Automatically casts Haste in battle.
Description
Auto-Haste is a support ability in Final Fantasy IX that every permanent party member can learn. It bestows them with automatic Haste status while in battle for the cost of 9 Magic Stones.
Obtained[]
Auto-Haste is learned from the Running Shoes Add-on for variable amounts of AP; Zidane, Vivi, and Dagger learn it the fastest at 55 AP, while Freya learns it the slowest at 75 AP.
Running Shoes are earliest obtained as a drop from Tantarian, during the time Zidane Tribal's party is racing to rescue Princess Garnet under a time limit. Winning against Tantarian at this time is possible but requires a careful strategy (the enemy can be fought again later on, during the Battle of Alexandria). Other ways to get the Running Shoes include; Visiting Quan's Dwelling with Quina and Vivi in the party for a hidden scene, and then checking the grandfather clock on the ledge outside; from the Treno weapon shop monster challenge after the events in Mount Gulug; via synthesis in Black Mage Village in the endgame; and a pair can be stolen from Hades.
Mechanics[]
The wearer has automatic Haste whenever they are alive in combat, making them also immune to Slow (but not to Stop). Auto-Haste cannot be dispelled. Auto-Haste makes the equipper's ATB gauge fill 50% faster. Expirable statuses lapse 50% faster and statuses that count down or "tick" also fulfill faster, such as Regen, Poison, or Doom.
Use[]
Auto-Haste may sound good on paper, but due to how the battle system works in Final Fantasy IX, the ones equipping it do not actually get more turns in battle or "overtake" one another's turns, due to how long of the battle time "stalls" during animations or for a character to wait to begin their action. However, Auto-Haste does let the characters get their first turn faster if they are not in a pre-emptive strike, makes them immune to Slow that otherwise lacks an immunity ability (Locomotion only protects against Stop), and makes Auto-Regen tick faster. If everyone in the party has Auto-Haste, they usually get to act before the enemy, and battles can finish before the enemy gets to act. However, when short on Magic Stones, Auto-Haste can be one of the first support abilities to unequip as it is not crucial for winning battles, and Auto-Regen without Haste is still fast enough for the party to not need any other type of healing for most of the time.
Alternatives to Auto-Haste would be casting Haste in battle and Carbuncle's Emerald Light, but these statuses lapse, and lapse even faster than their "base rate" because of Haste itself.