Final Fantasy XVI Eikons are compelling beings capable of wreaking havoc in their wake. These creatures designate their powers to different people (dominants), embuing them with unique elemental capabilities. As the story progresses, FFXVI's protagonist, Clive Rosfield, can wield these powers in combat. But which Eikon fares the best among all?
Each Eikon in FFXVI has its specialised narrative and combat style. Keeping these criteria in mind, we've compiled a tier list to rank them.
9. Ramuh
click to enlarge
+ 9The Eikon of Lightning, Ramuh, is outstanding but with a glaring limitation. His powers don't deal enough damage and can only wipe out smaller enemy groups.
The current dominant of Ramuh is Cidofus Telamon, the leader of the Hideaway and a fond face among the FFXVI NPCs. What makes Ramuh a mediocre Eikon is his limited damage-dealing skills. His Eikonic feat, Blind Justice, slows down time around Clive. After using it, Clive can target enemies to attack. These projectile attacks deal a.
On the other hand, Ramuh's Lightning Rod ability can take out weaker enemy hoards and clear out your way.
8. Titan
click to enlarge + 9Titan is all about defensive abilities. Being the Eikon of Earth, Titan fall under arguably one of the best boss fights in the game. However, his skills and usage are average than most other Titans. Of course, if you use it properly, Clive can defend himself against powerful foes.
The Titanic Block, Titan's feat, can deal stagger damage through blocking hits. Additionally, it can also parry damage if you time the effects well. Of course, you (as Clive) need to be within melee range of your foes to deal out the blocks and attacks.
But remember that these parries and blocks aren't effective against ranged or magical skills, so be careful what type of enemies you're closing in on.
7. Leviathan
click to enlarge + 9Leviathan is ranged and the crowd-control personified. While the Eikon of water is a force to be reckoned with, Levithan has lukewarm damage numbers.
Thankfully, Leviathan's ranged skills lash out attacks that can keep away enemies from reaching Clive. Not to forget, this aquatic Eikon holds more ranged attacks than any other bosses in FFXVI, such as Deluge, Cross Swell, Abyssal Tear, etc.
While Leviathan's Tidal Guage ammo needs periodical refilling, it does dish out potent attacks from a range. Moreover, Leviathan can stagger enemies, making them easy targets for Clive to kill.
6. Phoenix
click to enlarge + 9Clive's young brother, Joshua, is the dominant of Phoenix, the fire Eikon. It's one of the most lore-heavy Eikons in FFXVI, with immersive gameplay. Its damage is decent, but the effects are highly effective, especially during final game plays.
The Flames of Rebirth, one of Phoenix's special abilities, is a wide-radius AoE skill that deals powerful damage to large enemy groups. In addition, thanks to the Feat, Phoenix Shift, Clive can blink and teleport directly near his enemy for a swift kill.
Clive can also utilise the short cooldown of Rising Flame to deal critical damage within a short period. And when things get tough, Phoenix's Heatwave ability lets Clive nullify incoming projectiles. All in all, Phoenix goes well for ranged damage and shielding.
5. Odin
click to enlarge + 9If you like AoEs, then Odin skills are a go-to. The Eikon of Darkness, Odin excels in AoE attacks and min-maxing abilities for a thorough gameplay. Odin's Eikonic abilities are all about utilising and activating his Zantetsuken to lash out at some of the most dangerous AoEs in this game.
When played properly Odin's abilities can build up for terrifying damage output. For example, Arm of Darkness lowers Clive's damage and stumps the Limit Break. By doing these, it helps build up the Zantetsuken meter. You can build this meter up five times, making it one of Clive's most powerful attacks. The only drawback is how long it takes to build up.
One of the other drawbacks of Odin is that the skill sets don't sync well with other Eikons' abilities. But outside of this, as an individual Eikon, Odin is a powerhouse.
4. Garuda
click to enlarge + 9As an Eikon and a fearsome boss, Garuda is deadly. Her stagger and stunning abilities make this Wind Eikon a force to reckon with. Garuda is the only boss in FFXVI to forcefully make enemies semi-stagger when the bar is half-empty.
While Garuda's raw damage power is low, her swift attacks and damage multipliers make her skill useful for Clive. Moreover, using Garuda's skills, Clive can throw around enemies in the air and on the battlefield.
When Clive uses Garuda's Gauge ability, he can hit enemies rapidly without a pause. This means that the enemies can't counterattack and go down swiftly. And if you want to fight in the air, Garuda's Wicked Wheel lets Clive and the enemies continue fighting above ground. Unfortunately, not all skills are usable in-air, so this skill might not sync with other abilities.
3. Shiva
click to enlarge + 9Shiva excels in her intense stagger and damage skills, making her a dangerous Eikon in FFXVI. Her dominant, Jill, a party member and lover of Clive, does justice to ice-Eikon Shiva through an intense and beautiful story progression in-game.
One of the best things about Shiva is her dash feat, Cold Snap, which lets Clive freeze attacking enemies while dodging out of their way. This dash move not only works on regular foes but also boss monsters, making it a handy skill to have.
Moreover, Shiva's best damage outputs lie in her AoE skills. Her Rime skill is a passive that continues to damage all nearby enemies. Mesmerise, on the other hand, shoots ice shards and pulls in the hit targets at Clive, making them easy melee kills.
However, while her damage skills, along with her AoEs and staggering abilities, make her a fearful Eikon, the damage output is on the lower end.
2. Bahamut
click to enlarge + 9Bahamut is one of the most powerful and beautiful Eikons portrayed in FFXVI. If you have staggered enemies, Bahamut's Gigaflaw does deadly damage to these targets.
Bahamut's dominant, Dion Lesage, is the prince of Sanbreque and the leader of Dragoons. As a much-loved NPC from FFXVI due to his immersive story and brave personality, Bahamut has gained positive traction among the game's fans.
As for skills, Light-warden Bahamut's Wings of Lights helps to raise the Megaflare meter. While the meter's raising, Clive can't attack but gets an enhanced version of Dodge. When used on time, Clive can raise the meter faster.
Satellite, Megaflare, and Gigaflare make Bahamut a force to reckon with, ensuring the powerful beams kill all enemies in sight. Additionally, Gigaflare's range works wonderfully, with its ability to slow enemies down and end them with swift blows. In short, one of the top-tier Eikons in FFXVI.
1. Ifrit
click to enlarge + 9As per FFXVI lore, Ifrit is the rightful poster-ikon of FFXVI, with Clive Rosfield taking up the dominant responsibility. How Clive discovers his ability, creates an intense and immersive storyline to experience in-game.
Ifrit, the Eikon of Inferno, comes with a roster of burning abilities that can take out the most stubborn enemies. The ability, Will-o'-the-Wykes, creates a shield around Clive. This shield also dishes out massive damage to nearby attacking foes. Not to forget, the skill also surrounds Clive with floating orbs which surround Clive also deal damage to nearby enemies, ensuring their staggered status for quick kills.
Ignition skill, on the other hand, lets Clive engulfed in flames and charge forward towards an unfortunate target. All in all, Ifrit's abilities are offensive and benefit from high damage-dealing capabilities.
In short, all Eikons in FFXVI are unique and possess specialised skill sets that help Clive's combat. While some possess lower attack rates, their range, speed, and other abilities effectively make up for it.