Onion equipment

FFXIV Onion Helmet.png''. The Onion Equipment is a set of gear exclusive to the Onion Knight Job. It is the strongest equipment in the games where it appears, and the set is usually made of Sword, Shield, Helmet, Armor, and Gauntlets. The pieces of this gear may carry status boosts and buffs, as well as debuff protection, though the basic Defense, Attack power, and Magic Defense granted is enough to endure even the hardest battles without problems. The only downside of this equipment is that in most appearances, the difficulty of obtaining it is very high.

Final Fantasy III
The Onion Sword, Helm, Gauntlets, and Armor make the set in the first game it appears. All the pieces are a very rare drop of Dragons from the Crystal Tower or, in the DS version, in the ??? dungeon with the Iron Giant. All of the dragons may drop all parts of the gear in the NES version, but in the Nintendo DS version, Yellow Dragon drops Onion Helms, Red Dragon drops Onion Armors and Green Dragon drops Onion Gauntlets, while Onion Swords and Shields can be dropped by all of them. The Onion Blade is similar to the onion sword, only it's slightly weaker and is the Legendary Smith treasure for the Onion Knight.

There is also a glitch in the NES version that allows the players to obtain the full set right at the Altar Cave, and allows the player to execute the Fully Equipped Onion Knight Strategy (FEOKS) as early as the player reaches Ur. Due to the design of the game's equipment index, a single use of the item upgrade glitch will upgrade a Leather Shield, Leather Helmet, Leather Robe or Copper Ring into an Onion Shield, Onion Helmet, Onion Armor or Onion Glove, respectively; the Onion Sword is slightly more difficult to get, requiring 21 upgrades from a Long Sword.

Final Fantasy IV
The Onion Equipment can be equipped only by the final five party members, with the Onion Sword and Shield being exclusive to Kain and Paladin Cecil, and can only be obtained in the DS port of the game. The Onion Sword is available by trading it for the Red Tail, and in the same manner the Onion Shield can be acquired by trading the Blue Tail, the Yellow Tail can be traded for the Onion Gloves, the Green Tail can be traded for the Onion Helm, and the Black Tail for the Onion Armor, to the Tail Collector in Adamant Isle Grotto.

Final Fantasy X
Lulu's Celestial weapon is the "Onion Knight". It grants Break Damage Limit, One MP Cost, Magic Booster, and Triple Overdrive.

Final Fantasy XI
New characters who start the game will be equipped with an "Onion" weapon; e.g. a Warrior will begin with an Onion Sword. They are among the weakest weapons in the game, and should be replaced once the player accumulates some gil. The exception are Monks, who instead start out with a White Belt.

Final Fantasy XII
Onion Arrows, Bolts, Shot, and Bombs appear as the weakest ammo of each type in this game, and are the default ammunition for Balthier and Fran, in contrary to other ammunition Onion ammo can be bought in shops.

Final Fantasy XIV
The Onion Helm is a special in-game item for those who bought the collector's edition version of the game.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Onion Equipment can only be obtained by using the Multiplayer mode of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. It is by far the strongest equipment in the game, and it makes the wielder virtually undefeatable, but it is also the hardest to obtain.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
The Onion Sword appears in this game as a Sword, and it can be equipped by Soldiers, Warriors, and Dragoons. Unlike the other appearances, it is not very strong, and it does not teach any ability, but it grants some bonuses to Defense, Magic Defense, and Evasion.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
The Onion Sword appears in this sequel as well, again as a Sword, and it can still be equipped by Soldiers, Warriors, and Dragoons. The new Spellblade Job can also equip it, and learns the ability Confusion Blade from it. Unlike the latter game, it is now a moderately strong weapon, and grants the same defensive bonuses as before.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Onion Sword is a Strength-raising artifact that increases Strength by 1.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
The Onion Rod is the only appearance of Onion Equipment in the game, and is the second strongest Rod in the game.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
The Onion Helm and Onion Armor are a set that make characters appear as an Onion Knight. Neither can be purchased and must be created with a Scroll. The description makes reference to Final Fantasy III, the first game in the series to feature the Onion Knight.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
The Onion equipment returns in this game as some of the most powerful equipment in the game. The Onion Sword is a level 100 exclusive weapon for Onion Knight, which grants +68 Attack, Damage +15%, and Major Gambler's Spirit.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Only the Onion Sword returns, and is a level 100 exclusive weapon for Onion Knight, providing +68 Attack, +10% Damage, and the Sneak Attack effect. It can be obtained by trading 182,800 Gil, Royal Sword, Onion, and Youth's Hopes x5.

Etymology
The adjective of Onion refers to the Japanese metaphoric idiom of poverty, aptly named the "Onion Life", "peeling away one layer at a time and crying all the way". Alternatively, the term could come from the slang phrase "to know one's onions", meaning to be very versatile.