Magic is key to the world of Final Fantasy, and the latest iteration of the series takes the magic system to an all new level. Introduced in Final Fantasy 15, Elemancy is a system that allows you to take various elements that Noctis can find around the world and then combine them into one, making a powerful spell to use against your foes. Getting started in Elemancy can be tricky, though, so we’re going to take you on a brief tour of the system, and show you how everything works.
Elemancy Explained
When you first open up the Elemancy system, you’ll see three major windows. The window on your left is where you’ll find the various elements that you can pull from the world. On the right, you will find the catalyst area. This second major area contains all your items and potions. The final major window can be found just underneath the element area. This area will tell you the type of spell that you are crafting, as well as the Potency, and any type of effects that the spell has.
By simply looking at the Elemancy window, one might assume that it is simple. This is actually, for the most part, fairly true. All you do to create spells is mix different elements and catalysts together until you have something you want. But, if you don’t feel like spending hours mindlessly creating spells, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when using Elemancy.
Understanding Potency
First, Potency is basically the power level of the spell. The stronger this is, the more that particular spell will hurt your enemies. If you put enough elements into something to exceed a Potency of 100, the spell will be upgraded to the next levels, which are Fira, Blizzara and Thundara. If you exceed a Potency of 200, you’ll be granted another spell upgrade to Firaga, Blizzaga or Thundaga, depending on the elements used to make the spell. Anything with a Potency below 100 will simply be Fire, Blizzard or Thunder. It should also be noted, though, that you cannot hold more than 99 units of any particular element. This means you will need to mix and match if you truly want to make the most of each spell that you create, as any two units of additional elements will upgrade the spell by one Potency.
Another important thing to keep in mind when crafting spells is that adding multiple elements together can change your spell if the base element doesn’t make up at least 50 percent of the spell. This means that you’ll need to have a lot more Fire elements included in your spell if you wish to craft a fire-based spell. For example, having the same amount of each element will give you a Unicast spell, which gives a chance to cast Fire, Blizzard or Thunder. So, if you want an absolute base, you’re going to need to invest more of that element.
Alternatively, you can start using Catalysts and Ascension upgrades. You can learn more about the Ascension system, and how to spend AP, by heading over to our Ascension and AP guide. Catalysts take everyday items, like Potions, Elixirs and even Phoenix Downs or cooking ingredients and mix them into your spell, allowing you to get different effects. A good example of this is using an Antidote as a Catalyst. This will cause the spell that you craft, whether Fire, Blizzard or Thunder based to poison anyone who steps into its line of fire. This is useful for taking out big groups of enemies quickly, but you should avoid using it around allies, as all the spells you cast can hurt your party members.
Want to know what kind of effects you can add to your spells? Here’s a list of all the Catalyst effects:
- Dualcast – Cast up to two times.
- Tricast – Cast up to three times.
- Quadcast – Cast up to four times.
- Quintcast – Cast up to five times.
- Healcast – Cast and heal caster.
- Venomcast – Cast with a chance of inflicting Poison.
- Stopcast – Cast with a chance of inflicting Stop.
- Cursecast – Cast with a chance of inflicting Mollified.
- Killcast – Cast with a chance of instantly killing.
- Expericast – Cast with an EXP bonus.
- Freecast – Cast with the chance of not expending a spell.
- Failcast – Cast a significantly powered-up spell with a chance of failure.
- Powercast – Cast a powered-up spell without increasing the range.
- Blastcast – Cast a spell that damages both the enemy and yourself.
- Maxicast – Cast with the maximum damage limit of 9,999 removed.
Experiment With Spell Crafting
If you want to become great at Elemancy, you’re going to need to experiment and try out new things. See which Catalysts offer which effects, and then fine tune the elements that you want to make use of. You should also remember that you can only hold as many spells as the amount of Magic Flasks you have. You’ll earn more Magic Flasks throughout the main story campaign, but others can be found around the world. Experimentation is key when it comes to Elemancy, and there’s no right or wrong way to go about spell crafting.
You can learn more about the various systems in Final Fantasy 15 by heading over to our Final Fantasy 15 walkthrough, or take a look at our guide on how to fish so you can find more ingredients and Catalysts.
