Magicite (Final Fantasy VI)

The menu for magicite.

Magicite in Final Fantasy VI (2014 mobile/Steam).

Gestahl's methods are mistaken. You can't drain an Esper's powers by force—that weakens them. Only when we become magicite can our powers be transferred in full.

Ramuh

Magicite (魔石, Maseki?, lit. Magic Stone) is the postmortem remains of an esper and an important gameplay element in Final Fantasy VI. In a system designed by Hiroyuki Ito, pieces of magicite teach player characters magic, grant them stat boosts, and allow them to summon the esper into battle. Collecting all magicites in the mobile/Steam version earns the The Road to Esper World achievement.

See also: Magicite

Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

The first known espers that left their remains in the world are the few who died in the War of the Magi, such as Phoenix and Ragnarok. In the Ancient Castle a sorcerer petrified Odin who refused to turn into magicite and was left standing as a statue. In time the castle was buried under desert sands. There are possibly many more magicite remnants that could later have been taken by the Gestahlian Empire.

Ramuh turns himself into a magicite.

The Returners learn of magicite from Ramuh in Zozo. When Terra went berserk after coming into contact with another esper, Valigarmanda, Ramuh summoned her to him. When the Returners catch up with him, Ramuh explains that the empire's method of extracting magic from espers is flawed, and only through magicite is total transfer of an esper's power possible. Ramuh sacrifices himself to become a magicite, and gives the party the magicite of espers struck by the empire: Siren, Cait Sith and Kirin.

The Returners attack the empire's Magitek Research Facility, which holds several espers hostage. Ifrit and Shiva fight the Returners, but upon learning that Ramuh had entrusted them, they transform into magicite for the party to use. The Returners find many more espers who had been captured by the empire to extract their magic, all of whom are transformed into magicite. Witnessing this, the empire learns about magicite.

In Thamasa, when the Returners let their guard down after teaming up with a group of espers led by Yura found in the Esper Caves, the imperial general Kefka Palazzo kills them and transforms them into magicite during the Battle of Thamasa. More espers depart the Esper World through the Sealed Gate and fall into his trap as Kefka destroys them, gaining more power, claiming the magicite he harvests is warm to the touch.

The magicite of Bahamut dropped from Deathgaze's maw.

In the World of Ruin after the world was destroyed by Kefka, magicite is in abundance unlike live espers. Deathgaze drops the Bahamut magicite when defeated. When the party finds Odin, his statue crumbles to form his magicite piece. The Returners find several powerful free-roaming espers who, upon defeat, transform into magicite: Leviathan, Gilgamesh, and Gigantuar. When Kaiser Dragon falls to the Returners, they gain the Diabolos magicite.

When the party finds Kefka atop his tower, he has absorbed the world's magic power from the Warring Triad and become the god of magic. As the Returners kill him, magic vanishes from the world and the espers' magicite remains dissipate. Maduin's magicite remain speaks to Terra just before vanishing, telling her she can endure in the world as a human if she has a strong enough connection to it.

Spoilers end here.

Gameplay

Equipped to the party

Magicite Shard artwork.

To use magicite, it must be equipped via the menu option "Abilities" ("Skills" in the SNES localization; right next to the character's icon in the mobile/Steam release). A list of magic spells the magicite teaches is displayed when it is equipped. The equipped magicite piece's esper can be summoned once per battle by pressing , or tapping the magicite tab (for the mobile/Steam releases), in the Magic menu mid-battle. Each character can equip only one piece of magicite at a time and, conversely, each piece of magicite can be equipped by only one character at any given time.

After a battle, when magicite is equipped, the party will gain anywhere between 1 and 10 Magic Points, which are multiplied by the learning rate of each spell in the magicite. For example, Ramuh teaches Thunder at a rate of x10, Poison at a rate of x5 and Thundara at a rate of x2. If 2 Magic Points are gained after a battle, Thunder gains 20, Poison gains 10 and Thundara gains 4. Once a spell has 100 Magic Points, it is learned by the character and can be cast at will. Every spell has to be learned by each character separately. Some spells are taught by more than one piece of magicite. Some magicite boost a stat when equipped to a character who levels up. For example, Ramuh gives +1 Stamina and Ifrit +1 Strength. This is the only way to permanently increase any stat that is not HP or MP.

