Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is not light on style, but it calls for a strategic approach as well. Square Enix managed to stitch together a world epic both in scope and regarding the sheer quantity of playstyles up for consumption. Fans never seem to get enough of wandering around Eorzea, and it’s hard to find fault with that!
FFXIV provides everything at once: comedic characters, a deep, engaging storyline, as well as sweet-looking Glamour items prompting players to buy FFXIV Gil. It’s an exciting ecosystem where flashy moves are not just for show, although some of them definitely ooze far more flair than the rest.
So, here are the most popular FFXIV skills you should consider trying!
Blade of Valor
The Paladin archetype has been caught a bit on the back foot in past FFXIV expansions, much to the dismay of a certain portion of the player base. Paladins were often stuck in limbo where they couldn’t really break into the meta due to lackluster ranged attacks and only partially effective healing skills. They were unimpressive as tanks as well, due to other jobs outperforming them in the end.
The release of Endwalker tipped the scales in the Paladins’ favor a bit, thanks to the new Blade of Valor skill, unique to this class. Available at level 90, this is an AoE attack spread over a 5-yards radius that can be cast from up to 25 yards away. It causes a few sturdy-looking holy swords to suddenly rain down from the heavens, stomping enemies in the targeted area with a potency of up to 420.
Aside from looking bombastic, Blade of Valor is also a versatile skill that can keep the player alive against the odds. The skill has the added effect of healing the caster, and it also combines quite well with the Blade of Truth ability.
Double Down
A devastating attack by all accounts, the Double Down is one of the most notorious skills within the Gubreaker’s arsenal. Casting it requires two cartridges, and it only works from a melee range, so be sure to position yourself correctly before initiating.
When unleashed, the skill named Double Down proves to be a bit of a wordplay, as it practically fuses two fully-charged attacks into one. The result is a high-damaging skill sporting 1,200 potency that you can cast in an instant, albeit only once per minute.
Double Down looks frightening in action, manifesting as two fiery swords crossed together to spell doom to the nearest vicinity. You can also catch more than one unlucky foe in Double Down’s 5-yard area of effect.
Pneuma
The Sage class is usually associated with mending and aiding your comrades, but they can get angry as well. The Pneuma skill is essentially a wide beam of light, a laser that pierces everything in a straight line stretching for 25 yards. At that point, foes standing where they shouldn’t have will get damaged with a potency of up to 330, while the rest of the team will get healed with a cure potency of 600.
Thus, Pneuma serves two purposes with style, and combining it with the Zoe skill will bump the healing potency up to 900. That way, you could completely stitch up your team with a single AoE skill, bringing them back in the game in a jiffy. However, note that you can’t cast Pneuma if there’s no suitable enemy target in range.
Fell Cleave
FFXIV truly cares for the brawl-out approach, and the Fell Cleave ability is one of the most hard-hitting examples of that. While the base skill has a respectable but not groundbreaking potency of 520, it’s how Warriors can combine Fell Cleave with complementary abilities to truly set up an ill-fated scenario for their foes.
A single cast of Fell Clave prompts the Warrior (of at least level 54) to strike in front of them, violently and without holding back. In turn, they’ll lose 50 points of their Beast gauge. But, if they were to cast Inner Release prior to, they’d create a wider window of opportunity where they can chain up to five consecutive Fell Clave attacks!
Midare Setsugekka
It surely didn’t take long for any Anime fan who dipped their toes in FFXIV to get awe-struck by the Midare Setsugekka skill. This Samurai-only attack requires a level 70 character and will deplete all of your stored Sen reserves in the process. As such, players look at it as a flashy combo finisher, the cherry on the top applied by an experienced swordmaster.
When used, Midare Setsugekka has a potency of 640, but it’s also a guaranteed critical hit, making its actual effectiveness much higher in-game. The attack’s animation is one of the most eye-catching in the MMO, perhaps acting as an homage to legendary anime series like Bleach, Blade of the Immortal, etc.
