Still have such a fascination with why Noctis uses elemental flasks in FFXV, and the general manifestation of Lucis Caelum magic specifically - because the Oracles have their own brand of magic, and there’s whatever Kimya has going on at the House of Hexes with her potions.
Just assume general full game spoilers, even though being reasonably vague. Also extremely vague but important spoilers for Kingsglaive??
It is presumably matter of fact that usually royals born into the Lucis Caelum family don’t necessarily need magical flasks to manipulate the elements or cast other spells - this is predominantly seen in the Kingsglaive movie.
Regis is capable of not only upholding the wall around Insomnia via crystal and ring, but freely controlling the elements - seen openly when he carries fire in his palm, and later takes to combat against Glauca with lightning. This is passed on to the Kingsglaive, who have a degree of adaptability regarding Lucian magic that other people otherwise do not.
However, the Crownsguard (I.e Cor, the Chocobros, etc) don’t have the capability to throw bare magic around with the palms.
At most, I think Ignis can channel fire through his daggers with Sagefire, but all other elemental attacks/spells cast in the main game - even for Noctis up until the Ring of the Lucii is recovered - are done via flask.
The degree of magic they recieve from the King of Lucis - or their adaptability with magic, thus their capability of wielding it to greater extremes - is lesser than that of a Kingsglaive member.
Which indicates, in regards to Noctis, several possibilities:
- His adaptibility regarding creation and control of elemental magic/spell casting is lower than his father’s/Kingsglaive for whatever reason (ex: the Marilith attack)
- Natural adaptibility doesn’t account for time spent learning how to wield and later developing ways of adapting to magic -> that the ability to freely wield the elements is not just innate within a person, but something that does have to be trained overtime, and at 19/20/21, Noctis does not have the training in regards to magic to do so.
(AKA: even a person with low adaptibilty to LC magic can eventually learn to free cast the elements - but, as seen in the movie, regardless of magic adaptability, the larger a spell is and the more magic it takes to cast is the all more strain on the body of the caster(s).
- Generally, freely casting elemental spells takes more energy than using a flask, and flask spells are generally more containable and controllable (so: less taxing on the caster and somewhat less prone to death via friendly fire).
- a combination of all of the above.
My personal headcanon was the 1st, wherein the Marilith attack seriously fucked with Noctis’s magic, potentially due to him being infected with the Starscourge to an unknown degree and however that interfaces with the Lucis Caelum bloodline + magic (ex: Ardyn), despite the fact that the entire family’s magic was essentially coalescing within the ring for him to inherit when he ascended the throne and he was the Chosen King, etc.
Plus the general: Magic Can and Will kill you if you push its expenditure beyond your body’s limits.
And then I started thinking about instances where other characters except the chocobros were using magic, and the toll we see it take on their bodies as a cost, which led to the rest of the list and the thought that it would be a little more fascinating for me (and tortuous for Noct, rip) if it was a combination.
I don’t think there has ever been a canon reason why Noctis uses flasks.
It’s stated that the ring does drain a king’s lifeforce via the wall, and the Kingsglaive movie depicts that using a large amount of magic can cause nosebleeds, passing out (and total evisceration of the body via spotaneous combustion if you put on the ring and the old kings don’t like you), but never why Noctis uses flasks.
Could be any reason above, personal preference, etc etc etc. just random ramblings thoughts on it.
