The Hero Overhaul

This article will provide a deep dive into the sweeping Hero changes that have come to Final Fantasy XV: War for Eos.

Broadly speaking, this overhaul has changed the function of Hero Levels & Star Ranks, improved Hero stats, introduced new Skill types, and reallocated bonuses from one Hero to another.

In the aggregate, this new ecosystem provides equal or greater benefits than the old one - only now with a greater focus on coherence, clarity, definition, and Hero identity.

Below, you will find the most up-to-date information on the mechanics, changes, design guidelines, strategies, and Hero stats that have accompanied this overhaul.

IMPORTANT NOTE [as of August 5th, 2024]:

As a result of this overhaul, all previously published Hero articles, strategies, and guides - both in-game and via Web Portal - have been rendered largely irrelevant and/or inaccurate.

Our team is working to ensure that those materials are updated and eventually reflective of this newest build, but it is a lengthy process; in the meantime, please consider this article the singular source of truth for Hero mechanics, guides, and stats.

What Changed - At A Glance

Hero Resources:
- Hero Levels are still increasable via XP & Hero Drinks.
- Star Ranks are still increasable via Hero Tokens & Catalysts.
- Acquiring and upgrading Hero Skills (of both types) now requires Tomes. Tomes are a brand new resource; they are obtainable via Events & Sales.
  - Tomes come in different rarities (Rare, Epic, Legendary), and may only be used on Heroes of a matching type.

Hero Levels:
- Hero Levels are no longer tied to Skill unlocks.
- Some Persistent Troop & March Bonuses (ex. Troop Atk / Lethality / Health / Etc…) that were once provided by Party Skills have been reallocated, and are now provided by a combination of Hero Levels & Star Ranks (see below: “Diving In: The Heroes”).
- Your Hero does not need to be active to receive most of these boosts - and boosts can be increased by increasing Hero Level.
  - Note: March Capacity Boosts still require the Hero to be active.
- Hero Levels still max at 250.
- Hero Levels still provide the same March Capacity bonus.
- Party Skill Bonuses based on Hero Level are unchanged.

Star Ranks:
- Star Ranks are now required for unlocking Hero Skills & Hero Skill Levels.
- Some Persistent Troop & March Bonuses (ex. Troop Atk / Lethality / Health / Etc…) that were once provided by Party Skills have been reallocated, and are now provided by a combination of Hero Levels & Star Ranks (see below: “Diving In: The Heroes”).
  - Your Hero must be active to receive Star Rank boosts - and boosts can be increased by increasing Rank Level.
  - Star Ranks UNLOCK new Hero Skills - but do NOT acquire them. Once unlocked, Skills need to be acquired and upgraded with Tomes.
  - Star Ranks have been expanded, and now go up to a max of 30, with 6 stars across 5 unique ranks. The Hero Token & Catalyst cost to upgrade Star Ranks has been evenly distributed across the now greater number of Ranks.
  - Heroes have been appropriately converted to a 30-Scale Star Rank based on their old 21-Scale Rank. The conversion scale is as follows:

Old Star Rank (21-Scale)	Old Star Color (21-Scale)	New Star Rank (30-Scale)	New Star Color (30-Scale)
1	Blue 1 →	2	Green 2
2	Blue 2 →	3	Green 3
3	Blue 3 →	5	Green 5
4	Blue 4 →	6	Green 6
5	Blue 5 →	8	Blue 2
6	Blue 6 →	9	Blue 3
7	Blue 7 →	10	Blue 4
8	Purple 1 →	12	Blue 6
9	Purple 2 →	13	Purple 1
10	Purple 3 →	15	Purple 3
11	Purple 4 →	16	Purple 4
12	Purple 5 →	18	Purple 6
13	Purple 6 →	19	Gold 1
14	Purple 7 →	20	Gold 2
15	Gold 1 →	22	Gold 4
16	Gold 2 →	23	Gold 5
17	Gold 3 →	25	Red 1
18	Gold 4 →	26	Red 2
19	Gold 5 →	28	Red 4
20	Gold 6 →	29	Red 5
21	Gold 7 →	30	Red 6

Since Star Rank conversion to the expanded 30-Scale was based on old Hero progression, Party Skill Bonuses from the new 30-Scale Star Rank still grant equivalent or greater bonuses than their previous 21-Scale amounts.

