Kessen III’s skill system is divided between the categories of Aid, Tactical, Attack, Ninjutsu, and Samurai. Aid skills boost and heal ally officers, tactical skills debuff enemy officers, attack skills deal direct damage to enemy officers, ninjutsu skills inflict massive damage coupled with status effects, and the samurai category only contains the skill to activate rampage mode against enemy officers. Unlike the previous games, each skill draws from the same skill slot pool of four points, with each skill requiring a different amount of slots to activate. These skill slots will recover as the battle progresses, but their restoration takes time. The rate of recovery is calculated by the intelligence stat and items the officer possesses. As an added bonus to the change in skills, any officer can learn any skill provided they possess a primer which teaches the desired skill.
Primers are acquired either in the overworld store or as prizes from battle. They allow officers to use the desired skill in battle at level zero for new skills. More advanced primers allow the characters to learn more than one skill at a time. Alongside allowing officers to gain new skills, the primers will increase the rate at which an officer levels the skill after its initial unlock at level one.
Aid Skills
| Skill Name | Effect | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Rally | Increases character's attack temporarily | One skill slot |
| Bolster | Increases character's defense temporarily | One skill slot |
| Gale | Increases character's speed temporarily | One skill slot |
| Barrier | Increases character's resistance to enemy officer skills | One skill slot |
| Heal | Restores character’s health over time | Two skill slots |
| X-Rally | Increases all allied officers in range’s attack temporarily | Three skill slots |
| X-Heal | Restores all allied officers in range health temporarily | Three skill slots |
Tactic Skills
| Skill Name | Effect | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Berate | Decreases enemy officers’ attack temporarily | One skill slot |
| War Cry | Decreases enemy officers’ defense temporarily | One skill slot |
| Bind | Decreases enemy officers’ speed temporarily | One skill slot |
| Silence | Stops enemy officers from using skills temporarily, cancels enemy officer skills if in the middle of using them | One skill slot |
| Doubt | Inflicts status of defect to enemy officer, causing their lost units to join ally officer’s own unit, essentially healing them | Two skill slots |
| X-Silence | Stops targeted enemy officer and those surrounding him from using skills temporarily, can also cancel enemy skills mid use | Two skill slots |
| X-Doubt | Inflicts defect onto enemy officers and his surrounding allies, causing defeated units to join ally units, essentially healing them | Three skill slots |
Attack Skills
| Skill Name | Effect | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Posion | Knocks back targeted enemy unit, deals initial damage followed by damage over time, has a chance of stunning the enemy unit | Two skill slots |
| Freeze | Knocks back targeted enemy unit and any enemy unit within blast radius for a strong single hit, has a chance of stunning the enemy unit | Two skill slots |
| Strike | Knocks back targeted enemy unit and any enemy unit within blast radius for a strong single hit, has a chance of stunning the enemy unit | Two skill slots |
| Firewall | Surrounds the officer with a protective wall of fire, which damages all enemy units within range and temporarily boosts the officer’s speed | Two skill slots |
| Waterwall | Launches waves of water forward in a direct line, hitting all enemy units in its way | Three skill slots |
| Sandstorm | Launches falling rocks forwards in a direct line, hitting all enemy units in its way and boosts the officer’s speed temporarily | Three skill slots |
| Windwall | Surrounds the officer with a protective wall of wind, which damages all enemy units within range | Two skill slots |
Ninjutsu Skills
| Skill Name | Effect | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon | Deals massive damage to targeted unit and any other unit standing with the target | Three skill slots |
| Whirlwind | Deals massive damage to targeted unit and nearby enemies, inflicting a temporary attack debuff as well | Four skill slot |
| Lightning | Deals massive damage to targeted unit and nearby enemies, inflicting a temporary defense debuff as well | Four skill slot |
| Firehawk | Deals massive damage to targeted unit and other nearby enemies, inflicting a temporary speed debuff as well | Four skill slot |
| Comet | Deals massive damage to targeted unit and other nearby enemies, inflicting a temporary silence debuff as well | Four skill slot |
| Transform | Deals massive damage to targeted unit and other nearby enemies, inflicting a temporary confusion debuff as well | Four skill slot |
| Fate | Deals massive damage to targeted unit and other nearby enemies | Three skill slot |
Samurai Skills
| Skill Name | Effect | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Rampage | Initiates Rampage mode, this skill is automatically known by all officers and cannot be leveled up | One skill slot |