Final Fantasy XIII

Best Weapons
Tips and Tricks (Advanced)

It is possible to complete the entire game without upgrading any of your weapons or accessories, and many players get through the game their first time without doing any upgrades because of how complex the upgrade system is in Final Fantasy XIII. For more information on how to upgrade your equipment, check out the following guide:

All of the weapons available to your characters provide some measure of benefit to them but there are certain weapons that provide more of the stats that they benefit most from. For more information on each character’s most effective roles, check out the “Best Party” section:

Finally, it is important to be aware of the weapon upgrading system which operates in three tiers. When you first obtain a weapon or purchase it from a shop it will be in its Tier 1 form. Once you have upgraded the weapon and used a catalyst component on it, the weapon will become its Tier 2 form. It is essentially the same weapon at that point but with better stats, you’ll just have to be aware of the different names for their upgraded vs. non upgraded forms.

All of the weapons can be upgraded from their Tier 1 to their Tier 2 form and then into the Tier 3 form and all of the weapons, for each character, have the same Tier 3 form. For example, Sazh’s Rigels can be upgraded to their Tier 2 form, the Polaris Specials, and then into their final form, the Total Eclipses. Sazh has another weapon called the Vega 42s which can be upgraded to their Tier 2 form, the Altairs, and then they also will upgrade into a set of Total Eclipses.

Knowing how to upgrade your weapons and which role you want your characters to fill, which of the available weapons should you consider upgrading for your characters? Here are the factors you will want to consider:

• Which weapons have the highest Strength and Magic stats.
• Which roles your characters will be in the most.
• How much they cost to upgrade.
• When and where the weapon can be obtained (how early or late in the game).

Each of the sections below will list the top weapons for each character. Any weapons missing from these lists have low stats that don’t put them in the running for “Best Weapon”.

Hope

Weapon	Maximum Strength	Maximum Magic	Notes
Hawkeye	202	917	The strongest magic focused weapon for Hope in any of his magic-based roles.
Otshirvani	513	713	Hope’s second strongest magic focused weapon. It does have the “Siphon Boost” ability though, which boosts ATB recovery when he uses Fearsiphon, Faultsiphon or Lifesiphon. This bonus is of limited value.
Vidofnir	305	713	Similar stats to Otshirvani but provides boosts to the length of time Hope’s buffs are applied. A nice benefit but generally unnecessary and unfavored over his stronger weapons.
Ninurta	612	612	The strongest weapon if, for some reason, you wanted Hope to focus on his physical attack roles more.

Hope’s best weapon is the Hawkeye and it's an easy choice. Hope is the best magic user in the game and Hawkeye boosts his Magic stat the most without any negative drawbacks.

Fang

Weapon	Maximum Strength	Maximum Magic	Notes
Taming Pole	921	921	Provides high strength while not completely forfeiting her magic stat and is received relatively earlier in the game.
Dragoon Lance	962	0	The strongest physical damage dealing weapon for Fang by a small margin.
Shamanic Spear	0	941	The best option if you plan to use Fang in magic focused roles.

The Taming Pole is generally considered Fang’s best weapon. It has very high Strength while not completely sacrificing her magic stat and there will be points in the late game where you will want her to jump into a magic-focused role.

Lightning

Weapon	Maximum Strength	Maximum Magic	Notes
Edged Carbine	210	723	The strongest magic focused weapon if Lightning is primarily used as a Ravager.
Gladius	723	210	The strongest physical attack focused weapon if you plan to use Lightning as a Commando.
Hauteclaire	711	711	Not the strongest at either physical or damage but offering a strong balance between both. Comes with the “Stagger Lock” ability though which means Lightning cannot trigger a Stagger when it is equipped and will have to rely on other party members to get the final blow that pushes an enemy’s Chain Gauge over the top.
Blazefire Saber	620	620	Not as strong of a balanced weapon as Hauteclaire but you won’t have to deal with the “Stagger Lock” ability.

Lightning suffers from an issue where she tends to bounce back and forth between physical attacks and magic attacks, even when she is in her Ravager role. Using a weapon focused on one of these stat sets can help her (or the AI rather) stick to one attack method. Check out her character page for more information.

Sazh

Weapon	Maximum Strength	Maximum Magic	Notes
Deneb Duellers	608	1,125	The strongest magic focused weapon if Sazh is primarily used as a Ravager.
Pleiades Hi-Powers	1,150	0	The strongest physical attack focused weapon if you plan to use Sazh as a Commando.
Rigels	1,006	1,014	Not the strongest at either physical or damage but offering a strong balance between both. Comes with the “Stagger Lock” ability though which means Sazh cannot trigger a Stagger when it is equipped and will have to rely on other party members to get the final blow that pushes an enemy’s Chain Gauge over the top.
Vega 42s	812	822	Not as strong of a balanced weapon as Rigels but you won’t have to deal with the “Stagger Lock” ability.

Sazh should typically be used as a Ravager, if he is used in your party at all, which would put the Deneb Duellers as his best weapon, but if you plan to use him in other roles you may want to consider the other weapons listed.

Snow

Weapon	Maximum Strength	Maximum Magic	Notes
Power Circle	925	202	The strongest physical attack focused weapon if you plan to use Snow as a Commando.
Sacrificial Circle	1,020	1,020	Snow’s strongest weapon with a bit of a gimmick: it lowers his HP by 40%. This is his best weapon though depending on what role you want him to fulfill.
Wild Bear	717	717	Not nearly as strong as Sacrificial Circle but it doesn’t reduce Snow’s HP when he uses it.
Feymark	0	1050	The strongest weapon for Snow if you plan to use him in a Ravager or magic-based role (not sure why you would do that though!).

Snow is not meant to be your highest damage dealer. His primary role is to be a Sentinel and his high maximum HP supports this drive. He doesn’t typically make the cut when players are considering the ‘best party’ though, so choose the best weapon based on your use case if you plan to include him during your play through.

Vanille

Weapon	Maximum Strength	Maximum Magic	Notes
Belladonna Wand	403	807	Not the highest magic stat but it provides the “Improved Debuffing” passive ability which is extremely useful for when Vanille is in her Saboteur role. It’s also incredibly helpful if you’re using her to cast Death at any point.
Pearlwing Staff	201	912	The strongest magic focused weapon if Vanille is primarily used as a Ravager or a Medic.
Rod of Thorns	709	70	The best option if you plan to use Vanille in a physical role but, even with a good weapon, she doesn’t excel in them.

Vanille’s best weapon is the Belladonna Wand because it appeals to her strongest use case. She is the best Saboteur in the game, mostly because of access to the Death spell, and this weapon makes her even better at debuffing. It’s only slightly worse than the Pearlwing Staff but this one could be picked up as an alternative if you want to make her a little bit stronger as a Ravager.