Sora may technically be the star of Kingdom Hearts 3, but the real stars of the action gameplay are the Keyblades you acquire throughout your adventure. With each Disney world you save from the Heartless, you get a new Keyblade that Sora can carry into battle. The awesome designs are inspired by the Disney worlds they hail from. In combat, though? The Keyblades are even cooler, with each one offering a different combat experience.
What you need to know about Keyblades
Here are a few tips and tricks about wielding Keyblades before we get started. Each Keyblade starts with different magic and strength stats. Some start out rather balanced, while others favor one trait or the other. Every Keyblade, however, can be upgraded in the Moogle Shop to have strong stats in both categories. However, you’re unlikely to have enough materials to level up your full set of Keyblades during a single playthrough (each Keyblade has up to 10 levels). You’ll want to pay attention to the strengths/weaknesses of each one when deciding which three Keyblades to equip.
Kingdom Hearts 3 Keyblade guide
In this guide, we’ll detail each of the Keyblades, including their form changes, and outline the strengths and weaknesses of each one.
Kingdom Key
- Starting stats: Strength – 4, Magic – 3
- Unlock condition: Starting weapon
- Form change: Second Form
- Ability: Treasure Magnet
The Kingdom Key is Sora’s original Keyblade from when his story first began. It has low starting stats for both strength and magic. Its form change gives Sora movement abilities similar to those seen in Kingdom Hearts 2, as well as an additional move called Sonic Boom. The Treasure Magnet ability pulls in materials and Munny from a further distance. After completing the first few worlds, however, the Kingdom Key is not advisable to use. We don’t recommend spending precious materials leveling it up.
Hero’s Origin
- Starting stats: Strength – 5, Magic – 2
- Unlock condition: Complete Olympus
- Form change: Counter Shield
- Ability: Defender
A strength-oriented Keyblade, you’ll want to switch to this one after completing Olympus due to its useful form change: Counter Shield. Counter Shield lets Sora deal damage across large areas to take out a bunch of Heartless at once. Like the Kingdom Keyblade, Hero’s Origin becomes rather obsolete as your Keyblade collection grows.
Shooting Star
- Starting stats: Strength – 3, Magic – 5
- Unlock condition: Complete Twilight Town
- Form change: Double Arrowguns, Magic Launcher
- Ability: Magic Treasure Magnet
Shooting Star gets better over time as you learn more powerful spells. Its form changes, Double Arrowguns and Magic Launcher, are ranged attacks. The dual guns are the first in line, while the magic launcher deals a large blow to an area (so precision isn’t necessary). The Treasure Magnet ability attracts materials from far distances.
Favorite Deputy
- Starting stats: Strength – 6, Magic – 3
- Unlock condition: Complete Toy Box
- Form change: Hyper Hammer, Drill Punch
- Ability: Lucky Strike
Favorite Deputy was one of our favorite Keyblades in the game. Along with looking super cool, it has a pair of excellent form changes: Hyper Hammer and Drill Punch. Hyper Hammer turns the Keyblade into a long, giant toy hammer and Drill Punch turns Sora’s attacks into oversized drills that eat away at enemy health very quickly. Lucky Strike increases the likelihood of quality material drops, and the focus on strength makes Favorite Deputy a Keyblade that can easily remain equipped and useful throughout the duration of Sora’s adventure.
Ever After
- Starting stats: Strength – 2, Magic – 7
- Unlock condition: Complete Kingdom of Corona
- Form change: Mirage Staff
- Ability: Leaf Bracer
If you are partial to magic attacks, Ever After is a great Keyblade with high starting magic abilities. At this point in the adventure, you’ll have some mid-level spells which make Ever After more useful. Its Mirage Staff form change lets you strike wide radiuses with devastating spells. That said, it has very low strength, so you should only lean on it if you favor magic. Even when fully leveled, it still has lower strength than some of the base strength stats of other Keyblades.
Happy Gear
- Starting stats: Strength – 7, Magic – 3
- Unlock condition: Complete Monstropolis
- Form change: Agile Claws, Twin Yo-Yos
- Ability: Focus Converter
Strength-oriented Keyblade with two impressive form changes that rival that of Favorite Deputy. Agile Claws turn the Kyeblade into two large gears that can strike enemies far and wide. Meanwhile, Twin Yo-Yos is exactly what it sounds like. Two large Yo-Yos with grooves sticking out of the sides to slash through enemies in all directions. Twin Yo-Yos has a finishing move perfect for dealing huge damage (close to a whole bar) to a boss.
Crystal Snow
- Starting stats: Strength – 4, Magic – 7
- Unlock condition: Complete Arendelle
- Form change: Blizzard Claws, Blizzard Blades
- Ability: Freeze Protection
Invulnerable to freezing spells, Crystal Snow is a magic-oriented Keyblade with OK strength as well. Its form changes, Blizzard Claws and Blizzard Blades, both allow you to hit enemies from a distance with huge talons or a giant blade, respectively. At this point in the game, Crystal Snow is the best magic-based Keyblade available. It can somewhat hold its own as a melee weapon, too.
