Game Breaker / Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII

• The Full ATB Skills can be outright devastating if used properly.
  • Lightning's Army of One and Sazh's Cold Blood are both long strings of hits. Being a Ravager skill, each hit ramps up the chain gauge significantly... but switching to Commando once the animation starts will apply Commando's role bonus (namely, increased damage) to every hit. And using it on an enemy about to recover from stagger will prevent the stagger from running out, allowing the other two Commandos in a Cerberus paradigm to pull off around seven extremely high damaging Scourge or Smite attacks each.
  • Snow's Sovereign Fist and Fang's Highwind both deal a single, powerful hit that wipes out the enemy's chain gauge. That single hit can take out oretoise legs with ease, and for enemies that Turn Red after recovering from stagger instead of after an HP threshold (Rosch), the chain-depletion can be used to completely prevent their most troublesome mannerisms.
  • Hope's Last Resort deals eight (surprisingly powerful) attacks to random targets. Although less useful than the above, it's also a chain-building Ravager skill that can be power-boosted by a well-timed Paradigm Shift. The enemies that come in large enough groups to spread out those hits usually can't take a Last Resort if Hope is part of a Cerberus, and solo enemies will eat all eight shots.
  • Vanille's Death is... well, Death. 1% probability, plus another 1% for every negative ailment applied. However, a lot of enemies like Mission marks aren't invulnerable to it (including adamantoises), so a stroke of luck or some patient Save Scumming can net you a lot of CP. And unlike previous entries, Death also deals a lot of damage if it doesn't land its instant kill, and it too can be power-boosted by switching Vanille to Commando at the right time.
• Sazh's Blitz is easily one of the most broken attacks in the game. It is designed to be a Herd-Hitting Attack where Sazh sweeps gunfire across the room, dealing 7 hits for 60% of his normal damage per hit. However, because attacks in XIII are hitbox-based, if an enemy is close enough and/or big enough, you can get multiple bullets to hit the same enemy, vastly outstripping almost every other attack in raw damage and efficiency. With good timing, it's possible to switch Sazh to a ravager during the animation to drive up the enemy's chain gauge
• While most buffs manage to be fairly useful, Haste stands out as being incomparably so, and will become a staple of every major battle you get in. Even better, the AI knows this, and AI Synergists will prioritize using Haste before all other buffs.
• Poison on vulnerable targets, which chews away at an enemy's HP at 1% of their max health a second, considering the post-arrival on Pulse difficulty spike, poison is welcome for its effectiveness and in some situations can help you win encounters that you shouldn't be able to under other circumstances. Even the final bosses' first form, the Long Gui, or Vercingetorix isn't immune to it.

