Limit Break ( ability ) Limit Breaks , also known simply as Limits , are powerful combat moves featured in several " Final Fantasy " titles . Limit Breaks are among the most damaging moves at a player ' s disposal , and several Limit Breaks have developed into various characters ' signature moves . Limit Breaks usually rely on the damage the player takes in some way , but the gameplay mechanics used vary between games . In some games the player takes damage to fill up a power meter ( like in " Final Fantasy VII " or " Final Fantasy X " ) , or the attacks become available in HP Critical status ( like in " Final Fantasy VI " or " Final Fantasy VIII " ) . However , this is not universal , and some games use different systems . Though their appearance , use and naming has varied , the concept of Limit Breaks has become a series staple . The term first appears in " Final Fantasy VII " , which used it in reference to filling up a power meter by taking damage . Since the release of " Final Fantasy VIII " , the term has also been used to refer to powerful combat moves used after entering HP critical status , a concept that originates from " Final Fantasy VI " . Since then , the term " Limit Break " has retroactively also been applied to the Desperation Attacks of " Final Fantasy VI " . The underlying idea of taking damage for gameplay benefits could be traced back to " Final Fantasy II " , where the player needs to take damage to increase stats . Appearances . " Final Fantasy VI " . Though the term Limit Break comes from " Final Fantasy VII " , the underlying idea of being able to use a powerful combat move by taking damage was used in " Final Fantasy VI " . Desperation Attacks activate randomly when a character is in critical health and the Attack command is issued . Desperation Attacks are one - time high - powered attacks that ignore defense and sometimes cause Instant Death to an enemy . They hit one target and cannot be used twice in a battle . All player characters , except Gau and Umaro , have a Desperation Attack . Gogo ' s Desperation Attack cannot be used if he is not equipped with the Attack command , nor can he Mimic others ' . In a normal playthrough one is more likely to heal than attack in low health , and thus Desperation Attacks are seen so rarely many players are unaware of their existence . " Final Fantasy VII " . " Final Fantasy VII " was the first game to use the term " Limit Break . " The mechanic functions differently from the Desperation Attack mechanic in " Final Fantasy VI " . " Final Fantasy VII " introduced a Limit Break gauge that fills up when a character takes damage , and it then activates a powerful special move when the gauge is full . As a result , taking damage became a more central gameplay feature . Despite the consistent use of " Limit Break " and " Limit " seen throughout " Final Fantasy VII " related Japanese media , the English version of the demo release initially used " Special Ability " and " Special . " According to the tutorials , the Limit gauge fills as the character angers , hence the Fury and Sadness statuses , and when enemies push a character to their limits they unleash an " unimaginable power . " According to the " Crisis Core Complete Guide Keyword Collection " , when spirit energy rises to its ultimate limit for a short while , it aligns with and emits from the body , allowing powerful abilities that cannot be performed in a natural state . Each party member has a Limit meter that fills up as they take damage . When the bar is full , the character can unleash a special attack . Most characters have seven Limit Breaks spread over four levels of strength . Characters start with one Limit Break and learn the next five by killing enemies or performing lesser Limit Breaks , but their seventh and ultimate Limit Break can only be learned via a manual hidden somewhere in the game after acquiring the other six . The exact effect of Limit Breaks vary . Most do damage , but others cast supportive and healing spells on the party . Each character ' s set of Limit Breaks has a specific " gimmick . " E . g . Cid uses Jump attacks , while Aeris heals and defends the party . For most characters , the player simply selects the attack from a command list once the Limit bar is filled , but Tifa and Cait Sith need the player to perform Slots input sequence to determine the outcome for the Limit Break . Characters are unable use the Attack command once their Limit gauge is filled up , as the Limit command replaces the Attack command . " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " . The Limit command is a story element . During the final battle , the player Turk will awaken to the power inside them and break their limits when Zirconiade runs out of HP . Only by selecting the Limit command may the final battle be ended . " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . The