Full ATB skill

Full ATB Skills are attacks exclusive to Final Fantasy XIII. Each member of the main party has a unique attack which requires the use of the whole ATB bar. These attacks all deal extreme damage or multiple strikes. However in order to perform these moves player must manually select them during the battle, meaning the A.I.-controlled battle members will never use them and auto-battle will not select them. Full ATB attacks are unlocked at Crystarium Stage 9, after the final boss of Chapter 11. A Full ATB Skill is technically not a "Limit Break" in the traditional sense of the term, but like a Limit Break, it deals massive damage.

Army of One


Army of One (Scene Drive in the Japanese version) is Lightning's full ATB skill. It is part of her Ravager Crystarium tree, and deals 11 hits of physical damage. The attack has a greater effect on an enemy's Chain Bonus the higher the Chain Bonus is, making it very effective against Staggered foes, as it can very quickly fill their gauge to 999.9%.

The attack manifests as several fast strikes from Lightning's Gunblade, as well as heavy kicks. Interestingly, if this move is performed in midair, it has the same appearance as a grounded attack, meaning Lightning lands midair during the attack, and also pushes off the air for her back-flip kick.

Army of One is a physical attack that uses the Strength stat, but can be nullified by Pain or Fog. Army of One ignores physical resistance, but also ignores physical weaknesses; it will deal 100% damage whether it is resistant, normal, or weakness. Army of One can be affected by Commando bonus, Bravery/Bravera, and Debrave, but it is not affected by Deprotect, Protect on enemy, or enhanced element spells like Enfire.

Sovereign Fist


Sovereign Fist (Ruler Fist in the Japanese version) is Snow's full ATB attack. It is part of his Commando tree, and deals one strong hit of physical damage. It is shown as Snow leaping into the air, and heaving his fist down into the enemy.

Sovereign Fist is a physical attack that uses the Strength stat, but can be nullified by Pain or Fog. Sovereign Fist ignores physical resistance, but also ignores physical weaknesses; it will deal 100% damage whether it is resistant, normal, or weakness. Sovereign Fist can be affected by commando bonus, adrenaline bonus, Bravery/Bravera, and Debrave, but it is not affected by Deprotect, Protect on enemy, or enhanced element spells like Enfire.

When executed, Sovereign Fist will clear the target's stagger gauge.

Cold Blood


Cold Blood (Desperado in the Japanese version) is Sazh's full ATB skill. It is part of his Ravager Crystarium tree and deals roughly 15 hits to one enemy. Cold Blood is similar to Army of One in that it serves to raise the enemy's stagger, though Cold Blood is actually quicker at increasing the stagger chain percentage due to its higher Role Level bonus.

Cold Blood is a physical attack that uses the strength stat, but can be nullified by Pain or Fog. Cold Blood ignores physical resistance, but also ignores physical weaknesses; it will deal 100% damage whether it is resistant, normal, or weakness. Cold Blood can be affected by commando bonus, adrenaline bonus, Bravery/Bravera, and Debrave, but it is not affected by Deprotect, Protect on enemy, or enhanced element spells like Enfire.

Last Resort


Last Resort is Hope's full ATB skill. It is part of his Ravager tree and deals roughly 6 hits of magic damage to all enemies. Appearance wise, it is very similar to Holy from Final Fantasy X, as it is shown as a ring of white beads flying into the air. However Hope's variant creates an explosion once crashing into the ground, rather than pulling the enemy up toward the sky.

Last Resort is a magical attack that uses the Magic stat, but can be nullified by Pain or Fog. Last Resort ignores magical resistance, but also ignores weaknesses; it'll deal 100% damage whether it's resistant, normal, or weakness. Last Resort can be affected by commando bonus, Faith/Faithra, and Defaith, but it is not affected by Deshell, Shell on enemy, or enhanced element spells like Enfire.

Death


Vanille's full ATB skill is the classic spell, Death. It is part of her Saboteur skill tree, making it the only full ATB skill not to be found in the Commando or Ravager tree. It deals strong magic damage to one target. In addition, it attempts to instantly knock out the enemy, with a base success rate of 1%. Death does not gain extra benefits on staggered opponents.

Death can, however, gain benefits from enhanced element spells, unlike the other special attacks. As it does not clear the chain gauge, this makes it the special attack with the highest repeatable multiplier. Death is a magical attack and uses magic stat, but is nullified by Pain and Fog. Death ignores magical resistances and weaknesses. It can be affected by Commando bonus, adrenaline, Faith/Faithra, Defaith, and enhanced elemental spells like Enfire. It is not affected by Deshell or Shell.

To boost Death's chance of instant kill, Vanille can be equipped with the Belladonna Wand and Malboro Wand that have the abilities Improved Debuffing and Improved Debuffing II, respectively. The chance also increases with higher chain bonuses and by having other Saboteurs in the current battle formation. The higher the Saboteurs' role level, the better the boost is. Debuffs, such as Curse, on the target also make it more susceptible against Death. Increasing the number of debuffs also improves the chance of an instant KO; every debuff increases the chance of instant KO by roughly 1%.

Highwind


Highwind is Fang's full ATB skill. It is named after the recurring surname of many Dragoon characters in the series. It is part of her Commando tree, and manifests as Fang leaping into the air and bringing her spear down into the enemy - similar to the Dragoon ability Jump - with an explosion damaging nearby enemies as she reaches the ground.

Highwind is a physical attack that uses the strength stat, but can be nullified by Pain or Fog. Highwind ignores physical resistance, but also ignores physical weaknesses; it will deal 100% damage whether it is resistant, normal, or weakness. Highwind can be affected by commando bonus, adrenaline bonus, Bravery/Bravera, and Debrave, but it is not affected by Deprotect, Protect on enemy, or enhanced element spells like Enfire.

When executed, Highwind will clear the target's stagger gauge.

Strategies

 * Army of One, Cold Blood and Last Resort are best used on a recently staggered foe, as they are the best moves in the game for boosting chain bonuses.
 * Death is best used against a strong enemy that is not immune to the spell. It is commonly used against Adamantoise, as they are a tough enemy, but easily killed by a Death/Marlboro Wand combo.
 * Highwind and Sovereign Fist are best used against a foe about to recover from stagger, as it instantly clears the chain gauge. Using them against a staggered foe usually results in two hits of 99,999 (with Genji Glove accessory it can easily do up to three hits of over 200,000).
 * When an enemy is about to exit Stagger, using a skill like Army of One prevents the Stagger from dissapearing, allowing other allies to attack a little longer while the enemy is Staggered. The Stagger will last untill the end of the animation of the attack.

Video
thumb|500px|left|A video showing each character's full ATB skills.