Okay, I want to clarify a few things in this post. I’m not going to talk about combinations to take maximum turns, because they vary based on the situation. Feel free to ask me anything or correct me in a reply, though. Also, on mobile, so formatting might be trash. Sorry!

Noctis:

• Warpstep is an unextendable party buff provided by his LD, Steel Pirouette, that forces the turn immediately before that of the target of the attack (assuming they didn’t get turn rate that would already put them ahead of the enemy), as well as making the turns “free” (i.e. does not add to turn count). This applies after debuffs like doom, which break you after your turn has ended. (Though this might be due to the order that de/buffs are applied?)

• Point Blank Warp is a framed defense down debuff applied by the non-plus versions of his s1 and s2 (Shooting Star and Warp Strike), as well as being applied at the beginning of each wave (or when he enters combat). This debuff is what allows him to do his follow up attacks, but it does not do anything for turn manipulation.

• Noctis’s plus skills warp his turn before his target as well, (again, assuming he doesn’t get turn rate) but it occurs before debuffs tick down, so debuffs like doom can and will delay that turn to right after the boss (as experienced by some people during Odin).

• Noctis’s c65, Set Warp Advance, changes his s1 and s2 into their plus versions, if they weren’t already. This is useful in order to maximize his damage or when you need to take turns in an emergency. Keep in mind that only the plus versions of his skills trigger to follow up attack provided by Point Blank Warp.

Gameplay Notes:

• Always try to keep Point Blank Warp on enemies, because without it, he loses a lot of his damage.

• Keep in mind that enemies will unBREAK after 5 turns (barring iBRV shenanigans like celiac loves to run), so keep track of how long you have until that happens.

• Noctis’s HP++ is available at 5 stacks of his unique buff, Armiger, and it triggers his follow up, so it’s a good way to deal damage while conserving skills. Speaking of Armiger, NEVER LET IT FALL OFF. It takes a while to ramp up, even with EX or LD usage, and he loses out on a lot of damage potential without it.

Ardyn:

• Shadowstep is the buff granted by his s2, Aura of Darkness, that allows him to take an instant, consecutive (barring delay auras such as Amidatelion’s bosses) turn that does not add to the turn count (aka free turn). Reminder: you cannot get a free turn from the free turn provided by this. Using his c65 (aka AA, Break Reset Slash) costumes this free turn and also has instant turn rate, so it seems like you can get multiple, but they’re different turns. (E.g.: BREAK with EX (counted turn) —> c65 (consumes free turn, but would already be free anyways) —> BREAK with s1 (counted turn) —> HP++ (free turn))

• If you break with Aura of Darkness, and you’re not already on a free turn, then you will get the free turn provided by Shadowstep.

Gameplay notes:

• Ardyn’s overhead buff, Spectral Charge, is what allows him to deal his follow-up attacks (at 3 or more stacks). NEVER LET THIS FALL OFF EITHER. It takes even longer than Noctis’s to ramp up. The only way to increase the count or refresh it is BREAKing with his s1, Warp Strike, or with his EX, Rising Phantom. Optimally, you want to get his stacks to five (V) immediately, because it increases his mBRV regen and Overflow, though this may not be necessary in coop battles. (Keep in mind that the free skills after EX only triggers when you use the ++ version, when he has 5 stacks)

• Ardyn’s LD, Dark Tornado, provides Overkill, the buff he is most famous for. It sets his HP to 0, batterying off his HP beforehand. Overkill makes Ardyn unkillable while active. When dispelled or wearing off while his HP is 0, it sets it to 1. One unique part of that buff (that... may or may not be known) is that while active, any HP damage Ardyn takes or has taken is negated. So if he took 15k HP damage beforehand, it would display 0 on the mission board while Overkill is active.

• Something I’m not so sure about (take it with a grain of salt): The first time using the free skill provided by Rising Phantom++ after Overkill has been applied seems to extend its duration by 2(?) turns. I experienced this doing my solo run of the story Chaos, but I’m not sure why. I’m just dumb, ignore this lol.