Many spells and skills exist in Final Fantasy III. The spells are divided into 3 categories: Black Magic, White Magic, and Summon Magic. This section also describes the effects of the Geomancer's Terrain skill and the Bard's Sing skill.
White Magic
These spells are mostly used to heal and protect your allies, though there are some attack spells among them.
White magic users:
- Wind crystal jobs: White mage (L1-7), Red mage (L1-4)
- Fire crystal jobs: Knight (DS only, L1), Scholar (DS only, L1-3), Ranger (NES only, L1-3)
- Water crystal jobs: Mystic knight (NES only, L1-3 field only)
- Earth crystal jobs: Devout (L1-8), Sage (L1-8)
- Secret job: Onion knight (DS only, L1-8)
Spell list
In the table below, only the first shop is listed. Spells are usually available in later shops after the first one.
Lv. | Spell | Type | Effect | Free location | Price & shop |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cure | Field/support | Restores health points | 1: Ur 2: Sealed Cave |
100 Gil, Canaan |
1 | Poisona | Field/support | Cures "poison" status | - | 100 Gil, Ur |
1 | Sight | Field | Shows the world map | - | 100 Gil, Ancients' Village |
2 | Mini | Field/support/attack | Causes or cures "mini" status; instantly defeats enemies |
Healing Copse | - |
2 | Toad | Field/support/attack | Causes or cures "toad" status; instantly defeats enemies |
Gurgan Gulch | - |
2 | Aero | Attack | Element: wind | Dragons Peak | 700 Gil, Tozus |
3 | Cura (Cure2) | Field/support | Restores health points | Tozus (bookshelf) | 1500 Gil, Ancients' Village |
3 | Blindna | Field/support | Cures "blindness" status | - | 1500 Gil, Ancients' Village |
3 | Teleport | Field | Teleports party to the world map | - | 1500 Gil, Ancients' Village |
4 | Libra | Debuff | Shows enemy HP and weaknesses | - | 3000 Gil, Gysahl |
4 | Confuse | Debuff | Causes "confuse" status | Elven claw (Ancient Ruins) |
3000 Gil, Gysahl |
4 | Silence | Debuff | Causes "mute" status | - | 3000 Gil, Gysahl |
5 | Curaga (Cure3) | Field/support | Restores health points | - | 5000 Gil, Saronia |
5 | Raise | Field/support | Cures death | - | 5000 Gil, Saronia |
5 | Protect | Support | Raises defense | - | 5000 Gil, Saronia |
6 | Stona | Field/support | Cures "petrify" status | - | 10000 Gil, Doga's house |
6 | Haste | Support | Raises speed (hits per turn) | - | 10000 Gil, Doga's house |
6 | Aeroga (Aero2) | Attack | Element: wind | - | 10000 Gil, Doga's house |
7 | Curaja (Cure4) | Field/support | Restores health points | - | 20000 Gil, Doga's village |
7 | Esuna | Field/support | Cures all status ailments | - | 20000 Gil, Doga's village |
7 | Reflect | Support | Creates a magic barrier | - | 20000 Gil, Doga's village |
8 | Arise (Raise2) | Field/support | Cures death and health points | - | 60000 Gil, Eureka |
8 | Tornado | Attack | Element: wind | - | 60000 Gil, Eureka |
8 | Holy | Attack | Element: light | - | 60000 Gil, Eureka |
Spells analysis
- Healing spells
These are the most important spells in order to survive through the game.
- L1/3/5/7 Cure/Cura/Curaga/Curaja: These four spells restore health; the higher the level, the more HP are restored; Curaja (Cure4) always fully restores HP to the maximum.
- L5/8 Raise/Arise: They restore a dead ally to life; Raise restores a minimal amount of HP, while Arise fully restores HP.
- L6 Stona: Petrification is similar to death, as the character cannot act in any way, but Raise and Arise won't work; the Stona is required to restore to life a petrified character.
- L1 Poisona: Cures the poison status.
- L3 Blindna: Cures the blindness status.
- L7 Esuna: Cures every status ailment, except petrified and dead.
- Field spells
Spells that are typically used outside battle.
- L1 Sight: It shows a map of the surroundings; it cannot be used in dungeons.
- L2 Mini: It miniaturizes the heroes; this is necessary to crawl two dungeons; miniaturized characters have physical attack and defense reduced to 1, and can only fight using magic; The Devout and Sage can also effectively use this spell in battle: a miniaturized enemy is forced to leave the battle, resulting in instant-defeat.
- L2 Toad: It transforms the heroes in toads; this is necessary to access two dungeons; toad characters have physical attack and defense reduced to 1, and cannot even use magic; The Devout and Sage can also effectively use this spell in battle: a toad enemy is forced to leave the battle, resulting in instant-defeat.
