How to describe a fancy attack properly?

There is this attack that strikes with a big axe, it's main thing is 'The spirit of four holy beasts lend their power in your attack.' These four are the Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, White Tiger and Azure Dragon. How should I go about describing that help?

This attack strikes four times, so should it conjure some illusion of these beasts? Some kind of manifestation? There is also 2nd and 3rd version of the attack, 2nd is where my MC nears the power of those four holy beasts and it should be acknowledged in some way, the 3rd is kind of ultimate mastery where you can use four different elements on that earth/sky/ocean/hero. Each with some difference but more or less more powerful than 2nd. So the third is still four holy beasts lending power but it focuses on one of them specifically in some way..

There is also my problem with the 3rd version the MC being stronger than those four holy beasts combined by himself. How can I make him use such skill when he is stronger than skill which supposedly has someone power lent into the attack? Some kind of greater enlightment where he at 3rd version surpassess them in their own skill and makes it his? Kinda like Ocean is not Black Tortoise lending power but MC own inner strength being represented by a black tortoise. More like a symbol of power than a living being then.

 

Sounds interesting, my vocabulary isn't pro so I'll just wait for some pros to rec. Until then I'll be lurking, don't mind me

 

"He smashed axe really hard"

 

So what are the elements for these four beats?

Somehow I was thinking like, let the birdie do burning damage (leaving burn effect on target for DoT dmg) , tortoise doing corrosion or slow+defence penetration or lowering defence, dragon on extending the range + enhancing the damage by %, and lastly little tiger gives high critical effect + speed boost.
Mix up all of it, would literally be either KO or in a KD death state.

Lastly Manifestation may look better when using the skill, illusion works too.

 

Um, the cliche shout together or instantaneous communication with the four while shouting your attack or attacks simultaneously?

Definitely, but the manifestation should be clear, blurry, or transparent. You should clarify if it's merely aura, killing intent, or the actual physical materialization of the four.

Huh? So respectively, earth, sky, ocean, and hero refer to the four holy beasts? You honestly gotten us confused.

Then manifest only one of the beasts authority. It could be specific to that holy beast's nature or element.

Ever heard of elemental attacks? What about having the holy beasts auras affect him with their own innate abilities, while having the enemy confront the innate offensive abilities merged or stacked together in your final move?

Why surpass it if he already stronger than them as you said?

Huh? It would be him replicating that holy beast's technique or nature, unless his soul has mutated from the constant or exposure to that holy beast? Is it a bloodline technique or a move anyone can use at a certain higher level involving the elements or the soul?

So aura or the mark of the holy beast with it emitting it's authority and power?

 

Bam! Boom! Beam! Bruh!

 

Obviously through a music video, for example:

 

Kinda it's like Ocean for Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon is hero, Tiger is earth, Bird is Sky. Though it's mainly physical attack, at 3rd version it has special qualities a bit. But whatever fits.

 

I'm being inspired by an mmo here that is based on Zhu Xian, that's how it goes. Also a bit troublesome since it's not straight out element.

It should be each for four attacks, maybe tiger claw striking at the same time as the axe is swung, and similar things to other three attacks.

That could be interesting for the 3rd version as some final move.

It goes how there will be mortals/immortal and gods, and since MC would be at the top, but with power sealed, his skill however would surpass universaly known minor gods four holy beasts, which this skill takes power from. It's a skill which you learn at the peak of mortal power, the 2nd one is as immortal, where you start approaching these beasts, 3rd when you surpass them as god and make the move not about them but about you kinda.

I think to better describe it would be those four aspects, a bit like furinkazaan, swift as lightning, silent as the forest, immovable as the mountain, etc. For 1-2 versions it would be as indomitable as the tortoise, as swift as bird, as silent as tiger, as strong as dragon. Well, it's physical attack more or less, but the idea is that at 3rd level, you do not get power lent from these four but you use your own aspect of these four, yor indomitability, your swiftness, your strength and find out it's vastly stronger than merely being lent power. Though final form of this attack still eludes me to a dagree.

