Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)

Lightning, real name Claire Farron (Eclair Farron in the Japanese version), is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII, as well as the narrator and a temporary playable character in Final Fantasy XIII-2. She is to become the protagonist again for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

In Final Fantasy XIII, she tries to save her younger sister Serah who was made a l'Cie, only to be turned one herself. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning serves as a knight protecting the goddess Etro in Valhalla from her fated rival, Caius Ballad. In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII the world is said to end in thirteen days, and it is up to Lightning to save it.

Lightning has the distinction of being the second female main protagonist of a game in the mainstream Final Fantasy series, the first being Terra Branford from Final Fantasy VI.

Final Fantasy XIII


Lightning is a young woman with long, light pink hair, a heart-shaped face, and pale aqua-colored eyes. Lightning's eye color has been officially addressed as blue, though in the FMVs and promotional art they often appear green due to green aspects around the pupil.

In Final Fantasy XIII, she wears a variation of the standard Guardian Corps uniform, consisting of a sleeveless white overcoat over a brown turtleneck shirt zipped up to the top, a green metallic pauldron over her left shoulder, the pauldron bearing yellow stripes symbolizing her previous rank as a sergeant. She wears a red cape attached to her uniform near her left shoulder blade, a long black sleeve over her left arm, knee-high leather boots, and a brown mini-skirt over high-topped black shorts. Her gunblade is carried behind her in a black case which hangs off her belt, along with a red pack that hangs from her waist and is strapped to her left leg. Lightning wears a necklace with a lightning bolt pendant, two black bands around her right bicep, and a silver navel piercing. Her l'Cie brand is located slightly above her left breast. The higher of the two armbands Lightning wears is also worn by her sister, Serah. Both wear it on their right bicep.

Lightning is determined, concentrated and independent. Initially, she is cold and standoffish, often distancing herself from her companions. Much of her motivation is fueled from what she perceives as failing to protect Serah and wanting to make things right, which leads her to lash out at those she believes are responsible for that and the subsequent Purge: namely, the Sanctum, its fal'Cie and, to a point, Snow Villiers, due to his relationship with Serah and his own failure to protect her as he promised. Lightning's early solution to things that annoy or upset her is to distance herself from them, emotionally and physically. There are a few times when she attempts to reach out to her companions for help, but refusing to show signs of weakness, she comes across to them as arrogant. Over time, however, Lightning does begin to show compassion and trust others, and sees the errors in her approach. Her independent nature during the beginning of Final Fantasy XIII likely originates from her career in the Guardian Corps and having to assume the role of a guardian to her sister at an early age after their parents died.

Although Lightning is annoyed with him at first, she eventually takes Hope Estheim under her wing, and shows him the ropes of battle. As she teaches him how to look out for himself, she develops a bond with him and possibly as a result of seeing a bit of herself in him, she comes to confide in him and realize the mistakes she had made with Serah. She begins to accept Snow and ultimately forgives him when she realizes he, too, cares deeply for Serah. In the end, Lightning becomes the leader and, to some degree, protector of the other Pulse l'Cie as they challenge their fate.

Final Fantasy XIII-2


In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning wears a silver and gold Valkyrie-like suit of armor with a shield on her right arm. She wears thigh-high armor boots, and over her left leg a long sash made of white feathers, symbolizing her connection with Etro. She has a new gunblade modified to look more like a traditional sword. The symbol with Etro script on Lightning's shield is also on Serah's dress, and both sisters wear an image of a golden bird on their outfits where their l'Cie brands used to be; Lightning wears the bird on her chestplate. Her new gunblade also has Etro script on the hilt below the blade.

Lightning has learned to trust others and ask them for help. She also expresses her emotions more, rather than keeping them bottled up inside her.

Early Life
Lightning's father died when she was young, and her mother died from an unknown sickness when she was fifteen. With no other family to turn to, Lightning was given the job of raising her younger sister, Serah. In an attempt to get over the pain of her parents' deaths and to become an adult as quickly as possible, she decided to change her name from Claire Farron to simply "Lightning".

After graduating from high school Lightning decided to join the Guardian Corps Bodhum Security Regiment under Lieutenant Amodar, where she attained the rank of sergeant, and was scheduled for officer training. However, she began to lose sight of her goals, and worked many hours while spending little time with Serah.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-
Even after they rescue her from an aquatic ambush, Lightning has always held a disdain for the Bodhum monster-fighting group NORA. Snow Villiers, their leader and Serah's boyfriend, is a particular point of annoyance for her, and after a forced encounter with him, Lightning vows to have nothing to do them as well as dissuade her sister's affections for him.

As Lightning's twenty-first birthday approaches, she begins to feel guilty for her lack of attention to Serah, feeling that she only got involved with Snow in order to quell her loneliness. Browsing the mall, she overhears a conversation between two tourists, Nora Estheim and her son, Hope, inspiring her to plan a vacation away from Bodhum for her birthday with Serah.

