Summon multiple light-aspected familiars that attack any enemy on which Clive uses magic.
Description
Satellite is one of Bahamut's Eikonic Abilities in Final Fantasy XVI that the player can assign to Clive's loadout. Clive will eject drones that attack his target whenever Clive uses magic in battle, continuing to fire whenever the player presses the execute button even when Clive himself cannot use magic at that time, such as during other abilities' animations. For this reason it can be a good ability to keep in the player's loadout at all times. Version 1.31 made the ability even better than it was before the update.
Obtained[]
Clive gains access to Bahamut's powers as part of the story, during "Fire in the Sky", usable in his loadout after the events in Twinside. Satellite can then be learned by spending 100 AP in the abilities menu.
Mechanics[]
Clive can use Satellite in battle whenever it is equipped to his current loadout. He can have two Eikonic Abilities alongside his Eikonic Feat, which for the light loadout is Wings of Light.
Satellite has Clive deploy an untargetable spherical drone (two when the ability is upgraded) that will fire lasers at Clive's target whenever the player uses magic, charged magic (hold the magic execute button), magic burst (chain magic into a four-hit melee combo), and shift shot (chain magic from Phoenix Shift). The player will still attack via the drones when magic-use is not available whenever they press the execute button (
by default), such as when Clive is stunned or being knocked back or recoiling or during Wings of Light or during other Eikonic Abilities' animations. The drone(s) persist for around 30 seconds.
Each individual burst from the drones is not overly powerful, but there is no cooldown to the basic magic command, and so the damage over time builds up if the player is using the drones frequently. Version 1.31 made Satellite deal more damage and will damage.
Satellite activates the eponymous battle technique when a single use of Satellite strikes a target multiple times.
After being used, the ability initially had a 55-second cooldown before being able to be used again, but version 1.31 shortened its cooldown. Upgrading/mastering the ability has no effect on its cooldown. The cooldown begins from when the satellite(s) are deployed, not when they disappear, meaning the effective cooldown is shorter.
The Will of Light (Satellite) accessory increases damage from the drones by 10%.
| AP cost | Effect |
|---|---|
| 100 (Base) | Able to equip Satellite to Clive's light loadout. |
| 700 (Upgrade) | Adds a second drone. |
| 1000 (Master) | Able to equip Satellite to any loadout. |
Use[]
Clive deploys the drones.
Satellite is worth upgrading to add a second drone to Clive's deployment. Satellite is good for its synergy with Bahamut's Eikonic Feat, Wings of Light, as Clive cannot otherwise attack during the charging phase for Megaflare.
Satellite is a generally good ability to use, which encourages the player to engage with the magic execute button even when it results in no magic being cast, such as during attack animations and when Clive is dodging or blocking. Bahamut's Flare Breath and Gigaflare have long animations and work by ejecting a concentrated beam of damage to Clive's target(s); with Satellite, the player can supplement the damage by tapping the magic execute button during their animations to fire from the drones. The drones remain active when swapping loadouts, and work during all actions, such as the Deadly Takedown from Garuda's Eikonic Feat.
Satellite is good against all kinds of enemies, including enemies with will gauges before and during their stagger. Satellite can still be good to have active even if the player is simply fighting by normal attacks, as each four-hit melee combo can be chained into a magic burst. The player can even press both attack and magic buttons at the same time (
for attack and for magic in the default controller scheme) to do melee attacks while the orbs fire lasers at Clive's target; this way, the player can get good regular damage and good will damage at the same time. Against launched enemies, continuously firing from the drones juggles them.
Satellite's downside is that it may not be intuitive to use. Experimenting with other controller schemes than the default one might be preferable to make most out of Satellite, as can be an awkward button to use repeatedly or weave into other actions.
During the chronolith trial with the Bahamut's abilities, dealing 60 hits from a single Satellite deployment earns a 12-second time bonus.
Etymology and allusion[]
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an artificial object which has been intentionally placed into orbit. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon.
In the original Final Fantasy XIV, Bahamut was trapped inside a satellite called Dalamud. His unleashing ended the original run of the game in wait for its re-release as Realm Reborn. Out of all the Eikons in Final Fantasy XVI, Bahamut also has most association with space, his boss battle reaching such heights.