Talk:Divinity Skills/@comment-84.133.209.134-20160629143101/@comment-1893895-20160630234309

I remember reading that in the JP wiki as well, but I don't see anywhere where it says it's a passive bonus. If it really is a passive bonus, then why would anyone choose anything else? I mean, Black Wall is technically better, but it costs Morale and only lasts a limited number of rounds.

I'm not good enough at Japanese to know the full implications of the word 常時 past its more literal meaning, but I do know the page doesn't explicitly mention whether or not it's combat-only (unless I missed it somewhere); I just assumed it was since having a free 30% damage reduction sounds way too good.

I just did a quick combat test, and Sword Bond 1 doesn't seem to improve my damage after casting it in combat, which could suggest that I already have a passive bonus... in which case, the in-combat skill description is misleading. But someone still ought to test the opposing theory just to confirm.

Unfortunately, I'm past the point in the game where I can test Sword Bond 2, and I have a few more Lineages to go before I can test with Sword Bond 3. But if anyone wants to test, it'd be pretty simple -- just save your game, then record some combat numbers before and after getting the skill.