Dark Matter (item)

Dark Matter (ダークマター, Dākumatā) is a recurring item in the Final Fantasy series. It is usually a very rare item, with special effects.

Final Fantasy IV
The Dark Matter item can be stolen from Zeromus in the final battle, using Edge's Steal command. It can only be used in the final battle, but serves no real purpose. Early theories said it lowered the power of Big Bang, but this was eventually proven false.

In Final Fantasy IV DS, the Dark Matter actually serves a real purpose: after stealing it from Zeromus and completing the game, the player can land the Lunar Whale near the face on the Red Moon and walk up to it. The party will be prompted to use an item. Using the Dark Matter will initiate a boss battle with a new superboss, Proto-Babil.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Dark Matter is a dummied out item, only accessible via hacking.

Final Fantasy V
The Dark Matter is a Chemist's mixing ingredient. It is the exact opposite of Holy Water and if the two are mixed, it will create a dud. However, if combined with a Phoenix Down, it will create an incredibly powerful item: the Death Potion.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Dark Matter is a Materia Fusion component that adds +1 MAG to the resulting Materia. Dark Matters are easily farmed end-game; by killing Lesser Worms the player can get plenty of Dark Matter drops by equipping the Mog's Amulet. The drops can be doubled by also equipping a Jeweled Ring.

Final Fantasy VIII
The Dark Matter can teach Quistis Trepe the Blue Magic spell Shockwave Pulsar. It is a tool that level 100 Siren can refine from 100 Curse Spikes.

Final Fantasy IX
The Dark Matter is a winnable from the Treno Auction House and allows Princess Garnet to learn how to summon the Eidolon, Odin. If used in battle, it will automatically inflict 9,999 damage to a single target. Alternatively, it can be stolen from Ozma. The Dark Matter will never show up in the auction if the player already has one in their inventory, but if they equip it as an add-on, they can obtain more than one Dark Matter from the auction.

Tetra Master

 * Card 075
 * Location: Memoria

Final Fantasy X
The Dark Matter is an item used with the Use command, which deals non-elemental Magic damage in the same manner as the spell Ultima and Flare. It can be obtained as a rare drop from Monster Arena creatures and also as a normal drop by Dark Aeons in the International version. It can be used to customize equipment to add Break Damage Limit and Ribbon (Ribbon is only in the International and PAL version).

When Ultima Buster is unlocked in the Monster Arena after catching five of every enemy across Spira, the prize of 99 Dark Matters will be awarded. Additionally, the best way to farm Dark Matters in the International version is to battle Dark Yojimbo; Yojimbo is faced five times in succession and each time has a chance of dropping Dark Matter. If the player exits the cave, or as much as enters the Blitzball menu in the middle, the battles are reset and start from the first battle all over again; this way, the player can defeat Yojimbo as many times as needed, without actually killing it.

Rikku's Overdrive, Sunburst, has the same animation as Dark Matter.

Final Fantasy X-2
Dark Matter is an exceptionally rare item only obtained in the Via Infinito by bribing Paragon or receiving as a drop from Trema. Its effects can be simulated with the Alchemist's Mix ability or Lady Luck's Random Reels.

Final Fantasy XII
Dark Matter is an extremely rare item only available through chests, the bazaar, the clan shop after achieving the highest clan ranking, and through stealing from The Undying during the final battle. Dark Matter is incredibly powerful in that it adds up all of the damage from Knots of Rust dealt since the last time a Dark Matter was used, and deals that damage all in one hit, up to 60,000 damage.

The damage of Knot of Rust is (caps at 9,999):


 * DMG = Current HP / Random(1~10)

The damage of Dark Matter is the sum of all Knots of Rust (and Devour Soul) that have been used divided by 3. Damage caps at 60,000. Devour Soul is an attack used by the Esper Shemhazai when summoned that is essentially the same as using a Knot of Rust.


 * DMG = SUM (Knot of Rust DMG) / 3 + SUM (Devour Soul DMG) / 3

The counter resets to 0 after each use. Shemhazai's special attack, Soul Purge, has exactly the same effect as Dark Matter and using it also resets the counter. Dark Matter's damage is unaffected by Reverse and has the maximum effect capacity, which means no other spell or technick can be performed simultaneously.

Dark Matter can be made in the bazaar by selling one Bat Wing, three Grimoire Aidheds, and three Grimoire Togails. Also, the sixteen chests on Phon Coast and the sixteen chests in the Necrohol of Nabudis correspond to each other. The Zodiac Spear can only be found in the Necrohol of Nabudis, meaning if the player claims the chests on the Phon Coast before obtaining the spear, it will be forever lost. However, if the player is to open the chests with the Diamond Armlet on, they will all contain Dark Matter instead of Knots of Rust. The chests can be claimed in either Necrohol of Nabudis or Phon Coast, and once claimed, will disappear from both locations and will never respawn. It is recommended the player first finds the Zodiac Spear, and claims the other chests later with the Diamond Armlet equipped to get the Dark Matters.

Final Fantasy XIII
Dark Matter is a mineral used in upgrading equipment, costing 840,000 Gil to purchase in R&D Depot. It is also dropped by the Shaolong Gui that spawn on Gran Pulse after completing missions 56-62.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Similar to Final Fantasy XII, the Dark Matter deals damage to all enemies on the map and its power increases the more Knots of Rust the player has used. The Ranger can also use it with his Mirror Items ability to invert its effect and restore health to all allies.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Dark Matter is a Magic Artifact that adds Magic +5 to a character's skill.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Dark Matter appears as Magicite. It is created through the Lilties' Alchemy ability when the player fails to create the Magicite. Dark Matter can be mixed again to create Materials through Alchemy. While Dark Matter cannot be carried around like other Magicite, it can be picked up and thrown at enemies to cast a random magic spell or inflict the Zap status with no damage dealt. The spells are either the non-damaging Zap effect (50% chance), Fire (15% chance), Blizzard (15% chance), Thunder (15% chance), Quake (2% chance), Meteor (2% chance), or Ultima (1% chance).

Etymology
Dark matter is a theoretical form of matter that has no detectable radiation emission, hence the name. Its existence is inferred from gravitational effects, and it is predicted to account for approximately 22% of the total mass/energy content in the universe (normal matter accounts for only 4%).

It seems probable that, like many fictional uses of dark matter, its mysterious nature is the only reason for the name being used in the games. The item in the games bears no other apparent similarities to the predicted properties of the real-world equivalent.