Flare (ability)



Flare, also known as Nuke, is a recurring spell throughout the Final Fantasy series. It is often among the most powerful of the Black Magic spells and is a counterpart to the White Magic Holy. It first appears in the original Final Fantasy. The type of damage it does depends upon the game it is in, though it usually does heavy non-elemental damage, (though in some occasions deals Fire damage) and is always Black Magic.

While Flare is usually the ultimate spell, next to Ultima, sometimes there are upgrades to Flare, which usually affect several targets. Flare upgrades include Giga Flare, Flare Star, and Ardor. There is also a dark version of Flare, called Shadow Flare. The summon Bahamut's signature attack is Megaflare.

Final Fantasy
Flare, also known as NUKE in the NES release, is a level 8 Black Magic spell which inflicts large non-elemental damage to all enemies. Unlike previous elemental spells, damage dealt depends on the caster's Intelligence. Offensively, it is the most powerful spell in the game. Flare can be cast by Chronodia, Shinryu, Death Knight, Lich, and Chaos.

The spell can be bought at Lufenia and can only be learned by the Black Wizard job class. In the Dawn of Souls and 20th Anniversary Edition releases it costs 50 MP to cast.

Final Fantasy II
Flare is a Black Magic spell which inflicts a heavy amount of non-elemental damage to one or all enemies. Offensively, it is one of the most powerful spells in the game, second to Ultima. As the spell's level grows, so too does its potency. Any character can learn Flare by having them use the Flare Tome (called the Flare Scroll in the Origins release).

Flare X is used exclusively by Wizard, while Flare XVI is used by Beelzebub, Emperor in the final battle, Zombie Borghen, Light Emperor, and Ultima Weapon. According to the cutscene immediately prior to the Light Emperor battle, the Emperor utilized Flare XVI on Maria during their fight, in retaliation for her casting Holy Lv. 16 on him.

Final Fantasy III
Flare is a level 8 Black Magic, which can only be cast by the Magus and Sage. It can be bought in Eureka, and it costs 60,000 gil to buy. Doga can cast Flare when he joins the party as a guest in the game's DS version, and the player can also use Flare through the Chocobo's Wrath item. It has a base power of 200.

The enemies Titan, Scylla, and Echidna can use Flare against the party.

Final Fantasy IV
Known as Nuke in the SNES version, with Flare as the Twincast spell. In the Game Boy Advance, it was called Flare and the Twin spell was called Pyro. It is the second strongest Black Magic spell after Meteor, but is cast faster and for half the MP. In the SNES/PS/GBA/PSP versions it takes 50 MP cast, and in DS/iOS/Android versions it takes 55 MP. In the DS/iOS/Android versions it has a spell power of 160 and 400 in all other versions.

In the Advance and Complete Collection versions the weapon Flare Sledgehammer randomly casts Flare when attacking with it, even if the weapon is actually Ice-elemental due to a bug.

Flare can be cast by Zeromus EG, Dark Bahamut, Zeromus, and Deathmask.

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
Flare returns as a Black Magic spell. The imposter Rydia learns it at level 55 while Palom learns it at level 52, but Rydia doesn't have the spell when she participates in the final battle. It deals massive non-elemental damage to one enemy at the cost of 50 MP.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Flare is a powerful Black Magic that can be cast by Rydia, Fusoya, Golbez, Palom, and Leonora. It costs 50 MP to cast and inflicts major non-elemental damage.

Final Fantasy V
Flare is a Level 6 Black Magic spell, and it is obtained in the magical part of the Fork Tower, where you must defeat Omniscient. The physical part contains Holy and the Minotaur must be defeated. If the party takes too long getting one after the other, the tower will explode and the game will end in a Game Over.