She notices two fugitive Pulse l'Cie, Vanille and Fang, but judging them by their clothes, she believes they must be from Eden. A few days later, the Cavalry are trying to hunt down Vanille. Though they do not explain the intention behind their investigation, Captain Rygdea asks Lightning to brief him on areas in Bodhum that teenagers are likely to visit in hopes of finding her. Regardless, she suspects it may have something to do with the "incident" at Euride Gorge.

While attending the Bodhum fireworks festival, Lightning learns of a Pulse-related incident at the nearby Vestige being kept under wraps by the Sanctum. Amodar warns her not to investigate, as it would only lead to trouble. The next day on Lightning's birthday, Serah reveals her fate as a Pulse l'Cie, as well as her engagement to Snow. Lightning refuses to believe either claim, driving Serah away and demanding Snow to leave as well, leaving her alone to open Serah's birthday present by herself: a survival knife.

When the Sanctum announces a Pulse fal'Cie is residing within the Vestige Lightning finally believes Serah's claims, but by then it is too late. After learning the Sanctum plans to Purge the entire town, Lightning tries to find Serah, but Snow reveals she is being held captive inside of the Vestige. Although military personnel are exempt from the Purge, Lightning resigns from her job in the Guardian Corps without hesitation and boards the Purge train. As she waits in line, she is approached by a pilot, Sazh Katzroy, who is also a voluntary Purgee. As allies of circumstance, they work together as Lightning tries to rescue her sister before she is taken out of reach.

Final Fantasy XIII


As the train enters the Hanging Edge, Lightning takes it over with Sazh's aid. While the surviving Purgees escape and are found by NORA, Lightning and Sazh fight their way through PSICOM soldiers to reach the Pulse Vestige.

Within the Vestige, Lightning reveals Serah's fate as a l'Cie to Sazh. They find Serah unconscious outside Anima's Throne. Unknown to Lightning, Snow, Hope and Vanille have also infiltrated the Vestige and they all arrive in time just as Serah awakens. She asks Snow and Lightning to save Cocoon beginning to glow and rise in the air; her Focus apparently fulfilled, she crystallizes before their eyes. Snow attempts to beg with the fal'Cie to release Serah, but Lightning takes a more aggressive approach, attacking Anima, and Snow and Sazh join her. Anima awakens and brands everyone present a l'Cie before a burst of energy causes the Vestige to fall, casting them down to Lake Bresha.

Down in the crystallized lake, the group try to deduce their Focus. While the details remain hazy, they recognize the beast Ragnarok, and presume they are tasked with destroying Cocoon, although Snow remains optimistic believing that they are to save Cocoon as Serah wished. Running from PSICOM troops, they come across Serah's crystallized form. Snow stays behind to protect her, while Lightning is convinced she is saying goodbye for good.

After Lightning tells Vanille that Serah told her nothing about her Focus, Vanille says that Serah probably did not want to worry her, but Lightning believes Serah did not trust her. Then the party eventually finds an airship that Sazh attempts to pilot, though they are soon pursued. Lightning instructs Sazh to fly into the sun-like fal'Cie Phoenix, but the ship gets damaged and it crashes in the Vile Peaks.

Lightning's impatience towards the group causes them to separate, and Hope is the only one who follows her. Coming at what seems to be a dead end, Lightning reveals to Hope why she joined the Purge and says, "It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life you just do". Hearing Hope's passive response, Lightning scales the wall and leaves him behind as well. When the group reconvenes by chance, Lightning resolves to head to Eden and destroy its fal'Cie, as she believes it started the Purge and she refuses to die a fal'Cie tool.

Hope is the only one to follow her, as Vanille and Sazh choose to wander in the opposite direction. At first, Lightning is unwilling to have the him tag along with her, worried he would only slow her down. A PSICOM ambush permanently separates them from Vanille and Sazh, and Lightning has no choice but to let Hope stay with her. They form a plan to go through the Gapra Whitewood and catch a train to Eden at Hope's hometown of Palumpolum.

Lightning and Hope gain access to a Dreadnought. As Hope inspects it, Lightning tells him to stay away but he does not listen and manages to use the Dreadnought to clear their path. In her frustration at having to look after him Lightning inadvertently summons her Eidolon, Odin, who attacks Hope. Lightning saves him and the two defeat the Eidolon together, which persuades Lightning to have faith in the boy and help him 'toughen up'. Later, Lightning tells Hope to rest while she checks the area and returns to find him asleep. As she watches over him, she hears him asking for his mother.

Lightning and Hope make their way to the Gapra Whitewood and Hope asks if he can lead. Lightning gives him the knife Serah gave to her as a birthday present in an attempt to boost his confidence. She goes on to describe her impression of Snow and how he leads a gang known as NORA. Hope reveals to Lightning the grudge he holds against Snow for his mother's death and she helps him devise Operation Nora to help him control his emotions and focus, but immediately regrets it after he calls it his plan for revenge against Snow. After they escape the Gapra Whitewood and see Palumpolum in the distance, Lightning suggests that she and Hope visit his house, in order to change his mind about revenge and also because he needs to tell his father about what happened to his mother.

