Final Fantasy XVI – Which Eikons are Best? A Breakdown of Each Element’s Strengths

wccftech.com:

Final Fantasy XVI is the first full-on action-RPG in the long-running series, with the core of the game’s combat being the Eikons -- elementally-themed sets of spells, which you can switch between on the fly. But which of these Eikons are the most powerful? Which are best to use in specific situations? What combinations of Eikons create the best synergies? Here’s a breakdown of the each of Final Fantasy XVI’s Eikons, including their strength and weakness, and, just for fun, a star rating (out of five). Time to see which Eikon is most iconic!

First, a decscription of how Eikons work in Final Fantasy XVI. Eventually, you gain the ability to switch between three Eikons on the fly during battle. Each of them has one Eikonic Feat, a move you’re free to use repeatedly, and then you can assign two Eikonic Abilities, which are on a cooldown timer.

Ifrit and Phoenix both fall under the Fire banner. Some of Ifrit’s abilities, like Limit Break, don’t take up an ability slot, but others do. Overall, the Fire Eikons are a nice well-rounded option, with Phoenix Shift being great for closing the distance with enemies. You also get a good ranged attack in Heatwave, launcher in Rising Flame, and powerful screen-clearing/healing attack in Flames of Rebirth.

Garuda almost feels required given how versatile its Eikonic Feat Deadly Embrace is. Deadly Embrace allows you grapple onto smaller enemies and pull them in for combos, yank flying enemies out of the sky, and topple bosses once you’ve reduced their Will Gauge by half. Garuda is also great for racking up combos and whittling down a boss’ Will Gauge with multi-hit abilities like Gouge and Wicked Wheel.

Ramuh is basically for folks who like to play keepaway. Abilities like Blind Justice,