Weapon with an angel's spirit dwelling inside.
Description
The Angel Bless is Zidane's fifth thief sword available for synthesis in Final Fantasy IX, and a great upgrade over his previous weapons due to its innate status and the skill it teaches. It has innate Confuse status, usable via Zidane's Soul Blade skill, and teaches Thievery, where Zidane can deal severe fixed damage to an enemy if the player has been stealing a lot; it can become one of the best abilities in the game.
Obtain[]
The player can craft the Angel Bless in the synthesis shops in Alexandria, Treno (after returning from the Outer Continent), Lindblum (after returning from the Outer Continent), Daguerreo, and Black Mage Village (endgame). The player needs 9000 gil, a Mythril Dagger, and a Gladius to make it. Both daggers are found in the shops in the Mist Continent if the player lacks either.
Mechanics[]
The base damage dealt with normal attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
- Base = 44 - Enemy's Defense
- Bonus = [(Strength + Spirit) / 2] + Rnd MOD ([(Level + Strength) / 8] +1)
- Damage = Base * Bonus
Where Rnd means a random number, while MOD means modulus operation. "Rnd MOD x" can be read as a random number between 0 and x-1.
The damage is then modified by variables like Zidane's equipped killer abilities or MP Attack, his row position, and the enemy's Protect. If Zidane is under Mini, his Bonus will be 1.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and the Base part of the damage formula with the Angel Bless is altered to:
- Base = 16 - Enemy's Defense
Angel Bless has innate Confuse trait. When Zidane uses Soul Blade with the Angel Bless equipped, the enemy is inflicted unless they are immune. Thief swords' status abnormalities do not work with Add Status, and so it is pointless to equip the latter when Zidane wields a thief sword.
Use[]
The Angel Bless is the strongest thief sword available for crafting when the party returns from the Outer Continent. Angel Bless remains Zidane's strongest weapon for the world map exploration with the Blue Narciss, and the events in Forgotten Continent and Oeilvert, the Lost Continent and Mount Gulug, until the party procures a flying transport, by which time they can head to Daguerreo and make the superior Sargatanas. The second-best dagger, Zorlin Shape, becomes available to buy just before Mount Gulug, and the player should be sure to snap up a few of them even if Angel Bless is stronger as they will be needed for synthesis later.
The Confuse effect from Angel Bless disables enemies susceptible to it, and thus can be a great tool for the right battle as long as Zidane has mastered Soul Blade. Angel Bless + Soul Blade is far superior to the Confuse spell or Add Status.
Angel Bless is the first source of Thievery, which the player is advised to master, as it can be one of the strongest abilities in the game if the player dedicates themselves to stealing from every encounter.
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