Thunder (Final Fantasy V)

Thunder, also known as Bolt, is a Black Magic spell in Final Fantasy V. It is the basic lightning-elemental spell that can be acquired early in the game, and can be used to hit one target or an entire party. Thunder is usable by the Black Magic and Red Magic skillsets (and can be used twice with Dualcast), and can also be used as a Spellblade. Thunder is also one of the spells that can be cast for free from the Wonder Wand, and is an Added Ability to the Blitz Whip, activating 33% of the time when attacking with it.
Thunder is also an enemy ability that can be used by Magissa, Mani Wizard, Siren, Reflect Mage, and Archeoaevis.
==Obtained==
Thunder can be purchased for 150 gil at Tule, Carwen, Karnak, or Crescent. Tule is the earliest place Thunder can be obtained. Once it is purchased, it can be used by any of the skillsets with the spell.
==Mechanics==
As a spell, Thunder's damage is calculated as follows:
:Attack = 15 + (0..(15/8))
:M = (Level*Magic Power)/256 + 4
:Defense = Magic Defense
:Damage = (Attack - Defense) * M
If the target absorbs lightning, it is healed instead of damaged; if it is immune to lightning, the attack misses. If the target resists lightning, the Attack modifier in the formula is halved, but if it is weak to lightning, the modifier is doubled and the attack ignores the target's Magic Defense. Thunder is affected by reflect.
Several pieces of equipment increase the power of elemental attacks by 50%. The bonus is applied before subtracting the opponent's Magic Defense. The weapons that boost lightning are the Black Mage's Thunder Rod and Magus Rod, and the Ranger's Thunder Bow. The mix Elemental Power empowers all elements.
==Use==
Black Mages can use Thunder early on as a basic offensive spell. It is best used against enemies weak to lightning, and around the time it is first available, will likely kill them in one hit. Because the spell costs little MP to cast, there is little harm in using it often, though it is normally most MP-efficient and turn-efficient to hit a group of enemies rather than a single target.
Thunder is outclassed by Thundara in terms of damage output, and when the player has access to Red Mage and Mystic Knight, Thundara is quickly available. Though Thunder can still be cast by Black and Red Mages if the player wishes to conserve MP, Thundara's MP cost is not much higher. Mystic Knights can forego Thunder entirely in favor of Thundara, because Spellblade only needs to use MP once to charge the weapon.
By the time Ramuh, and later Thundaga, are obtained, Thunder is effectively obsolete.
==Gallery==
FFV Thunder.png|Black Magic (GBA).
FFV Android Thunder.png|Black Magic (2013).
Thunder Blade from FFV Advance.png|Spellblade (GBA).
FFV iOS Thunder Sword.PNG|Spellblade (2013).
Category:Black Magic in Final Fantasy V