Although Soul Breaks are automatically learned, they must still be equipped in order to become available for use. Until the most recent server-side update, Soul Breaks required EXP proportional to that acquired with normal battles. The Soul Gauge was also divided into three larger segments, with only a marker above the gauge to measure its progress. Character-specific Soul Breaks, also known as Unique Soul Breaks, could also be mastered by the character, thus allowing them to use Unique Soul Breaks without having to wear the equipment that originally granted it. The game later allowed for characters to choose up to four different Soul Breaks to bring into battle, expanding to ten as of the most recent update. Initially, players were forced to pick only one Soul Break for their characters before they were brought into battle. The attacking unit will charge the selected Break wrapped in an orange aura, and then unleash it.
When the gauge is sufficiently filled, the player can execute any Break s/he has energy to execute. Energy is built by attacking or taking damage, and so combines the Stoic and Warrior Overdrive modes in Final Fantasy X. The idea is that Breaks of higher magnitude would consume more Soul Gauge energy. Some Soul Breaks may require different numbers of segments before they can be executed, such as Arcane Overstrike Soul Breaks require three, and Glint Soul Breaks require one. The Soul Gauge, located at the top of the player control panel, is divided into six segments, of which two are required to execute a common Soul Break. All characters start with a Soul Break but are able to use other Soul Breaks simply by acquiring specific pieces of equipment, such as weapons. Each playable character has a Soul Break, which is sometimes unique to specific characters or usable by multiple characters.