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Final Fantasy/Black magic: Difference between revisions
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Black magic is simply great to have, even if you have strong attackers capable of killing most things in one hit. You will often be facing large groups of enemies, and a physical attack (no matter how strong) can only kill on enemy at a time. A mid or high level spells can hit every thing at once, and once you start finding items capable of casting spells, you don't even need physical attacks for many fights. Black magic can also be used to augment your attackers, letting them deal hundreds of points in damage to even the strongest bosses. | Black magic is simply great to have, even if you have strong attackers capable of killing most things in one hit. You will often be facing large groups of enemies, and a physical attack (no matter how strong) can only kill on enemy at a time. A mid or high level spells can hit every thing at once, and once you start finding items capable of casting spells, you don't even need physical attacks for many fights. Black magic can also be used to augment your attackers, letting them deal hundreds of points in damage to even the strongest bosses. | ||
== Spell types == | |||
{{sidebar|width=250px|title=Spell suffixes|contents=Suffixes that tell you more about a spell's power. As spells get more powerful, suffixes distinguish them from similar spells in the same family. | |||
== | * '''-ra''': More powerful than the original. | ||
* '''-ga''': Even more powerful than "-ra". | |||
}} | |||
* ''' | |||
* ''' | |||
Many mid and high levels spells are not unique, but are improved versions of low levels spells. Each "family" of spells usually contains three versions, though some have two or four. | Many mid and high levels spells are not unique, but are improved versions of low levels spells. Each "family" of spells usually contains three versions, though some have two or four. | ||
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There are several other spells that do not belong in a specific family, but cause [[Final Fantasy/Gameplay#Status ailments|status ailments]], such as darkness, stone, or stop. Black magic also includes the spells [[#Temper|Temper]] and [[#Saber|Saber]], which raises the targets strength and the spell [[#Haste|Haste]], which increases the number of hits per attack. | There are several other spells that do not belong in a specific family, but cause [[Final Fantasy/Gameplay#Status ailments|status ailments]], such as darkness, stone, or stop. Black magic also includes the spells [[#Temper|Temper]] and [[#Saber|Saber]], which raises the targets strength and the spell [[#Haste|Haste]], which increases the number of hits per attack. | ||
== | == Users == | ||
:''See also: [[#Recommendations|spell recommendations]]'' | |||
* '''[[# | * '''[[Final Fantasy/Classes#Black Mage/Black Wizard|Black mages]]:''' Uses any level 1 - 6 spell (except Teleport) and Blizzaga | ||
* '''[[# | * '''[[Final Fantasy/Classes#Black Mage/Black Wizard|Black wizards]]:''' Uses any spell | ||
* '''[[# | * '''[[Final Fantasy/Classes#Red Mage/Red Wizard|Red mages]]:''' Uses level 1 - 4 spells, Firaga and Slowara | ||
* '''[[# | * '''[[Final Fantasy/Classes#Red Mage/Red Wizard|Red wizards]]:''' Uses most level 1 - 5 spells, Thundaga and Blizzaga | ||
* '''[[Final Fantasy/Classes#Thief/Ninja|Ninjas]]:''' Uses level 1 - 4 spells | |||
* '''[[# | |||
Spells are listed under the '' | == Spell listings == | ||
Spells are listed under the ''Dawn of Souls'' and ''Anniversary'' names. These may differ from the original names given to the spells in the NES version, and from the updated names in ''Origins''. Spell MP cost refers to the amount of MP required to cast a spell in the ''Dawn of Souls'' and ''Anniversary'' editions. All versions prior to that simply require one allocation of spell casting for their respective levels. | |||
=== Level 1 === | === Level 1 === | ||
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== Recommendations == | == Recommendations == | ||
:'' '''*''' denotes the bare minimum spells to get'' | |||
=== [[Final Fantasy/Classes#Black Mage/Black Wizard|Black Mages/Wizards]] === | === [[Final Fantasy/Classes#Black Mage/Black Wizard|Black Mages/Wizards]] === | ||
