The Nail Bat is a joke weapon for Cloud in Final Fantasy VII, which can first be found in the Temple of Ancients. The weapon has a very high Attack stat for when it is acquired, but no Materia, locking Cloud into the role of physical attacks. The player can equip it to Cloud, or throw it.
Obtained[]
The Nail Bat can first be found in the Temple of the Ancients. In the room with the clock, if Cloud is knocked off by the hands and wins a battle, the Nail Bat is obtained by opening a chest.
Later, it can be purchased from Junon for 2,800 gil after the Highwind is obtained.
Mechanics[]
As the Nail Bat has a base Attack stat bonus of 70, the base damage for physical attacks when it is equipped is the following formula:
where "Level" is Cloud's current level and "Strength" is his Strength stat. The Nail Bat also has an Attack% (Accuracy) of 100%. It grants no bonus to Cloud's Magic stat.
Use[]
Promotional render.
The Nail Bat has a very high Attack stat for when it is acquired, but no Materia slots, and no boost to Cloud's Magic stat. If equipped, it provides a great boost to Cloud's physical attacks and Limits, but hinders his ability to cast spells. This also means that Cloud relies on armor for Materia slots.
Cloud has both high Strength and Magic stats, meaning he can be built towards either physical damage or magical damage. Though the Nail Bat will allow Cloud to deal a significant amount of physical damage with attacks and Limits, it will waste his potential to deal strong magic damage. It also removes Cloud's ability to link his attacks with Elemental or Added Effect, and severely limits how many Command Materia he can equip. The player should be careful when equipping this weapon, and may opt to use a more well-rounded weapon for Cloud instead. However, it can be a good weapon for the Wutai sidequest where the player must go on without Materia for a time.
Nail Bat later on is outclassed by more powerful weapons, such as Crystal Sword and Heaven's Cloud, which have comparably high stats, without sacrificing Cloud's spellcasting ability.
Etymology[]
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. Due to its bludgeoning nature, a baseball bat may be used as a club-like weapon. A nail bat is a modified baseball bat with sharp objects, typically nails, protruding from the broad end. Within the modern world, they are found on street gangs as a makeshift weapon, specifically on bikers and punks in western civilization; its inclusion as a part of the "Force of the Resolute" combination in Dissidia emphasizes this.