Clock Drill
Clock Drill (クロックドリル Kurokku Doriru) is a Formchange in Kingdom Hearts III. It allows the user to transform the Keyblade into a drill and rush into enemies.
Mechanics[edit]
In Kingdom Hearts III, Clock Drill is the second Formchange of the Classic Tone Keyblade, following Boom Hammer and associated with Guardian Form. It has a base duration of 25 seconds and a maximum combo length of 5. It behaves nearly identically to Drill Punch, with the only differences being aesthetics and a different finisher. Its attacks have Sora spin the drill forward and piercing the ground with it. The ground combo finisher has Sora dig into the ground and emerge forward with an uppercut, while the air combo finisher is a stronger spinning charge. When surrounded by enemies, Sora can also call up an armada of drills from underneath for the finisher. Clock Drill uses Artillery-style Magic.
The Finish command has the screen turn black and white as Sora summons a clock on the ground and inserts the drill into it, spinning the clock hands to 12:00 and damaging any enemies caught in the clock.
Abilities[edit]
Alongside the abilities from Guardian Form, Clock Drill also has access to Guardbreaker.
| Form Actions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | Attribute | Power Multiplier |
Form Value |
Reaction Value |
Revenge Value |
Guard? | Repel LV | Status Effect | |
| Keyblade Transformation Attack (キーブレード変形演出中の攻撃 Kīburēdo Henkei Enshutsu-chū no Kōgeki) |
 Neutral
|
0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | O | — | — | |
| Drill Forward Rush (ドリル前方突進 Doriru Zenpō Tosshin) |
Physical
|
0.2(x9) | 1(x9) | 1(x9) | 0.1(x9) | O | — | — | |
| First ground combo, first and third aerial combos. | |||||||||
| Drill Under Rush (ドリル真下突進 Doriru Mashita Tosshin) |
Physical
|
0.4(x4) | 3(x4) | 1(x4) | 0.3(x4) | O | — | — | |
| Second ground combo. | |||||||||
| Drill Rush Upper (ドリル突進アッパー Doriru Tosshin Appā) |
Physical
|
0.3(x3)+0.5 | 2(x3)+4 | 1(x4) | 0.2(x3)+0.4 | O | — | — | |
| Third ground combo, second and fourth aerial combos. | |||||||||
| Drill Falling Thrust (ドリル落下突き Doriru Rakka Tsuki) |
Physical
|
1.2+1.2 | 8+8 | 1+1 | 0.5+0.5 | O | — | — | |
| Fourth ground combo. | |||||||||
| Corkscrew Uppercut | Physical
|
0.6(x6) | 6(x6) | 1(x6) | 0.25(x6) | O | — | — | |
| Launch foes into the air with a giant drill. (Ground combo finisher) | |||||||||
| Drill Rising Rush (ドリル上昇突進 Doriru Jōshō Tosshin) |
Physical
|
0.4+0.4 | 3+3 | 1+1 | 0.3+0.3 | O | — | — | |
| Used when the target is in the air. | |||||||||
| Drill Jumping Ground Thrust (ドリル跳び地面突き Doriru Tobi Jimen Tsuki) |
Physical
|
1.6 | 8 | 1 | 0.5 | O | — | — | |
| First ground combo when surrounded. | |||||||||
| Drill Ground Thrust (ドリル地面突き Doriru Jimen Tsuki) |
Physical
|
0.6 | 6 | 1 | 0.5 | O | — | — | |
| Second ground combo when surrounded. | |||||||||
| Drill Pillars | Physical
|
0.6(x7) | 6(x7) | 1(x7) | 0.25(x7) | O | — | — | |
| Call forth countless drills from beneath the enemy's feet. (Ground combo finisher when surrounded) | |||||||||
| Dire Drill | Physical
|
0.3(x10) | 2(x10) | 1(x10) | 0.1(x10) | O | — | — | |
| Lunge toward foes with a giant drill. (Aerial combo finisher) | |||||||||
| Drill Swoop Rush (ドリル急降下突進 Doriru Kyūkōka Tosshin) |
Physical
|
1.2+1.2 | 8+8 | 1+1 | 0.5+0.5 | O | — | — | |
| Used during a Superjump near the enemy or when above the target. | |||||||||
| Diving Dodge | Physical
|
1.0 | 8 | 1 | 0.5 | O | — | — | |
Tilt  and press  to dive beneath the ground and evade in that direction. Only works while in combat.
| |||||||||
| Finish (フィニッシュ Finisshu) |
(time stop) | Neutral
|
0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | O | — | —
|
| (clock hands) | Physical
|
0.2(x8)+3.0 | 0 | 1(x8)+5 | 0 | O | — | All hits except final one: Stop (100%/0.3s) | |
| Stops time while dealing damage to surrounding enemies, then advances the giant clock hands and attacks repeatedly. | |||||||||
Strategy[edit]
Clock Drill provides a strong blend of offensive and defensive qualities to find use in mob and individual fights alike, with its emphasis on Magic thanks to Classic Tone's stats and abilities also supporting the damage output of its Shotlock options and magic spells. Drill Punch should only be considered over Clock Drill if Strike Form's Omega Finale is desired, or if merely grinding for materials with Favorite Deputy's Lucky Strike.
Diving Dodge has the highest amount of invulnerability frames of all dodge actions Sora can do, and so should be the default way to reposition across the field or to simply evade attacks, it can also be used on the air if is barely tilted so Sora would walk if he was on the floor, providing a safe way to fall to the floor too.
Corkscrew Uppercut has plenty of invulnerability frames while used, and so it's often a safe way to finish a grounded combo, in particular supporting Formchanges with more unreliable combo finisher options like Nano Arms and Second Form, especially given the low Keyblade swap time for such move compared to its other attacks. Item cancel is recommended when using Clock Drill outside of combo finishers, as the transition lag as to follow up with another Keyblade can grant too much of an opening for the opponent to escape the combo, or even as to combo with itself as its regular attack sequence is relatively slow.
Sora can't move while using Artillery Style Magic, and thus should be a good distance away from opponents to use spells effectively. If an area gets too crowded with enemies, that is a great opportunity to charge and use Noise Flux within the safety of Barrier, providing a lot of safe damage while repositioning Sora back where the Shotlock was started afterwards.
The finish command has deceptively high range, making it a good crowd control option, and is very consistent as its Stop effect grants a safety net to combo with itself and ease a follow-up afterwards, which is a common event to account for given its lack of Revenge Value like any other finish command.
Learning Clock Drill[edit]
Kingdom Hearts III[edit]
- Classic Tone has Clock Drill as its second Formchange.
