Causes Non-elemental damage to the enemy by using Gil.
Description
Spare Change is a Flair/Elan in Final Fantasy IX used by Amarant, which uses Gil to deal fixed damage to one (Flair) or all (Elan) enemies. The Gil spent depends on Amarant's level, but Spare Change does less damage the more money the party has.
Obtained[]
Spare Change is learned for 90 AP from Poison Knuckles and Rune Claws. Poison Knuckles is available as soon as Amarant joins, stolen from him during his duel with Zidane, and bought from Conde Petie. Rune Claws is found in the final dungeon.
Mechanics[]
Spare Change throws Gil at the target, damaging it by a fixed amount that cannot be resisted with Protect. When used via Elan when in Trance, Spare Change targets all enemies. More damage is dealt depending on Amarant's Level and Spirit, but the more Gil the party holds overall, the less damage Spare Change does.
- Gil Used = Level * 101
- Damage = [(Gil Used * Gil Used * Spirit) / (Gil Owned * 10)]
Use[]
The boon of Spare Change is that it does fixed damage, and it is Amarant's only fixed damage ability. Fixed damage is good against Tantarian, for example. However, Spare Change is unlikely to surpass Amarant's normal attack, especially if boosted with MP Attack, a Killer ability, and Elem-Atk. The more Gil the party holds, the less damage Spare Change deals, meaning it diminishes in value in the endgame, especially compared to Amarant's other abilities. If the party has hundreds of thousands or even millions of Gil, the ability will do pitiful damage.
There are not too many quick Gil-sinks the player can use to deplete their funds; the money could buy excess amount of expensive weapons, and Amarant could then throw them. The less Gil the party holds, the more potent the effect of Spare Change, but if the party is low on funds, they may not want to use the little they have for Spare Change. One trick could be to always use up all funds to empty the coffers to around 10,000 Gil and when needing to go shopping, sell the wares to make back the money for purchases; however, purchased goods do not hold their value—sell price is half of buy price.