Limit Break system is called the Digital Mind Wave ( DMW ) , a set of three reels at the top left hand corner of the player ' s screen . The reels feature numbers and images of characters met in the game , and are constantly spinning throughout battle , provided the player has enough Soldier Points . Certain DMW number combinations buff the player while having the same image in the two end reels opens up the Modulating Phase in a separate screen of reels , which allows the player to perform Limit Breaks , summons , and level up . The DMW can become enhanced when specific events in the storyline boost Zack ' s emotions . New abilities are learned by progressing in the story and Zack can boost the chances of certain Limit Breaks by equipping the corresponding Materia . " " . Limit Breaks are used by several characters , mostly by Cloud whose Limit Breaks in are signified by a fiery blue aura appearing over him or his weapon . Though they do not feature the same aura , Tifa , Aerith , Red XIII , Barret , and Sephiroth also use moves similar to their Limit Breaks . " Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII - " . Vincent Valentine can use two of his Limit Breaks from " Final Fantasy VII " : only the Galian Beast form can be used in normal gameplay , and Vincent transforms into this stronger , faster , and more powerful form using an item called the Limit Breaker . His Chaos form is used only in the last chapter through plot demands . " Final Fantasy VIII " . All party members , even temporarily playable ones , have Limit Breaks . There is no limit bar and the mechanism that determines when a character can perform a Limit Break is an invisible piece of coding , but usually triggers when a character is in critical health . Other factors that influence the likelihood of Limit Break appearing are KO ' d party members and statuses . Limit Breaks always hit and ignore what the character has junctioned to elemental attack . By the casting of Aura , the character can easily reach the limit without being in critical health . When a character can use a Limit Break , an event that might seem random to players , a glowing icon appears next to the character ' s Attack command allowing them the choice to perform a " Limit Break " ( known as Special Arts in the Japanese version ) . Unlike the previous two games , Limit Breaks can be used as often as the player wishes as long as the option appears and skipping a character ' s turn will reset the probability of the Limit Break option . Each character ' s Limit Break is exclusive and each has unique ways of obtaining and performing the Breaks : Squall has Renzokuken , which requires the player to time button presses with a flashing power meter ; Quistis has Blue Magic where the player selects spells from a list ; Zell has Duel where the player inputs button commands within a time limit ; Irvine has Shot which expends ammo from the player ' s inventory ; Rinoa has two Limit Breaks , Combine , which calls Rinoa ' s pet dog to attack the enemies and enhance the party , and Angel Wing , which puts her in a magic berserk state continually casting powerful spells ; and Selphie has Slots which shuffles random magic spells . Temporary playable characters also have Limit Breaks , although less versatile . " Final Fantasy VIII " is the first time an antagonist uses the Limit Break system ; Seifer can use the Limit Break No Mercy when the player is in control of him and he can use his subsequent Limit Breaks in the battles against him . Other characters , such as Raijin , Fujin and GIM52A , have moves that function similar to Limit Breaks and will usually only use them if they have low HP or are under the Aura status . Edea also uses a Limit Break against Squall in an FMV called Ice Strike . " Final Fantasy IX " . The Trance system brings back a bar to show the amount of Trance slowly building up over time , but rather than executing a special attack when the bar fills the character enters Trance state that lasts a short period of time , usually only a few turns . Tranced characters ' stats are boosted and they can access special skills or their normal abilities are enhanced . For example , Zidane can use special Dyne attacks , while Steiner has his attack power tripled . Certain story battles involve compulsory Trances , and at one point Dagger is unable to enter Trance due to her emotional state . Trance plays a role in the storyline even outside of battles with the characters Mog and Kuja . " Final Fantasy X " . The Limit Breaks are called Overdrives . Each character has an Overdrive meter that fills up over time , but the exact method of filling the bar is determined by the character ' s Overdrive Mode — they can fill the bar by healing allies , attacking enemies , using item s , or under certain unfavorable conditions like