War Abilities are effects or bonuses that a particular character contributes to a unit during a large-scale Army Battle in Suikoden II. They are often associated with specific Runes of significance. Each unit consists of three characters and can be rearranged by speaking with Apple in her room or in the War Room.
List of War Abilities[]
| Name | Description | Characters who have it |
|---|---|---|
| Bodyguard | None of the characters in the unit will die in battle | Oulan |
| Bombard | Can perform a single, ranged attack from up to 5 squares away | Teresa Wisemail |
| Bright Shield | Heals allies in a 3-panel range. | Riou |
| Cavalry | Allows the unit to move 2 squares instead of 1 (does not stack/only applies once to a unit) | |
| Critical | Randomly activated, allows the unit to deal double damage to the target unit. | |
| Encourage | All units in the surrounding area will get another turn (only if they have already had their turn for that round). | Annallee |
| Evade | Unit will have a chance to evade an attack. | |
| Fire Magic | Damage all units (enemy and ally) in a 5-grid area | Mazus |
| Fire Spear | Attack all enemies in a 3-grid line. | Tsai |
| Flight | Move in a 3-grid area (can be used with Cavalry) | Chaco |
| Forest Walk | Move 3 spaces through forests | Ayda |
| Heal | Heals one ally. | Huan |
| Heavy Armor | Adds an extra sword to the unit (increases the amount of damage needed to defeat the unit) | |
| Investigate | Shows the success rate (percent) for attack and defense. | Emilia |
| Invention | Damages all enemy units within 1 square in all four directions, including own unit. | Adlai |
| Lightning Magic | Attack 1 enemy in a 5-grid area. | Jeane |
| Melee | Increases the rate of success of attack against archery and mage units. Randomly activates. | |
| Repair Self | Removes one sword damage (own unit only). | |
| Scout | See your possible success-rate before attacking | Kasumi |
| Shortcut | Can move across any type of terrain unhindered (including castle walls) | Templeton |
| Wind Magic | Damage 1 enemy in a 5-grid area. | Luc |