Square Enix struck gold with the Final Fantasy franchise. The series has numerous titles and has been making fans since December of 1987 with the release of the first game. Now, nearly every fan of video games has played or at least heard of Final Fantasy. One of the more popular titles in the series was originally released in 2001.
Final Fantasy 10 remains a classic and has recently been added to Xbox's Game Pass. Now, the beloved Playstation game can be enjoyed by anyone with access to Game Pass. Players will take control of Tidus, a cocky protagonist set on helping those around him. Players will be stuck with him the whole game, so it'll be good to learn his abilities and judge which are the best to use in combat.
8 Extract Speed
As players venture across the world of Spira, they will encounter countless monsters deadset on ending their journey prematurely. When defeated in combat, monsters will sometimes drop loot. These spoils of war range from common items to unique rare drops. In the 2013 remaster of Final Fantasy 10, Tidus has the ability to guarantee that monsters drop a specific reward in the form of speed spheres.
This is generally regarded as one of Tidus's weakest abilities as monsters already commonly drop speed spheres, so the process of gathering them happens naturally over time. To make it even worse, Extract Speed ensures that monsters only drop speed spheres for that fight. Any unique drops the player would've gotten are nullified if Tidus uses Extract Speed. This makes the ability useful if players are really trying to grind levels out, but ultimately a no-go for Tidus.
7 Cheer
Cheer is an early-game skill that allows Tidus to buff his entire party with one extra point of strength and minor damage reduction. The effect can be stacked up to five times, giving his party 5 extra points of strength and low damage reduction.
The damage reduction of the skill is low enough to not be factored into its usefulness, as there are other abilities from other characters that simply are better defensively. The strength buff is good for some early-game fights and can definitely be useful when the party needs some added physical damage to gain the edge in a tough fight. Unfortunately for Tidus, this ability has diminishing returns and only gets worse as players progress through the sphere grid.
6 Provoke
Fans of RPG games will be no stranger to how Provoke works. There are often characters who can taunt enemies into attacking them, and this ability is Tidus's variation of this common skill. Provoke targets a single enemy and forces them into attacking Tidus with their next action.
Provoke is especially useful when an ally is already at low health, as Tidus can sacrifice himself and be guaranteed to take the next hit from a monster. The ability can combo well with defensive buffs from other party members and it can easily turn Tidus into an off-tank. Provoke isn't considered one of Tidus's best skills simply because there are usually better methods for dispersing team damage and dealing with monster attacks than tanking them outright.
5 Flee
Many turn-based combat systems offer players the option to escape combat. Some are more robust than others and some even punish players for failed escape rolls. Final Fantasy 10 is different than most party-based escape mechanics because party members have to successfully escape combat one at a time.
Running from combat isn't guaranteed unless the player is utilizing Tidus's Flee ability. Flee is very useful for getting the team out of tight situations. Obviously, there are fights that can't be escaped but Flee is nonetheless useful for tough encounters that the players might not be ready for. Flee targets the entire party and guarantees a successful escape from the combat. Players won't have to run away with one character at a time, and using Flee may prevent them from seeing a Game Over screen.
4 Delay Attack/Delay Buster
In turn-based combat, turn order and initiative are incredibly important. Players will always want to be gaining advantages in both turn order and numbers against enemy parties. This is no different in Final Fantasy 10 but the turn system works a little differently.
Character speed and agility determine how many times a character will appear in the act list. The act list can be found in the top right section of the screen during combat and shows off who's taking turns next. Tidus has a physical attack ability called Delay Attack which can set back a single target's place in the act list, essentially delaying their turn. This skill is incredibly useful for taking over a fight, but keep in mind that it can be resisted by many enemies and only delays them once!
3 Slow/Slowga
Tidus's Delay Attack and improved Delay Buster are both single-target physical attacks that delay a monster in the act list. Later on, Tidus gains a spell called Slow, which has similar effects to delaying but acts as a permanent status effect on the enemy.
Slow (and the improved version Slowga) directly targets an enemy's speed and reduces it. This will immediately set an enemy back in the turn order and will work over the course of the battle to give them fewer and fewer turns, as characters with lower speed get fewer appearances on the act list. Slow targets a single enemy while Slowga can target multiple foes. These abilities make Tidus the commander of the act list, allowing his party more and more turns while the enemy lags behind.
2 Quick Hit
When discussing Tidus's number one ability, many players will put Quick Hit as their top pick. Quick Hit works in a similar fashion to Delay Attack in the sense that it is a single-target physical attack. Instead of setting an enemy back in the act list though, Quick Hit buffs Tidus's recovery time, giving him more appearances on the act list.
Quick Hit cannot be resisted by enemies and thus the effects will always proc for Tidus. Using Quick Hit becomes a must in most fights and allows Tidus to build high initiative for himself. If used correctly, Tidus can do near-infinite combos and he can do Quick Hit as many times as his mana pool allows. The creators of the game probably knew Quick Hit would be very good as it is the last skill Tidus learns and is gained in the late midgame.
1 Haste/Hastega
For the low cost of 8 MP, players can cast what is arguably Tidus's best ability and one of the best abilities in the entire game. Players familiar with Final Fantasy will recognize Haste, as it makes reoccurring appearances through the series. Haste targets one party member (Hastega targets all) and greatly increases their speed.
While this is already good because of the increased turns, the ability becomes even better when Tidus meets some of the slower-moving party members. The slower-moving allies are often heavy hitters with their attacks, and Haste can give them more turns to dish out punishment on the enemies. Haste becomes a must-use for boss fights and a must-use for Tidus overall. Tidus toes the line of being a damage dealer and a support character and Haste is certainly one of the best support skills in the entire game.