in " Final Fantasy VIII " . Different characters learn new Overdrives via different methods . For example , Tidus learns new Overdrives by repeatedly using his old ones while Wakka must win them in the blitzball , and Auron learns them by searching for Jecht ' s Spheres . For most characters , the Overdrive ' s strength is determined by some form of player input ; Tidus ' s Swordplay requires the player to stop the moving cursor in the middle of a bar , Auron ' s Bushido grows stronger as the player inputs button commands , Wakka uses various Slots Overdrives where the player must stop the rotating reels on the desired attack , and so forth . Aeons also have Overdrives , the first time in the series that summons can execute Limit Breaks . Their Limit Breaks are simpler , and function as strong attacks based on their usual summon ability . For example , Ifrit uses Hellfire , while Shiva uses Diamond Dust . Some bosses can also use Overdrives , their Overdrive gauge being visible to player , giving hint of when to brace for it . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . Each character can access a special dressphere once they have activated all of the nodes on their Garment Grid during a battle , and upon activation only that character will be playable supported by support units belonging to the dressphere . The character can remain in their special dressphere until the end of the battle or until they decide to spherechange . Spherechanging into a special dressphere raises the character ' s attributes and they receive a unique set of abilities unique to their dressphere . The special dresspheres are : Yuna ' s Floral Fallal , Rikku ' s Machina Maw , and Paine ' s Full Throttle . Each special dressphere possesses a unique ability that causes massive damage to all enemies , but carries the cost of an entire ATB bar . " Final Fantasy XI " . Due to the game ' s massive multi - player nature , the Limit Break concept is adapted into attacks called Weapon Skills which are associated with specific weapon types rather than individual characters . Most Weapon Skills are unlocked as adventurers gain proficiency with the appropriate arms . Similar to earlier games , characters have a gauge that fills with Tactical Points as they attack enemies or are attacked themselves . Once the meter is full a Weapon Skill may be executed to deal significant damage to opponents or , in some cases , confer benefits to the party . Unlike previous Limit Break implementations players may delay using a Weapon Skill to accumulate more than a full bar of Tactical Points ( up to 300 ) to add extra value to their eventual attacks . The ongoing development introduced a variety of features that supplement or complicate the basic Weapon Skills system . These include the Samurai job , which boasts improved control over the accumulation and expenditure of Tactical Points ; Weapon Skills that must be earned from quests ; the Dancer job , which adopts Tactical Points as a resource for its dances ; and effects such as Regain which can award Tactical Points outside of combat . While Weapon Skills are not as devastatingly powerful as other variations of the Limit Break , adventurers are provided with job - specific abilities that capture the spirit of the rare , life - saving talents wielded by the protagonists of previous games . The term " Limit Break " is also used to describe the quests that remove level caps for players level 50 and above . " Final Fantasy XII " . Quickenings ( Mist Knacks in the Japanese version ) are purchased via License Points on the License Board , up to three for each character . Every new Quickening gives the character a new Mist Charge , increasing their MP . Quickenings are powerful cinematic attacks , and allow the player to shuffle and execute several characters ' Quickenings in succession . This is called a Quickening chain , and if the right Quickenings are used a finishing blow called a Concurrence is executed . In the original version Quickenings are the main way for players to break the damage limit and with long enough Quickening chains , even low level parties can defeat powerful bosses and Marks Espers have a " deathblow " cinematic attack only used under certain circumstances , such as their summoner ' s HP being low or the Esper ' s remaining summon time going below a certain point . The attacks do heavy damage to all enemies in range . There is also an enemy ability called Limit Break that reduces the charge time for magick and physical attacks to 0 . In the " International Zodiac Job System " version the Quickenings no longer use MP , but have their own bar , much like in previous installments . The Quickenings work differently by , instead of expending MP , being charged via a more traditional method by filling a " Mist Gauge " . The bar is charged by different methods depending