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 for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

In Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning 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 is the second female main protagonist in the mainstream Final Fantasy series, the first being Terra Branford from Final Fantasy VI. She is also the second protagonist to wield a gunblade, the first being Squall Leonhart.

Final Fantasy XIII


Lightning is a young woman with long, light pink hair, 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 purple zipped-up turtleneck shirt and a green metallic pauldron over her left shoulder 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. She carries her gunblade 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 pierced belly button. 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, 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 failure to protect her as he promised. Lightning's early solution to things that upset her is to distance herself from them, emotionally and physically. There are a few times 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 Lightning begins 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 takes Hope Estheim under her wing and shows him the ropes of battle. As she teaches him to look out for himself, she develops a bond with him, and possibly as a result of seeing a bit of herself in him, comes to confide in him and realize the mistakes she had made with Serah. She begins to accept Snow and 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


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 expresses her emotions more rather than keeping them bottled up inside her.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII


Lightning's default outfit, Equilibrium, is similar to what she wore in Final Fantasy XIII-2: her torso is covered in a black, corset armor with spiked metal sleeves lined with red running down the top of her arms and black gloves. Her cape is white with red on the inside. The faulds running down the sides of her legs are reminiscent of her Guardian Corps uniform. She wears gray and red leggings that expose her thighs and knee high black and red boots and red knee pads. She has a red shield on her left arm and her sword is red and yellow, similar to Noel's Flame Fossil dual swords. The logo appears on her outfit a number of times; on her chest, her sword and her shield. She has also been featured sporting sunglasses. Lightning now considers herself as something not quite human and she fully realizes the burden now resting on her.

Alternate Outfits
It's been confirmed Lightning will have a wide array of costumes, including the Dark Muse outfit that gives Lighting a camouflage jacket, knife, and a lattice style shield, and the Shadow's Dust costume that resembles samurai armor.

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 had to raise her younger sister, Serah. To get over the pain of her parents' deaths and to become an adult as quickly as possible, she changed her name from Claire Farron to "Lightning".

After graduating from high school Lightning joined 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 and to 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 she got involved with Snow 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 by their clothes, Lightning believes they must be from Eden. A few days later, the Cavalry are hunting down Vanille. Though they do not explain the intention behind their investigation, Captain Rygdea asks Lightning to brief him on areas in Bodhum teenagers are likely to visit in hopes of finding her. Lightning 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: a survival knife.

When the Sanctum announces a Pulse fal'Cie is residing within the Vestige Lightning 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 and boards the Purge train. As she waits in line she is approached by a pilot, Sazh Katzroy, 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. Snow, Hope and Vanille have also infiltrated the Vestige and they arrive in time to see Serah awaken. She asks Snow and Lightning to save Cocoon; her Focus apparently fulfilled, she crystallizes before their eyes. Snow begs 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 drops the Vestige 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 from a dream vision they shared, and presume they are tasked with destroying Cocoon, although Snow remains optimistic believing 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 Serah told her nothing about her Focus, Vanille says Serah probably did not want to worry her, but Lightning believes Serah did not trust her. The party finds an airship and Sazh pilots it to the skies of Cocoon, but they are soon pursued. Lightning instructs Sazh to fly into the sun-like fal'Cie Phoenix, but the ship is damaged and crashes in the Vile Peaks.

Lightning's impatience towards the group separates them, and Hope is the only one who follows her. Coming at a dead end Lightning reveals 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 wander in the opposite direction. Lightning is unwilling to have the him tag along, 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 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 and Hope uses it 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'. 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 to boost his confidence. Hope reveals 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 she and Hope visit his house to change his mind about revenge and also because Hope needs to tell his father about what happened to his mother.

The city is littered with PSICOM and Sanctum officers so Lightning and Hope go 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 explains 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" 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 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.

Lightning learns Fang is not only a Pulse l'Cie but is an actual Gran Pulse citizen. Fang says she and Vanille were crystallized there centuries before after completing their Focus, but woke up in Cocoon without knowing why. She learns from Fang how a l'Cie's brand shows how long one has until they turn into a Cie'th. Fang assures Serah will wake from crystal stasis and to see her again all Lightning needs to do is survive. Several PSICOM vessels fly overhead, alerting Lightning and Fang 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 for her previous behavior. The house is attacked by PSICOM troops led by Colonel Rosch. Chaos ensues, and the l'Cie are rescued by the Cavalry ship, the Lindblum.

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

Within the Fifth Ark 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 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 the same way Raines did, but Fang says 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 lose their resolve after days of searching. As their brands continue advancing, Hope begins to despair. Lightning and Snow comfort him, but Hope summons Alexander. Lightning encourages Hope, telling him 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 they will see Serah again soon. Snow says they will see her together after they save Cocoon. In Oerba, the party is surprised to find Serah reciting the legend of Ragnarok. Lightning is suspicious and demands Serah to stop, but the girl taunts her and reveals Lightning's real name. 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 the Cavalry 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 return to their human forms, overcoming Orphan's tricks. Lightning declares 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 fulfilled their Focus by both saving and destroying Cocoon by transforming into Ragnarok and encasing Cocoon in crystal, and realize 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 reunites with Serah and begins to apologize to her, but is cut short when Snow reminds they "have a wedding to plan". Snow reassures Lightning he will make Serah happy, and Lightning congratulates them.

Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-
Lightning vows to find a way to save Vanille and Fang from the crystal pillar. She believes the answer lies hidden away somewhere on Gran Pulse, and perhaps she could 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 Serah is in good hands with Snow, she decides to take up the task on her own. Lightning comes to the conclusion Serah and the others will be tied down with new responsibilities 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 fell through the Historia Crux and ended 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. Lightning's Guardian Corps uniform disappears and a suit of armor materializes on her body. 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. Lightning 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 Caius meet each other face-to-face and Caius says he is impressed by her, but Lightning tells him to save it and they clash swords. Caius 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.

During her battle against Caius Lightning sees Etro's Gate appear over Etro's Shrine and a person falling out. She recognizes it as the young man she had seen in her vision, Noel Kreiss. Lightning saves him from falling and 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 meteor over the shrine, Lightning urges Noel to jump into the Time Gate. She summons Odin to throw her into the meteor's path 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 they are in a future she had failed to save. She explains Orphan's demise and Fang and Vanille's sacrifice to save Cocoon opened the portal to Valhalla. She says Etro closed the door to prevent 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 she can see all of time from Valhalla, and how she saw the future and felt Etro's desire. Lightning says the goddess is being destroyed and if Etro vanishes 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 says Caius plans to destroy Etro as she sleeps in Valhalla and unleash chaos out into the mortal world through an unseen doorway that opens for the souls of the departed. She says the door would open wide enough if a large amount of people died 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 the world would essentially become like Valhalla, Lightning believes that it is Caius's plan to create a timeless world. Noel says Caius wants to sacrifice countless lives and remake the world to save the seeress Yeul from her cursed fate. Lightning 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 returns 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.

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 she misses her and prays for the day when they can be together again, and disappears.

Back in Valhalla, Lightning continues her fight with Caius. 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, saying that Serah will remain with them until the end of time. The chaos forms into a manifestation of Caius that Lightning proceeds to battle.

Caius transforms into Chaos Bahamut and flies 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 her actions caused 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 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 fades away, Lightning finds herself in a void in Serah's embrace. She tells Lightning she must not give up hope and always remember her, promising they will meet again.

To ensure 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, saying she waits for the day she will awaken at the end of eternity. Gran Pulse is engulfed in chaos and in time is transformed into Nova Chrysalia, the merged form of Gran Pulse and Valhalla.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
After spending five centuries in crystal stasis, Lightning awakens to find herself in Nova Chrysalis. She learns the world is going to end in thirteen days, and it is up to her to save it. She is also given a new suit of armor and task by Bhunivelze to be a liberator and guide the souls of humanity to the new world that will replace Nova Chrysalis at the end of the final thirteen days.

In Battle
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 effectively using both Attacks and Ruin spells of an equal and high level of power, although her weapons give the lowest stat boosts. Lightning has relatively low HP gain compared to 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, is a large armored knight with a two-bladed sword joined at the hilt, and in Gestalt Mode he transforms into the horse Sleipnir, which Lightning rides while wielding Odin's sword split in two. When not in Gestalt 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 that has engraved writing in Etro scripts: "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 at will.

Lightning appears in downloadable content as a "recruitable monster" who joins Serah and Noel after they defeat her in the Coliseum, appearing in her Guardian Corps 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 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 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" with 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 her attacking and casting speed that more than compensates for her 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 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 she would normally have. Her Feral Link is Army of One, a special attack of hers that was her full ATB skill in the previous game.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Lightning is the sole playable character in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. In the field, she can crouch, jump, climb, and perform other actions akin to those featured in stealth adventure games. In battle, Lightning is able to perform Paradigm Shifts, changing her attire and equipped abilities. She also gains new attacks, such as Light Slash and Heavy Slash.

Creation and Development
Early in development, Lightning was meant to be a flirtatious character with more sex appeal. 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.

During development, Lightning's real name was to be "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 was changed to Claire due to the word "Éclair" being used to refer to a type of pastry in English-speaking countries, a problem not present with the Japanese name due to different romanization.

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 character design. Director 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 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.

In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning's default "Liberator" outfit was designed by Tetsuya Nomura. Director Motomu Toriyama wanted something that emphasized Lightning going into her final battle, the red and white components of Lightning's original outfit from Final Fantasy XIII, and represented Lightning using the word 'strength' as the main focus. Using the red color to represent strength and line the inside of Lightning's outfit, Nomura designed her new armor to have more of an impact, with the final result being about half white and half red. He was instructed to design Lightning's armor based on "a leather body suit" and the arms off a spinal column. Lightning's alternate costumes were designed by Toshiyuki Itahana.

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 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 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".

The lightning bolt pendant Lightning 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 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 Airborne Brigade
Lightning appears as a Legend in Square Enix's social game, Final Fantasy Airborne 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 is 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 is 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.
 * Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, the art director of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, another game franchise owned by Square Enix, 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 shown 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. This may have contributed to Lightning's design in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII where she has a black armor.
 * 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 is placed on the weapon rack as the soldiers are entering the tavern.
 * Lightning shares her Japanese voice actor with Aya Brea, hence why they wear each other's outfits.
 * Lightning on Etro's throne at the end of Final Fantasy XIII-2 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.
 * Lightning was voted Japan's number one favorite Final Fantasy female character.