In the world of Sword Art Online, few characters have the buffet of abilities that Kirito has at his disposal. Seeing how he's the main character of the show, it's a given that he'd have the largest array as he's been in multiple games. Most of them center around his sword techniques, a skill in which Kirito is unmatched.
It isn't all related to swords, however, as he's picked up a few out-of-game abilities and has willpower that's untouched in the series. It's practically an ability all on its own.
10 Survive Death Through Will
He's a character that's so strong that not even death itself can get in his way. During the climactic fight with Kayaba, Kirito is struck down by the crazed creator of the game. Rather than dying instantly as everyone else had at that point, he's able to push past deletion through the power of will in one of the hokier ends to an arc fight.
It's up there with the power of friendship constantly ending fights in Fairy Tail, and is only possible for Kirito for some reason.
9 Gleam Eyes Transformation
His transformation during Alfheim is one of many instances where Kirito gained a power that not only felt as if it came out of nowhere, but was something only he possessed.
What was often mocked as a mediocre illusion, allowed him to battle off 12 Salamanders at once, utilizing the Gleam Eyes powers to their fullest extent. On the plus side, it made for a legitimately badass scene as the transformation itself looked very cool. Sometimes, the rule of cool needs to reign supreme.
8 Wield Excalibur
Kirito was the only wielder of the Holy Sword Excalibur. Excalibur was one of the strongest weapons in Alfheim Online, right up there with Eugene's Demonic Sword Gram.
Unlike many of his weapons, this sword required both of his hands, canceling any ability to dual wield as Kirito often did. That downside was made up for by the sheer power in its strikes, and thanks to what Sinon did to allow him to get it, he will always have a fondness for it.
7 Starburst Stream
Starburst Stream is one of Kirito's most powerful and complex attacks. Rather than being some sort of one-hit super move, as most protagonists have, Starburst is a series of strikes. Kirito hits his target upwards of 21 times in a combo that would make seasoned pros of fighting games blush.
He's used it to defeat more than a few enemies, including the Gleam Eyes and the Subtilizer. It even got used on Heathcliff, who needed to activate his over-assist to block it.
6 Bullet Deflect
Not many people would willingly take up a melee weapon in a game that's built around the use of guns, but Kirito isn't a normal person.
In the Phantom Bullet Arc, he used a photon sword called Kagemitsu G4 that was essentially a lightsaber. He managed to eliminate the disadvantage he had against ranged opponents by deflecting bullets with the sword, not unlike what Jedi did regularly to both stormtroopers and droids in Star Wars.
5 Spell Blast
Spell blast was essentially Kirito's ability to slice through a spell in Alfheim Online. No one other than him was capable of it and it felt like a means of allowing Kirito to continue to use a similar fighting style without having to adjust too much to the new setting.
It wasn't a poor choice as it led to cool-looking animations when he battled mages, particularly the Salamanders. It also gave him something unique from Sword Art Online, even if the two games were similar.
4 Lightning Fall
Lightning Fall was used by Kirito to find Freyja's treasure in Tyrm's boss room. It's an elemental sword skill that focuses on a one-hander, letting the user channel electricity through the blade and once thrust into the ground, sending bolts of lightning every which way and damaging everyone in its path.
It's the type of area-of-effect spell that can be perfect for dealing with multiple enemies, but can be dangerous if not used properly as it can damage allies too.
3 Howling Octave
Howling Octave is a high-level ability from Alfheim Online and one that comes with a few drawbacks to go along with its power. The post motion delay on the ability is quite lengthy, leaving Kirito vulnerable when he uses it, making it necessary that he hits the target for severe damage.
The ability's crowning moment was its use against the Golden Minotaurus, where both its strengths and weakness were on full display. If not for Asuna's intervention, the fight could have spelled the end for Kirito.
2 Embracer
Embracer felt like an ability befitting Kabuto from Naruto as it caused Kirito's to glow with yellow energy, giving it the needed oomph to take out a foe with a single strike. It was most notably used against Kuradeel in their duel, not only ending their fight but killing the man then and there.
As it's a hand to hand strike, it has limited uses. Even against Kuradeel, Kirito only managed to use it because he'd stopped his opponent's sword with his other hand.
1 Zeroing In On A Person's Movements
Kirito is capable of blocking out excess noise, letting him zero in only on what he's looking for. It's a talent that's difficult to hone as he uses it as a means of rooting out any surprise attacks, focusing his senses only on footsteps.
It's a talent he needed in Gun Gale Online, in particular as Death Gun proved to be a foe that couldn't be dealt with as Kirito had other foes. Their use of stealth far surpassing any other villain thanks to the Metamaterial Optical Camouflage Mantle.