Proof of a warrior's weapon mastery. Allows the bearer to attack four times per turn.
Description
Master's Scroll, also known as Offering[1][2] is a relic in Final Fantasy VI. It causes the user's Attack command to attack four times in a row against random enemies. Given each attack is half the damage of a normal attack, this effectively doubles the physical damage output of the user, while allowing the damage to be spread broadly across an enemy formation. The relic is extremely rare, and the player will likely not be able to obtain more than one at a time.
Master's Scroll notably makes for a great combination with Genji Glove, as the two relics allow a party member to attack eight times in one turn. It is also a great combination with Black Belt, particularly in the Dragon's Neck Coliseum.
Obtained[]
The temporary party member, Leo, comes with a Master's Scroll equipped while he is in the party.
Master's Scroll is a rare relic only obtained by defeating Samurai Soul, fought in the Ancient Castle in the World of Ruin.
In versions with the Soul Shrine, the Master's Scroll can be stolen from the yellow Glutturns fought there.
Mechanics[]
Added abilities (including auto-criticals) will be disabled for most weapons, unless the wearer wields the Kazekiri, Hawkeye, or Sniper.
If Umaro has the Berserker Ring equipped and tosses a party member with Master's Scroll, the damage penalty is applied to the toss.
Per the Master's Scroll bug, some weapons ignore the Master's Scroll damage cut. These include Setzer's Dice and Fixed Dice[note 1] (due to being based solely on the user's level and randomly-generated numbers). Additionally, the Mug command or Thief's Knife will always steal the item from the first enemy hit, but any items that would be stolen afterward will not be added to the player's inventory (unless the enemy is alone).
The Master's Scroll bypasses Overture's status effect which makes one target cover for the user, but it only affect the Attack command and not the X Fight command.
Use[]
The Master's Scroll is one of the most powerful relics due to the damage potential. Though physical attacks in Final Fantasy VI are typically weaker than spellcasting or some party members' unique abilities, the damage output provided by Master's Scroll, especially with the right weapon, makes it formidable. Although the Master's Scroll will not carry over added abilities from weapons, high-damaging weapons—such as Valiant Knife, Lightbringer (even in spite of losing its added ability), and especially the Ultima Weapon—can still deal immense damage with the Master's Scroll.
Master's Scroll combines especially well with the Genji Glove, as the two relics together allow a party member to hit eight times. This is the greatest single turn damage output possible in the game, if the user is able to deal eight hits of 9999 damage each, although doing this requires significant investment (and likely a high Strength, helped by leveling up with magicite that boost Strength). Because both relics are offensive, this will require other party members to be defensive-focused and keep the user safe.
Since Master's Scroll is such a rare relic, the player should be careful whom to give it to, and party members focused on physical damage should be prioritized. Locke is a clear choice due to his stats, weapon selection, and his Steal command focusing him to physical damage. Terra, Edgar, and Celes each have a similarly wide weapon selection making them equally strong candidates for a Genji Glove + Master's Scroll + Ultima Weapon combo, with Terra's Trance meaning she can double damage output further and easily hit eight 9999 hits; however, each of these can fill roles Locke cannot. Cyan and Shadow are also physical-focused party members, but their smaller weapon selection and alternate sources of damage make Locke, Terra, Edgar, and Celes better choices if limited Genji Gloves are available.
Setzer is another clear choice for he Master's Scroll, due to Fixed Dice whose damage is based only on the user's level and random number generators, meaning that Fixed Dice and Master's Scroll can output immense damage with little investment in Setzer's stats. Though the effect is somewhat random, four hits a turn means that the attack will still deal significant damage in all likelihood, but has a chance to win a battle in a single turn. The only major downside is that this combination will not scale or hold up as well as a combination with the Ultima Weapon would, but prior to significant investment in stats and equipment, this is the best use of the relic.
Master's Scroll is a great equipment piece to use at the Dragon's Neck Coliseum, especially when paired with the Black Belt. Pairing the two will give a party member a chance to attack four times when hit by the enemy's physical attack. If using a weapon that targets an enemy's weakness, this can be especially effective.
As a somewhat historical note, the Master's Scroll was an essential component in the SNES versions of Final Fantasy VI for a build fans have dubbed 'Wind God Gau'. With the Merit Award relic and Kazekiri (Tempest) weapon, Gau could use the Cat Scratch rage to multiply his damage by six, which would then carry over to the wind slash effect: with four attacks per turn, this was invariably devastating. In later revisions of the game, the Merit Award can no longer be equipped to Gau nor Gogo.
Notes[]
Annotations[]
- ↑ The glitch of Setzer's Fixed Dice not halving damage when used with Master's Scroll, was fixed for the PS port, but returns in the GBA version.