Damage calculation parameters are as follows:
 * $$Attack = Spell Attack + (0..(Spell Power/32))$$
 * $$M = (Level*Magic Power)/256 + 4$$
 * $$Defense = (Magic Defense/32)$$

The formula for Flare is as follows:
 * $$Damage = (Spell Attack + (0..(Spell Attack/32)) - (Magic Defense/32)) * M$$

Flare can be used by Barrier, Enuo, Exdeath in the final battle, Famed Mimic Gogo, Necrophobe, Neo Exdeath, Omniscient, and Archeodemon.

The player can also utilize the Flare spell without having to obtain the spell by Catching and then releasing either a Goblin, Flaremancer, Fury, or Claret Dragon. Flare is one of the spells that can be cast from the Wonder Wand for free.

Final Fantasy VI
Flare does non-elemental damage and ignores magic defense. It is taught by Bahamut at a rate of x2, though Celes can learn it naturally at level 81. Its Spell Power is 60, its Hit Rate is 150, and is vulnerable to Runic. It costs 45 MP to cast. Flare is an Added Ability to the Ragnarok weapon.

Flare can be cast by Flame Eater, Guardian, Shambling Corpse, Level 90 Magic, Cherry, Magic, Necromancer, Red Dragon, Ultima Weapon, Kaiser Dragon, and Behemoth King(Living).

Final Fantasy VII
Flare is found in the Contain Materia, as the level 4 spell that costs 100 MP to cast and requires 15,000 AP to learn. It does extreme fire damage, its spell power being equal to 7.1875x the base magic damage. Only the enemy Behemoth casts the spell against the party. The King Behemoth has access to the spell, but only when under Manipulate.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Flare is usable by the Flare Materia. It lights up the screen with a bright red flash, all enemies taking damage when it dies down. Flare costs 77 MP to cast, and is one of the few spells that cannot be used with Dualcast. Flare can be obtained through missions 2-4-2, 3-4-4, 3-5-3, 5-4-3, 8-6-4, 9-3-6, 9-4-4, 9-4-5, 9-4-6, 9-5-1, 9-5-2, 9-6-1, 9-6-4 or Materia Fusion by fusing a mastered Electrocute Materia with any of the following: Libra, Dash, Tri-Fire, Tri-Thundaga, Goblin Punch, Iron Fist, or Magical Punch. It can also be made by fusing a mastered Tri-Fire with a mastered Libra.

Final Fantasy VIII
Flare is a powerful spell that inflicts major non-elemental damage on one opponent. It can only be drawn from some of the most powerful Random Encounter enemies and a few bosses, and can only be created using rare items. Flare is also a powerful junctioning magic, having one of the largest effects when junctioned to Str-J and Elem-Def-J.

Casting Flare in battle increases compatibility with Eden by 0.4 and with Brothers, Diablos, Leviathan and Bahamut by 0.2. Casting Flare doesn't lower compatibility with any GF.

Flare is cast in battle by Adel, Behemoth, Griever, Ruby Dragon, Seifer in the fourth battle, Sorceress B, and Ultimecia's final form.

Final Fantasy IX
Flare is a spell for Vivi, and it does non-elemental damage, but unfortunately cannot be toggled to target more than one foe. Vivi can learn the spell for 95 AP by equipping the Black Robe, and costs 40 MP to cast. It can be reflected and works with Return Magic.

Additionally, Kuja, Garland, Trance Kuja and Ozma can all cast Flare. Thorn can cast a lesser version called Light Flare after being charged by Zorn. The spell has a power of 119 and is the strongest single-target spell Vivi can cast. It can also be used in Steiner's Sword Magic.

Final Fantasy X
Flare deals non-elemental damage and costs 54 MP. It is the final ability on Lulu's Sphere Grid path. The spell can be cast by various enemies, the earliest being by Seymour Natus.

Final Fantasy X-2
Flare can only be used by equipping either the Conflagration or Megiddo Garment Grids and Spherechanging through the colored gates. The spell will appear in the Black Magic skill set. It inflicts major non-elemental damage and costs 54 MP to cast. A somewhat similar attack called Flare Whirl is used by Yuna's Floral Fallal Dressphere, and hits three times against random enemies. Flare can also be used via Yuna's Festival-Goer Dressphere ability Flare Geta, which hits two enemies. Flare can be used by a large array of enemies in this game.

