Combat knuckles.
Description
The Poison Knuckles is Amarant's second claw in Final Fantasy IX. It teaches him the Flair ability Spare Change, which expends gil to deal fixed damage. All of Amarant's weapons besides his ultimate weapon teach Counter, a passive ability that lets him respond to being physically attacked with an Attack of his own. Though it takes a lot of AP to master, this is inconsequential as all of Amarant's weapons have Counter until the end of the game and it is impossible to de-equip him of a weapon altogether. When Amarant equips Add Status, using Attack with the Poison Knuckles has a 40% chance of poisoning the enemy, making them suffer passive damage.
Obtain[]
Zidane can steal the knuckles off Scarlet Hair during their duel. This is the best way to get the weapon as the battle should be fairly easy, and the player can then procure the weapon before Amarant has even joined. The knuckles are also sold for 5000 gil in Conde Petie, Madain Sari Mogshop, Alexandria, Treno (after Amarant has joined), Lindblum (after Amarant has joined), and Ipsen's Castle Mogshop. The player could buy the knuckles from Conde Petie before meeting Amarant, but they can save their funds and steal it off him instead during the duel. Poison Knuckles is not needed for synthesis.
Mechanics[]
The Poison Knuckles' damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
- Base = 33 - Enemy's Defense
- Bonus = Strength + A random value 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8]
- Damage = Base * Bonus
The damage is then modified by variables like Amarant's row position and equipped Killer abilities and MP Attack, as well as the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, his Bonus would be 1. If Amarant equips Healer, damage is converted to healing.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and the Base part of the damage formula is altered to:
- Base = 27 - Enemy's Defense
The Poison Knuckles has innate Poison. When Amarant uses Attack (or Charge! or Counter), he has 40% chance of poisoning his target. The Poison Knuckles has the highest Add Status success chance of any weapon.
Use[]
The Poison Knuckles is Amarant's second weapon, which he could already have access to when he is first recruited. It is the only source of Spare Change until the endgame, though the ability is not particularly useful. The Poison Knuckles is Amarant's strongest offering until the player gains access to the Blue Narciss and they can buy the Mythril Claw from Esto Gaza and progress the Chocobo Hot and Cold quest to the point they can reach the Forgotten Lagoon and get the Dragon's Claws.
The Poison Knuckles is notable for its high success rate with Add Status. Though Poison is not an overly useful status to inflict, it will add some minor damage to the enemy on top of the damage Amarant already dished out with his Attack, and can be inflicted from his Counter, which he will always have.
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