First Strike ( ability ) First Strike or , also known as Initiative , Preemptive Strike , Surprise , Preemptiv or Hamedo , is a recurring passive ability in the " Final Fantasy " series . Most often it either increases the chance of a preemptive battle , letting the party attack before the enemies , or lets the equipped character always get the first turn in battle . Appearances . " Final Fantasy V " . First Strike is the level 3 Ninja class ability , learned for 50 ABP and known by them innately . It boosts the chance for a preemptive strike from 32 / 256 to 64 / 256 . It was known as Preemptiv in the older translation . " Final Fantasy VI " . First Strike is an ability found in the Gale Hairpin , which raises the rate of preemptive attacks . First Strike is also an innate ability on some enemies , allowing them to attack the party first . They are : Guard Leader , Ymir ( Shell ) , Tunnel Armor , Guardian ( Invincible ) , Valigarmanda ( Mines / Snowfield ) , Flame Eater , Ultima Weapon , Dullahan , Chadarnook , Wrexsoul , Kefka ( Final Boss ) , Ultros , Siegfried ( Phantom Train ) , Kaiser Dragon ( Dummied ) , Merchant , Birthday Suit , Kefka ( Imperial Camp / Narshe ) , Humbaba ( Invincible ) , Cyan ( Imperial Camp ) , Gau , Unnamed esper , Ultima Buster , Shadow ( Coliseum ) , Plague , Red Dragon ( Dragons ' Den ) , Gold Dragon ( Dragons ' Den ) , Holy Dragon ( Dragons ' Den ) , Ice Dragon ( Dragons ' Den ) , Kaiser Dragon ( Final Fantasy VI ) , and Glutturn . " Final Fantasy VII " . The Pre - Emptive Materia boosts the party ' s chance to pre - emptive enemies . At level 1 , it grants a + 5 % bonus , with a + 8 % bonus at level 2 , + 10 % bonus at level 3 , + 15 % bonus at level 4 , and + 20 % bonus at level 5 . There is a base chance of 16 / 256 of getting a preemptive battle , but a mastered Pre - Emptive Materia boosts this up to 64 / 256 . The maximum is 85 / 256 , roughly a 1 / 3 chance . A 5 - star Pre - Emptive Materia also halves the chance of getting the Ambush and Back Attack special formations , but only when the Materia is on the third ( last ) party member . " Final Fantasy VIII " . Guardian Force s Pandemona , Cactuar , and Tonberry learn the Initiative ability for 160 AP . Junctioning it to a character allows them to start battles with a full ATB gauge , regardless of situation . It can be especially useful for Quistis to immediately use Degenerator . " Final Fantasy IX " . Freya can learn the Initiative support ability from either Obelisk or Battle Boots . It takes 95 AP and takes 5 Magic Stones to equip . It boosts the party ' s chance to get a preemptive strike from from 16 / 256 to 85 / 256 . " Final Fantasy X " . Initiative can be customized to any weapon to raise the chance of a preemptive strike and to eliminate ambushes . Initiative can be customized to a weapon by use of six Chocobo Feathers . Without Initiative , there is a 12 . 5 % chance of being ambushed , a 12 . 5 % chance of the player getting a preemptive strike . With Initiative , there is a 25 % chance of preemptive strike and 0 % of being ambushed ( unless it is a fixed encounter ) . First Strike can be customized to any weapon , if it does not start with it , by the use of a Return Sphere . Auron ' s Celestial Weapon , the Masamune , has First Strike when fully upgraded . With the use of a turn - based battle system , having First Strike guarantees the character will have the first turn even if the battle is an ambush . The ability is nullified if the battle begins with a preemptive strike , with the player with the highest agility taking the first turn . Certain enemies have a First Strike type - ability , where they will always have the first turn , regardless of ambush , preemptive , or a player ' s character ' s First Strike . Varuna will always open the battle with Haste , and Kottos will always open the battle by switching into its counter status , signified by the raising of its fists . Similarly , Great Malboro enemies fought in the Omega Ruins will always ambush the player using Bad Breath on their first turn , but a player ' s First Strike ability precedes this and doesn ' t function in the same way as the aforementioned enemies . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . The Thief ' s Initiative ability costs 60 AP to learn and increases the chance of preemptive battle . The accessory Sprint Shoes , the Garment Grid s Mounted Assault and Highroad Winds , and the Thief dressphere grant the First Strike ability , which allows the user to start the battle with full ATB . " Final Fantasy XIII " . The passive ability First Strike fully charges the ATB gauge prior to battle . This is obtained by equipping the Aurora Scarf . " Final Fantasy Tactics " . First Strike is a reaction ability the Monk class learns for 1 , 200 JP ( or 1300 JP in the " War of the Lions " version ) . It functions like Counter , but rather than attacking after being hit , the unit using First Strike attacks the enemy preemptively and cancels the enemy ' s hit . The ability ' s success rate is determined by the character ' s Bravery level and will work against all uses of the Attack command by units in the character ' s attack range . This means that monster abilities will not trigger First Strike unless they are under Frog status , but ranged strikes will , if the character is equipped with a similar weapon . " Final Fantasy Legend II " . Surprise is a passive ability that has infinite uses . It also increases a Robot ' s HP by 9 . This ability boosts the chance of having a " Strike First " at the beginning of battle . It can be used by Ant Lion , BlackCat , Boulder , Cancer , CatWoman , Cocatris , Commando , Earth , Killer , Mantis , Mosquito , Ninja , Plague , Pudding , Rakshasa , Roc , Rock , SabreCat , SandWorm , Serpent , SlimeGod , SnowCat , Tororo , WereWolf , and OdinCrow . " Dissidia Final Fantasy " . First Strike is learned at Level 67 . When a character with First Strike lands the first hit in battle , all hits in the combo are critical hits . Its base CP cost is 40 and requires 360 AP to master . " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . First Strike is now learned at Level 64 , has a base CP cost of 30 , and requires 130 AP to master . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Pre - Emptive Strike is an ability held by several cards . When a Forward when Pre - Emptive Strike blocks or is blocked , the opponent takes damage before the player . Other media . " Dead Fantasy " . In " Dead Fantasy II " , Rikku uses the First Strike move to knock the " Dead or Alive " girls after Tifa Lockhart beats them one by one with several of her Limit Breaks while they are in a Stop state allowing Yuna to take them down with her Trigger Happy in explosion .