+1 Bonus to Spr at level up.
Description
Spr Bonus is a support ability that gives a permanent stat boost to the user's Spirit while they gain a level with the ability equipped. It can be used for stat-maxing and level grinding to have higher maximum Spirit even without Spr junctions.
Obtained[]
Spr Bonus is learned by the Guardian Forces Leviathan and Cactuar. Leviathan is drawn from the boss at Balamb Garden basement, or from Trauma in the final dungeon. Leviathan can then learn Spr Bonus for 100 AP after mastering Spr+40%, which itself becomes available after mastering Spr+20% (the player can master them instantly with Rune Armlet and Force Armlet).
Cactuar is recruited by defeating Jumbo Cactuar on Cactuar Island, reachable on a flying transport, and already has every type of Stat Bonus ability learned.
If the player removes Spr Bonus with Amnesia Greens, there is no way to get it back.
Mechanics[]
Spr Bonus gives the user +1 Spirit on top of their normal stat gain when they level up with the ability in effect. When the user is on Level 100, the ability will be ineffective.
Use[]
Spr Bonus is an excellent ability to have equipped when gaining levels for everyone as it determines the character's defense against magic damage, a type of damage commonly used by endgame bosses in unavoidable special attacks, such as the final bosses' Shockwave Pulsar and Apocalypse. Spirit also mitigates the chance of being inflicted by ailments from status spells. The maximum Spirit value is 255, which the player can reach without stat grinding simply with Spr-J and Spr+% abilities; however, if the player has been leveling up with Spr Bonus, they can reach 255 with fewer spells or lesser magic types.
If the player wants to grind their Spirit via leveling up, the player can set Leviathan to learn their Spirit-booster abilities as soon as recruited to unlock Spr Bonus at the earliest, and use items to learn the Spr+% abilities where possible. The best min-maxing strategy is to remain on a low level until the player gets Cactuar and then level up with numerous Stat Bonus abilities in effect simultaneously.
As a character can have maximum four support abilities in effect at once, one cannot ever co-equip all Bonus abilities, though Spr Bonus is one worth prioritizing. After getting all Bonus abilities, a fast leveling up place is on Island Closest to Hell where the player can quickly defeat enemies with Quistis's Degenerator and Death spells in ST-Atk-J even with a low level party. To avoid leveling up before having all Bonus abilities, the player can have KO'd party members, escape random encounters, equip Enc-None, and use Card and Petrify to defeat enemies.
Stat-maxing is unnecessary for a normal playthrough, even for superbosses, but stat grinding will make the party noticeably stronger by the end. Other means of boosting Spirit are with the Spr Up item and by devouring a Level29+ Malboro. The player can use Auto-Shell and Auto-Reflect to mitigate magic damage further.
As bosses do not give EXP, before engaging one the player should swap their Stat Bonus abilities for percentage stat boosts or other useful support abilities like auto abilities.