Lowers enemy’s physical attack accuracy.
Description
Distract is a support ability in Final Fantasy IX for Zidane, Steiner, and Freya, allowing them to evade enemies' physical attacks more often. It costs 5 Magic Stones to equip.
Obtained[]
Distract is learned from Judo Uniform, Shield Armor, Diamond, and Reflect Ring for variable amounts of AP; Zidane and Steiner require 30 AP whereas Freya takes a little less at 25 AP.
The earliest source for learning Distract for everyone is from the Reflect Ring bought from the Treno Auction House during the time Princess Garnet and Captain Steiner visit there with Marcus, though it may be too expensive for the player to afford then. It can later be synthesized in the Black Mage Village and other towns. A free Diamond, meanwhile, is picked up from the kirkboat in Conde Petie.
Judo Uniform teaches Distract to Zidane, and is first bought from Oeilvert when he is sent there as part of the story. Shield Armor teaches the ability to Steiner and Freya, and is first found in Oeilvert and Desert Palace.
Mechanics[]
Enemies have perfect accuracy, but the player party always has some chance to evade due to their Evade stats. Equipping Distract halves enemy accuracy to 50%; after the game checks for the accuracy, the target still has "another chance" to evade due to their Evade. The enemy accuracy is lowered even more if it has Confuse or Darkness, or the target is using Defend. Vanished party members never get hit.
Use[]
Distract is helpful to avoid enemy attacks more often, especially if coupled with Cover or Protect Girls. Counter also still initiates from missed attacks. If Freya is mainly using Jump, Distract is less prominent on her as she spends a lot of the battle off-screen. If low on Magic Stones, however, Distract can be one of the first support abilities to disable to free some of them for other abilities, such as in favor of killer abilities. Accuracy+ is more relevant for physical attackers, and cheaper to equip. With Auto-Regen, the party is often healed for more than the enemy has time to attack them, so unless they die from one hit, or the battle drags on to several rounds, they are quite safe from physical hits this way.
Zidane could equip Distract to his duel against Scarlet Hair. It could also be useful in the one-on-one battles at the Treno weapon shop.
Distract is a much cheaper way to "halve" damage from enemy physical hits than Long Reach + back row, though how often the character evades still depends on some luck. Distract is also far superior to Gamble Defense.
To ensure immunity to physical hits, the player could also use Vanish (or Carbuncle with Diamond equipped), which works with Cover and Protect Girls.