Zidane Tribal

Assassin

Ever the thief, Zidane excels at slipping in unexpectedly and darting away, stealing foes’ attributes or leaving them debuffed. Always be alert for openings in enemies’ defenses, and be ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

Original Appearance: FINAL FANTASY IX

Year: 2000

Role: Zidane is a member of a thieves guild called the Tantalus Theater Troupe, located in the regency of Lindblum. His adventure begins when his group is tasked by the regency’s ruler, Cid, to kidnap Princess Garnet in order to uncover the mystery behind Queen Brahne’s abrupt change in behavior.

Other Noteworthy Appearances: DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY (2009), DISSIDIA 012 FINAL FANTASY (2011), Theatrhythm FINAL FANTASY (2012), Theatrhythm FINAL FANTASY Curtain Call (2014), FINAL FANTASY Brave Exvius (2015)

Arsenal

Bravery Attacks

HP Attacks

EX Skill

Bravery Attack Breakdown

Rumble Rush

Zidane lunges forward while cutting into his foe with his daggers, then performs a flash kick, popping the enemy up. Zidane finishes the sequence with a cross-cut attack to send the foe flying away past mid-range.

Rumble Rush is a quick close-range Bravery Attack primarily used to follow up on your marksman’s ranged attacks, or as a follow-up for a wall-pin combo.

While it doesn’t provide as much reach as his grounded +  attack (Booster 8), Rumble Rush is faster and deals more damage. Additionally, its second hit (the somersault-kick portion) allows for team combo follow-ups if you stop the sequence at the second  input.

Booster 8

Zidane quickly backflips into a pouncing posture, then swiftly charges at the enemy, carving into them with his daggers before launching them into the air with a rising spin attack.

This mid-range rush maneuver covers a large horizontal distance (about double that of Rumble Rush) and is a premium attack for ground-to-ground engagements, particularly for hit-confirming your marksman’s ranged attacks. Its knockback effect puts the enemy at mid-range and leaves you mid-air, so you can go for a neutral dash cancel to continue applying pressure with an air-to-air attack like dashing  (Steal) or airborne neutral  (Swift Attack).

On miss, Booster 8 leaves you airborne at around jump height, so prepare to evasion cancel into a potential subsequent attack, such as an airborne +  (Meo Twister) on a grounded opponent.

Stellar Circle 5

With his daggers extended, Zidane spins so fast he becomes a human tornado for several seconds, pulling in and destroying enemies in his path.

Stellar Circle 5 is a unique attack with several special properties. While Zidane is spinning, you have complete control of his movement (although slower than his normal ground speed). Additionally, nearby enemies are drawn into the tornado, forcing them to either dash away or take a chunk of Bravery damage. Furthermore, you can cancel the tornado at any time with a guard or evasion cancel. On hit, you can immediately dash cancel this attack (almost instantaneously upon hit), affording you an inordinate amount of advantage. If used near a wall, you can hit the same foe twice—the first hit pins them against the wall, the second hit will reach them before they can recover.

It may be a difficult attack to land properly due to its slow trajectory and limited range, as foes can merely run away from you as soon as you begin to spin, which can leave you vulnerable to vanguard attacks. However, it can be used as an anti-air attack in specific situations because of its massive vertical reach.

Stellar Circle 5 isn’t an attack you want to throw out too often, but its evasion cancel property affords plenty of freedom to do so. Additionally, Zidane retains a steady poise value as he spins, so he can’t be interrupted by most marksman Bravery Attacks as he keeps his tornado going.

Swift Attack

While airborne, Zidane swipes at a nearby foe with his daggers, then executes three rising slashes, lifting his victim higher into the air before delivering a final spike attack that blasts the enemy past mid-range.

This close-range flurry of attacks is similar to Rumble Rush in terms of damage, speed, and range. It has some vertical tracking (around jump height), so you don’t have to be exactly level with your opponent to connect with it, as long as you’re close enough. Its second input is a unique multi-hit rising attack that gives your teammates plenty of time to follow up.

Scoop Art

Zidane propels skyward, slashing through his target before slamming them into the ground with a stomp attack.

Scoop Art is an aerial attack designed to take down enemies high above you. Some characters have a distinct advantage in aerial mobility that allows them to escape high into the sky, such as Kuja with Flarestorm and Tidus with Up & Under. Zidane’s Scoop Art is highly effective for catching these types of characters, punishing them by sending them back to ground level.