Hero Skills:
- Hero Skills are now separated into two distinct categories: Party Skills, and War Skills.
  - Hero Skills (of both types) become available at certain Star Ranks, and can be acquired (and upgraded) with Tomes. They are not automatically upgraded - but can be manually improved to Level 3 (Party Skills) or Level 5 (War Skills).
- Party Skills refer to a Hero’s real-time combat skills and abilities. These are largely unchanged from their previous iteration.
  - Legendary & Epic Heroes still have 5 Party Skills. Rare Heroes still have 4.
  - A Hero’s old skill levels were transferred 1:1 to their Party Skill level. Example: A Hero who had a skill level of 2, now has a Party Skill level of 2.
- War Skills are brand new - they focus on a Hero’s March & Persistent Bonuses. War Skills reinforce Hero specialties, archetypes, and identities; they grant each Hero a unique and powerful play style.
  - Hero benefits that were previously granted as Persistent Bonuses have been reclassified as War Skills; this new categorization allows us to more finely tune, adjust, and empower these benefits, and to more closely align them with a Hero’s strategic role and speciality (see below: “Diving In: The Heroes”).
  - Rare & Epic Heroes have 2 War Skills. Legendary Heroes have 3.
  - A Hero’s old skill level determined their starting War Skill level - War Skill levels are now comparable to (or better than) previous skill levels.

Hero UI
- The Hero UI has gotten a “Quality of Life” rework to facilitate better communication, feel, and flow (see below: “The Hero Screen”).
  - The Skill Menu has been drawn to the forefront of the Hero landing page; this ensures that less menu navigation is needed, and that info and action buttons can be found easily and with less tedium.

Why The Change?

The world of Final Fantasy XV is inundated with incredible characters - kings, queens, titans, soldiers, beasts - each replete with their own powers, personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and specialties.

In short: our initial design failed to capture the essence of this exceptional roster; it largely negated the aspects of character that make these Heroes unique, explosive, and memorable.

The problem was twofold:

Heroes became “generalists” - they excelled at little, and played largely the same, despite their archetypes. They were robbed of specific roles, and lacked clear definition. This created an undesired uniformity in Empire play styles and strategies; it prohibited Player agency and preference.
Hero benefits - their stats, bonuses, uses, and skills - were often poorly communicated and misunderstood. This was largely the consequence of an unintuitive Hero UI and, more fundamentally, a suite of poorly defined Hero Skills & Abilities.

What Was Our Goal?

Our Goal: To make our Heroes feel more powerful, unique, and specialized; to cultivate a strong sense of player agency, freedom, and play style; to ensure that our players feel empowered - not impeded - by their Hero preferences.

We wanted players to get excited about their favorite Heroes - to feel rewarded for upgrading them, sticking with them, and fighting alongside them.
Each of these Heroes is a specialist; they’re meant to excel in certain aspects of combat, and wield powers that are unique unto themselves. We wanted to lean heavily into their archetypes, reinforce play style variations, and reward dedicated Empire builds. We wanted these Heroes to feel different, and have their own identities.
Lastly, we wanted the process of upgrading and advancing these Heroes to feel smooth, exciting, rewarding, and intuitive.

How Did We Achieve This?

In an attempt to more clearly define the roles and functions of our Heroes, we’ve reallocated, rearranged, streamlined, and improved their associated benefits.

For example, Persistent Benefits that were once provided by Party Skills are now instead provided by Hero Levels, Star Ranks, or newly created War Skills.
War Skills are either based around a Hero’s prior Persistent Benefits - or entirely new Benefits that better align with their speciality. In some cases, they have been buffed, or changed into multiplicative bonuses to increase potency.
- Multiplicative Bonuses: These are brand new bonus types - added during the overhaul - that are designed to make Heroes more impactful, meaningful, and intriguing. They greatly increase Hero power and potency in combat. Look for these new bonuses in the before/after charts below (see below: “Diving In: The Heroes”).
Additionally, some boosts have been redistributed between Heroes. For example, we may have taken a Throne Lethality bonus from one Hero, and given it instead to another Hero, where it makes more sense (and is more effective) for their role and identity.
Please note that - while Heroes (in this new iteration) have fewer benefit categories - their remaining benefits have been consolidated and increased in power. Ultimately, they are equal to or greater in power than they were previously - only now with a more precise focus.

