1000 Needles (Final Fantasy XII)

1000 Needles is a Technick in Final Fantasy XII that deals 1000 fixed damage to a target. It is purchased from a shop in the original PlayStation 2 version, and is found in a treasure in the Zodiac versions. In the original version, all player characters who have the License Board can activate it. In the Zodiac versions, it is used by certain jobs as well as Reddas.
The Flowering Cactoid can use it against the player party.
==Obtain==
The license for 1000 Needles costs 35 License Points. In the original PlayStation 2 version, 1000 Needles is sold in Mosphoran Highwaste for 7000 gil after defeating Judge Bergan.
In the Zodiac versions, the Technick is found in Sochen Cave Palace Falls of Time area. The treasure always appears, but the player needs to solve the waterfall puzzle. The player should start within the Falls of Time area and travel through the southeast-most door and proceed clockwise. Each time one enters into the Falls of time area, a message appears that the waterfalls have changed their course. At the end, the player will receive the message "You hear a door open in the distance". From then on it does not matter what order the player enters or exits the Falls of Time area. The process is shown in this video.
In the Zodiac versions, the 1000 Needles license can be used by the job classes Bushi, Shikari, and Archer, though the latter requires Ultima or Zodiark to reach the license. Many jobs can give Archer access to the 1000 Needles Technick by virtue of having Infuse, which is next to 1000 Needles on the Archer's board. Shikari does the reverse; it has 1000 Needles, and thus gives Archer Infuse. Reddas also has it when he is in the party has a guest.
==Mechanics==
1000 Needles deals exactly 1000 damage to a target regardless of their defenses, unless they are immune to physical damage outright. It awakes sleeping targets and if the user has Inquisitor license, they gain MP for using it. It hits flying enemies. In the Zodiac versions, it has 100% base accuracy.
:Success~Chance \%= Base~Chance + (User's~Level - Target's~Level) 
If the user's level exceeds the target's, the chance becomes:
:Success~Chance \% = 3 \times (User's~Level - Target's~Level) + Base~Chance
==Use==
Even if the user is blinded, 1000 Needle's base hit chance barely decreases; it is helpful when using Sight Unseeing, which requires its user to be blind. 1000 Needles can expedite the controlled demise of enemies, such as bosses whose defense powers up when in HP Critical, when paired with gambits such as "Foe: HP<=1000: 1000 Needles". Its controllability can also aid in getting enemies to the health required for poaching.
As 1000 Needles hits flying enemies, the player can use it if they lack a suitable weapon for hitting flyers.
By the time the player gets it, they can do more damage with Attack, and so the uses for 1000 Needles are limited. It could be useful against Chaos where the Attack command is sealed, though Gil Toss, another fixed damage ability, may be preferable.
1000 Needles is useful for spawning Cultsworn Lich from a regular Lich in Tomb of Raithwall.
==Citations==
Category:Technicks in Final Fantasy XII