Final Fantasy XIII- 2

Final Fantasy XIII-2

• Although Full ATB Skills took a massive Nerfing in the AF era, some good timing can still make them useful.
  • Serah's Ultima Arrow functions like Army of One and Cold Blood, except it has an area effect; if your enemies happen to be bunched together, all the better.
  • Noel's Meteor Javelin takes the route of Sovereign Fist and Highwind, but deals four hits before wiping the gauge, which buys extra time for some Scourges and Smites.
• The most abuse-able accessory in the game is the Grimoire Hat. While Kill: Libra is nice for common enemies (especially those with elemental absorptions), its other buff is Improved Potions. While in XIII the buff was useless, here it makes Potions a viable alternative to Cura and Curaja if you've got 2 or 3 Medics on the field. The best part is that the accessory only cost 25 points, so it can fit easily on any build.
  • Its Durable upgrade grants Weak Spot, which boosts damage if your target is weak to it. While the cost is 45 points, the damage boost makes up for it.
• For monster passives, Siphon Boost II. It's supposed to double the effect of the auto-abilities Fearsiphon, Faultsiphon and Deathsiphon. However it also affects Attack: ATB Charge I/II as well. Combined with monsters with attacks that technically hit two or more times, such as the Sahagin monsters, Amodar and Omega, and their ATB gauge will be full almost instantly. The only problem is that the passive is only infusable from Fencers, a monster that appears twice in Academia 400 AF and doesn't respawn unless you lock the level from the Historia Crux.
• Getting Lightning's DLC episode as early as possible (and spoiling most of the ending in the progress if you don't skip the cutscenes) allows you get her as a monster ally at any point in the game if you 5-star both of her battles, which is pretty easy to do as the levels in her episode are independent from the main story and thus 5-starring her battles is just as easy or hard at the end of the game as it is at the very beginning. Pretty much all the DLC contents count as this, the Coliseum DLC alone allows you to get the best Ravager (Lightning), best Sentinel (Snow) and the best Saboteur (Jihl) monsters in the game, although in their case you at least need to be strong enough to beat them first.
  • Not possible in the Steam version, at least in terms of spoiling the ending, as this version of the game is built so that the DLC unlocks automatically when and only when you first beat the game. That said, if you power through the main story, it's still great for the sidequests.
• The Sazh DLC. At the start, you are given 10,000 Casino coins and are told to go play. Bet them all on one of the card games, win and you might end up with around 50,000 coins. The kicker? These original 10,000 coins are free and Serah and Noel get to keep everything you win as Sazh, enabling you to buy out the entire casino as soon as you set foot there.
• Commandos:
  • In Augusta Tower 200 AF, you can obtain a monster called a Dragoon. The Dragoon is an Early Peaker monster that takes Grade 2 materials, and only needs 28 to max out. If you max level it immediately, it ends up with a murderous Strength stat (usually around 600, at the time Noel is hitting 200-250) and a ton of HP. It'll last you through the rest of the main story and well into the postgame.
  • The Tonberry is an excellent Commando, but that's not what makes it a game breaker. It's got a couple of passive abilities that are unique to it: Strength- and Magic +35%. No, you didn't read that wrong; that's a +35%. Tonberries are high-order Demonic Spiders, but they're relatively cheap to level up, and with Battlemania and Monster Collector active, Bresha Ruins 300 AF will be overflowing with Tonberries to satisfy all your infusion needs.
  • Valkyrie Lightning, if you have the Requiem of the Goddess DLC. Uncapped damage, extremely high Strength and Magic, Immovable MAX, and extremely fast attacking speed. For maximum game breaking potential, do Requiem as soon as you get access to the Historia Crux. Even at level 1, she still has over 600 Strength and Magic, and will spend most of the game slaughtering everything in your way.
  • The ever lovable Chichu. With a very fast attack speed, high strength, Armor Breaker and a handful of Feeder abilities, he's hands down one of the best monsters in the game. For comparison: A max level Valkyrie Lightning kitted out with all the best abilities will do decent damage against Damage Sponge Bosses but be prepared for a long fight. A comparably maxed out Chichu will tear through the HP bars of those same bosses so fast it will make your head spin.
  • Twilight Odin's magic animation speed leaves much to be desired (especially seeing as he has no ability to use physical attacks on launched enemies), and he's frickin' expensive to level up (read: 269 Crystals), but his Attack at max level is on par with if not surpassing that of Valkyrie Lightning above with the same material spread, and his HP well exceeds hers. His basic Attack uses the animation of Flourish of Steel; four hits per action lets him get good use out of Attack: ATB Charge, the combo string means enemy chain gauges take that much longer to run down, and infusing the unforgettable Siphon Boost II will let him swing Gagnrad endlessly. An innate 50% resistance to all statuses as well as Resistance: All Elements +20% and Critical: Tetradefense give him significant defensive prowess to go with his towering HP levels, and because of the way Eidolons work, he can't be launched or interrupted despite a lack of Immovable. Finally, Zantetsuken is one of very few Feral Links which can reach a maximum sync of 999%, meaning that he is one of the greatest forms of assistance in recruiting most of the others on this list. Oh, and he's a guaranteed recruit, no Luck-Based Mission required, and available in the base game instead of as DLC.
• Ravagers:
  • One of the first monsters you get is the tiny little Nekton, which'll probably get replaced as soon as you get a more suitable Ravager, since its growth somewhat flatlines after a Crystraium upgrade. However if you stick with the little bugger you'll get a Ravager with 1,000+ Magic, a fast casting speed, all with a Feral Link that can cause Deshell, Fog, Pain and Slow, the last one uncastable by Saboteurs.
  • Cloudburst and Debris, depending on your needs. While both get precious Fel- autoabilities that spike their already 1,200 Magic damage even higher, each one has different uses. The former's Feral Link casts the buffs Faith, Veil, Vigilance and Enfrost, two of which can't be cast by Serah and Noel. The latter resists all elemental damage, halves physical damage and has a Feral Link that hits all enemies hard and builds chain bonuses.
  • The Spiceacilian is much like the Nekton; looks unassuming and takes a while to get going. But just like Nekton, it gets a respectable Magic stat to compliment its casting speed. Its Feral Link is even better, healing the party's health and casting Regen while also charging very quickly. It can substantially double as a Medic.
  • Soldier Lightning, once again. She learns all of the physical Ravager moves and her Strength and Magic are and even 1,200. So teach her all of the Ravager spells and you get the most variable Ravager in the game. Oh, did we forget to mention that her Feral Link is the broken Army of One from XIII?
• Sentinels:
  • If one can get to Yaschas Massif 100 AF early, Bunkerbeast is the most economical Sentinel in the game. Its Feral Link casts Provoke on all enemies easily, and if you keep leveling it up its HP can easily go past the 10K mark.
  • The Goblin Chieftain. It Feral Link casts Bravery, Protect, Shell, Veil and Vigilance while also healing wounded health. It essentially doubles as a Synergist and outclasses Wound Potions.
  • Pluse Gladiator is widely considered the best Sentinel, hands down. It resists status ailments and wind damage by 90% and halves any other damage, all before working on passives.
• Saboteurs:
  • While it takes some effort to get good, Celicerata can get debuffs on your enemies faster than any other monster, thanks to it lacking Wound.
  • Jhil Naabat shines as a jack of all trades. Her skillset lies parralel to Serah's and Noel's, so if you avoid giving her any more abilities, she'll just focus on what she has. After that, she'll focus on casting Wound, which thanks to her passives and average casting speed can stun lock enemies, and thanks to her high magic can do considerable damage and chain nicely. All this versatility is emphasized with her Feral Link getting bonuses in regards to Serah and Noel's roles. Overall, she can apply rare debuffs and double as a makeshift Commando and Ravager.
• Synergists:
  • Much like how Valkyrie Lightning can be gotten as soon as you hit the Historia Crux, the same can be said for Sazh. His starting skills are great in the early game, especially Item Collector. Leveling him can lead to a high HP, high Magic Synergist with all but a few -ga spells, Augment Maintenance II and Critical: Haste, thus making his skill set compliment Serah's and Noel's.
• Medics:
  • The Cait Sith is one of the first two monsters you get, and will likely be permanently benched as soon as you unlock the Medic roles for Noel and Serah. However, after level 70, its Magic and HP skyrocket, usually ending up with around 900 Magic and 7000 HP. Add in a few good infusions, and suddenly nothing can outdamage your healing.
  • The Cactuarama. It's difficult to find and a little underwhelming at first, but its Feral Link is the only way to receive the Reraise buff. With the right infusions, Cactuarama is even more overpowering than a maxed-out Cait Sith.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

