Final Fantasy XV Armiger Guide: Where to find and how to use the ultimate weapons

Final Fantasy XV has a unique and fluid Battle system with a lot of moving parts. Due to that it's easy to mostly ignore the Armiger feature, and everything it can do for you. That would be a serious mistake though, especially since Armiger attacks and chain attacks fill in the place of having limit breaks within Final Fantasy XV. That's why we've put together this handy guide for how to use Armiger abilities.

What is the Armiger Arsenal?

The Armiger Arsenal is made up of the Royal Arms found throughout the world, and their use is a special ability of Noctis. He's able to attack viciously, cycling through the various different Royal Arms you have acquired during your journey. While Armiger skills are active, Noctis will have greatly increased power and attack speed.

To employ the Armiger Arsenal you'll first need to charge it up adequately. This is done by attacking, using warp strikes, and generally engaging in battle. A circular gauge that surrounds the arms display on the bottom left of the screen will show you as the Armiger gauge fills. Once it has been fully filled, you can launch the Armiger Arsenal by pressing LB and RB.

Once you've triggered Armiger mode, the gauge will deplete until it empties. This generally takes about 10 seconds, although if Noctis drops into danger you will drop out of Armiger mode entirely, thankfully retaining what remains on your Armiger gauge.

Use the Armiger Arsenal effectively

Unlike most earlier Final Fantasy games, there are no limit breaks within Final Fantasy XV. Instead, you get access to the Armiger Arsenal, which allows you to cause absolutely deadly amounts of damage to your enemies in battle. In this way Armiger mode acts as a limit break system for Noctis, without giving you access to anything explosive the way that earlier games did.

That being said, Armiger mode is a an absolute boon in combat. It uses the Royal Arms that you have acquired from Tombs of Kings to access much nastier attacks. Chaining together these attacks is an easy way to wipe the floor with enemies that are far stronger than you, or to deal serious damage during a boss battle.

The more weapons you recover from Tombs, the nastier your attacks will become. That's because the Royal Arms will appear around Noctis in battle, and he will switch between them as he fights. While within Armiger mode, all attacks have an automatic 1.5 times multiplier. Noctis will actually automatically dodge some projectiles in this mode, as well as automatically choosing the best Royal Arm for each attack.

Where to find the Royal Arms

Royal Arms are all hidden within the Tombs of the Kings, which means to add them to your Arsenal, you'll need to find them. The first weapon, Swords of the Wanderer are found automatically as part of the story. Several of the Royal Arms are found during the main quest, and are fairly easy to add to your Armiger Arsenal.

However, several of the arms will require you to hunt down hidden Tombs to find them. In one case, the Royal Arm has been stolen from it's original resting place and will require you to slog your way through an extremely difficult dungeon in order to reclaim it.

Here's where you can find each Royal Arm out in the world of Eos.

• Sword of the Wise: Found during quest "Legacy". You'll automatically receive this sword during the quest.
• Axe of the Conqueror: Found during quest "The Power of Kings". At the end of Keycatrich Trench you'll find the Tomb of the Conqueror where the Axe is stored.
• Bow of the Clever: Found within the Royal Tomb at the Balouve Mines. Be forewarned you'll need to defeat a Level 52 Aramusha to get to the Bow.
• Swords of the Wanderer: Found during quest "Sword in the Waterfall". There is a dungeon hidden behind a waterfall. Once you clear the dungeon you'll find the Tomb of the Wanderer.
• Blade of the Mystic: Found during quest "The Archaen". You'll find this sword hidden in the Tombs of the Mystic, which is where you are when fighting the Titan.
• Star of the Rogue: Found within Royal Tomb at The Myrlwood. Myrlwood is located near Vesperpool, and inside it you'll find the Tomb of the Rogue.
• Sword of the Tall: Found within Royal Tomb at Castlemark Tower. This one is a bit tricky. You'll need to go after the 'Gods and Kings' quest to the Tomb of the Tall in Falgrove. However it is empty, and has been sacked. From there head to Castlemark Tower, where you'll need to complete the dungeon and defeat a Level 58 Jabberwock to get the sword.
• Shield of the Just: Found with Royal Tomb at Tomb of the Just. You can find this tomb at Thommel's Glade, to the west of the disc.
• Mace of the Fierce: Found within Royal Tomb at The Rock of Ravatogh. You'll need to climb all the way to the top of the Rock of Ravatogh, located at the southwestern corner of the map.
• Scepter of the Pious: Found within Royal Tomb at the Malmalam Thicket. The Tomb of the Pious is where you'll find the scepter, but come prepared. It's guarded by a nasty dungeon and a Level 38 Bandersnatch.
• Trident of the Oracle: Found during quest "Breath of the Glacian". You'll get the Trident by completing the train portion of the main story, after you defeat the Level 34 Deathclaw.
• Katana of the Warrior: Found during quest "The Hand of the King". This is another weapon that you'll get by completing the main story and defeating the Level 38 Marlboro in the mine.
• Sword of the Father: Found during quest "Zegnautus Keep". This Armiger is picked up automatically near the end of the game.