Although Zidane’s aerial move set lacks in linear horizontal range, it includes two excellent vertical attacks, making him incredibly strong for high-verticality skirmishes.

Meo Twister

Zidane swoops down from the air upon his foe with two dagger slashes, followed by a springboard attack, and finishing with a compound sword throw that detonates on impact.

With its superior air-to-ground vertical reach, this dive attack is one of your most important tools for hunting down your foes. It can be preferable to your dashing  attack, as it deals much more up-front damage while offering a respectable horizontal reach. The second  input (the springboard attack into sword throw) leaves you at jump height while sending the enemy past mid-range, so you can seamlessly continue your aerial assault on the enemy.

Steal (Mug)

Zidane flies by his target and steals their attributes with a sleight of hand technique while popping the enemy up into the air.

Stealing attributes is a mechanic unique to Zidane. On hit, not only does Zidane gain a boost in damage, defense, and movement speed, but the enemy also suffers a loss in these stats. Both the buff on Zidane and the debuff on the enemy last for 20 seconds.

Steal is upgraded to Mug while Zidane has the Trance buff activated. It deals more damage, and its stat-stealing effect becomes more potent. For instance, Steal absorbs and increases damage by 6.25%, while Mug absorbs and increases damage by 12.5%.

There are several indirect implications when an enemy’s attributes are stolen. While the steal debuff is active, said enemy takes more damage from all sources, including from your allies, their movement speed is lowered slightly, and their attacks deal slightly less damage.

Although Steal and Mug don’t do as much Bravery damage as other dashing attacks from other characters, it provides unique utility that hinders a foe’s combat capabilities while increasing your own. In terms of range, Steal and Mug horizontally outrange Rumble Rush and Swift Attack, but lack vertical tracking, so you need to be level with your target’s altitude to connect with them.

HP Attack Breakdown

Free Energy

Zidane fires off a forceful blast of energy at a nearby enemy, knocking them away and sapping their strength.

Free Energy is a short-range beam-type attack with an incredibly quick travel speed and start-up time. It’s geared toward an aggressive playstyle, giving you access to an unguardable attack within melee range. While it somewhat tracks vertically upon release (around jump distance), it’s best used while you’re on equal level, matching the enemy’s altitude.

Tidal Flame

From a distance, Zidane conjures several pillars of flames directed at the enemy, with subsequent eruptions pursuing the foe’s position and purging the target of their buffs while setting them ablaze.

Tidal Flame is a shockwave-type attack with an excellent tracking property. While the shockwave itself is slow in travel speed, its presence persists for a relatively long time, clearing a path for your potential follow-up aggression.

On hit, Tidal Flame inflicts a Dispelga effect, removing all buffs from the victim as it deals HP damage.

Tidal Flame provides great utility and complements Zidane’s toolkit incredibly well. Since he’s an assassin lacking long-range projectile Bravery Attacks, Tidal Flame makes up for this weakness. During long-distance team standoffs, you can freely cast Tidal Flame to cover your advance and watch as Bravery projectiles disappear when they come into contact with your geysers of fire

Shift Break

Zidane conjures a whirlpool beneath his target before delivering an electrifying lightning strike from above that poisons and slows the enemy.

Shift Break is a chargeable attack that applies a debuff that drains the enemy’s Bravery (360 total) and slows their movement speed for 15 seconds. Charging doesn’t affect its potency, but allows you to delay the lightning strike while extending the whirlpool draw-in effect.

Like Tidal Flame and Solution 9, Shift Break provides added utility to your arsenal. Its direct property gives you an attack you can use safely from mid-range and from any altitude to threaten your foes. If you can apply the debuff, you can debilitate your opponent’s movement speed, giving your team a mobility advantage.

Note that the poison inflicted by Shift Break stacks with the EX Skill Poisonga.

Solution 9

A powerful blast of energy projects from all around Zidane, devastating his aggressors while putting him in the Trance state.

Solution 9 is a purely defensive HP Attack that can be difficult to use effectively. It doesn’t have counterattack properties and its poise effect doesn’t begin until just before the explosion, but it does hit all nearby enemies around you.

On hit, you gain a 15-second Trance effect. Other than its shorter duration, Trance gained in this manner provides the same bonuses as your unique EX Skill. Steal becomes Mug, your dash gauge is increased by 50%, and you’re cured of most debuffs.

ex skill Breakdown

Trance

Zidane evolves into his Trance form, purging nearly all negative effects while increasing his dash gauge and empowering his Steal ability.

