Final Fantasy Xintroduced a cast of characters who simultaneously stayed true to classic Final Fantasy tropes, while also pushing the boundaries on expected character personalities. Onesuch character is Lulu. This Black Mage's cold demeanor and dark aesthetic mask an overprotective, loving, passionate person underneath.
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With many of her abilities revolving around the use of Black Magic, Lulu's strengths lie in hitting enemies' elemental weaknesses and evading physical attacks. Though clearly not the most physically powerful, her spell arsenal makes her an early powerhouse, and a proper Sphere Grid trajectory continues this into the late-game.ConsideringLulu's many unique abilities, here are the ones players should prioritize for the most effective Lulu build.
10 Nab Gil
Nab Gil allows Lulu to steal Gil from an enemy, while also dealing damage. Mechanically, it works similarly to Rikku's Mug ability. Enemies can berobbed multiple times, with reduced success rates each time. The ability was not available in the original version of the game. It only became acquirable in the International, PAL, and HD Remaster versions of Final Fantasy X.
While there are aspects of Nab Gil that can make for unique Lulu builds that prioritize Strength, it makes very little sense for players to prioritize this ability for their primary spellcaster. Moreover, Rikku is the quintessential Thief, making Mug both more useful and logical for her.
9 Death
As the name suggests, Death is a Black Magic spellthat can instantly KO an enemy.Many players overlooked this ability, sincemany enemies having high resistance to it anditschanceof missing is quite high. Lulu's Overdrive ability Fury, however, aids in increasing the chances of Death hitting, since Fury allows for multiple casts in one action.
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Death's MP cost is slightly higher than most on this list at 20 MP.Such a high MP usage in exchange for a low-accuracy spell quite unappealing. In short, Death is ultimately a very polarizing spell, given the gamble players take when using it. When it hits, it really hits; but when it doesn't, it's a waste.
8 Reflex
While most of Lulu's abilities pertain to offensive Black Magic, some focus on buffs. Reflex is one such ability, which increases the party's evasion stat by 10% each time. It can be stacked on party members, with a maximum of 5 usages.
Although there are aspects to using this ability that are functional in harder boss battles, it is perhaps wasted on a character like Lulu, since she skews more towards dealing damage. A better character for this ability would be Yuna, who has access to many buffs and is more oriented towards healing, or Rikku, who can already bolster evasion with her Ultra NulAll mix.
7 Fira/Blizzara/Thundara/Watera
Fira, Blizzara, Thundara, and Watera are elemental spells that deal a moderate amount of damage. Each deals more damage than their base-level predecessor spells, butarestill weaker thantheir stronger iterations. Each spell costs 8 MP to cast, making them viable and cost-efficient spells early on.
Whenplayers acquire these spells on Lulu's Sphere Grid, they have the potential to make Lulu incredibly overpowered — particularly due to her ability to expose elemental vulnerabilities. This does, however, depend on how the player maneuvers her Sphere Grid. While these spells become obsolete once the player gains theirmore powerfulversions,they prove useful in the early game.
6 Demi
Demi, also referred to as Gravity in other Final Fantasy games, reduces a set fraction of a target's HP. The weight of Demi differs per game,butin Final Fantasy X, enemies lose 1/4 of their HP. When cast, the spell affects all members of the target party, making it helpful for crowd control.
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A major downside to Demi is its high MP cost,costing twice the MP of Lulu's best elemental spells at 32. Furthermore, because of Demi's set damage percentile, the spell cannot KO a target. With this in mind, it's best to use thisspell early in battle to remove a large chunk of enemies' HP. It can be pretty useless after the first use, so it's best to prioritize other spells afterwards.
5 Bio
For the low cost of 10 MP, Bio inflicts the poison status condition on enemies.This spellhas a 0% chance of missing (except on poison-immune targets). A major selling point of this spell, besides its low MP cost, is its effectiveness in contributing gradual damage.
One of the only downsides to Bio is that it does not immediately induce damage when cast, instead relying on damage reduction over time. As such, it is somewhat less effective than other damage-dealing spells andsome players mayoverlook it for this reason.
4 Firaga/Blizzaga/Thundaga/Waterga
Asthe best versions of the elemental spells, these are go-toattacks in Lulu's arsenal. Appearing in many Final Fantasy iterations, the spells are quintessential to any Black Mage, making them a high priority for Lulu to obtain.
Though theycost double the MP of their previous forms at 16 MP, the increased damage capability more than makes up for the expense. And while Lulu has access to stronger spells later on, these spells have the additional capacity to target elemental weaknesses with fire, ice, thunder, and water damage, respectively.
3 Focus
Focus is a perfect abilityfor a magic-based character like Lulu . Using Focus raises the party's Magic and Magic Defense by 1. Additionally, like Reflex,this effect can stackup to a total of 5 times. When combined with the ability Cheer (found on Titus' Sphere Grid), which raises Strength and Defense, it can make the partynighimpenetrable.
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Because the ability can stack and last until combat's conclusion, it's the perfect set-up for a remarkably solid magic-based formation. It simultaneously makes characters like Lulu more devastating with their magic, but also protects the party from heavy magic users like Seymour Guado.
2 Flare
At its core, Flare is thestrongest Black Magic spell available in Lulu's unique Sphere Grid. As opposed to the best elemental spells, Flare deals non-elemental damage, meaning it is not hindered by immunities but also cannot target elemental weaknesses.
One aspectthat may dissuade players from using Flare is its high costof 54 MP. This, however, can be countered by properly equipping Lulu with weapons that permit the One MP Cost ability for her spells. While this is available with her Celestial Weapon, Onion Knight, it can also be accomplished by acquiring 20x Three Stars from the enemy Catoblepas, one of thestrongest monsters in the game.
1 Doublecast
Doublecast is undeniably Lulu's best ability, since it has the potential to do the most damage. Simply put, it allows users to cast two Black Magic spells in one action, allowing two times the damage output each time Lulu casts.
Combining Doublecast with any of Lulu's weaponsthat feature One MP Cost creates an exceptionally lethal build, especially if Lulu has acquired Ultima. Doublecast is a fairly late-game acquisition due to the numerous Sphere Grid locks protecting it. However, once acquired, it can completely change the game.
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