Battle Speed Battle Speed is a setting in the game ' s config that determines how fast the units ' ATB bars fill up , and can also determine many other things affected by battle time , such as how long status effects last . Appearances . " Final Fantasy IV " . The battle speed can be adjusted between six different settings , three being the medium , one being the fastest and six the slowest . A character Speed will also determine their own personal gauge ' s charge rate , with some armor and accessories causing this stat to increase or decrease . This can be even further manipulated upon with spells such as Haste , Slow , and Stop , each one either speeding up , slowing down , or even halting the charge rate of the ATB gauge altogether . " Final Fantasy IV - Interlude - " . The same battle settings returns in the sequel of " Final Fantasy IV " . It function is no different from the original . Like the two previous titles , it functions the same way as it did previously . " Final Fantasy V " . The battle speed can be adjusted between six different settings , three being the medium , one being the fastest and six the slowest . The battle speed setting only affects the enemies ' speed ; the player characters ' speed is only affected by their Speed stat and whether they have Haste or Slow . This means the battle speed is kind of like a game difficulty setting , although setting the battle speed to fast can , in a few isolated cases , be advantageous to the player , if they want the enemy to get through their battle script faster . The spell Speed is a Level 1 Time Magic spell that sets the battle speed setting to 5 for that battle . If the battle speed is already set at 5 , the spell does nothing , and if the battle speed is set at 6 , it actually speeds the battle up a bit , by setting it to 5 . The spell can be used by the Time Mage and costs 1 MP to cast . " Final Fantasy VI " . The battle speed can be adjusted between six different settings , three being the medium , one being the fastest and six the slowest . The battle speed only affects the enemies ' speed ; the player characters ' speed is only affected by their Speed stat and whether they have Haste or Slow . This means the battle speed is kind of like a game difficulty setting , although setting the battle speed to fast can , in a few isolated cases , be advantageous to the player , if they want the enemy to get through their battle script faster . Normal speed : If Hasted : If Slowed : " Final Fantasy VII " . The player can set the battle speed for regular battles , but also for the minigame at Fort Condor . The battle speed option gives a value between 0 and 255 , where 0 is the fastest and 255 is the slowest . The default battle speed is 128 . When a battle starts , the battle speed is converted into a Speed Value via the following equation : On the fastest setting , the battles are 300 % faster than on the default battle speed ( 100 % ) . On the slowest setting , the battles are running at 59 % speed . The Speed Value , calculated from the battle speed set in the config , determines how fast the units ' ATB bars fill ( also depends if the character has Haste or Slow and their Dexterity stat ) and how fast status effects wear out . However , the Battle Speed does not affect all status effects . For example , the negative statuses of Death Sentence and Slow Numb use a different timer , which means they are much more dangerous in slow battle speeds . " Final Fantasy VIII " . Battle Speed can be set to one of five values : with 5 being the slowest , 3 the default speed and 1 the fastest . The Battle Speed affects the size of the ATB bar , although this change is invisible to the player . Every tick , the bar is increased by the BarIncrement : The SpeedMod is whether a character has Slow or Haste or neither . It thus takes : seconds to fill the ATB bar . The battle speed also affects the duration of status effects and how long it takes to summon a Guardian Force ( in conjunction with GF compatibility ) : " Final Fantasy IX " . The value of a full ATB bar is equal to : Which is filled in increments of : Battle Speed also affects how long status effects last , in conjunction with Spirit . The one opponent , Ozma , has its own ATB mechanism that is not dependent on the battle speed setting . Setting the battle speed to maximum plays an important role if the player is attempting the Excalibur II challenge . " Final Fantasy XII " . There are six battle speed settings , 1 the slowest , 6 the fastest . " Final Fantasy XII " introduces a new concept of Charge Time , where the player ' s actions have a charge period before being executed . The battle speed affects this time . On the fastest setting , the units ' Charge Timers take half the time to fill up , compared to the slowest battle speed . The battle speed only affects how fast the characters ' Charge Timer bars fill , not the rate the characters move about on the field in real time . This means that by setting the battle speed fast , one can reduce the relative disadvantage of actions with long charge times ( such as guns ) , as the action length stays the same . Other factors , besides the battle speed setting , also affect the Charge Time , such as what weapon / attack the character is performing , their Speed stat , the number of " Swiftness " augments purchased on the License Board and what status effects the character is afflicted with . Unlike other games , battle speed doesn ' t affect the status effects ' duration , which means the player is worse off if using the slow battle speed . The game ' s toughest enemies , such as Yiazmat , also don ' t have any charge time for their attacks , meaning setting the battle speed to slow only hurts the player . The battle speed can be set to slow when escaping from enemies , however , as it will make the enemies get their turns slower , but the party will still keep running away at the same pace . " Final Fantasy XIII " . " Final Fantasy XIII " has two settings : slow and normal battle speed . The slow setting fills the ATB bar half as fast as the normal setting . The settings determine the rate the ATB bar fills , how much target time the battle has , how long status effects last , and how long the Eidolons have time before the player must go to Gestalt Mode . The most obvious effect is Doom , as the player can see it ticking down ; in normal battle speed , Doom gives 1800 allotted points , as opposed to 3214 ( 80 % more time ) in slow battle speed . The other status effects , however , have many other factors than just the battle speed which affect their duration , such as chain gauge and role level . " Bravely Default " . Although there is no ATB as the battles are completely turn - based , pressing the right or left d - pad arrows changes the battle speed which affects the battle animations .