Zidane’s unique EX Skill removes most debuffs (excluding some, like Doom) and applies Trance for 30 seconds. While Trance is active, Zidane gains increased mobility, as his dash gauge is increased by 50%. Additionally, dashing  (Steal) is upgraded to Mug (Free Energy also becomes a Mug effect). Mug deals more damage and increases the potency of the Steal effect (e.g., steals 12.5% attack power, up from 6.25%).

While this unique EX Skill doesn’t have an immediate and drastic impact on a match, scoring Mug on multiple enemies can quickly flip a match. Although the Mug buff effect doesn’t stack (you simply refresh your attribute-enhancement effect), you can apply the debuff on multiple foes at once in order to reduce their offensive and defensive capabilities.

The duration of Trance is relatively long in comparison to its recast time, so you can generally spend a good portion of the match in Trance mode. To get the most out of Trance, you can save it for curing bind, slow, and enfeeble debuffs to free yourself from sticky situations.

Battle Plan

Your role as the assassin of the team is to cause havoc in the enemy backline, preferably upon the enemy marksman. Thanks to his verticality-heavy tool set, Zidane generally has no issues flanking the enemy while controlling airspace.

Without Tidal Flame, playing from a distance as Zidane requires effective use of his air-mobility attacks. As with Tidus, your airborne +  (Scoop Art) and airborne +  (Meo Twister) are incredibly versatile tools that greatly enhance your air superiority. Scoop Art allows you to traverse to practically any height, with a sequence like:

Jump > Scoop Art > evasion cancel > dash cancel > Scoop Art > repeat

Certain characters may have trouble dealing with this kind of high-ground advantage, so make an assessment early on in a match to determine how effective an aerial advantage is for you, and exploit it to get into a flanking position as your team jockeys for position around a summoning core. Alternatively, you can play around your marksman, waiting for a ranged hit to connect before flying in and following up with airborne neutral  (Swift Attack) or dashing  (Steal). Rumble Rush and Swift Attack are your primary damage-dealing combos.

Your main attacks in one-on-one skirmishes and for hunting isolated enemies are Scoop Art, Steal, and Meo Twister. Although these attacks don’t have automatic vertical-tracking properties, they all have extraordinary reach when used in the appropriate position and at the appropriate time. Scoop Art is an excellent anti-air that’s designed to take down high-altitude opponents; Steal covers a large horizontal range that makes for a great team combo opener, as it pops up the victim for an “alley-oop”; and Meo Twister is a mid-range air-to-ground swoop (effective at double-jump height) that deals a modest amount of damage while blasting the enemy away and out of commission for a short time.

Zidane’s mobility allows for a strong hit-and-run strategy, especially with Shift Break equipped, as it gives you a direct attack that you can place beneath any enemy, forcing out mistakes and, in the best-case scenario, dealing HP damage and inflicting poison and slow. You can effectively play the role of a disruptor, traversing the battlefield with your exceptional mobility and tagging enemies with Steal/Mug and Shift Break to give your team the upper hand in terms of attributes.

For an immensely aggressive playstyle, you can equip the close-range HP Attack Free Energy to complement your quick melee attacks. As you engage enemies in melee range, the threat of your grounded neutral  (Rumble Rush), grounded +  (Booster 8), Swift Attack, and Scoop Art can force opponents into putting up their guard to protect themselves from your Bravery Attacks. Punish their guarding habits with a well-timed Free Energy attack, dealing HP damage and stealing their attributes. If you’re in Trance mode, you can “snowball” the match by hitting Mug on several enemies at once, dramatically reducing their attack, defense, and speed, making it easier for your team to land their own hits and deal more damage.

Although Solution 9 is a difficult HP Attack to use effectively, its on-hit bonus is highly rewarding, granting you 15 seconds of Trance. This Trance-based playstyle can be particularly effective if you can successfully follow up team combos with a Solution 9 blast, especially early on in a match when you generally wouldn’t have access to Mug (since your unique EX Skill is on a 75-second timer).

Zidane is a mischievous thief, and his assassin style of play perfectly reflects that. His various attribute-draining debuff attacks, along with his first-class aerial mobility, make him ideal for an effective hit-and-run assassin who terrorizes the battlefield. His elusiveness is compounded by his ability to go into Trance, removing all movement-debilitating debuffs.

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Appearance

Weapons