Final Fantasy 10 heralds the return of the three-party-member battles in addition to a brand new system as a whole. At first it may seem complicated, but with practice understanding will come.

Battle System

The Summons

Final Fantasy 10's summons, or Aeons, are somewhat similar to those found in Final Fantasy 8. When an Aeon is summoned into battle, they will have their own HP and MP, as well as a numbe rof commands available. As you progress through the game, the summons gradually get more and more powerful. The last one is the most devastating yet!

There are 8 summons in this game: Valefor, Ifrit, Ixion, Shiva, Bahamut, Yojimbo, Anima and the Magus Sisters. Each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and each have their own devastating attacks. Use them to your advantage in all sorts of battles. For more information on them, see our Aeon list page.

Battle Orders

One of the greatest--and most controversial--changes in Final Fantasy 10's battle system involves the replacement of the ATB (Active Time Battle) battle system. Instead of an ATB guage, battle order is automatically chosen when the battle begins and is denoted by a bar at the top right corner. Speed-changing spells such as Haste and Slow can alter this bar. It is possible to scroll through the bar by pressing the R2 / L2 button.

Each turn on the bar is denoted by a picture representing either a party member or the enemy / enemies you are fighting. In some battles, pictures of inactive party members will also be imposed on the bar (Cid, for example) if they play an active part in it regardless. If a party member dies, every turn denoted on the bar will disappear.

Changing Members

A new feature to the Final Fantasy series is the ability to switch out characters in battle. By pressing L1 during battle, you can switch an in-battle character with an out-of-battle character at a whim. The character dragged into battle can act immediately.

Trigger Command

Some battles (usually boss battles) introduce the "Trigger" command: a new ability that will allow your character to perform an action they normally would be unable to do during battle. Pressing the left directional arrow will display this ability (if it's available): an ability that, as a general rule, is extremely beneficial. Use Triggers to your advantage.

Overdrives

Performing a specific action (or having a specific action performed on you--see below) a number of times will active a character's overdrive, an ability that is super-powerful and always beneficial. When an Overdrive is activated, a small "OVERDRIVE" icon will appear over your characters' command window. Pressing left, selecting Overdrive, choosing one and pressing X will cause your character to whoop considerable amounts of ass.

Overdrive Type

The "criteria" for increasing a character's overdrive guage depends on your own choice. By going to the menu screen and to a character's status you can select their "Overdrive Type" that will, in essence, govern how they gain their overdrive. The available options increase as your partake in more battles.

(Type: Criteria)
Stoic (Default): Receive damage
Warrior: Inflict damage
Comrade: Party receives damage
Slayer: Defeat an enemy
Hero: Defeat strong enemies
Ally: Take a turn
Daredevil: Fight with little (critical) HP
Tactician: Use status attacks
Avenger: Die
Sufferer: Become inflicted with status ailments
Victor: Win battles
Victim: Be hit with status attacks
Coward: Run from battle
Solo: Fight battles alone
Dancer: Evade attacks
Healer: Heal allies
Rook: Magically block attacks (Protect)

Note: It may seem like "Ally" is the best Overdrive mode that you can choose, but really it's not. In comparison with others, Ally raises your guage extremely slowly.