Armiger



Armiger, known in pre-release material as Armiger Arsenal, and also known as the Power of Kings, is the means to wield the royal arms (or other weapons as displayed by Regis Lucis Caelum) all at once. It is Noctis's Limit Break in Final Fantasy XV.

Mechanics
The player needs to collect at least three royal arms for Armiger to become available. Before Armiger can be used, the player must first fill up the Armiger bar by attacking enemies and avoiding enemy attacks by blinking. According to the Piggyback Official Guide, the gauge tops up at 40,000 points, the points being accumulated in various ways with stronger attacks providing more though weak weapons can be quicker (daggers often being superior to other weapon types). Warp-strikes with a standard weapon (not a royal arm) yield 100 points. Charged attacks from greatswords and counterattacks and blinks with shields yield 1,600 points. Successful phases yield 2,000 points. The Armiger Accelerator accessory boosts the gauge's fill rate but disables the tech bar.

Once the gauge is full, Armiger can be activated during battle by pressing +  or  +. Using Armiger for the first time earns The Power of Kings achievement/trophy.

Armiger summons spectral versions of the royal arms around Noctis. For 10 seconds (can be increased to 15 seconds with upgrades from the Ascension Grid), it augments Noctis's strength, speed and HP regeneration rate, turns all of his movements into warps, makes his warp-strikes more powerful, and prevents him from falling into the Danger state should his HP hit 0. Using the royal arms in Armiger does not drain Noctis's health. When in Armiger Noctis floats and is not staggered by enemy attacks. The attacks still consume MP but the Stasis status effect has no effect on the Armiger sequence, which continues as normal.

Before the Armiger bar depletes, can be activated by pressing  +  or  +. This allows the party to briefly take up a royal arm each and attack as one. Killing enemies with Armiger Chain used to yield 100 EXP per kill, but this was raised to 3000 EXP per kill in patch 1.21.

The last stage of the Armiger Chain is:
 * First attack:
 * Sword of the Wise - Prompto
 * Axe of the Conqueror - Gladiolus
 * Sword of the Wanderer - Ignis
 * Blade of the Mystic - Noctis


 * Second attack:
 * Star of the Rogue - Prompto
 * Sword of the Tall - Gladio
 * Mace of the Fierce - Ignis
 * Bow of the Clever - Noctis


 * Third attack:
 * Scepter of the Pious - Prompto
 * Shield of the Just - Gladio
 * Katana of the Warrior - Ignis
 * Trident of the Oracle - Noctis


 * Final attack:
 * Sword of the Father - Noctis

In the second part of the Leviathan battle during Chapter 9, Noctis wields every royal arm in Armiger, including ones he hasn't obtained yet. If a player can execute a complete combo, Noctis will finish using the same attack pattern he uses when finishing a combo with the Sword of the Father. When facing Leviathan (as well as the final boss's second phase), Noctis sustains Armiger until he wins the round. This type of Armiger has more elaborate graphics and no Armiger gauge.

In Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae, Armiger Arsenal drains Noctis's MP and ends when it is fully depleted. The final game instead uses the Armiger bar, a separate gauge with no connection to MP.

Royal arms
Royal arms can be equipped by Noctis. Using them as normal weapons drains his health when he attacks with them (when he is player controlled; AI-controlled Noctis with character swap loses no HP; parrying with them also costs no health), but they come with relatively high attack power and are the only weapons that can ignore enemy resistances. The royal arms are wielded at once during Armiger, during which Noctis doesn't lose health from wielding them.

Armiger Unleashed


Armiger Unleashed is an enhanced version of the Armiger available for Noctis in the Windows and Royal Editions. It is unlocked by equipping The Founder King's Sigil. Armiger Unleashed lasts much longer than the regular Armiger and Noctis gains access to powerful combos and techniques that break the damage limit, but unlike in regular Armiger, Noctis can fall into the Danger state, which will also cancel Unleashed.

Story
Only those of Lucian royal blood can use Armiger, as only the members of this lineage are bequeathed the power of past kings. According to the lore tutorial, monarchs in the line of Lucis have an "innate ability to conjure magical weapons." The ancient kings' power is enshrined in royal tombs scattered throughout the world and the weapons they house are special. Every king's duty is to collaborate to the collective power of kings by adding their own royal arm to the mix. Many of the weapons have been lost, however, the location of their tombs unknown.

As depicted in Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV, young Noctis saw his father wield the power of the phantom weapons. He knows that he, as the heir to the throne, will be able to do so as well. Armiger is a power passed to the new king by the souls of the former kings. The weapons of former kings are enshrined in royal tombs scattered throughout Lucis. The power of the royal arms, combined with the power of the Crystal, can destroy the Starscourge, which became known as the prophecy of the True King. In Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn, Regis and Ardyn summon Armiger against one another, Ardyn wielding the royal arms whereas Regis has a different arsenal of weapons.