Black Wizards can be incredibly powerful, especially later in the game. They can cast spells that do elemental damage (great against the Fiends), cause status aliments, and enhance your characters' physical power. They can also learn a number of instant-death spells (these are not particularly useful since they only work a small percentage of the time). The elemental spells, Haste, Temper, and Flare are very useful throughout the game. | Black Wizards can be incredibly powerful, especially later in the game. They can cast spells that do elemental damage (great against the Fiends), cause status aliments, and enhance your characters' physical power. They can also learn a number of instant-death spells (these are not particularly useful since they only work a small percentage of the time). The elemental spells, Haste, Temper, and Flare are very useful throughout the game. | ||
* '''[[#Level 1|Level 1]]:''' Fire*, Thunder*, Sleep | |||
: ''Fire'' and ''Thunder'' are very powerful in the beginning of the game, though they only work against one enemy at a time. Both ''Focus'' and ''Sleep'' are very useful, however Focus works more often than Sleep, but Sleep can ease the Pirate fight in Pravoka. | |||
* '''[[#Level 1|Level 1]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 2|Level 2]]:''' Blizzard*, Slow, Temper* | ||
: Fire and | : ''Blizzard'' will do more damage against non-elemental enemies than ''Fire'' or ''Thunder'', and every little bit helps. ''Temper'' raises the attack power of a character in your party, which makes it a spell that you should use against every boss you encounter. It is also stackable, so the character's attack can go higher and higher. Note: TMPR is bugged in the NES version, and does nothing. Neither ''Slow'' nor ''Dark'' work very well or very often, but ''Slow'' tends to be a little less worthless. | ||
* '''[[#Level 2|Level 2]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 3|Level 3]]:''' Fira*, Thundara*, Focara | ||
: | : ''Fira'' and ''Thundara'' are fantastic spells since they hit every enemy on the screen at once. These spells (and ''Blizzara'') are useful throughout the game since you will often be facing large groups of enemies at once. ''Hold'' rarely works, but ''Focara'' decreases the number of hits your enemy can get in per attack, when it works. | ||
* '''[[#Level 3|Level 3]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 4|Level 4]]:''' Blizzara*, Haste*, Sleepara | ||
: | : ''Blizzara'' works well against almost anything, and is especially helpful in the Volcano, which is a relatively hard dungeon. ''Haste'' doubles the number of hits your character can do per attack, so it is a spell that is useful for every boss fight. ''Confuse'' works a surprising amount of the time, but there is an item that can cast the spell for free, so get ''Sleepara'' instead. | ||
* '''[[#Level 4|Level 4]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 5|Level 5]]:''' Firaga*, Teleport*, Scourge | ||
: | : For obvious reasons you want ''Firaga'' before going into the Ice Cavern, and you should also have it going into the Terra Cave, in which you will fight wave after wave of the undead. ''Teleport'' is nice as it can pull you out of a dungeon, but you cannot get it until after the class change. Like all instant-death spells, ''Scourge'' rarely works, but the chance to kill multiple enemies beats the chance to slow down one enemy that ''Slowara'' provides. | ||
* '''[[#Level 5|Level 5]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 6|Level 6]]:''' Thundaga*, Quake, Death | ||
: For obvious reasons you want | : You'll have noticed by now that the elemental spells are the most useful offensive black magic there is, so get ''Thundaga''. The other spells on this level are relatively weak, with ''Quake'' and ''Death'' (rub) probably being the strongest. | ||
* '''[[#Level 6|Level 6]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 7|Level 7]]:''' Blizzaga*, Break, Saber | ||
: You'll have noticed by now that the elemental spells are the most useful offensive black magic there is, so get | : As with every other elemental spell, get ''Blizzaga''. ''Break'' works often, and technically isn't an instant-death spell, so more enemies are vulnerable to it. ''Blind'' works against almost nothing by the time you get it. ''Saber'' is potentially useful, except you can only use it on the caster. | ||
* '''[[#Level 7|Level 7]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 8|Level 8]]:''' Flare*, Kill, Warp | ||
: As with every other elemental spell, get | : ''Flare'' is the strongest spell in the game, and especially useful against Chaos and WarMech. ''Kill'' and ''Warp'' are both instant-death spells; ''Warp'' works against all enemies, while ''Kill'' only works on one at a time but has a higher success rate. | ||
* '''[[#Level 8|Level 8]]:''' | |||
: Flare is the strongest spell in the game, and especially useful against Chaos and WarMech. | |||
=== [[Final Fantasy/Classes#White Mage/Red Wizard|Red Mages/Wizards]] === | === [[Final Fantasy/Classes#White Mage/Red Wizard|Red Mages/Wizards]] === | ||
