And FFX has 40 odd variations of the stuff, from basic curative aids to ancient explosive magics. And all of it is super useful. It can be somewhat intimidating to walk down an empty sphere grid and wonder where to go or what to do. But this list should help guide even the most novice spellcaster towards the best uses for their MP. And before you know it, you’ll be wondering how you even lived without any of these.
10. Scan
The most utilitarian spell in the roster. Scan does not do damage or provide buffs, but can give something just as useful: information. You scan an enemy once, and for the rest of the fight you’ll be in the know about its HP and elemental weaknesses. The edge you get from knowing about your foes cannot be overstated – especially if your enemies like switching weaknesses (or getting rid of them altogether). The Sensor ability will come and go as weapons change, but Scan will always be with you, always ready to spill tea.
9. Osmose
For the first half of the game, MP restoration can be tricky. Ethers are hard to come by, and time between save points is taxing on those who like to use magic. Osmose helps with this problem. It simply makes any enemy’s MP, your MP. This is particularly useful to pull yourself out of tight situations. It even has the added perk of being able to steal magic points from party members (seriously!) So if you and your enemy start running on empty, you can borrow some from a teammate who still has some MP to spare.
8. Cura/Curaga
The OG Cure spell is helpful, of course. But it won’t be too long into your adventure before you start to notice that it isn’t quite keeping up. Enter the true hero: Cura. Cura will be your workhorse for a large portion of the game, and even has uses past the acquisition of Curaga. This is because Cura helps keep you out of the yellow across any battle. And at 10 MP, it’s very cost-efficient. And even better, it makes Yuna highly effective against anything zombie-related.
7. Bio
Exploiting enemy elemental weakness is a large part of battle in FFX. This can be hindered by foes that either do not have a particular aversion, or even worse, foes that can absorb the elements you cast at them. There are a few good non-elemental spells in the game. But the first one you can get is Bio. Not only does it inflict a lovely damage-over-time status effect, but it also reduces your enemy’s attack power. So this is a great way to start a fight regardless of elemental weaknesses. And it sets up a good steady source of damage over the whole battle.
6. Protect
Real talk: Protect halves physical damage. Realer talk: it stacks with other defense-increasing customizations, as well as abilities like cheer, allowing the party to bring even the scariest of melee attacks down to laughable levels. This keeps your healers alive and your damage constant. It even works in the unfortunate situation of confused party members turning on their own!
5. Esuna
Having any party member confused during a clutch fight is annoying, right? And nothing is more frustrating than missing seven attacks in a row because Auron’s totally blinded. Even worse is when you’re gearing up to lay out a magical move, and suddenly Lulu or Yuna can’t speak. Esuna is here to help. It removes all negative status effects in a single cast. It’s just great to see a struggling party member end up completely refreshed. It’s super invigorating, and the perfect fuel for a comeback.
4. Holy
On her normal walk across the sphere grid, Yuna doesn’t get much into attack magic. You have to make an effort to move her towards Lulu’s territory for that. And by the time you do, it’s fairly late in the game (or even basically at the end). The one big exception is Holy. It’s a celestial barrage of angelic spheres, and it’s Yuna’s answer to Flare. But I’d say it’s even cooler, and is one of the few spells to utilize the holy element. Try to pick up Doublecast too, and then humble Yuna can start doing magic DPS on par with her belt-wearing counterpart.
3. Ultima
Ultima is just that: the ultimate black magic spell. It’s heavy-hitting and targets every foe in battle. Sure, it may have a high MP cost. And is tucked away securely on the sphere grid. But its ability to make most random battles end in a single turn is absolutely worth the effort it takes to get there. It’s even compatible with Lulu’s overdrive (and don’t even get me started on how cool it is to use Ultima with her fully-powered Celestial Weapon).
2. Full Life
Reviving party members is a great ability to have when things go awry. Maybe you didn’t anticipate a big spell, or maybe poison got the better of you (looking at you, Lord Ochu). Phoenix downs are a good start. But the Life spell is better, and a great friend for occasions like this. And if Life is a great friend, Full Life is a full-blown soulmate. Full Life brings back a party member with full HP, ready to rejoin battle without any further assistance. And when it comes down to crunch time, that extra bit of health can make or break the whole battle. This is also a trick that undead hate!
1. Hastega
Haste is good. Hastega is better in every way. It’s a party-wide blessing of speed that gives everyone more turns in battle. The premise is quite simple: the more turns you get, the quicker the battle ends, and the sooner you get rewarded. Normally, only naturally speedy characters like Tidus and Rikku get to enjoy concurrent slots on the CTB bar. But with the miracle of Hastega, the whole party can fill up the line. Hastega gives everybody the extra speed needed to really put the pressure on enemies and make Yuna’s guardian squad one to be feared across all of Spira.
