The Best Armor Abilities in Final Fantasy X (And How To Get Them)

The ability to customize gear with unique abilities was one of the many new features included in Final Fantasy X.

Where weapon abilities have buffs and perks that focus more on character growth and offense, armor abilities help players maintain longevity in battle, and provide a variety of immunities, responses, and auto-abilities.

There are well over 40 different armor abilities in total.

You’ll see a fair few naturally during your pilgrimage, but the best-of-the-best lay tucked away, waiting for the most intrepid guardians to find them.

Let me help you discover them, one by one.

10. Break HP Limit

There comes a point while traversing the sphere grid that your HP will hit the natural cap of 9,999.

And all subsequent HP nodes will feel like they’re going to waste.

Break HP Limit puts them all to use, allowing a maximum HP of 99,999.

How to Obtain: 30 Wings to Discovery will customize the ability. Winning the Remiem Temple chocobo race with three chests collected will get you exactly 30. After that, all you can do is bribe Malboros.

9. Zombieproof

Zombie is a status effect where healing a character does damage instead.

This is annoying in random battles, but there is a certain boss that can make your life extra miserable because of it.

Zombieproof makes you immune to this status, and will save you a tremendous headache.

How to Obtain: You need 10 Candles of Life. It’s easiest, and smartest, to steal them from Fallen Monks in the Zanarkand Ruins.

8. Auto-Med

Status effects are a ton of fun to use, but zero fun to have them used on you.

Being poisoned, blinded, muted—it’s all super annoying. And there’s an array of items to help alleviate these conditions.

Auto-med chooses the appropriate one to apply, and automatically does it. No action needed (well, except getting this ability onto your armor).

You can make life even easier by stocking nothing but remedies, so even multi-status attacks won’t be a problem.

How to Obtain: This requires 20 remedies, which makes sense. These can be bought from Ren’s shop once you have complete control over the airship, or you can steal them from Malboros if you need them earlier.

7. Auto-Potion

Just like Auto-Med, but with Potions.

When a character takes damage, they’ll automatically use the lowest-level potion from your pack.

Stock nothing but X-Potions and you’re healing for 9999 with every hit you take.

How to Obtain: 4 Stamina Tablets gives you the hook up for this ability. You can get 60 tablets as a reward for unlocking One Eye at the Monster Arena, which should be enough to make all the gear you need.

6. Master Thief

All enemies carry two grades of item: common and rare.

Normally, when you go to rob them, the percentage often favors the common.

Master Thief makes it so you only get the rare item.

It does not guarantee you’ll be successful when you steal. But it guarantees that when you do succeed, you’ll get the best there is to get.

How to Obtain: Win the Remiem Temple chocobo race with four chests to get 30 Pendulums, which is what it takes to become a master thief.

5. No Encounters

Eventually (and this happens to everybody) you’ll start to get really annoyed with random battles.

There’s a lot to explore in Spira. And when you just want to get where you’re going, stopping every 50 steps to send something to the Farplane can become grating.

The No Encounters ability tells all fiends to just leave you alone, making your travels as peaceful as can be.

How to Obtain: 30 Purifying Salts gets you this ability, and you can get 99 of those by unlocking Fafnir in the Monster Arena. But the easier way is to fight Ghosts in the Cavern of Stolen Fayth. They drop armor with No Encounters already attached.

4. Auto-Protect

Protect halves physical damage in FFX.

It’s a super useful spell. But it’s an even better auto ability.

When cast, Protect can be dispelled or wear off. But Auto-Protect lasts forever and is immune to anything that would otherwise get rid of it.

How to Obtain: You need 70 Light Curtains. This is a large amount, but there’s a lot of places to get them: stealing from Iron Giants on the Thunder Plains gets you a few, beating Fafnir in the Monster Area gets you 20, and unlocking Juggernaut earns you 99 of them.

3. Auto-Phoenix

Here’s another invaluable concept in battle: reviving your fallen foes.

With Auto-Phoenix, when a character gets KO’d, another will automatically use a phoenix down.

Give this ability to all three members and keep a large supply of downs in your inventory. It’s gonna be really hard to see the game over screen ever again.

How to Obtain: Fittingly enough, you’ll need 20 Mega Phoenixes. You can get 99 by unlocking Pteryx at the Monster Arena. Also, bribing Ghosts in the Cavern of Stolen Fayth gets you a few each time.

2. Auto-Haste

Haste gives you more turns in combat, giving the enemy less room to breathe.

You’ll lean Haste and Hastega from the sphere grid, which you can use for most of the game.

But those wear off and can be dispelled.

Auto-haste cannot.

It’s with you no matter what.

You’ll be flying through battles, and it also has the bonus of nullifying Slow!

How to Obtain: You’ll get 99 Chocobo Wings by unlocking the Cactuar King in the Monster Arena, and you need 80 for Auto-Haste. The Cactuar King has two as a common steal, so it’s easiest to hunker down and steal-run-steal until you get what you need.

1. Ribbon

Just like it’s done in every Final Fantasy game prior, the humble Ribbon prevents all status effects.

It’s helpful beyond words, and worth a space on any piece of high-powered armor.

The only problem is actually getting enough materials to customize this ability.

It’s definitely a grind, but the effort is totally worth it.

How to Obtain: You need 99 Dark Matter, which is not easy to get. It’s the rarest item in the game.

You get 99 freebies of these by unlocking Ultima Buster in the Monster Arena, but after that you’re completely reliant on drops. The easiest way to go is to farm Sleep Sprout in the Arena. It drops either two teleport spheres or two dark matters, the latter being at a much lower chance, but it’s still the most reliable way.