Equipment Equipment is common to many role - playing games ; the " Final Fantasy " series is no different . Equipment in Final Fantasy is generally divided into three categories : Weapons , Armor , and Accessories . Nearly every playable character in the series has a variety of equippable Weapons , which generally determine attack power , element and status effects for the Attack command and other physical abilities . In almost every " Final Fantasy " game , Armor can also be worn to increase a character ' s defense . The number of armor slots available range from a single bracelet or shield in " Final Fantasy VII " and " Final Fantasy X " , to the many equipment slots in " Final Fantasy XI " allowing armor to be equipped to a character ' s head , neck , body , legs , hands , feet , back , and waist in addition to using shields and wearing rings and earrings . Accessories are often included to provide a number of different special effects , from preventing status ailments to changing one command ability to another to inverting the effects of recovery items . In several games , multiple accessories can be equipped at once : two accessory slots are available in " Final Fantasy VI " and " Final Fantasy X - 2 " , a maximum of four slots can be gained in " Final Fantasy XIII " and " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " , and up to ten different accessories can be equipped simultaneously in " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . Most commonly , the equipment slots available allow a character to equip a weapon , an off - hand item such as a shield or second weapon , headgear , body armor , and one or more accessories . Appearances . " Final Fantasy " . There are five equipment slots : Weapon , Shield , Helmet , Armor , and Gloves . In the original NES version , each character had eight slots to hold pieces of equipment in — four for weapons and four for armor . This was removed in the remakes , making all non - equipped equipment held in the inventory . " Final Fantasy II " . Characters can equip weapons or shields in their right or left hands . Depending on their prominent hand , weapons may get a decrease in potency when equipped in the wrong hand . Armor is equipped on the head , body , or arms . In the original NES and PlayStation versions , items to be used in battle are also equipped , being able to be exclusively used by the person who equipped them . " Final Fantasy III " . Characters can equip equipment on their right hand , left hand , head , body , and arms . Unlike later games , characters can dual wield weapons without any penalties or abilities . " Final Fantasy IV " . There are five slots available for equipment : Right Hand , Left Hand , Head , Body and Arms . Depending on the character ' s prominent hand , weapons and shields are equipped in different slots . Yang and Edge can equip two weapons at once . " Final Fantasy V " . Characters can equip up to five items at once : one in each hand , one on the head , on the body and an accessory . " Final Fantasy VI " . Characters have a total of six equipment slots . Two slots , right and left arm , exist for weapons and / or shields , but two weapons can only be wielded if the Genji Glove is equipped . Gau and Umaro can ' t equip weapons , and Umaro can ' t equip anything but Relics specific to him . Two slots exist for head and body for armor and two further slots for Relics ( accessories ) exist , which can be equipped for various boosts and resistances . Not every character can equip every type of equipment , and some equipment pieces are character - specific . Imp equipment is a special type of equipment only characters afflicted with the Imp status can equip . " Final Fantasy VII " . All characters have three equipment slots available : " Weapon " which is required to be filled , " Armor " , and " Accessory " . Player can assign Materia to currently equipped weapons and armor . " Final Fantasy VIII " . Uniquely in the series , all characters have access only to the " Weapon " slot which is required to be filled . " Final Fantasy X " . All party members are required to be equipped with a weapon , while the " Armor " slot is an optional to be filled . All pieces of equipment are exclusive to one party member , and typically contain one to four slots for Auto - Abilities . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . Weapons are tied to dressphere s and and each girl dons a different looking weapon to differentiate them . For the " Equip " option in the menu each girl can change her Garment Grid , dressphere set in the currently equipped Garment Grid , and can optionally fill two " Accessory " slots . " Final Fantasy XIII " . Each character starts with a " Weapon " slot which is required to be filled at all times and one " Accessory " slot which is not required to be filled . In the main story , two more " Accessory " slots are unlocked by advancing through the characters ' Crystaria , and defeating the final boss allows player to acquire fourth " Accessory " slot from the final Crystarium expansion . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . Both Serah and Noel start with the " Weapon " slot which is required to be filled , and four " Accessory " slots which doesn ' t require to be filled . Additionally , they both start with fifty " Accessory Capacity " points , and can raise the number of points by advancing through the Crystarium ; the number of points increases respectively by 20 , 20 , and 10 points for a maximum of 100 points . Human characters available through the downloadable content as Paradigm Pack allies have set weapons and they cannot be changed . Also , they cannot be equipped with accessories to enhance their battle performance . The only way to add ' equipment ' for the allies is equipping them with an adornment which serves only as an aesthetic change and doesn ' t grant any bonuses . Lightning is required to be equipped with a , , and . Head and arm along with decorative are optional . " Final Fantasy XIV " . Each character is required to be equipped with something in the main hand , which determines their class . Other pieces of armor can be equipped : the head , body , legs , and gloves are on the left side of the character , while the earrings , necklace , bracelets , and two ring slots are on the left side . Most pieces of equipment offer stat bonuses , which can be augmented by Materia to a certain extent . There is also high - quality equipment , which gives slightly higher attack and defense bonuses and give heightened stat boosts , equal to the maximum amount of stat bonuses able to be applied to that piece using Materia . Aetherial equipment can be found in dungeons , and , in addition to the regular bonuses found on that piece of equipment , also have randomized bonuses already on them . As a trade - off , however , Materia cannot be melded onto them . " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " . Each character ' s equipment consists of a weapon , two accessories , two commands , and one defense command . Weapons must be equipped at all times , while the two commands can be selected from abilities or magic . If additional costumes are acquired by the player , then they can be changed here as well . Notably , the Equip menu is only accessible from the Save point . " Final Fantasy Adventure " . Sumo can equip up to one weapon or spell . Unlike other games , items must be equipped in order for the player to use them . " The Final Fantasy Legend " . The player can equip weapons , armor , spells , items , and abilities under the Equip menu . The maximum of eight things can be equipped per characters . " Final Fantasy Legend II " . Unlike many RPGs , the player can equip weapons , armor , spells , items , and abilities under the Equip menu . Up to eight things can be equipped per characters . " Final Fantasy Legend III " . Like many traditional RPGs , up to eight piece of equipment can be equipped on the four main characters . One slot for weapons , five slots for armor , and two slots for accessories . Temporary party members are limited in what they can equip . " Bravely Default " . Characters have equipment slots for the right and left hands , head armor , torso armor , an accessory , and an alternate costume if available . The Equip menu can be cycled with the Job , Ability , and Special menus via the analog stick , allowing for easy switching between characters and menus .