on the character in question : Vaan ' s Quickening bar fills as he and his group kill enemies , whereas Basch ' s Quickening charges when enemies attack him . Each permanent character has their own Quickening learned by defeating one of the nine Scions in battle . Each Scion teaches one character their Quickening . Each character ' s Quickening serves different purposes ; some perform strong attacks and some heal and enhance the party . Quickenings are cinematic attacks that hit all enemies or allies , depending on the Quickening ' s nature . " Final Fantasy XIII " . There are two attack types for each playable character which could classify as similar to Limit Breaks : full ATB skills and an Eidolon ' s Gestalt Mode . With full ATB moves each character has a unique attack , which requires the whole ATB bar to use . These attacks deal extreme damage that ignore defense , or multiple strikes that rapidly increase the enemy ' s chain gauge . When using Eidolons the player can initiate Gestalt Mode where the Eidolon uses multiple techniques and powerful finishers to deal extreme damage to multiple foes . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . Similarly to the first installment , there are two types of attacks which could classify as similar to Limit Breaks : full ATB skills and Feral Link s . Serah and Noel each have a unique attack which requires the whole ATB bar to use . Unlike the previous game , they can only be used once per battle . However , using an Elixir resets the limit . Each obtainable Paradigm Pack monster has a unique requirement to fill the Feral Link gauge before being usable . Many same Feral Links are assigned to several monsters of the same subtype . " " . When Lightning is under the effects of Overclock , she can can expend Energy Points to perform Army of One , a barrage of attacks on her enemies from all sides . " Final Fantasy XIV " . A Limit Break system for parties is implemented , in place of the Battle Regimen s . Parties have a limit gauge that increases over time , and once it hits certain thresholds , a Limit Break may be used by one of the party members , which will empty the gauge . Depending on how much the gauge is filled the party may gain access to more powerful attacks . The gauge can be increased faster by performing actions determined as " fine play , " such as blocking enemy attacks . Limit Breaks have different effects depending on the role of the class or job of the player who uses them . " Final Fantasy XV " . When on full MP Noctis can enter the state called Armiger Arsenal during which all abilities cost 0 MP and Noctis ' s damage output is increased , but it drains MP until it reaches 0 . When Noctis unleashes his power , swords will fly around the area severing off the damage Noctis takes . In that state his Attack rises greatly and , on top of automatically guarding enemy attacks , he can move at high speed . There will be a powered - up state even beyond that . " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " . Each cadet has his / her own Triad Maneuver , but they require party of three members to be executed . " Final Fantasy Tactics " . " Limit " is the Job Command of the Soldier class exclusive to Cloud Strife . It uses Cloud ' s Limit moves from " Final Fantasy VII " plus an extra skill , the Cherry Blossom . Cloud is only able to perform the Limit skills when equipping the Materia Blade , which can only be retrieved from the highest grid at Mount Bervenia by having a character equipped with the Chemist ' s movement ability , Treasure Hunter move to the grid . The game has no Limit gauge so all Limit skills are magickal moves with certain Charge Time to execute . The power of the Limit moves are dependent on Cloud ' s magickal power , but since their Charging Speed is low by the time Cloud joins the player ' s party most of the moves are rather useless , except for Finishing Touch , which is quick to perform and inflicts instant KO , Stop or Petrify to targets within 2 - grid effect radius . " Bravely Default " . Special moves are triggered under certain conditions . They can be obtained by upgrading the shops in Norende . " Dissidia Final Fantasy " . EX Mode is the Limit Break system . All characters have an EX Gauge displayed next to their HP bar that fills by collecting EX Force and EX Cores . Once full the character may enter EX Mode , enacting a transformation or granting them a stronger weapon . Characters in EX Mode gain Regen status , have an increased likelihood to inflict critical hits , and change their appearance . Fighters gain bonuses specific to them , including special attacks or enhanced normal attacks ; for example , Terra can doublecast her spells , Sephiroth can use Heartless Angel , Cloud ' s attacks have Melee High priority , and so forth . If the player lands an HP attack while in EX Mode