Barrier ( ability ) Barrier is a recurring supportive spell from the " Final Fantasy " series . An upgrade for Barrier exists in the form of Barriera . Appearances . " Final Fantasy II " . Barrier is a White Magic spell that can be cast on one or all allies . When cast on an unit , that unit gains resistance to various elements . The spell ' s success rate and effectiveness at reducing damage increases as it levels up . Any character can learn Barrier by having them use the Barrier Tome ( called the Barrier Scroll in the " Origins " release ) . The following is a list of resistances granted by Barrier at each level in . The resistances differ for the Shld spell from the " Dark Shadow Over Palakia " ( DSOP ) version . In the original Famicom version , the resistance were listed backwards ( for example , level one Barrier would claim to give the level eight resistance ) but the effects were identical to other versions , except for a minor bug , where at level 8 , the spell would not grant protection against Ice . The Emperor in the first battle is able to cast Barrier VIII . In the NES version , the spell was bugged at level 8 and did not grant protection against Ice at all . " Final Fantasy VII " . Barrier is learned by equipping a Barrier Materia and costs 16 MP to cast . The Barrier Materia can be bought from Rocket Town for 10 , 000 gil . The enemies Dark Nation , Death Claw , Adamantaimai , and the boss Gorkii all use the spell against the player . " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " . Barrier is the only defensive non - elemental Magic Materia . " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . Barrier costs 16 MP to cast and grants the status of the same name . The Barrier Materia can be purchased from the Happy Turtle shop for 4 , 000 gil . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . Barrier is the unique ability of Yuna ' s Floral Fallal special dressphere , learned for 20 AP , and costs 36 MP to cast . It completely nullifies all magic damage done to Yuna herself , but not to the Pistils . " Final Fantasy Tactics Advance " . Barrier appears as an high - rank Red Magic spell that bestows the target both the Shell and Protect status effects . It costs 10 MP to cast , has a range of 3 , and can be Stolen through the ability Steal : Ability . Barrier cannot be reflected . " " . Again , the spell Barrier , used by the Bishop ( Tactics A2 ) , has the same effect and is learned through the Pomegranate Staff for 200 AP . It costs 8 MP to cast and can target allies from three spaces away . " Final Fantasy Tactics S " . Barrier was the ability of the Green Mage unit . The ability raised the physical and magic defense of all allies in a cross shaped area . " The Final Fantasy Legend " . Barrier is an ability that has 5 uses and raises the party ' s Def by 10 in battle . " Final Fantasy Legend III " . Barrier is an ability exclusive to Xagor , and halves all damage from all weapons except for the Mystic Swords . " " . The Barrier spell is cast by stacking one Fire ( ability ) and one Clear . It affects a small area . " Final Fantasy Explorers " . Barrier is unique to the Black Mage job , and can only be cast on oneself . It costs 300 AP and has a cooldown time of 60 seconds . The amount of damage nullified is equal to the caster ' s maximum AP , so using equipment traits to boost max AP can be useful for Black Mages . The Barrier will disappear after a set time , even if its durability hasn ' t been reduced to zero . " Chocobo Racing " . Barrier is a special ability which comes equipped on White Mage but can be used by any racer ; once in effect , it will nullify the effect of any spell targeting the character , as well as a couple of other special abilities . If nothing targets the racer after its activation , it will eventually wear off .