:''main article: [[Final Fantasy/Red magic|Red magic]]'' | :''main article: [[Final Fantasy/Red magic|Red magic]]'' | ||
Since a Red Mage can only equip three spells of each level you have to pick three of eight (well, of six or seven in many cases) spells. This is why it is not recommended that you replace both a Black and White Wizard with a single Red Wizard. Additionally, there are a lot of white spells that are very useful that the Red Wizard cannot cast (Dias, Heals, | Since a Red Mage can only equip three spells of each level you have to pick three of eight (well, of six or seven in many cases) spells. This is why it is not recommended that you replace both a Black and White Wizard with a single Red Wizard. Additionally, there are a lot of white spells that are very useful that the Red Wizard cannot cast (Dias, Heals, Curaja, Full-life specifically). Fortunately there aren't too many instances where there are more than three "must have" spells that the Red Wizard can learn. | ||
Generally the magic that the Red Wizard should learn is the same as the other Wizards, however a lot of it depends on if there is another Black, Red, or White Wizard in the party. | Generally the magic that the Red Wizard should learn is the same as the other Wizards, however a lot of it depends on if there is another Black, Red, or White Wizard in the party. | ||
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=== [[Final Fantasy/Classes#Thief/Ninja|Ninjas]] === | === [[Final Fantasy/Classes#Thief/Ninja|Ninjas]] === | ||
The Ninja can learn any level 1 - 4 spell, however by the time you get the class change, most of them will be useless. They will either be too weak to bother with or it would be better to use your Ninja, who can do reasonable damage, as a physical fighter instead of casting a spell. The exceptions are the Level 2 spell, | The Ninja can learn any level 1 - 4 spell, however by the time you get the class change, most of them will be useless. They will either be too weak to bother with or it would be better to use your Ninja, who can do reasonable damage, as a physical fighter instead of casting a spell. The exceptions are the Level 2 spell, ''Temper'', which can be used to raise a character's attack and the level 4 spell, ''Haste'', which doubles the number of hits per attack a character gets. | ||
* '''[[#Level 1|Level 1]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 1|Level 1]]:''' Fire, Thunder, Focus | ||
: None of them are really worth getting as the Ninja will almost always do more damage than the elemental spells, and enemies are not vulnerable to Focus or Sleep later in the game. | : None of them are really worth getting as the Ninja will almost always do more damage than the elemental spells, and enemies are not vulnerable to ''Focus'' or ''Sleep'' later in the game. | ||
* '''[[#Level 2|Level 2]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 2|Level 2]]:''' Blizzard, Dark, Temper* | ||
: Get | : Get ''Temper'', especially if nobody else knows it. If it is cast on a reasonably powerful Knight, you can double or triple their attack with a few rounds of ''Temper''. Combined with ''Haste'' you can take out a boss in two hits. | ||
* '''[[#Level 3|Level 3]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 3|Level 3]]:''' Fira*, Thundara*, Hold | ||
: | : ''Fira'' and ''Thundara'' might be useful since you can clear out multiple weak enemies at once. However, by the time you get a Ninja you will have the [[Final Fantasy/Armor#Gauntlets|Gauntlets]], which can cast ''Thundara'' for free. | ||
* '''[[#Level 4|Level 4]]:''' | * '''[[#Level 4|Level 4]]:''' Haste*, Blizzara*, Confuse | ||
: As mentioned above, Haste is a must have. Haste and | : As mentioned above, ''Haste'' is a must have. ''Haste'' and ''Temper'' will soon be the two black magic spells you use the most. ''Blizzara'' is also good to have for minor enemies, since the Ninja is usually faster than the Black and Red Wizards. | ||
== Tips == | == Tips == | ||
*'''Status aliment''' inducing spells are generally useless. The enemies that are strong enough that you would bother with a spell are, for the most part, invulnerable to these types of spells. | *'''Status aliment''' inducing spells are generally useless. The enemies that are strong enough that you would bother with a spell are, for the most part, invulnerable to these types of spells. | ||
*'''Instant-death''' spells are rarely useful. They occasionally have a high probability of success, and most of the weaker enemies (including the common ones) are vulnerable. | *'''Instant-death''' spells are rarely useful. They occasionally have a high probability of success, and most of the weaker enemies (including the common ones) are vulnerable. | ||
