Ability Points (AP)
Aside from maybe Experience Points (EXP), Ability Points (AP) are the most important growth stat for your characters as you play through Final Fantasy X-2. They are not at all similar to Final Fantasy X-2’s Sphere Grid system, but are pretty close to the ability system in Final Fantasy IX or the Ability Points system for Guardian Forces in Final Fantasy VIII.
There are two separate ways that a character can earn AP in the game:
| How You Earn It | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Defeating an Enemy | Every enemy you defeat will award a certain number of AP to your party members, regardless of any actions they took in the battle. All they have to do is stand there and be present. |
| Successfully Completing Actions in Battle | This one can be a bit confusing, but any actions that a party member takes in battle that actually do something will award an additional small amount of AP. Healing party members, damaging enemies, and casting support abilities all count. However, if you heal a party member that is already at full HP, or attack an enemy and miss, no AP will be awarded. |
The AP that you earn from defeating an enemy at the end of the battle is all applied to the Dressphere that the character was in when the battle was ended. The “Actions” AP, however, is applied as soon as the action is completed, which is why you will sometimes see your characters learn a skill midway through a battle.
Learning Abilities
The most important decision you have to make at the start of the game, or once you obtain a new Dressphere, is which abilities to learn first. In many cases, the game will default to additional attacks and spells to fill out the Dressphere’s Arsenal. For example, the Gunner Dressphere will default to 
Potshot, and then Cheap Shot, but this is where stepping in and intervening manually can be extremely effective.
Your Gunners should always start by learning the 
Trigger Happy Lv. 2 and Trigger Happy Lv. 3 abilities. But this is just one example; the game’s defaults quite often leave auto-abilities until last, but these abilities are quite often the most useful. Having a 
Dark Knight learn Poisonproof, Stoneproof, Confuseproof, etc. turns them into a tank very early on in the game, allowing them to withstand deadly enemy attacks. While useful, learning their ability kit (such as 
Drain and Demi) gives them attacks they don’t really need. Their standard Attack is powerful enough.
Learning which of each Dressphere’s abilities are the most powerful and have the most utility takes experience and/or research, so sometimes it’s better to feel it out and learn it yourself, but you should definitely take some time to read through each Dressphere’s list of abilities, especially if you plan to use the Dressphere on your Garment Grids.
Check out the Dressphere section to learn more about each of the different strengths and abilities they bring:
An overview of each of the 19 Dresspheres in Final Fantasy X-2, including their uses in battle, a list of abilities, and how to obtain them.
Quickly Earning AP
The easiest way to have your characters earn AP quickly in battle is to have them use quick and repeatable actions over and over again. For example, the 
Gunner Dressphere’s Trigger Happy ability provides a lot of AP when it’s used (especially when the Trigger Happy window is extended). The 
White Mage’s 
Pray ability does need to heal a target, but because it provides a small amount of healing to all three party members and can be used very quickly over and over again, White Mages tend to earn a lot of AP quickly.
There are a few tactics you can use to have your characters expedite their EXP and AP acquisition speeds. They are detailed in another Tips and Tricks section, which you can access using the link below:
Tips and Tricks
Tactics and methods you can use to quickly level up Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. This section covers both experience points (EXP) and ability points (AP).