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Once drawn, Nightblood becomes incredibly powerful. Its voice becomes overpowering and liquid smoke pours from the length of the blade. The sword becomes barely sentient as its Command takes over, and it does not usually recall what happens while it is drawn.{{wob ref|7474}} The wielder feels extreme pain in the arm holding Nightblood and the hand, arm, and eventually the whole body turns black as the sword consumes Investiture.{{book ref|wb|56}}{{book ref|sa3|119}} The black veins or tendrils that appear in the wielder usually leave the skin gray after Nightblood is sheathed or otherwise satiated. This can be seen in [[Lolan]]'s hand, Lift's arms, and Szeth's face.{{book ref|wb|26}}{{book ref|sa3|119}} Nightblood is strong enough that an Awakener of the tenth Heightening cannot break its command.{{wob ref|13095}}
Living humans, [[Lifeless]], and inanimate objects disappear in a puff of smoke if so much as nicked by Nightblood's blade.{{book ref|sa3|92}}{{book ref|wb|56}} Nightblood can also destroy inanimate objects by destroying their bead in [[Shadesmar]].{{wob ref|10508}} Nightblood is powerful enough to destroy [[Fused]] and [[thunderclast]]s permanently, presumably sending them to the [[Beyond]].{{wob ref|10440}} Additional incredible effects of Nightblood include: killing the [[Vessel]] of a [[Shard]] of [[Adonalsium]],{{book ref|sa4|113}} collapsing a [[perpendicularity]],{{book ref|sa4|111}} putting a nick in an [[Honorblade]],{{book ref|sa4|111}} and severing [[Bondsmith]]-forged [[Connection]]s.{{book ref|sa4|111}} So long as Nightblood is unsheathed, it drains Investiture from its wielder, drawing it faster the longer it is held, until it is all gone in a way very similar to both [[larkin]] and [[chromium|chromium Mistings]].{{book ref|wb|56}}{{wob ref|5023}}{{book ref|sa4|i|12}} If held until all available Breath (or other [[Investiture]]) is consumed, Nightblood will feed on the spark of life, killing the wielder.{{book ref|sa3|119}}{{wob ref|5813}} This will also happen to non-Returned that wield Nightblood.{{wob ref|4068}}
Nightblood was created on Nalthis and initially consumed BioChromatic Breaths, but it can also consume other forms of Investiture, such as [[Stormlight]].{{wob ref|661}}{{book ref|sa3|92}} On [[Scadrial]], a person would need to be actively [[Allomancy|burning a metal]] or tapping a [[Feruchemy|metalmind]] to avoid being consumed very quickly.{{wob ref|8683}} Nightblood can also feed on the [[mist]]s but would not be able to pick up the Shard [[Preservation]].{{wob ref|4590}} On [[Sel]], Nightblood would be able to draw power from the [[Dor]]. For instance, if an Elantrian drew an [[Aon]] above the sword, it would be able to draw on Investiture, but the Aon would quickly be consumed due to too much energy being pulled through too small an opening.{{wob ref|8746}} Notably, it can draw Stormlight from other sources directly--not just from the wielder.{{book ref|sa3|92}}
Nightblood is very similar to a [[Shardblade]];{{wob ref|6892}}{{wob ref|5152}} Vasher and Shashara actually made it in imitation of Shardblades, with which they had prior experience.{{wob ref|3586}} However, since they didn't know how Shardblades were originally made and were trying to imitate a magic system different from the one they had access to, they had to do some "hacking" in order to get it to work, resulting in something akin to a Frankenstein's monster{{wob ref|2650}} or "robot spren".{{wob ref|3586}} Nightblood, while ultimately built around the same principles as other Shardblades, is much more powerful than normal, and is, in some ways, broken and opposite from them (i.e., in requiring constant input of Investiture to function, emitting black smoke that falls instead of white smoke that rises).{{wob ref|7134}} It is effectively a "third generation" Blade, where Honorblades are "first generation" and spren Blades are "second generation".{{wob ref|3623}}
Much like a Shardblade, Nightblood is its own being, and even more powerful [[Awakener]]s like [[Shashara]] and [[Susebron]] would not be able to retrieve Breaths from it or break its command.{{wob ref|13094}}{{wob ref|13095}} Trying to use [[Allomancy]] to burn it would be similar to an attempt to burn someone else's metalmind.{{wob ref|2901}} [[Surgebinding#Illumination|Lightweaving]] does not stick to Nightblood.{{book ref|sa4|29}} Unlike a Shardblade, however, it could attract spren.{{wob ref|13372}} It can also be pulled into [[visions]], while at least dead Shardblades cannot.{{book ref|sa4|i|9}}{{book ref|sa4|113}}{{book ref|sa1|18}}
When used, its effects are somewhat similar to those of Shardblades, but much more powerful. It can destroy non-living material, but not just what it touches, as Shardblades do: Vasher clears a hole ten feet wide by ramming Nightblood into a ceiling.{{book ref|wb|56}} When it inflicts a wound, it vaporizes and destroys on all three [[Realms]] (Cognitive, Physical, and Spiritual).{{wob ref|3393}} So far, everything Nightblood has touched has been destroyed, except for its own aluminum scabbard, which was used by a [[Fused]] to block a blow from Nightblood during the [[Battle of Thaylen Field]]. Nightblood would be able to stop a Shardblade that hit it, but it seems to be unclear what would happen to the Shardblade.{{wob ref|5555}} Nightblood is able to both stop, and damage, an Honorblade.{{book ref|sa4|111}}
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