Final Fantasy XI
Flare is the Fire-elemental Ancient Magic spell. It takes a tremendously long 19 seconds to cast, as well as depleting a phenomenal 383 MP from its user, but is the highest-damaging Fire-based Black Magic spell until a Black Mage reaches Level 75. At such a time, said mage can learn Flare II through the use of Merit Points, which all but halves the casting time and reduces the casting cost by 96 MP; as well, the spell deals significantly more damage than Flare.

Additionally, both spells lower a foe's resistance to the Water element for a brief duration. Unfortunately, neither spell is particularly useful to a Black Mage's arsenal in Final Fantasy XI, because both the Lightning and Ice elements (in that order) are stronger than that of Fire, and will generally out-damage any Fire-based spell cast upon a target barring particular, unique weakness to Fire attacks (such as Bomb and Undead enemies).

Likewise, there are almost no noteworthy monsters that players deem necessary to inflict reduced resistance to the Water element, as there are various other (much less wasteful) methods of inflicting said penalty, and the only Water-based debuff is Poison.

Final Fantasy XII
Flare is the Black Magick License 7, and it inflicts heavy non-elemental damage on a single target. Flare has the maximum Effect Capacity, which means no other spell or Technick can be performed simultaneously. It costs 48 MP and is usable for 70 LP. A similar spell is Ardor, which casts extreme Fire damage to all targets in range. Flare costs 11,200 gil at Port at Balfonheim after the events in Pharos at Ridorana.

In the Zodiac Job System version, Flare is Black Magick 12 License and can only be used by the Black Mage.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Flare is Kytes's ultimate ability at Level 42 and inflicts massive non-elemental damage to one enemy. The Esper Chaos can use Flare as its ultimate ability.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Flare will be a powerful spell that is said to be difficult to obtain. On level 1, Flare deals large amount of magic damage according to the formula $$Magic * 10.00$$ and takes 100 AP to execute.

Final Fantasy XIV
Flare is a high level fire-elemental spell for Black Mages, learned by completing the International Relations quest. It deals very high fire damage around the user, and additional damage over time.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Flare is a Black Mage spell obtained after completing their level 50 job quest. It has a cast time of 4 seconds and consumes all of the user's remaining MP with a minimum MP cost of 266. Due to its long cast time, it is usually used with Swiftcast.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Flare is learned by the Black Mage for 900/1000(WotL) JP, and is their ultimate spell. It costs 60 MP to cast and has a speed of 15. The Lucavi Zalera can cast an upgraded form called Flareja, and some high-level enemies can cast Giga Flare.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Flare is learned by Alchemists from the Lotus Mace, which costs 300 AP to learn and inflicts extreme non-elemental damage to one enemy. It costs 36 MP to cast, has a Magic Power of 65, is stealable through the ability Steal: Ability, and is also susceptible to Return Magic and Absorb MP. The spell cannot be reflected.

Sages possess an area version, Giga Flare, also learned from the Lotus Mace for 300 AP. There is also a Blue Magic called LV? S-Flare which is learned from Vampire, and deals Dark-elemental damage to all enemies of the same level.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Similar to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Flare is learned by Alchemists by equipping the Lotus Mace, but it costs 400 AP to master and costs 16 MP to use.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Flare is a Wizard spell, and the strongest spell in the game. It does heavy Fire-elemental damage to one or more enemies. Only Benjamin can cast the spell. It is found inside Pazuzu's Tower.

Final Fantasy Adventure
The Nuke spell is the most destructive force in the game. Like Lit, it can only travel in a straight line. It is obtained by defeating Lich in the Sealed Cave, and cost 3 MP to cast. This spell is needed to gain access to the Cave of Ruins due to a crystal in the desert blocking the entrance.

The Final Fantasy Legend
Flare is the strongest magic spell book in the game.

