Mustard Bomb (Final Fantasy IX)

Mustard Bomb
(マスタードボム, Masutādo Bomu?)
Availability
Obtained	Wraith (Red Flame), Bomb, Red Vepal, Grenade, Maliris (Crystal)
Character(s)	Quina
Classification
Type	Blue Magic
Skillset	Blu Mag
Effect	Heats one target up to implode on their next turn
Status	Heat
Specifications
MP cost	10
Reflect	No
Hit rate	30% base accuracy
Related pages
Recurring appearance	Mustard Bomb

Causes Heat to the enemy.

Description

Mustard Bomb is a Blu Mag spell for Quina in Final Fantasy IX that attempts to heat up a target at a cost of 10 MP so their next action will destroy them. Mustard Bomb cannot be reflected but works with Return Magic. Soulcage, Drakan, Vepal (Red), Hades and Maliris use it against the party.

Obtain

Quina learns Mustard Bomb by eating a Wraith (Red Flame), Bomb, Red Vepal, Grenade, or Crystal Maliris. The earliest Mustard Bomb can be learned is from the Bombs on the Lindblum Plateau forest right after Quina is recruited during the time the party is meant to head for Gizamaluke's Grotto. Instead of going that way, the player can return to Lindblum's Business District and head south to the entrance to the world map.

Mechanics

Mustard Bomb attempts to heat up a target, destroying them if the afflicted executes any direct command, including counterattacks and reactions. Heat wears off over time, but in practice, will always kill an enemy, as they do not idle their turns. If a heated up target were to be hit with an Ice-elemental attack, they would return to normal.

The chance of the Mustard Bomb spell working is calculated as follows:

$Chance=30+Level+[Magic/4]-Target'sLevel$

Two randomly generated values determine if the spell will hit:

A random number 0...99 >= Chance, the spell misses its mark

A random number 0...99 < Target's Magic Evade, the enemy evades

Use

Mustard Bomb defeats an enemy. It is among many in Quina's arsenal of instant-defeat abilities alongside LV5 Death, Frost (with an added step), and Doom. All of Quina's instant-defeat abilities have poor accuracy, bar LV5 Death against a target with a compatible level, so the player may find they are only wasting their turn using them. Mustard Bomb's base accuracy is merely 30%.

The other way to inflict Heat are with Add Status with Flame Saber with a minor chance (10%) to work, but Steiner will at least not waste a turn if they deal some damage with his attack.

Frost and Mustard Bomb are similar with their effects neutralizing their target and with matching base accuracies. Mustard Bomb can be seen as the superior of the two as it forgoes an additional step to defeat the enemy, and for being available much earlier than Frost.

Good targets for Mustard Bomb are Taharka, a rare chance of it working against a boss, and Yans.

Etymology

[view · edit · purge]The sulfur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas, is a class of related cytotoxic and vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on the exposed skin and in the lungs. When used in impure form, such as warfare agents, they are usually yellow-brown in color and have an odor resembling mustard plants, garlic, or horseradish.

Mustard agents are regulated under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Three classes of chemicals are monitored under this Convention, with sulfur and nitrogen mustard grouped in Schedule 1, as substances with no use other than in chemical warfare. Mustard agents could be deployed on the battlefield by means of artillery shells, aerial bombs, rockets, or by spraying from warplanes.