Mug (Final Fantasy IX)

Mug is a support ability in Final Fantasy IX for Zidane that makes his Steal do minor randomized damage to the enemy on top of gaining an item. However, the damage inflicted is often so tiny it is hardly worth it. Mug takes 3 Magic Stones to equip.
==Obtained==
Mug is learned from Chimera Armlet, Thief Hat, and Survival Vest for 65 AP. The earliest chance to learn it is from the Survival Vest stolen from Beatrix in Alexandria Castle and found in Fossil Roo; it is also available in shops in the Outer Continent.
==Mechanics==
While using Steal when Mug is active, when Zidane successfully gains an item from an enemy, the enemy is also damaged by the following formula:
: Damage = RndMOD ( Zidane's Level * Target's Level / 2 )
The damage is non-elemental and fixed, meaning the enemy cannot resist it in any way.
==Use==
Mug results in minor damage most of the time and so is hardly worth equipping even though it is fairly cheap at three Magic Stones. It only deals damage when the Steal succeeds, and an enemy has at most four items, meaning Zidane can at best damage the foe four times with Mug when getting all items it has to offer. Most enemies worth stealing from are bosses, against whom Zidane could do better damage with Mug than against normal enemies as bosses tend to be on a higher level. If no one else attacks at this time, Zidane will not be in danger of killing the boss with Mug before all items have been taken, however, this also means Mug does not really help defeat the boss any faster.
Stealing a lot with Zidane throughout the game is a good idea to power up his Thievery for later, but Mug is not much of an upgrade for it; missed steal attempts are still wasted turns.
Category:Support abilities in Final Fantasy IX