Quickenings

Quickenings are basically Final Fantasy XII's version of a limit break and can be purchased through the License Board. Note, however, that each Quickening block can only be used once (e.g. if one Character purchases a Quickening block, it will no longer be visible/available on your other Characters' License Boards). Fear not, however—there are just enough Quickening blocks to purchase three Quickenings for each of your Characters (the maximum) and therefore it doesn't matter who gets what first.

It is recommended that Quickenings be purchased for your primary Characters as soon as possible. Not only do they provide powerful attacks, they also double a Character's MP once their LVL 2 Quickening has been purchased and triple it once their LVL 3 Quickening has been purchased. When a Quickening is purchased, that Character's MP gauge will be displayed as an orange bar—instead of the typical blue bar—when it is full. Once LVL 2 and LVL 3 Quickenings have been purchased, the MP gauge will display two and three separate orange bars. Each bar will remain full until a certain amount of MP has been used.

But what's the meaning behind these orange bars? They represent "Mist Charges." But what are Mist Charges? They are used to perform a Quickening. When a Character has three full orange bars, he or she can perform up to a LVL 3 Quickening. When a Character has two full orange bars, he or she can perform up to a LVL 2 Quickening. Got it?