Attack | Combat Final Fantasy XV Guide

This chapter will focus on actions related to offensive, methods to perform specific attacks, such as Blindsides (attack from behind the enemy) or Link-Strikes (group attacks). Additionally, here you will find a description of the mechanism responsible for breaking enemy body parts and how you can benefit from it.

• Blitz - a series of attacks
• Finisher attacks
• Directional attacks
• Attacks performed in mid-air

Blitz - a series of attacks

Blitz allows you to dash to the enemy.

It might seem that all you have to do is to simply spam the attack button as quickly as possible, basically clicking the enemy to death. However, even though the combat system is easy to understand, it allows for much more. We will start with the most basic type of attack - Blitz.

Blitz is basically a series of attacks issued by holding the attack button - the character will constantly and automatically attack the marked enemy until either the button is released, or the enemy is dead. Additionally, you can freely change your equipment while performing Blitz - swapping from swift strikes with the daggers to a powerful blow from a greatsword. What is more, Noctis can easily dash towards an enemy and perform an attack - you just have to press and hold the attack button and tilt the left analog stick towards the marked enemy.

The speed of Blitz strikes depends on the type of equipment a character is using. Greatswords are the slowest, Swords, Polearms and Firearms are in middle, while Daggers are the fastest of the weapon types. Additionally, Machinery weapons allow you to perform a single attack only - Blitz is unavailable when using them.

There's another type of attack connected with Blitz - Finisher.

Finisher attacks

Finisher attacks have a quite misleading name - they aren't used to finish off an enemy but to end a series of attacks, which is why those can only be performed during a Blitz attack. In order to do so, you have to release the attack button and press it again at an appropriate moment. The correct moment can easily be learned with practice, because Noctis performs quite a distinctive move when finishing Blitz - he can recover his balance, take a step back and so on. Just press the attack button when such a moment happens and Noctis will perform a Finisher.

Those attacks are capable of dealing huge damage, several times higher than normal attacks. The type of a Finisher attacks depends on the type of equipment the character is using - like shooting an enemy and dashing backwards when using a Firearm, or charging at the enemy with a Polearm. You should master this mechanic as soon as possible, as Finisher attacks will allow you to deal significantly increased damage. Additionally, those attacks tend to cause the enemy to lose balance, making the foe vulnerable to further strikes.

Directional attacks

Directional attacks are types of attacks that can be performed at the beginning of a Blitz. Those allow you to unleash a single, powerful attack, followed with the typical Blitz series of attacks. Those are basically the equivalent of Finishers, the only difference being the fact that they start the combo, not end it.

To perform a directional attack you just have to tilt the left analog stick in the appropriate direction (most of those attacks are done by tilting it away from the enemy) and press the attack button. Those attacks are basically the faster and/or stronger versions of normal attacks performed during a Blitz combo - like, for instance, a charged attack with a Greatsword, dealing huge damage to multiple enemies in the area. You should try out all of the directional attacks available for each weapon and learn how to use them. Using directional attacks, followed by a Blitz combo and finished with a Finisher attack can significantly increase the amount of damage Noctis will be able to deal to the enemies.

Below you can find a table representing all of the directional attacks available for each weapon, with the required direction in which you must tilt the analog stick, as well as the information when such an attack can be performed.

Attacks performed in mid-air

You won't be able to perform those types of attacks normally - you can only dash towards the enemy located above ground, hit him once and fall back to the ground. You can tackle the problem by using warp-strikes (dash towards the enemy with a warp-strike, hit him, dash towards him again and so on), but this method is tiresome and definitely not worth the effort. Instead, you can unlock a number of abilities from the Combat Ascension tree, allowing you to perform mid-air attacks with ease.

The main ability you should be interested in is Airstep from the Combat Ascension tree. This allows you to perform a dash while in mid-air, after delivering a normal strike to the enemy, allowing you to strike the foe again. However, this attack will cost you a small amount of MP. Unlocking further abilities from this tree will lead you to Airdance - this ability will allow you to perform an unlimited amount of mid-air attacks, as long as you have sufficient MP to perform them. You should also invest in Osmostrike, restoring 2,5% of max MP whenever you hit an enemy with a mid-air strike.