Petrify (Final Fantasy XII)

The character is turned to stone and will be unable to move or act once the count reaches 0. Remove with a Gold Needle.

Description

Petrify is a status in Final Fantasy XII. A countdown (~4.5 seconds per tick) starting from 10 will appear by the health bar above the unit, like the Doom status. When the timer expires, the target is defeated by turning them into Stone, which is a status akin to KO. Doom and Petrify cannot usually coexist on the same target.

Mechanics[]

Enemies defeated by the timer expiring does not affect the chain, but the enemies defeated by it will still drop higher grade loot if the player had a long chain when the enemy died.

Doom and Petrify cannot usually co-exist: whichever status is in effect first will render the target immune to the other. The only exception is when using a Remedy with a Nihopalaoa equipped, which inflicts both statuses simultaneously.

This status is not entirely disadvantageous: as the petrifying countdown advances, the physical damage both received and dealt by that unit will be gradually decreased (and so will the unit's movement speed):

normal physical damage received/dealt × (petrifying countdown tick ÷ 10).

As the afflicted unit's resistance to physical attacks gradually increases, it renders them almost immune to such attacks by the time the countdown reaches 1. The countdown can be halted by the status effect Stop, effectively sustaining the increased defense during petrifying if desired. This trick can be used to survive against foes with powerful physical attacks, though one must be careful with timing the recovery lest they fully petrify.

The Petrify status can be exploited to trigger the dead character glitch.

If the character summons Zodiark while under the petrifying countdown in the original PS2 version, Zodiark will immediately use Final Eclipse, as the caster being under the status is the only requirement for Zodiark to use the move. In the Zodiac versions, the player can use summons' special moves on a whim.

Abilities[]

Spell	Break (Time Magicks)
Weapon	Ancient Sword 15%, Stone Shot 25%

The base success rate of Break against an enemy that is not immune is 50% in the original version, updated to 65% in the Zodiac versions. With the Indigo Pendant equipped, the Break spell will always inflict petrify unless the target is outright immune.

The status can also be inflicted with the items that heal the status when Nihopalaoa is equipped.

When a party member has Petrify, they can use Stamp to inflict it onto others at the same expiration point as when they used Stamp.

The ally-targeting gambit specifically for this status is called "Ally: status = Petrify". The self-targeting gambit is "Self: status = Petrify", though ally-targeting also includes self. The enemy-targeting gambit is called "Foe: status = Petrify". In the original version, these gambits can be bought for 50 gil after the events at Draklor Laboratory. In the Zodiac versions, the gambits can be purchased for 70 gil after leaving Nalbina Dungeons.

Enemy abilities[]

Ability	Description	Enemy
Break		Skulwyrm [a], Orthros, Elder Wyrm, Vinuskar
Hell Blaster		Ose, Grimalkin
Level 4 Break		Deidar, Lindwyrm, Gilgamesh (2), Zalera, Zodiark
Putrid Breath		Vivian, Cassie, Wild Malboro, Carrot, Kris
Stone Breath		Ash Wyrm, Adamantitan, Emeralditan, Lindwyrm, Yiazmat, Hell Wyrm
Stone Gaze		Lesser Chimera, Panther, Facer, Sprinter, Coeurl, Gorgimera, Ose, Chimera Brain, Brainpan, Deidar, Adamantitan, Bandercoeurl, Emeralditan, Darksteel, Feral Retriever, Cluckatrice, Pandaemonium, Aspidochelon, Thalassinon, Vishno, Grimalkin
Stone Touch		Specter [b], Ghast, Zombie Warlock, Drowned
"Zantetsu Replica"	Enemy's normal attack with this weapon has a 4% chance of Petrify	Gilgamesh
"Petrify Attack"	Enemy's normal attack has a 4% chance of Petrify	Brainpan, Wyvern, Demon Wall, Wyvern Lord, Aeros, Barmuu, Crypt Bunny, Dheed
"Fang of Petrification"	Enemy's normal attack has a 4% chance of Petrify	Dragon Lich, Shield Wyrm, Tiamat, Lindwyrm , Enkidu, Skullash, Wary Wolf

Traps[]

The Stone Gas trap inflicts those who trigger it with Petrify. Stone Gas traps are found in Lhusu Mines, Tomb of Raithwall, Henne Mines, Stilshrine of Miriam, and Sochen Cave Palace.

