Final Fantasy 16 is almost here so be sure to get yourself clued up on everything you need to know about FF16’s main characters and factions.

By Cole Luke

Published: Monday, 19 June 2023 at 12:00 am

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Final Fantasy 16 is nigh upon us and in true Final Fantasy fashion, there are a plethora of characters who all tie into the twisting and turning plot. Mercifully, we have the ultimate guide; the FF16 characters list: Families and factions explained to get us all up to speed before we embark on an unforgettable journey.

If you want to get a head start on the story, be sure to check out the FF16 demo which will give you a taste of what’s to come. You can also hear what the protagonist voice actor Ben Starr thought about the Clive controversy surrounding his character’s name. Spoiler alert, some people are not of the opinion that Clive is a befitting name for a character in a medieval high-fantasy setting.

We’ll be going through all the characters, what families they hail from and what factions they are aligned with. As launch is but a whisker away, it’s best we get started because, as Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida said, “unless a meteor falls on Japan…” there isn’t going to be a delay, so keep reading to find all you need to know about the movers and shakers of the realm Valisthea.

List of characters in FF16

• Clive Rosfield
• Barnabas Tharmr
• Benedikta Harman
• Cidolfus Telamon
• Dion Lesage
• Hugo Kupka
• Joshua Rosfield
• Jill Warrick
• Torgal

Who are the key characters in FF16?

Clive Rosfield

Dear Clive is the protagonist of the game, so we’ll become very familiar with Mr Rosfield over the course of the game. Clive is the eldest son of the Archduke of Rosaria who was assumed to take on the Phoenix’s flames and become its dominant, but the power went to his younger brother, Joshua, instead – who now harbours the Eikon.

Left without purpose, Clive instead mastered cold steel, with his dedication to this chosen craft coming to fruition when he won the ducal tournament aged 15 and was named the First Shield of Rosaria. His duty becomes guarding the Phoenix and is blessed with the ability to use a part of his fire.

This bright future will end in disaster, with a mysterious and Dark Eikon called Ifrit dragging him down a perilous road to revenge.

Square Enix

Barnabas Tharmr

First landing on the continent of Ash’s coastline, Barnabas arrived as a warrior with no titles or lands to his name – but his adept and lethal mastery of the blades earned him a Kingdom steeped in bloodshed, as Beastmen uprisings were brutally quashed by his Eikon, Odin, forcefully uniting the entirety of Ash under the Waloeder ensign.

In stark contrast to his lowly beginnings, Tharmr commands one of Valisthea’s most powerful militaries, but that doesn’t get in the way of him personally fighting in the thick of it. Barnabas can be seen charging into battle on his spectral steed and slaughtering innumerable foes with his fearsome black blade.

A morbid fascination of the bloodshed before him sees Tharmr often watching the onslaught from the sidelines, lost in the brutal beauty of battle.

Square Enix

Benedikta Harman

After a turbulent upbringing, Benedikta came into adulthood “coldhearted and ruthless”, and as Dominant of Eikon Garuda, Warden of the wind, she turned her mastery of weapons and spycraft into commanding Waloed’s elite intelligencers.

Harman is trying to find the fleeting second Eikon of Fire when she crosses paths and finds an equal in Clive, and finds herself forced to face her past.

 

Square Enix

Cidolfus Telamon

Known by his friends as “Cid”, outlaw and former soldier Cidolfus Telamon has made it his mission to build a world that would see exploited Dominants and victimised Bearers meet their ends at their own choosing.

Cid is also learning the natural order of the world and is researching how to survive in the deadlands – where he and his fellow heretics reside.

As a Dominant, Cid stirred the power of Eikon Ramuh living inside of him not long after he landed on the Valisthean coast.

This power saw him soar through the ranks of the Royal Waloeder Army, where first met Benedikta Harman.

Square Enix

Dion Lesage

The much adored and celebrated Crown Prince of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, Dion Lesage, is featured in many a tale memorialising his many exploits on battlefield – where he turned the unfavourable odds stacked against him to his favour.

As the leader of the order of Knights, the Dragoons, Lesage is as feared as he is loved and as such, is not without enemies and malevolent forces gathering to challenge his power.

Square Enix

Hugo Kupka

Once a nobody, Hugo Kupka’s awakening as Dominant of the Eikon Titan saw him rise from being a lowly foot soldier in the Republican Army to the most powerful man in the Dhalmekian nation.

His new power allowed him to position himself in the centre of all things, and he used this to shape the country to his liking both politically, militarily and financially with much of this wealth lining his own pockets.

Though he owned so much, Benedikta Harman will enlighten him to what else in the world can enrich him.

Square Enix

Joshua Rosfield

The second-born of the Archduke of Rosaria and protagonist Clive’s brother, five years his junior, Joshua awoke to become the Dominant of the Phoenix shortly after he was born.

Though Joshua was raised as royalty, he extends the same respect and decorum to all of Rosaria’s subjects but is especially fond of his brother, Clive – so much so that he wishes it were Clive who had become Dominant of the Phoenix, for he considers himself to be bookish and weak.

Unlike Clive, who will throw himself into harm’s way to do his duty, Joshua can’t even bring himself to eat foods he doesn’t like. But this introverted life becomes uprooted when tragedy strikes in Clive’s life, changing his course forever.

Square Enix

Jill Warrick

Hailing from the wasted Northern Territories, Jill was plucked from her homeland at a young age to become a ward of Rosaria. Rosaria’s Archduke swore that Jill would be brought up alongside brothers Clive and Joshua and be considered family as much as they.

Destiny would not allow her to have a settled life, as it pulled the three of them apart, causing the terrifying power of the Eikon Shiva to stir within.

Square Enix

Torgal

Having come from the same Northern Territories as Jill, Archduke Elwin happened upon Torgal in a snowstorm during one of his expeditions to the frozen North and took him in as a present for his sons.

After the tragedy that struck almost finished the Rosfield family, Torgal found Clive again and served him as he once did when was a young pup all those years ago.

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