Magicite Shard

A Magicite Shard is an item that summons a random esper when used in battle, even espers that are not in the player's possession. Magicite Shards will never summon Odin, Raiden or any of the four espers exclusive to the Advance and mobile/Steam releases. Because of the possibility that a Magicite Shard will summon Crusader, it is considered a dangerous item to use. Magicite Shard can be won from Mover and Imperial Elite. It can be stolen from Flan, Intangir, and Mousse. It can also be found in the Cave to the Sealed Gate, Tzen (in the World of Ruin), and the Ancient Castle.

List of magicite pieces

Name	Sprite	Acquisition Rate	Level Bonus	Found
Ramuh		Thunder x10 Thundara x2 Poison x5	Stamina +1	Zozo - Top of the central building after seeing Terra.
		Judgment Bolt: Bathes all enemies in lightning.
Kirin		Cure x4 Cura x1 Regen x3 Poisona x4 Libra x5	—	Zozo - Top of the central building after seeing Terra.
		Holy Aura: Gradually restores the party's HP.
Siren		Sleep x10 Silence x8 Slow x7 Fire x6	HP +10%	Zozo - Top of the central building after seeing Terra.
		Lunatic Voice: Silences all enemies.
Cait Sith (Stray)		Confuse x7 Imp x5 Float x2	Magic +1	Zozo - Top of the central building after seeing Terra.
		Cat Rain: Confuses all enemies.
Ifrit		Fire x10 Fira x5 Drain x1	Strength +1	Magitek Research Facility, after defeating Ifrit and Shiva.
		Hellfire: Scorches all enemies in a fiery blaze.
Shiva		Blizzard x10 Blizzara x5 Rasp x4 Osmose x4 Cure x3	—	Magitek Research Facility, after defeating Ifrit and Shiva.
		Diamond Dust: Envelops all enemies in an arctic chill.
Unicorn		Cura x4 Esuna x3 Dispel x2 Protect x1 Shell x1	—	Magitek Research Facility, after defeating Number 024.
		Healing Horn: Cures party of most status ailments.
Maduin		Fira x3 Thundara x3 Blizzara x3	Magic +1	Magitek Research Facility, after defeating Number 024.
		Chaos Wave: Unleashes a tide of anger on enemies.
Catoblepas (Shoat)		Bio x8 Break x5 Death x2	HP +10%	Magitek Research Facility, after defeating Number 024.
		Demon Eye: Petrifies all enemies.
Phantom		Berserk x3 Vanish x3 Gravity x5	MP +10%	Magitek Research Facility, after defeating Number 024.
		Ghostly Veil: Turns all allies invisible.
Carbuncle (Carbunkl)		Reflect x5 Haste x3 Shell x2 Protect x2 Teleport x2	—	Magitek Research Facility, after defeating Number 024.
		Ruby Light: Casts Reflect on all allies.
Bismarck		Fire x20 Blizzard x20 Thunder x20 Raise x2	Strength +2	Magitek Research Facility, after defeating Number 024.
		Breach Blast: Slams all enemies with giant bubbles.
Golem		Protect x5 Stop x5 Cura x5	Stamina +2	Auction House in Jidoor, bid 20,000 gil.
		Earthen Wall: Protects party from physical attacks.
Zona Seeker (Zoneseek)		Rasp x20 Osmose x15 Shell x5	Magic +2	Auction House in Jidoor, bid 10,000 gil.
		Magic Shield: Increases the party's magic defense.
Seraph (Sraphim)		Raise x5 Cure x20 Cura x8 Regen x10 Esuna x4	—	Tzen, buy from thief behind Relic Shop for 3,000 (World of Balance) or 10 (World of Ruin) gil.
		Angel Feathers: Restores HP to all allies.
Quetzalli (Palidor)		Haste x20 Slow x20 Hastega x2 Slowga x2 Float x5	Agility +1 (PR version only)	Solitary Island, on the beach after acquiring the Falcon.
		Sonic Dive: Lifts the party up for an aerial attack.
Fenrir		Teleport x10 Banish x5 Stop x3	MP +30%	Mobliz, received from orphan boy after defeating Humbaba.
		Howling Moon: Creates illusionary images of the party.
