Final Fantasy 16 Eikon tier list: Which are the best summons in the game

Final Fantasy 16’s Eikons are all useful in one way or another. While everyone might utilize them differently, I’ve spent about 60 hours playing through FF16. I used some of these abilities more or less than others, and this is how I feel the ranking plays out. That said, it’s worth noting that this is just my opinion. I based my rankings on the overall power of the Eikon and its abilities and how useful they were for me while I was playing the game.

Just because an Eikon in Final Fantasy 16 is low-tier for me, that doesn’t mean they’re worthless, or you shouldn’t use them. Many have one or two must-use powers - whether for combos or simply to deal more damage.

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Final Fantasy 16’s Eikons, ranked in terms of power

S-Tier Eikons

• Bahamut
• Odin

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1) Bahamut

The undisputed king of the Eikons has to be Prince Dion’s Bahamut. None of its abilities are weak; one, in particular, can rain down destruction onto the battlefield as you fight. That comes from Wings of Light, which charges up your Megaflare. Then you have Impulse, which deals continuous damage to an enemy upon casting.

Flare Breath is a constant cone of fire damage, and if you like magic builds, Satellite summons bits that attack whenever you use magic. But the big winner is Gigaflare, one of the game's best combo enders. Bahamut’s clearly the strongest Eikon in Final Fantasy 16, only matched by one other.

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2) Odin

The Eikon of darkness is the other S-Tier force in Final Fantasy 16. Once you wrest control of it from Barnabas Tharmr, you will have all of the possible powers in the game - except Leviathan. That does not appear to be in the game as of this writing.

Odin’s special ability is to change your blade into Odin’s Blade. Dealing damage with it and using Odin’s abilities builds the Zantetsuken Meter. He can use Gungnir to deal mighty blows. Heaven’s Cloud moves him forward quickly and can be used repeatedly.

Odin also has an instant recovery, via Rift Slip. If you want even more melee hits, go with Dancing Steel to strike enemies rapidly, thanks to a second sword. He is a non-stop whirlwind of melee strikes.

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A-Tier Eikons

• Garuda
• Titan

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1) Garuda

I think an argument could be made for both of these to be a little higher. I personally don’t use Garuda as much, but Deadly Embrace is one of the best abilities in the game. The ability to pull enemies in and start savaging them is great.

I like Garuda a lot, but I don’t like some of the angles by which you attack; leaping into the air to strike is fun, but when you don’t have a knock-up available, it’s less appealing. It’s still powerful, has strong abilities, and is part of some awesome combos.

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2) Titan

Perhaps the most significant thing about Titan is that it is the best defensive option in the game. It also has incredible Jojo punches, which can parry incoming attacks to deal even more hits and damage.

Even if I think Titan’s restrictive, Upheaval remains my go-to move to wrap up a group of enemies via Gigaflare in Bahamut’s moveset. Even if I don’t have Titan equipped, I likely have that move on my bars somewhere.

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B-Tier Eikons

• Phoenix/Ifrit
• Ramuh
• Shiva

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1) Phoenix/Ifrit

Phoenix/Ifrit is your first Eikon ability set in Final Fantasy 16, and it’s not terrible. Honestly, it has several useful abilities. Again, I use this one primarily for one move - Ignition. You charge and round up a group of enemies to Upheavel them up. However, its primary movement ability, Phoenix Shift, can be interrupted. That’s such a disappointing thing.

You have the powerful Flames of Rebirth, but it only heals gray HP instead of helping further. It’s a solid list of abilities, but not great, frankly. I like it for fights when I can stay in melee range, though.

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2) Ramuh

Cid Telamon is the best character in Final Fantasy 16, save Gav. He’s cool, and so are his abilities. Unfortunately, I simply don’t like any of his powers to keep using them other than the AOE Pile Drive.

His thunder abilities can potentially deal exceptional damage if you set them up. But that’s the problem. It requires setup, and I’m not trying to do that kind of clever nonsense while fighting in Final Fantasy 16.

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3) Shiva

Shiva is the Eikon I used the least in Final Fantasy 16. Jill Warrick might be a great character, but her abilities are probably the weakest in the game overall. If you want to use powerful movement abilities and reposition yourself, that’s where she excels.

I feel like she can do many useful things, but everyone else does them better. On top of that, her powers do not hit very hard. By the time you get to it, you need more damage desperately. She’s solid but just not powerful on her own. Her powers are best used slotted into another power set.

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When it comes to Eikons and their powers, these are my thoughts on where they stand on a tier list. Your thoughts may vary, depending on what you prefer, and that’s perfectly fine. Use the abilities and Eikons that fit your gameplay style.