The city is littered with PSICOM and Sanctum officers, so Lightning and Hope are forced underground to avoid capture. When they reach the Nutriculture Complex and Lightning sees the fal'Cie, Carbuncle, she has a revelation: she has been a fal'Cie pawn since birth, even before becoming a l'Cie; and in having that comfort taken from her, she wrongly turned to fighting to avoid facing reality. Realizing she had dragged Hope into the same delusion, Lightning tells him to abandon Operation Nora. Lightning reveals to Hope why she changed her name and relives her guilt for threatening Serah and not believing her unlike Snow. She tells Hope to talk to his dad and "find the hope he was named for" in order to find a new reason to keep fighting.

The two ride an elevator back to the surface, where they are surrounded by soldiers led by Yaag Rosch, who intends to publicly execute them. Lightning attempts to convince Hope to save himself while she distracts the army, but at the last moment, Snow and Fang intervene. Lightning forces Hope to run with Snow, while she escapes with Fang. They decide on Hope's home in Felix Heights as their rendezvous point using Fang's wireless device.

On their journey, Lightning learns Fang is not only a Pulse l'Cie but is an actual Gran Pulse citizen. Fang says that she and Vanille were crystallized there centuries before after completing their Focus, but woke up in Cocoon without knowing why. Although Lightning is angry at Fang and backhands her when she learns of her involvement in Serah becoming a l'Cie, she says the act of aggression didn't change anything. She learns from Fang how a l'Cie's brand can show how much time one has until they turn into a Cie'th. Fang assures her that Serah will wake from crystal stasis just as she and Vanille had, and says that in order to see her again, all Lightning needs to do is survive. Several PSICOM vessels fly overhead, causing Lightning and Fang to worry that Snow and Hope have been found. An explosion goes off in the distance and the two hurry off to find them.

They reunite with Snow and Hope at Felix Heights, where Snow is injured from a fall while protecting Hope. Lightning gets her knife back from Hope and embraces him, promising to protect him. At Hope's house, Lightning looks after Snow and tends to his injuries. When he awakens, she explains the pain she felt for not trusting Serah like he did and apologizes to him for her previous behavior. While they continue to discuss the issue of what to do next, the house is attacked by PSICOM troops, once again led by Colonel Rosch. Chaos ensues, and the l'Cie are rescued by the Cavalry ship, the Lindblum.

Aboard, they learn Sazh and Vanille are being held captive on the Palamecia. After meeting up with Sazh and Vanille on the Palamecia, they confront Galenth Dysley, the Primarch of Sanctum. Dysley reveals himself to be fal'Cie Barthandelus and tells that their Focus is not to save Cocoon, but to destroy it by turning into Ragnarok and killing Orphan. Barthandelus claims Serah's true Focus was to gather them together for that purpose. The party flees on a small airship, which autopilots them through Eden into the Fifth Ark.

Within the Fifth Ark, the l'Cie ponder what to do now. Snow apologizes to Lightning for being wrong about Serah's Focus, but she insists they have to honor Serah's wish to save Cocoon, even if it isn't their Focus. The group's l'Cie powers are fully awakened and after some time, they run into Cid Raines. Lightning charges at Raines calling him a traitor, but he blocks her attacks and disarms her. He reveals himself to be a Sanctum l'Cie marked by Barthandelus, tasked with aiding them as part of his secret Focus, and that the fal'Cie intend to destroy Cocoon as their plan to bring back their Maker.

Raines denies his Focus and tries to kill them. The l'Cie defeat him, and Cid unexpectedly enters crystal stasis. Most of the party are inspired to defy their Focus in the same way Raines did. Fang claims she will not let Vanille turn into a Cie'th and will complete their Focus herself, inadvertently summoning her Eidolon, Bahamut. The others protect Fang despite her rebellion, and Lightning asks her to fight with them, which she agrees to. The group finds a ship with a gate leading to Gran Pulse, which they take hoping to find answers on the world below.

They find Pulse devoid of human life, and the party begins to lose their resolve after days of searching. As their brands continue advancing, Hope begins to despair. Lightning and Snow try to comfort him, but Hope summons Alexander. Lightning encourages Hope, telling him that the Eidolon represents his inner power. After taming Alexander, the party agrees to journey to Oerba to find a way to remove their l'Cie brands. They travel through the Archylte Steppe, and after going through the Mah'habara Subterra, the party stops to take a break in the Skyreach of the Sulyya Springs.

Lightning and Snow drift away from the rest and talk about Serah. Lightning asks Snow about their planned wedding, and promises him they will see Serah again soon. Snow promises Lightning they will see her together, after they save Cocoon. In Oerba, the party is surprised to find Serah who is reciting the legend of Ragnarok. Lightning is suspicious, and demands Serah to stop, but the girl taunts her and reveals Lightning's real name. It is revealed Serah is Dysley in disguise, trying to manipulate the party into doing his bidding. Lightning leads the assault against him, but they are unable to destroy him for good. Dysley clams he doesn't need them any longer, as he has already tricked the Cavalry into destroying Orphan. Dysley leaves them an airship to go back to Cocoon.

Sazh to crashes the airship into the Eden Grand Prix, where Lightning rides Odin in Gestalt Mode to escape the Sanctum and infiltrate the city, heading for Eden's heart, Orphan's Cradle. They find that the Cavalry has been turned to Cie'th, and approach Barthandelus in the Narthex Throne, where he summons the crystallized Dajh and Serah before the party and destroys them.

