
Originally Posted by
Tokitoki
My personal list, working from my own ability uses (R# denotes Rank, ie R1 = Rank 1 or just created, not honed. R2 is honed once):
Double Cut - at least 2 at Rank 3, 4 would be best. We do get a new ability that's similar and has a higher mod later on.
Spellblades (Fira, Thundara, Blizzara, Drain) - I'm working on making them all R4 at this point. Fira and Blizzara are done.
Curaga - R5, no questions
Protectga - At least create, hone once at most imo. Mostly I use it for boss fights, but having more uses would be useful for the higher difficulty dungeons with stronger trash.
Breaks (Armor, Power, Magic, Mental) - At least R3, higher if you have extra orbs or find that you're running out of uses. I have Armor and Magic at R5, Power and Mental at R3. Reason not to take them too high would be...
Breakdowns (Armor, Power, Magic, Mental) - At the moment these are your best stat reduction abilities. Thieves get a "__ Steal" ability later on, but these will do you well for now. I'd try to get these to R3, but they require Greater Orbs so it'll take some time.
-ga Spells (Blizzaga, Thundaga, Firaga) - I brought these to R5, well Thundaga is still R4 I think. Either way, hitting weakness on enemies will generally do close to max damage with decent equipment/levels. Fairly easy to hone so it's worth spending the time to do.
-ja Spells (Blizzaja, Firaja, Thundaja) - Good for Elite bosses in high difficulty dungeons or for hitting an enemy without a weakness. Harder to hone because of the use of Greater orbs, but try to get them to R2/3.
Quake - AoE around the same damage as -ga spells. Really great for clearing trash or adds on boss battles.
Retaliate - Retaliate meta thing if you're doing that route. This goes along with..
Boost - Boosts attack and can put you into the threshold of OHKOs instead of having to use two turns to clear trash. Good to save medals.
Carbuncle - AoE reflect, R2 at least. Really great for some of the recent event dungeons. Helped that it was a reward so you didnt need to spend the initial create cost in Summoning Orbs.
Phoenix - I honed this to R2. Good AoE fire damage plus raise a single PT member. I've given it some use, mostly for the AoE fire aspect.
Dark Buster - R3 or 4 for blinding bosses
Venom Buster - R3 or 4 for posioning bosses
Break/Death - R2, situationally useful for some bosses. Break sees a little more use than Death I think.
Probably more, but that's off the top of my head.