Stop is a status in Final Fantasy IX. Stopped units are considered defeated, although the party gains no EXP or gil from enemies defeated with Stop, and as such having all of the alive party under the Stop will result in a Game Over. Party members can defend against Stop by equipping the Locomotion ability. Stop also halts the countdown from Doom and Gradual Petrify, and halts all timed effects; e.g. Poison and Regen will not tick during it, either.
Stop is similar to Petrify, but does not persist after battle unlike Petrify. Stop is also similar to KO, as if all the party is stopped, the game ends. Stopped characters have their ATB gauge turn gray. Stop persists until healed, or until the end of battle; it does not wear off on its own. Because Stop is a timed effect like Haste and Slow, it removed with Dispel rather than with Esuna.
Abilities[]
| Spell | Stop ~40% (Blk Mag) |
|---|---|
| Weapon | Gastro Fork 10% (Add Status), Heavy Lance 20% (Add Status) |
Enemy abilities[]
| Ability | Description | Enemy |
|---|---|---|
| Blaster | Inflicts non-elemental damage and Stop to one target. | Torama, Veteran |
| Grand Cross | Inflicts Berserk, Doom, Petrify, Stop, Freeze, Heat, Confuse, Poison, Trouble, Silence, Zombie, Darkness, Instant Death, Mini, Sleep, and HP is reduce to 1-10. Each one of them has a 1/8 chance of being inflicted. | Necron |
| Stop | Inflicts Stop to one target. | Ash, Garland, Garuda, Grimlock, Lich, Lich (Crystal) |
Protection[]
| Support ability | Locomotion |
|---|
Healing[]
| Item | Remedy |
|---|---|
| Spell | Dispel, Angel's Snack |
Enemies[]
The following enemies are immune to Stop:
- All friendly monsters
- All bosses except Red Dragon
- Core & Sand Golem
- Epitaph
- Gargoyle
- Mover
- Ragtime Mouse & True & False
- Tonberry
- Zaghnol (Festival
Use[]
As the party will still receive AP from enemies defeated with Stop, the status can be used for low level challenge runs to avoid leveling up while still learning abilities. Stop works on most regular enemies, including tough ones like Yan and Grand Dragon, though the player will then not receive any EXP for their win, and there are no consistent ways of inflicting the ability: the ability with the best infliction rate is Vivi's Stop spell at 40% base rate, but the rate is higher the higher Vivi's Magic stat and the difference between Vivi and the enemy's level.
Using Add Status with weapons that have Stop as an effect is a good way to randomly defeat enemies in one hit while forgoing EXP and gil from them.
Stop is a dangerous status to contract for the player as it does not wear off on its own and Remedies are not as easily available as other status-healing items. The player is best equipping Locomotion against enemies that may inflict it, or be ready to heal it.