Spending & resetting AP
- Where AP comes from: combat, hunts, and the Arete Stone training mode at the Hideaway. It flows steadily — you're rarely starved once the game opens up.
- Buy → upgrade → Master. Each ability has a purchase cost, upgrade ranks (more damage/Will, shorter cooldown), and a one-time Master cost. Mastering unlocks the ability for any Eikon slot — that's what lets you build freely.
- Reset costs nothing. Refund any ability's AP in full, anytime out of combat. Treat the menu as a sandbox: respec for each tough hunt or boss.
- First three buys: Phoenix Shift (mobility), Gouge (Will engine), and one big damage-dump (Gigaflare or Diamond Dust). Master Phoenix Shift and Gouge early so they ride along on every Eikon.
Mastery priority: master the abilities you'll want on multiple Eikons — your mobility, your best Will-builder, and your favourite dump. Niche utility you only use situationally can stay unmastered (just equipped on its home Eikon) until you have spare AP.
Break with one set, dump with the other
Every loadout should answer two questions: how do I empty the Will gauge? and what do I unload when it breaks? Mix both jobs across your six ability slots so you're never caught with all your damage on cooldown at the moment of stagger.
| Job | Go-to abilities | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Will-builders | Gouge, Thunderstorm, Aerial Blast, Rime, Heaven's Cloud / Gungnir, Wicked Wheel | Short cooldowns or lingering ticks that strip the gauge fast and cheap. |
| Damage-dumps | Gigaflare, Diamond Dust, Judgment Bolt, Earthen Fury, Windup, Zantetsuken (max stacks), Flames of Rebirth | Big, slow hits you hold until the enemy is staggered and the multiplier is climbing. |
| Passive damage | Satellite, Thunderstorm, Aerial Blast | "Set and forget" turrets that add damage while you do everything else. |
| Utility / defense | Phoenix Shift, Deadly Embrace, Titanic Block, Cold Snap, Rook's Gambit, Rift Slip | Mobility, pulls, counters — keep you on target and alive through the dump. |
Three loadouts that work
All-rounder (the default carry)
- Garuda — Feat Deadly Embrace; abilities Gouge + Wicked Wheel. Your Will engine and a pull to keep staggered foes close.
- Bahamut — Feat Wings of Light; abilities Gigaflare + Satellite. Satellite ticks while you build Will; Gigaflare is the headline dump.
- Odin (or Shiva) — Feat Zantetsuken; abilities Dancing Steel + Gungnir. Build Zantetsuken stacks during the break, release into the stagger.
Open with Gouge + Satellite to break, swap to Odin to bank Zantetsuken stacks, and the instant they stagger: Zantetsuken → Gigaflare → Limit Break. This single loop clears most of the game.
Stagger nuke (melt the window)
For hunts and bosses where you can break reliably and want to vaporize the bar in one window. Stack your hardest hits and a way to extend the stagger:
- Diamond Dust (Shiva) + Gigaflare (Bahamut) + Judgment Bolt (Ramuh) + Earthen Fury (Titan) across your Eikons.
- Pre-charge Diamond Dust and bank Zantetsuken before the break; drop everything plus Limit Break on stagger. With cooldown-reduction accessories you can fit a second dump in a long window.
Ranged / flier control
Some hunts fly or kite. Lean on the ranged Feats and turrets:
- Blind Justice (Ramuh Feat) and Wings of Light (Bahamut Feat) for homing pressure; Satellite + Thunderstorm + Rime to chip Will from range; Gigaflare to finish.
- Use Phoenix Shift to re-engage the moment they land.
What to slot — and what to drop
Accessories occupy three slots and come in two flavours. Prioritize augments for the specific abilities you lean on, then a general damage piece.
| Type | What it does | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Ability augments | Tune a single ability — shorter cooldown, more damage, more Will, or wider area (e.g. the augments for Gouge, Gigaflare, Diamond Dust). | Slot the cooldown augment on your Will-engine (Gouge) so it cycles faster, and a damage augment on your main dump. |
| General combat | Flat boosts — raw attack up, faster Limit Break charge, stronger potions, better item/gil drops. | One attack or Limit-charge piece rounds out the build; swap a drop-rate piece in when farming hunts. |
| Timely rings | The assist accessories (auto-dodge, auto-combo, auto-heal, auto-Torgal). | Each eats a slot. Keep them while learning; drop them as you improve to free slots for real augments — that's the intended power curve. |
Crafted, not randomMost augment accessories are crafted or upgraded by the Hideaway blacksmith from hunt and boss materials, and many ability augments come from completing sidequests and hunts. The build economy and the world economy are the same loop — see Progression.