Black Robe (Final Fantasy IX)

The Black Robe is a mid to endgame robe in Final Fantasy IX for Vivi and Quina. It teaches Flare, which a strong spell for Vivi; MP+20%; and Reflectx2, which lets Vivi boost the power of his spells when reflected. Wearing the Black Robe weakens the character to Fire and strengthens their Shadow damage. The Black Robe gives a bonus to the wearer's Magic stat when they level up with it equipped. The robe is made via synthesis like all robes, and is also itself used in synthesis to make the ultimate robe (though there are other ways to get it).
==Obtain==
The Black Robe is first found in a dive treasure if the player advances the Chocobo Hot and Cold quest when they have the boat to explore the world map with. The treasure can be dug up when Choco is dark blue and the treasure is found where the ocean bubbles in the southern tip of the Forgotten Continent.
The robe is also synthesized in Daguerreo for 8,000 gil, a Gaia Gear, and a N-Kai Armlet. The Gaia Gear and N-Kai Armlet can both be bought from the moogle in Ipsen's Castle. The robe can also be stolen from Lich in the final dungeon.
==Mechanics==
The Black Robe provides 43 Defense and 4 Magic Defense, mainly mitigating physical damage. It weakens the wearer to Fire, making them sustain 150% damage from Fire attacks. If they also wear a Black Hood or Ribbon or Protect Ring, halving Fire damage, they will take ~75% damage from Fire. The Fire weakness is not mentioned in the flavor text; the only way the player can see it written out is when using Scan on the wearer while in battle.
The robe gives a +2 bonus to the wearer's Magic when they level up with it equipped. When enough "bonuses" upon level up from gear have been accrued, the character gains a permanent stat increase. Magic determines spell damage and status spell accuracy and MP growth.
Wearing the robe boosts the character's Shadow damage by +50%, compatible with Vivi's Doomsday.
==Use==
The Black Robe is a good robe to wear until the end of the game, especially for Vivi so he can boost Doomsday. Quina may prefer Glutton's Robe or the Robe of Lords. Flare is a great offensive spell that also helps Steiner's Swd Mag. MP+20% helps Vivi continue casting for longer before he needs to top up, though Half MP is better; he can wear both at the same time for maximum sustainability. Reflectx2 allows Vivi to strengthen his spells when reflect off the party. One strategy is to have the whole party with Reflect and then group-cast -ga level spells off the party. When Flare is reflected, it is nigh guaranteed to do 9999 damage. The Shadow-boosting effect is good when Vivi uses Doomsday, though allies should then wear Shadow-absorption gear.
The Fire weakness can be a detriment against Garuda, Grenade, Wraith, Vepal, Agares, Cerberus, Mover, Chimera, Stilva, Worm Hydra, Earth Guardian, Maliris, Tiamat, and the final boss.
The Black Robe is used in the legendary synthesis shop to make the ultimate robe, though the player may have already gotten the ultimate robe at that point via other means. The Black Robe can be better for Vivi than the Robe of Lords even though it has slightly lower stats for its Shadow-boosting effect and Magic +2 level up bonus.
The Black Robe's level up bonus is excellent for Vivi, but level grinding and min-maxing are unnecessary in a normal playthrough even for superboss encounters. The best stat boost equipment pieces are available in the end of the game, and so it would be worthwhile to limit EXP intake until they are available.
Category:Armor in Final Fantasy IX