Highwind (ハイウインド, Haiuindo) is a Formchange in Kingdom Hearts III. It allows the user to transform the Keyblade into a halberd, allowing long-ranged thrusts.

Design

Highwind transforms the Keyblade into a dull grey spear. The tip is rested on the steering wheel.

The Highwind's name, abilities, and appearance as a halberd are derived from the recurring Final Fantasy term "Highwind", often used in association to the lance-wielding Dragoons.

Mechanics

In Kingdom Hearts III, Highwind is the first Formchange of the Wheel of Fate Keyblade, associated with Strike Form. It has a base duration of 25 seconds and a maximum combo length of 5. Its attacks are long-ranged and sweeping, allowing Sora to attack with rapid thrusts and slashes. The ground and aerial combos begin with Sora pulling back the spear before thrusting the spear forward, then slashing the spear upwards, followed by a horizontal spinning slash and then twisting upwards while slamming the spear onto the ground. The first combo finisher involves Sora thrusting the spear as ethereal copies of it thrust forwards before thrusting upwards, while the second involves him teleporting upwards, sending the ethereal spears downwards in a circular arc, and finally slamming the ground. Filling the situation gauge while in Highwind allows Sora to Formchange into Storm Flag.

While the Formchange is active in combat, Sora will always use Air Slide on the ground, and Aerial Dodge in the air, as long as at least one of these two mobility abilities is equipped (and no matter which one is equipped).

Highwind uses Artillery-style Magic.

Abilities

Alongside the abilities from Strike Form, Highwind also has access to Guardbreaker.

Form Actions
Attack		Attribute	Power Multiplier	Form Value	Reaction Value	Revenge Value	Guard?	Repel LV	Status Effect
Keyblade Transformation Attack (キーブレード変形演出中の攻撃, Kīburēdo Henkei Enshutsu-chū no Kōgeki)		Physical	0.5(x3)+1.0	0	1(x4)	0	O	—	—
Rush Thrust (突進突き, Tosshin Tsuki)		Physical	1.0	8	1	0.5	O	—	—
		Will be replaced by the "Upswing & Right Swing" attack if surrounded.
Upswing & Right Swing (振り上げ＆右振り, Furiage & Migi Furi)		Physical	0.5+1.0	4+8	1+1	0.4+0.5	O	—	—
Vertical Triple Downswing (縦３回転振り下ろし, Tate 3-kaiten Furioroshi)		Physical	0.5+0.5+1.0	4+4+8	1(x3)	0.4+0.4+0.5	O	—	—
Spear Rush		Physical	0.3(x5)+1.0	2(x5)+8	1(x6)	0.1(x5)+0.25	O	—	—
		Summon a host of halberds to strike at foes. (Combo finisher)
Spear Rain	(spear rain)	Physical	0.3 per hit	2 per hit	1 per hit	0.1 per hit	O	—	—
	(shockwave)	Physical	1.6	8	1	0.25	O	—	—
		Rain twelve halberds down on unwitting foes. (Combo finisher)
Rising Left Spin Swing (上昇左回転振り, Jōshō Hidari Kaiten Furi)		Physical	2.0	8	1	0.5	O	—	—
		Used when the target is above you.
Spear Dive		Physical	0.75+0.75	6+6	1+1	0.5+0.5	O	—	—
		Swoops with weapon pointed straight downward, generating a spreading shock wave upon landing. Used during a Superjump near the enemy or when above the target.

Strategy

Highwind is a powerful late-game Formchange, boasting high combo speed and excellent damage potential. It excels in single-target encounters and mob fights; Spear Rain is an excellent crowd control option, especially since Sora can use it mid-combo via Strike Form's Omega Finale, leading to chaining Spear Dive or magic into Spear Rain via Omega Finale as a crowd control and repositioning option. Its focus on Artillery Style magic also makes it ideal for ranged combat as well.

Since it is tied to Strike Form, it can chain Grand Magic into Omega Finale, which is far more useful here due to Wheel of Fate boasting the Waterza ability. Each use of Omega Finale counts as a combo reset, and so while Spear Rain and Grand Magic can chain nicely, doing so multiple times in a row is situational unless abilities like Combo Boost aren't a factor, and so in such cases it's recommended to keep Omega Finale after every cast of Grand Magic over using it after each one.

As Spear Rain lands directly above a target under Lock-On, it synergizes with Aero magic as it cancels out its end-lag upon landing, but Superjump should be turned off to avoid a transition into Flowmotion, which has far more limited options.

Sora can't move while using Artillery-style Magic, and thus should be a good distance away from opponents to use spells effectively. If an area gets too crowded with enemies, that is a great opportunity to charge and use Flag Rampage, providing a lot of safe damage while repositioning Sora back where the Shotlock was started afterwards.

Learning Highwind

Kingdom Hearts III

• The Wheel of Fate has Highwind as its first Formchange.

See also

• Storm Flag

• Formchanges