Weapon with an ice spirit dwelling inside.
Description
The Ice Brand is a weapon for Steiner in Final Fantasy IX, being the fifth sword. It deals Ice-elemental damage and has a 1/10 chance per Attack to inflict Freeze as long as the target is not immune and Steiner has Add Status active. It teaches the Mental Break Swd Art that lowers the enemy's defense against magic damage.
Obtain[]
The Ice Brand is stolen from Beatrix in both Cleyra and Alexandria Castle. It is also found in Alexandria Castle during the segment the party is escaping the castle, on the ledge with a moving bridge of the stairwell 
.
After the party escapes the castle to Lindblum, the Ice Brand can be bought for 3780 gil from its weapon shop as well as from the following shops: Dragon's Gate, Fossil Roo, Alexandria, and Treno.
Mechanics[]
The Ice Brand's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
- Base = 35 - Enemy's Defense
- Bonus = Strength + Rnd MOD ([(Level + Strength) / 8] + 1)
- Damage = Base * Bonus
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.
The damage is then modified by variables like Steiner's row position and any support abilities that enhance his Attack (killer abilities and MP Attack), and the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, his 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:
- Base = 25 - Enemy's Defense
The Ice Brand deals Ice damage, and so deals 150% damage to enemies weak to Ice, half damage to those resistant to Ice, no damage to enemies that are immune to Ice, and heals enemies that absorb Ice. The weapon only deals Ice damage when used with Attack (or Charge! or Counter), Stock Break, or Shock; Steiner can override the element with Swd Mag or other Swd Art. The Ice Brand also has a 10% chance to freeze the target of Steiner's Attack as long as they are not immune and Steiner has Add Status active. Steiner has no equipment that can enhance his Ice damage.
Use[]
The Ice Brand is Steiner's strongest weapon when first available, though the player may struggle stealing it from Beatrix before she ends the battle. It remains Steiner's best weapon until after the party joins back up and the Blue Narciss is available; however, he will only be available as a party member during the Alexandria Castle segment, afterward exiting until after the party gets the boat. Therefore, it is only briefly his strongest weapon. The Ice Brand's Freeze ability may keep it useful even until after the player can get the Coral Sword, though it does not activate very often. For elemental damage, Steiner does not need an elemental weapon as long as he can be paired with Vivi.
The Ice Brand teaches the Mental Break Sword Art, which is niche, as Steiner is usually better off dealing damage on his turn over making enemies weak to others' damage.
The guest characters Blank and Marcus could also equip it, though Blank is never in the party when the Ice Brand is normally available.
Gallery[]
