Strikes all enemies with a spray of crossbow bolts. Use with the Tools command.
Description
Auto Crossbow, also known as AutoCrossbow,[1][2] is one of Edgar's Tools in Final Fantasy VI. When used with the Tools command, it deals physical damage to all opponents. This makes it a very turn-efficient way to defeat groups of enemies at once. The Auto Crossbow is available initially to Edgar, and the command can be used as long as the tool exists in the player's inventory. If sold, there are other ways to obtain it.
Obtained[]
The Auto Crossbow is initially possessed by Edgar, meaning the player does not have to buy it. If they later sell it, it can be purchased again in Figaro Castle or South Figaro for 250 gil, or stolen from either Trapper or Metal Hitman.
Gogo can also use any Tools abilities also, as long as the tool still exists in the player's inventory and Tools is equipped in Gogo's ability menu.
Mechanics[]
As a physical damage ability, it deals damage with the following formula:
where "Level" refers to the user's level, and Strength refers to the user's Strength. The damage ignores split damage, meaning it is unaffected by how many enemies are standing in the current formation. Auto Crossbow is unblockable.
Use[]
Auto Crossbow reliably deals strong physical damage to all targets. This makes a turn-efficient ability, particularly against three or more enemies. Early in the game, it makes Edgar easily the strongest choice of party member, able to achieve a greater damage output than other party members until they gain access to magicite. The only drawback of the ability is that its damage can fall off compared to other physical attacks and Tools abilities that are stronger against single targets, as Auto Crossbow's built-in attack power does not scale, but even still, it remains useful against groups.
As well as being very powerful when acquired, Auto Crossbow fills a niche in being able to hit all enemies with an unblockable physical attack. Though the Master's Scroll relic potentially hits multiple targets, its attacks are blockable and random. Beyond this, all attacks that hit all enemies are magic attacks. As such, even though Auto Crossbow has limited scaling, it remains a unique effect.
In comparison to other Tools abilities, both Bioblaster and Flash hit all enemies at once, but rely on magic damage instead. Against enemies that resist physical damage, these abilities are a better choice; additionally, Bioblaster has the added bonus of potentially poisoning enemies, while Flash can potentially inflict darkness. Additionally, the Drill and Chainsaw abilities deal much greater physical damage, but are single target only. They nonetheless are better choices against one or two targets, or formations where one target should be prioritized.
Since Edgar's most powerful Tools abilities are physical attacks, the player should prioritize magicite that boost his Strength when leveling up his stats. With this, though Auto Crossbow's built-in attack power cannot be increased, between boosts to Edgar's Strength and level, the ability will continue to scale in damage output. With focuses on Edgar's Strength, Auto Crossbow's damage output growth will likely outpace that of Bioblaster and Flash. However, they remain useful in their added effects.
Due to Gogo's naturally lower Strength stat, Gogo benefits more from using the magic-based Tools than Auto Crossbow, and should use Bioblaster or Flash instead.
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