Tidus

Assassin

Though his skill set is tough to master, Tidus can utterly toy with his opponents, thanks to his diverse arsenal of dash attacks and remarkable footspeed. Be it on offense or defense, this blitzballer lives and dies by his agility.

Original Appearance: FINAL FANTASY X

Year: 2001

Role: Tidus follows in the footsteps of his missing father, Jecht, a legendary blitzball player who went missing long ago. During a memorial blitzball tournament, Tidus’s hometown is attacked by a massive whale-like entity called Sin. Tidus and his mentor, Auron, are eventually swallowed by the beast and sent to an unfamiliar part of Spira. Tidus meets a summoner named Yuna, with whom he joins in a pilgrimage to defeat Sin. Along the way, they learn uncomfortable truths about Jecht’s disappearance and its relation to Sin.

Other Noteworthy Appearances: FINAL FANTASY X-2 (2003), DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY (2009), DISSIDIA 012 FINAL FANTASY (2011), Theatrhythm FINAL FANTASY (2012), WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY (2016)

Arsenal

Bravery Attacks

HP Attacks

EX Skill

Bravery Attack Breakdown

Haymaker

Tidus hops forward quickly, slicing and dicing the enemy with a one-two combination and sending them flying into the air.

While both of Tidus’s neutral  attacks (Haymaker and Dual Smash) are typical two-hit combos with limited range and no frills about them, they’re essential for finishing combos or pinning foes into walls. They’re not generally used as opening attacks, primarily because Tidus’s playstyle revolves around his dashing attacks, which are much better suited as offensive openers.

The most common scenario where Haymaker is preferable to his other attacks is against cornered enemies. Since Tidus’s other Bravery combos entail distinct shifts in angles and launch trajectories that may knock your target in an undesired direction against cornered foes, you may need to rely on Haymaker and Dual Smash to guarantee a wall pin.

Unsporting Conduct

While dashing at the opponent, Tidus transitions into a slide attack, crossing up the enemy and sweeping them off their feet. Tidus then follows his target into the air with a spiraling double leg attack, finishing with a powerful roundhouse.

Unsporting Conduct is one of several dashing  options and is your most direct chase-down tool for ground-to-ground engagements. It largely mirrors his airborne dashing , Sonic Buster, and should be used as such. For all intents and purposes, these two Bravery combos can be considered identical attacks, especially because Tidus’s overall playstyle revolves around aerial mobility. You usually won’t find yourself using grounded dashes—and if you do, it won’t change how you engage the enemy.

Unsporting Conduct/Sonic Buster are three-part combos that afford added utility. You can opt to end the combo before the third hit (ending after the pop-up dropkick) to set up an alley-oop play and allow a teammate to come in to finish your air combo.

Otherwise, ending the combo sends the enemy away to mid-range, at which point you can follow up with a neutral dash to apply more pressure.

Jump & Jolt

Tidus performs a unique forward somersault, leaving behind a trailing shadow. When he’s in range of the enemy, he seamlessly transitions from his flip and dives into the foe with the point of his sword, ending the aerial assault with a flurry of spin kicks.

Jump & Jolt and Up & Under are core to Tidus’s unique move set. The initial flip portions of these attacks don’t constitute actual attacks, but are special jumps with special cancel properties. During the flip, you can either cancel with guard, a sidestep, or with a diving follow-up attack.

Using these unique front flips effectively is vital to Tidus’s hypermobile playstyle and battle plan. Since you can evasion cancel them, you can all but entirely use them in place of your normal jump. For instance, you can perform the following repeated sequence to stay airborne indefinitely (as long as you have dash gauge):

Jump & Jolt (flip only) > airborne evasion cancel > dash cancel > Up & Under (flip only) > airborne evasion cancel > dash cancel > repeat

This technique lets you climb to any altitude, provided you have the space and you’re not assaulted by an enemy. Mastering the use of these techniques may take practice, but it’s well worth the effort.

Windup

From a grounded dash, Tidus pulls out a blitzball and hurls it speedily directly at his target, knocking them away a short distance.

Windup is Tidus’s only Bravery-based projectile attack. Its main drawback is that it can only be used during a grounded dash, so its use may be rare and not entirely intuitive, given that Tidus is primarily a melee-based assassin. However, it uniquely fills a role in Tidus’s arsenal, giving him a mid-range attack that doesn’t require committing to a melee engagement.

Windup can be effective in certain situations, such as on flat confined stages, or against enemies who prefer to stay near ground level. It does have great vertical tracking on release, though, and because the ball travels quickly, you’re likely to hit your target if they’re not actively sidestepping or dashing.

