Sword Dance

Level 11 HP 160

Attack 22 (29)

Defense 24 (95%) Magic def 32 (93%)

Defense% 5% Dexterity 52 Luck 0

EXP 39 AP 6 Gil 90

Abilities Bodyblow (21), Slap (26), Sawback (⚞14)

Battle Square HP 320

Attack 27 (36)

Elements Invalid: Earth

Status Defend: Stop, Paralyzed

Steal Hyper (11.2%)

Drop Loco weed (14.1%)

Morph Light Curtain

Manipulate Bodyblow, Slap

Encountered In Midgar Shinra Building, Gold Saucer

Sword Dances generally attack in the order of basic attack, basic attack, Sawback (on the party), then repeat. They can begin this cycle at any point, and each attack has a 20% chance to be used twice consecutively. Once below 50% HP they start to counter attackers with Slap, which deals damage and causes Fury. This also increases their double attack rate, but only until you attack them again. Keep up the pressure and there's not much to worry about.

Compare Sword Dance to other Monsters

Monster Abilities: Used by Sword Dance – 3 shown

Basic abilities are not called out by name when used; some abilities are used as basic abilities only by certain monsters Name	MP	The damage calculation of the ability; P or M represent the user's physical or magic base damage, which is based on their Attack/Magic atk and Level; damage based on P or M is reduced by 1/3 when used against multiple targets; HP or MP are those of the target of the ability; abilities marked with an asterisk (*) use special damage formulas; a dagger (†) indicates the ability ignores Defense/Magic def; healing, MP restoration, HP draining, and MP draining or damaging abilities are indicated by their text color Base Damage	The estimated average amount of damage this ability will deal to a target with 128 Defense or Magic def when used by this monster (3/4 of base damage); actual damage will vary considerably based on the target's actual Defense or Magic def and other factors, but this is a good measure of the relative danger of this ability; a dagger (†) indicates that the ability deals set damage or otherwise ignores Defense and Magic def; numbers in italics are based on factors that will change during combat and should be considered very rough estimates; healing, MP restoration, HP drain, and MP drain or damage are indicated by text color Typical Damage	Attack%	Type	Target	Element	The status effects that can be inflicted or removed by this ability, and the chance of success if it is not assured Status	Special Properties
Bodyblow	-	P	21	100%	Physical	One enemy	Hit	-	-
Slap	-	125%×P	26	95%	Physical	One enemy	Hit	Add: Fury (47%)	-
Sawback	-	P	⚞14	100%	Physical	All enemies	Cut	-	-

Screens: Where Sword Dance is Encountered – 4 shown

Area	Temporary screens become permanently inaccessible during the normal course of the game Name	The random encounter groups that you may fight on this screen; this list only includes standard encounters, but special encounter types may also be present as detailed on the screen detail page; encounter rates are in parenthesis and are out of 256 Random Encounters	How many treasures (items of interest containing equipment or other items) are found on this screen Treasures	The price of the cheapest inn in this screen. it is not necessarily always available Inn Price	Save Point	Notes
Midgar Shinra Building	Elevator	-	-	-	-	-
Midgar Shinra Building	Shinra Bldg. 63f. (Main Area)	Hammer Blaster (72) Sword Dance (68) 2 Hammer Blasters (60) 2 Sword Dances (56)	7	-	-	-
Midgar Shinra Building	Shinra Bldg. 65f. (Main Area)	Hammer Blaster (60) Sword Dance (56) 2 Hammer Blasters (52) 2 Sword Dances (48) 3 Sword Dances (40)	6	-	-	-
Gold Saucer	Arena Lobby	-	-	-	-	-

Set Encounters: With Sword Dance – 2 shown

Limited encounters never appear as random encounters; bosses are involved in important plot fights; special bosses and the final bosses are specifically called out as well; super bosses represent the greatest challenge in the game; Battle Square encounters only appear in the Battle Square; chocobo encounters only appear in certain areas when using a Chocobo Lure and can be caught Encounter	Area	Screen	Details	The range of levels of monsters in this encounter Level	EXP	AP	Gil	In a pincer attack, your party is surrounded; in a side attack, your party surrounds the enemies; in a back attack, the enemy attacks from behind Type	A factor indicating how hard it is to run from a battle; for example, it will generally take twice as long to run from a battle with a ×2 run difficulty than one with a ×1 run difficulty Run Difficulty
Sword Dance	Midgar Shinra Building	Elevator	Encountered on the elevator on floors 31, 35, 42, 49, or 51 during a frontal assault	11	39	6	90 gil	Normal Battle	×1
2 Sword Dances	Midgar Shinra Building	Elevator	Encountered on the elevator on floors 32, 36, 40, 46, 54, or 55 during a frontal assault	11	78	12	180 gil	Normal Battle	×1

