The Gaia Hat is a mid-ranked mystic headgear in Final Fantasy XII that boosts the wearer's Magick Resist by 41, Magick Power by 7, and HP by 90 (Zodiac) or 80 (original). In the Zodiac versions, it also gives 70 MP.
Obtain[]
Original[]
In the original PlayStation 2 version, the Gaia Hat is sold for 7,000 gil Phon Coast and Archades. It is found as a treasure in Tchita Uplands' The Skytrail (10% chance to appear, 50% chance for gil, 50% chance the item treasure is the Gaia Hat without the Diamond Armlet equipped ), and Sochen Cave Palace's Hall of Shadowlight (always appears, 50% chance the item treasure is the Gaia Hat without the Diamond Armlet equipped ).
The Gaia Hat very rarely drops from Mallicant and Buer. The player can thus ger it much earlier from the deeper parts of Zertinan Caverns than from the shops.
Zodiac[]
In the updated Zodiac versions, the Gaia Hat is sold for 7,000 gil in in Archades and Balfonheim Port. It is a treasure in Tchita Uplands' Sundered Earth (20% chance to appear, 70% chance for gil, 50% chance the item treasure is the Gaia Hat without the Diamond Armlet equipped). It still very rarely drops from Mallicant and Buer.
Use[]
Gaia Hat is a mid-ranked mystic hat, giving 41 Magick Resist and 7 Magick Power, 90 or 80 HP depending on version, as well as 70 MP in the Zodiac versions. Mystic armor offer magick-related bonuses that affect all types of magickal actions, from casting black magick to damage an enemy, to casting white magick to heal the party. Magick Power is also a factor when determining damage dealt by katana, staves, and maces. Usually only light armor offer HP bonuses, and so Gaia Hat is a good competitor for magic users at least.
In the Zodiac versions, White Mage, Red Battlemage, Black Mage, and Bushi can equip it, and so the Gaia Hat is only useful to buy if the player has chosen any of these License Boards for their party. In The Zodiac Age versions, after fighting Belias the player can choose two License Boards per party member; it is usually a good idea to pair jobs that use two different types of armor for versatility.
The Gaia Hat is available at the time the route to Nabreus Deadlands is open, from whose Dead Bones the player could procure the vastly superior Golden Skullcap, the second-best mystic hat in the game. However, the area is optional to visit and thus possibly too tough for the party to brave at this point.
The player could get the hat early from the Mallicants in the Ozmone Plain-facing parts of the Zertinan Caverns, and from the Buers that appear in the middle regions, allowing the player to skip many mystic hats in favor of it. It is a very rare drop from both enemies, but the Mallicants appear in great numbers making them easy to chain.
Etymology[]
Gaia or Gaea was the goddess or personification of Earth in ancient Greek religion, one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia was the mother of all: the heavenly gods, the Titans and the Giants were born from her union with Uranus (the sky), while the sea-gods were born from her union with Pontus (the sea). The Greek word "γαῖα" (transliterated as gaia or gaea) is a collateral form of "γῆ" meaning Earth. Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was named Gaea (Terra in more ancient documents). This is alluded to in Final Fantasy IX with the existence of Gaia's twin world.
The mythological name Gaia was revived in 1979 by James Lovelock, whose Gaia hypothesis proposes that living organisms and inorganic material are part of a dynamic system that shapes the Earth's biosphere, and maintains the Earth as a fit environment for life. In some Gaia theory approaches the Earth itself is viewed as an organism with self-regulatory functions. This theory is especially alluded to in the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within take on Gaia as the planet's soul.