Caladbolg is Tidus's Celestial Weapon in Final Fantasy X. It is obtained in the Calm Lands, and deals more damage the closer Tidus is to his max HP. After being fully upgraded, it contains the abilities Break Damage Limit, Triple Overdrive, Evade & Counter, and Magic Counter. Like the other Celestial Weapons, the Caladbolg will ignore the target's Defense when calculating damage.
Ultima Weapon is an incarnation of the recurring sword that appears in several games in the Final Fantasy series. In the Japanese, German, and Italian versions, the Caladbolg is called "Ultima Weapon". In the Spanish version, it is called Arma Artema (Artema being the name given to the Ultima spell and arma meaning weapon). It is simply called "Ultima" in the French version.
Caladbolg has become one of Tidus's iconic weapons, second only to the Brotherhood. The two share stylistic similarities, both having blue blades that invoke the element of water.
Obtained[]
Caladbolg is obtained in the Calm Lands. It is fully upgraded by obtaining the Sun Crest and Sun Sigil.
Once the player has completed their chocobo training, they must race and beat the trainer's time. Due to the mechanics of the race, it is possible to finish before the trainer and still lose: each balloon either racer collects subtracts three seconds from their final time, and each bird they hit adds three seconds in addition to the time they lose while the chocobo is stunned from the hit. If the player beats the trainer's time, a man on a slope in the northwest of the Calm Lands will move. Down this slope is an altar that, when examined with the Celestial Mirror, grants Tidus the Caladbolg.
If the player beats the trainer's time, but leaves the Calm Lands before obtaining the Caladbolg, the man will again block the path to the weapon. To solve this, the player can race the trainer again. They do not have to win this race, just trigger the phrase "You already hold the record".
The Sun Crest is found at a place called The Beyond in the Zanarkand Dome after defeating Yunalesca. The player must head to the back of The Beyond and descend either the broken flight of stairs in the back or climb the stairs located near at entrance: they will be teleported to another corner of the room, and the chest containing the Sun Crest will now be at the top of the stairs they just descended. The player can reenter the chamber immediately after defeating Yunalesca, or after speaking with Auron, but before leaving. In the European, International, and Final Fantasy X HD Remaster versions, if the player does not obtain the Sun Crest at this point, they must defeat Dark Bahamut to get it. The player can reenter the chamber to obtain it after speaking with Auron, but before leaving.
To obtain the Sun Sigil, the player must beat the chocobo trainer in the Calm Lands with a time 0:00. This is possible by collecting enough balloons on the course to lower their time to 0:00 upon finishing. The player has to finish the course in under 36 seconds with a minimum of 13 balloons and only one bird hit to get the required time. In some versions, if the player times 0:00 on the first try, they must beat the time of 0:00 to receive the sigil. In the HD remaster version, scoring exactly 0:00.0 will not earn the sigil. Although it will display as 0:00.0, the "perfect time" is achieved with at least -0.1 seconds. Due to the minigame's luck-based mechanics, the Sun Sigil is considered one of the most tedious and difficult items to obtain.
Upgrades[]
| Original | Crest | Sigil |
|---|---|---|
| No AP | No AP Double Overdrive |
Break Damage Limit Triple Overdrive Evade & Counter Magic Counter |
Mechanics[]
The Caladbolg deals more damage the closer Tidus is to his max HP, as is tradition with the Ultima Weapon.
The damage modifier formula is:
- (10 + [100 * User's current HP ÷ User's Max HP]) ÷ 110
Use[]
Artwork of Tidus's swords, including Caladbolg.
Once fully upgraded, the Caladbolg should be Tidus's weapon of choice due to it ignoring target's Defense. Its auto-abilities—namely Break Damage Limit, Evade & Counter, and Magic Counter—all greatly improve Tidus's physical damage output.
It is important to boost Tidus's stats, namely Strength, Evasion, Defense, and Magic Defense, to 255. At 255 Strength, Tidus should reliably hit for 99,999 damage per hit. At 255 Evasion, he will be able to use Evade & Counter to hit for this amount of damage right after dodging an attack, while maximum Defense and Magic Defense ensure he can use Evade & Counter and Magic Counter respectively to perform extra 99,999 hits also.
Once obtained, the only time to not use Caladbolg for Tidus is when he still needs to obtain AP through a weapon with Triple AP.
Other appearances[]
Tidus wields Caladbolg in many of his appearances in other games and spin-offs, such as in Dissidia Final Fantasy. Yuna in Final Fantasy X-2 wields Tidus's Caladbolg when donning the Dark Knight dressphere. (Weapons are merely cosmetic in Final Fantasy X-2.) However, Tidus's usual weapon in cameo appearances and in merchandise is his Brotherhood sword.
Etymology[]
Caladbolg ("hard cleft"), sometimes written Caladcholg ("hard blade"), is the sword of Fergus mac Róich from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It was sometimes used in plural to mean "great swords", and might also refer to Excalibur. It appears in Welsh mythology. In some legends it is said to slice the tops off hills.