- L3 Teleport: It teleports the heroes back to the entrance of the dungeon. The Devout and Sage can also effectively use this spell in battle: a teleporteded enemy is instantly defeated.
- Support spells
Battle spells that target the heroes.
- L5 Protect: Increases defense of the target.
- L6 Haste: Increases physical attack of the target.
- L7 Reflect: If the targeted hero is attacked with magic, the spell will bounce back to the caster.
- Debuff spells
Battle spells that target the enemy, but deal no damage. If the caster has low skill, they can miss.
- L4 Libra: It shows the attributes of the target enemy.
- L4 Silence: The target cannot use magic.
- L4 Confuse: The target is confused and will attack himself or a random monster.
- Attack spells
Battle spells that deal damage to the enemies.
- L2/6 Aero/Aeroga: Wind-elemental attacks.
- L8 Tornado: Reduces the enemy health to less than 10 HP, but does not kill him.
- L8 Holy: Holy-elemental attack.
Black Magic
These spells are used to deal damage and to cause status effects.
Black magic users:
- Wind crystal: Black mage, Red mage
- Fire crystal: Scholar (DS only)
- Water crystal: n/a
- Earth crystal: Magus, Sage
- Secret: Onion knight (DS only)
Spell list
Lv. | Spell | Type | Effect | Free location |
Price and shop |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sleep | Debuff | Causes "sleep" status | Altar Cave | 100 Gil, Kazus |
1 | Blizzard | Attack | Element: ice | Sasune castle | 100 Gil, Kazus |
1 | Fire | Attack | Element: fire | - | 100 Gil, Kazus |
2 | Blind | Debuff | Causes "blind" status | Canaan | 700 Gil, Canaan |
2 | Thunder | Attack | Element: lightning | - | 700 Gil, Canaan |
2 | Poison | Attack | Non-elemental attack, inflicts "poison" status |
- | 700 Gil, Canaan |
3 | Fira (Fire2) | Attack | Element: fire | Viking Base | 1500 Gil, Ancients' Village |
3 | Blizzara (Blizzard2) | Attack | Element: ice | Viking Base | 1500 Gil, Ancients' Village |
3 | Thundara (Thunder2) | Attack | Element: lightning | Viking Base | 1500 Gil, Ancients' Village |
4 | Shade | Debuff | Causes "paralysis" status | - | 3000 Gil, Gisahl |
4 | Break | Attack | Instant-defeat (gradual petrify) | - | 3000 Gil, Gisahl |
4 | Blizzaga (Blizzard3) | Attack | Element: ice | - | 3000 Gil, Gisahl |
5 | Erase | Debuff | Removes status upgrades | - | 5000 Gil, Salonia |
5 | Thundaga (Thunder3) | Attack | Element: lightning | - | 5000 Gil, Salonia |
5 | Raze | Attack | Instant-defeat if enemy level is lower than caster's |
- | 5000 Gil, Salonia |
6 | Warp | Field/attack | Moves back some floors in dungeons; instantly defeats enemies |
- | 10000 Gil, Dorga's House |
6 | Firaga (Fire3) | Attack | Element: fire | - | 10000 Gil, Dorga's House |
6 | Bio (Poison2) | Attack | Non-elemental attack, inflicts "poison" status |
- | 10000 Gil, Dorga's House |
7 | Breakga (Break2) | Attack | Instant-defeat (petrify) | - | 20000 Gil, Dorga's Village |
7 | Drain | Attack | Non-elemental; restores caster's HP | - | 20000 Gil, Dorga's Village |
7 | Quake | Attack | Element: earth | - | 20000 Gil, Dorga's Village |
8 | Death | Attack | Instant-defeat | - | 60000 Gil, Eureka Land |
8 | Flare | Attack | Non-elemental attack | - | 60000 Gil, Eureka Land |
8 | Meteor | Attack | Non-elemental attack | - | 60000 Gil, Eureka Land |
Spells analysis
Field spells:
- L6 Warp
Debuff spells:
- L1 Sleep
- L2 Blind
- L4 Shade (paralysis)
- L5 Erase (erases enemy status upgrades)
Attack spells:
- L1/3/4 Blizzard/Blizzara/Blizzaga (element: ice)
- L1/3/6 Fire/Fira/Firaga (element: fire)
- L2/3/5 Thunder/Thundara/Thundaga (element: lightning)
- L2/6 Poison/Bio (inflict "poison" status)
- L4/7 Break/Breakga (petrify)
- L5/8 Raze/Death (instant-death)
- L7 Quake (element: earth)
- L7 Drain (restores HP to caster)
- L8 Flare (non-elemental, targets one)
- L8 Meteor (non-elemental, targets all)
Summon Magic
Summon magic users:
- Water crystal: Evoker
- Earth crystal: Summoner, Sage
There are two types of Summon Magic: a type with two effects that occur randomly, and a type with one fixed effect. The former is used by Evokers, and the latter is used by Summoners. Sages can use the two-effect summons in the DS version, but in the NES version they used the fixed effect ones instead.