Lightning sees through Barthandelus's illusion and implores Snow to remain strong and keep fighting. As Barthandelus is defeated, he sinks into a pool and emerges as Orphan, whose goal is revealed to be the same as Barthandelus's: to destroy Cocoon. In trying to force Vanille and Fang to become Ragnarok, Lightning and the others are dispatched and turned into Cie'th. They relive their previous experiences and manage to return to their human forms, overcoming Orphan's tricks. Lightning declares that their true Focus is to save Cocoon and all of their l'Cie brands turn white. Lightning and the others have no chance but to fight Orphan now when it has been awakened and after defeating it they begin turning into crystal as Cocoon falls from the sky. Lightning is crystallized along with the rest of the party at the foot of Cocoon.

They awake briefly afterwards and see Vanille and Fang have managed to fulfill their Focus by both saving and destroying Cocoon by transforming into Ragnarok and encasing Cocoon in crystal. They also realise that their l'Cie brands have disappeared. As Serah and Dajh approach the party from the horizon Lightning comforts Hope regarding Vanille and Fang's departure. Lightning finally reunites with Serah and begins to apologize to her for not listening to her. Lightning is cut short when Snow reminds them that they "have a wedding to plan". Snow reassures Lightning he will make Serah happy, and Lightning congratulates them.

Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-
Lightning decides to find a way to save Vanille and Fang from the crystal pillar. She believes they will be able to find the answer hidden away somewhere on Gran Pulse, and perhaps discover other Pulsian survivors as well.

Lightning worries how they are no longer l'Cie, and believes it will be a long and difficult journey. After seeing that Serah is in good hands with Snow, she decides to take up the task on her own. Lightning comes to the conclusion that Serah and the others will be tied down with new responsibilities with trying to return to their new lives, and would not be able to accompany her.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
After being released from her l'Cie bond with everything seemingly resolved, Lightning remained uneasy. She was soon caught in a paradox and attacked by incoming waves of darkness. She briefly saw her allies being surrounded, but before she could call out to them, the ground opened up and she was dragged into the abyss by chaos. In turn, she is removed from history, and everyone except Serah believe her to be either dead or crystallized along with Vanille and Fang, and all that is left of her is her survival knife.

In actuality, Lightning falls through the Historia Crux and ends up in Valhalla, the realm of death and chaos dislodged from time. Within Etro's Shrine, she stands before the goddess's throne and is briefly made one with Etro. Lightning comes to know of the goddess's isolation, having been abandoned by her father, Bhunivelze, her love toward mankind, and the memory of the countless people who have died. Then Lightning's Guardian Corps uniform disappears and a suit of armor materializes on her body. Much like Etro herself, Lightning chooses to stay to contain the memories of the deceased as a way to atone for her past sins, and becomes the goddess's knight.

Armed with a new gunblade, Lightning is now Etro's protector and guards the goddess from Caius, an immortal Guardian who wants to kill Etro to destroy the timeline. As Lightning looks out from the balcony, she has a vision of a young man falling through the Historia Crux. Caius summons an army of monsters and challenges her to battle. Lightning summons her gunblade and confronts him with her army of summoned monsters alongside Eidolons. As she charges atop Odin in Gestalt Mode, Caius summons a barrage of Comets.

Lightning and Odin dodge Caius's attack by ascending the floating rocks and she and Caius meet each other face-to-face. Caius says he is impressed by her, but Lightning tells him to save it and they clash swords. Caius eventually catches her sword and points at his heart, and his chest begins to glow red; Lightning is surprised by this. Caius transforms into Chaos Bahamut, and sends Lightning flying over Valhalla. Falling from the sky over the beach, Lightning lands safely on Odin but is promptly pursued by Chaos Bahamut. Riding Odin, Lightning battles Chaos Bahamut along the beach. Leading him into the city and dodging his attacks, she manages to defeat Chaos Bahamut with an attack from behind, but Caius launches a surprise attack against her. Lightning is saved by Odin and Caius returns in his human form. The two launch a series of attacks against each other before Lightning manages to gain the upper hand and bury Caius under a pile of fallen debris.

Lightning sees Etro's Gate appear over Etro's shrine and a figure falling out of it. She recognizes the figure as the young man she had previously seen in her vision, Noel Kreiss. Lightning summons Bahamut and saves him from his fall before engaging Caius in an aerial battle when he returns as Chaos Bahamut. Defeating him again, Lightning and Noel land on the shrine. As she cannot leave Valhalla unprotected, Lightning tells Noel about Serah and asks him for his help. Showing him a Time Gate below the shrine, she gives him a moogle named Mog along with instructions to find Serah and bring her to Valhalla. When Caius returns and summons a large meteor over the shrine, Lightning urges Noel to jump into the Time Gate. She summons Odin to throw her into the meteor's path to try and stop it, but it crushes the shrine, leaving Lightning's fate unknown.

