Dagger (Final Fantasy IX weapon)

The Dagger is Zidane's initial weapon that he starts with in Final Fantasy IX, being his weakest weapon overall. It teaches him the Flee skill that allows the party to instantly flee a battle that is not inescapable at the cost of some gil.
Princess Garnet assumes the pseudonym "Dagger" as inspired by Zidane's weapon, and later on uses it in a cut scene to cut her hair. 
==Obtain==
Zidane starts with the Dagger already equipped to him. It can also be bought from various shops for 320 gil, and found in Ipsen's Castle's lobby .
The shops that sell the Dagger are the weapon shops in Dali, Lindblum (first and second storyline visits), and Treno, as well as the Mogshops in Madain Sari and Bran Bal.
==Mechanics==
The base damage dealt with normal attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
:Base = 12 - Enemy's Defense
:Bonus = Strength + Rnd MOD ([(Level + Strength) / 8] + 1)
:Damage = Base * Bonus 
Where Rnd means a random number, while MOD means modulus operation. "Rnd MOD x" can be read as a random number between 0 and x-1. 
The damage is then modified by variables like Zidane's equipped killer abilities or MP Attack, his row position, and the enemy's Protect. If Zidane is under Mini, his Bonus will be 1.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and Dagger becomes Zidane's best weapon while there, though the damage is still not too impressive. Within Ipsen's Castle the Base part of the damage formula is altered to:
:Base = 48 - Enemy's Defense
==Use==
Dagger is Zidane's initial weapon, but the player can already get the superior Mage Masher by stealing from the tutorial boss, Masked Man. Mage Masher also teaches Flee, and so the player does not miss out on anything by equipping the Mage Masher right away and discarding the Dagger. It is still worth holding onto the Dagger, however, as it can be used in synthesis later to make the Butterfly Sword. Later on, the player can find it again right at the entrance of Ipsen's Castle, and use re-equip it there if they want to use Zidane's Attack command there.
Even though Zidane's battle model wields two weapons when he is equipped with a dagger, this is merely cosmetic and the player can only equip him with one weapon.
==Merchandise==
Zidane's Bring Arts figure comes with two Daggers.
==Gallery==
Final Fantasy IX - Dagger Art.png|Artwork.
DaggerFFIX.png|Strategy guide scan.
ZidaneMirror-FFIX.PNG|Zidane holds the Dagger.
Garnet chooses her alias from FFIX Remastered.png|Garnet holds Zidane's Dagger.
Garnet-cutting hair.jpg|Garnet cuts her hair with Zidane's Dagger.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy IX