I think in simple terms it would be for 1st, realistic illusion of four beasts lending the power and maybe making attacks of their own that synces with axe attack, 2nd would be manifestation where they semi physicaly appear and strike, 3rd would be just the axe wielding guy, but all thore would be not illusions or manifestations, it would be just him giving off their aura a bit but also his own aura vastly stronger.

 

This looks complicated, confusing and kind of doesn't seems to match with each other. Although I was thinking like, if it was fire water earth and wind, I could probably just get out an old game skill from my list.

I had played zhu xian (Jade Dynasty), but don't really understand how it inspired you.

 

Rule of thumb is: If your description is more than a few words, ditch it. Nothing feels shittier in a fight than pointless descriptions.

 

Haven't watched it but I guess it should help.

 

If you played it then you can perhaps remember Balo Powerful Aid T5 skill, that's basicaly it but without humanoid bears..

 

Hmm let's see ,You can add some lighting effects
Example:
Jets of red and orange lights began to circle around him before forming a tiger ready to pounce on it's prey As He swung down his axe ,aiming directly for her head.

 

Nah, didn't try the big guy. Always went after ryan and celan. Last time wanted to play with the New Spear guy, sadly didn't download it.

 

Spear guy is a Kytos, we have new ones like Gevrin with Umbrella, Seira with a fan, Psychea with a brush, Hydran with a halberd+4 swords thing.

 

Okay, this "attack" is described to us in a complicated fashion that is about as clear as mud. I'm going to break down what I have read and how I have interpreted it to mean, before explaining how I would suggest you start thinking about explaining it and having your MC continue to use it after they become "more powerful than the technique that lead them to that power". Please note, I am basing this purely off of what I have read here, because I could not find a video showing the game character using the technique you are describing.

The details I have read and the shortest method to introduce it that I can produce are the following. The Technique Contains 4 Attacks, 4 "Elements" (earth/sky/ocean/hero) has 3 Recognised Levels (Weakling, Blessed By-Divine Beast & Surpass-Divine Beast), and is practised while wielding an Axe (minor detail that doesn't need to be analysed). Other details are, as yet, undecided, but the technique relates to the four Holy Beasts of White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise and Azure Dragon, which in turn relate to the four elements, Earth, Sky, Ocean & Hero.

To start my interpretation, the technique containing 4 Attacks can be read in many ways, particularly when read in conjunction with the 4 "elements" part. Either the Technique is 4 continuous strikes, 4 continuous strikes of one of each of the 4 "elements", 4 "elemental" variations on 1 strike, a minimum of 4 variations of a combination of 4 strikes. The last one is "a minimum" because it, itself, can be interpreted in two ways, either with 1 variation for each element, or having the possibility to mix-and-match the Elements in the middle of the 4 strikes. Which one of this it fits affects other decisions, and I'm not clear which one it is.

Next is that you want help in explaining why the MC continues to use the technique that made him powerful, after it made him powerful. There are several ways for you to do this, depending on how you wish to apply this change, and how the technique works. For example, a new, 5th, variation on how you could have the technique work is with developmental change. You have already introduced the fact that there's three levels to the technique, so having each level of the technique be shown through mastery of the technique as well as power could make it easier to continue using. Foundational, or "Weak" Level has the technique be a 4-hit combination, smoothly transitioning between Earth (Strike Down), Sky (Strike Up), Ocean (Horizontal Swing) and Hero (Finisher). Once sufficiently mastered, an individual gains blessed enlightenment from each of the Divine Beasts, learning how to appropriately utilise that Beast's Element in the technique both as an individual strike, and a four-hit combo of it's own. It isn't finished simply by being blessed by the 4 beasts, though, that's just mastery of the 2nd Level, which leads you to be near the power of the Divine Beasts. Surpassing them requires you to internalise and interpret their elements and make the technique completely your own, succeeding at which would allow you to transition between the elements freely in any number of moves as you want. In other words, the third level of Mastery would allow you to use the Elemental Variations smoothly at any time, as if they were normal swings, with some more effort expended (basically making it so that using the technique can turn what was basic attacks into a more powerful and "elementally aligned" variation at a moment's notice to the opponent).

