Flame Staff (Final Fantasy IX)

The Flame Staff is Vivi's Fire-elemental staff in Final Fantasy IX. It teaches him the Fira spell, which lets him do Fire damage to one or all targets in a group, and Sleep, which attempts to debilitate an enemy, making them unable to act for a time and vulnerable to damage. The Flame Staff deals Fire damage with Attack, but does not improve Vivi's Fire-casting.
==Obtain==
Marcus can steal the Flame Staff from Black Waltz 3 during the time the boss is fought with Dagger as party leader. It is soon after also found in Cleyra's Trunk near the top , and bought in Treno (during the time Dagger is party leader), Cleyra, Lindblum (second storyline visit), Conde Petie, Black Mage Village (before going through Shimmering Island portal), and Alexandria for 1100 gil.
==Mechanics==
The Flame Staff's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
:Base = 16 - Enemy's Defense
:Bonus = Strength + A random value 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8]
:Damage = Base * Bonus 
The damage is then modified by variables like Vivi's row position and the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, his Bonus would be 1. If Vivi equips Healer, damage is converted to healing.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and the Base part of the damage formula is altered to:
:Base = 44 - Enemy's Defense
The Flame Staff deals Fire damage with Attack (and via Steiner's Charge!), meaning it will do 150% damage to those weak to Fire, half damage to those who resist Fire, no damage to those who nullify Fire, and heals those who absorb Fire. The staff does not strengthen Vivi's Fire magic, but it itself can be strengthened via equipping a Red Hat, stacking against an enemy's weakness to Fire. However, this functionality is not particularly useful for Vivi, who is better off dealing Fire damage with his spells.
==Use==
The Flame Staff is Vivi's Fire-elemental weapon, teaching him the Fira spell that remains useful for the whole game, as well as Sleep. It is the counterpart to Vivi's other elemental weapons, Ice Staff and Lightning Staff, acquired around the same time. They remain Vivi's good weapons to use for Burmecia, world map exploration, Cleyra's Trunk, Cleyra bosses, and Alexandria Castle, though the superior Oak Staff can be acquired very early if the player prioritizes Chocobo Hot and Cold. If the player did not steal the Flame Staff from the Black Waltz 3 as Marcus, the player can still save their money while in Treno and skip buying it there, as the staff can be found in the next dungeon Vivi is heading to: Cleyra's Trunk.
The Fira spell from the Flame Staff will be useful in the fight against Tantarian. Fira remains Vivi's best Fire spell for most of the game, until he can procure the Octagon Rod much later.
As staves only offer Attack power and have no effect on Vivi's spellcasting ability, his weapon stats are less relevant to him than what abilities they teach. As the Flame Staff offers no boost to Vivi's Fire-elemental spellcasting, the player can discard it after its abilities have been mastered, as it is not needed for synthesis.
==Gallery==
FlameStaff.png|Artwork.
Flame Staff FFIX Art 2.jpg|Artwork.
Flame Staff FFIX.png|Strategy guide scan.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy IX