For weapons alone, there are over 50 abilities. So which ones are worth it? Which ones can help you overcome the biggest challenges that Spira offers? Let’s find out so you can be a true star player.
10. Capture
The Capture ability comes in as one of the best weapon abilities, but not because it offers any direct buff. It’s listed here because of what it does. Capture is a unique ability that allows you to, as you might have guessed, capture monsters. This is a keystone for every other ability on this list, because without those captured monsters(and the other monsters they unlock) obtaining the customization items you’d need would be just a summoner’s dream. How to Obtain: Head to southeast Calm Lands to find a split in the wall that leads to the Monster Arena. The owner there would be more than happy to sell you weapons that come with Capture (and extra slots for your pleasure).
9. Evade & Counter
Doing damage is good. But getting hit? That’s not so good. What if I told you there was an ability that allowed you to not take damage and return the favor? I think you’d be interested. Evade & Counter is just that ability. Any physical attack that can be evaded and countered in battle, will be, no questions. It doesn’t work for magic or party-wide strikes, but the benefits certainly outweigh these minor gripes. How to Obtain: You need one Teleport Sphere. The earliest you can get one is in a Sanubia Desert treasure chest. Later you can bribe Barbatos enemies in the final dungeon, or get Master Tonberries in the Omega Ruins to drop them. Further, Tidus, Wakka, and Kimahri’s Celestial Weapons all have it too.
8. Overdrive → AP
Yep, it’s just what it looks like: whatever overdrive mode you’ve chosen will add to AP.
So instead of building overdrive, you’re rewarded with extra AP.
While not immediately exciting, this is vital to fast & immense AP gain.
When paired with the next few abilities and a simple Don Tonberry from the Monster Arena, gaining Sphere Grid levels becomes a snap.
How to Obtain: You’ll need 10 Doors to Tomorrow. You can work the monster arena to unlock Catastrophe and get 99, but an easier method is bribing Mech Leaders on Mt. Gagazet.
7. Triple AP
At some point in the pilgrimage, everyone has the same thought: “I wish I could get more AP”. Well, you can! In fact, you can triple it with this weapon ability. And this is useful on its own, sure. But when combined with Overdrive → AP and Triple Overdrive, your sphere grid will just about fill itself. How to Obtain: You’ll need 50 Wings to Discovery. You can get 30 at Remiem Temple chocobo races by finishing with 3 chests collected, but after that you’re gonna have to bribe Malboros with just over half a million gil for four of the precious items.
6. Triple Overdrive
The Spiran limit break (called Overdrive in FFX) offers boatloads of damage with unique mechanics for each guardian. These overdrives are super fun to use, and can easily alter the flow of battle. Triple Overdrive multiplies how much your bar fills up by a factor of x3. Building a weapon with this ability, plus Triple AP and Overdrive → AP opens the door to the famous Don Tonberry AP trick. And subsequently, a filled-up sphere grid. How to Obtain: Capture monsters until you unlock One Eye at the arena. Use whatever methods you have to defeat it, and it has a high chance of dropping weapons already affixed with the ability.
5. Alchemy
Alchemy breathes new life into restorative items by doubling their healing potency. This is most useful with Al Bhed and Mega potions, especially for characters that wouldn’t get close to White Magic on the sphere grid without extra effort. This ability is especially helpful because with a little frugality you can get it as early as the Calm Lands, where a lot of the game still lays ahead (along with some notoriously tough boss fights). How to Obtain: Four Healing Waters is what you need here. These can be obtained by bribing Anacondaurs in the Calm Lands, getting 16 of them for 150,000 gil.
4. Magic Booster
Any character steered towards black magic will benefit from Magic Boost. It doubles MP cost, but boosts damage by 50%. It’s something so good that it deserves a place on any endgame weapon made for mages in your party. How to Obtain: You’ll need 30 Turbo Ethers. They can be bribed from Exoray enemies in the final dungeon. But the easier(and cheaper) way to get them is to unlock the Bomb King enemy at the monster arena by capturing five of each bomb-type fiend. Of course, it comes standard on Lulu’s Celestial Weapon.
3. Gillionaire
You’ve probably noticed that the abilities on this list require a lot of money to obtain. It’s an unfortunate truth of Final Fantasy X’s customization endgame: You gotta have deep pockets. But acquiring gil is made twice as easy with the Gillionaire ability, doubling the amount you get after each battle. Farming Mimics with this ability in the Omega Ruins gets you 100,000 gil a pop. How to Obtain: You’ll need 30 Designer Wallets. These can slowly be stolen from Don Tonberry, but you can easily get 60 of them as a reward for capturing one of every monster in the Omega Ruins. And Rikku’s Celestial Weapon has it built-in.
2. One MP Cost
In FFX, the MP cap is 999 by default. And most high-end spells simply drink through it in no time – especially with Magic Booster. I mean, a boosted Ultima costs 180 MP! The simplest fix for this is the One MP Cost ability. I bet you can guess what it does and how useful it is. How to Obtain: This ability takes 3 Three Stars, and you can get 60 of them by completing the Remiem Temple chocobo race with 5 chests collected.
1. Break Damage Limit
Slowly, as you watch your sphere grids fill out and your stats get higher and higher, the default damage cap of 9,999 will start to feel smaller and smaller. Break Damage Limit allows you to add another digit, and do damage up to 99,999. This is essential for the game’s superbosses, and it makes farming and grinding a thousand times easier. How to Obtain: Break Damage Limit comes standard on every Celestial weapon. But if you’d rather make your own endgame gear, get comfy, because you’ll need 60 Dark Matters, which are rare drops from most Monster Arena original creations.
