Dispel



Dispel ( or ), also known as XFER, and DeSpell, is a spell that appears mostly as White Magic in various games in the Final Fantasy series. It removes positive status enhancements and some magic-based status ailments from its target. It is not always guaranteed that Dispel will work even if the creature does have a positive status effect on it. An area of effect version, Dispelga, exists in some games. Generally Dispel cannot be reflected and is able to remove the reflect status if it is not innate.

Dispel has appeared with two different Japanese names in the series. The first is "despell", "spell" prefixed with "de-". This is likely a variation on the word "dispel" used to conform to the four-character limit in the original title, while also performing as a pun referencing that it undoes the effects of spells (infliction of statuses).

The Japanese name "Dispel" (written with five characters in its katakana form) is used in Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V where the character limit for ability names was extended. In these games it appears as the only White or Black Magic spell that has a name longer than four characters (at the time the suffix wasn't used and the extra Cure spell used a  suffix). In titles thereafter it has been referred to in Japanese as Despell with the exception of Final Fantasy XI.

The name may be in reference to the Dispel magic from Dungeons & Dragons.

The original Final Fantasy Tactics release mistranslated the ability as "Despair". There are a few circumstances where an English ending "r" sound is transliterated into Japanese as (although that would more likely be ), however in this case the common Japanese form is.

Final Fantasy


Dispel (also known as XFER in the NES release) is a level 8 White Magic spell. In the NES and Final Fantasy Origins releases it was meant to remove all forms of elemental defense from a single enemy. Due to a programming error its effectiveness was set to 0 rendering it useless in the Nintendo version. In subsequent releases after Origins, Dispel removes all beneficial status effects from a single enemy. Dispel can be cast by Death Gaze, Death Eye, Death Knight, and Dark Fighter.

The spell can be bought at Gaia and can only be learned by the White Wizard job class. In the Dawn of Souls and 20th Anniversary Edition releases it costs 35 MP to cast.

Final Fantasy II
Dispel is a White Magic spell that attempts to reduce the target's resistance to spells in the Famicom and Origins releases. This would allow spells to do more damage, and gives status spells like Fog and Swap a chance to hit targets otherwise immune to their effects. The success rate increases with the spell's level. The spell is bugged in the NES version and does not work.

Any character can learn Dispel by having them use the Dispel Tome (called the Dispel Scroll in the Origins release).

Dispel VIII is exclusively cast by Beast Demon, while Dispel XVI is cast by Beelzebub, Emperor in the final battle, Hecteyes, Chimera Sphinx, and the Light Emperor.

Final Fantasy IV
Dispel is a White Magic spell learned by Rosa and Porom. It was not present in the SNES version for the player, but it could be used by using the Aura Staff, called Lunar in the SNES version, as an item. It has a casting time of 1, costs 12 MP in the 2D versions, and 15 MP in the 3D versions.

Aura Staff in the SNES version does absolutely nothing when used as an item during battle, but if used on a character with Reflect status, it causes the animation to be reflected onto a random enemy, although it will still do nothing. In the original Japanese version, this item produces the effect of Dispel when used as an item, which is what the animation is from. This functionality was removed from Final Fantasy II (US) and Easy Type, but can still be seen by the player because its visual effect wasn't removed from the game.

The spell is not learnable on the SNES North America and Easy Type version. The spell is still used in the Easy Type version, but its White Magic icon was removed.

The spell can remove Berserk, Stop (only if Doom is inflicted), Blink, Reflect, Sap, and Barrier statuses. In all non-DS versions, the spell is reflectable and so it cannot remove Reflect.

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
Dispel is a White Magic spell. Rosa learns it at level 31 and Porom learns it at level 31. It removes all positive statuses: Berserk, Stop (only if Doom is inflicted), Blink, Sap, and Barrier on a single target at the cost of 12 MP.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Dispel costs 12 MP to cast and is learned by Rosa at level 33, Porom at level 31, and Leonora at level 42. Fusoya starts with the spell. It is useless against enemies in Reflect status.

