Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light elements

The following is a list of elements in Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. The game uses a unique-to-the-Final Fantasy series elemental tier system, and most monsters have elemental standard attacks, meaning elemental protection is especially relevant in this game.

Overview[]

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light uses and recycles a lot of it elemental mechanics from the other games in the series while also providing its own take into the mechanics and introduces a new concept which would later be adopted into other games, especially those from the spin-off series, albeit in forms that slightly deviate from the formula brought about in The 4 Heroes.

The game has six elements: Fire, Water (includes "ice" abilities), Earth, Wind, Light (includes electricity-based attacks), and Dark. Players can harness the benefits of these elements for both offense and defense. Damage dealt can be improved by hitting an opponent with the element they are weak to, whereas damage received can be mitigated by protecting against the attack's element.

The offensive aspect[]

Elements are given tiers, like how it is for spells for the majority of the series. Element level (属性攻撃段階, Zokusei kougeki dankai?), also known as Elemental Attack Level, is a feature to both players and opponents, although enemies are only able to attain up to level 2 from the maximum level of 4. The element level only matters for exploiting targets' elemental vulnerabilities: an attack with a higher element level will inflict the same amount of damage as an attack with a lower element level (provided they have the same attack power), if the attacks are not able to take advantage of the target's elemental vulnerability.

The player has several ways to achieve elemental offense of different tiers. Some equipment, mainly weapons and a specific category of accessories, provide level 1 of a specific element, while a handful of weapons, limited to swords, offer level 2. When these equipment are worn, they add an element trait to the wearer's physical attacks, along the tiers that are attached to them.

The majority of spells and abilities only provide level 1 if they have any elements attached. Only the third tier of spells come with element level 2. Active abilities all grant level 1, but some have an innate trait that boosts their damage by a set amount outside the scope of element property.

In regards to the opponents, unless they are human enemies, most of them have an elemental aspect to their standard attacks. While monsters' standard attacks are given element tiers, their true effects only come to light when being summoned by the player after their capture using the Beastmaster crown, as there is no equipment or ability in the game that renders the player vulnerable to a particular element—the very foundation for elemental attack levels to have any impact.

The following table shows the effects of exploiting elemental vulnerability at different elemental attack levels and how the player can achieve them.

↑ All scenario above will only inflict 100% damage if not exploiting elemental vulnerability.

The defensive aspect[]

The more you accrue element effects, the more likely you will be to neutralize element damage.

Man in the Developer's Office

Element resistance level (属性防御段階, Zokusei bougyo dankai?), also known as Elemental Defense Level, is a feature afforded only to players. Although enemies do acquire elemental resistance with similar effect, they do not gain them in levels like player characters do, and each has its own vulnerability or resistance to each of the six elements.

Increasing the level of elemental resistance causes the target to either cut down the damage sustained, nullify the damage, or absorb the damage as health.

Unlike the elemental attack levels, there are only a handful of ways to achieve elemental defense of different tiers. Without the help of abilities, one of the two methods a player character can attain any level of elemental resistance is to equip one of the six elemental shields or capes that grant a single level of elemental resistance to the wearer.

The other option of attaining elemental defense without the help of abilities is to equip the fabled Cape of Light, which grants elemental defense to all six elements, but the item is only obtained very late into the game and the player is only given one copy. Equipping both a shield and a cape of the same element will grant an elemental resistance level that is a result of the combination of the two.

The other remaining means of attaining elemental resistance is to have a character equip the Elementalist crown, whose passive ability grants a single level of resistance to all six elements, halving incoming elemental damage.

Mysterio is the only ability capable in raising the elemental resistance level of the player character, making it an important component in the majority of the game.

Many enemies in Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light inflict elemental damage with their standard attacks. It is therefore prudent to outfit the party with elemental protection.

The following table shows the effects of different elemental defense levels and how the player can achieve them.

List of elemental abilities/equipment/items[]

Fire[]

Earth[]

Wind[]

Water[]

Due to the elemental system, all "ice-based" attacks and items inflict water-elemental damage.

Light[]

Due to the elemental system used within the game, all lightning-based attacks and items inflict light-elemental damage instead of the traditional lightning-elemental damage.

Dark[]