HP (stat)

HP, which can stand for Health Points or Hit Points, is an important stat in every game of the Final Fantasy series. Every playable character, monster, and Summons in some games, have a set HP. Once all HP is depleted, the character falls into the Knocked Out status and must be revived, for example, by using a Phoenix Down. Revived characters are always given some HP back.

Only characters in the Zombie status can have 0 HP. They are immune to most attacks, and must be healed with Holy Water. Most offensive attacks target HP. Monsters usually disappear from the battlefield when their HP reach zero.

There are many abilities that restore HP, but it is mostly typically healed by the spell Cure or the item Potion, or a stronger version of either one. The spell Regen slowly restores HP. The spell Poison slowly depletes HP. Drain sucks away HP from the target and gives it to the caster. Death, if successful, instantly removes all HP. Undead monsters have reverse effects upon their HP and are immune to or healed by Death.

Other than the normal status and the Knocked Out status, there are other additional statuses tied with HP. A character with a low HP in relevance to their Max HP will fall into the Critical status where their pose will change and HP will become yellow or red. In this status a number of other occurrences may happen, such as an ally protecting them with Cover or gaining access to Limit Break abilities in some games. Enemies in Critical status usually won't change pose, however susceptibility to certain abilities will be introduced such as the Morph ability.

In Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy Tactics, Armor increases HP. The HP Boost ability of Final Fantasy Tactics also increases HP. Certain equipment in Final Fantasy VI can increase HP; for example the Muscle Belt which increases HP by 50%. The HP Plus Independent Materia from Final Fantasy VII performs a similar function.

Final Fantasy
The amount of HP a unit has depends largely on their job. Mage classes have less HP than melee jobs, with Warrior having the most HP and Black Mage the least. HP is replenished by curative spells and items, as well as by staying at an inn.

The characters accumulate more HP by leveling up, which is as follows:
 * For a strong level up, Max HP goes up by 20+[Vitality/4]+(1..6).
 * For a weak level up, Max HP goes up by [Vitality/4]+1

Over the 49 level ups in the game, each class has the following chance of having a strong level up.
 * Fighter/Knight: 50%
 * Black Belt/Master: 40%
 * Thief/Ninja: 35%
 * White Mage/White Wizard: 30%
 * Red Mage/Red Wizard: 25%
 * Black Mage/Black Wizard: 25%

Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy II is unique in the series that the actions in battle craft the characters' skills. The characters maximum HP has a chance of increasing based on the amount of HP that is lost in the battle. The game calculates the chance based on the percentage of the maximum HP lost between the start and end of the battle. A user's maximum HP cannot decrease if they gain HP by the end of the battle. HP caps at 9999.

This leads to an easy exploit by the player, who can hit their own characters to decrease HP quickly and in a desirable fashion.

Final Fantasy III
The amount of HP gained per level is determined by the vitality stat, level and a random bonus.

Final Fantasy IV
Characters have individual HP growths and gain more HP as they level up. Front-row physical attackers have more HP than back-row Mage types. HP can't be boosted with equipment. The item Silver Apple permanently raises HP by 50 while the Golden Apple increases it by 100. There is also a bug concerning Yang's HP growth.

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
HP returns in the sequel to Final Fantasy IV, and works the same way as it did in that game.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Like in Final Fantasy IV, characters get more HP as they level up and front-row physical attackers tend to have more. Silver Apples and Golden Apples permanently increase HP by 50 or 100 respectively.

Final Fantasy V
A character's HP depends on their level. Because the character's Stamina stat affects their overall HP, jobs with the highest Stamina also have the best HP. Monks and Berserkers have the best overall HP, and Monks also learn HP Plus % abilities, which, once mastered, can also be used by the character's other jobs. Dancer and Bard have the poorest HP.


 * $$HP = (Base HP * (Stamina+32)) / 32$$

Bonuses to Stamina due to equipment are not added to the HP formula.

The Goliath Tonic doubles a party member's max HP in battle.

Final Fantasy VI
Characters' HP and MP stats are the only ones to increase by leveling up; in order to increase the other stats, the player must equip an Esper that gives a stat growth bonus. There are Espers that boost a character's HP on level up as well, them being Siren and Catoblepas (HP + 10%), Midgardsormr (HP +30%), Bahamut (HP +50%) and Diabolos (HP+100%).

The characters' base HP growth is similar and there are no significant differences between characters. The base HP growth increases until it peaks at around level 70, characters earning over 150 HP per level up, and from there the base HP growth declines earning only +80 HP per level up on level 90 and above. However, it is easy to max HP out quickly with the Esper abilities, which are especially potent on higher levels.