Final Fantasy V
Dispel is a Level 6 White Magic spell which can be purchased in Phantom Village for 10,000 gil. It costs 12 MP to cast. It is one of the spells that can be cast from the Wonder Wand for free.

Dispel can be cast by Exdeath in the first battle, Neo Exdeath, and Tiny Mage.

Final Fantasy VI
Dispel is an effect spell taught by Unicorn and Alexander at a rate of x2 and x10, respectively, while Terra Branford learns it naturally at level 37. Notably, Dispel is an effect magic spell which costs 25 MP to cast and is vulnerable to Runic. The spell removes Invisible, Image, Berserk, Regen, Slow, Haste, Stop, Shell, Protect, Reflect, Reraise, and Float. Dispel can be cast by Holy Dragon, Level 50 Magic, Level 80 Magic, Level 90 Magic, Magic, and Zurvan.

Final Fantasy VII
The Destruct Materia has DeSpell, which removes all barriers, plus Haste, Slow, Stop, Regen, Death Force, and Resist). DeSpell costs 20 MP.

The Materia is acquired by entering the Shinra Manor basement in Nibelheim during disc 1; Sephiroth will throw it at the player after the cutscene plays out. The player can also cast Dispel with the Holy Torch item, which can only be obtained through morphing a Stilva or Evilhead.

Safer∙Sephiroth and the enemy Valron are the only ones to use the DeSpell spell against the party.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Dispel removes positive status effects from enemies, and can be cast when the appropriate Materia has been equipped. It can be bought from the Happy Turtle shop (found in a treasure in mission 4-3-6) for 5,000 gil, and is also dropped by certain enemies and found on certain missions. It costs 10 MP to cast.

Final Fantasy VIII
Dispel can be drawn from several enemies. It removes all positive statuses. It can be used by Edea against the party. Casting Dispel in battle increases compatibility with Cerberus by 0.2, but lowers compatibility with Carbuncle by 1.2, with Siren by 0.8, with Diablos by 0.4 and with Eden by 0.2.

Final Fantasy IX
The White Magic spell Dispel is learned from Tiger Racket and Siren's Flute, and only Eiko can use it. It removes all positive status effects from the target and costs 16 MP to cast and 35 AP to master. It ignores reflect and works with Return Magic.

Final Fantasy X
Dispel is a White Magic spell found in Yuna's section of the Sphere Grid. It costs 12 MP to use and in addition to removing all positive status effects (except Auto-Life), it will also remove Curse and all four Breaks. Seymour also has enhanced version of this spell (similar to Dispelga) in the battles against him which affects all allies. Dispel can be cast by Anima at the Remiem Temple, Cindy, Seymour Flux, Seymour Omnis, and Varuna.

Final Fantasy X-2
Dispel is a White Magic spell learned by the White Mage dressphere. It costs 12 MP to cast and 30 AP to master, and requires Esuna to be mastered before it appears. An item called Dispel Tonic has the same function as the spell. Dispel is cast by a wide variety of enemies, mainly by monsters in Oversoul.

Final Fantasy XI
Dispel is available exclusively to Red Mages and Scholars who are currently under the effect of Addendum: Black. Dispel is Level 32 Black Magic enfeebling magic spell aligned with the Dark element. Dispel can miss. Some status effects cannot be dispelled, and Dispel will only remove one (randomly chosen) status at a time in any event.

Also, there are other ways to remove status effects available to other jobs. Bards possess an equivalent to Dispel in the form of Magic Finale, a Level 33 Bard song. Since the Bard's Finale functions on Light and Red Mage functions on Dark, there is a possibility that one or the other would have a better success rate versus certain monsters with affinity or weakness towards one of those elements.

Blue Mages have both Light and Dark-aligned spells that can remove status effects. Fenrir may be used by Summoners as well, though this is rare due to the high recast time. A Corsair's Dark Shot ability functions similarly as well. A level 75 Thief's Aura Steal ability may remove an enemy's status effect (and grant it to the Thief), as may Absorb-Attri cast by a level 91 or higher Dark Knight.

Many Notorious Monsters can cast Dispelga, which is like Dispel except that it affects all players within range and automatically wipes all shadow images from Utsusemi and Blink before the effect to be dispelled is chosen.

