Legendary sword of the heavens. Randomly casts Holy.
Description
The Lightbringer, also known as the Illumina,[1][2] is the strongest sword in Final Fantasy VI. It is acquired by betting the Ragnarok sword in the Dragon's Neck Coliseum, making it an extremely rare weapon. The weapon provides excellent stats both as a weapon and as bonus stats provided, and as Holy as an added ability. The weapon can be equipped by Terra, Locke, Edgar, and Celes.
Obtained[]
The choice of what to do with Ragnarok.
Lightbringer is obtained by betting Ragnarok at the Dragon's Neck Coliseum. The more difficult part of this is acquiring the Ragnarok.
The Ragnarok is obtained from Narshe in the World of Ruin, with Locke in the party to speak to the weapon's shop owner in Narshe. This forces the player to choose between the Ragnarok sword and the Ragnarok magicite. The magicite is the only magicite to teach Ultima, the most powerful spell, and also has a unique summon ability that allows the player to farm other rare items. This makes it a very difficult choice between the two, given the strength of the Ragnarok. Though there other, albeit more difficult, ways to learn the Ultima spell, the rare items farmed by the Ragnarok summon cannot be obtained another way, meaning the decision may depend on the player's need to farm said items.
In versions with the Dragons' Den (namely, the Advance version and versions based on it), the importance of the decision is diminished. These versions allow the player to save their game after defeating the final boss. The Ragnarok can be stolen from Lady in the final battle, and thus can be farmed, so the magicite can be the more appealing choice. This allows multiple Ragnaroks, and thus multiple Lightbringers, to be obtained.
Mechanics[]
The Lightbringer uses the standard physical damage formula to determine its damage, providing a +255 Attack, and adding to the wielder's Strength. As with other weapons, it can be improved by the Gauntlet relic that boosts its damage by +50%. The Master's Scroll halves the damage dealt by each attack, but causes the weapon to attack four times. Genji Glove reduces the damage dealt by the weapon by 25%, but allows two weapons to be equipped, and thus, two hits dealt at once. Master's Scroll and Genji Glove can be combined to allow the player to use two weapons (including two Lightbringers, if obtained) to hit eight times, ultimately doubling its damage and spreading it to all enemies.
Lightbringer has a 25% chance to cast Holy upon connecting with an enemy. Holy's damage will be based on the user's Magic stat; outside of when Holy is cast, Lightbringer's passive damage is not elemental. It enables the Bushido and Runic commands and consumes 20 MP when attacking to perform an automatic critical hit.
Lightbringer also passively grants several boosts to other stats. This is a +7 to Strength, Speed, Stamina, and Magic; and a +50% Evasion and Magic Evasion.
Lightbringer is affected by the Capture glitch.
Use[]
Lightbringer is the strongest weapon for Terra and Celes (and is compatible with Terra's Trance and Celes's Runic). Its +7 Speed is extremely significant, boosting both their turn rates. while the +7 Magic it provides equals that of the Enhancer and Ragnarok as the highest Magic boost of any weapon. As both party members greatly benefit from a boost to this stat, coupled with Terra and Celes' already naturally high Magic stat, this not only boosts the Holy added ability but also their own spellcasting. Though Edgar and Locke can also equip the weapon, they will not spellcast as much as Terra and Celes, and as such benefit less from the weapon.
Lightbringer can be used with the Genji Glove relic allows two +7 Magic weapons (two Lightbringers, or a Lightbringer and Enhancer) to be equipped for a +14 Magic stat. However, in the lategame, Terra or Celes may wish to use the relic combo of Soul of Thamasa and Celestriad, meaning they would only be able to equip one weapon. With a setup only allowing them to equip one weapon, Lightbringer would be the perfect choice of weapon to equip. If this is given to either Terra or Celes, the other can use a Genji Glove combo with Ribbon or Safety Bit to be more defensive.
Compared to Ragnarok, Lightbringer is the better weapon due to its stats, namely its +7 Speed to Ragnarok's +3. As Speed is a rare stat to acquire, and the stat has a meaningful effect on one's turn rate, this alone is enough to make Lightbringer stronger, while Lightbringer also offers better boosts to Evasion and Magic Evasion. Ragnarok has a stronger added ability, Flare, which is non-elemental; in some rare instances, when the Holy added ability is applied against some enemies, it may heal them. Ultimately, players can work around this by simply not attacking with the weapon against such enemies and spellcasting exclusively against them.
Aside from Ragnarok, another competing powerful weapon is the Ultima Weapon. Ultima Weapon ignores Defense, making it universally strong against all enemies, but relies heavily on the party member having and maintaining high HP, and does not grant many of the stat boosts that Lightbringer does. Ultima Weapon is better used by Locke and Edgar as a combination with Genji Glove and Master's Scroll, while Lightbringer is better used as a passive weapon to boost one's ability in battle (as Master's Scroll will prevent Lightbringer's added ability).
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
Lightbringer is an alternate name for Lucifer.