Wheel of Fate
- Starting stats: Strength – 8, Magic – 5
- Unlock condition: Complete the Caribbean
- Form change: Highwind, Storm Flag
- Ability: Waterza
Wheel of Fate has the best combined strength/magic stats of all of the Keyblades earned from the Disney worlds. Strength focused, Wheel of Fate has two form changes that are great for taking on hordes of enemies. Highwind turns Wheel of Fate into a spear that can cover great distances, while Storm Flag turns the blade into a huge red flag capable of slicing and dicing in all directions. Its ingrained ability, Waterza, lets you deploy high-level water attacks even if you haven’t unlocked the spell yet, making it a formidable magic Keyblade as well.
Nano Gear
- Starting stats: Strength – 7, Magic – 5
- Unlock condition: Complete San Fransokyo
- Form change: Nano Arms
- Ability: Sun Protection
A balanced Keyblade that lightly favors strength. Its Nano Arms form changes are perfect for boss battles as each strike hits the target multiple times. Due to the balanced stats, Nano Gear is a good candidate for being one of your three equipped Keyblades throughout the final stretch of the adventure.
Hunny Spout
- Starting stats: Strength – 6, Magic – 5
- Unlock condition: Complete 100 Acre Woods
- Form change: Hunny Blasters, Hunny Launcher
- Ability: Harvest
Hunny Spout is acquired from the 100 Acre Woods storyline within Twilight Town. 100 Acre Woods isn’t a mandatory world, so it’s possible to miss out on Hunny Spout. With balanced stats and two form changes that feature homing attacks, Honey Spout is one of the easiest Keyblades to use in the game. You can enter 100 Acre Wood after completing Monstropolis.
Starlight
- Starting stats: Strength – 4, Magic – 4
- Unlock condition: Complete Keyblade Graveyard
- Form change: Second Form S
- Ability: MP Haste
Starlight is unlocked late in the game and has stats similar to the Kingdom Key. Though it does have a quality MP Haste ability for regenerating magic points, Starlight is more of a bonus Keyblade in that you probably won’t want to use it. Its form change is quite similar to that of the Kingdom Key as well. Essentially, it’s one of the more lackluster weapons available (especially considering when you unlock it).
Classic Notes
- Starting stats: Strength – 11, Magic – 14
- Unlock condition: Acquire/play all 23 Classic Kingdom games
- Form change: Boom Hammer, Clock Drill
- Ability: MP Haste x3
Classic Notes has the best magic stat of any Keyblade in the game and the second best strength stat. There’s a reason for this: It’s challenging to unlock. You must find all 23 Classic Kingdom games throughout the worlds and then play them. Its form changes are very similar to Favorite Deputy, and it stacks three MP Haste abilities on top of one another. In short, if you manage to get it, you’ll want to use Classic Notes — often.
Ultima Weapon
- Starting stats: Strength – 13, Magic – 13
- Unlock condition: Collect all 58 synthesize materials and craft
- Form change: Ultimate Form
- Ability: Combo Boost, Situation Boost, Air Combo Boost
The best Keyblade in the game is, of course, the hardest to unlock. You must collect all 58 synthesize materials and then craft it. If you are an expert scavenger, however, you’ll be rewarded with the strongest Keyblade and second best magic Keyblade. Its Ultimate Form eviscerates everything in its path and its abilities let you really lean into performing quick and devastating combos.
Midnight Blue (PS4 only)
- Starting stats: Strength – 4, Magic – 4
- Unlock condition: PS4 pre-order bonus
- Form change: N/A
- Ability: Blizzaga, Blizzard Up
Midnight Blue is a pre-order bonus for PS4 players. It’s basically the Kingdom Key but with increased Blizzard magic abilities. You won’t be using Midnight Blue for very long.
Phantom Green (Xbox One only)
- Starting stats: Strength – 4, Magic – 4
- Unlock condition: Xbox One pre-order bonus
- Form change: N/A
- Ability: Thundaga, Thunder Up
Phantom Green is a pre-order bonus for Xbox One players. It’s basically the Kingdom Key but with increased Thunder magic abilities. Like Phantom Green, it shouldn’t be used for very long.
Dawn Till Dusk (Amazon only)
- Starting stats: Strength – 4, Magic – 4
- Unlock condition: Amazon pre-order bonus
- Form change: N/A
- Ability: Firaga, Fire Up
Dawn Till Dusk is a pre-order bonus for those who bought the game from Amazon. It’s basically the Kingdom Key but with increased Fire magic abilities. Like the other pre-order bonus Keyblades, Dawn Till Dusk is largely for show.
