Witch Time

Witch Time is the name of an ancient art used by powerful Umbra Witches to increase their speed. This grants the user heightened senses, and allows them to move at incredible speeds and perform feats that would otherwise be impossible to do.

In gameplay, Witch Time is Bayonetta's signature move and allows successful evasion of attacks to be rewarded with enemies being slowed down for counter attacks.

The Lumen Sages also have an ability that mirrors Witch Time called Light Speed, which they developed separately as a form as Temporal Control (see Antonio's Notebook extract below).

Notes On The Topic Of Magic - I

The word witch usually conjures up images in our head of an old woman using strange magic, but peruse the history of Vigrid and you find a vastly different picture of the incredibly brave women who once inhabited the area.

They were known as the Umbra Witches. While these witches are said to have manipulated magic, there remains very little recorded history to back these claims. Yet, they shared many powers with their opposing counterparts the Lumen Sages, and from their records, we can gather a better view of what magic entailed.

As “Overseers of History,” they possessed the ability to literally see everything in an instant, also known as Temporal Control. This technique sharpened all of the five senses and pushed one’s emotional energy to its very limits. It is a world where a falling drop of water can become a crown, and a humming-bird slowly and elegantly flaps its wings. Temporal Control is not just simply being able to recognize this world, it also enables one to boost their physical abilities and move freely within that single moment.

Temporal Control requires a sound body and mind, and complete grasp of Spirit Energy. While quite similar, the witches and sages each practiced this art differently, leading to different names for their respective techniques, Witch Time and Light Speed.

Witch Time... It seems that the witches on this earth fell victim to our world’s passage of time and vanished into the abyss of eternity. - Antonio's Notebook

Activation

Witch Time in Bayonetta

Dodging

Witch Time is most commonly and easily activated by dodging an enemy's attack at the last possible moment. Not all attacks activate Witch Time regardless of the player's timing in Bayonetta, but Bayonetta 2 and Bayonetta 3 trigger Witch Time on any attack save for Enraged Demon Slaves.

Viola's equivalent to dodging is blocking attacks with Mab Dachi, but still follows the same principle of doing so at the last possible moment.

Bat Within

Pressing the dodge button the frame Bayonetta takes damage will cause her to transform into a flock of bats for a moment before reassembling herself. When this happens, Witch Time will also be activated and have a slightly increased duration. This is also the only default method through which Jeanne can activate Witch Time when playing as her.

Selene's Light

As long as Bayonetta has sufficient Magic stored, this will activate Witch Time whenever she takes damage from an enemy. The duration of the Witch Time triggered is slightly shorter than normal.

Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa

Parrying the frame before Bayonetta would take damage causes her to perform a specialized counter-attack that will deal damage, and then trigger an extended Witch Time.

Bracelet of Time

In Bayonetta, holding the button down when the Bracelet is equipped allows the player to activate Witch Time whenever they please provided they have enough magic. The effect rapidly consumes said magic for the duration it is active.

In Bayonetta 2, the Bracelet activates Witch Time for a set duration and consumes far less magic, though a minimum of 4 orbs is still required to use it.

Whilst equipped, the Bracelet of Time disables all other methods of gaining Witch Time except through the use of a counter-attack with the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa. Additionally, having it equipped prevents the use of taunting in Bayonetta.

The Bracelet of Time (or in this case, the Earring of Time) loses these effects in Bayonetta 3, and instead simply extends the duration of Witch Time when equipped.

Umbran Clock Tower

As a Demon Slave, the Umbran Clock Tower can activate Witch Time for a short period by ringing its bells.

Restricted/Disabled Instances

Witch Time in Bayonetta 2

Equipping certain accessories, fighting certain enemies, or specific moments in the games might disable Witch Time.

Evil Harvest Rosary

With this equipped, Witch Time's dodge-trigger is disabled and a successful dodge will instead leave behind an explosive mine that damages enemies in the blast radius. Witch Time can still be triggered using the Bracelet of Time or with a counter-attack from Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa.

Non-Stop ∞ Climax

The hardest difficulty of the original Bayonetta disables Witch Time almost completely: it can only be triggered by means of the Bracelet of Time or Selene's Light. All other methods are disabled, save for those instances where Witch Time is triggered cinematically, such as the final phases of the Fortitudo battle or during "Use Witch Time" Alfheims.

Note that on Non-Stop ∞ Climax, Bracelet of Time depletes magic twice as fast as normal.

Father Rodin

During the encounter, all instances of Witch Time are disabled. Using Bracelet of Time will still activate Witch Time and its Combo Point bonus, but will lack its slow-down effect.

Enraged Demon Slaves

When a Demon Slave takes too much damage, they become enraged and lose control, attacking everything in sight. Witch Time cannot be triggered by dodging their attacks.

Game Specific Mechanics

Bayonetta

Witch Time in action during the first game.

Witch Time is activated for a set amount of time each time it is triggered, regardless of the particular attack or enemy, however it can slightly extend until the player finishes their current combo. During Witch Time, enemies become light and take increased knockback, and combo points gain a multiplicative point bonus towards the player's score and will be tagged with a violet insignia in the combo meter.

• Not all attacks grant Witch Time.
  • Witch Time is disabled completely on Non-Stop ∞ Climax as it's not necessary for gameplay.
• Witch Time speeds up the player's animations.
• Enemies become lighter during Witch Time, taking more knockback from attacks, ignoring if they have armor.

