Quick melee is a lot faster than when the dagger is equipped, which can help compensate for its slow base attack speed. However, this limits the weapon to attacking a single target at a time.
When combining elemental mods, the Karyst's innate Toxin damage is added last.
Jump attacks will always inflict the Toxin proc, regardless of the weapon's current elemental mods.
When equipped without a Stance mod, the Karyst adds a 4th lunging stab on its normal attack combo that propels the Warframe a good distance forward, which is useful for catching up to moving enemies. It also has a 100% chance of inflicting Slash bleed proc, despite the fact that the Karyst has no physical damage element. This effect is lost if one uses the Pointed Wind stance, which replaces the lunge with a sweeping slash.
If the lunge lands behind an unalerted enemy, a stealth attack will be performed instead.
This is the first non-infested melee weapon that deals pure Toxin damage.
The name and shape of this dagger are based on the Kris, a dagger that is largely associated with Southeast Asian cultures, especially Indonesia and Malaysia. This trait is shared with the Skyla of Nami Skyla.
The swirl pattern on the blade closely resembles patterns seen on Damascus steel.