Valigarmanda (Tritoch)		Firaga x1 Blizzaga x1 Thundaga x1	Magic +2	Narshe Cliffs, defeat Valigarmanda.
		Tri-Disaster: Hits enemies with fire, ice and lightning.
Midgardsormr (Terrato)		Quake x3 Graviga x1 Tornado x1	HP +30%	Yeti's Cave, inside the eye of the bone carving before fighting Yeti.
		Abyssal Maw: Crushes enemies with seismic waves.
Lakshmi (Starlet)		Cure x25 Cura x16 Curaga x1 Regen x20 Esuna x20	Stamina +2	Owzer's Mansion after defeating Chadarnook.
		Alluring Embrace: Restores HP to all allies.
Alexander		Holy x2 Shell x10 Protect x10 Dispel x10 Esuna x15	Strength +2 (PR version only)	Doma Castle, in the throne room after defeating Wrexsoul and escaping Dreamscape.
		Divine Judgment: Sears enemies with a beam of holy light.
Phoenix		Raise x10 Arise x2 Reraise x1 Curaga x2 Firaga x3	—	Kohlingen, automatically received after completing Phoenix Cave.
		Flames of Rebirth: Revives all KO'd allies.
Odin		Meteor x1	Speed +1 (All versions before Pixel Remaster) Agility +2 (Pixel Remaster version)	Ancient Castle, touch the petrified Odin in the throne room.
		Zantetsuken: Cleaves all enemies in two.
Bahamut		Flare x2	HP +50%	Defeat Deathgaze flying across the overworld's sky.
		Mega Flare: Hits all enemies with a nuclear blast.
Ragnarok		Ultima x1	—	Narshe, inside weapons shop (Locke required in party).
		Metamorphose: Turns one enemy into an item.
Crusader		Meltdown x1 Meteor x10	MP +50%	Defeat the eight legendary dragons, received automatically when the eighth is defeated.
		Cleansing: Greatly damages all enemies and allies.
Raiden		Quick x1	Strength +2 (All versions before Pixel Remaster) Agility +2 (Pixel Remaster version)	Ancient Castle, touch the petrified Queen while in possession of Odin's magicite.
		Shin-Zantetsuken: Cleaves all enemies in two.
Leviathan		Flood x2	Stamina +2	Ferry between South Figaro and Nikeah after acquiring the Falcon (GBA/2014).
		Tidal Wave: Deluges enemies with a giant wave.
Cactuar		Teleport x20 Vanish x10 Hastega x5	Speed +2	Defeating the Gigantuar in the desert near Maranda as a fixed encounter after defeating ten Cactuars. (GBA/2014).
		1000 Needles/10,000 Needles?: Damages all enemies. Or, sometimes...
Diabolos		Graviga x5 Gravija x3	HP +100%	Dragons' Den, after defeating Kaiser Dragon (GBA/2014).
		Dark Messenger: Critically wounds all enemies.
Gilgamesh		Quick x1 Valor x5	Strength +2	Dragon's Neck Coliseum, bet Excalipoor from Auction House (GBA/2014).
		Excalipoor/Excalibur/Masamune/Enkidu: Summons a legendary swordsman.

Gallery

SNES/PS/GBA sprites

Magicite field sprite.

Magicite of the unnamed esper Kefka transforms.

"Summon orb" used during the summon sequence, distinct from the green orbs used in other games.

Ramuh.

Kirin.

Siren's censored sprite in the US version (SNES).

Siren's PS1 and Japanese sprite.

Siren (GBA).

Stray.

Ifrit.

Shiva.

Unicorn.

Maduin.

Catoblepas.

Phantom.

Carbuncle.

Bismarck.

Golem.

Zone Seeker.

Sraphim.

Quetzalli.

Fenrir.

Valigarmanda.

Midgarsormr.

Lakshmi's censored sprite in the US version (SNES).

Starlet (PS1/GBA).

Alexander.

Phoenix.

Ragnarok.

Odin.

Bahamut.

Crusader.

Raiden.

Leviathan.

Gilgamesh.

Cactuar.

Gigantuar.

Diabolos.

Etymology

[view · edit · purge]Magicite is the combination of "Magic" and "-ite". The suffix ite is derived from the Greek word lithos (from its adjectival form -ites), meaning "rock" or "stone".