Shadow Whip | Equipment and Upgrades Castlevania: LoS 2 Guide

Shadow Whip upgrade window.

Description

The Shadow Whip is the first available weapon in the game. You can use it how much you want (it doesn't require any resource to be used), but at the same time it lacks any special abilities, like freezing / healing of the Void Sword or armor piercing / dealing addition damage of the Chaos Claws. Shadow Whip offers the longest attack range in the game.

Shadow Whip, of all the primary equipment, stands right in the middle - attacks done with it are faster than those from the Chaos Claws, and are stronger than those from the Void Sword. Using this weapon is also the only way to generate focus (Combat Focus) - using any other weapon or skill empties the Combat Focus bar.

Attacks, upgrades and recommended course of development

Unlocking and upgrading different attacks in the case of the Shadow Whip is way cheaper those of Void Sword / Chaos Claws. That is precisely why you can (and probably will) unlock most (if not all) of them. Here is short description, presented in the recommended order of unlocking:

• Combined Whip - it's available to you from the very beginning, but you can still upgrade it, unlocking an additional attack to the combo. It's worth to buy that upgrade, because its cheap, and it will one of your most frequently used skills - it allows you to attack with a series of quick attacks, which are effective against a single target.
• Combined Sweep - the equivalent of the above described skill, but instead of a direct attack, it uses an area attack, making the skill more suitable versus numerous, weak enemies. Like Combined Whip, this skill is also available from the beginning, and it can be upgraded.
• Rising Whip - a direct attack, allowing you to knock up an enemy in the air, where you can continue damaging him with other aerial attacks. This is a highly effective skill for any foe, but it's especially useful for mobile enemies, or those who can use teleportation - in the air they won't be able to use them. After a successful hit, continue with Aerial Whip.
• Rising Sweep - an area attack, the equivalent of Rising Whip, but, again, instead of a direct attack against one foe, it allows you to knock numerous weak enemies up in the air, where they can be dealt with using other aerial combos. It's very effective against a swarm of weak enemies, attacking you from every direction. After a successful hit, continue with Aerial Sweep.
• Aerial Whip - a direct aerial attack, allowing you to hold enemies in the air for longer and deal substantial damage to them. Use it after a successful Rising Whip and finish it with a Guillotine, to maximize the damage output.
• Aerial Sweep - the equivalent of above described skill and like all area attacks it is more suitable when you managed to knock up more than one enemy (especially when some foes are not directly in front of you). Use it after a successful Rising Sweep and finish it with a Smashing Sweep.
• Guillotine - a direct finishing attack, which, after an aerial battle, will deal massive damage and bring attacked enemies to the ground. You can (and you should) upgrade this skill to further increase already amazing damage. It is best used after a successful Aerial Whip.
• Smashing Sweep - an area finishing attack, allowing you to deal quite a lot of damage and bring attacked enemies to the ground, hitting even those who are not directly in front of you. It is best used after a successful Aerial Sweep.
• Sustained Whip - an attack dealing massive amounts of damage, close to those from the Chaos Claws. Additionally, this skill (last hit) work as a Block Breaker against certain enemies, allowing you to damage them without the use of Chaos Claws.
• Counterstrike Whip - a direct attack, which you can use after a successful Synchronized Block. It allows you to deal higher damage than with a normal attack.
• Counterstrike Sweep - an area attack, the equivalent of the above mentioned, which is available to you after a successful Synchronized Block. Instead of attacking a single enemy (the one that you blocked), you can damage all the surrounding foes.
• Somersault - this skill allows you to jump over and land behind an enemy.
• Somersault Whip - you can only use this skill after a Somersault. Invaluable while fighting with those huge, bulky, heavy armored enemies, who block your frontal attacks, like Riot Mechs or Dungeon Jailers.
• Sustained Sweep - a very situational skill, because it has the shortest attack range of all the Shadow Whip attacks, but it allows to attack foes both in front and in back of you. Despite the huge damage that this attack deals, it's not very useful in most combat scenarios, mostly because of the mentioned short range. You can finish this skill earlier, activating a finishing-type attack, which deals huge damage and goes through block.