Revision as of 12:30, 28 June 2025

Kain
General	Starter Guide	Combos	Strategy	Frame Data
Matchups	Builds	Match Videos	Gallery	Resources

Info

Name	Kain Highwind (カイン・ハイウインド)
Original game	Final Fantasy IV
Base ATK (LV100)	110 (Average)
Base DEF (LV100)	111 (Average)
Run Speed	8 (Below Average)
Dash Speed	81 (Below Average)
Fall Speed	67 (Fast)
Fall Speed Ratio After Dodge	16 (Very Fast)
Fastest BRV	19F (Spiral Blow, Lance Barrage)
Fastest HP	41F (Dragon's Fang)
1-Hit HP	Yes (Dragon's Fang)
HP Links	Yes (Combos only)
Command Block	No
Weapon	Daggers, Greatswords, Katanas, Spears, Swords
Armor	Shields, Gauntlets, Large Shields, Helms, Light Armor, Heavy Armor
Exclusive weapons	Black Dragon Spear, Holy Dragon Spear, Abel's Lance, Highwind
Unlock	Default
Alignment	Cosmos
Voice Actor (JP)	Koichi Yamadera
Voice Actor (ENG)	Liam O'Brien

Overview

Kain is a close-range aerial fighter with high vertical movement. He has a unique homing air dash which can be done after melee bravery attacks. Kain excels defensively in the air largely due to his mobility; His air jumps and Precision Jumps are top class, and his fast fall speed makes his air dodges very safe to use. His aerial attacks are fast and cover diagonal angles well, which are effective for defensive punish-oriented playstyles. When Kain gets a hit, he can alter the knockback direction with his branching follow-ups and few, but rewarding solo combos. His wall carry has high potential thanks to his Lance Barrage loops and very damaging aerial HP attacks. Even though Kain's base ATK is average, his damage output is much higher in practice due to his combos, critical hits and high base damage on wall rush moves, such as Rising Drive and Sky Rave. And if Kain finds himself on the ground, he can control air space with his signature Jump HP attack and slow down the pace on a moment's notice.

Kain is defensively strong, but he relies on air braveries that aren't best suited for rushdown. He can poke, but the attacks are all slower across the board. Kain doesn't move during their startup, and their tracking is linear in one specific direction. His relatively slow recovery also makes him vulnerable to whiff punishment in close-range. This puts Kain in an awkward spot; He is defensively difficult to hit, but he has trouble hitting opponents himself. He relies on timing mixups to avoid getting blocked, but he can't always stop fast movement either. Kain has few projectiles, but they are all telegraphed or risky for poking through traps, like Ultimecia's charged Knight's Lance or The Emperor's Thunder Crest.

In competitive play, Kain has been commonly ranked at mid tier. His defensive playstyle works reliably against a variety of characters, as he is good at avoiding damage in the air or powering through with charged Jumps on the ground. He's an explosive character when he gets a clean combo, but he can struggle to force openings against defensive opponents. His assist meter building is also somewhat slow, but mostly a problem in small stages or against fast rushdown. In a game where defensive play is considered strong, Kain is a competent character with a fairly straightforward moveset and high damage.

Strengths	Weaknesses

Unique Mechanic: Air Dash Cancel

When Kain finishes a melee bravery attack, he can cancel it into a homing air dash by pressing Triangle . Its main application is filling assist gauge with Assist Gauge Up Dash ability while approaching opponent. This can be useful for optimizing ground assist combo starters, but it sees little use in other situations. The dash and Kain's relatively slow startup speed for his air braveries do not open up solo combo routes for Kain.

This is built-in for Kain, so he does not need to equip any dash abilities to do this. Kain will perform the air dash even when Triangle is held down beforehand. In practice, it is similar to an input buffer, which is rare in Dissidia 012.

