Magic Evasion

Magic Evasion is a recurring statistic in the series. It is similar to its counterpart stat Evasion, but instead of working against physical attacks, works against magical attacks, and at a much lesser rate in terms of avoiding damage.

Final Fantasy IV
Magic Evasion is an equipment statistic.

In the pre-Nintendo DS versions there are two statistics which determine whether a spell will be a hit or a miss; the spell hit rate, and the target's Magic Evasion. Each spell has its own base hit rate. Some spells have 100% hit rate, such as curative spells, but some, especially the status effect inflicting spells, have lower hit rates. Spells cast via weapons/items ignore the spell's hit rate.

There are ways to affect a spell's base hit rate. A bonus to hit rate is given to based on the stat the spell is powered by,


 * $$Hit Rate = Hit Rate + (Int or Spi or Magic)/2$$

If the caster is afflicted with Blind, the spell's base hit rate is halved.

The spell's hit rate is boosted by 25% if the caster is in "Slot 1". For the characters, it is the middle slot. For monsters, it is the frontmost spot, but can change as they are killed. Bosses by default are in the frontmost spot, so always get the boost.

Another factor that affects whether a spell will hit or not is the Magic Evasion. The characters have a base Magic Evasion value, which is $$( [Int + Spi]/8 )$$ + Magic Evasion from equipment.

In the Nintendo DS version, characters can no longer evade spells that deal damage, but is the rate the characters can evade being inflicted by a status.

Final Fantasy V
Some spells always hit, and curative and buffing spells always hit when targeted at party members. Offensive spells' accuracy is decided by the caster's Spell Hit % and the target's Magic Evasion %. When the player equips the Aegis Shield they have a random chance of evading a spell, which is separate from their actual Magic Evasion statistic.

Hats and robes give Magic Evasion. Most shields don't have any Magic Evasion and the only helm with Magic Evasion is the Royal Crown.


 * $$Spell Hit\% = Spell Hit\% + Attacker Level - Target Level$$
 * $$Evade\% = Target Magic Evade\%$$

If the spell is multitargeted the Spell Hit% is halved. Spells that are naturally multitarget do not suffer the penalty. If the target has Shell, the Spell Hit% is also halved, and if the target is a Toad its Evade % is reduced to 0.

The game generates two random numbers between 0 and 99.
 * If N1 >= Hit%, the spell misses
 * If N2 < Evade%, the spell misses

In other words, even if the target does not evade the attack, the attacker can still miss.

Final Fantasy VI
Due to a bug in the game coding, Magic Evasion affects both evasion to magical attacks and evasion to physical attacks, and the regular Evasion stat does nothing. Magic Evasion is an equipment statistic, but most equipment don't offer any Magic Evasion. The best equipment pieces for Magic Evasion are the Force Shield (50%) and the Force Armor (30%).

Most spells use the following formula to decide if a spell hits or not:


 * $$Evasion = (255 - Magic Evasion * 2) + 1$$

The Evasion can be a value between 1-255; if, from the above formula, it comes to less or more, it is set to 1 or 255, respectively.

If $$((Hit Rate * Evasion) / 256) > [0..99]$$ the spell hits.

However, Break, Doom, Gravity, Graviga and Banish use can be blocked by the target's high Stamina; if $$Target Stamina >= [0..127]$$ the attack misses.

If the target has Vanish any spell will always hit. This creates the famous glitch where Vanished targets lose their immunity to instant death. Some spells are also unblockable, such as Quake, although the party can use Float to immunize themselves. If the target is afflicted with Sleep, Petrify, Freeze or Stop attacks always hit. Targets can be hit 100% of the time with physical attacks when hit from the back, but this doesn't work for magical attacks. Spells auto-cast from weapons can't be evaded, such as how Ragnarok randomly casts Flare.

Final Fantasy VII
A spell will hit its target 100% of the time under any of the following conditions:
 * The hit rate of the spell is 255
 * The spell is of an element to which the target is immune or absorbs
 * The target has Reflect status and the spell can be Reflected
 * The spell does not inflict a status ailment and the target already has any of the following statuses: Sleep, Confusion, Stop, Paralyze, Petrify, or Death.

If none of the above conditions apply, the party member's chance of evading a magical attack is simply the Magic Defense % listed on his or her armor. Note that even if the character does not evade the spell, the caster still has a chance to miss.

Final Fantasy XI
Magic Evasion is a concept in Final Fantasy XI. It is a (hidden) stat that controls the ability to resist a magical spell, similar to how Evasion controls the ability to evade physical attacks. Very few equipment grant magic evasion; it's generally only increased by certain spells (e.g. "Bar-" spells).

Final Fantasy XII
Magic Evasion is a shield statistic, however, only three shields in the game have any Magic Evasion. The evasion chance can be boosted further by purchasing Shield Block augments on the License Board (each augment adds +5% to shield evasion) and by equipping the Gauntlets accessory. The best bosses in the game, however, such as Zodiark and Yiazmat, ignore shield evasion. One can't evade attacks while fleeing.