Overview[1]
The Katana is a popular yet infamous long, bladed sword within the game, being released on October 17th, 2020, as a part of the v1.0.0 pre-beta release of Criminality. It is currently only available at Dealers, costing $350 and is unlocked at Level 27. While it is considered one of the best melee weapon across the community, though not without its major faults. It is, at its core, extremely powerful due to its quick attack speed, high damage output, and long range, having a great price for a great melee, however because of its quick attack speed it can easily drain stamina and leave you vulnerable before catching your breath.
Stats
- Cooldown
- 0.6s
- Damage
- 31 (+7)
- Mobility
- 8
- Price
- • $350 Dealer • $350 Infection
- Sell value
- $175
- Slots
- 5
- Stamina
- 7
- Type
- Blade
- Unlock Level
- 27
Usage & Tactics
Since it can already dish out some heavy damage swiftly to complement that, it's an ideal weapon to ambush and surprise opponents while charging at them when they least expect you to strike. Unfortunately, it has a fairly loud equip sound, making it harder to take on your foes by surprise if you did not already have the weapon equipped for combat. It is also good for small crowd control because of the wide hitbox, decapitation range, and body part dismembering skills. While it can easily dismember unarmored limbs with two swings, it also has a third and much more lethal swing causing you to twirl the sword and instantly dismember limbs or decapitate any unfortunate opponent nearby, even if the prior hits haven't landed yet. Considering the third swing is the only one that has to hit for a decapitation, a viable strategy is to delay the first two swings slightly or swing twice around a corner and perform the third one on your main target to instantly kill them. The weapon only uses 7% stamina per slash, allowing you to easily down anyone if you hit your opponents correctly and precisely. A popular tactic many players use is pairing the katana with a Rage Dose, as the quick and powerful slashes of the Katana paired with faster sprinting speed, damage resistance and quick stamina regeneration is a successful way to get rid of anybody who has ever opposed you.
Blocking
The katana can block every melee other than: Shovel, Bat, Metal Bat, Sledgehammer, Fire Axe, Chainsaw, Cursed Dagger, Slayer's Sword II, ERADICATOR, The Katana can be blocked by: Baton, Taiga, Machete, Bat, Metal Bat, Katana, Sledgehammer, Scythe, Slayer's Sword II, ERADICATOR
Pros & Cons
Able to dismember and decapitates with 2 swings, even on t-1 armor. Can block many melee weapons. Fast attack Speed. Third swing instantly dismembers/decapitates. Very large swing radius. Low stamina usage. Third swing does extra damage. Takes up 5 inventory slots. Low stock. Can be blocked by most melee weapons. Very loud an noticeable equip sound. Expensive compared to other melees.
Patch history
Prior to the unlocking system, the Katana's unlock price was $50,000. Ever since the V.1.2.0 update, the 3rd swing of the Katana can instantly kill unarmored players, and players wearing the T-1 helmet, if the swing on the head. A change in the V.1.3.0 update globally affected all melees with the addition of a proper combo system, which required you to land the first 2 swings to be able to use the 3rd. The Katana was nerfed several times before the V1.2.0 update, due to previous community's complaints claiming it was overpowered. Despite the model being changed in the V1.4 update, the icon has not been changed. The swinging sounds come from Team Fortress 2's Half-Zatoichi. The unsheathing sound is the Linked Sword's equip sound, but higher-pitched.
