Skills are attributes that help players out in Soulcalibur IV. There are five different kinds: Power skills, Impact skills, Boost skills, Gauge skills, and Special skills. Most can be attached to each character's weapon in Character Creation provided they have enough stats for the skill. However, there are special "S-Class" skills that are only available to boss characters in Story and Tower of Lost Souls mode.
Shave a small amount of HP from an opponent even if the attack was blocked.
50 Power, 20 Gauge
1
Shave Damage B
Shave HP from an opponent even if the attack was blocked.
70 Power, 30 Gauge
3
Shave Damage A
Shave a large amount of HP from an opponent even if the attack was blocked.
100 Power, 40 Gauge
7
Shave Damage S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Shave a very large amount of HP from an opponent even if the attack was blocked.
--
--
Auto Counter C
Gives players a slight chance of turning an attack that lands on the opponent into a Counter Hit.
60 Power
2
Auto Counter B
Gives players a chance of turning an attack that lands on the opponent into a Counter Hit.
90 Power
4
Auto Counter A
Gives players a high chance of turning an attack that lands on the opponent into a Counter Hit.
130 Power
8
Auto Counter S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Gives characters a very high chance of turning an attack that lands on the opponent into a Counter Hit, to the point that most attacks performed by the character will turn into counters.
--
--
Auto Unblockable Attack C
Gives players a slight chance of turning the next high damage attack into an Unblockable Attack.
80 Power
2
Auto Unblockable Attack B
Gives players a chance of turning the next high damage attack into an Unblockable Attack.
110 Power
5
Auto Unblockable Attack A
Gives players a high chance of turning the next high damage attack into an Unblockable Attack.
140 Power
9
Auto Unblockable Attack S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Gives the character a very high chance of turning the next high damage attack into an Unblockable Attack, causing the skill to be invoked very often.
--
--
Knock Down
Increases the player's Knock Down power.
80 Power, 30 Special
5
Nullify Aerial Control
Opponent is unable to gain aerial control until after being attacked three times in the air.
100 Power
6
Guard Breaker
All high damage attacks are Guard Breaks for a certain amount of time by pressing A+B+K simultaneously during a match.
90 Power, 40 Boost
8
Impact skills[]
Name
Desc
Skill Points Required
Style Level Required
Nullify Counter C
Gives players a slight chance of turning the opponent's Counter Hit into a normal hit.
50 Impact
1
Nullify Counter B
Gives players a slight chance of turning the opponent's Counter Hit into a normal hit.
70 Impact
3
Nullify Counter A
Gives players a high chance of turning the opponent's Counter Hit into a normal hit.
100 Impact
6
Nullify Counter S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Gives the character a very high chance of turning the opponent's Counter Hit into a normal hit, to the point that counters rarely take effect.
--
--
Auto Impact C
Gives players a slight chance of performing an Impact when an attack is blocked.
60 Impact
2
Auto Impact B
Gives players a chance of performing an Impact when an attack is blocked.
90 Impact
4
Auto Impact A
Gives players a high chance of performing an Impact when an attack is blocked.
120 Impact
8
Auto Impact S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Gives the character a very high chance of performing an Impact when an attack is blocked, so that most attacks blocked will be impacted.
--
--
Impact Heal
When an Impact is performed, the player's HP is recovered proportional to the strength of the Impact.
50 Impact, 30 Gauge
3
Impact Edge
When an Impact is performed, damage proportional to the strength of the Impact is inflicted on the opponent.
80 Impact
4
Strong Impact
When an Impact is performed, the next attack will turn into a Counter Hit.
90 Impact, 40 Power
5
Master Impact
All of the player's Impacts will be Just Impacts, but the attacks must be executed in a shorter timeframe.
130 Impact
7
Soul Repel
Repel any attacks at any time except when in the air by pressing A+B+K simultaneously during a match.
110 Impact
9
Boost skills[]
Name
Desc
Skill Points Required
Style Level Required
Hysterical Strength
The player's stats increase inversely to the amount of Soul Gauge they have remaining.
50 Boost
1
Start Dash C
At the start of a match, all the player's stats are slightly higher for a certain amount of time.
50 Boost
1
Start Dash B
At the start of a match, all the player's stats are higher for a certain amount of time.
60 Boost
5
Start Dash A
At the start of a match, all the player's stats are much higher for a certain amount of time.
80 Boost
8
Start Dash S
Unavailable through Character Creation. At the start of a match, all the character's stats are dramatically boosted for a certain amount of time.
--
--
Will Power
All of the player's stats will increase when their HP decreases to a certain amount.
90 Boost
2
Soul Gauge Recovery C
Increases the rate at which the player's Soul Gauge recovers by a small amount.
30 Boost, 20 Gauge
2
Soul Gauge Recovery B
Increases the rate at which the player's Soul Gauge recovers.
40 Boost, 30 Gauge
4
Soul Gauge Recovery A
Increases the rate at which the player's Soul Gauge recovers by a large amount.
50 Boost, 40 Gauge
7
Soul Gauge Recovery S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Increases the rate at which the character's Soul Gauge recovers by a very large amount.
--
--
Alignment
The player's stats will increase or decrease depending on the opponents alignment (Good, Evil, or None).
50 Boost
3
Strengthen Horizontal
Strengthens the player's Horizontal Attacks while weakening other attacks.
70 Boost
4
Appeal
Stats increase when fighting an opponent of the opposite gender and decrease when fighting against an opponent of the same gender.
50 Boost
6
Hyper Mode
All stats increase for a certain amount of time by pressing A+B+K simultaneously during a match.
70 Boost, 30 Power
6
Strengthen Vertical
Strengthens the player's Vertical Attacks while weakening other attacks.
60 Boost
7
Skill Ability Up
Enhance the effects of a random skill by pressing A+B+K simultaneously during a match.
