Spirit ( stat ) Spirit , also called Will , is a recurring stat in some of the " Final Fantasy " series and it has had various uses . In some games it acts as the game ' s Magic Defense , but in others it can affect the outcomes of spells and other skills . Appearances . " Final Fantasy II " . Spirit is a measure of the character ' s White Magic spell potency . The Spirit stat is increased by using White Magic spells in combat . " Final Fantasy IV " . Spirit , called " Will " in the SNES version , is a measure of White Magic ability . The higher the stat is , the more powerful White Magic spells are . Rosa Joanna Farrell has the highest Spirit stat in the game . The base spell multiplier is Spirit / 4 + 1 . " Final Fantasy IV - Interlude - " . Spirit returns in the sequel to " Final Fantasy IV " , and works the same way as it did in that game . Spirit is calculated the same way as has its predecessors . " Final Fantasy VII " . Spirit determines defense against magic attacks , and is meant to be a stat factored in when calculating a character ' s Magic Defense ; the player ' s overall Magic Defense was intended to be a sum of the character ' s Spirit stat and the MDef value of their armor . However , due to a bug in the coding , the MDef value is not used and Spirit alone determines the character ' s Magic Defense , until the bug was finally fixed for the 2012 PC re - release . When Spirit is maxed out at 255 the character takes roughly half damage from magical attacks , compared to if their Spirit was 0 . Piercing magical attacks ignore the target ' s Magic Defense , but there are only a few in the whole game , such as Pandora ' s Box and Mega Flare . Spirit can be upgraded with the Mind Source item and by equipping certain accessories . The stat will naturally grow as the characters level up . Differences between characters are small , but Barret has the lowest natural Spirit of all playable characters , and Aeris has the highest . The amount a character ' s natural Spirit stat goes up per level up is randomized , but the game is programmed in a way the characters can never stray too far from the intended average . " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . The Spirit stat determines the amount of damage taken from magic attacks . It may be improved by equipping Materia that give stat boosts or accessories . The player can add to the Materia ' s Spirit stat with Materia Fusion and by using items during the Fusion that add to Spirit . Zack ' s base Spirit stat is a fixed number and depends on his level , unlike in " Final Fantasy VII " where stat growth is random . After level 75 the Spirit growth halts and grows only a little bit . " Final Fantasy VIII " . Spirit measures the ability to defend against magical attacks . The characters ' base stats are low and increase only a little by leveling up . Of the main playable characters , Rinoa has the highest base Spirit , and Zell the lowest . The main way to upgrade a character ' s Spirit is to junction magic to the stat via the Guardian Force s ' Spr - J ability . A number of GFs learn the ability naturally , and the Spr - J Scroll can also be purchased from Pet Shops to teach the ability to any GF . The best spells to junction to Spirit are Ultima , Full - Life , or Reflect . The GFs also learn Spirit Plus % abilities , which boost the character ' s Spirit by a fixed percent when equipped . Another way to boost Spirit is to use Leviathan ' s or Cactuar ' s Spr Bonus ability , which adds + 1 to Spirit when the character levels up . The player can also Devour a high - level Malboro for permanent + 1 Spirit boost . The Spr Up item also adds + 1 to the character ' s base Spirit , but is a rare item , although it ' s possible to refine it with Doomtrain ' s Forbidden Med - RF ability . The Vit 0 status effect reduces the target ' s Vitality and Spirit to 0 , making them absolutely vulnerable to damage . " Final Fantasy IX " . Spirit in " Final Fantasy IX " affects many things in gameplay , many invisible to the player . Spirit ' s Effects . Spirit affects the amount of damage dealt with Thief Swords and Knight Swords . Spirit affects the accuracy rate of Zidane ' s Steal command ( although the effect is minor and bypassed when Bandit is equipped ) and Vivi ' s Meteor spell , and affects the characters ' Counterattack and critical hit chances . Spirit also affects the outcomes of magic spells and other skills . Life , Full Life , Revive command and Phoenix revive the character with more HP the higher their Spirit . Spare Change deals more damage the higher the character ' s Spirit . The character reaches Trance faster the higher their Spirit , especially with High Tide equipped . Trance also lasts longer the higher the character ' s Spirit . Duration of Status Effects . Spirit determines the duration of a status effect ; positive status effects last longer the higher the character ' s Spirit , while negative status effects wear off faster the higher the character ' s Spirit . It also affects status effects that have a delayed effect , like Regen and Poison ; the higher the character ' s Spirit , the more often does Regen heal the character , and the less frequently does Poison sap their HP . The effect duration for status spells and attacks is decided by the target ' s Spirit , the status given , and the target ' s current status ( Haste , Slow , or none ) . First , a time limit is established by multiplying the target ' s Spirit by the base limit of the status . Doom and Gradual Petrify are , in fact , worsened by high Spirit . The time limit will decrease by a rate of deduction dictated by the target ' s current status . When the time limit reaches zero , the status is removed , or , in the case of Doom and Gradual Petrify , the inflicted are incapacitated . Rates of deduction are dictated by the Battle Speed setting chosen in the Config menu . Max Battle Speed : Medium Battle Speed : Slow Battle Speed : The duration in seconds of a status ' s effect can be determined by Time limit / Deduction per second . For delayed effect statuses a secondary " hit " timer is established that acts as spacer between the addition or subtraction of Hit Points . The hit timer follows the same rate of deduction as the status ' s time limit . Venom is not a timed status and therefore is not removed until cured . To derive a hits - to - Spirit formula from this information , it must be noted that each hit timer reset has the effect of an extra deduction from the duration timer . When less remains of the hit timer than can be wholly deducted from , that , too , must be accounted for . It ' s quite possible that neither will make a difference to how many hits the target will receive in most cases , but for the sake of technical accuracy , it means that two formulas are required . If the hit timer is evenly divisible by the rate of deduction , this formula can be used to calculate how many hits will be given . : If the hit timer is not evenly divisible by the rate of deduction , the formula requires some extra steps : How a Character ' s Spirit Value is Determined . Formula for Spirit : The SprBase values differ from character to character , but never change . The SprBonus is the only way the player can affect the Spirit growth and every level the bonus goes up by a rate that ' s worked out from the character ' s current stat increases . For example , if the character has equipment that gives 3 extra Spirit , then SprBonus will go up 3 every time they level up . In addition the SprBonus will go up by 1 per level . Zidane has the highest base Spirit of all characters , and Quina the lowest , but it is possible to max out everyone ' s Spirit to the highest possible value of 50 . " Final Fantasy Adventure " . Will increases the speed of the gauge allowing the Will Bar to fill up quicker . Will maxes out at 99 and even if Sumo is under the maximum level and still continues to increase Will , it will never increase beyond 99 . Spirit determines the power of healing spells . Healing jobs , such as the White Mage , thus have the highest Spirit stat . When in animal form the characters ' Spirit is reduced to 70 % of their normal , unless they equip the Beastmaster job , which doubles their power in animal form . " Final Fantasy Explorers " . Spirit determines how effective healing spells are . It does not affect Regen .