Curaja (Final Fantasy XII)

Curaja is a White Magicks spell in Final Fantasy XII, both in the original PlayStation 2 version and the Zodiac re-releases. It is the fourth and highest tier curative spell used to restore HP to all allies in range or for damaging undead enemies, above Cure, Cura, and Curaga.
The boss Ultima may use Curaja against the party when they are reversed.
==Obtained==
Curaja's license costs 80 License Points in the Zodiac versions, where it can be bought for 7,700 gil in Balfonheim Port after the events in Draklor Laboratory.
In the original release, Curaja's license costs 50 LP and the spell is sold for 11,700 gil in Balfonheim.
In the Zodiac versions, Curaja can be used by White Mage, as well as Monk with a Quickening license (75 LP), and by Knight after obtaining Hashmal's license.
The Espers Shemhazai, Hashmal, and Exodus also have Curaja in the Zodiac versions, and have the gambit for Ally: HP < 100% Curaja when there is no enemy in vicinity. Zeromus has it without a default gambit for its use. Cúchulainn has Curaja in all versions, set to use it upon itself when there are no enemies in vicinity and Cúchulainn has lost any amount of health and there are no enemies around to target.
==Mechanics==
Curaja heals a large amount of health to all targets in range. If the targets are undead, they will be damaged instead. Curaja is affected by Reflect, and will never miss. The amount healed depends on the caster's Magick Power stat and Level. Using Curaja to damage the undead gains MP to the user if they have the Warmage license. Curaja's base cost to use is 58 MP in the Zodiac versions, and 68 MP in the original version, but with Channeling licenses the cost is brought down.
The formula for the amount healed/damaged (if undead) is as follows:
:120 x RANDOM(1~1.125) x [2 + MAG x (LV+MAG)/256)]
With the Serenity license or the Magick Gloves accessory, the healing/damage is inflated to 150% when the caster is in full health. With the Spellbreaker license or the Leather Gorget accessory, the healing/damage is inflated to 150% when the caster is in HP Critical. If the caster has Faith, Curaja will also heal/damage for 50% more. The boosts stack multiplicatively.
Because of the Effect Capacity system in the PlayStation 2 versions hindering players from performing special actions or magick spells (as only a limited amount can be performed at once), casting Cura and Curaga under Faith status instead of Curaja is more efficient, and they consume less MP as well, meaning Curaja is still useful even after obtaining the higher-class spell Curaja. In The Zodiac Age, this restriction is no longer in place.
Curaja was made less potent in the Zodiac versions, by lowering its power from 148 to 120, perhaps because damage or healing is no longer capped at 9999; in the original, the player can more easily reach 9999 heal with Curaja, whereas in the Zodiac versions, the player can heal or damage in excess of that.
==Use==
Curaja is a good utility spell the player can easily set up via the gambit system to heal themselves and their allies. It takes the most MP of the cure-line of spells, meaning Cura may be more effective overall, especially if coupled with Faith. Curaja can also be used to damage undead enemies, which is generally better than other offensive spells, as curative spells bypass the target's Magick Resist stat; therefore, using Shear on undead does not make Cure-type spells do more damage. In the Zodiac versions, healing spells are especially a good way for the White Mage job to fight undead enemies. In the Zodiac versions, spells will also deal uncapped damage.
== Etymology ==
Though localized as "Curaja", this spell is actually the recurring "Curaga" spell in the Final Fantasy series, as per its Japanese name. In earlier titles featuring four tier Cure spells, Curada often serves as the third tier of the line. However starting from Final Fantasy V, the four-tier system would often be discarded, with Curaga being the third and strongest of Cure spells, while Curada is often left out. As Final Fantasy XII has four tiers of curative spells, the highest is named "Curaja" in English and "Curaga" is given to the third tier.
Category:White Magicks in Final Fantasy XII