The Oil Bombs are ammunition for hand-bombs in Final Fantasy XII. Hand-bombs cannot be equipped without owning some kind of bombs. Owning the Oil Bombs means the player can use an unlimited amount, and bombs do not need a license to be equipped alongside a hand-bomb. The bombs have a chance of oiling the targets they hit, which makes them vulnerable to fire damage.
Obtain[]
Original[]
The Oil Bombs are not bought from shops, but sell for 500 gil. If the player sells them, they can never re-procure them.
The bombs are made in the bazaar set "Oil-Soaked Incendiaries" alongside a Tumulus for 10,625 gil. To make the set, the player will need to sell three Bomb Ashes, two Books of Orgain, and three Fire Crystals. Bomb Ashes are obtained from various bomb-type foes, the earliest such foe being the Bombs in the Barheim Passage. To get back to the passage after felling the Mimic Queen, the player needs the Barheim Key from the "patient of the desert" quest in the Estersand village, able to be completed after the player has the Dawn Shard.
Books of Orgain drop from Dustia, Gespenst, and Negalmuur; Dustia is a Rare Game that can be fought especially early. Fire Crystals are obtained from various enemies, such as fire-elemental entites and elementals. One fairly early enemy that has Fire Crystals is the Dullahan in the Lhusu Mines.
Zodiac[]
The Oil Bombs set is sold for 1500 gil in the baknamy merchant's shop in the Necrohol of Nabudis after the events in Draklor Laboratory.
The bombs pouch is found as a treasure in Lhusu Mines' Site 11 (90% chance to appear, 50% chance for an item, 50% chance the item treasure is the Oil Bombs without the Diamond Armlet equipped) and Pharos - Second Ascent's Station of Ascension (75% chance to appear, 60% chance for an item, 50% chance the item treasure is the Oil Bombs without the Diamond Armlet equipped), as well as in Trial Mode Stage 35 with the Diamond Armlet equipped.
The bombs are also rarely stolen from King Bomb in the Trial Mode Stage 21.
The bombs are still made in the bazaar set "Oil-Soaked Incendiaries" for the same items and price as before.
Use[]
The Oil Bombs add 3 points to the hand-bomb's power. They have a 25% flat chance of inflicting a susceptible target they hit with Oil, which makes the afflicted take triple damage from fire. This makes them a good accompaniment to a Black Mage or Red Battlemage using fire magick, and for an Archer using the Fiery Arrows with the Burning Bow, and for a Machinist using Wyrmfire Shot.
The bombs are likely not worth prioritizing for the ailment on its own, but as equipment can be swapped on-the-fly, the player could start with the Oil Bombs and then swap to stronger bombs/a different ailment-inducing bombs once the ailment takes effect. Using Oil Bombs saves a turn from a mage using Oil. It works against Hell Wyrm, Disma, Silicon Tortoise, Enkidu, Slyt, Phoenix, and Famfrit, among other foes. However, most bosses and marks are immune to Oil.
Hand-bombs commonly see little use, as in the original version the other ranged damage options tend to be better, and in the Zodiac versions, hand-bombs are no job's main weapon, being secondary even for the Foebreaker. However, getting the Hornito early from the Garamsythe Waterway can be a nice early game damage spike for them. The bombs are only useful to procure in the Zodiac versions if the player is using a Foebreaker as a ranged job, which can still work better than a Time Battlemage with crossbows, especially in windy weather. This can also be situationally useful, as the Foebreaker cannot attack flying enemies with their hammers and axes. The Black Mage and the Machinist can also gain access to some late game hand-bombs, but they can already do ranged damage otherwise.
Aletap Rumors[]
- Gained by defeating Oiling
Oil is fuel for fires and explosion, right? Well, I've heard of a bomb, called the oil bomb, that puts two and two together, dousing your target with oil and setting it aflame! They say the method of its construction came from the Book of Orgain... I guess sometimes fact really is stranger than fiction.
Githon, Dark Knight