Summon a tornado that slowly hunts down nearby enemies and, upon ensnaring them, inflicts multiple hits.
Description
Aerial Blast is Garuda's ultimate Eikonic Ability in Final Fantasy XVI, which the player can learn and then assign to Clive's loadout. It conjures a tornado that tracks enemies, damaging and possibly lifting them when it comes into contact with them. The tornado persists for a time, continuing to trap small enemies into its vortex, however, it greatly obscures the player's visibility. It is great for dealing will damage to enemies that can be staggered.
Aerial Blast is also an enemy ability used by Garuda when fought as a boss.
Obtained[]
Clive gains access to Garuda's powers as part of the story, during "Wings of Change", after the events in Caer Norvent. Aerial Blast is then learned for 1540 AP in the Abilities menu.
Mechanics[]
Clive can use Aerial Blast in battle whenever it is equipped to his current loadout in Gear & Eikons menu.
Aerial Blast has Clive conjure a tornado that persists for 15 seconds and follows enemies around the battlefield, allowing the player to continue acting during it. Aerial Blast deals numerous hits, but is stronger in dealing will damage than normal damage, helping to stagger formidable foes or racking up the damage multiplier on already-staggered foes. Version 1.31 improved the ability's will damage even further. Aerial Blast lifts small enemies into the air, interrupting and trapping them and making them susceptible to follow-up damage. As of version 1.31, Aerial Blast now dispels certain ranged magic attacks.
Aerial Blast activates the eponymous battle technique when it strikes the same enemy multiple times.
After being used, the ability has a 110-second cooldown before being able to be used again. The cooldown starts from when the windstorm is conjured, not when it dissipates, meaning that the effective cooldown is 110 seconds minus the windstorm duration, which is around 15 seconds before being upgraded. Upgrading/mastering the ability has no effect on its cooldown.
The reward for completing all four stages of Garuda's chronolith trial, Hand of Dione, within the time allotted earns The Will of Wind (Aerial Blast) accessory, which increases Aerial Blast's damage by 12%.
| AP cost | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1540 (Base) | Able to equip Aerial Blast to Clive's wind loadout. |
| 2005 (Upgrade) | The whirlwind persists for longer. |
| 4000 (Master) | Able to equip Aerial Blast to any loadout. |
Use[]
Against smaller enemies, Aerial Blast is good for sucking them up into the tornado, interrupting their actions and trapping them, making them susceptible for continuous damage from the vortex as well as from Clive himself. It also groups enemies together, making them susceptible for follow-up AoE damage from the player. Against large enemies that are too heavy to be lifted, Aerial Blast is good for dealing will damage and increasing the damage multiplier on already-staggered foes, as large enemies often have a stagger bar. Aerial Blast can be amplified with Lightning Rod from Ramuh.
Aerial Blast's downside is that it obscures the player's visibility in battle severely, making any precision-dodging and precision-blocking difficult/impossible without the Ring of Timely Focus accessibility tool. The player can use Will-o'-the-Wykes concurrently with Aerial Blast to protect Clive from enemies during the storm. However, against small enemies, the player has other abilities to lift them (such as Garuda's own Wicked Wheel) or damage them all at once, and against enemies with a will gauge, the player has other good staggering abilities, such as Gouge from Garuda herself. Once Clive gains Shiva, the player is likely better off using Diamond Dust over Aerial Blast. The player can also get something of a similar effect from Flames of Rebirth if they invoke Clive's Limit Break right after using it, getting Clive out of the firestorm animation and being able to act while the firestorm is burning down enemies, which are rendered stationary. The firestorm from Flames of Rebirth is much shorter than the tornado from Aerial Blast, but the player's visibility will not be hampered.
During the chronolith trial with Garuda's abilities, triggering Collateral Blast by striking three enemies with a single Aerial Blast earns a 15-second time bonus.
Garuda also uses her version of Aerial Blast against Clive when fought as a boss.