Shiva (Final Fantasy V)

Shiva is an optional level 2 summon in Final Fantasy V. It is an ice-elemental summon who uses Diamond Dust, an attack dealing ice damage to all enemies. If not obtained before leaving Bartz's world, she is permanently missed. Shiva is one of the iconic summoned monsters in Final Fantasy, and Final Fantasy V is her first appearance as a boss. She is also one of the forms Metamorph can take, but defeating her this way does not earn her summon.
Shiva can be used via Summon and Call once obtained, and also via Magic Lamp. With the latter two, the summoner uses no MP.
Shiva was sealed in Castle Walse by its purified water, coming from the water crystal amplifier.
==Obtained==
Shiva is obtained by defeating her in Castle Walse. This is an optional battle, and is found by entering the top of the tower at the very top of the map. Shiva is fought alongside two Ice Commanders. Shiva can potentially be obtained before Ifrit, but is an easier battle after obtaining the latter as he can be summoned against her. 
==Stats==
Ability	MP cost	Power	Effect
 	10 	38 	Ice-elemental damage to all enemies.
Shiva's damage with Diamond Dust is calculated as follows:
:Attack = 38 + (0..(38/8))
:M = (Level \times Magic~Power)/256 + 4
:Defense = Magic~Defense
:Damage = (Attack - Defense) \times M
As a summon, there is no split damage property, and Diamond Dust is unaffected by reflect.
If the target absorbs ice, it is healed instead of damaged; if it is immune to ice, the attack misses. If the target resists ice, the Attack modifier in the formula is halved, but if it is weak to ice, the modifier is doubled and the attack ignores the target's Magic Defense.
Several pieces of equipment increase the power of elemental attacks by 50%. The bonus is applied before subtracting the opponent's Magic Defense. The weapons that boost ice are the Black Mage's Frost Rod and the Ranger's Frost Bow. The Mix Elemental Power empowers all elements.
==Use==
Shiva performs the attack Diamond Dust when summoned, dealing moderate ice-elemental damage to all enemies. Diamond Dust's damage is lower than the Black Magic spell Blizzara, which has a considerably higher attack power for the same MP cost, but has damage split when group-cast and can be reflected. As such, Diamond Dust is marginally better than Blizzara against a group of enemies, while Blizzara is preferable against single targets.
Shiva is a powerful summon when acquired, but is best used against enemies weak to ice. Compared to Ifrit and Ramuh, both available a short while after, Shiva deals the least damage. As such, against enemies with no elemental affinity, Ramuh is the best option. When Titan and later summons become available, Shiva is outclassed completely.
==Gallery==
FFV Diamond Dust.png|GBA.
Diamond Dust FFV.jpg|2013.
==Etymology==
==Citations==
Category:Summons in Final Fantasy V