Diving In: The Heroes

Below, you will find a comprehensive before and after comparison for each of the Heroes in FFXV: WFE.

This will demonstrate precisely how their Skills have changed, how they’ve been boosted, and what their new - more finely-tuned - roles will be.

Rare Heroes

Gladiolus:

Gladiolus has received buffs to his Stone Gathering prowess, and will continue to buff Cavalry Troops.

Ignis:

Ignis has become further specialized in Food Gathering, and will continue to buff Ranged Troops.

Prompto:

Prompto’s Metal Gathering prowess has been amplified, and he will continue to buff Ranged Troops.

Epic Heroes

Cid:

Cid will now primarily and significantly reduce Building Time, and increase Stamina Regen rates. He can more effectively protect your city with a new City Wall Health Defense Multiplier - and also continues to buff Cavalry Troops.

Iris:

Iris is now a Hero that excels and specializes in Healing & Research Speed. She has a new City Wall Attack Multiplier that will aid in City protection, and will continue to buff Cavalry Troops.

Loqi:

Loqi is now a PvE powerhouse; he has buffs that greatly increase effectiveness vs. Skirmishes, and he reduces March time to PvEs. He will also continue to buff Infantry Troops.

Prince Noctis:

Prince Noctis now excels even further in Energy Gathering, and will continue to buff Infantry Troops.

Legendary Heroes

Aldercapt:

Aldercapt’s role has shifted; he is now specialized in March Speed buffs, which he provides on traversal to any combat. He also provides an additional March Speed buff while attacking. In addition to this - and due to his new Troop Attack Multiplier War Skill - he will strengthen all Troops (while active), during any combat. He also retains his general Troop buffs.

Aranea:

With her new Skirmish Defense Multiplier War Skill, Aranea’s role has shifted to buffing Skirmishes. Additionally, Aranea will provide major Attack Multiplier, Lethality, and Defense buffs to Cavalry Troops.

Ardyn:

Ardyn has been rebuilt around City protection - he provides City Wall & HP buffs, and also increases Reinforcement Capacity. In addition to his general Troop buffs, he now also strengthens all combat Troops by providing a Lethality Multiplier bonus, and extra Troop Attack.

Biggs:

Biggs will turn Infantry into formidable foes with his new Infantry Attack Multiplier. All Troops will also benefit from his general bonuses, and his specialized Troop Defense & Defense Multiplier bonuses.

Caligo:

Caligo will embolden Rallies with his new Rally Attack & Rally Defense Multiplier bonuses. He’ll also provide powerful PvP bonuses in the form of a City Assault HP Multiplier. Troops are still generally empowered by his presence.

Carbuncle:

Carbuncle is the guardian of your new recruits; he’ll increase Training Speed, and the Max Cap of Troops that can be trained in each building. He’ll now also protect your City with a new City Wall Lethality Multiplier War Skill, and will continue to empower Infantry Troops.

Cindy:

Cindy is now perfect in a support role; she’ll increase Reinforcement Capacity, reduce Construction Resource Costs, and increase Construction Speed. She’ll continue to provide general bonuses to Cavalry Troops.

Cor:

Cor’s role has undergone some change; his new Skirmish Health War Skill makes him valuable for buffing Skirmish effectiveness. He will now also empower Infantry Troops with Attack Multiplier, Lethality, and Defense buffs.

Crowe:

Crowe’s power has been honed and consolidated; she now focuses largely on buffing Rallies with Rally Cap & HP bonuses. Additionally, she now has a Troop Health Multiplier bonus, and will continue to provide general Troop buffs.

Dustin Ackers:

Dustin is great for overall Troop power; he now has Infantry Lethality and Troop Health Multipliers, and will also increase Rally Attack power.

Gentiana:

Gentiana’s role has been reworked; she now provides excellent support through her Construction & Training Speed buffs, and provides a universal Troop Lethality Multiplier.

King Noctis:

King Noctis has taken on his true position as King - full of powerful, newly consolidated Grand Throne HP, Defense, and Lethality bonuses. His new Troop Health Multiplier buff will also benefit all Troops while he’s active.

Libertus:

Libertus continues to be a soldier, above all - his new War Skill bonuses will boost Troop Lethality, Training Capacity, and Troop Attack.

