Weapon once used by a legendary hero.
Description
The Duel Claws is Amarant's penultimate claw in Final Fantasy IX. It teaches him the Flair abilities Aura, which bestows an ally with Auto-Life and Regen, and No Mercy, which damages an enemy. All but the final one of Amarant's weapons teach Counter, a passive ability that lets him respond to being physically attacked with an Attack of his own. Though it takes a lot of AP to master, this is inconsequential as all of Amarant's weapons have Counter until the very end of the game, and it is impossible to de-equip him of a weapon altogether. When Amarant equips the Duel Claws with Add Status, 1 in 4 uses of Attack berserks an enemy, making them attack uncontrollably.
Obtain[]
The Duel Claws is synthesized in Black Mage Village after the party has the Invincible for 16,000 gil and the weapons Dragon's Claws and Tiger Fangs. Tiger Fangs is missable; it was sold in Daguerreo before the party entered the Shimmering Island portal. If the player did not buy it or no longer has it, they cannot synthesize the Duel Claws. The Dragon's Claws are found in a chocograph.
Another way to get the Duel Claws is by stealing it from Deathguise, the very last battle before the point of no return; after fighting the Deathguise the player can still backtrack, but pressing on will put the player on the path of finishing the game.
Mechanics[]
The Duel Claws' damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
- Base = 79 - Enemy's Defense
- Bonus = Strength + A random value 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8]
- Damage = Base * Bonus
The damage is then modified by variables like Amarant's row position and equipped Killer abilities and MP Attack, as well as the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, his Bonus would be 1. If Amarant equips Healer, damage is converted to healing.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and the Base part of the damage formula is altered to the minimum possible value.
With Add Status active, the Duel Claws berserks a susceptible enemy 1 in 4 uses of Attack, Charge!, or Counter. When berserked, the enemy will only physically attack on its turn, but will be stronger.
Use[]
If obtained at the earliest, the Duel Claws will be Amarant's strongest weapon for endgame exploration until the player finds his ultimate weapon in the final dungeon. The player could opt out of making the weapon for completionist reasons as to synthesize the Duel Claws, the player will need to use up the unique Dragon's Claws. The Duel Claws lack any unique abilities and its Add Status offering, Berserk, is not particularly useful, as the status is usually good against magic-using enemies, not the kinds that are fought in the endgame. The preceding Kaiser Knuckles will do more damage than the Duel Claws most of the time if the player wears Elem-Atk gear.
Aura and No Mercy are some of the most useful Flairs, and worth mastering if Amarant has not already done so.
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
The Duel Claws is made by fusing the Dragon Claws and Tiger Fangs. Its name may have been intended to be "Dual Claws" as allusion to its making.
In East Asian cultures, the dragon and the tiger are considered eternal rivals. Various artworks depict the two fighting an epic battle, the dragon representative of things of Yang polarity and spirit, with the tiger representative of things of Yin polarity and matter. Ultimately, they represent the inevitable reconciliation of opposing but equal forces. The dragon is a creature of the skies, whereas the tiger is considered the king of all terrestrial beasts, and their bouts always end in a draw.
In the context of Eastern and Asian martial arts, the dragon represents the aspects of soft style and internal martial arts, focusing on accuracy, mental alertness, and fluid reactivity. The tiger represents the aspects of hard style and external martial arts, focusing on explosive speed, raw strength, and countering an opposing force with one's own. In martial arts fiction and fantasy, internal based martial arts are often seen with abilities centered on chi energy and spiritual powers, while external martial arts are depicted with unparalleled physical proportions, with the most reputable martial arts being able to harmonize and utilize both aspects as one force.