Noel finds Serah and together they embark on a quest to find their way to Valhalla. Lightning eventually appears from a portal before Serah, Noel and Mog in New Bodhum at 700 AF, and tells them that they are in a future she had failed to save. She explains to them that Orphan's demise and Fang and Vanille's sacrifice to save Cocoon opened the portal to Valhalla. She says that Etro closed the door to prevent an immense amount of chaos from pouring out into the world but time had been distorted, and as a result of being caught in the darkness Lightning disappeared from existence. She tells them that she can see all of time from Valhalla, and that she saw the future and felt Etro's desire. Lightning says the goddess was being destroyed and if Etro vanished completely all hope for the world would be lost, which is why she decided to fight Caius and the threat he posed to Etro and the world itself.

Lightning tells Noel and Serah that Caius plans to destroy Etro in Valhalla as she sleeps and unleash chaos out into the mortal world through an unseen doorway that opens for the souls of the departed. She says that the door would open wide enough if a large amount of people died all at once, and Noel says that would be possible if Cocoon fell. Lightning says if that were to happen a world of chaos would appear and time, life, and death would all become meaningless. After Serah says that world will essentially become like Valhalla itself, Lightning believes that it is Caius's plan to create a timeless world. Noel says that Caius wants to sacrifice countless lives and remake the world in order to save Yeul from her cursed fate. She entrusts Noel and Serah to stop Caius in the mortal realm while she deals with him in Valhalla, and has Mog reveal a Time Gate for them to proceed. Serah asks if they will be together again after the conflict and Lightning smiles replying, "One thing at a time, Serah", and walks back into the portal, returning to Valhalla.

In the Vile Peaks, Lightning blames herself for the paradox that caused the disappearance of an Academy anti-paradox team called Blitz Squadron while they were scouting the area in 10 AF to deal with a distortion. She appears in the area at 10 AF, just before Noel and Serah engage the paradox, a dark imitation of Odin called Twilight Odin. In 200 AF, after they defeat Twilight Odin's true form, Lightning is released from the burden of Odin's shadow twin. She recalls how she once fought alongside the men in Blitz Squadron and finds comfort in how they still remember her. As Lightning watches Noel and Serah from afar, she tells her, "So, Serah. If you keep me in your thoughts, one day, I am certain I will find my way home again", to which Serah answers that she will.

Later, when Mog reveals a phased-out image of Lightning in the Vile Peaks, she tells Serah and Noel about how as a l'Cie, she first thought fighting for what she believed in alone was the only way, but later realized she wasn't alone since the others were burdened with the same fate. Being all by herself in Valhalla, she holds on to the memories of Serah and her friends to stay strong in her battle against Caius. Lightning tells Serah that she misses her and prays for the day when they can be together again, and disappears.

Back in Valhalla, Lightning continues her fight against Caius. However, seeing a vision of Serah's death by her Eyes of Etro, a shocked Lightning is subdued by Caius before chaos consumes her. Coming to in the remains of Etro's temple, Lightning finds Serah's soul restrained and surrounded by chaos, manipulated by the spirits of Yeul, who taunt Lightning that Serah will remain with them until time ends. The chaos forms into a manifestation of Caius that Lightning proceeds to battle.

Caius transforms into Chaos Bahamut and flies back towards the beach, where Lightning continues to battle him. After dispatching of her opponent, Lightning mounts Odin and demands Yeul to let Serah go, but she and Odin are swallowed by chaos. Lightning is made to realize that her actions are the cause for her sister's death. As she floats through the Historia Crux, Lightning contemplates her belief that carrying out Etro's will would atone for her past sins and concludes that there is nothing left for her, not even hope. After Serah and Noel's first battle against Caius in Valhalla, they are consumed in a wave of darkness and sent falling into an abyss of light beneath the waves of chaos. Lightning appears and saves them, urging them to keep hope alive before vanishing.

Mourning over Serah's body, Lightning sees Serah's spirit on Etro's throne. Serah tells her not to cry and reveals she knew she would die, but chose to keep fighting for the chance for them to reunite. As Serah's spirit begins to fade away, Lightning runs toward the throne and finds herself in an empty void in Serah's embrace. She tells Lightning she must not give up hope and always remember her, promising that they will meet again.

To ensure that Serah's memory lives on and to hold on to their wish to be together again someday, and preserve the world's existence in Etro's place as her true atonement, Lightning sits on the goddess's throne and enters crystal stasis. Gran Pulse is engulfed in chaos and is transformed into what would become Novus Partus. In an ending cutscene, Lightning is seen walking around the Dying World, saying that she waits for the day she will awaken at the end of eternity.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Several centuries later, Lightning awakens in Novus Partus, the merged form of Gran Pulse and Valhalla. She learns that the world is going to end in thirteen days, and it is up to her to save it.

Battle
As a character, Lightning resembles a Red Mage; using weapons, Black Magic and White Magic in conjunction. Her strengths in all her appearances are speed and versatility.

Final Fantasy XIII


Lightning majors in the Commando, Ravager and Medic roles. Compared to most of her companions, she has high physical and magical attack stats (the second highest attack stat behind Fang, and tied for the second highest magic stat with Vanille), making her best role the Commando due to her ability to effectively use both Attacks and Ruin spells of an equal and high level of power, though her weapons give the lowest stat boosts. Lightning does not have as high HP gain as the others and when everyone's stats are maxed out, only Hope will have less HP than her.