they can execute an EX Burst , which lets them attack the foe with a series of powerful , unblockable Brave - draining strikes , leading up to a final HP attack . For the heroes , many EX Bursts are based on the character ' s Limit Break from their original game . In the case of the villains , their EX Bursts are based on their strongest attack as an enemy . Using an EX Burst ends EX Mode . " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . EX Mode returns in the prequel to " Dissidia Final Fantasy " . The mechanic is rebalanced as an opposite to the Assist mechanic , EX Mode and EX Bursts intended to act as final game - ending attacks while Assists act as weaker but more reliable support attacks . Numerous characters have had their EX Mode special effects changed , and due to the critical hit multiplier being reduced from 5x normal damage to 2x , EX Bursts usually deal less damage than in the first " Dissidia " . " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy " . Each of the original thirteen characters has an exclusive ability learned at level 40 named for their trademark Limit Break — Terra Branford learns Trance , Tidus learns Blitz Ace , and so forth . The heroes of the first five " Final Fantasy " games take their Limit Break names from their " Dissidia " EX Modes or EX Bursts . These abilities are exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version and are removed in the iOS port . With the exception of Lightning , whose Limit Break ability innately boosts her stats , the Limit Break abilities activate during Battle Music Sequence when certain conditions are fulfilled . Warrior of Light , Firion and Terra activate their Limit Breaks have chaining enough notes and they have effects that buff the party for the rest of the stage . The other nine characters have their Limit Break activate when a boss enemy enters the stage , and deal damage to it dependent of the user ' s stats , the stats used to calculate damage done varying for each character . " Final Fantasy Record Keeper " . Soul Break s are Limit - like special abilities used throughout " Record Keeper " . Every character comes with a default Soul Break , but certain weapons or armor can add another ability to a character ' s set of up to four moves . To perform one of these , a Soul Gauge segment is required to be filled and there are three Soul Gauge segments available to fill . Most Soul Breaks cost one Soul Gauge segment but some cost two . Soul Breaks may be mastered and equipped at will when they are unique to a character . These unique moves are often modeled after the characters ' in - canon special abilities , such as Auron ' s Bushido , Sabin ' s Blitz , or Zidane ' s Dyne . A small number of equipment items may also carry Super Soul Breaks and Burst Super Soul Breaks , which when mastered will not only be permanently grafted into the character ' s move set , but will also permanently augment a specific stat for that character . Non - " Final Fantasy " Appearances . " series . In " , all party members have a " Limit " command , while Donald and Goofy have two . The command costs Sora all his MP and initiates a special attack where he and the party member team up to attack all enemies the player having to press the button to attack as many times as possible within a time limit before the attack ends with a final blast that damages all enemies heavily . In " Kingdom Hearts II : Final Mix + " , Sora ' s Limit Form has the Limit command , which allows him to use Sonic Blade , Strike Raid , Ars Arcanum and Ragnarok , special attacks in the first " Kingdom Hearts " that were originally absent in " Kingdom Hearts II " . In " " , every character has a Limit Break once their HP reaches a certain percentage , indicated by when the HP bar changes from Green to Yellow . After using the Limit Break , they use the ability for the duration of the time it takes for a white bar to reach the end of the HP bar starting from where life was at the time of activation . Every character has a unique limit break in multiplayer mode , and they all have a final limit that can be activated as a rebound with certain panels . Furthermore , there is a one use item that can be synthesized to restore the Limit Break Bar by one level , as well as a panel that allows the Limit Break to be first used at a higher percentage . While using a Limit Break , the character in question can still normally take damage . Radiata Stories . In " Radiata Stories " , Once Jack Russel masters every skill usable for the One Handed Sword ( Or reaches a certain training exercise from the Training Dummy ) , Jack learns the Volty Blast , Limit Break . Once unlocked , When the Volty Gauge is at 100 % , Jack can use this when equipped with a One Handed Sword . Limit Break deals 8 slashes before finishing with an upward finisher for a total of 9 hits .