After Niflheim steals the Crystal and kills King Regis, Noctis sets out to reclaim his kingdom by collecting the royal arms of his forebears and to forge covenants with the Astral gods. He gains the power to use Armiger, and when Ravus Nox Fleuret confronts him at the Aracheole Stronghold, Noctis displays his power of kings to intimidate him, but Ravus is unfazed. During Noctis's battle against Leviathan he enters a sustained mode of Armiger with the help of Oracle Lunafreya Nox Fleuret and the souls of the past kings. It almost expends all of his life force until Lunafreya rushes to heal him.

As depicted in Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ignis, while Noctis is unconscious following his battle with Leviathan, his friend Ignis Scientia faces Ardyn. If Ignis decides to follow Ardyn to Zegnautus Keep, the latter unexpectedly shows off his ability to use Armiger and reveals his identity as Noctis's ancient immortal ancestor whose soul has been corrupted by the Starscourge, becoming the very embodiment of it. Ardyn fights Ignis with the power of kings, but Ignis survives by lending power from the Ring of the Lucii for a blood price.

Noctis eventually faces Ardyn at the Citadel to fulfill his destiny as the True King. The two duel both wielding the power of kings, but Noctis defeats Ardyn by striking him with each royal arm, delivering the final blow with the Sword of the Father. Noctis summons the spirits of the old kings to kill him so he can purge Ardyn's soul in the realm between life and death. The royal arms appear around the throne and he takes the arms to the realm beyond by having the spirits of the past kings plunge them into his body. Once the Caelum lineage is united in the afterlife, the combined powers of the kings, the royal arms and the Crystal erase the Starscourge.

Development
Noctis's ability to wield multiple crystalline weapons at once has been present ever since the Final Fantasy Versus XIII E3 2006 trailer where the game was revealed. He was opposed by a man in a white cloak, and Stella Nox Fleuret, both who displayed similar skills to Noctis to summon phantom weapons from thin air. The man in the white robe became Ravus Nox Fleuret in the final game.

Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae
Several unique weapons must be collected before Noctis can use Armiger Arsenal. Each weapon unlocks a new ability to use with Armiger. The player can find Phantom Swords from the environment, and finding four maxes out the Armiger. In the final game, "Arsenal" was dropped from the ability name, and the weapons are not referred to as Phantom Swords. The Phantom Swords are unique to the demo.

Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV
In a flashback Noctis has of his childhood, King Regis drives away the marilith daemon by summoning numerous weapons to him at once. As an adult, Noctis faces off against the same daemon by using Armiger. Noctis wields Blood Edge and the Soul Saber, rather than his royal arms.

A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV
Armiger can be used by Regis Lucis Caelum and even by Ardyn Izunia. The player progresses through a series of stages defeating monsters and daemons, string combos together, juggle enemies in the air, and use magic. Regis can summon an ally whenever his combo count reaches 8, and he can use Armiger whenever it reaches 24. If he summons an ally before using Armiger, they will join the attack. If all three allies are summoned before Armiger, they will execute the powerful Bonds of Battle.

Final Fantasy Dimensions II
While not referred to by name, the Armiger Arsenal appears when a character performs the Phantom Sword ability taught from the Noctis Phantom Stone.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
Armiger automatically activates after Noctis's HP falls below a certain amount. While active, Noctis's royal arms will also attack when he performs Bravery attacks.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade

 * Legend Cards

Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Armiger is Noctis's Overstrike Soul Break, learned from the Sword of the Father (XV). When invoked, Noctis dives diagonally toward a target at high speed, and upon impact strikes with tremendous force that can break the damage cap. Noctis then enters Armiger Mode, gaining a bubble shield for 30% of his Max HP worth of damage, and raising his Attack a moderate amount while the shield is in play.

Other Soul Breaks based on Armiger exist, for instance Noctis's Ultra Soul Break Armiger Wakes.

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
Rather than summoning the same royal arms that appear in Final Fantasy XV, Noctis's Armiger shows the four "Phantom Swords" obtained in the Episode Duscae demo.

For Whom the Alchemist Exists
Noctis is an obtainable character during the Final Fantasy XV collaboration event. He wields seven royal arms in Armiger.

Etymology
In the final game, the royal arms are named after the moniker of the king who wielded it, but in Episode Duscae the phantom swords had traditional names:

Galatine is synonymous with "Galatyn."

Trivia

 * The Astral Bahamut is associated with multiple swords. His summon attack is Ultima Sword that has massive glowing blades rain down on the enemy, somewhat similar to how the glowing weapons surround the wielder in Armiger.
 * For April Fools 2017 Square Enix announced "Episode Kenny" where the player would play as Crow's Nest mascot Kenny Crow whose Armiger would be summoning crystalline fish.