Cause healing and damage to have the opposite effect on one foe.
Description
Reverse is a Green Magick spell in the Zodiac versions of Final Fantasy XII, and an Arcane Magick spell in the original PlayStation 2 version. It is a single-target status ailment spell that briefly reverses healing and damage to the target. Though Reverse status is classified as an ailment, the player is more likely to use it on their own party than onto enemies, so the enemies' attacks will heal them instead of damaging them; the player needs to be careful as the status runs out very quickly.
The Zodiac versions add a Reverse Mote item that is an alternate way to use the spell.
Obtained[]
Reverse's license costs 50 License Points in the Zodiac versions, where the spell is bought for 7000 gil from the Clan Provisioner in Rabanastre's Muthru Bazaar after the player has the rank of Knight of the Round in the Clan Centurio, reached after felling 32 marks and amassing 500,000 clan points by defeating enemies.
In the original version, Reverse's license costs 70 LP and the spell is bought for 7600 gil from the Clan Provisioner with the rank of Headhunter, reached by felling 10 marks and amassing 30,000 clan points. The spell is also sold in Phon Coast and, after obtaining the Treaty-Blade, on the Rabanastre–Bhujerba Skyferry route.
In the Zodiac versions, Reverse can be used by the job classes White Mage, Red Battlemage, Time Battlemage, and Black Mage.
Mechanics[]
Reverse attempts to inflict the status of the same name to one target that briefly reverses the effects of healing and damage. Exceptions include Drain and Leech, Syphon, Poison, Sap, Regen, Phoenix Down, Knot of Rust, Dark Matter, Quickenings, Technicks, and Zodiark's Final Eclipse.
The Reverse status can be removed with Esuna.
The formula for the duration is:
The duration depends on the receiver's Vitality stat, not the caster's. Haste and Slow do not affect the length other status effects will last, but Stop will halt them. Reverse has the shortest duration of any status in the game.
The base success rate of the spell against a target that is not immune is 70%.
The hit rate is improved by further 50% with the caster having Faith status, and is doubled with Serenity license/Magick Gloves when on full health, or Spellbreaker license/Leather Gorget when in critical health. Target's Shell halves the accuracy of the spell. If the caster is wearing the Indigo Pendant, Reverse will succeed unless the enemy is immune to the status.
The accuracy underflow bug is a glitch in early versions of Final Fantasy XII where a low level character with extremely low Magick Power stat attempts to use a status move on a target with very high Vitality, and the accuracy of the spell becomes less than zero. In this case the accuracy will underflow to 100%, allowing certain status spells to always succeed.
Reverse costs 20 MP to cast without Channeling licenses in the Zodiac versions, and 50 MP in the original. The spell will bounce from Reflect unless the caster wears the Opal Ring.
Use[]
Reverse is a status affliction spell the player can easily set up via the gambit system (such as with Ally:Name→Reverse or Ally:HP Critical→Reverse). It is best used situationally; although the status is classed as "negative", it can be beneficial in long battles by casting Reverse on one or all members of the party so all attacks from the enemy will heal them, making them essentially invincible for a short time. If any party members have an Esuna gambit active, they will immediately attempt to remove the status due to its negative classification. Save crystals will also remove Reverse.
If the player has a gambit set to heal, a Reversed character would instead be hurt. If a character has Reverse status and they are stopped, Reverse will not wear off until Stop does. This can be used for strategic advantage against enemies that use the gambit Foe:nearest visible, by placing a stopped and reversed character near the foe, letting the character attract all of the enemy's attacks, while the other party members can attack from distance with ranged weapons.
Useful applications for the spell when used on the player's own party could be when trying to get past the normal enemies in the tough sections of Henne Mines or Subterra, in the Trial Mode, and against superbosses, especially Omega Mark XII, which tends to be so fast it can outpace the player's healing. In these battles the player is in danger of running out of MP as the spell would need to be re-applied constantly; therefore, equipping a Turtleshell Choker to expend gil over MP may help if the player has sufficient funds. Another good accessory to use is the Indigo Pendant to assure the spell always takes effect. The downside would be that such a boss strategy would be both boring and tedious.
The player can also use Reverse as a "healing spell" with a Ally:HP Critical→Reverse or similar, so whenever a party member is in a perilous situation, they will not immediately get taken out by the enemy's next attack. However, using restorative spells or items would be much more MP-efficient. On the other hand, there are benefits for having a party member deliberately in the HP Critical range in the forms of Last Stand augment activating and their combo rate skyrocketing.
Reverse can be useful against Deathgaze, a mark easily defeated with Reverse, Renew, and a simple Cure spell. After casting Reverse on Deathgaze, the party only needs to cast Renew that will leave it with 1 HP, and then use the Cure spell to finish it off.
Reverse can be cast by Deathgaze and Judge Ghis in the Trial Mode. Elza in the Trial Mode additionally uses Reverse Motes, and Zalera uses Level 5 Reverse.
Reverse can be useful in a New Game Minus playthrough to survive against various enemies. In New Game Minus, the status will also last longer as the party will have low Vitality.