Petrify is a status in Final Fantasy IX that seals the affected in stone and renders them unable to act or change in almost any way. Petrifying an enemy will not earn the player EXP or gil from that enemy (and petrified dragons will not count toward Dragon's Crest), however, they will still earn AP. Some enemies are stone-based, and an item that would normally cure the Petrify status will instantly kill them.
Petrify is one of the only status effects that will still affect characters that are in Trance. Petrify is similar to KO, Venom, and Stop in that they flag the affected as defeated for Game Over purposes. Petrify does not expire on its own and needs to be healed.
Abilities[]
| Spell | Break ~40% (Blk Mag) |
|---|---|
| Weapon | Needle Fork 10% (Add Status), Obelisk 10% (Add Status), Sargatanas 99% (Soul Blade) |
Enemy abilities[]
| Ability | Description | Enemy |
|---|---|---|
| Break | Inflicts Petrify to one target. | Gargoyle |
| Grand Cross | Inflicts Berserk, Doom, Petrify, Stop, Freeze, Heat, Confuse, Poison, Trouble, Silence, Zombie, Darkness, Instant Death, Mini, Sleep, and HP is reduce to 1-10. Each one of them has a 1/8 chance of being inflicted. | Necron |
| Petrify | Inflicts Petrify to one target. | Epitaph |
Protection[]
| Support ability | Jelly |
|---|
Healing[]
Petrify is healed with Soft and Stona. Using Soft on stone-type enemies defeats them, but this does not work with the Stona spell. Staying at an inn also fully restores the party's status.
Enemies[]
The following enemies are immune to Petrify. Stone-type enemies are naturally immune, as are nearly all bosses.
- All friendly monsters
- All bosses (except Red Dragon)
- Core & Sand Golem
- Epitaph
- Gargoyle
- Mover
- Ragtime Mouse & True & False
- Stroper
- Tonberry
- Zaghnol (Festival)
Use[]
Break is crucial for Level 1 challenge runs of the game, as enemies that are inflicted with Petrify give no EXP (or gil), but still yield AP. Other instant defeat skills Vivi has are Stop and Death, which could be used instead of Break. Notably, Stop is nigh identical to Break in that enemies defeated with it also yield no EXP or gil.
Zidane's Sargatanas with his Soul Blade is a superior way of inflicting Petrify over using Vivi's Break, as it will not miss unless the target is immune.
Against enemies that may inflict Petrify onto the player's party, the player should be using Jelly as Petrify is a highly hazardous status to become afflicted with.