Lower one foe's chance to hit.
Description
Blind is a Black Magicks spell in the Zodiac versions of Final Fantasy XII, and a Green Magicks spell in the original PlayStation 2 version. It is a single-target status ailment spell that makes the affected's attacks commonly miss. Its upgrade is the multi-targeting Blindga spell.
It is also an enemy ability used by Darkmare, Elder Wyrm, Flan, Forbidden, Gargoyle, Ghost, Imperial Magus, Lich, Nightmare, Pumpkin Head, Pumpkin Star, Skull Warrior, Slime, Specter, Spinner-Rook, Wraith, Zombie (male), Zombie Lord, and Zombie Warrior.
Obtained[]
In the Zodiac versions its license costs 20 License Points. The spell is found in Giza Plains' Toam Hills area in a treasure that appears during the dry weather when the plains are a savanna terrain. Toam Hills is the area left of the nomad village, and the treasure is in the far right end of the area. The player can get the spell as soon as they first leave Rabanastre as Vaan.
If the weather changes to the rains and the player has not picked up Blind, they will have to wait for the climate to become dry again before the treasure for the spell will reappear. The weather cycles are based on the in-game clock: 1 hour of rain followed by 2 hours of dry. Giza's weather can begin to cycle when the player enters Jahara, but the timer will not start until the player either returns to Giza Plains or enters Eruyt Village.
In the original version, Blind is a Green Magicks spell whose license costs 25 LP. It is bought for 200 gil from Nalbina Fortress, Rabanastre (after obtaining Sunstone), Barheim Passage, Bhujerba, Dreadnought Leviathan, Dalmasca Westersand (after Ondore's Estate), and the traveling merchant Dyce (sandseas).
In the Zodiac versions, Blind can be used by the Black Mage.
Mechanics[]
Blind inflicts the status of the same name that halves the afflicted's physical attack accuracy. It is a permanent ailment until cured.
The base success rate of the spell against an enemy that is not immune is 60% in the original version, updated to 75% in the Zodiac versions.
The success rate is unaffected by the target's Magick Evade stat, as the spell instead checks against the target's Vitality.
The hit rate is improved by further 50% with the caster having Faith status, or doubled with Serenity license/Magick Gloves when on full health, or Spellbreaker license/Leather Gorget when in critical health. Target's Shell halves the accuracy of the spell. If the caster is wearing the Indigo Pendant, Blind will succeed unless the enemy is immune to the status.
The accuracy underflow bug is a glitch in some versions of Final Fantasy XII where a low level character with extremely low Magick Power stat attempts to use a status move on a target with very high Vitality, and the accuracy of the spell becomes less than zero. In this case the accuracy will underflow to 100%, allowing certain status spells to always succeed.
Blind status is removed with Eye Drops, Blindna, Esuna, and Remedy.
Blind costs 10 MP to cast without Channeling licenses. The spell will bounce from Reflect unless the caster wears the Opal Ring.
Use[]
Blind is a status affliction spell the player can easily set up via the gambit system (such as with Foe:Any→Blind). However, it is best used situationally and with the Indigo Pendant equipped whenever possible. As alternatives, the player can also use an Eye Drops with the Nihopalaoa equipped, a gun loaded with the Mud Shot, or a crossbow loaded with the Black Bolts.
Status ailments that disable enemies altogether (like Disable or Sleep or Stop) are better than Blind. However, the spell can be useful against enemies that use a lot of physical attacks, like the behemoth-type monsters]]. It also works against the Garuda boss outside the Tomb of Raithwall and against Archaeoaevises in the Zertinan Caverns, which were made the game's toughest foe in the Zodiac versions. The player can also first berserk a foe and then blind them, leaving them only using physical attacks that commonly miss. This is one strategy that works against the aforementioned Archaeoaevises.
Blind's upside is that it is available early, whereas the best ailment spells are available later on when the player has many methods of dealing extreme damage and may not bother with ailments much anymore.
The Technick Sight Unseeing can cause the target's HP to drop drastically if the user is blinded, and so the player may also experiment with using the Blind spell onto allies.