Equipment abilities

Equipment Abilities are a set of recurring abilities in the series. First debuting in Final Fantasy V, these abilities allow the player to equip a character with any equipment that their class or character themselves could not use normally. For instance, a player could give the Equip Sword ability to a Black Mage.

The following is a list of Equipment Abilities:
 * Equip Armor - Character can equip heavy armor.
 * Equip Axes - Character can equip axes.
 * Equip Bows- Character can equip bows.
 * Equip Harps - Character can equip harps.
 * Equip Katanas - Character can equip katanas.
 * Equip Ribbons - Character can equip ribbons.
 * Equip Rods - Character can equip rods.
 * Equip Shields - Character can equip shields.
 * Equip Spears - Character can equip spears.
 * Equip Swords - Character can equip swords.
 * Equip Whips - Character can equip whips.
 * Equip Guns - Character can equip guns.
 * Equip Crossbows - Character can equip crossbows.

The abilities Doublehand, Dual Wield, Re-Equip, and Monkey Grip are all Equipment abilities as well. Doublehand allows for equipping any weapon with both hands, doubling attack power but making the user unable to use shields. Dual Wield allows the player to use two weapons at the same time. Re-Equip allows the user to change their equipment during battle, and Monkey Grip allows the user to equip a dual-wield weapon with one hand, allowing them to use a shield.

Final Fantasy V
List of Equipment Abilities:


 * Equip Armor: Can equip any armor. Does not include shields, heavy helmets, or gauntlets.
 * Equip Axes: Can equip axes and hammers. Gives the character base Freelancer Strength + 21.
 * Equip Bows: Can equip bows. Gives the character base Freelancer Strength +16 as well as Freelancer Agility + 12.
 * Equip Harps: Can equip harps. Gives the character base Freelancer Magic + 11 as well as Freelancer Agility + 11.
 * Equip Katanas: Can equip katanas. Gives the character base Freelancer Strength + 19.
 * Equip Ribbons: Can equip Man-Eater, Ribbon, Rainbow Dress, and Red Slippers.
 * Equip Rods: Can equip rods, staves, the Morning Star, and the Flail.
 * Equip Shields: Can equip any shield.
 * Equip Spears: Can equip spears. Gives the character base Freelancer Strength + 18.
 * Equip Swords: Can equip any sword. Gives the character base Freelancer Strength + 23.
 * Equip Whips : Can equip Whips. Gives the character 37 Strength and 25 Agility.

All Equipment Abilities make their debut in this game. They are the final abilities of Berserker, Ranger, Bard, Samurai, Dancer, Time Mage, Dragoon, and Beastmaster respectively. Equip Armor, Shield, and Sword are the last three abilities of the Knight class.

Final Fantasy VI
Equipping the Merit Award will make any character be able to equip anything that he or she could not equip normally. The only exceptions Relics, female equipment, costumes, Ultima Weapon (SNES only), Bone Club, Royal Crown, and Snow Scarf. In the SNES version, Merit Award can be equipped by anyone, but in the PlayStation version, the Merit Award cannot be equipped by Gau, and in the GBA release this is extended to Gogo.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Equipment Abilities are a set of support abilities learned by several classes. Each ability lets a class equip weapons or armor they would not usually be able to equip. However, this takes up a support slot that may be better used for something else, meaning it may be better to change into a Job that can already equip the desired equipment.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Shieldbearer allows any Job to equip shields, and can be learned by every race through any of three shields, with some Jobs available to learn from two of them. The Bronze Shield allows Soldiers, Warriors, and Fencers to learn the ability. The Round Shield allows Sages, Fencers, and Mog Knights to learn the ability. The Opal Shield allows Soldiers and Mog Knights to learn the ability.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Shieldbearer returns in this installment, allowing any job to equip Shields. The previous races all learn it from the same Jobs, while Vikings and Raptors allow seeq and gria to have the ability, respectively. Ribbon-Bearer allows for all Jobs in a race to equip Ribbons, and is learned by the Seer, Trickster, and Tinker.

Viera and Gria can equip ribbons naturally, but Seeq and Nu Mou are unable to learn this ability, and as such cannot equip ribbons. Tank allows for any Job in a race to equip Heavy Armor, and can be learned by the Defender, Lanista, and Ravager.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Equipment Abilities allow a character to equip equipment pieces they normally cannot. No character possesses any of the Equipment Abilities innately, the player must purchase the ability for a character in the Shop by trading 500 gil and a specific "Lore" item. All of these abilities cost 20 CP to equip and 500 AP to master. The four Machine-type equipment pieces uniquely cannot be used by anyone unless they possess the Equip Machines ability.

Once the character masters an Equipment Ability they learn a corresponding "Adept" ability, which costs 20 CP to equip and 240 AP to master. The "Adept" abilities have one of four effects depending on the type of equipment it corresponds to -- Weapon Adept abilities increase attack power, Hand Adept abilities increase defense, Head Adept abilities increase Bravery, and Armor Adept abilities increase HP.

However, their boosts are only active if the character is equipped with a weapon of the appropriate type, Sword Adept for example only taking effect when the character is equipped with a Sword. For this reason a character can learn an Equipment Ability for a type of equipment they can innately use, in order to learn its corresponding Adept ability.

The following is a list of Equipment Abilities:
 * Equip Swords
 * Equip Daggers
 * Equip Greatswords
 * Equip Katanas
 * Equip Spears
 * Equip Axes
 * Equip Rods
 * Equip Staves
 * Equip Thrown Weapons
 * Equip Grappling Weapons
 * Equip Instruments
 * Equip Parrying Weapons
 * Equip Shields
 * Equip Bangles
 * Equip Gauntlets
 * Equip Hats
 * Equip Hairpins
 * Equip Helms
 * Equip Ribbons
 * Equip Clothing
 * Equip Robes
 * Equip Light Armor
 * Equip Heavy Armor
 * Equip Machines

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Equipment Abilities are heavily simplified in this game. Instead of each equipment type having an ability to use it, equipment types are grouped together under a single ability which enables the use of all of those equipment types. All Equipment Abilities cost 20 CP to equip and 170 AP to master.

Similar to Dissidia, each of the Equipment Abilities is taught to a character by trading in a type of "Lore" trade item in the shop, and once mastered the character learns a "Master" ability. As in Dissidia, the character's Damage, Defense, Bravery or HP increases when the character is equipped with a type of equipment piece corresponding to the Master ability.

The following is a list of Equipment Abilities and the types of equipment they enable usage of:
 * Peltast's Gear - Enables sword, dagger, greatsword, katana use
 * Hoplite's Gear - Enables spear, axe, grappling weapon use
 * Mage's Gear -Enables rod, staff, pole use
 * Ranger's Gear - Enables thrown weapon, instrument, gun use
 * Knight's Gear - Enables shield, large shield use
 * Thief's Gear - Enables bangle, gauntlet, parrying weapon use
 * Infantry Gear - Enables helm, hat use
 * Bard's Gear - Enables hairpin, headband use
 * Cavalier's Gear - Enables light armor, heavy armor, chestplate use
 * Evoker's Gear - Enables clothing, robe use
 * Dancer's Garb - Enables ribbon use
 * Use Machines - Enables machine use