Luche:

Luche’s role has been restructured and refined; he now has a precise focus on buffing the Health of his forces through multiple Troop Health & Health Multiplier bonuses.

Luna:

Lunafreya now excels in Skirmish combat. Additionally, she provides formidable bonuses to Ranged Troops.

Monica:

Monica now further excels in buffing Cavalry Troops with a Health Multiplier War Skill. All Troops will also benefit from her active presence.

Nyx:

With a new Reinforcement Capacity War Skill, Nyx has become a master of Reinforcement. Troops of all kinds will receive a powerful buff through his Troop Defense Multiplier and Troop Health Skills.

Pelna:

Pelna has been reformed into a titan of Rally power. His War Skills will now offer Rally Lethality and Rally Lethality Multiplier buffs - and all Troops will benefit from his Troop Defense Multiplier Skill.

Pryna:

In addition to enhancing Research Speed, Pryna will now also provide powerful buffs to Troop Attack and Troop Defense.

Ravus:

Ravus will now help increase the number of your forces with major Rally Cap and Injured Troop Cap buffs. His Troop Defense Multiplier War Skill will benefit any Troops in his active presence.

Sonitus:

Sonitus has become a formidable Troop & Rally powerhouse. He now has higher Troop & Rally boosts, and - via his new War Skills - also has major Ranged Lethality Multiplier & Troop Health Multiplier boosts.

Titus:

Troops around Titus are now inspired to strike mighty blows. He has several new Troop & Rally Attack War Skills that will greatly empower the Troops at his side.

Tredd:

Tredd is a powerful, well-rounded fighter that can now provide Attack & Defense buffs to all Troops & Cavalry.

Umbra:

Umbra is, as ever, a Messenger - now watching over and supporting your Troops through Healing Speed, Health Multiplier, and Lethality buffs.

Verstael:

True to his nature, Verstael will rain fire down upon opposing Cities. He is now focused on City Combat by providing City Assault Lethality Multiplier, HP, and Attack Boosts - and will also buff the HP of Rallying Troops.

Wedge:

Wedge is a man of the Troops, and will now provide powerful Ranged & Troop Multipliers.

Weskham:

Weskham will embolden your forces by providing Attack Multiplier & additional Attack Boosts to all Troops - with a special Defense Multiplier for Ranged Troops, too.

Wiz:

Wiz is an all-around Troop supporter - offering powerful new War Skill bonuses to Cavalry Defense, Troop Attack, and Rally Defense.

The Hero Screen

The Hero UI is also getting a rework - this is an effort to ensure that leveling these overhauled Heroes is more seamless, intuitive, efficient, and fun.

Below, you can find some screenshots and explanations of the new UI flow and functionality.

In short: the Skill Menu has been drawn to the forefront of the Hero landing page, and now allows quick access to both Party Skills, and the new War Skills.

New Hero Landing Page

1. Faction: Shows the Faction of the selected Hero.

2. Hero Stats: Shows the Stats of the selected Hero, and how they will improve with each level.

3. March Slot: Shows the March Slot of the selected Hero.

4. Class: Shows the Class of the selected Hero.

5. War Skills: Opens the War Skills leveling screen - here, you can acquire and upgrade War Skills with Tomes.

6. Party Skills: Opens the Party Skills leveling screen - here, you can acquire and upgrade Party Skills with Tomes.

7. Rank Up: Allows you to increase Star Rank and unlock new Hero Skills.

8. Level Up: Allows you to Level Up Heroes and increase their stats.

The Party Skill nodes now show how many Star Ranks & Tomes are required for upgrading a Party Skill.

The new War Skill nodes will take you to this screen - here, you can see the bonus provided by the War Skill, its increase per level, and the requirements to both unlock and upgrade the Skill.

As seen above, this particular Skill hasn’t been unlocked yet - looking at the Requirements section shows that it will take 25 Epic Hero Tomes to do so!

Parting Words

We could not be more excited for these improvements, and for what they bring to the world of Eos: a slew of truly powerful, specialized Heroes that reward player strategy, preference, and commitment.

Your feedback and enthusiasm continue to inspire us as we evolve and improve the game. Please consider stopping by our Discord to share your thoughts!

In the meantime, our sincerest thanks - and we’ll see you on the battlefield.

Final Fantasy XV: War For Eos Team

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