If your team is jockeying for position in a three-on-three standoff, you can go for Windup to keep the opponents on their toes. On hit, it deals a modest amount of damage with a small amount of knockback. In most battle scenarios, however, you’re more likely to be airborne (where you don’t have access to Windup).

Dual Smash

While airborne, Tidus swipes at his target with his sword. Upon contact, he delivers another diagonal slash, sending the opponent to mid-range.

Dual Smash can be used interchangeably with grounded . Since Tidus’s playstyle mainly involves aerial-based assaults, you’re more likely to use Dual Smash than Haymaker if you’re going for a quick Bravery strike. Its limited range and limited verticality tracking can make it difficult to land on mobile enemies, so it should be used for specific combo opportunities, or to follow up successful wall pins. 

Sonic Buster

Tidus swoops toward his foe with a shoulder tackle, popping them up above him. He then bores into them with a drill attack, finishing with a slashing kick.

While its initial strike is a shoulder tackle rather than a sliding attack, Sonic Buster is essentially an aerial version of Unsporting Conduct and is used accordingly.

This is your primary engagement attack for pursuing enemies quickly, particularly from a neutral dashing state. Like Unsporting Conduct, you can use this to set up team combos if you and a teammate successfully collapse on a target. Open with Sonic Buster and proceed up to the second pop-up attack, then let your teammate finish with an HP Attack or a full Bravery combo.

Up & Under

Tidus launches himself forward through the air, coming down on the enemy with a diving kick, followed by two spinning sword slashes.

This special flip and diving kick combo is nearly indistinguishable from the grounded version, Jump & Jolt, with the follow-up attack differing only in animation. Their uses are virtually identical, as both are used for aerial navigation (see “Jump & Jolt” for techniques), and both Bravery combos are dive attacks sharing identical total damage values.

Leap & Launch

From an air-dash, Tidus swoops down and toward his target, leaving a trailing shadow. As he reaches the enemy, he becomes a human cyclone, swiping with a triple-uppercut attack, followed by a double slash to end the sequence.

Leap & Launch is another one of Tidus’s special-mobility moves. It can only be performed from an airborne dash (since grounded +  is the command for Windup), affording you an invaluable verticality tool for air-to-air engagements.

The travel arc of Leap & Launch is essentially inverse to that of Jump & Jolt/Up & Under. Where those two abilities begin with an upward-trajectory jump ending with a diving attack, Leap & Launch is a downward swoop followed by an uppercut attack.

Additionally, like his unique front flips, this unique swoop maneuver can be canceled with guard, a sidestep, or its built-in rising attack.

HP Attack Breakdown

Spiral Cut

Tidus leaps into the air with a forward somersault and, with the weight of his sword, slams into the ground with a powerful detonation, devastating enemies in the area.

Spiral Cut is a dive-bomb-type attack with a moderate area of effect, dealing minor Bravery damage before dealing HP damage to all foes within its blast radius. This attack provides additional vertical mobility, allowing for a quick descent from any altitude to ground level.

Spiral Cut is usually the recommended HP Attack for an assassin like Tidus, since it synergizes well with his ability to ascend to a nearly limitless height. Combined with its unguardable attribute as an HP Attack, you remain an imminent aerial threat, as your opponents need to stay on the move to avoid your dive-bombs.

Slice & Dice

Tidus charges into his target with his sword and, upon contact, traps the enemy in a bubble. He then delivers a series of attacks on his helpless victim. As the bubble bursts, the enemy is weighed down with lethargy.

Slice & Dice is a close-range HP Attack that deals heavy Bravery damage while also inflicting a 30-second debuff that slows the enemy’s dash gauge regeneration rate.

Slice & Dice is limited in range in comparison to Tidus’s other HP Attacks, but its short start-up time, high Bravery damage, and added debuff effect foster a strong hit-and-run playstyle, allowing you to go for HP Attacks aggressively without the need to build Bravery for the attack to be effective.

Generally, its effectiveness is highlighted on confined maps with low verticality and in scenarios in which you can engage into close-range combat frequently. If you can condition foes into putting up their guard as you engage them, you’re more likely to score hits with Slice & Dice.

Energy Rain

Tidus calls down a torrent of energy spheres directly onto his target from a distance, damaging the enemy and their nearby allies.

This HP Attack is a direct projectile rain attack, effective up to mid-range. As with most summoned rain attacks, there’s a significant cast time before the first active projectile. While it’s an excellent attack when you have time to cast it, don’t expect the freedom to pull it off in most matches, since assassins are prime vanguard targets.

Energy Rain can be difficult to connect with on moving targets, so it usually requires a setup, either by your teammates or by a summoning attack.

Jecht Shot

Tidus applies his blitzball skills and charges up a powerful energy. Upon release, he kicks and throws several blitzballs speeding at the enemy, causing devastating damage.