Unless specified otherwise, Evoker attacks target one enemy only, while Summoner attacks (and Evoker indirect effects) target all enemies. Unlike other debuff spells, the Evoker's debuff effects have 100% accuracy, missing only if the enemies are immune to the specific status ailment (sleep, stop, instant-defeat, petrify).
L | Summon | Evoker's special | Evoker's attack | Summoner's attack | Element |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Escape / Chocobo | Party escapes from battle (Chocobo Dash) or no effect (Stumble) |
- | Attack all (Chocobo Kick[1]) | - |
2 | Icen / Shiva | Casts sleep on all enemies (Mesmerize) |
Attack one (Icy Stare) | Attack all (Diamond Dust) | Ice |
3 | Spark / Ramuh | Casts stop on all enemies (Mind Blast) |
Attack one (Thunderstorm) | Attack all (Judgement Bolt) | Thunder |
4 | Heatra / Ifrit | Casts heal on party (Healing Light) |
Attack one (Hellfire) | Attack all (Inferno) | Fire |
5 | Hyper / Titan | - | Attack one (Clobber) or Attack one (Stomp) |
Attack all (Earthen Fury) | Earth |
6 | Catastro / Odin | Casts reflect on party (Protective Light) |
Attack all (Slash) | Inst. defeat all (Zantetsu-ken) | - |
7 | Leviath / Leviathan | - | Attack all (Cyclone) or Inst. defeat all[2] (Demon eye) |
Attack all (Tidal Wave) | Wind Water |
8 | Bahamur / Bahamut | Casts haste[3] on party (Aura) |
Inst. defeat one (Rend) | Attack all (Mega Flare) | - |
Evoker's spells analysis
- Debuff/attack spells:
- L2 Shiva (sleep)
- L3 Ramuh (paralysis)
- These spells should be used early in the dungeons, to make battles easy during early exploration of the surroundings. Remember that physical attacks can wake up the enemies, i.e. remove "sleep" and "paralysis", so choose well your targets!
- Support/attack spells:
- L1 Chocobo (escape): only useful in miniaturized dungeons (e.g. Cave of the Magic Circle), where it's hard to win all battles with magic alone.
- L4 Ifrit (heal): more useful in the deeper levels of dungeons, when the party suffered damage after fightning many battles.
- L6 Odin (reflect): only useful against spellcasting enemies and bosses.
- L8 Bahamut (haste): cast this spell at leisure, but not against bosses, because they are immune to istant-death attacks.
- Attack-only spells:
- L5 Titan: best left for battles against bosses, that are usually immune to status ailments.
- L7 Leviathan: useful against large groups of enemies, but not against bosses (immune to instant-death and petrification)
There's no need to analyze the Summoner's spells, because all of them are attack spells that target all enemies.
Terrain
The Terrain skill is useable only by Geomancers. It harnesses the power of the earth to cause different elemental damage. The determining factor of what effect is caused is the environment the skill is used in. This skill does not consume MP.
Environment | Effect | Targets | Element |
---|---|---|---|
Fire Molten Cave |
40% Magma 38% Flame burst 20% (Wind slash) 02% (Shadowflare) |
Attack all Attack 1 Attack 1 Attack 1 |
Fire Fire Wind Non-elemental |
Wind Forest, plains, airship |
50% Wind slash 48% Ice storm 02% (Shadowflare) |
Attack 1 Attack all Attack 1 |
Wind Ice & Water Non-elemental |
Water Underwater, river |
38% Whirlpool 40% Ice pillar 20% (Wind slash) 02% (Shadowflare) |
Instant-defeat all Attack 1 Attack 1 Attack 1 |
Ice & Water Ice & Water Wind Non-elemental |
Earth Desert |
40% Earthquake 38% Cave-in 20% (Wind slash) 02% (Shadowflare) |
Attack all Attack 1 Attack 1 Attack 1 |
Earth Earth Wind Non-elemental |
Non-elemental Swamp |
40% Black hole 40% Shadowflare 20% (Wind Slash) |
Instant-defeat 1 Attack 1 Attack 1 |
Non-elemental Non-elemental Wind |
Each dungeon can be associated to one of the five elements at the top of the next table. The second row lists the main terrain attacks associated with each element. Note that the Geomancer job is obtained after the only Fire Dungeon in the game. In the World of Darkness the Geomancer's Terrain is different again: 25% Earthquake, 25% Flameburst, 25% Ice Pillar, 25% Windslash.
