Final Fantasy X: How to Play Blitzball

Blitzball is the ultimate minigame in Final Fantasy X. You are introduced to the mechanics early in the game when the party reaches Luca for the tournament. Once you’ve competed in the tournament and left Luca, the option to play Blitzball becomes available from any Save Sphere.

A deceptively deep game, Blitzball combines elements of Role-playing, strategy and sports games and if you want to get the most out of Wakka, participation is mandatory! Just knowing how to play isn’t quite enough, you need to dominate and that’s where this guide comes in that I like to call “Blitzball 101”.

ATTRIBUTES

Every individual Blitzball player has eight different attributes that come into play during a game of Blitzball. In typical RPG fashion, these stats increase over time as the player levels by playing Blitzball. The eight player attributes are as follows

Hit Points (HP)

A players HP indicates how long they can hold on to the ball before they drop it. While holding the ball HP will steadily drop but will regenerate to full while not holding it

Speed (SP)

This attribute shows how fast the player can move around the Blitzball field. While it only applies to a player’s movement, speed is one of the most dominant attributes in Blitzball. A player with high enough speed will find it a simple task to avoid defensive players or close in on the player holding the ball.

Endurance (EN)

Endurance shows how hard a player can get hit while holding the ball without dropping it. When in a conflict with opposing players, Endurance is compared against Attack and should Endurance ever hit 0 in a conflict, the ball will be dropped and picked up by the opponent.

Pass (PA)

This attribute represents a player’s power and accuracy when passing the ball to another friendly player. While the ball is traveling, the pass attribute is compared against the Block of opponents in the way and decreases as the ball travels. If it hits 0 during a pass, the ball will cease moving.

Shoot (SH)

Shoot is similar to pass except that it is compared to the goalie’s Block attribute. As with passing, should SH ever hit 0 while the ball is traveling, it becomes dead in the water and is fair game.

Attack (AT)

In conflicts with a players carrying the ball, Attack is compared to and reduces the ball carrier’s Endurance. Players with a high attack attribute are incredibly useful for pinning down the opponent and preventing them from moving the ball down the field.

Block (BL)

A high block is vital to stopping the ball in many different situations. Block is compared to both Pass and Shoot attributes when the ball is fired down the field and also plays a large part in preventing the ball from moving out of a conflict.

Catch (CA)

Only applying to the goalie, Catch is compared to the remaining Shoot on the ball when it reaches the goal. If the goalie’s Catch is higher, the goal is prevented and that team gains possession of the ball

STATUS EFFECTS

There are three different status effects that can afflict a player in a game of Blitzball; Poison, Sleep and Wither. Poison slows down the rate of HP recovery when not in possession of the ball and greatly speeds up the HP loss of the ball carrier. Additionally, some poison effects will cause an afflicted player to lose access to their techniques.

Sleep effects cause the player to outright fall asleep in the middle of the game (we’re still trying to figure out how sleeping in a sphere of water works). While asleep, a player’s icon on the mini map will go dark and they will be unable to affect the game until either a goal is scored, they are hit with the ball, or enough time has passed.

Wither effects target one or more of a player’s attributes and reduces them to half of their normal score. This is a great and often neglected status effect that has the potential to hobble a team by targeting their strongest players.

Ready to build the ultimate Blitzball team? Go for it! Then, use our (mostly) spoiler-free Final Fantasy X HD Remaster walkthough to help you on your journey through Spira!