities:

• Mystic Blades: Also uses Keen Edge's damage boost, plus converts physical slashing moves to special
• Pony Power (Blade's Essence): Combines Keen Edge + Mystic Blades effects
• Sweeping Edge Plus (Blademaster): Combines Keen Edge + Sweeping Edge (makes moves hit both foes and never miss)
• Molten Blades: Keen Edge boost + 20% burn chance on slashing moves
• Power Edge: Keen Edge moves target Special Defense and get additional 1.3x boost
• Best Offense: Keen Edge boost + makes slashing moves swap Attack/Special Attack splits
• Magus Blades: Keen Edge boost + dual wielding + stat swapping effects

Strategic Implications

• Offensive Powerhouse: 30% damage boost is substantial, making slashing moves hit significantly harder
• Wide Move Pool: Many common attacking moves benefit from this ability
• Crit Synergy: Most slashing moves have high crit ratios, creating powerful offensive combinations
• Type Coverage: Slashing moves span multiple types (Normal, Grass, Dark, Flying, Steel, etc.)
• Physical/Special Flexibility: Works with both physical moves (Slash, Night Slash) and special moves (Air Slash, Psycho Cut)

Example Damage Calculations

Base Slash (70 BP):

• Without Keen Edge: 70 BP
• With Keen Edge: 91 BP effective (70 × 1.3)

Leaf Blade (90 BP):

• Without Keen Edge: 90 BP
• With Keen Edge: 117 BP effective (90 × 1.3)

Air Slash (75 BP Special):

• Without Keen Edge: 75 BP
• With Keen Edge: 97.5 BP effective (75 × 1.3)

Common Users

• Grass-types: Utilize Leaf Blade, Razor Leaf, and other plant-based cutting moves
• Dark-types: Benefit from Night Slash and shadow-based slashing attacks
• Flying-types: Use Air Slash and Razor Wind effectively
• Steel-types: Access various blade-based moves with type synergy
• Normal-types: Classic slashing moves like Slash and Fury Swipes
• Bug-types: Fury Cutter and similar multi-hit slashing moves

Competitive Usage Notes

• Offensive Pressure: Provides consistent damage boost without setup requirements
• Move Diversity: Encourages diverse movesets with different slashing attacks
• Crit Fishing: Pairs excellently with the high crit rates of many slashing moves
• Type Coverage: Allows for broad offensive coverage with boosted moves
• Immediate Impact: No setup required - boost applies immediately

Counters

• Physical Walls: High Defense stats can mitigate boosted physical slashing moves
• Special Walls: High Special Defense for special slashing moves like Air Slash
• Intimidate: Reduces Attack stat, partially offsetting the Keen Edge boost for physical moves
• Burn: Halves physical Attack, significantly reducing physical slashing damage
• Abilities that Reduce Damage: Abilities like Multiscale, Filter, or Solid Rock
• Defensive Typing: Resisting the slashing move's type still provides defensive advantage

Synergies

• High Critical Hit Moves: Most slashing moves have high crit ratios, multiplying the effective damage boost
• STAB: Same-type attack bonus stacks multiplicatively with Keen Edge
• Choice Items: Choice Band/Specs further amplify the already-boosted slashing moves
• Weather Effects: Rain boosts for Water-type slashing moves, Sun for Fire-type blade moves
• Terrain Effects: Various terrains can provide additional boosts to certain slashing moves
• Life Orb: Stacks multiplicatively for even higher damage output

Version History

• Introduced as part of Elite Redux's expanded ability system
• Consistently provides 1.3x multiplier since implementation
• Works with both existing and newly-added slashing moves
• Flag system allows for easy expansion of compatible moves