Bravery Attacks

Ground


	Base Damage	20
	Startup Frame	19F
	Damage Type	Physical
	Priority	Melee Low
	EX Force	0
	Effects	Wall Rush
	Cancels	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Close] Charge at opponent while spinning diagonally upwards.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP


	Base Damage	32 (2 x 6, 5, 15)
	Startup Frame	29F
	Damage Type	Physical
	Priority	Melee Low
	EX Force	90
	Effects	Chase
	Cancels	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Mid] Stab w/lance and kick foe. Deal more damage when close.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP


	Base Damage	10
	Startup Frame	35F
	Damage Type	Physical
	Priority	Ranged Low
	EX Force	0
	Effects	-
	Cancels
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Long] Launch pockets of air at foe to send upwards.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

Can solo combo on hit from a distance.

Aerial


		Normal + Neutral	Normal + Up / Down
	Base Damage	35 (7, 8 + 2 x 4, 12)	30 (7, 8 + 15)
	Startup Frame	19F	19F
	Damage Type	Physical	Physical
	Priority	Melee Low	Melee Low
	EX Force	30	90
	Effects	Wall Rush	Chase
	Cancels	Dodge	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Close] Multiple lance thrusts. Change combo with analog stick.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

Up Follow-up ↑+
Neutral Follow-up
Down Follow-up ↓+


		Normal + Up	Normal + Neutral / Down
	Base Damage	40 (2 x 4, 7 + 4, 4, 5, 12)	30 (2 x 4, 7, 15)
	Startup Frame	21F	21F
	Damage Type	Physical	Physical
	Priority	Melee Low	Melee Low
	EX Force	30	90
	Effects	Wall Rush	Chase
	Cancels	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
Quick upward lunge. Change combo with analog stick.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

Up Follow-up ↑+
Neutral Follow-up
Down Follow-up ↓+


		Normal + Down	Normal + Up / Neutral
	Base Damage	40 (1 x 7, 8 + 1 x 7, 6, 12)	30 (1 x 7, 8 + 15)
	Startup Frame	21F	21F
	Damage Type	Physical	Physical
	Priority	Melee Low	Melee Low
	EX Force	30	90
	Effects	Wall Rush	Chase
	Cancels	Dodge	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Dive] A spinning charge. Change combo with analog stick.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

Up Follow-up ↑+
Neutral Follow-up
Down Follow-up ↓+


	Base Damage	10
	Startup Frame	35F
	Damage Type	Physical
	Priority	Ranged Low
	EX Force	0
	Effects	-
	Cancels
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Long] Launch pockets of air at foe to send upwards.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

HP Attacks

Ground


	Base Damage	2 x N
	Startup Frame	See table below
	Damage Type	Physical
	Priority	Melee High
	EX Force	3 each
	Effects	Wall Rush
	Cancels	Dodge (Landing)
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	40 (20)
[Close~Long] Pounce on foe. Charge to change its strength.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

Jump's frame data

Version	Startup / charge time	Max charge time = 180F	Liftoff	Peak	Landing
LV1	8F	After button release	7F	23F~41F	51F
LV2	32F	After button release	9F	27F~49F	67F
LV3	62F	After button release	9F	31F~57F	79F


	Base Damage	-
	Startup Frame	41F
	Damage Type	-
	Priority	Melee High
	EX Force	0
	Effects	Wall Rush
	Cancels	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Close] Stab foe with lance. Effective against any height.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

Aerial


	Base Damage	64 (2 x 32)
	Startup Frame	49F
	Damage Type	Physical
	Priority	Melee High
	EX Force	30
	Effects	Wall Rush
	Cancels	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Rise] Spin lance charging upwards until hitting ceiling.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP


	Base Damage	74 (2 x 37)
	Startup Frame	49F
	Damage Type	Physical
	Priority	Melee High
	EX Force	30
	Effects	Wall Rush
	Cancels	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Dive] Barrel downwards with lance until hitting ground.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP


	Base Damage	-
	Startup Frame	41F
	Damage Type	-
	Priority	Melee High
	EX Force	0
	Effects	Wall Rush
	Cancels	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Close] Stab foe with lance. Effective against any height.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP


	Base Damage	60 (2 x 30)
	Startup Frame	55F
	Damage Type	Physical
	Priority	Ranged High
	EX Force	30
	Effects	Wall Rush
	Cancels	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (15)
[Mid] Throw energy infused lance. Flies until hitting stage.	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

EX Mode: Holy Strength!

