If you only learn one concept from this site, make it this one. The recovery window is the period after an attack during which the attacker cannot do anything, and it is where essentially all of your damage will come from in every duel and every boss fight here.
The three phases, briefly
An attack has a wind-up, an active window and a recovery. The wind-up is the blade drawing back and hurts nothing. The active window is about a tenth of a second and is the only part that connects. The recovery is everything after.
During recovery the attacker cannot block, dodge, or start another attack. They are, for a measurable fraction of a second, a stationary target.
Fighting games call these startup, active and recovery frames and measure them at sixtieths of a second. Arcade games use the same idea with far fewer moves and far more generous numbers, because a player has to learn them in one session rather than one season.
How long a recovery lasts
The baseline values used across this site are worth memorising, because they decide what you can do about an opening.
A light attack takes about 160 milliseconds from press to connect and a heavy about 370. Read those against the table: against a whiffed light attack only a light will land in time, and throwing a heavy just gives your opponent their own punish.
| Move | Recovery | What fits in it |
|---|---|---|
| Light attack | 160 ms | One light attack |
| Heavy attack | 340 ms | One heavy, or two lights |
| Thrust | 220 ms | One light attack |
| Spin | 420 ms | One heavy, or two lights |
| Boss attack | 500-900 ms | Two or three attacks |
| Stagger from a parry | ~900 ms | Two or three attacks |
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Why it exists
Without a recovery, attacking would have no cost. Every defensive option would be strictly worse than attacking, because there would be no moment at which defending could be the better choice, and the optimal strategy would be to hold the attack button down.
The recovery is what creates the window in which spacing, blocking, parrying and dodging can all be correct. It is the single design decision that makes the rest of the combat system possible.
It is also why the guard exists at all: the guard is how you survive an active window in order to reach the recovery behind it.
Recognising one in play
The visual tell is consistent across the site. In the side-view games, a recovering fighter's blade has dropped low and their arm is extended past the target. In the top-down games, the slash arc has completed and faded.
Several games draw it explicitly. Blade Master and One-Tap Sword both put a recovery bar under your own fighter, so you can see exactly when your input will be accepted again. Ultimate Sword Arcade prints the word OPEN above a boss during its recovery.
The audio tells are useful too. The slay and hit sounds are distinct from the swing sound, and a swing with no impact sound after it is a whiff - which means a recovery is starting right now.
Why recovery is longer than wind-up
Across every attack in the library, the recovery is longer than the wind-up. That asymmetry is deliberate and it is what makes attacking a decision rather than a formality.
If the two were equal, the risk of attacking would be symmetrical with the opportunity it creates, and the correct play would be to attack whenever you were not certain you should not. Making recovery the longer phase tips the arithmetic: an attack that misses costs you more time than it spent threatening, so an unjustified swing is not neutral but actively bad.
The gap widens with the size of the attack - a light attack recovers in 160 milliseconds against a heavy's 340, and a spin's 420. That is exactly why the larger attacks are punish tools rather than opening tools.
Your own recovery
This guide has been about the opponent's recovery, and yours is running at the same time. Being aware of it changes what you do immediately after swinging.
The instinct after a hit lands is to swing again. Against a staggered target that is correct; against anything else, your recovery is running while their wind-up is not, and you have just handed them the same opening you were trying to create. The tell is whether the target actually reacted - a stagger is drawn, and if you did not see one, the exchange is over.
Several games draw your recovery explicitly as a small bar under your fighter, which is worth glancing at while learning. Once the timing is in your hands you stop needing it, and the habit that remains - not pressing again until the blade has returned - is the one that matters.
Creating recoveries deliberately
You do not have to wait for an opponent to whiff. Baiting - entering their preferred range and immediately leaving it - produces a swing at where you were, reliably, because the AI here decides whether to commit about ten times a second.
A parry produces one directly, and a much longer one: around 0.9 seconds, which is enough for two or three attacks rather than one.
Guard-breaking a defensive opponent produces the longest opening available against an AI duellist, and it is the intended answer to the defensive fighter in Sword Duel Arena.
Key takeaways
- The recovery is the period after an attack when the attacker cannot block, dodge or attack.
- A light attack recovers in 160 ms and a heavy in 340. A light connects in 160 and a heavy in 370.
- Against a whiffed light, throw a light. Against a whiffed heavy, you have room for a heavy.
- Without recoveries, attacking would be free and every defensive option would be pointless.
- A swing sound with no impact sound after it means a recovery is starting.
- Bait, parry or guard-break to create recoveries rather than waiting for them.
Frequently asked questions
What is a recovery window?
The period after an attack during which the attacker cannot block, dodge or start another attack. It is where nearly all your damage comes from in any duel.
How long is a recovery window?
160 milliseconds after a light attack, 340 after a heavy, 500 to 900 after a boss attack, and around 900 after a parry stagger.
Should I punish with a light or a heavy attack?
A light attack connects in about 160 milliseconds and a heavy in about 370. Against a whiffed light only a light will land; against a whiffed heavy you have room for either.
How do I know when an opponent is recovering?
Their blade has dropped and their arm is extended past you. Several games also draw a recovery bar or print OPEN above the target.
Can I create a recovery rather than waiting for one?
Yes - bait an attack by entering and leaving range, parry to force a 0.9-second stagger, or break a defensive opponent's guard.
Should I attack again immediately after landing a hit?
Only if the target staggered. Otherwise your own recovery is running while their wind-up is not, and you have handed them exactly the opening you were trying to create.
Why is recovery longer than wind-up?
So that an attack which misses costs more than it spent threatening. Equal phases would make attacking a reasonable default; a longer recovery makes an unjustified swing actively bad.