• The Cloud outfit for hard boss fights. When you fight bosses, and you have trouble, the easiest thing to do is just stagger them, then use Overclock to speed yourself up and slow them down, and then just reuse Heavy Slash, the locked ability mapped to the Triangle/Y button in the Cloud outfit. It has a passive ability that says when your enemy is staggered, it changes into the Slayer ability, which multiplies the damage output exponentially, and when you have your enemy slowed down with Overclock, you can reuse the attack. You can take out hard bosses like Noel and Caius in mere SECONDS by doing this.
• Yuna's Summoner Garb. Its locked ability is Elementa Lv.* and has a damage of x9.80! This garb is so overpowered, you could practically go through the entire game only using this Garb and that Ability, without running into trouble. The only time it might begin to feel balanced out is when you encounter the Final Boss.
• Under the right conditions, the time-stopping ability Chronostasis. Normally you're on a time limit, period, and this ability will stop time for one in-game hour as long as you have EP to spend. However, while small- and medium-sized enemies only give around 0.05 and 0.20 EP upon defeat on Normal, the large ones give 4, 2 or 1 EP depending on the difficulty level (your starting max being 5). In short, careful manipulation of Chronostasis and defeating large enemies ^ExampleOne in particular that is easy to farm, Gurangatch, an armadillon type found in The Dead Dunes and parts of Yusnaan rarely attacks and does okay damage for a 'large' enemy. allows you to near-infinitely keep time stopped, turning what would otherwise be an entire day of exploration/quest progression into hours.
• It's possible to attain complete immunity to physical or magical attacks with the right Garb/Accessory setup. It does reduce that schema's offenses to near-zero, but tactical schema changes can render you Nigh-Invulnerable to most enemies, and it has no effect on stagger buildup and preservation; even though you'll be doing single-digit damage per hit to most enemies, those schemata can be used to stagger most troublesome enemies with little to no risk.
• The Soldier of Peace garb changes any Heavy Slash equipped into the Artemis's Arrows ability, which is similar to the Slayer ability mentioned above... except that it ignores a target's resistances and deals Stagger-level damage even if the enemy isn't staggered, allowing it to tear huge chunks out of the strongest enemies in the game. It's mitigated somewhat by having highly variable damage, and the garb starting battle with an empty ATB gauge.
• The Beat Down attack, combined with a weapon that has the Jump passive ability. Jump works much like the "Slayer" passive mentioned above, as it greatly increases the power of an attack under certain conditions. Unlike Slayer however, the condition is simply the 2nd strike of Beat Down, regardless of stagger. Beat Down is also a High Stagger rate attack, meaning versus any foe staggered via Physical attack, doing so becomes extremely easy. Have we mentioned yet that garb options which include Beat Down as a set ability often have passives such as Stagger Drain or Siphon?