• Witch Time extends until the current combo string is complete, or until it reaches its upper duration limit.
  • Dodges and Bat Within grant from 2 to 4 seconds of Witch Time.
    • Jeanne cannot activate Witch Time with a dodge.
  • A Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa headbutt grants from 3 to 6 seconds of Witch Time.
• Witch Time grants a 1.5x combo point bonus.
  • Playing as Jeanne increases the combo point bonus to 2x.
• Witch Time created by Golem wall puzzles cannot be extended.

Bayonetta 2

• Bayonetta's Witch Time
• Jeanne's Witch Time
• Balder's Light Speed

1/3

In Bayonetta 2, Witch Time's duration depends on what attack the player dodges, and can be extended by hitting enemies. A lot of enemies can only be juggled during Witch Time, and cannot dodge or parry the player.

• Witch Time can be triggered off of any attack.
• Witch Time speeds up the player's animations.
• Enemies become lighter during Witch Time, taking more knockback from attacks.
  • Some enemies that are immune to knockback can be affected by it during Witch TIme.
  • Enemies cannot parry during Witch Time.
• Witch Time has a base duration for each enemy attack ranging from 0.5 to 3 seconds.
  • Enraged enemies halve the base duration
  • Playing as Jeanne doubles the base duration.
    • Jeanne cannot activate Witch Time with a dodge.
• Witch Time can be extended by individual instances of damage.
  • The Witch Time clock hand slows down with each hit as visual feedback.
  • There is no upper limit to how much Witch Time can be extended.
    • 4 seconds of Witch Time can be extended to as much as of 12 seconds by pressing rapidly.
  • Each tick of damage over time counts for extending Witch Time's duration.
    • Damage over time includes:
      • Salamandra's charge modifier
      • Undine's charge modifier
• Witch Time in Bayonetta 2 always grants a 1.5x combo point bonus.
• While playing as Balder, Witch Time is replaced by Light Speed,
  • Time stops completely for the player.
  • Knockback affects enemies only temporarily, afterwards they stay in place.

Bayonetta 3

• Short Witch Time
• Long Witch Time

1/2

The duration of Witch Time in Bayonetta 3 depends on the timing the player's dodge and, similarly to Bayonetta 2, the enemy whose attack was dodged (different attacks by the same enemy grant the same duration).

Bayonetta 3 Witch Time + Viola

Witch Time comparison for Bayonetta 3

• Witch Time be triggered off of any attack except:
  • Enraged Demon Slaves
  • Traps, for example:
    • Cirrostratus and Cirrocumulus can deploy a fence-like electric barrier
• Witch Time speeds up both the player and Demon Slaves' animations.
• Enemies become lighter during Witch Time, taking more knockback from attacks.
  • Enemies cannot fight back for moves like Gomorrah's Gripping Bite ()
• Witch Time has a base duration that depends on enemy, around 1 second.
• A Perfect Dodge, Perfect Block or Bat Within multiplies the base duration 4x.
  • Earring of Time increases the multiplier to 6x.
  • A Perfect Dodge is accompanied by a special chime and blue VFX around the screen.
  • Jeanne cannot Perfect Dodge.

• Witch Time grants a 1.5x combo point bonus.
  • Playing as Jeanne increases the combo point bonus to 2x.

Super Smash Bros. series

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Witch Time is Bayonetta's down special. Like in her home series, the technique allows Bayonetta to slow enemies down and strike them when vulnerable. Unlike in the Bayonetta series, Witch Time only slows down whoever hit Bayonetta. Witch Time's duration depends on the amount of damage the enemy has, the strength of the attack, and how many times in succession the technique has been used.

If Bayonetta uses Witch Time too late, Bat Within activates instead. She can trigger Witch Time and Bat Within at the same time if hit when both techniques' trigger frames overlap, though Witch Time's duration is slightly shorter this way.

A more Bayonetta-faithful version of Witch Time appears in her Final Smash, Infernal Climax, where she slows down the entire arena as opposed to a single opponent to fill up her Climax Gauge.

Witch Time Clock.

Trivia

• Bayonetta and Jeanne sometimes use Witch Time during cinematics, suggesting that Umbra Witches can use this ability whenever they please to either get to an area faster or defeat an enemy faster. This is further emphasized in Bayonetta 3 when Viola uses Witch Time to stop Jeanne's attack upon their first meeting.
• Witch Time is referenced in The Wonderful 101, another title also made by PlatinumGames and directed by Hideki Kamiya. A skill can be purchased from Wonder-Mart called "Hero Time", which has the same exact function as Witch Time.

References

1. Bayonetta - Antonio's Notebook
2. Bayonetta - "Experience a hyper-sensitive state! Move with incredible speed via this unbelievable technique!"
3. Bayonetta 3 - "Dodge attacks just before they hit to hone your senses and move beyond the speed of normal human ability. Enemies will appear to move in slow motion and be completely vulnerable to attack."
4. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon - "Dodge an enemy's attack at the last moment to heighten your perception and temporarily move at extreme speeds."
5. Bayonetta Manual - "Dodging at the last possible moment will trigger 'Witch Time.' During this time, Bayonetta can take action in hyper speed, allowing her to even run on water."
6. Bayonetta: The Official Guide - Hideki Kamiya: "Witch Time is a skill that activates super-fast movement..."
7. Hideki Kamiya: "Both Witchtime and Lightspeed are things that speed you up rather than manipulating time..."

Navigation