Jecht Shot is a mid-range bullet-type projectile attack that can be charged to a second power level called Jecht Shot 2. Without charge, Jecht Shot is a moderately fast HP Attack that reaches slightly past melee range. It can be used as an alternative to Slice & Dice (but without the debuff), with the added benefit of vertical tracking on release.

Jecht Shot 2 deals much more Bravery damage and has an increased range over Jecht Shot, but takes around two seconds to charge fully, making it extremely difficult to pull off unless you can flank and surprise your enemies, or coordinate well with your team.

EX SKill Breakdown

Quick Hit

From a distance, Tidus lunges at the foe with a sword stab, ravaging the enemy with an elaborate combination of slashes that invigorates his endurance.

Quick Hit can be considered a Bravery Attack with incredibly heightened properties. Its reach and damage far outmatch all other Bravery Attacks of its kind while restoring all of your dash gauge and applying an additional 15-second buff that doubles your dash gauge regeneration rate.

Quick Hit is your best attack for catching fleeing foes, and its buff effect naturally complements Tidus’s dash-heavy toolkit, greatly amplifying his mobility.

Its main drawback is that, unlike many other unique EX Skills, it’s a missable attack (whereas other characters’ EX Skills are generally buffs that are guaranteed to have an effect). The buff effect is not applied unless you successfully score the entire combo, so it’s vital that you ensure you can connect with it, especially because of its 60-second cooldown time.

Try to set up a guaranteed Quick Hit by following up on your teammates’ attacks, or by surprising enemies with a well-planned flanking maneuver.

Battle Plan

Your primary objective as an assassin is to apply pressure to isolated marksmen while evading vanguards. Tidus is a particularly unique assassin with a move set that revolves around being extremely mobile, both vertically and horizontally, making for an elusive hit-and-run playstyle. As assassins aren’t exceptionally effective in face-to-face skirmishes with vanguards, you’ll generally want to avoid head-on contentions. As you and your team jockey for position, keep an eye on the enemy team’s marksman and vanguard. Tidus can outrun most vanguards with grounded and airborne dashing +  (Jump & Jolt/Up & Under), while at the same time closing in on vulnerable targets.

While you don’t have access to a long-range projectile to help you cover an aggressive melee engagement, you’re nigh untouchable with proper use of your special somersaults. Take advantage of these moves by flying in with a Jump & Jolt flip and evasion canceling away to safety in order to lure out mistakes from the enemy team. With good team coordination, you can condition your opponents into overextending, allowing your teammates to capitalize on enemies caught out of position. From a grounded position, you can use grounded dashing +  (Windup) to pester and deter foes (although these situations may be far and few between).

When you’re ready to commit to an attack, you can leap in with Up & Under to go for the follow-up diving kick on unsuspecting enemies. Or you can use a neutral dashing  (Sonic Buster) to quickly perform a mid-range shoulder-tackle combo for a more direct approach. Ideally, you can communicate and set up a team combo with your offensive engagements. If a teammate is nearby and ready to follow up with you, a two-step Sonic Buster (> ) can be used to stun enemies in place while your teammate finishes with an HP Attack or their own full Bravery combo. Otherwise, if you manage to find a one-on-one with an isolated enemy, finish your combo and use a neutral dash cancel to follow up with more pressure.

Although your approach should focus on evasive hit-and-run tactics, your HP Attack selection can greatly influence your mobility and the way you play. With Spiral Cut equipped, Tidus can be a severe nuisance with an aggressive HP-damage-focused playstyle and increased mobility options, thanks to Spiral Cut’s dive-bomb property. With your ability to easily climb high into the sky (with Jump & Jolt/Up & Under evasion cancel techniques), you can surprise foes with Spiral Cut, giving your team a numbers advantage, as HP Attacks put enemies in an unrecoverable knockdown for a short time. If executed properly, you almost never have to land your other Bravery Attacks since you’re relying on your Bravery reset (especially if Shiva is your team’s selected summon).

Slice & Dice fosters a more aggressive playstyle with its swift start-up speed, high Bravery damage output, and dash-encumbering effect. However, you need to be confident in your one-on-one dueling as an assassin to pull this style off effectively, particularly because Slice & Dice is a short-range attack with limited vertical tracking.

Unlike his father, Tidus’s toolkit encourages indirect attacks, focused more on aerial movement and infiltrating the enemy backline than on direct offense. Jump & Jolt, Up & Under, and Leap & Launch make up the core of Tidus’s gameplay; mastering the use of all three of these unique-mobility moves in conjunction with efficient evasion canceling and dash canceling techniques is crucial for getting into advantageous flanking positions where Tidus shines most.

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