Causes Shadow damage to all targets.
Description
Doomsday is a Blk Mag spell in Final Fantasy IX, obtained at the end of the game from the Mace of Zeus found in Memoria. It is Vivi's most powerful spell, and damages all enemies and allies alike with Shadow-elemental damage, making it exceptionally dangerous to use without proper protection on the party. It ignores Reflect, and targets all enemies and allies alike. When Steiner is in the party with Vivi after the latter has the spell, and neither is incapacitated in some manner, he can use "Doomsday Sword" whose damage depends on Steiner's stats.
Doomsday is used by the superbosses, Hades and Ozma.
Obtain[]
Doomsday is learned from the Mace of Zeus for 150 AP. It is the latest weapon ability in the game, as Mace of Zeus is only found near the end of Memoria. If the player is not planning on backtracking, Vivi can only use it in handful of battles.
Mechanics[]
Black Magic spells' damage is based on Vivi's Level, Magic stat, and the Spell Power of the spell. Vivi can use the Focus ability to increase his Magic during that battle by 25% per use. The effect stacks up to 99 and lasts for the entire battle, even if Vivi is KO'd.
![{\displaystyle Bonus=Magic+RndMOD[(Level+Magic)/8]+1}](https://services.fandom.com/mathoid-facade/v1/media/math/render/svg/63c81ff66b72f9f2cf42da9027bcc78671faccf6)
Where Rnd means a random number, while MOD means modulus operation. "Rnd MOD x" can be read as a random number between 0 and x-1.
Bonus is halved by target's Shell and by Vivi being under Mini. Bonus is increased by 50% if Vivi equips Mage's Hat, Light Robe, Black Robe, or Gold Choker, but equipping multiples does not stack the effect. Steiner can increase the damage of his Doomsday Sword when equipped with Demon's Mail and Gold Choker.
In Vivi's Trance, Blk Mag turns into Dbl Blk where Vivi can cast two spells on his turn. The spells cost MP and expend the Trance gauge independently.
The support ability that affects Doomsday is Mag Elem Null (Doomsday deals non-elemental damage).
Doomsday Sword.
For Swd Mag, damage dealt is based on Steiner's Attack and Strength stats.
The damage formula for Swd Mag spells is as follows:
![{\displaystyle Bonus=Strength+RndMOD([(Level+Strength)/8]+1)}](https://services.fandom.com/mathoid-facade/v1/media/math/render/svg/bd93809b89ab59ceb9a85074510733fe5c054576)
Use[]
Doomsday is a very powerful spell to cast, but risky as it targets everyone on the battlefield. To mitigate the damage on the party, equipping anything that reduces or absorbs Shadow-elemental damage is highly advised. The best equipment that is compatible with Doomsday are Pumice Piece, Ninja Gear, and Demon's Mail as they allow the user to absorb the damage done. If none of these are available, then Egoist's Armlet will suffice as it nullifies Shadow-elemental damage.
Due to Doomsday affecting both enemies and allies, it is advised to not use Mag Elem Null as it would remove the Shadow element from the spell, making it highly unlikely that the player will survive a single casting of the spell.
As the spell is obtained at the very end of the game, it does not have as many uses as Flare; its multi-target nature is not very useful as there are not very many enemy groups to use it on. However, it may still surpass Flare in power if equipment that raises the Shadow damage Vivi deals is equipped, which is convenient due to its lower MP cost and potential supportive properties.
Steiner's Doomsday is an upgrade in most respects to Darkside (though it is slightly weaker if he is using the Excalibur II), though it costs MP and is generally lacking in comparison to his other Swd Arts.
Other appearances[]
Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia[]
Doomsday is the Vivi's LD Ability.
Etymology[]
The spell's Japanese name is Jihad. "Jihad" refers to a method used by practitioners of Islam to wage religious warfare on non-Muslims. Jihad's literal meaning in Arabic is 'struggle', and it is also a term to describe the inner conflict a Muslim undergoes to make him/herself a better person.