Continuing, an alternative method is that the technique provides temporary empowerment, regardless of what level the user is at when it's used. Basically, at the introductory level, the Technique is the most powerful thing in the MC's ability to utilise because it empowers them when they use it. At Second level, the Technique passively puts the MC near the Divine Beast's Level, and using the Technique temporarily puts him on the level of offensive strength equal to the offensively weakest of the Divine Beasts. At third level, while the MC is passively above the Divine Beasts in strength, using the technique gives them the ability to surpass the most defensive of the Divine Beasts's Defences, possibly even easily, which can't be said even if they match them in power.

Finally, visual representation of using the technique. The common method I have read for Animal Related Techniques to be represented is to introduce an illusion of the animal in question when the technique is being used. This can be as simple as them standing behind the user imitating them using the technique, or be a part of the technique itself. If you go with the 4 continuous strikes of each of the 4 elements variation, then the user could swing down with the Axe appearing to be encased with White Earth of the Tiger, Swing Up with the Vermilion Flames of the Phoenix, swing across with the Black Water of the Tortoise, and end the technique with the Azure Glow of the Dragon, at first level. At second level the Axe looks like the White Tiger, Vermilion Phoenix, Black Tortoise and Azure Dragon. At third level the illusions of the divine beasts majestically stand behind the user, maybe even imitating them, as they use the technique, possibly with the Axe shining White, Vermilion, Black and Azure all at the same time.

Anyway, that's my reply. Please inform me if I missed something important to talk about.

 

I would personally use the names of the move in a fight instead of describing it. Me saying ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA gives a better image than "A flurry of high-speed punches smashed DIO!!"
Or [Elephant Gun] From One Piece, you only need to describe their move once for them to understand the nature of it then just name it a move, then in a fight go Luck used [Four Elemental World Cleave] so the readers understand the move without losing the high-paced battle. That's my personal preference, but if you go name the move a metaphor or a simile that helps the reader visualize what's happening. It sounds childish but it works surprisingly well

 

That's amazing reply, thank you. Regarding going into specifics.


The technique has three major levels levels:

1st level(5 minor ones) is normal one that mortals use, ingame it's 4 one by one strikes of a bear(idk why), so I would like to make it 4 beasts as that's what the description says. It's kind of attack of axe but with greater power and four times.

2nd level(20 minor ones) is achieved when you are immortal and unlock vigor which is immortal energy, this technique is then empowered by philosophical side you adhere to, it is good/neutral/evil, though irl they are more like selfless/neutral/selfish MC is on evil side so his technique is empowered by his evil mastery, and it is the strongest attack technique that MC knows that is below god levels.

3rd level is when MC ascends to godhood, it has 4 minor levels, it would be easier to explain with numbers, 1st minor level is 150-154, aka minor god, that's where 4 divine beasts are at individually, and if user is also 150-154 then he with this technique is at least at their level and probably above them individually, 2nd minor level is 155-159 which is a stronger god, user is already above the 4 beasts and the technique makes his attack even stronger, 3rd minor level is 160, that's when MC becomes full god and 4th minor level is unlocked when user unlocks divine power which all around vastly enhances his power.

3rd level technique is split between earth/ocean/sky/hero, minor levels 1-3 focus on one each which MC masters one by one 4th is total mastery and MC can use any they like to effortlessly.

For some power levels(kinda undecided as they vary much).

mortals peak out at things like changing weather, splitting it, cutting mountains and seas. This can be achieved by 5th minor level of 1st major level made for mortals.

immortals peak is destroying planets with some effort, 2nd major level is capable of that.

full god with divine power can almost effortlessly destroy whole star systems. 3rd major level 4th minor can do it easily.

Sorry for it being complicated @Darius Drake