Jade Empire's Fighting Styles, Part II

Image by Jason Engle.

The last post discussed the relevant aspects of Jade Empire's design, and explained the mechanical changes to the game's fighting styles that (in my opinion) would improve gameplay. This time I'm providing the hard details, for those who're already familiar with the game.

To review: The different factors for each style are no longer upgraded separately. Instead, each style also provides a passive secondary benefit (usually a small one, i.e. 5%/style rank for general benefits or 10%/style rank for ones that come up less often). You constantly receive the secondary benefits of your 4 chosen styles, regardless of which open you're using at any given moment. Switching in a new power mid-combat gives you that power's secondary benefit after a delay of several seconds.

MARTIAL
-Legendary Strike: Improves the speed of power attacks.
-Leaping Tiger: Improves the speed of your evasive moves.
-Thousand Cuts: Improves the speed of basic attacks.
-White Demon: Improves the damage of power attacks.
-Viper Style: Increases recovery time for basic attacks.
-Iron Palm: Reduces recovery time against enemy basic attacks.

WEAPON
-Long Sword: Improves how quickly you start/stop blocking.
-Staff: Increases recovery time for opponents you knock down.
-Dual Sword: Increases the damage of consecutive basic attacks (escalating benefit, starts with 2nd uninterrupted basic attack and maxes out with the 4th).
-Twin Axes: Reduces damage taken by attacks that interrupt one of your attacks.
-Mirabelle neither grants nor receives secondary benefits.

MAGIC
-Ice Shard: Decreases the cost of chi strikes.
-Dire Flame: Increases the damage of chi strikes.
-Tempest: Increases speed of area attacks.
-Stone Immortal: Increases the radius of your block.

TRANSFORMATION
-Toad Demon: Increases reach of melee attacks.
-Horse Demon: Blocked melee attacks reflect damage against attacker.
-Jade Golem: Decreases the focus cost of weapons.
-Red Minister: Decreases the durations of disabling enemy powers.

SUPPORT
-Heavenly Wave: Increases the benefit of chi healing.
-Spirit Thief: Reduces the cost of chi powers.
-Storm Dragon: Increases the speed of magic projectiles.
-Hidden Fist: Increases the damage dealt to disabled opponents.
-Paralyzing Palm: Increases the durations of your disabling powers.

As always, thoughts and comments are welcome.