Final Fantasy II/Magic

There are 40 different spells available to the player characters in Final Fantasy 2. They can be divided in two groups: White spells, mainly dealing with healing and defense, and Black spells, mainly dealing with attack and debuff.

Every character can learn any spell. Every spell has a level that corresponds to the Magic Points (MP) necessary to cast the spell itself. Every spell starts at level 1, and the level is increased after repeated use of the spell.

The effectiveness of White spells is based on the Wisdom of the caster, while the effectiveness of Black spells is based on caster's Intelligence.

How to distinguish White and Black Magic
Whenever the players find a new spell tome, there is no direct clue whether it is White or Black.

Here's an exhaustive list of hints:
 * In the first town, the magic shop sells a "Cure" spell that is obviously White and three offensive spells, i.e. Blizzard, Thunder and Fire, that are obviously Black.
 * At the beginning of the second mission Minwu the White Mage joins the party. He's equipped with sixteen White spells, i.e. all except four.
 * Later in the game, the Ultima spell is referred to as the "ultimate White magic".
 * The last three White spells are Slow, Holy and Mini. They can all be bought in shops, moreover Mini can also be found in a dungeon.
 * Magic shops generally sell White spells. There are few "black" exceptions, though: the aforementioned magic shop in the first town, the Vacuum spell, and a secret shop during the last mission.
 * On the other hand, Black spells are generally found in chests in the dungeons. The only "white" exceptions are a few chests containing the Mini spell or spells known by Minwu.
 * After a spell is assigned to a character, if the character casts a White spell a white and blue energy ring appears around him/her, but if he/she casts a Black spell a yellow and green energy ring appears instead.

Healing and field spells

 * Cure
 * Life
 * Esuna
 * Teleport

Support spells

 * Basuna
 * Blink
 * Protect
 * Shell
 * Barrier
 * Wall
 * Swap

Debuff spells

 * Fear
 * Silence
 * Fog
 * Sap
 * Dispel
 * Slow

Attack spells

 * Mini
 * Holy
 * Ultima

Summary table
In the table below, when two different spell names are reported, the first is the one used in the GBA "Dawn of Souls" and PSP "Anniversary" editions, the second one is the one used in the PSX "Origins" edition.

Spell types:
 * Field: spells that can be used outside battle;
 * Support: battle spells that target the allies;
 * Debuff: battle spells that target the enemies, but deal no damage;
 * Attack: battle spells that deal damage to the enemies.

Locations:
 * Towns: most White spells can be bought in shops;
 * Minwu: he knows several White spells since the beginning;
 * Dungeons: spells that can be found and obtained for free are highlighted in green'''.
 * Win from enemies: some enemies randomly drop a magic tome when defeated; they are not listed here because of the length of such list; check the enemies page instead.

Summary table
Very few black spells can be bought in shops, but every one can be sold; selling price is half of purchasing price. Spells that can only be found have their value cell highlighted in gray, and the number reported is twice selling price.

Locations:
 * Magic shops: few black spells can be bought in shops, and most of these can anyway be found for free in dungeons;
 * Dungeons: black spells that can be obtained for free are highlighted in green;
 * Leila: she starts with one black spell already equipped;
 * Win from enemies: many enemies randomly drop spells upon defeat; there is one black spell that can only be obtained this way, and it is highlighted in red.

Some weapons cast a black spell if selected from the "Menu" item in battle, others cause a status ailment when attacking an enemy. The effectiveness of the cast spell depends on the user's Intelligence, while the frequency of the inflicted ailment depends on the user's weapon skill level.

Elements
There are several elements in Final Fantasy 2:
 * Lightning
 * Ice
 * Fire
 * Poison
 * Body
 * Matter
 * Death
 * Holy

Some attack spells deal elemental damage, some protect from elements, some reduce elemental defenses of the enemies.

Status ailments and enemy magic
Temporary statuses: Sleep, Paralysis, Confusion, Venom, Mini, Silence, Slow.

Permanent statuses: Blindness, Curse, Toad, Poison, Amnesia, Stone.

Similar statuses:
 * Sleep and paralysis (spells: sleep, stun, stop)
 * Mute and amnesia (spells: silence, fog)
 * Venom and poison (spell: scourge)
 * Mini, toad and stone (spells: mini, toad, break): when the spells are used on the enemies, they are instantly defeated; when used on the party, Esuna or other items are used to cure the status.

Magic strategy
In order to maximize the effectiveness of spells, it would be advantageous to have characters with White spells only and characters with Black spells only. Every character can learn up to 16 different spells. Considering the three main characters, one example of strategy could be the following:
 * assign 16 black spells to Maria, because she starts with higher Intelligence;
 * assign just 4 Black and 4 white spells (the "leftovers") to Guy, because he starts with low Magic, Wisdom and Intelligence;
 * assign 16 White Spells to Firion, because although he's a well balanced character, the "white mage" position is the vacant one.

The eight "leftover" spells should be spells that are found somehow early in the game, so that the later and more powerful spells can be assigned to the characters with more advanced Wisdom or Intelligence. Furthermore, the "leftovers" can also be some spells with effect very similar to other spells of the same alignment, in particular either Silence or Fog (white spells that prevent enemy magic), either Stun or Stop (black spells that paralyze the enemies), either Toad or Break or Death (black spells that instantly defeat enemies).

In order to get a high level of magic proficiency, your characters should use their magic as much as they can. As soon as you saved enough money, buy three Ethers for 1000 Gil each. Then, have your characters use their magic until they deplete all their MP: now it's time to use weapons. When a character's Health Points (HP) are low, give one Ether to your White magic user; right before the boss, give the other two Ethers to your other two main characters. The temporary fourth character generally doesn't need Ether, either because he has lots of MP (Minwu) or because he has no spells (almost everyone else).

Debuff spells are defined as "battle spells that target the enemies, but deal no damage". They are generally underestimated by beginners because they miss quite often. Truth is, a leveled-up debuff spell becomes very effective in preventing the enemies from damaging your characters, i.e. a black spell becomes sort of a defensive spell. A support white spell like Protect or Shell reduces the damage your party suffers, but a successful debuff spell like Sleep or Stun prevents damage completely!