Necklace with three star-shaped bangles on its chain. Reduces the MP cost of all magic to 1.
Description
Celestriad, also known as Economizer,[1][2] is a relic in Final Fantasy VI. It causes all magic spells, Lore spells, and espers summoned to cost only 1 MP. As such, it is an enormously beneficial relic for all spellcasters, and very important later in the game.
Betting the Celestriad at the Dragon's Neck Coliseum will reward the player with a Dragon Horn after defeating a Vector Chimera.
Obtained[]
Celestriad is dropped by Brachiosaur, can be stolen from Galypdes (and Kaiser Dragon in versions where Kaiser Dragon is available), obtained in the Dragon's Neck Coliseum after betting Soul of Thamasa (though this is not advisable due to Soul of Thamasa's rarity), and found in Dragons' Den (in versions with the Dragons' Den available).
An easy way of obtaining multiple Celestriads is to equip Gogo with three Steal commands, the Aegis Shield, the Brigand's Glove, and the Safety Bit. Betting a Murakumo in the Dragon's Neck Coliseum will put the player in a fight against Galypdes, an otherwise rare enemy in the Phoenix Cave. Gogo will repeatedly mug the Galypdes, stealing either a Phoenix Down, or, if the player is lucky, a Celestriad. Upon winning the fight, the player wins a Holy Lance, which the player can bet to fight a Death Machine to obtain a new Murakumo, starting the cycle over. The Brigand's Glove ensures Gogo will be able to defeat the Galypedes regardless of their success in stealing, and the Safety Bit will protect Gogo from the Death Machine's Instant Death attacks, so this loop is a safe and reliable method of farming Celestriads. If Gogo is not at a high enough level, he can be trained in the Dinosaur forest with the strongest characters.
Use[]
Celestriad is one of the best relics due to the strength of spellcasting. Spells such as Meteor, Flare, Meltdown, and especially Ultima, can deal immense damage to enemies while ignoring Magic Defense, but have prohibitive MP costs. Similarly, Curaga, Arise, and Reraise are extremely powerful curative spells that can keep a party alive in most cases, but are also costly. With Celestriad removing the cost of these spells, it easily allows the user to deal great damage or keep the party alive with no drawbacks, especially in long dungeons.
The Celestriad's effect of reducing MP cost to 1.
Celestriad can be combined with Soul of Thamasa to great effect. As Soul of Thamasa grants Dualcast, Celestriad can allow the caster to use two powerful spells at only one MP each. This can be used to great effect offensively or defensively. Offensively, it can allow the player to deal two hits of up to 9999 damage to all enemies when used with Meltdown or Ultima; depending on the enemy formation, this can be the highest damage output from one turn.[note 1] Defensively, it allows the party to easily apply multiple heals or cast Reraise twice, making it equally potent here. The user could also do both in a single turn.
The spell Quick combines greatly with Celestriad. Quick allows two actions for one turn, but normally has a prohibitively high MP cost; Celestriad eliminates this and the cost of any two spells after. With Soul of Thamasa, Dualcast can be used to cast a spell and then cast Quick, giving the caster two extra turns. In effect, this allows them to cast five spells in one turn.
Celestriad is best used on a spellcasting party member. Because any character can be taught spells through magicite, anyone can benefit from Celestriad. The main considerations will be the character's Magic stat (which can be boosted by leveling them up with Magic-boosting magicite equipped), and if their relic slots are better used another way. If Celestriad is equipped by a party member, that party member should primarily focus on spellcasting. Though Celestriad and Soul of Thamasa is a rare combination, other relics can be used to great effect with Celestriad, such as Hero's Ring or Earring, which boost damage output by 25%. Alternatively, a second relic such as Ribbon could provide safety to a defensive Celestriad user, keeping the party member alive and easily able to heal other party members as needed.
Terra, Celes, and Relm each have access to female-exclusive equipment that makes them the strongest potential spellcasters. Between them, Terra's use of Trance allows her to double her damage (or healing) output and reach 9999 damage easiest, while Relm has the highest base Magic stat and will be a naturally stronger passive spellcaster, and Celes's Runic makes her well-suited to a defensive role. However, Terra and Celes's varied weapon selection means they could just as easily be built toward physical damage instead, depending on player preference. Strago and Gogo may also be good choices due to their focus on spellcasting (and Gogo's versatility), but do not have the same potential as Terra, Celes, or Relm.
Etymology[]
The relic is named after a constellation. The Three Stars mansion is one of the twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger. This collection of seven bright stars is visible during winter in the Northern Hemisphere (summer in the Southern).
The Three Stars (Sanxing) is also a name given to the gods of three essential constellations in Chinese astrology: Fú, presiding over the planet Jupiter and representing good fortune; Lù, presiding over Mizar (zeta Ursa Majoris) and representing prosperity; and Shòu, presiding over Canopus (alpha Carinae) and representing longevity. The term "three stars" is commonly used in Chinese culture to represent the attributes of a good life.
Notes[]
Annotations[]
- ↑ Genji Glove and Master's Scroll can achieve eight hits of up to 9999 to individual targets, especially with Ultima Weapon or similarly powerful weapons. In groups smaller than five, this will still be a greater damage output overall, and especially against single targets such as bosses, the damage output will be greater.