Power Belt (Final Fantasy IX)

The Power Belt is a mid game add-on in Final Fantasy IX that everyone can equip. It teaches Counter, which has the attacker automatically retaliate when hit by an enemy; Fira, the second tier Fire spell for Vivi; and MP Attack, which expends the character's MP to deal more damage with Attack, stacking with other enhancements like Killer abilities. The Power Belt give a high bonus to the wearer's Strength when they level up with it equipped. The Power Belt is made via synthesis and is itself used to make a top tier helm. It is a missable equipment piece.
==Obtain==
Four-armed Man appears during Active Time Events both times the storyline calls for the party to visit Treno. During Garnet and Steiner's stay, the player can view an Active Time Event called "Treno Tradition", in which Garnet is mugged by a pickpocket called Four-armed Man. During this event, an exclamation mark will appear, and if the player presses when the ! appears, Garnet loses 500 gil. The sum is 1000 gil if the player misses. After witnessing the event, Steiner can go to the same location (outside the synthesis shop) where the Four-armed Man hands over a Power Belt.
The Power Belt is also synthesized in Lindblum (second storyline visit onward), Black Mage Village (before entering the Shimmering Island portal), Treno (after returning from the Outer Continent), Alexandria (after getting Blue Narciss), and Daguerreo for 2,000 gil, a Glass Buckle, and the Chain Mail. Glass Buckle is also made via synthesis, but the Chain Mail is missable: it is only sold in Treno and Lindblum before going to the Outer Continent, and in Cleyra, an unrevisitable location. If the player did not conserve any Chain Mails, then they cannot make a Power Belt, and the ATEs with the Four-armed Man in Treno are also missable events. If the player misses the Power Belt, they cannot synthesize a Grand Helm.
==Mechanics==
The Power Belt gives +2 to Defense and a +3 bonus to the wearer's Strength when they level with it equipped. When enough "bonuses" upon level up from gear have been accrued, the character gains a permanent stat increase. Strength is used in damage calculations and determines the character's HP growth.
The Power Belt is among the best Strength-boosting equipment pieces in the game, alongside the Barette and the Dark Matter.
==Use==
The Power Belt is good to get at the earliest as it has both good abilities and an excellent level up bonus for a physical attacker. Counter is good for every physical attacker, but perhaps best on Steiner. Fira is a great spell for Vivi, though he has other sources for it, and MP Attack is useful for anyone who uses Attack often, but perhaps especially for Zidane who does not use much MP outside of his Trance.
The belt's level up bonus is excellent but level grinding and min-maxing is unnecessary for a normal playthrough even when preparing for superboss encounters; the player can view any extra stats as simply a nice bonus. The best stat-boosting gear will be available at the end of the game and so for the best stats one would need to curb their EXP intake until then.
The Power Belt is used in synthesis to make the Grand Helm at the end of the game.
Category:Add-ons in Final Fantasy IX