Magic-wise, Lightning is utilitarian, able to use all four elemental "-strike" attacks, all elemental magic to the "-Ra" rank, as well as Thundaga. Lightning's Full ATB Skill, Army of One, increases the target's stagger gauge based on the current chain count.


 * Base Statistics

Eidolon


Lightning's Eidolon, Odin, takes the form of a large armored knight with a two-bladed sword joined at the hilt, and in Gestalt Mode transforms into the horse Sleipnir, which Lightning rides on while wielding Odin's sword split in two. In non-Gestalt form Odin uses a combination of Thunder based spells and physical attacks. Lightning has multiple ways to help with both her Ravager role to boost the enemies' chain gauge, and her Commando role to keep the gauge high.

Weapons
See Lightning's Gunblades. Lightning's initial weapon, Blazefire Saber, has multiple inscriptions that read "Invoke my name - I am Spark" and "blinding instant" written in the Pulsian alphabet. In Cocoon writing, her name, Lightning, is also engraved on the weapon.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Lightning is briefly controlled by the player during the prologue where she fights Chaos Bahamut and Caius. Lightning wields a new gunblade; given to her by the goddess Etro. Like her previous weapon, it possesses engraved writing in Etro script. The writing reads: "Gladius in turba aetern a induratus vincula inserepabilia rum", which translates to "The blade forged in everlasting chaos shall cleave the unbreakable chain" in English. While her previous weapon was kept in a holster slung from her belt, Lightning's new gunblade can be summoned and dispelled whenever she desires.

She appears as downloadable content in the form of a "recruitable monster," who joins Serah and Noel after they defeat her in the Coliseum. She appears in her attire from the original game. Lightning joins the party as a Ravager, and has the Feral Link ability Army of One, her Full ATB Skill from Final Fantasy XIII.

Lightning returns in the downloadable episode "Lightning’s Story: Requiem of the Goddess". She initially has at her disposal four roles: Paladin, Mage, Shaman, and Knight, but, at level 3, the Conjurer role and, at level 6, the Sorcerer role are unlocked.

All roles are enhanced versions of already existing roles: Paladin of Commando's, Mage and Shaman of Ravager's, Knight of Sentinel's, Conjurer of Synergist's, and Sorcerer of Saboteur's. Lightning can perform Legion of One by means of Feral Link, rather than being a full ATB skill.

Lightning has a different method of development than Serah and Noel; after gaining enough Crystogen Points, Lightning will level up and upgrade her stats and learn new abilities or roles, similarly to older Final Fantasy titles. She also gains Crystogen Points whether she wins or loses.

Lightning has a second recruitable monster form in her Valkyrie armor. Unlike her Coliseum counterpart, she is a Commando with the Feral Link Legion of One. She can be obtained by defeating Chaos Bahamut with a five star rank with Lightning's level at 9 or lower. Occasionally, when this Lightning defeats an enemy, it may burst into feathers when turning into crystal.

Lightning is the only "monster" that possesses the Uncapped Damage passive ability, which allows her to theoretically break the 99,999 damage limit, and Immovable MAX, which makes her almost immune to interruption. Her main strength, however, is that her attacking and casting speed is on a par with Serah's, which more than compensates for her relatively low Strength and Magic stats in comparison with other DLC monster Commandos.

Boss


A copy of Lightning is fought as a downloadable content (DLC) boss in the Coliseum (-??? AF-) alongside Amodar. Once defeated Lightning can be recruited as a Ravager into the Paradigm Deck. Lightning comes complete with an arsenal of Ravager spells, and physical variations of the spells that she would normally have. Her Feral Link is Army of One, a special attack of hers, mimicking her Full ATB Skill from the previous game.

Creation and Development
Early in development, Lightning was meant to be a flirtatious character with more sex appeal. In order to make Lightning a more 'serious' heroine in the veins of previous heroes, Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart, Fang's character - which was originally a man - was rewritten as a woman, and some of Lightning's traits were transferred to her. The final version of her character was made less Asian-looking than originally conceived, and her original silver hair color was given to Hope Estheim in favor of pink. Though Lightning's real name is revealed to be Claire, it was originally "Averia", referring to a species of flowering plants. At this stage, "Éclair" was used during auditions in place of Averia to keep the name secret.

Lightning's real name in the English version of Final Fantasy XIII is not Éclair, because to an English-speaking audience, that is a pastry. The name was phoneticized differently from the dessert in Japanese, so the problem didn't exist for a Japanese audience. The localization team proposed to change the name to Claire for English.

