Magitek Armor

Magitek Armor is a technological device in Final Fantasy VI. It is a mechanical weapon employed by the Gestahlian Empire, able to fire beams of magical energy through the Empire's Magitek technology.

Appearance
Magitek Armor appears in-game as a green, yellow and brown exo-suit, roughly humanoid in design with the seat for the rider being mounted on the armor's torso. Magitek attacks are seen to be fired from the chestplate of the armor when used by party members. In CG sequences and Yoshitaka Amano's designs Magitek Armor is draconian in appearance, lacks arms entirely, and the rider sits on the approximate location of the "neck".

Story
Magitek Armor, along with the rest of the Empire's Magitek, was developed by Cid Del Norte Marquez. All Magitek Armor units are produced in the Magitek Research Facility at Vector. Magitek Armored troops appear in all territories and cities occupied by the Empire, though they are not as numerous as the Empire's foot army.

In order to reduce the Empire's ability to use Magitek, and to gain insight on Espers, Locke Cole and Celes Chere infiltrate the Magitek Research Facility and free the trapped Espers the Empire was draining magic from. This, combined with the Empire's discovery of Magicite, results in them foregoing Magitek usage outside of troops already stationed, and soldiers mention that the Magitek Research Facility is being dismantled and the armor is being refurbished.

Gameplay
There are various enemies that can be fought that involve Magitek Armor to some degree. These include Magitek Armor, Heavy Armor, Proto Armor, and Mega Armor. There are also a handful of Magitek Armor-type enemies in the World of Ruin. Pluto Armor appears as a manifestation in Cyan's Soul, and Duel Armor and Fortis appear within Kefka's Tower.

Ability
Wearing Magitek Armor gives access to the Magitek command, although there are limited occasions where Magitek Armor is usable; the first time is at the beginning of the game, where the player controls Terra, Biggs and Wedge. The second time is at the Imperial Camp near Doma Castle, where Sabin, Cyan and Shadow, if the player recruited him, escape in stolen Magitek Armor. The third time is within Cyan's soul during the sequence that takes place in a mine.

Terra alone is able to use the full arsenal of Magitek abilities. If Gogo has the Attack command assign to his/her battle menu list and s/he's also in the party, all eight commands will be available to him/her.

Creation and development
The opening of Final Fantasy VI uses a different in-game sprite of the Magitek Armor than the rest of the game. The game's producer, Hironobu Sakaguchi, wanted to make the Magitek Armor in the opening identical to the Magitek Armor that appears elsewhere in the game, but Tetsuya Takahashi, a graphics director for Final Fantasy VI, redesigned it his own way, which Sakaguchi felt was even better than the original.

Final Fantasy XIII
Vanille's Eidolon Hecatoncheir's Gestalt Mode was not intended as a reference to Magitek Armor, but the developers acknowledged it appears similar. In Final Fantasy XIII-2 the Brain Blast quiz refers to this transformation as Magitek Armor.

Final Fantasy XIV
Magitek armor, matching Yoshitaka Amano's original design, features prominently and is a primary tool of war for the Garlean Empire, with models ranging from manned units similar to those in Final Fantasy VI to fully-robotic "juggernaut" units.

The Adventurer can obtain an armor as a rideable "mount" in A Realm Reborn. The mount is obtained by clearing the main storyline.

Another Magitek Armor mount was added in the Stormblood expansion patch 4.0.1, designed after the Armor's in-game sprite in Final Fantasy VI.

Final Fantasy XV
Magitek armor are used by Niflheim, and are said to have been used by the ancient civilization of Solheim. They are used to guard imperial bases, and sent to intercept targets via airships. They are enemies the player can fight. They shoot missiles that detonate with a slight delay and walk on two legs. They topple over when their legs are destroyed.

Final Fantasy Type-0
The White Tiger Crystal in Milites Empire, the nation that instigates the war in Orience, grants the power of weapon to its people, allowing the creation of magitek armor (abbreviated as MA). Qator Bashtar and Qun'mi Tru'e are two notable pilots of customized magitek armor for the war: Gabriel and Dáinsleif respectively, specifically designed to withstand the Dominion of Rubrum soldiers' magic and Eidolons. Brionac, on the other hand, is a colossal prototype MA designed to deploy the empire's weapon of mass destruction, the Ultima Bomb, to long-distance targets.

Magitek armor were invented 550 years ago after Milites suffered defeat at the hands of the Lorican Alliance in the Second Lorican-Militesi War of 301, when the empire hastened its development of new weapons. Relying on the power of their Crystal, their aim was to invent more powerful and more advanced machinery.

Thanks to their C-Engine, the empire was already ahead of the alliance in Crystal energy extraction. By increasing the engine's efficiency and functionality, imperial researchers crafted a weapon superior to their tanks and dreadnoughts: magitek armor. Equipped with legs, the magitek armor had better reaction speed and maneuverability over irregular terrain.

The development of advanced weaponry was enabled by fine-tuning the empire's energy supply system. The imperial government installed high-output C-Engines throughout the state to extract energy from the Crystal that distributed the energy to smaller C-Engines, which then used that energy to generate power for the empire's various arms factories to mass-produce a fleet of magitek armor.

The ability to deploy Eidolons makes the Rubrum army a formidable opponent, and the empire has developed its magitek armor teknology specifically to encounter Rubrum's magic and Eidolons. The latest MA developed for fighting Eidolons is the Militesi Colossus.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
The Mage Mail, available from the last boss rush mission on Normal mode, appears to be some kind of reference to the Magitek Armor. The game description says: "Military equipment that exists in the sixth final fantasy". The armor appears as a mechanical armor suit.

Final Fantasy Legends II
The Magitek Armor appeared as an obtainable phantom stone summon.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call
Magitek Armor appears as a new enemy during Battle Music Sequences. They are based on their Final Fantasy VI sprite.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Terra appears on two different types of Magitek Armor.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest
A generic Imperial Soldier is piloting a Magitek Armor, an exclusive character only available from the Premium Character Shop as a random downloadable content, he uses the Thunder Beam ability during battle.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Magitek Armored soldiers appear twice as bosses, two are fought in the Record of Figaro Castle, and a further three are fought in the Record of Imperial Camp.


 * Target Score
 * Exploit weakness to Lightning


 * Abilities
 * Attack
 * Laser
 * Metal Kick

The tanks of the Gestahlian Empire don't mess around; they will arrive blasting the party with all they have. Too bad for them that in both cases, they are easily fried by Thunder-based attacks and spells. A Summoner with Ramuh, fighters with Thunder Strike, and Black Mages with Thunder or Thundara should suffice to fell the lot. Be sure to heal and protect any party member taking the brunt of their assault. Prior to February 18, 2016, Cyan could join early once the party completed the Imperial Camp Bonus Quest.
 * Strategy

Beware the Elite versions: they like to hit five times harder than other Elite level bosses, making even a maxed-out party seem powerless. Fast execution of buffing spells and high-level Thunder attacks should be a priority. Prior to February 18, 2016, Edgar joined the player if Figaro had its Bonus Quest attached.

Triple Triad
The Magitek Armor appears on Triple Triad cards in the version available via Final Fantasy Portal App.

Kingdom Hearts series
The Magitek Armor appears as a wearable outfit in Kingdom Hearts χ [chi] for the player.