Barbut (Final Fantasy IX)

The Barbut is an early to mid game helmet in Final Fantasy IX for Steiner and Freya. It teaches Alert to Steiner, which lets the party avoid back attacks, and Dragon Killer for Freya, which improves her damage against dragon type enemies. The Barbut gives a bonus to the wearer's Spirit when they level up with it equipped. The Barbut is used for synthesis.
==Obtain==
The Barbut is bought for 600 gil from Burmecia, Summit Station, Treno (when Dagger and Steiner visit with Marcus), and Alexandria.
==Mechanics==
The Barbut provides 9 Magic Defense, mitigating damage from magic attacks. The helm gives a bonus +2 to the wearer's Spirit when they level up with it equipped. When enough "bonuses" upon level up from gear have been accrued, the character gains a permanent stat increase. Spirit is a generally useful stat to raise, affecting various gameplay mechanics: the HP gained when revived, the duration of expirable statuses, how often Regen and Poison tick, how fast Trance builds or runs out when active, etc.
==Use==
The Barbut is Freya's best helmet for Burmecia, world map exploration after Burmecia, and Cleyra's Trunk, until the superior Mythril Helm can be purchased from Cleyra. The Barbut is Steiner's best helmet for the party's trek across the Aerbs Mountains, the world map areas outside Treno and Treno itself, and the boss in Gargan Roo. Freya and Steiner will be out of the party for a long while of "disc 2" content, and by the time they rejoin, better gear will be available for them.
The Alert ability can be useful when exploring the world map on foot or when in dungeons but will not help in boss battles. The player can equip it if they have spare Magic Stones. Freya's Dragon Killer can be good when she fights dragons, and there are also dragon-type bosses in the game, but it is only compatible with Attack, not Jump.
The stat boost from Barbut is unusually good for an early game helmet, giving +2 to Spirit bonus. Spirit is a generally good stat to raise, but level grinding or min-maxing are unnecessary for a normal playthrough even when preparing for superboss encounters. Numerous helmets have stat-boosting effects.
The Barbut is used to synthesize the Barette. The player can do this the earliest in Lindblum after meeting Ramuh.
Beatrix can also equip the helm for the brief time she is a guest during the Battle of Alexandria, but there is little point in equipping it to her.
==Etymology and origin==
The Barbut in Final Fantasy IX originates from Final Fantasy Tactics where it debuted in the Final Fantasy series.
Category:Armor in Final Fantasy IX