Lightning's initial concept was a 'strong woman' — it was personality-based instead of plot-driven, unlike the initial concepts for some other Final Fantasy heroines of the past. After her character's mindset and role were locked down Square Enix turned to Tetsuya Nomura for the actual design. Motomu Toriyama has said that, "With Lightning, one look at the design made me say ‘This is it!’ She looked so cool and strong that there was no need for any retakes." Despite Toriyama's claim, Lightning's appearance has developed from its initial concept. Square Enix released an initial CG render of Lightning before any of the other characters were seen; when the rest of the cast were revealed, Square released another render of Lightning, with some notable differences from the initial release: In the early materials she had slightly less feminine traits, her hair was a faded crimson rather than pale pink, and her eye color was a lighter shade of blue. Though her outfit remains the same, its overall color scheme was lightened. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning's new outfit was designed by Isamu Kamikokuryo in cooperation with Tetsuya Nomura, who drew a rough outline of her armor. Kamikokuryo then added a number of details. Kamikokuryo originally designed Lightning's new outfit as a, but he was told the design did not fit in the atmosphere of the game.

The idea for Lightning to have a sword that can transform into a gun relates to the game's Eidolons; one of the gameplay themes chosen for Final Fantasy XIII was transformation, and the Eidolons can turn into vehicles; if summons could transform, they thought weapons should be able to as well.

Lightning's house was originally meant to be a visitable location in Final Fantasy XIII, but ended up being cut from the final product. Concept art from Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega shows that Lightning lives in a peanut-shaped house standing over water, with a portion of the roof opening up.

Final Fantasy XIII
In Final Fantasy XIII, "Lightning's Theme" is an acoustic orchestral variant of the main battle theme, "Blinded By Light". Her theme displays the fragile interior she tries to suppress. The melody is interwoven with many different tracks and appears in several different forms in the game.

A "prototype" version of her theme titled, "M33 Lightning NW Version", can be found on the Final Fantasy XIII: Original Soundtrack PLUS album. A piano arrangement of her theme called "Lightning's Theme ~ Blinded By Light", is found on the Piano Collections: Final Fantasy XIII album. The track also received a chiptune arrangement from SQ Chips2's bonus CD.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
In Final Fantasy XIII-2, "Lightning's Theme ~Unprotected Future~" is a slower, more melancholy and harmonious rearrangement of her original theme. The theme plays during Serah and Noel's encounter with Lightning in New Bodhum 700AF, and as the background theme for the area following the encounter. In "Requiem of the Goddess", it plays as Lightning floats through the Historia Crux after her fight against Chaos Bahamut.

Lightning's battle theme is "Knight of the Goddess" that plays in the game's tutorial battle when Lightning battles Chaos Bahamut in Valhalla.

Merchandise
A special edition PlayStation 3 featuring an image of Lightning was released on December 17th 2009 in Japan. On the day of the US release of Final Fantasy XIII, a special edition Xbox 360 featuring Lightning on a faceplate was released. The faceplate was only available through preorder on certain websites and stores.

Released a month after the game's release, the 50ml bottle of ~Lightning~ eau de toilette was contained in an imprinted glass bottle with a strap with Lightning's pendant. The scent is described as a "sweet peach smell followed by rose and then a feminine musk".

Lightning's lightning bolt pendant she wears in Final Fantasy XIII has been released as official merchandise. The pendant is made of 925 silver, is accented with a gold and black rhodium coating and within the pendant there are three cubic zirconia which can roll up and down if the pendant is shaken.

A Final Fantasy XIII-2 bundle was released in Japan on December 15th, 2011 with a black 320GB PlayStation 3 Slim with an image of Lightning. Lightning's Final Fantasy XIII-2 merchandise include a Play Arts action figure and a coffee tumbler.

On December 14, 2010, all Japanese Square Enix Members with an "Ultimate" status on their name received a special Christmas present from Tetsuya Nomura: an art plate with an original illustration of Lightning with the text, "She must not be forgotten". On September 22, 2011, North American Square Enix Members with an "Ultimate" status also received the Lightning illustration.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Lightning appears in Dissidia Final Fantasy as a set of two player icons to represent Final Fantasy XIII, along with Noctis for Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Ace for Final Fantasy Type-0, though these icons can only be obtained through passwords.

Tetsuya Nomura and his staff originally wanted to include Lightning in Dissidia Final Fantasy, but ultimately decided to leave her out to avoid revealing her abilities before Final Fantasy XIII was released.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy


Lightning appears as a playable character in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. She is one of the warriors summoned by Cosmos to oppose Chaos, and stands as the hero representing Final Fantasy XIII. Initially traveling with Tifa, Laguna, and Vaan, Lightning is left behind when she battles Kuja. Shortly after an army of manikins sweeps over the land, Lightning is attacked by Kain after discovering he has already defeated Bartz.

Returning to Cosmos to tell her what is happening, Lightning faces the Warrior of Light, who reveals that he and Kain are putting the others to sleep on purpose to avoid them falling to the manikins and risking not being revived in the next cycle of the war. Lightning rejects this plan and leads Kain, Tifa, Laguna, Yuna and Vaan to the Lands of Discord, where the six sacrifice themselves to seal the portal to The Void the manikins are emerging from.

Lightning's alternate outfit gives her white hair and a more subdued color scheme to match her concept art by Yoshitaka Amano. Her second alternate costume gives her the generic female Guardian Corps uniform, a dull orange and brown outfit with a cap. As a fourth bonus outfit available with purchase of The 3rd Birthday, Lightning dresses as Aya Brea, wearing torn blue jeans and a midriff bearing sleeveless black shirt.