Ultima Weapon's damage is based on the level of the character who is equipping it, and his or her current HP compared to his or her max HP. When HP is high, the Ultima Weapon deals a large amount of damage. When HP is low, it deals a small amount of damage.

The Bone Wrist and Muscle Belt Relics give a +50% boost to HP. Tintinabulum Relic gives the Lifefont ability where the character recovers HP by walking around the field.

The 0 HP Character Bug allows players to keep a character alive with 0 HP, and thus invincible unless healed.

Final Fantasy VII
The characters gain more HP by leveling up, but like in Final Fantasy VI, the differences between characters aren't notable. HP can't be boosted by Sources like most other stats. Barret has the best natural HP, Vincent has the worst. Unlike in Final Fantasy VI the amount of HP gain on level up is randomized, but the game is programmed in such a manner the character can't ever stray too far from the intended average.

List of characters' possible minimum and maximum HP on Level 99 from Final Fantasy VII FAQ/Walkthrough by Absolute Steve

The game is programmed in such a manner it is impossible to attain both, the absolutely highest natural HP and absolutely highest natural MP on the same character simultaneously. For a guide on how to max out the characters' HP read Final Fantasy VII FAQ/Walkthrough by Absolute Steve.

The characters can boost HP further by equipping HP Plus Materia, up to a +100% bonus when stacked. When a character equips Magic or Summon Materia, they deal a penalty on the character's max HP: most common is -2% per equipped Materia, but some reduce it by -5%, some by -10% and Knights of the Round reduces max HP by -20%. Master Magic and Master Summon are exceptions and don't carry any stat boosts or penalties.

When a unit's HP is exactly 7,777 they will enter All Lucky 7s mode. The accessory Cat's Bell allows the wearer gain HP as they walk on the field. Every step heals 2 HP rounded up to the next even HP value. The player can also lose HP on the field by sliding into spikes in the Cave of the Gi, but can't reduce HP to 0 that way.

Final Fantasy VII was also the first game in the series where HP can be restored by Limit Breaks: Aeris, Yuffie and Cait Sith can restore the party's HP, and Vincent's transformation Limit Breaks restore his own HP to full.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Zack has a base HP he can increase by leveling up. Zack's base stats are fixed by his level.

The below values are from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- FAQ/Walkthrough by Absolute Steve

What is unique in Crisis Core is that Zack can break his HP limit even without equipping the Break HP Limit ability to twice his maximum HP if he gets a power surge from the Digital Mind Wave during Modulating Phase. With Feathered Cap he can set the natural break limit to triple his maximum HP. When Zack has naturally broken his HP limit due to a DMW power surge, the Costly Punch attack will not work. The break is nullified and Zack's HP set back to the base maximum if he drinks the promotional Potion at the Shinra Headquarters lobby.

Zack can increase his base HP by equipping accessories that grant HP boosts. However, Materia is the game's primary means of stat enhancement, especially through the Materia Fusion system. By adding certain items into the Fusion process, the player can boost the Materia's stats to their liking, although it takes a lot of SP for the highest stat boosts. HP +999% is the highest HP stat boost a Materia can have.

Zack can set his HP limit to 99,999 with certain equipment. 99,999 is the absolute maximum, and the DMW power surges can't bring it above that point either.

Final Fantasy VIII
Like in previous games, each character has a base HP stat that grows as the character levels up, and unlike in Final Fantasy VII, the stat boosts at level up are not randomized. The characters' HP growth is similar and there are no major differences. Squall has the best base HP at level 99 with 4187 HP, and Selphie has the poorest base HP at level 99 with 3680 HP.

In Final Fantasy VIII, however, the characters' base stats are low, and the player must use the Junction System to fully utilize the game's character development system. A character equipping a Guardian Force that has learned the HP-J junction ability, can junction stocked magic to their HP. Ultima gives the best boost (+60 HP by spell), followed by Full Life (+48) and Meteor (+46). The Guardian Forces can also learn HP +% abilities, the best being HP +80% learned by Brothers and Diablos.

The characters can boost their base HP by +10 with HP Up items, which are very rare, and by equipping the HP Bonus ability, which works similar to the Esper abilities in Final Fantasy VI and give the character's base HP a boost of +30 on level up. The GFs that have the HP Bonus ability are Brothers and Cactuar. Yet another way to permanently boost HP is by devouring a level 45+ Ruby Dragon.

A character's current HP to max HP ratio is one of the variables that affects a character's chance to perform a Limit Break. Limit Breaks are normally only available in critical health (apart from Seifer, who can perform Limit Breaks with higher HP levels) or while under the effect of Aura. Generally, the less HP the character has, the better chance they have to perform a Limit Break.

