Weather ( Tactics ) Weather can occur during battle in " Final Fantasy Tactics " . It is a relatively small part of the game , but the different weather conditions do have an influence on the battle system . Mechanics . Weather conditions never change during a battle . Whatever weather condition is present at the start of the battle persists throughout the whole fight . The specific weather patterns the player might see depend on which map they ' re fighting on . Possible weather patterns . General outdoor maps . This includes most areas in the game — including all overworld random battles , and many story battles . In these areas , the weather effects can change in two ways , based on the time of day and on whether there are any storms . Twilight battles also exist where the screen is tinted gold . In gameplay terms , this is the same as a Day battle . A light rain is treated the same as a clear sky . A light rain and a rainstorm actually look pretty similar — the difference is just in how quickly and frequently the raindrops fall . Weather effects . There are three categories of weather effects : Snowfield maps . Battles that take place in a snowy area have a different set of possible weather patterns . Indoor maps . There is no weather indoors , and so there are never any weather effects . Battles that take place indoors include a number of story battles and Midlight ' s Deep . Aside from Midlight ' s Deep , random battles do not take place indoors . Even though it ' s pitch black in the Midlight ' s Deep , the accuracy of bows and crossbows does not decrease . Ignore Weather ability . Movement through Swamp and Poisonous Fen tiles is slowed during a rainstorm or thunderstorm . This penalty can be eliminated by equipping the Mystic ' s Ignore Weather movement ability . Ignore Weather does not change or ignore the accuracy penalty of bows and crossbows , nor the effects on elemental damage . When do weather patterns occur ? Story battles and Rendezvous . Each battle has a predetermined weather pattern and there is no randomness involved . Overworld random battles and the Ivalician calendar . Outside of Midlight ' s Deep , weather patterns in random battles are randomly determined . The type of weather patterns likely to be encountered depend on the current date . Some months in the Ivalician calendar ( below ) are designated " dry months , " whereas other are designated " wet months . " Thunderstorms are much more common during Wet months . Below is listed the approximate frequencies of each weather kind of pattern during Dry Months and during Wet Months . There are six possible weather patterns . This applies only to random battles — story battles always have a predetermined weather pattern . Melee . Weather patterns in Melee are based on the chosen map . It appears that " random battle " wilderness maps have a random weather pattern , whereas maps that are only used in story battles have the same weather pattern as the first story battle at that location . The maps with special weather effects are : All other maps never have special weather effects . Weather and terrain . The weather and terrain on the battlefield can have a ( limited ) influence on the battle mechanics . Normally a character can move a number of squares equal to their Move statistic , so moving one square uses one ' Move Point ' . Water . When moving through flowing water , moving one square instead uses two Move Points . A character cannot advance a square in flowing water unless they have two Move Points left . This means if a character has a Move of five , they will only be able to move two squares in flowing water . This effect is nullified if the unit in question has the movement abilities Ignore Terrain or Waterwalking equipped . Stagnant water has no effect on Move under normal conditions . However , if it is raining heavily or thunderstorming , stagnant water ( as in marshes and small ponds ) also requires two Move Points to traverse one square . This effect is nullified if the unit in question has the movement abilities Ignore Weather or Waterwalking equipped . When standing in water , a character is considered to be at a height equal to the stated height of the panel minus the depth of the water , unless they have an ability that changes this such as Float ( which allows the character to hover 1h over the water ) or Swim ( which allows the character to walk on the water ) . If a unit is submerged in water 2h deep or greater , the unit cannot Act or use reaction abilities ( including Reflex es and Shirahadori , which will become disabled ) . This effect is neutralized if the unit has the Float status or the movement abilities Swim or Waterwalking . Thunderstorms . In some battles , thunderstorms occur . If this is the case , damage from Lightning - elemental spells = [ normal damage * 5 / 4 ] and damage from Fire - elemental spells = [ normal damage * 3 / 4 ] . This effect is also nullified if the caster has the Any Weather ability . Snowstorms . In the case of a snowstorm during battle , damage from Ice - elemental spells = [ normal damage * 5 / 4 ] . This , too , is nullified if the caster has Any Weather . Shooting in the dark . When the battle takes place at night , there is an accuracy penalty charged to users of bows and crossbows . A target ' s evade percentages ( P . CEv , P . SEv , P . AEv ) are increased as follows : This doesn ' t apply for guns . Midlight ' s Deep , although pitch black , is considered an indoor area , thus without weather effects and the accuracy penalty doesn ' t occur . Ignore Weather ability . Normally , a character can walk over marsh squares without suffering the water penalty . However , if it is raining heavily in a marshland , a similar penalty is faced — a character must use two movement points for every square of marsh they move over . If the Ignore Weather ability is equipped , that penalty will not take effect . In addition , weather effects on magick ( increase in Lightning damage and decrease in Fire damage during thunderstorms ) are nullified if the caster has Ignore Weather . Overall this ability has limited uses in the game . Another curiosity : the programmers gave the Automaton class Ignore Terrain and Ignore Weather inherent , but they also gave it Cannot enter water inherent , making Ignore Terrain and Ignore Weather useless , as the elemental effect won ' t hit the Automaton .