Final Fantasy 16: Ranking the Best Garuda Abilities

As a passionate Final Fantasy 16 gamer with over 200 hours logged, mastering the diverse abilities of the Eikons is integral to defeating the realm‘s toughest foes. The wind goddess Garuda has quickly become one of my favorite Eikons to utilize with her grace, speed, and hard-hitting gale techniques.

However, with four stellar abilities at her command beyond her Eikon‘s Feat, it can be daunting determining which skills to invest precious Ability Points (AP) into upgrading first. Never fear! In this extensive guide, I‘ll be ranking Garuda‘s abilities from worst to best, weighing crucial factors like AP costs, utility in various combat scenarios, and overall damage potential.

I‘ll provide plenty of details on what each ability does, when it excels, and how much additional power comes from upgrading. You‘ll also get a peek at some abilities in action through gameplay footage! With these Garuda ability rankings, you‘ll breeze through enemies as you unleash the full force of her sweeping winds!

Garuda Ability Breakdown

Before diving into the rankings, let‘s briefly overview Garuda‘s innate ability kit outside of her Deadly Embrace Eikon Feat:

Aerial Blast – Summons a large tornado that applies continuous damage and stagger buildup to enemies caught within its windsweeping grasp. Upgrades increase duration.

Gouge– Manifests vicious claws around Garuda‘s hands for performing a flurry of piercing strikes. Additional button inputs lengthen the combo. Upgrades improve attack speed.

Rook‘s Gambit – Execute a backward leaping strike that counters enemy attacks when timed properly. Upgrades bolster counter damage.

Wicked Wheel – Creates a large spiked wheel for launching airborne enemies upward. Upgrades widen area-of-effect.

Now let‘s analyze where each stellar wind ability ranks for dominating Final Fantasy 16‘s many rigorous battles!

4. Wicked Wheel

Wicked Wheel takes the fourth spot in Garuda‘s ability rankings, acting as her most specialized aerial technique. By spending 525 AP to upgrade, Garuda manifests a wide spiked wheel that rotates violently upon execution. Any enemies caught within its radius get knocked skyward by heavy gusts.

This offers excellent setup potential for air combos, as you can batter the suspended foes with additional abilities as they helplessly dangle. However, its somewhat short range requires precise positioning to utilize effectively. Wicked Wheel also lacks substantial damage or stagger potential on its own.

It shines against groups of lightweight enemies that get juggled easily by the cyclonic winds. But larger adversaries barely budge, making Wicked Wheel fairly situational. It‘s a fine supplementary ability for aerial-focused players but lacks the raw power or utility to claim a higher ranking.

On the plus side, Wicked Wheel only takes 1,000 AP to master after upgrading, making it relatively affordable to round out your Garuda arsenal. I‘d recommend it solely for wind affinity characters or battles with air combo opportunities. Otherwise, Garuda boasts superior options…

3. Rook‘s Gambit

Claiming third place is the reactive Rook‘s Gambit, providing Garuda tremendous evasive and countering potential. After upgrading for 660 AP, Garuda equips vicious golden claws to perform a backward leaping strike. Time it to avoid an incoming enemy attack, and she‘ll retaliate with a devastating counter blow.

Rook‘s Gambit takes skill to utilize properly, but perfectly countering a deadly boss attack to punish their exposed flank is incredibly satisfying. It can turn the tide against otherwise unrelenting foes. Upgrading enhances the counter damage further, making it vital for higher difficulties.

Its utility applicability also warrants a top-three placement. Rook‘s Gambit helps evade and retaliate against small and large enemies alike with proper timing. You can escape being surrounded by a group or blocked in a corner. It‘s also affordably mastered for 1,000 AP.

Rook‘s Gambit does require precision usage to shine brighter than other options. But I firmly believe everyone should unlock its awesome countering capabilities!

Rook‘s Gambit chained with Saber abilities makes for potent counters!

2. Gouge

The relentless Gouge clinches second place by sheer dint of its accessibility mixed with outstanding strength. By spending 575 AP to upgrade, Garuda manifests vicious golden claws over her own hands. When triggered, she unleashes a blistering claw combo upon targeted enemies.

Button mashing extends Gouge‘s duration as Garuda relentlessly slices away. This builds incredible stagger, making it instrumental for crushing bosses and other resilient foes. At four stars, only Aerial Blast generates more stagger gauge erosion.

Upgraded Gouge also allows sustaining the ability‘s pummeling strikes longer. When building chain attack bonuses, it‘s easy to erase multiple health bars at once with a sufficiently long claw barrage! Combined with Garuda‘s unique aerial mobility, no one escapes her vicious shredding embrace.

Gouge lacks flair or positioning elements, but its awesome strength and simplicity cement it as a must-unlock ability for all player builds. At just 1,000 AP for mastery, this forceful technique always proves a worthy investment!

1. Aerial Blast

And Garuda‘s undisputed best ability for delivering sheer domineering power is the devastating Aerial Blast! After upgrading for 2,005 AP, Garuda summons a colossal tornado swirling with intensity to chase down targeted enemies across the battlefield.

Any foes caught within its grasp get swept relentlessly aloft by cyclonic winds, suffering multiple hits while swirling helplessly through the air. Lightweight enemies get tossed violently asunder while heavier adversaries must contend with its five-star stagger gauge attrition!

Aerial Blast requires a heavy AP investment, but once fully upgraded, few abilities can compete with its awesome strength. Sustaining tornadoes to continuously batter bosses makes short work of their stagger meters. And the supplementary swirl damage softens up other encroaching enemies nicely.

While tricky to time properly, eventually ensnaring shape-shifting enemies within an inescapable wall of wind never gets old either! No other Garuda ability delivers such satisfying lockdown potential.

For the pinnacle of Garuda‘s gale-force potential, Aerial Blast stands tall above its peers. Unlock this as soon as possible to rule the battlefield! Just beware friendly fire…

Garuda Ability Comparison

Before deciding where to invest your hard-earned AP, let‘s compare Garuda‘s abilities across some key attributes:

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As this breakdown shows, abilities like Gouge and Aerial Blast should take priority for their well-rounded qualities. However, Rook‘s Gambit and Wicked Wheel still have specialized roles to play for countering or air combat respectively.

Factor in your preferred playstyle and current progress when deciding where to allocate those precious AP points!

Cut Loose With Garuda‘s Gales

I hope these extensive and thorough Garuda ability rankings have showcased why she stands tall as one of Final Fantasy 16‘s most versatile and enjoyable Eikons! Implement her abilities wisely, and few foes can stand against the elegant fury of her sweeping winds for long.

Her full arsenal enables spectacular crowd control potential, the ability to escape being surrounded, sheer single target damage via mighty counters, and the unrivaled Aerial Blast for delivering complete windstorm domination!

Veterans should rush upgrading Aerial Blast and Gouge first to enable shredding stagger combos. But don‘t sleep on Rook‘s Gambit and Wicked Wheel either when the situation calls for timely counters or air juggles respectively.

As a diehard Final Fantasy fan logged over 200 satisfying hours with Garuda, I welcome discussions on ability preferences and combo tactics in the comments below! And for more rankings you can trust, check out my other Final Fantasy 16 job guides next:

• Best Phoenix Abilities
• Top Signifier Builds
• Optimal Accessory Setups

May Garuda‘s graceful gales swift carry you to victory!