Final Fantasy 16: Best Eikon Abilities

The best Eikon abilities to unlock and equip

Looking for the best Eikon abilities in Final Fantasy 16? By the end of the game, Clive will have access to a wide range of abilities, each one bringing something unique to his elemental arsenal. In this Final Fantasy 16 guide, we're going to cover the pros and cons of each ability in order to try and help you pick the right skills for your style of play.

Based on over 120 hours with the game, these are what we think are the best Eikon abilities in Final Fantasy 16.

Please note, this guide contains spoilers on abilities that are obtained towards the end of the game.

Before we begin, let's go over the basics of Eikon abilities and how they work within Final Fantasy 16.

With those main points out of the way, let's dive right in.

The Phoenix is the first Eikon that Clive gains access to. Its skills are aggressive but balanced and easy to use, and can be a benefit to any style of play.

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Description: Phoenix Shift allows Clive to close in on an opponent at an incredible speed, and it can be followed up with a unique sword slash or magic attack.

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Description: Rising Flames summons a fiery Phoenix wing to deal damage, and can launch smaller foes into the air.

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Description: Scarlet Cyclone summons two fiery Phoenix wings as Clive spins, dealing damage to all enemies around him.

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Description: Heatwave summons a wall of fire which Clive then slashes, creating large projectiles. When used to block an enemy's projectile or magic, Clive counters with more slashes with higher damage, and the ability's cooldown is shortened.

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Description: Flames of Rebith summons a storm of fire magic, damaging all enemies in a wide area while also healing Clive's HP.

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Garuda is the second Eikon that Clive gains access to. Its abilities focus on dealing high stagger damage, while also granting Clive some additional aerial mobility.

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Description: Deadly Embrace is a versatile technique that lets Clive pull smaller enemies towards him, even when he's in the air. When used against larger foes, it spins Clive into the air. Deadly Embrace can also be used to drag bigger opponents and bosses to the ground during partial stagger, rendering them helpless for slightly longer.

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Description: Gouge summons two Garuda claws that unleash multiple slashes. It can be used in midair, and more slashes can be performed by mashing the assigned button.

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Description: Wicked Wheel summons two Garuda claws as Clive spins into the air, launching smaller foes. Can also be used while in the air.

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Description: Rook's Gambit sees Clive perform an evasive back dash before striking with a Garuda claw. It can be used to counter incoming attacks, greatly increasing its effectiveness if Clive evades correctly. Can also be used in midair.

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Description: Aerial Blast sees Clive summon a huge tornado, which steadily tracks his opponents and sweeps smaller enemies off the ground.

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Ifrit is the third Eikon Clive gains access to. It only grants two Eikon abilities, which differ greatly in terms of intended use.

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Description: Will-o'-the-Wykes temporarily summons a swarm of fireballs that circle around Clive. They deal damage to any foes that they touch, while also negating enemy attacks (up to a point).

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Description: Ignition coats Clive in fire as he charges across the battlefield. You can control the charge's direction, and it carries smaller enemies off the ground. Ignition ends with a powerful sword slash.

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Ramuh is the fourth Eikon that Clive gains access to. Its abilities boast fairly high damage output, while promoting a slightly more technical style of play.

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Description: Blind Justice shoots a series of lightning balls at targeted opponents. The lightning balls stick to the enemies for a time, causing further attacks (sword swings, magic, and Eikon abilities) to discharge lightning blasts for extra damage.

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Description: Pile Drive sees Clive slam Ramuh's staff into the ground, creating a wide shockwave.

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Description: Thunderstorm summons bolts of lightning down upon your targeted enemy. It can hit other enemies as well, but only if they're close enough.

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Description: Summons a ball of lightning that discharges electric blasts when hit by Clive's attacks. However, the blasts are much more powerful if the ball is struck by an opponent.

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Description: Judgement Bolt summons huge lighting bolts down on a single target.

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Titan is the fifth Eikon Clive gains access to. Its abilities focus on defence and raw power.

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Description: Titanic Block lets Clive block incoming attacks by using a summoned Titan arm as a shield. The arm will block any normal attack or magic spell, but it can be broken by more powerful blows, with the absolute strongest hits dealing damage upon breaking through. Using Titanic Block just as an enemy's attack is about to hit will result in a perfect block, which can then be followed up with unique counterattacks using Titan arms.