Effects:

Regen
Critical Boost
Lancet

Lancet


	Base Damage	-
	Startup Frame	51F
	Damage Type	-
	Priority	Ranged High
	EX Force	60
	Effects	EX Burst
	Cancels	Dodge, Air Dash
	Assist Gain (Hit)	-
	CP (Mastered)
[Activate with R + Square] Damage dealt absorbed as HP and immediately recovers spent BRV. Cancel action with Air Dash.	Unlocked at level 1	Mastered at - AP

EX Burst: Dragoon's Pride

The ultimate dragoon jump. Repeatedly press command displayed on the screen to raise the gauge. The command will change twice at random

Damage multiplier (initial)	Damage multiplier (rest)	Type
20, 10 (30)	70 (100 total)	Physical

Combos

Solo

Assist

Builds

Stats
HP	9971
CP	450
BRV	957
ATK	181
DEF	182
LUK	60
Max Booster	x7.4

**Special Effect**: Seal of Lufenia
Equipment
Assist	Player Choice
Weapon	Highwind
Hand	Lufenian Dirk (CP Glitch)
Head	Lufenian Headband (CP Glitch)
Body	Lufenian Vest
Accessory 1	Hyper Ring
Accessory 2	Muscle Belt
Accessory 3	Sniper Eye
Accessory 4	Large Gap in HP
Accessory 5	BRV = 0
Accessory 6	Empty EX Gauge
Accessory 7	Summon Unused
Accessory 8	Pre-EX Mode
Accessory 9	Pre-EX Revenge
Accessory 10	Side by Side
Summon	Rubicante

{{{dataBRV}}} {{{dataHP}}}

Bravery attacks
Ground	Aerial
HP attacks
Ground	Aerial

indicates a "Gear" extra ability or the use of CP / Equipment glitch. The total CP cost will assume the glitch is done.

A high damage build utilising bravery damage and wall rush for small stages with low ceiling. The maximum booster value of x7.4 activates with both Large Gap in HP and BRV = 0. x5.3 when Large Gap in HP is in effect, but not BRV = 0.

Substitutes

Basic: Hyper Ring for Battle Hammer (assist depletion) or Dismay Shock (enhanced EX depletion)

Stats
HP	9644
CP	450
BRV	1075
ATK	68
DEF	71
LUK	60
Max Booster	x3.5

**Special Effect**: Seal of Lufenia
Equipment
Assist	Player Choice
Weapon	Heaven's Cloud
Hand	Lufenian Dirk (CP Glitch)
Head	Lufenian Hairpin (CP Glitch)
Body	Lufenian Vest
Accessory 1	Muscle Belt
Accessory 2	Sniper Eye
Accessory 3	Dismay Shock
Accessory 4	Large Gap in HP
Accessory 5	Summon Unused
Accessory 6	Pre-EX Mode
Accessory 7	Pre-EX Revenge
Accessory 8	Tenacious Attacker
Accessory 9	Glutton
Accessory 10	First to Victory
Summon	Rubicante

{{{dataBRV}}} {{{dataHP}}}

Bravery attacks
Ground	Aerial
HP attacks
Ground	Aerial

indicates a "Gear" extra ability or the use of CP / Equipment glitch. The total CP cost will assume the glitch is done.

A damage build without sacrificing EX absorption. Recommended for medium to large stages. x2.3 booster before Large Gap in HP activates.