HP is restored by using restorative items, using curative magic, and the characters can also junction Drain spells to their status attack to drain HP from enemies on hit. Quistis and Selphie can utilize Limit Breaks that heal the party's HP and Rinoa's dog can also randomly appear on the field to heal characters who are low on HP. The Cactuar GF also learns the Move HP Up ability, which allows the character to accumulate some HP by walking around the field.

Final Fantasy VIII marks the first time summons have their separate stats from the characters, and all Guardian Forces in Final Fantasy VIII have their own HP stat. A GF's HP is only displayed when it is being summoned, and during the GF's charge time, if an attack is targeted at the summoning character, the attack depletes the GF's HP instead of the character's. The GFs gain more HP by leveling up, and by learning GFHP+% abilities. GFs' HP can be restored with G-Potions and Cottages and by summoning the MiniMog. All GFs also know the Move HP Up innately and accumulate HP whenever the character moves around the field.

Final Fantasy IX
In Final Fantasy IX the characters' max HP is calculated by the following formula:
 * $$[Str * HPMod(Level) / 50]$$

The HPMod used in the formula depends on the character's level. Characters with high strength like Steiner and Amarant thus have the best HP, whereas mage type characters have the lowest strength and thus the poorest HP.

The only way for a character to improve their HP is to level up, or equip HP +10% and HP +20% abilities, which are not available for every character. The Restore HP ability also restores some of the character's HP when they enter critical health.

HP can be restored via curative spells, the Auto Regen ability and curative items. The jewels restore HP in battle but can't be used on the field. Every jewel has its own HP restore formula, depending on how many jewels the player possesses.

Quina's Limit Glove ability deals 9,999 damage to a target when Quina is on 1 HP. Zidane's Lucky Seven skill deals a random 7, 77, 777 or 7,777 damage to a target when the last digit on Zidane's HP is 7.

Final Fantasy X
Like all stats, HP can be increased for each character on the Sphere Grid, by activating the respective nodes. HP Nodes are activated with Power Spheres, and all default HP Nodes increase HP by 200. HP nodes created with HP Spheres increase HP by 300 when activated.

Auron's path on the Sphere Grid has the most HP nodes, whereas characters like Yuna and Lulu have the poorest natural HP. However, due to the Sphere Grid system's nature, any character can eventually traverse any path on the grid.

The standard HP limit in Final Fantasy X is of 9,999 HP, but this can be increased by equipping armor with the Break HP Limit ability, raising the limit to 99,999 HP. The characters can increase their max HP with the HP +5%, +10%, +20% and +30% Auto Abilities on found or customized armor.

The characters can also double their max HP by using a Stamina Tablet or Stamina Tonic in battle, or via some of Rikku's mixes.

Aeons have their own HP stat in Final Fantasy X, similar to Guardian Forces in Final Fantasy VIII. The Aeons have no Sphere Grid, but their stats are related to Yuna's stats and increase in conjunction with hers.

Unlike in the previous installments, the party is fully healed whenever they touch a Save Sphere.

Final Fantasy X-2
In Final Fantasy X-2 every Dressphere has its own stats, and the stats are fixed on the girl's level. For example, the Gunner Dressphere always has the same stats when the character equipping it is on level 10, whether it be Yuna, Rikku or Paine. Mascot has the best HP of all normal Dresspheres, followed by Berserker, but the Special Dresspheres have the best HP overall. Black Mage has the lowest HP of all the Dresspheres.

Although most Dresspheres give the same stats to everyone, certain Dresspheres' stats vary depending on who is wearing it. The Trainer, Mascot and the girls' Special Dresspheres are different for each girl, and have different abilities and different stats. The Special Dresspheres can learn Double and Triple HP, as well as Break HP Limit. In order to learn Break HP Limit on each Special Dressphere, the player must find special items scattered around Spira.

The player can boost the girls' HP by equipping accessories. The best accessories boost HP as much as +100%.

The color for HP gauge in the menu is dull green.

Final Fantasy XI
The amount of HP the player possesses is based on the class they are currently using, as well as their race. It is possible to spend Merit Points to increase the amount of Hit Points at 10 per merit. There are also items that can raise the max amount of HP, such as a Giant's Drink.

Final Fantasy XII
The characters' HP growth on leveling up is randomized. The Max HP is determined by the following formula:
 * MAX HP = (Base HP + Sum of HP Bonus up to this level) x HP Modifier


 * Base = Base value. Different characters have different Base values.
 * Bonus = Each level comes with its own Min and Max Bonus. The game randomly picks a Bonus within the Min and Max range when the character levels up. All characters share the same bonus table.
 * Modifier = Different characters have different modifiers. The modifier represents the "growth rate".

