While not the most highly-regarded game in the series, Final Fantasy X has quite a dedicated base of fans and defenders — more than enough to prompt JRPG fans to give Tidus's story a fair listen. This, of course, includes engaging the game's fast-paced, strategic combat system, which stands apart from every other title in the series. Party composition is fluid, and each member brings something unique to the table.
Kimahri Ronso, the silent guardian, is a fascinating fighter. His Sphere Grid is designed in a way to easily branch into every other section. His role in battle is as the Blue Mage of the party, learning enemy abilities and sending them back at his opponents. He also learns from his allies, which explains why he can adapt so quickly to learn their skills. Because of this, his base abilities aren't the most exciting — but they still have their uses.
5 Extract Mana
The first ability Kimahri brings to the table is Extract Mana. For a cost of 1 MP, Kimahri will attack an enemy. This enemy will now be guaranteed to drop a Mana Sphere rather than their normal item drop. It's a great tool for getting Mana Spheres, and considering how many are needed across each Sphere Grid, it has value in its use.
However, aside from grinding purposes, Extract Mana has no usefulness in serious battles. Plus, it's exclusive to the HD Remaster, so those that are playing the PS2 original will not have access to it. It has no cost to use, but since it isn't really useful in battle, it's Kimahri's worst ability.
4 Jinx
Some of the party members in FFX have a special ability that increases the stats of the party members currently in combat. Others get status debuffs instead, which can be equally as devastating. They typically correspond with that character's main stat used in battle. Kimahri gets the ability Jinx, a status debuff that targets an unexpected stat: Luck. An initial inspection would show that Luck is not exactly a useful stat, as it typically has little impact in combat in other games. In FFX, however, it is surprisingly impactful.
Luck is a stat that crosses two other stats: Evasion and Accuracy. The Luck stat further increases the chance of hitting and dodging attacks. It even affects accuracy through the Darkness status ailment, something the Accuracy stat doesn't provide. Most importantly, it determines critical hit rate. To help tip the odds in the party's favor, Kimahri's Jinx can be used. It may not be immediately helpful, but covering so much ground with one move is invaluable.
3 Ultima
Considering how few abilities Kimahri has, it's interesting that Ultima is only third on the list. Ultima is a staple black magic spell in the series, often being the ultimate black magic technique. It deals incredible damage at a high MP cost. The same goes for its appearance in FFX, only this time the ability is learned by Kimahri.
Ultima deals the highest base damage of any of the spells in the game and isn't based on any of the elements. Since Kimahri has a solid magic stat, he can put it to good use despite an underwhelming amount of MP. Its usefulness depends on how much the MP cost matters to the player. It's also locked behind several Lv. 4 Key Spheres, meaning that it won't be until much later in the game that Kimahri gets access to it. A casual playthrough may not even get access to this incredible technique. Plus, it would likely be better used on black mage Lulu or the summoner Yuna since they have the MP pool for it.
2 Scan
Scan is a pretty self-explanatory ability. It is another staple of not just Final Fantasy, but the entire JRPG genre. This time, Kimahri gets the ability in his toolkit. Scan is an ability that has a low cost, but it allows the user to learn everything about the enemy targeted. Some boss monsters can't be fully scanned, so don't expect perfect reliability.
Scan not only documents the enemy in the Bestiary (for those that care), but it reveals their moveset, stats, and weaknesses. This includes both status ailment weaknesses and elemental weaknesses. Scan is necessary to optimally exploit the enemies using the battle system. Sure, it doesn't provide anything that a Wiki can't provide, but it's a helpful tool regardless.
1 Lancet
Lancet is not an ability Kimahri has to learn. He has it built into his toolkit by default, and it's a core move for his character. For everyone else, the ability deals a small amount of non-aspected damage, restoring a bit of HP and MP and in the process. However, for Kimahri, it's the ability that enables his Overdrive technique: Ronso Rage.
Lancet is powerful not because it's great on its own. As a spell, it's decently useful to dispatch enemies that are already low HP. It doesn't have great effectiveness as a damaging ability. However, the player will need to utilize Lancet to learn the breadth of Kimahri's Ronso Rage skills. Those are the meat and potatoes of Kimahri's character. As such, it's important to document which abilities are the most useful to the player, so we've covered them below:
Seed Cannon
Seed Cannon is an ability that cannot be missed by the player. A tutorial in the Kilika Woods will show the player how to use Lancet to learn enemy abilities, which includes Seed Cannon. Seed Cannon is hardly much different from Kimahri's default Ronso Rage, Jump. The main difference is that Seed Cannon is a ranged attack and has a slightly higher base attack. Since Jump pierces defense it's still better against most enemies, but the raw damage of Seed Cannon is great for most of the game's boss fights.
Stone Breath
Kimahri's Ronso Rage is a great tool for getting access to various rare status ailments. One that can be picked up from Basilisks in the Djose Highroad is Stone Breath. Stone Breath doesn't deal damage, but it inflicts the most lethal status ailment in the game: Petrification.
Petrification, when applied to enemies, is considered an instant one-hit KO. Since Stone Breath hits every enemy, it can sometimes instantly clear combat encounters. While not the best use of an Overdrive limit, it's a pretty effective technique.
White Wind
White Wind is a supportive ability that can be learned from Dark Flans on Mt. Gagazet, home of the Ronso. This healing ability is a staple for Blue Mages, providing a cheap, effective heal for the entire party. Yuna can still provide stronger healing, but at a great MP cost. White Wind is a great tool during fights that are quickly going south, with a free party-wide heal helping to turn the tables. It has limited use since it's found later in the game, but it's still great to pick up.
Bad Breath
Bad Breath is another staple enemy ability. As the trademark skill of the rare Malboro, it will inevitably ruin the player's day at some point. This ability applies Poison, Sleep, Silence, Confusion, Berserk, and Darkness for a whopping 10 turns. Against any group of enemies, this throws everything other than the kitchen sink at opponents. The only other character who has a skill that comes close is the Besaid Auroch's Wakka, who boasts Triple Foul. Bad Breath is still better than that, although it can only be used with Ronso Rage.
Mighty Guard
Similar to how Bad Breath inflicts every single status ailment, Mighty Guard provides every single defensive buff that the game has to offer. A free cast of Protect, Shell, and NulAll will keep the party safe for drawn-out boss battles. It can be obtained from the Behemoth in Mt. Gagazet, although it's more commonly found in the Zanarkand Ruins. Like White Wind, its usage is limited to late-game battles. Despite that, it's a pretty incredible tool for those post-game boss battles.