Achilles (Final Fantasy XII)

Achilles
(アキレス, Akiresu?)
Availability
Obtained	Zodiac: Garamsythe Waterway (No. 4 Cloaca Spur [Drained]) Original: Rabanastre (after defeating Belias), Jahara, Nalbina Fortress (after defeating Judge Bergan)
Required	Zodiac: Achilles (40 LP) Original: Achilles (40 LP)
Character(s)	Zodiac: White Mage, Uhlan, Machinist, Monk, Archer Original: All permanent party members
Classification
Type	Physical
Skillset	Technicks
Effect	Adds one additional elemental weakness to one enemy.
Specifications
Cast time	Zodiac: 40 CT Original: 55 CT
Range	10
Hit rate	Zodiac: 50% Original: 40%
Related pages
Recurring appearance	Achilles

Render one foe vulnerable to an additional element.

Description

Achilles is a Technick in Final Fantasy XII that attempts to add an elemental weakness to an enemy, but enemies with the Safety augment are immune to it. Achilles is purchased from certain Technicks shops in the original PlayStation 2 version, and is found in a treasure in the Zodiac versions. In the original version, all player characters who have the License Board can activate it. In the Zodiac versions, it is used by certain jobs.

Obtain

The license for Achilles costs 40 License Points. In the original PlayStation 2 version, Achilles is sold in Technicks shops for 5000 gil in Rabanastre (after fighting Belias), Jahara, and in Nalbina Fortress after defeating Judge Bergan.

In the Zodiac versions, the Technick is found in Garamsythe Waterway No. 4 Cloaca Spur when the area is drained. The player needs to close the sluice gates for No. 11 and No. 4 Waterway controls. The treasure always appears.

In the Zodiac versions, the Achilles license can be used by the job classes White Mage, Uhlan, Machinist, Monk, and Archer.

Mechanics

A successful use makes an enemy weak to an additional element they were not weak to before. The effect does not wear off. The target will then take double damage from attacks of the element they became weak to.

$Success~Chance \%= Base~Chance + (User's~Level - Target's~Level)$

If the user's level exceeds the target's, the chance becomes:

$Success~Chance \% = 3 \times (User's~Level - Target's~Level)$ $+ Base~Chance$

Use

Achilles does not work against enemies with the Safety augment, which includes marks, Rare Game, elementals, bosses, and basically all "tough" enemies. This severely limits its usefulness, as most other types of enemies are fairly easily dispatched. Against enemies that lack Safety, the player could simply try using Death (or Warp if they do not care about spoils).

Etymology

[view · edit · purge]In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad. Achilles was as a babe dipped into the river Styx by his sea-nymph mother, and became protected from all harm by its waters. Only his heel, by which she had lowered him, remained unprotected, and by this vulnerability was he slain.