Death abuse is the common name given to a family of strategies in role-playing games (RPGs) where the player deliberately allows one or more party members to be incapacitated, usually by death, to gain a strategic advantage. Various entries in the Final Fantasy series feature situations where death abuse strategies are viable, and in some cases even optimal.
Applications[]
General[]
Most Final Fantasy entries feature a level up mechanic based on collecting experience points by defeating enemies. Typically, the experience awarded by defeated enemies is divided among active party members. It is sometimes advantageous to KO one or more members so that the survivors receive a larger share of experience for faster level-ups. Conversely, it may be beneficial to keep certain party members at lower levels to take advantage of game-specific mechanics.
Final Fantasy IV[]
In the Tower of Zot, the party (Cecil, Yang, Cid, and Tellah) can encounter a single Puppeteer in a random battle. The Puppeteer continuously summons Puppets as long as it remains alive. Each defeated Puppet awards experience points. Knowing that Rosa and Kain will rejoin the party shortly, and that their levels scale with Cecil's level, the player can KO all other current party members (who do not participate in the final battle anyway) and allow Cecil to receive all the experience points for maximum long-term benefit.
Additionally, as stat bonuses from leveling up past level 70 are probabilistic, the optimal strategy is to KO all party members except one, allowing for one-at-a-time level-ups. This enables the player to reset and retry level-ups until desirable stat gains are achieved.
Final Fantasy V[]
The Blue Magic skillset includes spells that only affect targets whose level is a multiple of a certain number. One of them, Level 5 Death, results in a Game Over if all party members have a level divisible by 5 and are not jumping, hidden, or undead. The player can temporarily KO any party member whose level is a multiple of 5 to allow others to level up safely before encountering enemies that cast Level 5 Death. This strategy lets the party learn the spell without risking a Game Over.
The !Guard and Cover combination can trivialize many enemies that use only single-target physical attacks. Deliberately KOing and reviving party members to reduce their HP below the threshold that triggers Cover is a common setup strategy.
Final Fantasy VI[]
As stat bonuses upon leveling up depend on which esper is equipped, it is sometimes optimal to level up one character at a time while equipping a specific esper to maximize desired stat growth. Deliberately KOing the other party members is the simplest way to isolate a single character for controlled level-ups.
Final Fantasy VII[]
Ruby Weapon is immune to all forms of damage (including Game Over, which is considered a magical attack) before it sinks its tentacles for the first time. However, this can only happen if exactly one active party member is not incapacitated or ejected. If more than one active party member is in fighting condition, Ruby Weapon will use Whirlsand on a random character every turn until only one remains.
Past Ruby Weapon's opening turn, the tentacle sinking action is a probabilistic event, meaning it is not guaranteed to occur, even if only one character remains on the battlefield. To force Ruby Weapon to immediately sink its tentacles, the optimal strategy is to enter the battle with two dead characters, effectively bypassing the randomness. This forces the tentacle sinking to occur right away, allowing the player to start dealing damage much sooner.
The death abuse mechanic is therefore essential to defeating Ruby Weapon efficiently, as it prevents the prolonged cycle of Whirlsand and random attacks while Ruby Weapon is invulnerable.
Final Fantasy VIII[]
As enemy levels are based on the average party level, it is sometimes advantageous to KO one or more party members and allow "guest" characters (e.g. Seifer) to receive all the experience.
Final Fantasy IX[]
Stat growth upon leveling up is influenced by the character's currently equipped gear. As a result, players may choose to deliberately KO party members to prevent them from leveling up until the optimal equipment becomes available. While the impact of "boosting" gear on overall stat gains is relatively minor compared to natural level-up growth, it is essential for maximizing specific stats for players aiming to fully optimize their characters.
Final Fantasy X[]
The Loner overdrive mode charges the overdrive bar while the character is the only active fighter who is not incapacitated. In situations where escape is impossible (e.g. boss battles), deliberately KOing other active party members can be a viable strategy.
The Comrade and Avenger modes charge the overdrive bar when fellow party members take damage or die. The Daredevil mode charges it when the character is in critical condition. Since dead characters are automatically revived with 1 HP after battle, death abuse can be an effective method for charging overdrives or triggering critical-state effects such as SOS Haste.
With the right setup, Don Tonberry's deadly fixed-damage counter attack can be abused to gain 99 sphere levels in one battle.