Final Fantasy 16 abilities: Best Eikon attacks to learn

In Final Fantasy 16, abilities and other Eikon attacks Clive can do will make up your entire offense and defense. However, how many of these abilities are there for you to learn and juggle?

The combat system in Final Fantasy 16 is one of the best things about the game. In our review, we called it “one of the best action combat systems ever committed to disk”, and it’s not hard to see why. With the modular nature of the game’s many abilities, and your ability to mix and match with near-limitless creativity, there’s a lot to try out.

As you progress through the game, you begin to open all of the Eikon ability trees, each with its own style and strengths. As you begin to try out and master these abilities, you will come up with a lot of fun rotations you can combo together. It won’t be long until you’re tearing through enemies with intricate and fascinating combos.

However, if you want a sneak peek into what all these abilities in the game are and which we think our best, read on!

Final Fantasy 16 core abilities

These are Clive‘s ‘core’ attacks. No matter which Eikon tree you are currently using, these abilities remain consistent. These are made up of basic attacks and combo tools that allow you to weave together your offense. We strongly suggest you buy all of these abilities early. They’re cheap, but almost all of them are key to how you fight.

• Magic
• Aerial Attack
• Melee Attack
• Dodge
• Jump
• Precision dodge
• Lunge
• Downthrust
• Burning Blade
• Taunt
• Swift Recovery
• Stomp
• Charged Magic
• Magic Burst

Categorization 

From here on out, we will use three categories to classify abilities as they appear on the Eikonic trees. 

• Intrinsic: This is an ability that is tied to the Eikon tree, and whenever you switch to the Eikon it will be the ability you do on the Circle button. 
• Basic: These are basic moves that should make the bread and butter of your combos. 
• Ultimate: These are huge, cinematic moves that can do a lot of damage and stagger but have very long cooldowns. 

For the most part, with the exception of Ifrit, each Eikon comes with an Intrinsic ability, three Basic abilities, and an Ultimate ability.

Pheonix Eikonic Abilities

The Pheonix’s abilities are the first abilities you will have access to, and they remain strong throughout the game. Pheonix Shift is an exceptional mobility Intrinsic ability that we used during our whole playthrough. Rising Flames is a great damage dealer against single targets, that can also catch multiple enemies in one attack.

• Pheonix Shift (Intrinsic)
• Rising Flames (Basic)
• Scarlet Cyclone (Basic)
• Heatwave (Basic)
• Flames of Rebirth (Ultimate)

Garuda Eikonic Abilities

Garuda is all about ferocity and speed. Her Intrinsic ability Deadly Embrace is excellent as it brings enemies to you and allows you to launch yourself into the air. Aerial Blast is a great Ultimate that can hurt and gather multiple enemies. Gouge also is a great way to add stagger to an enemy.

• Deadly Embrace (Intrinsic)
• Gouge (Basic)
• Wicked Wheel (Basic)
• Rook’s Gambit (Basic)
• Aerial Blast (Ultimate)

Ifrit Eikonic Abilities

Ifrit is different from other Eikon trees, as he only has two real abilities to choose from. Limit Break is usable on all Eikon Trees, though it is very good at increasing your damage output. However, do not sleep on Ignition, which might be one of the best Basic abilities in the game.

• Limit Break (Intrinsic)
• Ignition (Basic)
• Will-o’-the-Wykes (Basic)

Ramuh Eikonic Abilities

Ramuh is all about dealing damage and shocking enemies. Pile Drive is an excellent ability against multiple targets, and the Judgement Bolt Ultimate is exceptional for single-target damage.

• Blind Justice (Intrinsic)
• Pile Drive (Basic)
• Thunder Storm (Basic)
• Lightning Rod (Basic)
• Judgment Bolt (Ultimate)

Titan Eikonic Abilities

Titan is one of the most damage-focused Eikon trees in the game. Windup is one of our favorite Basic single target abilities in the game. Upheaval is also an excellent multiple-target ability, especially if you’ve managed to collect enemies around you.

• Titanic Block (Intrinsic)
• Windup (Basic)
• Upheaval (Basic)
• Raging Fists (Basic)
• Earthen Fury (Ultimate)

Bahamut Eikonic Abilities

Bahamut has some of the best abilities across all of the Eikons. He is ranged focused tree, that also does damage over time. Impulse and Satellite will both continue to do damage as you use other abilities, so are excellent options to use on cooldown.

We also loved Gigaflare as our main Ultimate ability, with it being able to do extreme damage against targets.

• Wings of Light (Intrinsic)
• Impulse (Basic)
• Flare Breath (Basic)
• Satellite (Basic)
• Gigaflare (Ultimate)

Shiva Eikonic Abilities

Shiva is about movement and crowd-controlling enemies. Her Cold Snap Intrinsic is one of the best in the game. It allows you to glide around the battlefield, but also attack during it to freeze enemies. We also loved Mesmerize as an opening move to pull in multiple enemies to us.

• Cold Snap (Intrinsic)
• Ice Age (Basic)
• Mesmerize Basic)
• Rime (Basic)
• Diamond Dust (Ultimate)

Odin Eikonic Abilities

Odin is by far the most complex of the Eikon trees. This tree is all about using the Zantetsuken sword, and building a meter to use it and maximize damage. This requires some devotion to this tree and its abilities which might be a lot to ask. However, if you do, Gungir is an excellent move against both single and multiple targets. Rift Slip also has a ton of potential in the middle of a combo, but again, will require some mastery over the system.

• Arm of Darkness (Intrinsic)
• Gungnir (Basic)
• Heaven’s Cloud (Basic)
• Rift Slip (Basic)
• Dancing Steel (Ultimate)

Be sure to check out our guide if you would like further instructions on our favorite builds and rotations. However, we have a whole host of other guides for you to consider too:

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