It’s been nine long years since the release of Final Fantasy XVIII, a game that meant a colossal change in the way Square-Enix would manage the franchise from then on.

It was the first title in the Fabula Nova Crystallis which was a reboot of the general lore in the series. And with a change in universe came changes in game-play and stylistic choices as well.

It was a more linear game than its predecessors focusing on telling a compelling story with a controlled pace, rather than letting the player roam free around the world.

Among changes in gameplay, some of the most notable were to how character progression was handled.

Another key element in character progression remained, of course, the weapons. Not only are there several options for each character but they also turn into better weapons if you upgrade them a certain way.

Considering the sheer amount of options you have and how complicated understanding what weapons will be better as the game progresses can be, I’ve decided to showcase my recommendations for the best weapon for each character in the game.

Bear in mind that different weapons are better for different play-styles but I’ve focused on what roles most players would logically be assigning to each character. Just to give you a general idea of what to aim for and which weapons to upgrade.

Vanille – Belladonna Wand

This Pulse inhabitant has found her way into many main character formations by way of two things: Being declared the many people’s “waifu” and her ability to cast Death.

The Belladonna Wand won’t help her achieve the first condition, but it will most definitely help with the second.

This weapon, which seems designed to worship a horned devil of some sort, has the “Improved Debuffing” ability. As may already be obvious from the name, this heightens the chance of your moves in the Saboteur role having the desired effect.

It’ll mostly help you land normal debuffs during the main game.

But once you go into the post-game and start farming Trapezohedrons you’ll be able to spam the Death curse and make the fights potentially much easier, provided you’re not characterized by your lack of luck. Start praying to the gods of RNG!

The Belladonna Wand can be upgraded to a Marlboro Wand by way of the Uranitite material, and then into the Nirvana with a Trapezohedron.

Sazh – Antares Deluxes

Choosing the best weapon for Dad-of-The-Year was complicated thanks to the many ways people work with Sazh in their party formations.

But in the end I settled on the Antares Deluxes thanks to their Chain Bonus Boost skill, which makes the Chain Bonus rise faster, in turn helping your entire team deal much more damage.

They may not give Sazh the highest damage potential but they’ll effectively maximize your DPS.

That said, the Antares Deluxes do have pretty solid stats for such a balanced weapon and will prove useful for Sazh both as a Ravager and a Commando.

You’ll be able to acquire them by way of Plautus’s Workshop in Chapter 13, or they may drop from an enemy in Taejin’s Tower during the previous chapter.

They can be upgraded to the Formalhaut Elites by use of Uranitite as a catalyst and then to the Total Eclipses with a Trapezohedron.

Fang – Taming Pole

While there are other weapons for this fierce Pulse lady such as the Dragoon’s Lance, which will give her a much higher Strength stat, the Taming Pole is ultimately much more useful thanks to its synthesize bonus from the Gestalt tree: Random Instant Chain, which will make an enemy’s stagger meter fill out instantly at random.

The chances of this triggering may be low.

But it’s sure to happen at least once during long fights, and it will trivialize encounters with enemies with especially high resistance to staggering.

Other than that, this weapon has very balanced stats that will let Fang be useful both as a Commando, a Saboteur, and even a Ravager if need be.

You’ll need to make sure to equip some other item from the Gestalt tree on her for Random Instant Chain to trigger, but that shouldn’t be too hard to pull off.

The Taming Pole can be upgraded into the Venus Gospel with a Uranitite catalyst whenever you get the right materials. And then later into the twisted Kain’s Lance.

Hope – Hawkeye

This was by far the easiest choice in the list.

Hope’s only logical role is that of a magic user who may sometimes heal or cast a couple buffs depending on your formation. Therefore the only stat he needs is magic.

Enter the Hawkeye, a humble weapon with no fancy skills or effects. But with the highest magic boost in the entire game.

Whether you use Hope as a Ravager, a Synergist or a Medic, the Hawkeye has you covered!

You may find the Hawkeye in a treasure guarded by Vespids in the Gapra Whitewood during Chapter 5, or buy it from Up in Arms starting the same chapter.

You’ll want to upgrade it into the Eagletalon with the Perovskite material when you get a chance since it really increases base stats by quite a lot. And then into the Nue with, you guessed it, a Trapezohedron later on.

Snow – Paladin

Contrary to what you may believe, Snow is useful as much more than a Sentinel.

He can also do a decent job as a Commando with the Power Circle weapon or even as a Ravager with the Feymark!

That said, he is without a doubt the best Sentinel in the game, since he has the highest HP and can learn basically every skill from the Sentinel tree in the Crystarium.

Snow is a tank, and I think he’s best used as such.

To aid him in this endeavor the Paladin weapon is the best tool for the job.

Its default skill Improved Guard, will make you 8% more resistant to all damage. And it can synthesize the High HP: Power Surge ability which makes him deal more damage when his HP is over 90%.

To upgrade this weapon into the Winged Saint you’ll need a Scarletite material, and a Trapezohedron if you wish to turn it into Save The Queen which is Snow’s ultimate weapon. It’s actually a recurring weapon in quite a few FF games!

Lightning – Lionheart

This gublade-wielding pink-haired ex-soldier is the one who carries the story forward. And most likely she’ll carry your formation as well.

Lightning does a great job as a Commando at the start of the game but can develop into a Ravager, a Medic, or even a Sentinel as the game progresses.

Regardless of what you choose to do with her, I believe her most versatile weapon to be the Lionheart.

It’s a golden gunblade with great balanced stats and the Quick Stagger skill. That gives you a chance to precipitate the staggering of an enemy once the bar goes beyond 80%, saving you a lot of time and trouble.

What really takes this weapon to the next level is its synthesize ability from the Gestalt tree, the same one on Fang’s Taming Pole: Random Instant Chain.

It’ll be incredibly useful in the endgame when fighting giant tortoises and the like.

You can upgrade the Lionheart into the Ultima Weapon with a Scarletite catalyst. Once you get later into the game you can finally upgrade this sucker into the Omega Weapon, the most beastly blade you’ll lay your eyes on. So get farming!