Final Fantasy XII
Dispel is a White Magick spell, available as license 5 that costs 4,500 gil and 45 License Points and can be purchased at Nalbina after defeating Judge Bergan. Dispel removes positive status effects from a target, and can also remove some negative status effects that are not removable by Esuna, such as Slow and Stop. There is also the multi-target upgrade, Dispelga, that requires the White Magic 6 License and costs 8,200 gil and 50 LP and can be purchased in Balfonheim.

In the Zodiac versions, Dispel is again a White Magick license 5, but it can only be obtained from a chest in the Tomb of Raithwall's Royal Passage. Dispel can be learned by White Mage and Red Battlemage.

Final Fantasy XIII


Dispel is a Saboteur debuff skill that removes one positive effect from the target. The effect that is removed is the one most recently applied. The multi-target version, Dispelga, is a technique that costs 1 TP, usable once it is unlocked in a character's Crystarium; Lightning learns it in the Commando role, Snow and Fang learn it in the Sentinel, and Sazh, Vanille, and Hope learn it in the Ravager role. Unlike Dispel, which removes only one positive status effect from one target at a time, Dispelga removes all status effects, both positive and negative, from all allies and enemies.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Dispel returns, but with a lower ATB cost. The evolved form, Dispelga, is also learnable by Serah and is no longer considered a technique. It costs 3 ATB bars to execute. Additionally, Dispel's effect has been slightly modified: Each cast has a chance of dispelling the most recent status ailment from the enemy, and in no way affects the allies' enhancements or debuffs. However, an item in the game called Unicorn Horn, has the exact same effect as the Dispelga from the previous game.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Dispel is an ability learned by the Templar job for 300 JP. It removes Float, Reflect, Protect, Shell, Haste, Reraise, Invisible, Float, and Regen from one target with a range of 4 for 20 MP.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Dispel is learned by the Bishop. As such, only bangaa can learn it from the Bless Staff. It costs 12 MP to cast, has a range of 3 and vertical reach of 2, and it is stealable through the ability Steal: Ability. A Gadgeteer, exclusive to the moogle race, however, can learn the Blue Screw action ability from the White Fangs which, according to the in-game description, "works like 'dispel'", but targets either all allies or all foes.

The Ninja class has the ability Unspell that has the same effect which is learned from the Heaven's Cloud, but only targets adjacent units.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
The Bishop spell Dispel removes buffs from units in a small area and is learned through the Staff of Blessings. The Ninja ability Unspell ability also removes buffs and is learned from Ama-no-murakumo, but only targets adjacent units. The Blue Magic spell Roar casts Dispel on all units.

Dispel requires 300 AP to master and 12 MP to cast while unspell requires 300 AP to master and 4 MP to cast.

Vagrant Story
Dispel is a Sorcerer Spell learned from the Grimoire Dissiper, found inside a treasure chest in the Undercity West's The Children Hideout. Dispel nullifies all status effects on a single target. The spell costs 10 MP.

Final Fantasy Legend II
Dispel is a magical attack that has 15 uses, it also increases a Robot's HP by 9. The damage formula for Dispel is the user's Mana x13. This ability is effective effective against the undead (Skelton, Zombie, O-Bake) and targets one group only. This attack can be used by Anubis.

Final Fantasy Legend III
There is an enemy ability called Dispel, it cost no MP to use and it can inflict Fatal to one enemy.

Bravely Default
Dispel is a level 4 White Magic spell. It cancels the support effects regen, stop, reflect, reraise, as well as those that nullify status aliments, raise/lower stats, abate/nullify elements or make targets weaker to them, absorb damage, or are imparted by sword magic. It costs 8 MP to use. It can be bought in Hartschild for 1600 pg.

Final Fantasy Dimensions
Dispel is a Level 8 White Magic learned by level 1 Seers (Warriors of Light).

Chocobo's Dungeon 2
Dispel is an item that removes all curses from all equipment.

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon
Dispel is a level 6 White Mage spell that costs 3 SP to cast. It removes curses from equipped items.

Gallery
Anti-Z Dispel デスペル Dispel