Gloves made of bronze.
Description
The Bronze Gloves is the basic gauntlet in Final Fantasy IX for Steiner and Freya. They teach Antibody, which inoculates against Poison. The Bronze Gloves give a bonus to the wearer's Spirit stat when they level up with them equipped.
Obtain[]
Bronze Gloves found in Theater Ship crash site.
The Bronze Gloves are found in the Theater Ship crash site in Evil Forest, in the bridge after ascending the spiral staircase.
They are also bought for 480 gil in Dali and Lindblum during the party's first visit to the city, but the player does not need to buy a pair if they found the one in the Theater Ship; the player can first equip them to Steiner, and when better gear becomes available, swap. Freya also joins the party with Bronze Gloves equipped.
Mechanics[]
The Bronze Gloves provides 8 physical Evasion and 2 Magic Evasion, slightly improving the wearer's chance to avoid damage. The gloves give a +1 bonus to the wearer's Spirit when they level up with them equipped. When enough "bonuses" upon level up from gear have been accrued, the character gains a permanent stat increase. Spirit is a generally good stat to raise that determines the HP a character is revived at, the duration of expirable status effects, how often Regen and Poison tick, how frequently the character can enter Trance and how many turns they get while in Trance, among other things.
Use[]
The Bronze Gloves is starter gear the player can equip onto Steiner for all of "disc 1" content: Evil Forest, the world map excursion afterward, Ice Cavern, and the events in Dali until the superior Silver Gloves become available; however Steiner will be away from the player's party for a time at this point. Freya can start with the stronger Silver Gloves, but the player can also use the Bronze Gloves on her to master Antibody. However, she can also master it from the Glass Buckle or other gear.
The Antibody ability is useful to master and Steiner will have plenty time to do so before switching to the Silver Gloves.
The gloves' level up bonus is good but it is not advised to level-grind early on unless the player is stuck in a boss or a dungeon; level grinding and min-maxing are unnecessary in a normal playthrough even when preparing for superbosses. The best stat boost gear will be available in the end of the game, so for best results one would need to limit their EXP intake.
Beatrix can also wear the Bronze Gloves for the brief portion she is a guest during the Battle of Alexandria.