Armiger Unleashed is a unique ability for Noctis that is more powerful than the standard Armiger. Introduced in the Windows and Royal Editions of Final Fantasy XV, it allows Noctis to wield all thirteen royal arms, the Engine Blade (even if the player has upgraded or sold it, Noctis will use the base version), and the Ring of the Lucii in a slew of devastating combos and techniques.
Armiger Unleashed is enabled by equipping The Founder King's Sigil, obtained by interacting with the statue of the Founder King in northern Leide in Keycatrich after collecting all thirteen royal arms.
After collecting The Founder King's Sigil, a new Tutorial menu item "Armiger Unleashed" appears under Tutorial → Practical Drills, which allows training while Noctis is under Armiger Unleashed mode.
Mechanics[]
Armiger Unleashed lasts much longer than the regular Armiger. It is activated by equipping the Founder King's Sigil accessory, then pressing + or + when the Armiger bar is full while in battle. When activated, the other party members stop fighting and remain on the sidelines while Noctis fights alone.
While in Armiger Unleashed, Noctis's damage is significantly increased, and he moves faster, resists stagger, and gains access to powerful combo moves and techniques. Tapping the warp button when there are no enemies in the immediate vicinity will make Noctis quickly phase forward. Additionally, phasing through attacks in this mode will slightly restore the Armiger gauge, and blinking will activate a Holy attack that will cancel out any active elemental effect on the field, followed by a series of slashes. All attacks in Armiger Unleashed can break the damage limit and damage is calculated from Noctis's Strength stat, with exceptions to attacks using the Bow of the Clever, Scepter of the Pious, and Holy, which are calculated using Noctis's Magic stat.
Noctis has three different warp-strikes, none of which cost MP. When close to the target while on the ground, he will fire a volley of bolts from the Bow of the Clever all around him. When at a medium distance, or near the target while airborne, he will swing his sword around him while descending. When at a far distance, he will strike three times with the Mace of the Fierce, with the third hit being more powerful than the first two.
Because Armiger Unleashed breaks the damage limit, it is recommended to stack buffs from food and items to maximize Noctis's damage potential. Ignis's Enhancement carries over to Noctis's Unleashed attacks, and Prompto can use Piercer to reduce the target's Defense stat before Noctis activates Unleashed.
The major downside of Armiger Unleashed is that unlike the regular Armiger, Noctis will fall into the Danger state if his HP drops to 0, which will also cancel Unleashed prematurely. In addition, using Holy repeatedly can send Noctis into Stasis and temporarily slow his movement speed.
The Armiger bar is conserved when exiting Armiger Unleashed by character-swapping, finishing a battle, by entering the Danger state, or by having Aranea join the fray.
Finishing combos[]
To use a finishing combo, the player should attack regularly, then tap the Warp button shortly after Noctis glows white. Noctis is invincible during them and they can be chained.
Unleashed Techniques[]
Armiger Unleashed replaces Techniques from Noctis's allies with powerful Unleashed Techniques where Noctis is invincible during their animations. The status of the Tech Bar carries over from before activating Armiger Unleashed and it refills gradually as the battle continues. The properties of the Armiger Accelerator and Tech Turbocharger accessories for the Tech Bar still apply.
Technique | Cost | Direction | Effect |
---|---|---|---|
Royal Cleave |
1 | Cloaks the Engine Blade in a huge magic aura and slashes forward once. Hits up to three times and has a high knockdown multiplier. The final hit deals Light-elemental damage. | |
Apocalypsis |
2 | Brings the royal arms in front of Noctis in a cylindrical formation that damages foes and shoots it forward, splitting into multiple bolts that home in on enemies for additional damage. Deals ballistic damage. | |
Dynastic Stance |
2 | Takes a stance and summons spectral versions of the royal arms around Noctis. For a limited time, the royal arms will continously rain down on enemies for additional damage as Noctis uses normal attacks. | |
Legacy of the Lucii |
3 | Executes a devastating combo using the royal arms and finishes with a massive magic attack on the ground that deals Light-elemental damage. Cannot activate against some enemies (i.e. Adamantoise) |
Behind the scenes[]
Unleashed uses some poses and move-sets that appeared in pre-release trailers but not in the final game. One of the poses as part of Armiger Unleashed was a signature pose Noctis used against Stella Nox Fleuret in the old Final Fantasy Versus XIII material, and was his "official pose" for a time. The "lance spin" Noctis did in the Final Fantasy XV E3 2013 trailer (which was made into part of Gladiolus's Technique Cyclone) is a move for Unleashed as close range warp-strike input.
Etymology[]
Armiger is a word of Latin origin that comes from arma ("arms") + -ger ("bearing"). In the art of heraldry, it refers to an individual granted the right to use a coat of arms upon proving his or her worth.