Nomura has stated he personally would include Sazh in a Dissidia sequel over Lightning, but his only request for such a game would be Kain Highwind from Final Fantasy IV - Kain and Lightning were the first two new characters confirmed for Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Lightning is the default Final Fantasy XIII playable character in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy Brigade
Lightning appears as a Legend in Square Enix's social game, Final Fantasy Brigade. She is depicted in both of her Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2 outfits. She can be unlocked by purchasing the correct issue of Mobage, and can use Ruinga, Lightning Strike, Thunderfall, and Flourish of Steel.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
There are several cards depicting Lightning in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game: four Lightning-elemental cards, including a promotional card from V-Jump, and two Shine-elemental cards, not including a limited release.

The three Lightning-elemental cards depicting her Final Fantasy XIII appearance portrait her as a Ravager, while the Shine cards present her as a swordsman and as a knight of Etro. The promotional card from V-Jump presents her as a knight.

Itadaki Street Mobile
Lightning appears in Itadaki Street Mobile. She is the only Final Fantasy XIII character to appear in the game.

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
Lightning appears as an avatar in the Nintendo DS Kingdom Hearts Re:coded game, along with Serah, Snow, Sazh and Vanille.

The 3rd Birthday
In the The 3rd Birthday, the main character Aya Brea has several different outfits she can wear. One of these is Lightning's outfit. Just like any other outfit for her in the game, this outfit can be torn up as she takes damage. Lightning's l'Cie marking can be revealed as more damage is done to this outfit. She can also use Lightning's Blazefire Saber in gun mode.

Etymology
"Claire" is a French name, the feminine form of the common name Clair. As the feminine name, Claire directly translates as "clear", while Clair can mean light-colored, bright and pale, among other meanings. "Éclair" is a French word that means "lightning", but is also the name of a type of, which explains why she is renamed "Claire" in the Western releases. The surname "Farron" comes from the Gaelic language, meaning "thunder". The combination of the two references thunder coming after the lightning.

Trivia

 * As shown in the first Final Fantasy XIII trailer, Lightning had a Gravity Bomb device at her disposal, which could be used to generate an electrical shield in battle or manipulate time and gravity.
 * Lightning's eidolith crystal takes the shape of a pink rose bloom, and red petals can be seen when she summons Odin and changes it into Sleipnir in Gestalt Mode.
 * Her crystal is used for the "Superstar" trophy/achievement.
 * In Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-, it is mentioned Lightning is better at housework than Serah, but Serah is the better cook.
 * In her official CG render, Lightning is not wearing her lightning bolt necklace, though it is present in her render on the Final Fantasy XIII summary website.
 * The art director of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, another game franchise owned by Square Enix, Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, drew an artwork of Lightning for the New York Comic Con 2011 "East Meets West" panel of her l'Cie brand, which is never actually revealed in the game. Isamu Kamikokuryo, the art director of Final Fantasy XIII, also drew an artwork of Deus Ex, which was revealed in the same event.
 * Lightning, along with Cid Raines, are the only l'Cie who never have their l'Cie brands revealed onscreen during the events of Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Art director Isamu Kamikokuryo consistently draws Lightning and Serah with blonde hair in concept art, despite their more "official" appearances. Additionally, Kamikokuryo's Lightning concept art for Final Fantasy XIII-2 has a black armor with gold or white outlines.
 * Lightning appears on the 500th cover of Dengeki Playstation magazine with Noel, Serah, Noctis, Machina Kunagiri, and Rem Tokimiya.
 * Lightning's render for Final Fantasy XIII-2 has her sword and shield in opposite hands. She also holds her sword in her left hand on the cover box art for Final Fantasy XIII.
 * In a live action PlayStation advertisement, titled "Michael" - PS3 Long Live Play, Lightning is seen listening to a story told by Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series and her gunblade can be seen on the weapon rack as the soldiers are entering the tavern.
 * Lightning shares her Japanese voice actor with Aya Brea, hence the reason they wear each other's outfits.
 * Lightning on Etro's throne at the end of Final Fantasy XIII-2 greatly resembles the Final Fantasy XIII promotional artwork of her sitting in the Narthex, and the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega has a piece of artwork depicting Lightning on Etro's throne in the same pose.
 * Similar to her sister Serah, Lightning's official render isn't used in the menu screen in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and instead an alternate render from Final Fantasy XIII is used.
 * Lightning, Sazh, Hope, Snow and Noel appeared as models for the Showcase Prada 2012 Men's Spring/Summer Collection.
 * All models in Final Fantasy XIII-2 are of lower resolution than those in its predecessor. The game data includes Final Fantasy XIII's high-res model of Lightning that is never used anywhere, which was likely used as a place-holder throughout production.
 * Lightning is the consistent playable character in all three games of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy.
 * According to Motomu Toriyama at a presentation for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning is considered a role model in Japan due to her courage, speed and elegance.
 * Lightning's Mask is an adornment for monsters which can be found in Void Beyond after completing Final Fantasy XIII-2.