Although the exact HP Bonus at level up is random within the level's pool, the game is biased against choosing the highest possible HP Bonus at level up.


 * HP Bonus Growth = Min HP Bonus + Random[0 ~ (Min HP Bonus-1)/5]

The Espers also have their own HP stats, but they are static and always the same, even if the Esper's level is always the same as its summoner's. Ultima has the highest HP at 4400, and Belias the lowest at 800. The player can cast Bubble on an Esper.

Final Fantasy XII has an innate, yet invisible to the player, Break HP Limit, as the characters' HP can exceed 9,999, even if that is the highest number displayed on the screen. The invisible Break HP Limit can be exploited as no opponent in the game has Break Damage Limit, thus restricting all opponents' damage output to 9,999. For example, a well-leveled party wearing light armor in the battle against Yiazmat can survive the Cyclone attack that often deals maximum damage after Yiazmat has used Growing Threat, by being in full health (requires Bubble).

Apart from the base HP, which grows when the character levels up, the player can purchase HP augments on the License Board. Otherwise, the player must use equipment and the Bubble status to achieve higher HP. Light Armor boosts HP by a fixed amount depending on the piece of equipment, and the Bubble status doubles the character's maximum HP.

Character's HP determines how many hits they can do with hit combos; the lower the character's HP, more hits they can deal.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
The characters have fixed base HP that increases when the characters level up. HP can't be in influenced by equipment. During battle, the units' health is displayed by a health bar rather than by numerical values.

HP is restored after every battle, but during battle, the players can restore HP by Penelo's cure magic, Llyud's drain abilities or Vaan's Steal HP ability. There are also a few curative Espers. The party can also restore HP by foraging on plants found on some of the battlefields.

Final Fantasy XIII
Characters have set HP values that are increased in each character's Crystarium. Every character has a unique Crystarium tree, and with the whole Crystarium maxed out Snow has the highest max HP at 30,000, which can be expanded to 42,000 by equipping him with four maxed out Wurtzite Bangles, while Hope has the lowest max HP at 18,000. A number of accessories can also be equipped to increase maximum HP.

HP is recovered during battle via using Potions and Medic's curative magic and the Renew technique. Summoning an Eidolon also restores the party to full health after the Eidolon is dismissed.

In Final Fantasy XIII the party members' HP is fully restored after each battle.

Eidolons can be summoned to battle to fight alongside their summoner. Eidolons have no HP gauge of their own, but any sustained damage is depleted from their SP.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
The system is similar as in the predecessor, with the Crystarium system making a return. The player characters Serah and Noel gain HP by unlocking nodes on their Crystarium paths, Noel gaining more HP than Serah. Advancing them in the Sentinel role gives the best HP boosts. HP is restored by items, Feral Links and Medic's spells.

The Paradigm Pack feature is introduced in Final Fantasy XIII-2 where the player can capture monsters and then use them in battle as a third party member. Unlike with Serah's and Noel's Crystaria, the monsters' Crystaria stat boosts depend on which items the players gives them. Snow, obtained from a DLC battle, has the potential for the highest HP in the game for a Paradigm Pack monster, and Lightning in the Requiem of the Goddess downloadable episode, can reach the highest HP overall.

Final Fantasy XIV
HP is determined not only by the player's discipline and rank, but is also affected by Vitality, including vitality gained by equipment and Materia. Also, each class rank has a status cap, and increasing any stat above that cap has no effect, therefore adding extra vitality above that cap will have not increase the player's Health Points.

HP may be recovered during battles using many different skills such as the Pugilist's Second Wind or the Conjurer's Cure spells. Also, there are many potions used to instantly heal HP. Outside of battle, HP will slowly regenerate when the player is on passive mode, or quickly recover if he's not only on passive mode, but also standing still.

HP can be fully recovered by initiating or finishing a Battlecraft leve, or every ten minutes at any Aetheryte.

Final Fantasy Legend III
Each character's maximum HP affects their speed. The healthier the character is, the faster the speed. This is especially useful for boss battles, keeping the parties health up will allow the player to get their attacks and/or healing in first.

HP is also taken into account when using a Talent skills. Talent damage depends on the user's Attack Power and maximum HP, the talent power and base damage, and a skill factor. Robot talents are used with 50% more skill by robots.

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
The player's HP is determined by their job and their level. The maximum HP is 999. As usual, magical jobs like the Black Mage has little HP whereas physical jobs, such as the Hero and Paladin, have high HP.

HP can be boosted with equipment and casting Lux increases the characters' max HP by 1.5x their normal HP, and the Fighter's Chakra doubles the character's max HP. HP is restored with curative spells and items, and by sleeping at an inn. Although several other stats are reduced while the characters are in animal form, HP remains unaffected.