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Description: Windup sees Clive summon a large Titan arm, which is then slammed into the opponent. By holding down the assigned button, damage can be greatly increased if the button is released on the red portion of the timing circle.

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Description: Upheaval summons a Titan fist that Clive slams into the ground, dealing damage to all surrounding enemies. If used in midair, the impact deals increased damage. The assigned button can be held to increase effectiveness, maximising damage if the button is released on the red portion of the circular gauge.

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Description: Raging Fists sees Clive use a Titan arm to deliver a storm of quick punches. However, its true potential is unleashed as a counterattack ability. The initial animation, in which Clive steps forward and holds the Titan arm up to block, can be used to counter physical attacks. Timed correctly, the following punch storm becomes much more powerful. Keep mashing the assigned button to throw more punches.

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Description: Earthen Fury rips a large portion of the battlefield up with two summoned Titan arms. Smaller enemies are blown away.

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Bahamut is the sixth Eikon that Clive gains access to. Its abilities have a strong focus on ranged attacks that deal high damage.

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Description: Wings of Light gives Clive actual wings, allowing him to slowly glide around the battlefield. While in flight, you gradually build up Megaflare, from level 1 to a maximum of level 4. The longer Clive stays in flight, the higher the level increases, but it'll start to decrease if Clive gets hit by an enemy. As such, you need to dodge incoming attacks with R1, which also builds levels faster. By pressing the button again, Clive unleashes Megaflare at the current level, dealing sustained damage across the battlefield.

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Description: Impulse fires off a number of projectiles that circle enemies and deal damage over time.

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Description: Flare Breath sees Clive spew fire in front of him. The fire can be aimed, and you can still walk around while it's active.

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Description: Satellite temporarily summons up to two light orbs that hover above Clive. They shoot magic at enemies whenever Clive uses his own magic attacks.

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Description: Gigaflare sees Clive fire off a massive beam of light magic. The direction of the beam can be controlled.

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Shiva is the seventh Eikon that Clive gains access to. Its abilities are offensive, but quite tactical in how they can be used during battle.

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Description: Cold Snap lets Clive perform ice-based dashes across the battlefield. It's essentially an elongated dodge. Pressing the button again while dodging places an ice crystal that freezes nearby foes, but only for a second or so. Dodging an enemy attack at the last possible opportunity triggers Permafrost, which sees Clive fully freeze all nearby opponents for several seconds. The freezing works on all enemies, even bosses.

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Description: Ice Age summons a line of ice that smashes smaller enemies away. Its damage can be increased by holding and releasing the assigned button when the timing circle reaches the red mark.

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Description: Mesmerize fires several shards of ice at nearby enemies, which are then pulled towards Clive if they're small enough.

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Description: Rime summons a large ice crystal that stays in place for a set period of time. Smaller enemies that touch the crystal get caught inside of it and take sustained damage.

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Description: Diamond Dust unleashes two huge blankets of ice that skewer enemies from the ground up.

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Odin is the eighth and final Eikon that Clive channels. Its abilities all feed back into its Core Ability, which is designed to deal high damage in bursts.

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Description: Arm of Darkness replaces Clive's sword with Odin's blade. Clive's basic combo changes, and slashes with Odin's blade fill up the Zantetsuken bar, which can have a maximum of five levels. Holding down the attack button unleashes Zantetsuken, which deals more damage the higher the level. Also changes Clive's precision dodge counter. Attacks while Arm of Darkness is active do not fill the Limit Break bar.

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Description: Gungnir summons a dark magic spear that Clive uses to unleash a flurry of attacks. All successful hits build the Zantetsuken level.

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Description: Heaven's Cloud sees Clive slash through multiple enemies, or a single enemy multiple times. Press the assigned button after each successful hit to keep the chain going.

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Description: Rift Slip lets Clive immediately cancel out of any action, including abilities.

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Description: Dancing Steel sees Clive summon a second Odin's blade, before unleashing a rampage of slashes. Every successful hit increases the Zantetsuken level by a large amount.

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Did you find our guide on the best Eikon abilities in Final Fantasy 16 helpful? Unleash your inner Eikon, and be sure to take a look at our huge Final Fantasy 16 guide for much more help with the game.