Uses "Quake2" on all opponents
Description
Earth Drum is a battle item item in Final Fantasy VII that casts Quake2 on all enemies. It is the Earth-elemental counterpart to the Fire Veil, Ice Crystal, and M-Tentacles. The Earth Mallet is the upgrade to the Earth Drum.
Obtained[]
| Drop | Flower Prong, Screamer |
|---|---|
| Steal | Christopher |
Mechanics[]
Unlike when casting the spell Quake2, using the Earth Drum does not take the user's stats into account in determining damage. The final damage is calculated as :
![{\displaystyle Damage=[640\times (512-Target's~Magic~Defense)/512]}](https://services.fandom.com/mathoid-facade/v1/media/math/render/svg/aa520f87e90f3c853f43a88d499d596199a7836a)
The damage is then modified as per the enemy's resistance to Earth-elemental damage; i.e. double if the enemy is weak to Earth, half of they resist, miss if they nullify Earth, or healing if they absorb Earth.
Battle items bypass target's Reflect status.
Final Fantasy VII does not have a "flying" state like some other entries to the Final Fantasy series, but most flying enemies have their Earth affinity set to Immune. Usually when an element is used on an enemy that is immune, it does 0 damage, but in the case of Earth, it will miss. Earth will miss Earth-immune enemies even if they are grounded (this also applies to when player's own characters are immune to Earth).
Use[]
Earth Drum is a mediocre item, as at the point where it can be obtained, the player should have access to stronger abilities. In addition, the Earth Mallet is a direct upgrade to the Earth Drum, although very rare. Earth Drum may see some use in the Battle Square for when the player's spells are locked/weapon is broken, but otherwise, even in challenge runs, it is not a valuable item. Earth Drum may have some use during "Homecoming of a Miserable Daughter" quest when the player's Materia are inaccessible, but will miss flying enemies, which are common in this area.