Instant Death is an element in Final Fantasy. It is used exclusively to inflict the KO status. No enemies are weak against Instant Death, while many resist it, limiting its usefulness to players, but it is commonly used by enemies, making resistance to it invaluable.
It must be noted that resistance to the Instant Death element only reduces the accuracy of attacks with that element, it does not provide resistance or immunity to the KO status. It is not possible to resist the status directly via any effect.
Content in italics is exclusive to the Dawn of Souls and/or 20th Anniversary releases.
Abilities[]
Spells[]
| Name | Description | Users |
|---|---|---|
| Death | Attempts to inflict KO on one enemy. | Black Mage, Black Wizard Astos, Dark Wizard, Death Eye, Death Gaze, Echidna, Evil Eye, Marilith (#125), Reaper |
| Dispel | (Non-elemental) Attempts to remove all elemental resistances and status immunities from one target.[note 1][note 2] | White Wizard Dark Fighter, Death Eye, Death Gaze, Death Knight, Reaper |
| Kill | Attempts to inflict KO on one enemy. Always succeeds if the target has 300 or less HP and is not resistant against the Instant Death element. Always fails if the target has over 300 HP, or resists the Instant Death element. | Black Wizard Black Dragon, Chronodia (#197/201), Death Gaze, Death Knight, Evil Eye, Lich (#124), Reaper |
| NulAll | (Non-elemental) Grants immunity to all status effects and resistance to all elements to all allies.[note 3] | White Wizard Dark Fighter, Gilgamesh |
| NulDeath | (Non-elemental) Grants immunity to all status effects and resistance to the Earth, Spirit, Poison, Time, and Instant Death elements to all allies.[note 4][note 3] | Red Wizard, White Mage, White Wizard |
- ↑ Only removes elemental resistances prior to pixel remaster.
- ↑ Only works when used by enemies in the NES release.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Does not grant immunity to status effects prior to pixel remaster.
- ↑ In Dawn of Souls and 20th Anniversary, substitute Spirit for Confusion, Darkness, Mind, Paralysis, Silence, Sleep, and Stone.
Enemy abilities[]
| Name | Description | Users |
|---|---|---|
| Deadly Gas | Attempts to inflict KO on all enemies. | Earth Plant, Iron Golem |
| Gaze | Attempts to inflict KO on one enemy. | Bloody Eye, Dark Eye, Evil Eye, Pyrolisk |
Status-inflicting attacks[]
| Status | Users |
|---|---|
| KO | Catoblepas, Reaper[note 1] |
- ↑ While the Mindflayer can also inflict KO with its attacks, they are flagged as non-elemental.
Equipment[]
| Equipment | Type | Description | Equipable by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assassin Dagger | Weapon | Casts Kill when used as an item. | Warrior, Knight, Thief, Ninja, Red Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard |
| Deathbringer | Weapon | Casts Death when used as an item. | Red Wizard |
| Excalibur | Weapon | Deals damage from all elements and is effective against all enemy types. | Knight |
| White Robe | Armor | Grants resistance to Fire and Instant Death. Casts Invisira when used as an item. | White Wizard |
| Hero's Shield | Shield | Grants resistance to all elements. | Knight, Ninja |
| Ribbon | Helmet | Grants resistance to all elements and immunity to all status effects.[note 1] | Warrior, Knight, Thief, Ninja, White Mage, White Wizard, Black Mage, Black Wizard, Red Mage, Red Wizard |
| Protect Ring | Gloves | Grants resistance to Instant Death. | Warrior, Knight, Thief, Ninja, White Mage, White Wizard, Black Mage, Black Wizard, Red Mage, Red Wizard |
| Lunar Curtain | Item | Casts NulDeath when used. |
- ↑ Does not grant immunity to status effects prior to pixel remaster.