A Desperation Attack is a special attack unique to each character in Final Fantasy VI. When a character is in Critical Status, there is a 1 in 16 chance that the character will perform this move when he or she uses the Fight command. A character would automatically enter Critical Status when their HP drops to 1/20 of their max. It is important to note that Strago Magus and Gogo can achieve Critical Status without losing their HP. If the enemy has 1/20 of its max HP remaining, Strago and Gogo can use Rippler to retrieve it (see Rippler Bug for more information). All Desperation Attacks are unblockable and defense ignoring. Each character's Desperation Attack is as follows:
| Character | Desperation Attack | GBA Name | Japanese Name | Battle Power | Effect |
| Terra | Riot Blade | N/A | ライオットソード Raiotto Sōdo | 142 | Deals magical damage to one enemy. |
| Locke | Mirager | Mirage Dive | ミラージュダイブ Mirāju Daibu | 139 | Deals magical damage to one enemy. |
| Celes | Spin Edge | Spinning Edge | スピニングエッジ Supiningu Ejji | 143 | Deals magical damage to one enemy. |
| Edgar | Royal Shock | N/A | ロイヤルショック Roiyaru Shokku | 143 | Deals magical damage to one enemy. |
| Sabin | Tiger Break | N/A | タイガーブレイク Taigā Bureiku | 140 | Deals magical damage to one enemy. |
| Shadow | Shadow Fang | N/A | シャドウファング Shadou Fangu | 140 | Deals magical damage and inflicts Sap on one enemy. |
| Setzer | Red Card | N/A | ブラッディカード Buraddi Kādo | 147 | Deals magical damage to one enemy. |
| Mog | Moogle Rush | N/A | モーグリらんぶ Mōguri Ranbu | 150 | Deals magical damage to one enemy. |
| Strago | Sabre Soul | N/A | セバーソウル Sebā Souru |
- | Instantly kills one enemy. It fails on enemies immune to Instant Death. |
| Relm | Star Prism | N/A | スタープリズム Sutā Purizumu | - | Instantly kills one enemy. It fails on enemies immune to Instant Death. |
| Cyan | Back Blade | Tsubame Gaeshi | つばめがえし Tsubame Gaeshi | 140 | Deals magical damage to one enemy. |
| Gogo | X-Meteo | Punishing Meteor | おしおきメテオ Oshioki Meteo | 146 | Deals magical damage to one enemy. Gogo can only use this if he has the Fight command equipped. |
| Gau | - | - | - | - | Gau does not have a Desperation Attack as he does not have a Fight command. |
| Umaro | - | - | - | - | Umaro does not have a Desperation attack as he does not have a Fight command. |
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