Substitutes

Weapon: Cleaver

If you intend to use Aerith assist, use Cleaver instead. Heaven's Cloud serves well if you are comfortable doing his aerial bravery loops (in the corner).

Assist

Kain's assist data

Type	Attack	Startup	Position	Spawn	Damage multiplier	Effects
BRV	Lance Burst	29F	Ground	Opponent	2 x 6, 5, 15 (32)	Chase
BRV	Crashing Dive	21F	Air	Opponent	1 x 7, 8, 1 x 7, 6, 12 (40)	Wall Rush
HP	Jump	62F	Ground	Opponent	2xN	Wall Rush
HP	Dragon's Fang	41F	Air	Opponent	-	Wall Rush

Assists

Kuja, Onion Knight.

References

Navigation

Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy
Playable characters	Bartz Klauser • Cecil Harvey • Cloud Strife • Cloud of Darkness • Feral Chaos • Exdeath • Firion • Gabranth • Garland • Gilgamesh • Golbez • Jecht • Kain Highwind • Kefka Palazzo • Kuja • Laguna Loire • Lightning • Onion Knight • Prishe • Sephiroth • Shantotto • Squall Leonhart • Terra Branford • Tidus • The Emperor • Tifa Lockhart • Ultimecia • Vaan • Warrior of Light • Yuna • Zidane Tribal
Other characters	Aerith Gainsborough • Chaos
First-timers	Change Log • FAQ • Glossary • Starter Guide
Resources	Combo Videos • Customization Guide (Online) • List of Useful Info • Online Setup (PPSSPP) • Tier List • Tier List (Assist) • Trade Component Farming Guide • Translations
Battle mechanics	Aerial Recovery • Assist • Assist Gauge Charge • Battlegen • Block • Bravery • Chase • Dash • Dodge • EX • HP • Landing Lag • Quickmove • Wall Rush
Customization	Abilities • Accessories • Equipment • Special Effects • Statistic • Summons
Techniques	Blodge • Dash Feint • Dodge Punishment • Lock Off
Community rulesets	DC Ranked • Dissidence • Japan Ranked • Tournament Rules
Stages	Crystal Tower • Crystal World • Dream's End • Edge of Madness • Empyreal Paradox • Kefka's Tower • Lunar Subterrane • M.S. Prima Vista • Old Chaos Shrine • Order's Sanctuary • Orphan's Cradle • Pandaemonium • Pandaemonium - Top Floor • Phantom Train • Planet's Core • Sky Fortress Bahamut • The Rift • Ultimecia's Castle • World of Darkness
Data	Attack Priority • CP Glitch • EX Burst Damage • Damage Formula • Frame Data • Glitches (Assist Storage Glitch) • Movement Speed • Music • Staff credits • Unlockables
Misc.	Dissidia 012 Prologus (Script)
Modding	DLC EDAT Reference

Wiki Roadmap (012 Kain Highwind)

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Page	Completed	To-do	Score
General		Add images for attacks.	15 / 86
Pros / Cons		Strengths and weaknesses.	? / ?
Overview / Character Data	Overview.		2 / 2
Bravery Attacks	Ability info. Images.	Overviews.	5 / 5
HP Attacks	Ability info. Images.	Overviews.	3 / 5
EX Mode	Basic info. Images.	Overview or detailed info.	2 / 3
Combos		Add solo and assist combos with video examples.	0 / 7
Builds	2 example builds.	Add more (niche) builds and overviews for each of them like on Tifa page.	2 / 10
Assist	Assist data.	Kain assist overview. Add assist synergies for Kain.	1 / 3
Matchups		Create page. Matchup analysis and tips.	0 / 32
Frame Data		Create page. Helpful links related to character.	0 / 1
Starter Guide		Create page. Concise PvP guide with core conncepts and essentials.	0 / 8
Strategy		Create page. Strategies and counterplay.	0 / 10