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Slam a fist to the ground, dealing damage to all enemies within range. Hold button to increase range. Can be used in midair.

Description

Upheaval is Titan's default Eikonic Ability in Final Fantasy XVI where Clive manifests the earth Eikon's colossal arm and slams the fist to the ground, creating an earthquake that damages all enemies around him. Holding the execute button charges up a gauge; releasing on the red zone triggers the most powerful version of the ability. A different version of the ability can also be used while airborne.

Obtained[]

Clive gains access to Titan's powers as part of the story, during "Bolts from the Blue", after fighting a semi-primed Hugo Kupka in the crypt below Rosalith Castle. Upheaval is already learned.

Mechanics[]

There are three versions of the ground-based ability, and one aerial version. The player can simply select the ability to deliver a blow to enemies, which interrupts enemies prone to be launched by the quake. Holding the execute button fills a gauge to charge the ability up to make it deliver two blows to targets (the outcome of charging is ~50% more damage); the best outcome is releasing on the red part of the gauge, which makes the two blows ~15% stronger still than the normal "charged" version. It is possible to overcharge and shoot past the red zone; the correct timing is right before the gauge is full. Landing onto the yellow part of the gauge still makes the ability stronger, but not as strong as landing onto the red zone.

An alternate unchargeable version of Upheaval is executed while airborne: the higher Clive drops from, the more force can he project when he slams the ground below. Upheaval can be used at the end of an aerial combo to bring Clive back down instead of downthrust, or even simply from a normal jump. The aerial Upheaval can be used to easily down enemies.

Upgrading the ability extends the red "precision charge" part of the charging gauge.

Clive is vulnerable to interruption by enemy attacks while he is charging. The player can also opt to cancel the charge and not attack; the default button for this is X.

Hitting multiple enemies with a single Upheaval activates the battle technique Collateral Upheaval.

After being used, the ability has a 35-second cooldown before being able to be used again. Upgrading/mastering the ability has no effect on its cooldown. The cooldown begins from the moment the player releases the charge.

AP cost Effect
Already learned Able to equip Upheaval to Clive's earth loadout.
525 (Upgrade) Extends precision charge window.
1000 (Master) Able to equip Upheaval to any loadout.

Use[]

Upgrading the ability is likely not needed, as all it does is enlarge the red part of the charge gauge, making it easier to use the strongest version of the ability. However, the gauge fills at constant speed, and so the player should get the hang of it easily enough, and the airborne version lacks the gauge altogether. The only use for upgrading Upheaval would be if the player wants to eventually equip the ability onto another Eikon's loadout.

Upheaval (especially with the precision charge) is good against groups of small enemies that are ganging up on Clive, interrupting them and throwing them all back, while dealing damage to the group of them. However, other Eikons also have group-targeting abilities without Upheaval's charge-up gimmick, which stalls Clive's momentum. It can be a good first move in a battle against a group of enemies.

Upheaval's aerial version is stronger the higher up Clive executes it. The player can chain it from an aerial ability or combo, like from Garuda's moves, or even simply from a normal jump, to bring Clive down upon enemies in lieu of using downthrust, and to knock enemies down and make them susceptible for Clive's finishing moves.

Upheaval's upside is its versatility. Titan has another chargeable Eikonic Ability, Windup, which is typically stronger, but does not have an aerial version or hit as many enemies at once as Upheaval.

During the chronolith trial with Titan, precision-charging the ability gives a 12-second time bonus.

Behind the scenes[]

Though not localized with the same name, Clive's Upheaval appears to be an allusion to Titan's "Tumult" ability from Final Fantasy XIV, which has the same Japanese name as Upheaval in Final Fantasy XVI. Both games were made by the same development team, Creative Business Unit III.

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