Onion equipment

The Onion Equipment is a set of gear exclusive to the Onion Knight Job. It is the strongest equipment and the set is usually made of a sword, a shield, a helmet, an 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 are usually enough to endure even the hardest battles. The only downside of this equipment is that in most appearances, it is very difficult to obtain.

Final Fantasy III
The Onion Sword, Helm, Gauntlets, and Armor make the set. All the pieces are a very rare drop of dragons from the Crystal Tower or, in the DS and iOS 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 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 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. 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. The doll bears the sprite of the Final Fantasy III Onion Knight on its shield. To obtain it, the player must search for the coordinates "12, 57" while aboard the Fahrenheit to locate Baaj Temple and dive into the water and swim to the northern doors. Geosgaeno will attack and after it is defeated, the chest containing the Onion Knight is found in the southern part of the area underwater.

The Venus Crest is found in the Farplane after Jyscal Guado has been sent. Upgrading the Onion Knight with the Venus Crest will allow Shiva to break the damage limit.

To obtain the Venus Sigil, the player must go to the Thunder Plains and dodge two hundred consecutive lightning bolts without leaving the area. The player is not told how many bolts they have dodged, and if they miscount and leave the area without dodging enough bolts, their total is reset. It is advised the player thus aims for more than two hundred bolts in case they miscalculate. Once two hundred bolts have been dodged in a row, the chest containing the sigil will appear in front of the Thunder Plains' branch of Rin's Travel Agency.

The Onion Knight does more damage the closer Lulu is to her max MP.

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 start out with a White Belt.

In the Japanese beta version of the game, new players also started out with two pieces of Onion armor: one for the head and one for the body. These were the Onion Hat, Onion Cap, and Onion Bandana for the head and the Onion Harness, Onion Doublet, Onion Vest, and Onion Tunic for the body.

Unwanted Onion equipment may be taken to Selbina, where a hume man named Romeo will start the quest "Donate to Recycling". This quest involves turning in five pieces of Onion equipment and awards the title "Ecologist" and the furnishing item Wastebasket.

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

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Onion Knight's Helm is an adornment; it changes visual aspects of a Paradigm Pack monster, but doesn't benefit it in any way. It is obtained as a reward from Serendipity by earning the "Undying Cup" title.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Onion Knight's Helm is an adornment. It is obtained as a reward for completing Adoring Candice quest.

Final Fantasy XIV
The Onion Helm is a special in-game item for those who bought the collector's edition version of the game. The Onion Armor, Onion Mask, Onion Sarouel, Onion Tassets, Onion Gauntlets and Onion Boots call all be obtained in the raid instance "Labyrinth of the Ancients". This set is made specifically for the Dragoon and Lancer Job/Class.

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 unbeatable, but it is also the hardest to obtain; like the other strongest weapons, the player must catch it from an enemy Ninja.

In the iOS version, since there is no Multiplayer mode, the Onion Equipment is available for purchase in the Poacher's Den upon completion of the game.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
The Onion Sword is 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 grants some bonuses to Defense, Magic Defense, and Evasion. It is obtained as a reward for completing the "Newbie Hall" mission, that appears after completing Mission #3 "The Cheetahs".

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
The Onion Sword appears 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. It is now a moderately strong weapon, and grants the same defensive bonuses as before. It can be bought for 3200 gil. It can also be created in the bazaar for a Gemsteel, an Onion and a Crusader Tonic.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Onion Sword is a Strength-raising artifact that increases Strength by 1. It can be obtained as an artifact set in the Mine of Cathuriges if the player gets over 181 points in the third cycle. It can be found in Veo Lu Sluice, Daemon's Court, Selepation Cave, Mount Kilanda and Rebena Te Ra all in the third cycle.

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. It costs 19,823 gil.

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 Sword is a level 100 exclusive weapon for Onion Knight that grants +68 Attack, Damage +15%, and Major Gambler's Spirit and can be obtained by trading 31,920 gil, Royal Sword, Onion x5, Recovery Orb x5.

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.

Trivia

 * The design of Excalibur in Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is identical to the Onion Sword from the Nintendo DS version of Final Fantasy IV.