Battle Square Battles: With Sword Dance – 1 shown

The special battle must be unlocked by fulfilling certain requirements Name	Type	When this battle is available; only one regular battle is available at any given time Available	The starting encounters that indicate that you will be competing against group 1 during a regular battle Encounter Group 1	The starting encounters that indicate that you will be competing against group 2 during a regular battle Encounter Group 2	Which characters can participate in this battle, subject to both timing and special rules Characters	The potential rewards for competing in the battle square; these don't include items that can be purchased with earned battle points Rewards	Area	Screen
First Regular Battle	Regular Battle	Before gaining use of the Tiny Bronco	2 Mono Drives 2 Grunts 3 Grunts Guard Hound	2 Guard Hounds Grashtrike 2 Chuse Tanks 3 Grashtrikes	Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aeris, Red XIII, Yuffie, Cait Sith, Vincent	Tissue Battle Points	Gold Saucer	Arena Lobby

Battle Square Rounds: With Sword Dance – 1 shown

Battle	Round	Possible encounters you may fight during this round of the battle for group 1 Group 1 Encounters	Possible encounters you may fight during this round of the battle for group 2 Group 2 Encounters
First Regular Battle	4	2 Sword Dances Moth Slasher 2 Brain Pods Vargid Police, Zenene	Sword Dance 3 Sword Dances 2 Moth Slashers Brain Pod

Encounters: With Sword Dance – 3 shown

Limited encounters never appear as random encounters; bosses are involved in important plot fights; special bosses and the final bosses are specifically called out as well; super bosses represent the greatest challenge in the game; Battle Square encounters only appear in the Battle Square; chocobo encounters only appear in certain areas when using a Chocobo Lure and can be caught Name	The range of levels of monsters in this encounter Level	EXP	AP	Gil	In a pincer attack, your party is surrounded; in a side attack, your party surrounds the enemies; in a back attack, the enemy attacks from behind Type	Whether pre-emptive strikes are possible in this encounter; pre-emptive strikes are only possible during normal battles, and are disabled during any set encounter on a map with no random encounters, even if the encounter would normally allow them; there are no pre-emptive strikes in the battle square Pre-emptive?	A factor indicating how hard it is to run from a battle; for example, it will generally take twice as long to run from a battle with a ×2 run difficulty than one with a ×1 run difficulty Run Difficulty	The specific monsters that appear in this encounter; a dagger (†) indicates that one or more of the marked monsters have cover, meaning that they cannot be attacked until certain monsters in closer rows have been defeated Monsters
Sword Dance	11	39	6	90 gil	Normal Battle	No	×1	Sword Dance
2 Sword Dances	11	78	12	180 gil	Normal Battle	No	×1	2 Sword Dances
3 Sword Dances	11	117	18	270 gil	Normal Battle	No	×1	3 Sword Dances

Items: Held by Sword Dance – 3 shown

Uncommon items cannot be purchased in shops, but can be found or won multiple times in other ways; rare items can only be found at specific points during the game; special items are held by the most powerful monsters in the game Name	Description	The damage calculation of the item's effect; multiple hits are indicated first; items deal full damage to multiple targets and always hit; HP or MP are those of the character the item is used on; healing and MP restoration items are indicated by their text color Base Damage	Type	Target	Element	The status effects that can be inflicted or removed by this spell, and the chance of success if it is not assured Status	Special Properties	Price	Value	Use in Field?
Hyper	Cures [Sadness]	-	Magic	One ally	-	Remove: Sadness	Adds Fury if target does not have Sadness	100 gil	50 gil	Yes
Loco weed	Uses “Confu” on all opponents	-	Magic	All enemies	-	Add: Confusion (78%)	-	-	1 gil	No
Light Curtain	Creates [Barrier] around all allies	-	Magic	All allies	-	Add: Barrier	-	-	1 gil	No

Elements: Resisted by Sword Dance – 1 shown

Physical elements are applied to physical attacks rather than magic; healing elements heal rather than harm; the hidden element is not shown within the game menus Name	Type
Earth	Magic

Status Effects: Resisted by Sword Dance – 2 shown

Positive status effects are generally beneficial; negative status effects are generally harmful; special status effects can only be inflicted by certain materia commands Name	This status is negated by its opposed status Opposed	Type	Duration	Effect
Paralyzed	-	Negative	Temporary	Character cannot act
Stop	-	Negative	Temporary	Character can't act

Hammer Blaster SOLDIER:3rd

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Sword Dance

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