What are the best abilities in Final Fantasy 16?

The best abilities in Final Fantasy 16 use unique eikons and gear to do the most damage and Stagger in each encounter. With a handful of central elemental types and tonnes of ability points to earn, it can be a bit hard to know where to place all those upgrade resources.

In this guide, we'll go over all the best abilities in Final Fantasy 16, how to use them, and how to equip them. As well as this, we'll go over what you should know about getting ability points.

What are the best abilities in Final Fantasy 16?

Here are the best abilities to grab throughout Final Fantasy 16!

Rising Flames

This is a starting ability. Dealing huge damage to a single target with a small cooldown and short activation period, it is a great way of applying stagger damage to big enemies. This is worth upgrading near the start of the game.

Flames of Rebirth

In the Phoenix tree, this is the most expensive ability you can unlock for it. Not only does it do huge AOE damage, it restores temporarily lost health and freezes time, meaning it can activate without being blocked with a hit. It has a very slow cooldown so needs to be used well, but can turn around combat very quickly.

Judgment Bolt

From the Ramuh skill tree, Judgment Bolt does huge damage to a single target. Though it shouldn't always be in your loadout due to a slow cooldown time, it is absolutely worth adding in when you go against the game's many bosses.

Gouge

Though its damage output isn't huge, Gouge is a great ability for ticking down the stagger bar. If you manage to get behind a big enemy or they get staggered at the halfway point, this can open them up for more damage from your other abilities. Gouge allows you to do tonnes of hits in a row by tapping the hit button. These do less damage than standard attacks but can hit multiple enemies at once.

Windup

The Windup is one of the most powerful abilities in the game. You can hold the special attack button until a certain point, where you will hit the enemy a handful of times while charging forward. There are three more types of abilities after this but these are the ones you should focus on until you know your central build.

How to get ability points in Final Fantasy 16

You gain ability points in Final Fantasy 16 from every fight you complete, and most quests. Generally speaking, you shouldn't aim to grind for them, as you will get large amounts of them as you make your way through the story and side quests.

You're rarely encouraged to work too hard to get ability points, as while they may complement your play style, they aren't hugely necessary to beat the bosses.

How to equip abilities in Final Fantasy 16

To equip your new abilities, you have to press Options and move into the "Gear and Eikons" screen. From here, click on the Eikon whose ability you want to change, and click on the ability you want to swap out. Select your new ability, and you will now be able to use it in combat.

Now that you know how to get the most out of your ability points, you may be looking for more information on the game. If so, here is our Final Fantasy 16 controls guide, how to save in Final Fantasy 16, and our full Final Fantasy 16 preview.