Start with a full Soul Gauge and slightly decrease the amount of damage to the Soul Gauge when blocking an opponent's attacks.
80 Gauge, 50 Power
3
Soul Gauge Boost A
Start with a full Soul Gauge and decrease the amount of damage to the Soul Gauge when blocking an opponent's attacks.
100 Gauge, 50 Power
5
Soul Gauge Boost S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Start with a full Soul Gauge and greatly decrease the amount of damage to the Soul Gauge when blocking an opponent's attacks.
--
--
Soul Gauge Damage C
Slightly increases the amount of damage on the opponent's Soul Gauge when an attack is blocked.
40 Gauge
1
Soul Gauge Damage B
Increases the amount of damage on the opponent's Soul Gauge when an attack is blocked.
60 Gauge
4
Soul Gauge Damage A
Greatly increases the amount of damage on the opponent's Soul Gauge when an attack is blocked.
90 Gauge
6
Soul Gauge Damage S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Very greatly increases the amount of damage on the opponent's Soul Gauge when an attack is blocked, so that the opponent cannot block many attacks before their Soul Gauge is emptied.
--
--
HP Drain C
When an attack lands on an opponent, the player's HP will recover a small amount proportional to the damage done to the opponent.
60 Gauge
1
HP Drain B
When an attack lands on an opponent, the player's HP will recover a medium amount proportional to the damage done to the opponent.
90 Gauge
3
HP Drain A
When an attack lands on an opponent, the player's HP will recover a large amount proportional to the damage done to the opponent.
120 Gauge
8
HP Drain S
Unavailable through Character Creation. When an attack lands on an opponent, the character's HP will recover a very large amount proportional to the damage done to the opponent.
--
--
Soul Gauge Rate Up C
Small increase in the amount Soul Gauge recovers when attacking.
30 Gauge
2
Soul Gauge Rate Up B
Increase in the amount Soul Gauge recovers when attacking.
50 Gauge
4
Soul Gauge Rate Up A
Large increase in the amount Soul Gauge recovers when attacking.
80 Gauge
7
Soul Gauge Rate Up S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Very large increase in the amount Soul Gauge recovers when attacking.
--
--
HP Recovery C
When the player is hit with a combo of 3 or more, their HP recovers a small amount proportional to the total damage of the combo.
50 Gauge
2
HP Recovery B
When the player is hit with a combo of 3 or more, their HP recovers a medium amount proportional to the total damage of the combo.
70 Gauge
5
HP Recovery A
When the player is hit with a combo of 3 or more, their HP recovers a large amount proportional to the total damage of the combo.
100 Gauge
8
HP Recovery S
Unavailable through Character Creation. When the character is hit with a combo of 3 or more, their HP recovers a very large amount proportional to the total damage of the combo.
--
--
HP Burst
Recover HP by pressing A+B+K simultaneously during a match, though the player's Soul Gauge will gradually decrease after a certain amount of time.
130 Gauge
6
HP Burst S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Fully recover HP by pressing A+B+K simultaneously during a match.
--
-
Soul Gauge Vamp
Randomly decrease an opponent's Soul Gauge and absorb part of it by pressing A+B+K simultaneously during a match.
100 Gauge, 30 Special
9
Special skills[]
Name
Desc
Skill Points Required
Style Level Required
Switch Speed Up
Increases the rate at which the player's Soul Gauge increases during AMB.
80 Special
1
Auto Grapple Break C
Has a slight chance of performing a Grapple Break when thrown.
30 Special, 30 Impact
1
Auto Grapple Break B
Has a chance of performing a Grapple Break when thrown.
50 Special, 30 Impact
3
Auto Grapple Break A
Has a large chance of performing a Grapple Break when thrown.
70 Special, 40 Impact
7
Auto Grapple Break S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Almost sure of performing a Grapple Break when thrown.
--
--
Double-Edged Sword
Increases the rate at which the player's Soul Gauge gains and loses.
60 Special
2
Nullify Ring Out C
Has a slight chance of preventing a Ring Out.
40 Special
2
Nullify Ring Out B
Has a chance of preventing a Ring Out.
70 Special
4
Nullify Ring Out A
Has a large chance of preventing a Ring Out.
100 Special
6
Nullify Ring Out S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Almost sure of preventing a Ring Out.
--
--
Venom Fang C
Additional small poison damage to a downed opponent, though the poisoned state will stop when the opponent lands an attack ot after a certain amount of time.
50 Special, 20 Power
3
Venom Fang B
Additional poison damage to a downed opponent, though the poisoned state will stop when the opponent lands an attack ot after a certain amount of time.
70 Special, 30 Power
5
Venom Fang A
Additional large poison damage to a downed opponent, though the poisoned state will stop when the opponent lands an attack ot after a certain amount of time.
100 Special, 40 Power
8
Venom Fang S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Very large poison damage to a downed opponent, though the poisoned state will stop when the opponent lands an attack or after a certain amount of time.
--
--
Magnet
Reduces Knock Down power on both sides.
75 Special
4
Run Speed Up
Increases the player's running speed.
70 Special
6
Invisible
Allows the player to become temporarily invisible by pressing A+B+K during a match.
130 Special
7
Invisible S
Unavailable through Character Creation. Allows the character to become permanently invisible by pressing A+B+K during a match.
--
--
Step Speed Up
Increases the player's stepping speed.
70 Special
8
Charge Cancel
Allows a player to cancel a move used while attacking the opponent by presing A+B+K simultaneously during a match.
150 Special
9
Slow Feet
Slows the player's running and stepping speed. Only available to player characters through Native Skills.
--
--
Evil Sword Berserk
Randomly cancels a player's attack animation and causes damage to the player. Only available to player characters through Native Skills.
