Use
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Description
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when the Limit Break gauge is filled to semi-prime, improving battle performance for a short period of time.
Limit Break is Ifrit's ability in Final Fantasy XVI that the player always has access to once acquired. Able to be activated at any time by pressing down both joysticks on the controller (as long as at least one gauge has been filled), canceling any other action that was happening concurrently, Limit Break enhances Clive's battle prowess and makes his normal attacks stronger and much faster. Whenever Clive deals or receives damage (outside of using Odin's abilities), he will charge the Limit Break meter at the top of the screen.
Another way to gain brief access to the Limit Break moveset and battle enhancement is by precision-dodging with the Berserker Ring equipped.
"Limit Break" is also an enemy ability used by the final boss.
Defeating 20 enemies during Limit Break (outside of battles in the Hall of Virtue) earns the trophy Made to Be Broken.
Limit Break is a recurring name for a character's special ability in the Final Fantasy series. In Final Fantasy XVI, it is the term for Clive's semi-prime specifically.
Obtained[]
Clive gains access to Ifrit's powers as part of the story, during "The Meaning of Life". Limit Break is usable after the events at the Phoenix Gate Apodytery as long as at least one Limit Break gauge is filled. Limit Break can then be further improved by spending AP in the Abilities menu, where Limit Break's node is in the center of the fire loadout.
Mechanics[]
Clive can use Limit Break in battle whenever he has at least one segment of the Limit Break gauge filled. Upgrading the ability in the Abilities menu will add more segments to the gauge. Clive starts with two Limit Break gauge segments, but it can be upgraded to a maximum of four. When Limit Break is active, the gauge continually drains, and once depleted, Clive's Limit Break runs out and he returns to normal form. Limit Break can be canceled after activation by repeating the same input as when initiating it to save on further charges, but initiating it will use at least one Limit Break segment.
The Limit Break gauge fills by dealing damage, by receiving damage, by precision-dodging, and by using Titanic Block.
Activating Limit Break will cancel any action Clive was doing and play a unique animation to throw back weaker enemies. This can also be used to escape specific enemy attacks, instantly recover from being knocked back, or to cancel out long Eikonic Ability animations. Entering Limit Break will also snap Clive out of a stunned state. Limit Break can be engaged while airborne.
Entering Limit Break mode changes Clive's base abilities, such as his physical attacks incorporating Ifrit's claws and more powerful magic projectiles and blasts. Clive moves and attacks and casts much faster when his Limit Break is active (sword attacks are around twice as fast and all critical hits, and he can combo into magic burst faster), also improving damage from Eikonic Abilities by 10%. Clive does not recoil from attacks when in Limit Break mode and he cannot die mid-Limit Break. As per version 1.31, Limit Break attacks now lift enemies instead of knocking them back.
Clive's health will be partially recovered when initiating Limit Break and he will recover some health when attacking enemies in this state.
Activating Limit Break triggers the eponymous battle technique, Limit Break.
| AP cost | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1000 (Upgrade) | Add a segment to the Limit Break gauge. |
| 2000 (Master) | Add a segment to the Limit Break gauge. |
Use[]
Limit Break is worth upgrading despite the steep cost to add more charges to the gauge, as Clive will always passively charge it regardless by simply taking part in combat, outside of his dark loadout abilities.
As the gauge refills fairly fast, there is no need to save on the Limit Break gauge for special occasions; the player can simply engage it whenever the gauge is full as not to waste any further opportunities to recharge it. Limit Break can be used in a pinch to recover some health, as such as during chronolith trials, and when in low health to prevent dying.
Good times to use Limit Break include animation canceling or getting out of a stunlock or being stunned, during an enemy's stagger or when an enemy is almost staggered to add damage and building the stagger multiplier faster, and when an enemy is almost defeated and the player wants one final push for a quick win. It can simply be used when all Eikonic Abilities are cooling down to gain a moveset better than Clive's basic sword slashes. Because Clive attacks faster during Limit Break and does not recoil, executing parries is much easier.
The passive damage abilities Will-o'-the-Wykes, Lightning Rod, Satellite, Impulse, and Rime can be active concurrently with Limit Break, and using Eikonic Abilities during Limit Break makes them 10% stronger. Because Clive cannot be interrupted in semi-primed state, Limit Break makes using abilities like Titan's Windup easier.
Limit Break has some synergy with the Phoenix's Flames of Rebirth: Clive is normally locked into performing the firestorm, but by first using Flames of Rebirth, and then using Limit Break, Clive can break free of the animation and continue to act while the firestorm still rages, damaging enemies who stay frozen in place for its duration.
Another way to cancel animations is with Odin's Rift Slip, whose boon is that it also slows down time for everyone but Clive. The player can use both at the same time, getting even more hits in with Limit Break during the time all other action is slowed down.
The Berserker Ring (obtained from Patron's Whisper) lets Clive use his Limit Break moveset for a few seconds after precision-dodging (made especially easy with the Ring of Timely Focus), without actually entering Limit Break mode and thus draining any of the gauge, but it takes up an accessory slot.
As Limit Break can be disengaged at any time, the player can do it whenever an enemy retreats from Clive's reach, for example, to reserve the gauge.
Behind the scenes[]
Limit Break is Clive semi-priming Ifrit, taking on some of Ifrit's qualities while mostly remaining in human form. The final boss being able to use a version of it suggests the power derives from Ultima. Other Dominants also semi-prime, but whether their transformations can be called "Limit Break" is never shown in-game.