Sword that may cast Flare upon striking an enemy.
Description
The Ragnarok is one of the strongest swords in Final Fantasy VI. The player must choose between the Ragnarok sword and the Ragnarok magicite. The sword has extremely strong stats, both as a weapon and as bonus stats provided, and has Flare as an added ability. The weapon can be equipped by Terra, Locke, Edgar, and Celes.
Though Ragnarok is strong in itself, it can be bet in the Dragon's Neck Coliseum for an even more powerful weapon, the Lightbringer. The Lightbringer has slightly greater stats, and casts Holy as its added ability.
Ragnarok shares its sprite with the Excalibur.
Ragnarok is a recurring sword in the Final Fantasy series and usually one of the more powerful ones available.
Obtained[]
The choice of what to do with Ragnarok.
Ragnarok can be obtained as a weapon (or magicite) from Narshe in the World of Ruin, when Locke is in the party. Locke can enter the weapon's shop, where the shop owner offers to give the party the magicite, or melt it down and make it into a weapon.
The option of which to take—the sword or the magicite—comes with pros and cons. The magicite is the only magicite to teach Ultima, the most powerful spell, and its summon ability allows the player to farm other rare items, some of which cannot be farmed in any other way. The weapon on the other hand grants access to the Lightbringer, the strongest weapon in the game, while itself being very powerful. Though there are other, albeit more difficult, ways to learn the Ultima spell, the rare items farmed by the Ragnarok summon cannot be obtained another way, meaning the decision may depend on the player's need to farm said items.
In versions with the Dragons' Den (namely, the Advance version and versions based on it), the importance of the decision is diminished. These versions allow the player to save their game after defeating the final boss. The Ragnarok can be stolen from Lady in the final battle, and thus can be farmed, so the magicite can be the more appealing choice. However, the player will still have to play through the rest of the game without the sword.
Mechanics[]
The Ragnarok uses the standard physical damage formula to determine its damage, providing a +255 Attack, and adding to the wielder's Strength. As with other weapons, it can be improved by the Gauntlet relic that boosts its damage by +50%. The Master's Scroll halves the damage dealt by each attack, but causes the weapon to attack four times. Genji Glove reduces the damage dealt by the weapon by 25%, but allows two weapons to be equipped, and thus, attack twice per Fight command. Master's Scroll and Genji Glove can be combined to allow the player to use two weapons (including two Ragnaroks, if obtained) to hit eight times, ultimately doubling its damage and spreading it to all enemies.
Ragnarok has a 25% chance to cast Flare upon connecting with an enemy. Flare's damage will be based on the user's Magic stat. It enables the Bushido and Runic commands and consumes 20 MP when attacking to perform an automatic critical hit.
Ragnarok also passively grants several boosts to other stats. This is a +7 to Strength, Stamina, and Magic; a +3 Speed; and a +30% Magic Evasion.
Ragnarok is affected by the capture glitch.
Use[]
Ragnarok is an extremely powerful weapon especially for Terra and Celes (and is compatible with Terra's Trance and Celes's Runic). The +7 Magic it provides equals that of the Enhancer and Lightbringer as the highest Magic boost of any weapon; as both party members greatly benefit from a boost to this stat, the weapon is ideal for them. This, coupled with Terra and Celes's already naturally high Magic stats, boosts not only the Flare added ability but also their own spellcasting. Though Edgar and Locke can also equip the weapon, they will not spellcast as much as Terra and Celes, and as such benefit less from the weapon.
Ragnarok can be used with the Genji Glove relic allows two +7 Magic weapons (two Ragnaroks, or a Ragnarok and Enhancer) to be equipped for a +14 Magic stat. However, in the lategame, Terra or Celes may wish to use the relic combo of Soul of Thamasa and Celestriad, meaning they would only be able to equip one weapon. With a setup only allowing them to equip one weapon, Ragnarok would be the perfect choice of weapon to equip. If this is given to either Terra or Celes, the other can use a Genji Glove combo with Ribbon or Safety Bit to be more defensive.
The Lightbringer is generally regarded as superior to the Ragnarok, as it offers an additional +4 Speed and +20 Evasion and Magic Evasion. However, the Ragnarok is still a very powerful weapon in its own right, and Flare is generally a stronger spell than Holy, which the Lightbringer casts when attacking. Thus, some players may prefer to keep the Ragnarok over the Lightbringer.
Aside from Lightbringer, another competing powerful weapon is the Ultima Weapon. Ultima Weapon ignores Defense, making it universally strong against all enemies, but relies heavily on the party member having and maintaining high HP, and does not grant many of the stat boosts that Ragnarok does. Ultima Weapon is better used by Locke and Edgar as a combination with Genji Glove and Master's Scroll, while Ragnarok (or Lightbringer) is better used as a passive weapon to boost one's ability in battle (as Master's Scroll will prevent Ragnarok's added ability).
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a prophesied event triggered by the death of the god Balder. It sees a great battle between all the major entities of Norse mythology, during which the spirits in Valhalla are called upon to join the fray. The encounter ends with the destruction of the universe, and Balder along with a handful of others are reborn as mortals, with few memories of the world before Ragnarök.