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Final Fantasy 10: Yuna's 10 Best Abilities, Ranked | Game Rant

Written by Joseph Barbieri
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Yuna has many abilities as a White Mage with some being far more useful than others.

Acting as Final Fantasy 10's White Mage, Yuna plays an important role in the story of Final Fantasy 10 and in the team dynamic. She is an honest albeit naive woman whose goal is to defeat Sin. Yuna is a powerful summoner and healer with plenty of great supportive abilities and spells at her disposal.

RELATED: Final Fantasy 10: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Yuna

While Yuna might not be dishing out damage like some other party members, her magical ability and healing are invaluable assets to the party. Though she has many spells and skills there are ten that stand out as some of her best.

10 Esuna

Esuna is a White Magic spell that Yuna can cast to cure most negative status effects. The ailments Esuna fails to cure are zombie, curse, and doom. While Esuna cannot be used for everything, its 5 MP cost makes it a decent option to rid a party member of a status ailment.

The ultimate downside of Esuna is that it is slower than using an item, and any party member can use a Remedy (which also cures zombie). The ability loses viability over the course of the game, as players can simply purchase or find Remedies to use in combat. It can still be useful in a pinch though!

9 Regen

Regen is a White Magic spell that heals the targeted character for a percentage of their health over the course of 10 turns. The spell has a rather steep mana cost of 40 MP which makes it less ideal to use over some of Yuna's more powerful healing abilities.

Regen can be situationally useful for long grueling fights but acts as one of her weaker abilities overall, as stronger burst heals are often more optimal. The MP cost compared to the health regained simply makes Regen a weaker heal in Yuna's extensive arsenal of options, but it isn't useless by any means. If used correctly, Regen can quite literally be a lifesaver in some combat situations.

8 Nul Blaze/Frost/Shock/Tide

On paper, these elemental resistance spells seem incredibly powerful. Each of these spells grants an ally an aura of elemental nullification. Frost nullifies ice damage, Shock nullifies electric damage, and so on. Yuna can choose a single target to grant these auras to and each party member can have all four auras at once. What keeps the ability in check is that the aura is only good for one elemental attack, and they do nothing to boost defense against physical damage.

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For example, a fire attack's elemental damage will be completely nullified one time on a character with Nul Blaze, but the next fire attack will deal the full damage if the aura is not recast by Yuna. Another downside is that casting the auras takes time and these turns can be better used by Yuna for other abilities. Like many of Yuna's abilities, these elemental auras are very situational.

7 Quick Pockets

Quick Pockets is a special ability of Yuna's that costs a whopping 70 MP. The skill aids Yuna in item usage. Usually, using items delays a character's next action fairly significantly. Quick Pockets allow Yuna to use items without the delay.

For example, Yuna can cast Quick Pockets and then use any item in the same action. She won't be delayed in the act list after using Quick Pockets, making the skill especially useful for quickly using a key item in combat. The skill is unlocked late in the game though, and most players won't use it too much unless they absolutely need an item in an emergency.

6 Shell

Yuna has a whole bag of defensive spells she can pull from based on the enemy the party is facing. Shell is a single-target White Magic spell that greatly increases the target's magical defense. The spell only costs 10 MP and acts as a status effect that lasts the entirety of a fight.

Shell effectively halves all incoming magical damage on the character buffed by it. This is useful for big fights against enemies that use lots of magical attacks. It's also good for buffing party members that have naturally low magical defense and can make them more viable picks when facing magic-heavy foes. Shell has few downsides and stands as one of Yuna's good all-around defensive abilities.

5 Protect

Protect is essentially a copy of Yuna's Shell spell except Protect affects physical defense rather than magical defense. More often than not, foes will be dealing lots of physical damage to the party and this makes Protect just better than Shell, as it can be applied in more situations.

Protect halves most incoming physical damage on the buffed target. Characters with higher physical defense will enjoy even better effects from the spell while characters with lower physical defense can be brought up to a more normal level via Protect. Like Shell, Protect has few downsides and stands as a decent option for Yuna to buff her party with.

4 Reflect

Yuna's Reflect spell can be tricky to use correctly, but the rewards for learning it are immense. Reflect is a single-target White Magic spell that buffs the target with spell reflection. Any spells that would hit the target are reflected back onto the caster, and the effects of the spell hit them instead.

RELATED: 10 Hidden Details Everyone Missed In Final Fantasy X

At first glance, this spell seems overpowered. While powerful, the spell is kept in check by the fact that it reflects all incoming spells. That includes any healing spells that Yuna might want to cast onto the target. Allies buffed with Reflect will have to rely on alternate forms of healing rather than their dedicated healer's big spells. Most monsters that are casting spells can still attack physically as well, and Reflect does nothing for physical attacks and abilities.

3 Holy

Fans of the Final Fantasy franchise will remember Holy from previous titlesFinal Fantasy 7 players might remember how important Holy is for Aerith and the events inside the game. Like many reoccurring events or skills in the franchise, Holy works a little differently in Final Fantasy 10.

Yuna learns Holy later in the game and the mana cost isn't cheap. For the cost of 85 MP, Yuna can cast the high-damage White Magic spell on her foes. The spell is great for Yuna because it helps round out her character in the late game to be more than just a summoner and healer. Holy gives Yuna a powerful attack in her arsenal and the spell scales with the caster's magical ability. As Yuna has very high magic stats, Holy is an absolute nuke for her in certain fights.

2 Cure/Cura/Curaga

Interestingly, one of Yuna's strongest abilities is one of her starting ones. Cure is a common spell in Final Fantasy and acts as the main source of burst healing from Yuna. With a generous starting MP cost of 4, Cure will inevitably be one of the abilities that players use the most with Yuna. It may not be flashy or unique, but it is critical to level up and use throughout the entirety of the game.

At her core, Yuna is a healer and a summoner. As such, Cure will be a vital part of her skill list. Many players will agree that among all of Yuna's dazzling spells and status buffs, Cure will end up as one of her most (if not the most used) abilities. Cure can be used both in and out of combat and is always a solid choice for healing the party. As it levels, more targets can be healed at once and the healing power increases. Simply put, Cure is a critical skill in Final Fantasy 10 and one of Yuna's best.

1 Auto-Life

Auto-Life is a White Magic spell that costs 97 MP to cast. The price tag for this spell is high for a reason; it is one of the best abilities in the entire game. Yuna can target a single ally with Auto-Life and give them something of an insurance policy.

Targets with Auto-Life will immediately be revived upon being defeated in combat. The spell mimics a traditional Phoenix Down and won't revive the ally with full HP. This doesn't take away from the spell's usefulness and power though. The buff persists even if Yuna herself falls in combat. Its existence isn't tied to the caster! Auto-Life is an absolute beast of a spell that can save players from tough boss fights and allow allies to keep fighting without having to spend a turn using an item. Many players agree that this ability is Yuna's best and one of the best in the game.

NEXT: Final Fantasy 10: Lulu's 10 Best Abilities, Ranked

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