Fighting Styles

The fighting style system in Bizarre Lineage offers 3 distinct melee combat disciplines: Boxing, Karate, and Kendo. Each fighting style costs $100 to learn from its respective trainer NPC and provides unique combo extensions, special moves, and playstyle options that complement your Stand abilities.

All fighting style moves scale off the Strength stat, making Strength investment essential for any melee-focused build. The higher your Strength, the more damage your fighting style moves will deal regardless of which style you choose.

Unlike sub-abilities, fighting styles can be freely swapped once you have learned all three. After purchasing all 3 styles from their trainers, you can switch between Boxing, Karate, and Kendo at any time without losing progress. This makes it worthwhile to invest $300 total to unlock maximum flexibility.

Boxing (9/10 Combo, 7/10 Damage): Boxing is the most popular fighting style in Bizarre Lineage due to its exceptional combo potential. With a 9/10 combo rating, Boxing allows the longest and most reliable combo strings in the game. While its raw damage per hit is slightly lower at 7/10, the sheer number of hits in a full Boxing combo more than compensates. Boxing is the safest and most beginner-friendly choice.

Karate (7/10 Combo, 8/10 Damage): Karate trades some combo length for higher individual hit damage and area-of-effect (AoE) attacks. With a 7/10 combo rating and 8/10 damage, Karate excels in group fights and PvE scenarios where you need to hit multiple enemies. Karate moves have wider hitboxes than Boxing, making them harder to dodge in PvP.

Kendo (8/10 Combo, 9/10 Damage): Kendo is the highest-damage fighting style with a 9/10 damage rating and strong 8/10 combo potential. Kendo moves include guard-breaking sword attacks that bypass blocking, making it devastating against defensive players. Uniquely, Kendo scales off the Weapon stat in addition to Strength, giving it the highest damage ceiling of all three styles when fully invested.

Boxing + Hamon + Whitesnake: The ultimate combo machine. Boxing's 9/10 combo rating combined with Hamon's M1 damage boost and Whitesnake's disc steal creates one of the longest and most punishing combo strings in the game. Ideal for players who want to win through relentless pressure.

Karate + Vampire + The World: Karate's AoE damage combined with Vampire lifesteal and The World's time stop creates a burst-heavy build with excellent sustain. Use time stop to land free Karate combos while healing through Vampire's lifesteal.

Kendo + Hamon + Anubis: The highest damage build in the game. Anubis uniquely scales off Weapon stat instead of Destructive Power, and Kendo also scales off Weapon stat — creating a double-scaling synergy. Add Hamon's M1 buff for devastating melee damage that melts any opponent.

Kendo + Vampire + Made in Heaven: MiH's incredible speed combined with Kendo's guard-break sword attacks and Vampire lifesteal creates a hit-and-run build that is extremely difficult to counter. The speed lets you land Kendo strikes and disengage before opponents can retaliate.

Boxing + Vampire + Star Platinum: Star Platinum's raw M1 power combined with Boxing's combo extensions and Vampire's lifesteal creates a brawler build with excellent sustain. Every hit in your long Boxing combo heals you through Vampire, making you incredibly hard to take down in extended fights.

Boxing + Hamon + Stone Free: Stone Free's string-based attacks extend naturally into Boxing combos, and Hamon's M1 buff amplifies every hit. This pairing is excellent for mid-range control — use Stone Free strings to pull enemies in, then finish with Boxing combo extensions.