How to Use Heatwave in Final Fantasy 16 (FFXVI)

Abilities are the heart and soul of combat in Final Fantasy 16, which means learning how to use them is incredibly important if you want Clive to be effective. Heatwave is a great ability to use for ranged damage in FFXVI, but it can be confusing at first, especially when you look at the example video.

How Does Heatwave Work in Final Fantasy 16?

To use Heatwave in Final Fantasy XVI, you must hold the R2 to ready your Eikonic Abilities, then use your square or triangle to initiate the attack. Melee and magic attack buttons are the only ones you can use to initiate Eikonic Abilities, so it all depends on where you mapped Heatwave for Clive.

You can unlock Heatwave in the Abilities menu for Final Fantasy 16. In the abilities screen, you can use Ability Points to unlock the ranged attack under the Phoenix Eikon tree. Once that part is done, head over to the Gear & Eikons screen and apply Heatwave to the melee or the magic slot. By default, those buttons are square and triangle. However, I use controller layout Type B, and those moves were swapped to R2 and R1. So make sure your type lines up.

Related: Final Fantasy 16: Where to Find the Griffin (FFXVI)

Using Heatwave is usually simple and is the same as activating other Eikonic Abilities. When you use the ranged flames, though, you will notice that only one blast goes out. That’s because you need to use the ability to dispel magic from an enemy in order for two blasts to fly forward. Without the magic dispel, Clive will only launch one blase in Final Fantasy XVI.

Heatwave can also be upgraded, which will add another shockwave. But until you get the upgrade or you dispel magic from an enemy, the example video can be pretty confusing.

Once you’ve mastered your Eikonic Abilities, it’s time to go after one of the elusive Medals of Valor in Final Fantasy 16.