Final Fantasy XVI features a combat system full of great depth for those who wish to dig into it. A large part of this is the Eikon system, that allows Clive to use abilities from different Eikons. You are, however, limited to just two abilities (for the most part) that you can equip from any one Eikon so you are left to make a choice. This page will give you all the details on the best Phoenix Abilities to use.

Phoenix is the first Eikon that Clive will attune with, and you’ll have access to some of the abilities during the game’s prologue with the rest becoming available once you begin the A Chance Encounter Main Quest. The table below shows a list of all the abilities that you have access to:

With that in mind, we would rank (Phoenix Shift aside) their usefulness in the following order:

1. Heatwave
2. Flames of Rebirth
3. Scarlet Cyclone
4. Rising Flames

Below, you can find a breakdown of each ability with our own personal feelings on how useful each one is.

Phoenix Ability Breakdown¶

Phoenix Shift¶

The Circle Button ability for Phoenix is one of the more useful ones in the game, as it acts as a gap closer. Upgrade the ability and you’ll increase the distance at which you can close in on your enemy, and it’s an upgrade you should look to focus on early in your adventure.

Still, it’s important to note that Phoenix Shift is not an evade so try to refrain from using it when avoiding enemy attacks or you may take massive damage. Phoenix Shift can be used in the air too, and you can chain it with a regular melee attack or magic attack to perform Battle Techniques such as Shift Strike by using a combination of these attacks.

So where would we rank Phoenix Shift? It’s hard to put a number on it, but it’s arguably one of the more useful Eikonic Abilities bound to the Circle Button and makes a good case for attuning to Phoenix even after you have the whole host of Eikons to choose from. There is, however, an alternative gap closer in Final Fantasy XVI in the form of Lunge from Clive’s basic kit, should you wish to go with other Eikons.

Rising Flames¶

You’ll have Rising Flames automatically once you have access to combat with Clive and it’s an ability that remains useful for a large chunk of the game. It’s primary role is to launch lighter into the air, which you can then follow up with a variety of aerial combos and Torgal’s Sic to keep enemies in there.

Upgrade Rising Flames, and it will add more hits to the initial strike, further increasing the potency. This is the ability that most players will use because they’re confident from the time they’ve had with it and it provides a fast method of launching enemies.

Rising Flames will serve you well for that purpose, but if you find yourself getting deeper into Final Fantasy XVI’s combat, you can easily replace this going forward. If you master Burning Blade so that it charges quicker, you can use this to launch enemies in the air by jumping before executing and it’s one we find more useful due to freeing up a precious Ability Slot.

Scarlet Cyclone¶

This is another ability you’ll automatically have unlocked once you return the Clive in the present during the A Chance Encounter Main Quest. If Rising Flames was focused on more single target foes and launching them, Scarlet Cyclone is your Area of Effect (AoE) ability that will see Clive spin in a circle striking multiple targets at once. The damage multipliers are switched between Rising Flames and this too, with this dealing more Stagger damage and Rising Flames dealing more regular damage.

Like Rising Flames, upgrade Scarlet Cyclone and you’ll perform more hits and thus, increase its potency. Another interesting factor with Scarlet Cyclone is that you can use the ability while being knocked back, and in fact, it will increase the potency of the ability and shorten the cooldown by 33%!

Scarlet Cyclone is a fine enough ability in the early game until you have access to more Eikons and interesting abilities, but as Fire Eikons have the most abilities, we find it becomes quickly obsolete as Ignition (from Ifrit’s skillset) provides a better AoE ability. Still, this is a more useful ability to keep over Rising Flames.

Heatwave¶

Heatwave is the first ability that you’ll have to unlock, and you can do so as soon as you return to present day Clive after the Prologue. This is a fantastic ability, but probably the one that takes the most skill to make full use of what it can do for you. Its general application is that it shoots shockwaves from range at an enemy, but this is just the beginning of what you can do with Heatwave.

Heatwave will actually dispel any projectiles coming your way if you shoot it through them, causing a Heatwave Counter that deals significant Will damage to your foe and allows you to follow up and Stagger them easier. With that said, this makes it a ability that is focused on countering and reacting to your enemy, rather than a full blown assault.

You’ll see this ability shine the most during boss encounters and tougher enemies with a Stagger bar. Not only will you dispel projectiles, but you will shorten the cooldown if it does and you can further control the direction of your shockwaves with the Left Stick .

We find this to be the best Phoenix Ability, but that’s due to us favoring abilities that allow us to react to the enemy. If you’re not one for a counter/reactive gameplay style, you’ll find little use from Heatwave beyond a good, ranged attack.

Flames of Rebirth¶

Many players will be drawn to Flames of Rebirth due to the high cost to learn it, and it is one of the strongest Phoenix abilities but has some crucial pieces of information you need to know.

When used, Flames of Rebirth will deal a massive fiery AoE that, especially in the early game, will defeat (or leave close to defeat) most regular enemies (those without a Stagger bar). It also will recover Clive’s HP, but it’s important to discern that it will only recover that the part of Clive’s HP that is in faint green on the bar. This makes that aspect of the ability less appealing, although still useful during bosses.

If you want to make use of this ability though, you’ll want to upgrade it (which costs a whopping 2390 AP) to increase the hits and potency. If you plan to use it long-term, you’ll want to invest in the Accessories (more below) that decreases the cooldown as Flames of Rebirth has a longer cooldown than any other Phoenix Ability (as does all ultimate Eikon abilities).

Phoenix Ability Accessories¶

So now you’ve seen all of the abilities and what they can do, how do you get the Accessories that enhance them even further? These should come into your thinking when using these abilities as you should enhance them through these Accessories. This will have effects such as increasing the damage or decreasing the cooldown, and on Final Fantasy Mode (New Game+), you can even synthesize two Accessories together to make them even stronger!

More Final Fantasy 16 Eikon Guides¶

If you’re looking for the lowdown on all of the other Eikons in FFXVI, check out our pages below:

• Best Garuda Eikon Abilities
• Best Ramuh Eikon Abilities
• Best Titan Eikon Abilities
• Best Bahamut Eikon Abilities
• Best Shiva Eikon Abilities
• Best Odin Eikon Abilities