Stop (Final Fantasy IX)

Stops targets from taking any action.

Description

Stop is a Blk Mag spell in Final Fantasy IX that attempts to inflict the status of the same name onto one target, freezing them on the spot similar to the Petrify status, flagging the unit as defeated until cured; winning via stopping all opposition gains no EXP or gil, only AP.

In Trance, Vivi can use Stop twice in one turn. The enemies Garuda and Ash are also capable of using this spell. It can be reflected as normal and can be countered with the ability Return Magic.

Obtain[]

Stop is learned from the Oak Staff for 25 AP, which can be stolen from Ralvuimago and Soulcage, found in Chocograph 11, Small Beach, and bought in Conde Petie, Black Mage Village (discs 2 & 3), Alexandria, Treno (disc 3), and Ipsen's Castle Mogshop for 2,400 gil.

The earliest to get it is from doing the Chocobo Hot and Cold minigame to upgrade Choco to a reef chocobo at the first chance and then digging up more chocographs at the Chocobo's Forest until "Small Beach" treasure becomes available. The player could get the treasure before going to Burmecia, allowing access to Stop for Burmecia, Cleyra's Trunk, Cleyra, and Alexandria Castle; the boss Ralvuimago is fought after this point, from whom the player can steal an Oak Staff. However, the staff is the rarest steal and thus difficult to get as Zidane will fail most attempts.

Mechanics[]

Status-inflicting Black Magic spells' success rate is based on Vivi's Level, Magic stats, and the status spell's base accuracy. Vivi can use the Focus ability to increase his Magic during that battle by 25% per use. The effect stacks up to 99 and lasts for the entire battle, even if KO'd.

${\displaystyle Chance = 40 + Vivi's Level + [Magic / 4] - Target Level}$

Afterward, two randomly generated numbers determine if the spell will hit:

A random number 0...99 >= Chance, Vivi misses his cast

A random number 0...99 < Target's Magic Evade, the target evades

Accuracy is halved by the target's Shell and Vivi being under Mini.

In Vivi's Trance, Blk Mag turns into Dbl Blk where Vivi can cast two spells on his turn. The spells cost MP and expend the Trance gauge independently.

The support ability that affects Stop is Reflect-Null (Stop pierces target's Reflect).

Use[]

Stop is obtained toward the end of disc 1 at the earliest, but does not work on bosses and against normal enemies Vivi is often better off spending his turn using Focus or targeting the enemy's elemental weakness instead. Stop status could be considered a form of KO—if all living party members are afflicted with Stop, the game ends. If all enemies are afflicted with Stop, the battle is considered won, but no EXP or gil is gained. However, the party will still receive AP. Stop can be used for low level challenge runs to avoid leveling up while still learning abilities.