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The most sure-fire way of obtaining a weapon with Waterstrike is through Customization. Doing so will require 4 Fish Scales, and a weapon with a vacant ability slot to customize onto. Keep in mind that a weapon’s name may change after adding abilities to it.
The Waterstrike auto-ability in FFX will imbue a weapon with the water element. This means that you will be dealing water damage when using physical attacks.
Some weapons that drop during battle have a chance at having Waterstrike. Brotherhood, the sword given to Tidus by Wakka at the start of the game, will receive an upgrade that includes Waterstrike during the events at Guadosalam.
Where To Get Fish Scales
Water Element in Macalania Woods
Fish Scales in FFX can deal water damage to an enemy when used through the “Use” ability. Rikku starts the game with this ability already learned, so you can find it on her starting section of the Sphere Grid.
Like most items that can be consumed through the Use ability, the only way to obtain Fish Scales is to steal them from certain enemies.
Here’s a list of enemies you can steal Fish Scales from:
Enemy Name
Location
Aqua Flan
Via Purifico
Blue Element
Macalania Woods
Maze Larva
Via Purifico
Sahagin
Submerged Ruins, Via Purifico
Water Flan
Besaid
The Mug ability can also be used to acquire Fish Scales from these enemies. Both Mug and Steal are also found in Rikku’s section of the Sphere Grid.
Using Waterstrike
Adding Waterstrike to a Weapon
The Waterstrike ability is best utilized by characters like Tidus and Wakka who rely on physical attacks for most of their damage.
You’d definitely want to be using Waterstrike on enemies that are weak to water. On the other hand, avoid using Waterstrike weapons on enemies that are resistant to water damage or absorb it completely.
You can see an enemy’s elemental affinities by using Scan or by having a party member equipped with Sensor present on the battlefield. If you find yourself facing an enemy that resists or absorbs water, you can swap out gear on a character by pressing Right on your D-Pad when it is their turn and choosing Weapon from the menu.