Fire | Wind | Water | Earth | Non-Elemental |
---|---|---|---|---|
Magma Flame burst |
Wind slash Ice storm |
Whirlpool Ice pillar |
Earthquake Cave-in |
Black hole Shadowflare |
Fire terrains | Wind terrains | Water terrains | Earth terrains | Non-elemental terrains |
- | Forests Plains Onboard airships |
Sea bottom Rivers |
Deserts Mountains |
Swamps |
Molten cave | Castle Sasune towers Dragon's Peak Tower of Owen Castle Hein Goldor Manor Dragon Spire Bahamut's nest Crystal Tower |
Nepto Shrine Tower of Owen (base) Subterranean Lake Cave of Tides Amur Sewers Sunken Cave Temple of Time Saronia Catacombs Falgabard Waterfall Lake Dohr ??? Dungeon |
Altar Cave Sealed Cave Mythril Mine Tozus Tunnel Cave of the Magic Circle Ancient Ruins Falgabard cave Bahamut's Lair Cave of Shadows Doga's Grotto Ancients' Maze |
Forbidden Eureka |
In the NES version, there is a chance that the Terrain ability backfires and hits the Geomancer himself. It happens if the Terrain technique misses all possible targets.
In the table below, the names in brackets are the corresponding or most similar effects from the DS remake.
Environment | Effect | Targets | Chance of backfire | Element |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sea | Watersprout (Whirlpool) | Attack all enemies | 1 - very low | Lightning |
Plains | Earthquake ("Ice Storm"?) | Attack all enemies | 1 - very low | Wind |
Mountain, dungeon | Landslide (Earthquake) | Attack all enemies | 1 - very low | Earth |
Forest, dungeon | Wind Slash (Wind Slash) | Attack one enemy | 2 | Wind |
Onboard airship | Tornado ("Shadowflare"?) | Attack one enemy | 2 | Non-elemental |
Desert | Quicksand (Cave-in) | Instant-defeat one | 3 - high | Earth |
River | Whirlpool ("Ice Pillar"?) | Instant-defeat one | 3 - high | Lightning |
Swamp | Sinkhole (Black hole) | Instant-defeat one | 3 - high | Non-elemental |
(anywhere) | Backfire | Geomancer! | n/a | n/a |
The following table shows the Terrain effect for each dungeon:
Earth | Water | Wind | Non-elemental |
---|---|---|---|
Earthquake | Whirlpool | Wind Slash | Sinkhole |
Plains | Seas & sea bottom | Forests | Swamps |
Altar Cave Ur Mithril mines Castle Sasune Sealed Cave Tozus tunnel Tower of Owen Molten Cave Dragon spire (top floor) Doga's cave (floor 1) Crystal Tower boss World of Darkness bosses Saronia Catacombs boss Falgabard |
Temple of Time Sunken Cave Saronia catacombs |
Amur sewers Goldor manor Saronia Dragon Spire Cave of Magic Circle Ancient Ruins Cave of Shadows Ancients' Maze Crystal Tower World of Darkness Eureka |
Doga's cave (floor 1) |
Earth | Water | Wind | Non-elemental |
Landslide | Rapids | Tornado | Quicksand |
Mountains | Rivers | Canyons | Deserts |
Doga's cave (floor 3) | Cave of Tides Lake Dohr |
Doga's cave (floor 2) Bahamut's Lair |
- |
Sing
The Sing skill is useable only by Bards. Using different harps can have different effects on the songs sung. Note that the strength of the effect increases with job level.
Note that the effects of Minne, Minuet, and Elegy only last for 2 rounds of battle.
Harp | Song | Effect |
---|---|---|
Madhura Harp | Minne | Support: increase physical defense power of the party. |
Loki Harp | Minuet | Support: increase physical attack power of the party. |
Lamia Harp | Requiem | Attack: damage all opponents. |
Dream Harp | Paeon | Healing: heals the party a little. |
Apollo Harp | Elegy | Support: decrease the amount of damage the party takes from any attack. |
In the NES version, the Sing ability simply attacks the enemies, with no added effect. Instead, the NES bard has two more skills, as shown in the table below. Because the effects of Cheer and Scare are small but cumulative, it would be a good strategy if the Bard uses continuously the same command during a battle.
Skill (NES) | Effect | Strategy |
---|---|---|
Sing | Attack: replaces "fight" command; two harps have debuff effect. | Keep singing will eventually debuff all enemies. |
Cheer | Support: increases speed and physical strength of all allies; effect is cumulative. | Keep cheering the allies in a boss battle will eventually boost the attack of front-row jobs quite a lot. |
Scare | Debuff: lowers the level of all enemies, eventually making them flee; stronger enemies are immune. | Keep scaring a group of annoying monsters will make the fight faster. |