The following is a list of elements in Final Fantasy V.
Mechanics[]
Targets weak to an element suffer double damage from it, and their defense drops to 0; this is essentially the same as being the target of a critical hit. Those resistant to an element take half damage, and those immune evade damage (the attack always misses). Those that absorb an element are healed by it by the maximum amount, as their defense value against the attack also drops to 0.
Defensive equipment pieces' elemental defense does not stack for the same element. For example, a character with the Diamond Helm, which halves lightning damage, and the Diamond Armor, which also halves lightning damage, the damage will not be halved twice.
Equipping gear with different affinities for the same element follows these priorities:
- Absorption
- Immunity
- Resistance
- Weakness
Imbuing a sword with an element via Spellblade makes them much more powerful against enemies weak to said element and to pierce through their defenses. If the player uses Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Bio, or Holy on their Spellblade, their attack may act as an instant death attack against enemies weak to that element.
Fire[]
It is one of the starting three elements alongside Ice and Lightning. Fire tends to be powerful against plant and undead enemies, as well as enemies attuned to Ice, such as Shiva. The fire-elemental summons are Ifrit and Phoenix.
Ice[]
Ice element is opposed to Fire, making it especially good against flame enemies. The player can use it via Black Magic and Spellblade and the summon Shiva, among other ways, and use weapons attuned to its power like the Icebrand sword or the Frost Bow.
Lightning[]
Many mechanical enemies are susceptible to lightning-elemental damage. Diamond equipment resist lightning damage. The lightning-elemental summon is Ramuh.
Earth[]
It is an rare element, but tends to be very powerful. Galuf Halm Baldesion and Krile Maya Baldesion are associated with it. Earth attacks tend to miss flying or floating targets. The earth-elemental summon is Titan.
Wind[]
Wind is the fourth element the player can have access to near the start of the game. The protagonist, Bartz Klauser, is associated with this element. When boosted, it can be one of the most powerful attacks the player can do with Syldra, as long as the enemies do not resist wind. The player has no equipment that protects against wind damage.
Water[]
Water is a rarer element in Final Fantasy V than others, with only one methods of boosting its power. Lenna is associated with this element. Some desert enemies are especially weak to it. The water-elemental summon is Leviathan.
Poison[]
It is one of the rarer elements of the game, as poison is mostly associated with a status effect, though the HP lost to poison status is fractional and not poison-elemental. There is only one tier of poison-elemental magic (Bio), and few other methods of inflicting it, but the boon is that few enemies also resist it. There is no poison-elemental summon.
Holy[]
It is a rare element and its titular spell is the only purely offensive White Magic spell. There is no equipment to protect against it, but it is very rare for enemies to use holy-elemental attacks. There is no holy-elemental summon. Many undead-type enemies are weak to holy damage.