POWER-ATTACK

The Power Attack skill gives you a chance of combining two separate attacks into one attack that does double damage. This has two chief benefits: (a) you get far superior stopping penetration because you only have to go through stopping once, instead of twice, and (b) there is a lot less battle spam if you have lots of attacks.

Thunder Attack is an improvement on Power Attack. If you successfully land a Power Attack you get a chance to convert two Power Attacks into a single Thunder Attack that does 4* normal damage. If you have 8 attacks and land two Thunder Attacks you essentially have to penetrate stopping only twice, instead of eight times.

Hit triggered behaviors on items (eg per hit chance weaponspells) have their chance to trigger multiplied to compensate for the loss in attacks, eg chance is doubled when a power attack is landed and quadrupled when a thunder attack is landed.

Critical hit multipliers are multiplied on top of the results from Power Attack and Thunder Attack. For example, if you land a Thunder Attack *and* a Critical Hit IV, you will do a total of 4*5, or 20* your normal damage. Power Attack and Thunder Attack do not adversely affect your Critical Hit Ability in any way. Furthermore, if you land a Cleave or a Great Cleave on a Power or Thunder Attack, those attacks in turn are also Power or Thunder Attacks respectively. Thunder and Power attacks therefore do not hurt your Cleave ability either.

These skills are automatic.