Protection[]

Accessory	Fuzzy Miter, Ribbon
Status	Doom status^{[note 1]}

↑ Existent Doom status gives immunity to Petrify, unless both are inflicted simultaneously with Nihopalaoa's aid.

Healing[]

Item	Gold Needle, Remedy (Remedy Lore 2 needed)
Spell	Esuna & Esunaga & Stona (White Magicks)
Mechanics	Save Crystal

Enemies[]

Entites and elementals, as well as zombie-type enemies, are typically immune to petrification. Bosses are immune to Petrify.

Regular enemies immune to Petrify:

Imperial Gunner
Imperial Magus (boss battle only)
Imperial Pilot
Imperial Swordsman (Nalbina Fortress LV3–4, Garamsythe Waterway)
Judge
Killer Mantis (Variably)
Leamonde Entite
Leshach Entite
Leynir
Lich
Lost Soul
Lv.99 Red Chocobo
Magick Pot
Mallicant
Mardu Entite
Mastiff (Bahamut)
Mimeo
Mimic
Miriam Facer
Miriam Guardian
Mirrorknight
Mistmare
Mom Bomb
Mu
Mythril Golem
Necrofiend
Necrophobe
Nightwalker
Onion Queen
Oversoul
Pandora
Piranha
Preying Mantis
Pumpkin Star
Purobolos
Ragoh
Reaper
Reaper Claw
Reaver
Rook
Salamand Entite
Scythe Mantis
Seeq Explorer
Shadonir
Shambling Corpse
Shield Wyrm
Silicon Tortoise (Zertinan Caverns)
Skeleton
Skull Defender
Skull Knight
Skull Warrior
Skulwyrm
Slime
Speartongue
Specter
Storm Elemental
Sylphi Entite
Tartarus
Thunderbug
Tiny Bug
Tiny Mimic
Topstalk
Treant
Twintania
Tyranorox
Undin Entite
Urutan Eater
Urutan-Yensa
Water Chaosjet
Water Elemental
Wild Saurian
Wyvern
Yensa
Zombie (female & male)
Zombie Knight
Zombie Mage
Zombie Warlock
Zombie Warrior

Bosses immune to Petrify:

Hunt marks immune to Petrify:

Rare Game immune to Petrify:

Use[]

Because enemies who die by turning to stone do not break the battle chain, the player can use it to kill aberrant enemies while trying to preserve their chain. However, the toughest of foes are immune to Petrify.

Ff12 hennemines pithead junction b — Grinding in Pithead Junction B.

The player can set up an infinite level grinding spot in the Henne Mines with the Break spell. In Pithead Junction B, after touching the gate switch in the room, a limited number of Jellies fall from above, and if they die from turning to stone, they will respawn endlessly. If player programs their gambits correctly, it is possible to sustain an auto-leveling without touching the controller.

Break can help in spawning the extremely elusive Lv.99 Red Chocobo. To spawn this chocobo, the player must kill at least six chocobos in the Haulo Green area of the Ozmone Plain, then move two areas away, and return. Odds are 1/256 that the Lv.99 Red Chocobo will spawn among one of the six chocobos. To cut down on walking time, the player can kill, leave and return once, and then petrify the chocobos with Break, which will respawn continuously. Two of the six chocobos are placeholders for the Lv.99 Red Chocobo; the ones at the bottom of the attack menu. The player can thus kill the two top-most chocobos from the list and only leave the last one to petrify. There are two groups of three black/red chocobos in Haulo Green, and the player can go back and forth between them, petrifying the chocobo. If the two "top" chocobos from the groups are killed, more will initially spawn. The player can kill those as well, until only one remains, making the petrifying process faster. Even with the fast-forward function in the Zodiac versions, it can take hours for the Lv.99 Red Chocobo to appear using this method.

[1] Existent Doom status gives immunity to Petrify, unless both are inflicted simultaneously with Nihopalaoa's aid.

[note 1]