Filling the Armiger gauge

While it is easy enough to fill the Armiger gauge without really thinking about it, there are ways to ensure that you fill it as quickly and effectively as possible. This is particularly helpful if you're dealing with a long drawn out fight. Waiting to use your Armiger Arsenal until you're in a nasty fight is a fine strategy, but if you know how to fill it quickly you can wreak havoc on your foes without nearly killing your party in the process.

Attacking, using warp strikes, counter attacks and shield blinks will all net you a small increase to your Armiger gauge. Of these, warp strikes are the least helpful. Phasing through enemy attacks is where you'll really fill up the Armiger gauge — each time you phase you'll add roughly 5%.

If done quickly and effectively, especially against Empire rifle shots, you can easily use the Armiger gauge more than once in a single battle. You'll need to keep an eye on Noctis, though, to make sure he doesn't eat through all of his MP while phasing through enemy attacks. Each phase costs MP, though the cost can be lowered by picking up the Light Phase and Ultralight Phase skills from within the Ascension tree.

Your friends can get in on the action too

By using the skills in the Armiger Ascension tree, your friends can share in the Armiger Arsenal action too. You'll need to unlock Armiger Chain as well as acquire the Blade of the Mystic before it is available. Once you've done these two things Armiger mode becomes much more powerful and much, much nastier for your foes.

That's because Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis will all equip one of the original 4 Royal Arms that you have found. Noctis uses the Blade of the Mystic, Gladiolus picks up the Axe of the Conqueror, Prompto attacks with the Sword of the Wise, and Ignis will wreak havoc with the Swords of the Wanderer. The Armiger Chain actually requires you to hit RB and LB a second time in order to trigger it, and if there are obstacles preventing it's implementation the option will be greyed out on your screen.

Using the Armiger Chain ability immediately makes Armiger mode far deadlier since everyone in the party is doing more damage than usual. If you go the extra mile and pick up the associated abilities from within the Ascension tree, you can ensure that the damage keeps going after the Armiger gauge has depleted. This is because there is an ability which will give you unlimited access to MP for 60 seconds after Armiger Mode. Considering how you're constantly reminded to keep an eye on MP, this can be absolutely devastating to your foes.

Armiger Arsenal recieves it's own Ascension tree

In Final Fantasy XV the Ascension tree controls all of the skills that Noctis and his friends can gain access through by using AP. In Chapter 3, when you receive the first Royal Arm, a new tree specifically for Armiger skills will open up inside of the Ascension menu. There are 9 nodes within the Armiger Ascension tree that will open up new skills for Armiger attacks, as well as increasing the time and damage of Armiger mode.

We've put together a list of each Armiger ability within the Ascension tree as well as what each one does so that you can get the most out of spending your AP.

• Armiger: The first ability in the tree, this allows you to go into Armiger mode when the gauge is full.
• Armiger Harvester: Located to the right off of Armiger, this node will boost Armiger gauge gains from attacks by 30%.
• Iron Armiger: Located to the left off of Armiger, this node will reduce the Armiger gauge depletion by 30%.
• Armiger Action: Located above Iron Armiger, this node will let you gain 1 AP each time you go into Armiger Mode.
• Armiger Chain: Located below Armiger, this node allows your friends to use Royal Arms and chain attacks with Noctis within Armiger mode.
• Armiger Warchain: Located below Armiger Chain, this node boosts Armiger Chain damage by 50%.
• Armiger Chain Reaction: Located below Armiger Warchain to the left, this node awards 1 AP each time you unleash Armiger Chain.
• Armiger Sagechain: Located directly below Armiger Warchain, this node boosts experience from Armiger Chain kills by 100%.
• Armiger Freechain: Located below Armiger Warchain to the right, this node awards unlimited MP for 60 seconds after executing an Armiger Chain.

Using Royal Arms outside of Armiger mode

While it isn't technically part of Armiger mode, it's worth noting that Noctis can equip the Royal Arms outside of Armiger mode. Each one has it's own benefits and drawbacks, and can cause serious damage to a foe who is soaking up damage. However, anytime you use a Royal Arm outside of the Armiger mode, it will sap at your Max HP.

So long as you keep an eye on Noctis's HP, you should be fine to use these weapons. Handy especially against bosses, or higher level enemies, all Royal Arms get a bonus in combat. If Noctis's HP does start to drop low then you'll want to use elixirs to regain his max HP, and probably move to more common weapons that won't drain him in combat.

Conclusion

Armiger mode quickly becomes a regular part of the battle system after you unlock it and see it in action the first time. Between the increased damage, new skills, and vicious attacks it enables, Armiger Mode is Final Fantasy XV's solution to the lack of a limit break system in the game. Using it effectively can make sure that Noctis and his team are ready to deal with any enemy that crosses their path.

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