Claws made of mythril.
Description
The Mythril Claws is Amarant's third claw in Final Fantasy IX. It teaches him the Flair ability Curse, which makes an enemy weak to a random element. All of Amarant's weapons besides his ultimate weapon teach Counter, a passive ability that lets him respond to being physically attacked with an Attack of his own. Though it takes a lot of AP to master, this is inconsequential as all of Amarant's weapons have Counter until the final dungeon, and it is impossible to de-equip him of a weapon altogether. The Mythril Claw is a missable weapon, but is not the only source of any abilities or needed for synthesis.
Obtain[]
The claw is sold for 6500 gil in Esto Gaza (before Desert Palace), Oeilvert Mogshop, and Desert Palace Mogshop. All of these locations become inaccessible as the player enters the Shimmering Island portal. Zidane can also steal the claw off the boss of Ipsen's Castle.
Mechanics[]
The Mythril Claws' damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
- Base = 39 - Enemy's Defense
- Bonus = Strength + A random value 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8]
- Damage = Base * Bonus
The damage is then modified by variables like Amarant's row position and equipped Killer abilities and MP Attack, as well as the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, his Bonus would be 1. If Amarant 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 = 21 - Enemy's Defense
Use[]
The Mythril Claws is only briefly Amarant's strongest weapon. It is available to buy when the player gains access to the Blue Narciss, but at this point they can already progress the Chocobo Hot and Cold quest to the point they can reach the Forgotten Lagoon and get the Dragon's Claws. However, the ability from the claw, Curse, is quickly mastered at 20 AP. It is a niche ability but can to use, such as when waiting for Zidane to steal items from an enemy.
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
The word "mythril" or "mithril" is a metal found in many fantasy worlds. It was originally introduced by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, being present in his Middle-earth. It resembles silver but is stronger than steel, and much lighter in weight than either. The author first wrote of it in The Lord of the Rings, and it is retrospectively mentioned in the third, revised edition of The Hobbit in 1966. In the first 1937 edition, the mail shirt given to Bilbo is described as being made of "silvered steel". The name mithril comes from two words in Sindarin—mith, meaning "grey" or "mist", and ril meaning "glitter".