Final Fantasy Legend II
Flare is a magical attack that has 5 uses, it also increases a Robot's HP by 9 (though it cannot be equipped to them). The damage formula for Flare is the user's Mana x10 while Apollo's Flare is Mana x8. The ability target's all enemies. This attack can be used by Athtalot, Haniwa, Lich, Titania, and Apollo.

There's a Magic Book called Flare and it has a book icon before its name. It cast Flare, and can be bought in Final Town for 50000 GP or found in chests. It only has 10 uses, and also increases a Robot's HP by 144 when equipped on them. The damage formula for Flare is the user's Mana x13, deals non-elemental damage to all enemies.

Final Fantasy Legend III
Flare, a Lost Magic spell, and it's the strongest magic spell in the game. It cost 56 MP to use, and it can be made by combining two Fire elemental stones from Shar aboard the Talon. Because the game only features four Fire elemental stones, it is only possible to have two copies of Flare, at the expense of several weaker Lost spells.

Nuke is a separate spell entirely. While much weaker than Flare, it is the strongest Black Magic spell. It cost 36 MP to use, and it can be bought for 25000 GP in Dwelg Town (Underworld).

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
The legendary Flare Tome is mentioned by a scientist at Guera Palace, but it does not appear as a usable spell or enemy ability.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Onion Knight has Flare as an HP attack chained from Thunder. As a Mime, Bartz is able to use Onion Knight's version of Flare, but his version is chained from Holy. Their versions of Flare summon streams of fire to bombard enemies from three directions. Onion Knight's Flare costs 40 CP to equip and 300 AP to master, while Bartz's Flare costs 45 CP to equip and 180 AP to master. Terra can cast Flare as a part of Holy Combo. After landing a hit with Holy Combo, Terra shoots several fireballs at the opponent. This can chain further into Ultima.

Kuja has a variation called Remote Flare, which summons several small explosive fireballs to surround opponents. It costs 30 CP to equip and 180 AP to master. Kuja also uses Flare in many of his Bravery attacks, and his Flare Star HP attack.

The Emperor has two versions of Flare as HP attacks, one which fires a blue fireball that moves slowly and tracks enemies, and another which fires an orange fireball that stays in place. Both versions cost 40 CP to equip and 180 AP to master. Shantotto's Spirit Magic: Fire casts Flare when she has over 6000 Bravery, launching a barrage of smaller fireballs towards her opponent, culminating in a massive explosion.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Garland has Flare as an HP attack. He enchants his sword with fire and attacks the opponent with two overhead slam attacks.

Shantotto's Spirit Magic: Fire now casts Flare when she has over 4000 Bravery. Onion Knight's Flare now costs 30 CP to equip and 160 AP to master. Terra's Flare now has Ranged Mid Damage Priority, causing it to stagger blocking opponents. Kuja's Remote Flare costs 100 AP to master now. Both versions of the Emperor's Flare now cost 30 CP to equip and 130 AP to master, and his aerial Flare inflicts downwards Wall Rush. Bartz's Flare is unchanged.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest
Flare Thundaga is the ability that is used by Magus during battle. It is also an enemy ability that is used by Exdeath and Lich during battle.

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon
Flare is a Lv. 7 spell that cost 5 SP to cast and attacks all enemies in a 7x7 grid around Chocobo.

Final Fantasy: Unlimited
Makenshi's brother, Madoushi is capable of using a powerful Flare Sword attack. Using this, he surges forward at his opponent, hitting them with a burst of fire with then culminating in a massive, sustained explosion.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
One of Lulu's cards has the Flare ability. Flare costs one Thunder CP, the discard of a Lulu card, and the player must Dull Lulu. Flare deals 8000 damage to a Forward of the player's choice.

Etymology
A flare is a pyrotechnical phenomenon that produces intense amounts of heat and energy that does not result in an explosion (an immediate release of energy).

In the case of Final Fantasy, while this may seem weaker than an explosion, a flare is a contained release of energy, which fully exposes the enemy to the source rather than blow them away from it after awhile.