The fifth Eikon power you will be gaining is from Bahamut. Starting out, you will only have access to three abilities, like with the other four Eikons, but you can upgrade them or purchase two more abilities for AP. Doing so will increase the amount of damage you can put out with the Eikon, but it can be hard to know what moves are going to be the most valuable in your rotation. The guide below goes over all five of Bahamut’s abilities, their cost, the accessories that enhance them, and what situations they are best used for.

Once you reach Fire in The Sky, you will finally fight Bahamut, and at the end of the quest gain his abilities. From Things Fall Apart onward, you will be able to swap in Bahamut’s abilities into your rotation. The chart below goes over all five abilities and their costs, what it will take to upgrade them, and finally how much AP you need to master them.

Best Bahamut Eikon Abilities¶

Below are the most useful Bahamut abilities ranked by how well they did when used in battle.

1. Gigaflare
2. Impulse
3. Flare Breath
4. Wings of Light
5. Satellite

For more details on all five of these abilities, and what situations they are best deployed in check out the section below.

Bahamut Ability Breakdown¶

Let’s have a closer look at all the Bahamut abilities in greater detail.

Wings of Light¶

Wings of Light is an interesting ability as it isn’t passive like most O abilities. At first glance, you may not notice what Wings of Light does as it appears to just make Clive hover over the battlefield with some newly grown wings. This isn’t just a cool new way to move but is actually the charge stage of an attack. A bar will feel as you hover and the higher it is, the more damage Megaflare will do when it unleashes upon the battlefield.

Sadly, you can’t upgrade Wings of Light, you can only master the move. This will cost you 750 AP, and can make the move a bit more useful. Additionally, it’s just a great move to use if you’re wanting more firepower.

You should note that while charging this attack you can move around, but doing a full dodge is impossible. Additionally, you can’t use any other attack while charging Megaflare. You can, however, release the button at any time canceling the attack if you need to quickly switch strategies. One of the best ways to use this attack is when you want a decent ranged attack to use against a powerful enemy or boss.

Flare Breath¶

Flare Breath is a powerful move that comes with Bahamut. This move allows Clive, after a short animation, to shoot out continuous flames that damage enemies. This move doesn’t bind Clive to a single spot either, you can move around and target different enemies as long as the move is active. This allows you to dodge attacks more easily and is great for when you’re surrounded by enemies and need a move that will deal out damage into a wide radius.

Flare Breath is already available from the second you unlock Bahamut’s abilities, but you can upgrade the range of the attack for 600 AP. This will allow you to cover more ground. If you want to master the attack and use it with another Eikon, then you simply need to pay 1,000 AP.

The best use for this ability is controlling groups of enemies, and damaging more than one enemy at a time. The move is pretty powerful, so it can quickly melt through the health bars of smaller enemies on the field. If you’re fighting a boss with tough close-range attacks, it also may give you the range you need to do a good bit of damage, without getting hit with a powerful attack. Flare Breath is in the middle of the pack when it comes to Bahamut’s abilities can fit a variety of situations.

Satellite¶

Satellite is at the bottom of the attacks that Bahamut comes with and likely won’t fit into a lot of battles. The move summons two rocks that float around Clive, they won’t do anything though, unless you are shooting magic at the enemies near you. It can also stagger enemies, but unless you enjoy using magic attacks, you likely aren’t going to be getting a ton of use out of Satellite, unless you are fighting flying enemies or really need to keep some distance from a boss.

The move doesn’t come with the initial Bahamut set, and despite being a bit underwhelming, will cost you 100 AP to unlock. If you want to upgrade it to have an extra attack orb, you can pay 700 AP, but this doesn’t make a huge difference in attack. Finally, the mastery cost for this move is 1,000 AP.

The only real use for this attack is fighting from a distance or fighting flying enemies. Even then, you can grab flying enemies with Deadly Embrace, or use a move like Flare Breath to keep a safe distance away. Satellite is an easily skippable move, and should only be used by those who are doing a magic-focused play through.

Impulse¶

Impulse is Bahamut’s second-best ability, and has two uses. The attack releases several spheres onto the field that target the enemies around you. The spheres will grab onto the enemies, and keep them from moving from their spot while dealing damage. This allows you to have complete control over larger groups of enemies and gives you a great set-up for combos. When used in combination with other Eikons sets, this can really help you rack up a high-damage combo. If you’re looking to get the It’s Over 50,000 trophy, then Impulse is a especially great move.

This move does come with the base set of moves for Bahamut, so you don’t need to worry about buying it. If you want more spheres to appear on the field though, then you can upgrade the move for 450 AP. To place it on another Eikon and master the move, you need to pay 1,000 AP.

As stated above, this move works wonders when fighting a crowd or going for big combos. You may not find it as useful when fighting bosses though, and will likely want to use something like Gigaflare instead that will deal high damage. If you are just running through a mission though, then Impulse will help you melt away enemies.

Gigaflare¶

Gigaflare is the ultimate move from the Bahamut set. It’s similar to Flare Breath as you are shooting out a beam, but this one is much more deadly. Like with Flare Breath, you aren’t just stuck shooting the beam in one direction, you can move around to target different enemies, making the beam great for both groups and to use on a single target. Additionally, if the enemy is stunned, then the damage you deal with Gigaflare will be increased.

The cost for unlocking this move is hefty at 2,730 AP. To upgrade it and increase its power, you are looking at spending another 3,250 AP points. Finally, if you want to master this ability to use it with another Eikon, then you will need to pay 6,000 AP.

The great thing about Gigaflare though is that it’s powerful and can be used in just about every situation. Big bosses will take a considerable amount of damage from the attack and smaller enemies will be wiped off the field. If you can combo it with staggering enemies, then you’re going to put an even bigger dent in their health bars, making this the best move out of all of Bahamut’s set.

Bahamut Ability Accessories¶

If you like the abilities above, then you’re going to want to get the matching accessories to give them more firepower. These accessories can both increase the attack of Bahamut’s moves or reduce the cooldown time, allowing you to use the move again much faster. If you do choose to play in New Game + after finishing the main story, then you are going to be given the choice to fuse artifacts together to make an even more potent item. The chart below goes over all of the Bahamut-associated accessories that are currently in the game.

More Great FF16 Combat Guides¶

If you’re looking to learn more about the combat of Final Fantasy XVI, check out the helpful guides below.

• How to Parry Attacks in Final Fantasy XVI
• How to Counterattack in Final Fantasy XVI
• How to Use the Magic Burst Combo in FFXVI
• Best Phoenix Eikon Abilities in FFXVI
• Best Garuda Eikon Abilities in FFXVI
• Best Ramuh Eikon Abilities in FF16
• Best Titan Eikon Abilities in FF16