Attack Speed is a statistic that modifies how fast a melee's attack animation plays. True attack speed, the rate at which melee weapons attack, is derived from three attributes:

1. The attack animation for the given weapon class and the Stance they have equipped
2. The weapon's listed attack speed multiplier (aka Attack Speed)
3. Attack Speed bonuses/penalties from sources like mods or abilities

Mechanics[]

Each general melee class follows a standard attack animation which controls baseline striking speed. Polearms have a slower standard attack animation than the swords, for example. Specific weapons (such as the  Cronus of the sword type) each have their own base attack speed multiplier which alters the rate of the attack animation. An Attack Speed of 1.0 runs its attacks at default speed. An Attack Speed of 1.2 executes 20% faster, while a speed of 0.8 runs 20% slower. Attack Speed is then further increased (or decreased) by Attack Speed mods and ability buffs, giving us the following basic equation:

Where Base Attack Animation Length is based on the time it takes to complete an attack at Attack Speed of 1.0

Recall that attack animations vary between weapon types. Despite the  Fragor (Hammer) and  Karyst (Dagger) both having listed speeds of 0.8, the Karyst's actual speed is faster than the Fragor's due to daggers having a faster attack animation.

Faster attack speeds enhance a melee weapon's overall damage potential and utility by:

Changes in Attack Speed apply to finishers, as well as the animation of heavy attacks but not the actual wind-up time (i.e. initial heavy attack charging animation will stay the same but the actual heavy attack swing will be sped up/slowed down). Weapons with ranged charge mechanics such as the  Glaive and  Redeemer are not affected by Attack Speed and uses Heavy Attack Wind-Up Speed bonuses instead.

All base weapon Attack Speeds are in fractions of X / 60. This means despite Attack Speed values listed in the UI, the true values have longer repeating decimals as they are represented as floating point integers.

Attack Speed Mods[]

The following Mods affect Attack Speed positively, increasing a Melee Weapon's rate of attack:

The following Mods affect Attack Speed negatively, reducing rate of attack:

Attack Speed Abilities[]

The following abilities affect Attack Speed positively, increasing a Melee Weapon's rate of attack: