Quick answer: Bizarre Lineage has three fighting styles — Kendo, Boxing, and Karate — each learned by paying $100 and completing a quest from a specific NPC. You can only equip one at a time but freely switch between any you've already unlocked.
Fighting styles are one of the three main combat pillars in Bizarre Lineage, alongside Stands and Sub-Abilities. They govern your melee moveset and scale off the Strength stat. While Stands handle the flashier supernatural attacks and Sub-Abilities provide utility and passives, fighting styles give you reliable close-range damage and crowd-control tools that can stun, guard-break, and ragdoll opponents. Every style costs $100 to begin learning, and each one is tied to a short quest from its respective trainer NPC.
Kendo — Samurai Master (Bus Stop 15, Kame Yu Market)
The Kendo style is a sword-based fighting style with four distinct moves, making it the most versatile option in terms of raw moveset count. To unlock it, head to Bus Stop 15 and enter the Kame Yu Market. The Samurai Master NPC is inside. Pay $100 to start his quest, and finishing it grants you the style.
| Move | Effect |
|---|---|
| Whirlwind | A short windup followed by a frontal arc slash that breaks the target's guard. |
| Whirlwind (Air) | Activated mid-air. Performs two vertical upward slashes, launching both you and the opponent before knocking them away with a ragdoll. |
| Silent Edge | A forward dash into a slash. On hit, chains into repeated slashes until the target is stunned. |
| Rising Tempest | Stomps the ground. If it connects, pulls the enemy upward for three slashes, then slams them down and drags them across the floor before knocking them out. |
Kendo's strength lies in its mix of guard-breaking, aerial options, and a devastating grab combo in Rising Tempest. It rewards players who can land the initial hit of each move, since most of its damage comes from extended follow-up chains.
Boxing — Boxing Coach (Bus Stop 2, Gym Building)
Boxing is learned from the Boxing Coach NPC on the upper floor of the Gym building, located next to Bus Stop 2. Enter the Gym, climb the staircase, and speak with the coach. Like the other styles, you'll pay $100 to begin the quest.
| Move | Effect |
|---|---|
| White Fang | Delivers two quick hooks, an uppercut, and a right hook in sequence. Stuns the enemy when the full combo lands. |
| Liver Crusher | Two rapid gut punches that stun the target. |
| Dempsey Roll | Enters a continuous swaying stance. When an enemy attacks, you counter with a rapid multi-hit flurry ending in a powerful left hook. |
Boxing's moves are straightforward and fast, making them easy to land in both PvE and PvP. Dempsey Roll stands out as a counter-style move — you sway until the opponent commits to an attack, then punish them with a burst of damage. This makes Boxing especially strong for players who prefer a reactive, read-based playstyle.
Karate — Karate Sensei (Bus Stop 15, Near Hospital)
The Karate Sensei is found at the entrance of a park near Bus Stop 15, right next to the Hospital. Pay the standard $100 fee and complete the associated quest to unlock the style.
| Move | Effect |
|---|---|
| Seiken Barrage | Dashes toward the enemy and delivers a rapid series of punches, finishing with a dual-fist strike. |
| Sixth Massacre | Hits the opponent, jumps into the air, then slams the ground with a fist to create a damaging shockwave. |
| Tatsumaki | Leaps and spins downward with an extended leg, hitting and stunning all nearby enemies. |
Karate leans into area-of-effect damage more than the other two styles. Both Sixth Massacre's shockwave and Tatsumaki's spinning kick can catch multiple targets, which is useful during gang wars and when fighting groups of NPCs. Seiken Barrage provides a solid gap-closer to start combos.
Which fighting style to pick and how switching works
You can only have one fighting style equipped at any given time. However, once you've learned all three, you can freely swap between them without paying again or repeating quests. This means there's no penalty for experimenting — learn all of them as you progress and switch based on the situation.
Boxing and Kendo tend to perform best in one-on-one PvP encounters. Kendo has the largest moveset with four abilities and strong combo potential, while Boxing's simplicity and counter mechanics make it forgiving for newer players. Karate fills a niche in group fights thanks to its AoE moves, though its single-target damage is slightly less consistent.
Stat investment for fighting styles
Fighting style damage scales with the Strength stat. Every time you level up, you earn Stat Points that can be allocated in the Character Statistics menu. If you plan to rely heavily on your fighting style rather than your Stand, prioritize Strength alongside Health for survivability. Players who treat their fighting style as a secondary tool can invest more lightly in Strength and focus on Destructive Power or Destructive Energy for Stand-based builds instead.
All three fighting styles are available early in the game's progression and cost very little to unlock. Since you can learn and swap between all of them freely, there's no reason to skip any — grab each one as you pass through Bus Stop 2 and Bus Stop 15 during the storyline, and you'll have the full toolkit ready for whatever Bizarre Lineage throws at you.