Staff with a divine thunder power dwelling inside.
Description
The Lightning Staff is Vivi's Thunder-elemental staff in Final Fantasy IX. It teaches him the Thundara spell, which lets him do Thunder damage to one or all targets in a group, and Poison, which attempts to poison an enemy or or a group of enemies so they take passive damage over time. The Lightning Staff deals Thunder damage with Attack, but does not improve Vivi's Thunder-casting.
Obtain[]
The Lightning Staff is found in Burmecia's Vault where moogles can be met 
. Marcus can also steal it from Black Waltz 3 during the time he is a guest, and it can be bought for 1200 gil from Treno (when Garnet and Steiner visit), Lindblum (second storyline visit), Conde Petie, Black Mage Village (before going through the Shimmering Island portal), and Alexandria.
Mechanics[]
The Lightning Staff's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
- Base = 16 - Enemy's Defense
- Bonus = Strength + A random value 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8]
- Damage = Base * Bonus
The damage is then modified by variables like Vivi's row position and the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, his Bonus would be 1. If Vivi equips Healer, damage is converted to healing.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and the Base part of the damage formula is altered to:
- Base = 44 - Enemy's Defense
The Lightning Staff deals Thunder damage with Attack (and via Steiner's Charge!), meaning it will do 150% damage to those weak to Thunder, half damage to those who resist Thunder, no damage to those who nullify Thunder, and heals those who absorb Thunder. The staff does not strengthen Vivi's lightning magic, but it itself can be strengthened via equipping a Flash Hat, stacking against an enemy's weakness to Thunder. However, this functionality is not particularly useful for Vivi, who is better off dealing Thunder damage with his spells.
Use[]
The Lightning Staff is Vivi's Thunder-elemental weapon, teaching him the Thundara spell that remains useful for the whole game, as well as Poison. It is the counterpart to Vivi's other elemental weapons, Flame Staff and Ice Staff, acquired around the same time. The Lightning Staff is the earliest of them found as a treasure. The three staves remain Vivi's good weapons to use for Burmecia, world map exploration, Cleyra's Trunk, Cleyra bosses, and Alexandria Castle, though the superior Oak Staff can be acquired very early if the player prioritizes Chocobo Hot and Cold.
The Thundara spell from the Lightning Staff will be useful in the fight against the Armodullahan. Thundara remains Vivi's best Lightning spell for most of the game, until he can procure the Octagon Rod much later. The Flash Hat that strengthens his lightning magic is not available until after Vivi already has access to Thundaga, however.
As staves only offer Attack power and have no effect on Vivi's spellcasting ability, his weapon stats are less relevant to him than what abilities they teach. One Lightning Staff is needed to synthesize a Coral Ring.
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