Iaido Katana

A katana that wins on the parry. Its own slashes are light, but every perfect parry strikes back on its own.

Early version (0.2.0), bugs are possible. Please report them on GitHub.

What it does

• Steel Katana. Two-handed, Swords skill, Plains tier. Its own damage is 40% of a Black Metal sword.
• Counter. A perfect parry staggers the attacker and the katana strikes back on its own, like a Black Metal sword (1.5 times that at Block 100). Parried arrows, spears and spells send half of it back. The katana barely blocks, so only a perfect parry stops a hit.
• Parry timing. Katanas parry within 200 ms (vanilla 250). An optional precise mode gives 150 ms and counters 15% stronger, each player's own choice.
• Custom animations. Full-body cuts made for the katana: a draw cut out of the scabbard, an overhead cut and a downward diagonal cut, each with a slow windup and a lightning-fast strike on the vanilla beat. The heavy attack draws up into a high stance and cuts straight down for 6 times the damage, from the scabbard or with the blade already out. Set Swing.CustomAnimations to false for the older animations borrowed from Krom and Stagbreaker.
• Iai stance and scabbard. In an iai stance the katana rests sheathed at the left hip. A perfect parry draws it and cuts. After fighting it is flicked clean and slowly sheathed. It stays sheathed through a roll, and put away it stays at the hip. Other players see it too.
• Impact frame. A landed counter flashes as a black and white ink picture, with a short freeze, a camera jolt and a metal crash. Only you see it.

Flametal Katana (Ashlands)

Its own curved Flametal shape, with lightning along the edge.

Thunderclap. The heavy attack crouches for 2.25 seconds while lightning gathers, then draws and dashes 13 meters through your enemies. Each one takes 10 times the katana's damage, and nothing hits you during the dash. It costs 100 stamina.

Crafting

Upgrades per level: Steel 10 Iron, 20 Coal, 3 Linen Thread. Flametal 10 Flametal, 2 Asksvin Hide (twice that for level 3, four times for level 4).

Both katanas can be refined past level 4 at the Forge of Potential with a Battle Idol (Black Metal for the Steel Katana, Flametal for the Flametal Katana), like the game's own swords.

Stats

Config

The file is BepInEx/config/onononoki.Iaido_Katana.cfg. Gameplay settings are synced from the server. Settings marked "yours" are each player's own.

Installation and compatibility

Use a mod manager, or put Iaido_Katana.dll into BepInEx/plugins. Requires BepInExPack Valheim and Jotunn. For multiplayer, install it on the server and on every player. Only katanas change, and every other weapon, block and parry stays vanilla.

Feedback and bug reports

Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue on GitHub. The source code is in the GitHub repository.

Changelog

0.3.2

• Animation speed control releases safely after interrupted attacks and weapon changes, while preserving hit stop.
• Lost or changed custom-animation overrides can recover.
• Animation-controller changes wait for attacks to finish and preserve the current animation when switching weapons.
• Stalled animation speed control can release without repeating damage.
• Optional diagnostics retain recent animation events throughout long sessions.

0.3.1

• A katana parry never staggers you anymore. Running out of stamina still breaks it. New setting Parry.NoStagger.
• A new parry sound made from Valheim's own metal sounds and inspired by Sekiro's deflects, with six variations that change with every parry. New setting Impact.ParrySoundVolume.
• Your own parry sounds. Put .wav files (16 bit) in BepInEx/config/Iaido_Katana/ParrySounds and each parry plays one at random.
• The Steel Katana's heavy attack lights up its surroundings much less, and hits leave only a small glint.
• The Thunderclap's streak is brighter and stays longer, and its cut also reaches enemies just past where the dash ends. Thunderclap.Afterimage can add an arc of light there.
• A much shorter config file with the settings that matter in play. Settings that an update changes now move only once, so your own values stay.

0.3.0

• The counter's cut sweeps wider and further and leaves a golden (Steel) or blue-white lightning (Flametal) afterimage that other players with the mod see too. A bigger parry glint.
• The counter's cut, the Steel Katana's heavy attack and the Thunderclap fell trees, logs and stumps like an axe.
• The katana's own cuts hit along the blade's path, and every swing hits all enemies in reach.
• The Steel Katana's heavy attack hits from high down to the feet, with a golden glint climbing the blade, a deeper swing sound and an upright golden afterimage.
• The Thunderclap gets a charge-up sound and a ball of lightning while gathering, a streak of light along the dash and a wider path that cuts through trees.
• Fixed the blade shaking on female characters.
• Works with Valheim 1.0.20.

0.2.2

• Lighter stamina costs for the swings and the Steel Katana's heavy attack.
• The counter's area cut can hit the same enemy again sooner, so quick parries land more cuts.
• Smoother animations with fewer pops and wobbles. The draw cut and the heavy attack no longer flick the blade out of the scabbard as they start.
• A steadier stance. The chest stays square while standing, walking and blocking, and starting or ending a block no longer snaps.
• The scabbard no longer cuts into the left thigh while walking.

0.2.1

• The counter hits harder, and its cut also hits every other enemy in reach.
• A steadier stance with less sway when blocking while moving sideways and less shoulder wobble while running.
• Smoother animations and hand-overs between the cuts and the stance.

0.2.0

• Custom full-body animations. A draw cut from the scabbard, an overhead cut and a downward diagonal cut, each with a slow windup and a lightning-fast strike.
• A new heavy attack, drawn up into a high stance and then one huge cut straight down.
• Smoother sheathing after two-handed cuts.
• Greatswords and sledges keep their own animations.
• Swing.CustomAnimations false brings back the older borrowed animations.

0.1.2 (beta)

• The Thunderclap ends in a wide horizontal finish.
• Smoother sheathing, no more jiggle.
• Recipes use four materials. Both katanas can be refined at the Forge of Potential.
• Fixed katanas losing durability too fast when blocking.

0.1.1 (beta)

• Natural arm poses in the stance, the parry, the sheathing and the Thunderclap.
• The katana stays sheathed through a roll.
• GitHub link for feedback and bug reports.

0.1.0 (beta)

• First public test version, work in progress.
• Steel Katana (Plains) and Flametal Katana (Ashlands), with their own models.
• A perfect parry strikes back on its own. Katanas parry within 200 ms, with an optional precise mode (150 ms, stronger counters).
• Iai stance, scabbard at the hip, draw and cut on a parry, slow sheathing after fighting.
• Impact frame when a counter lands.
• The Flametal Katana's heavy attack is the Thunderclap dash cut.