Holy spear.
Description
The Holy Lance is Freya's eighth spear in Final Fantasy IX, though it can be obtained earlier than some of the "preceding" spears if stolen from the boss in Oeilvert. It teaches Dragon's Crest, a Dragon ability that deals fixed damage depending on the number of dragon-type enemies the player has felled in that save file, and Reis's Wind, which bestows Regen onto all allies. The Holy Lance deals Holy damage with Attack, and so can be strengthened via Elem-Atk gear. The spear is used for synthesis.
Obtain[]
The Holy Lance is stolen from Ark in Oeilvert, but is difficult to nab unless Zidane equips Master Thief. The party should equip Clear Headed. The Holy Lance is later also sold for 11,000 gil in Bran Bal, and after visiting Bran Bal also in Daguerreo.
Mechanics[]
The Holy Lance's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
- Base = 62 - Enemy's Defense
- Bonus = Strength + A random value 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8]
- Damage = Base * Bonus
The damage is then modified by variables like Freya's row position and equipped Killer abilities and MP Attack, as well as the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, her Bonus would be 1.
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.
Holy Lance does Holy-elemental damage with Attack (and Charge! and Counter, but not with Jump), meaning it will do 150% damage against those weak to Holy, half damage to those who resist Holy, no damage to those who nullify Holy, and heals those who absorb Holy. Its damage can be boosted by 50% by Freya also wearing a Mythril Helm, Angel Earrings, Maiden Prayer, or Rebirth Ring. Equipping multiple Elem-Atk gear pieces simultaneously does not stack the effect.
Use[]
The Holy Lance is a great weapon for Freya, teaching her the excellent Dragon's Crest at the earliest and its damage able to be enhanced via gear. If the player acquires the Holy Lance from Ark, Freya could already have her ultimate weapon from a Choco treasure. It is still worth swapping it for the Holy Lance to master Dragon's Crest, and the damage is still very good against most enemies especially with some Holy-boosting gear, which the player likely already holds. If the player is not doing the chocobo sidequest, then the Holy Lance, when acquired at the earliest, is Freya's best offering for Desert Palace, Mount Gulug, world map exploration with a flying transport, Terra, Pandemonium, and endgame exploration up until the player finds Kain's Lance in the final dungeon.
Notable enemies weak to Holy include the superbosses Ozma and Hades, though Freya is better off powering up her Dragon's Crest and using that instead of using Attack with the Holy Lance, or simply jumping with her strongest weapon (Jump deals non-elemental damage even if Freya equips an elemental weapon).
The ability the Holy Lance teaches, Dragon's Crest, is Freya's best ability if the player powers it up by killing dragon-type enemies; a mere 100 kills makes the ability deal fixed 9999 damage. Freya likely already knows Reis's Wind, which also diminishes in usefulness toward the endgame when everyone masters Auto-Regen.
The Holy Lance can be used in synthesis in the endgame to make the Rosetta Ring add-on.
Gallery[]
