No Mercy (Final Fantasy IX)

No Mercy is a Flair/Elan in Final Fantasy IX used by Amarant to physically damage one (Flair) or all (Elan) enemies for a cost of 12 MP. It is a strong ability and can do more than his normal attack with no row penalty. No Mercy can be seen as his ultimate Flair. Despite what the flavor text claims, No Mercy can be elemental, depending on Amarant's currently equipped weapon; in fact, the weapon that teaches the skill is Water-elemental.
==Obtained==
No Mercy is learned for 25 AP from Dragon's Claws and Duel Claws. Dragon's Claws are found in Chocograph 7, Forgotten Lagoon, the earliest available when the party has the Blue Narciss if they prioritize Chocobo Hot and Cold. Duel Claws can later be synthesized in Black Mage Village, but requires the Dragon's Claws as one of the ingredients; if the player sells the Dragon's Claws before mastering No Mercy, Amarant can never master it.
==Mechanics== 
No Mercy used with Flair deals physical damage to one enemy as per the following formula:
:Base = [(Attack * 17) / 10] - Enemy Defense
:Bonus = Strength + A random number 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8]
:Damage = Base * Bonus
When used with Elan when Amarant is in Trance, No Mercy deals physical damage to all enemies as per the following formula:
:Base = [(Attack * 16) / 10] - Enemy Defense
:Bonus = Strength + A random number 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8]
:Damage = Base * (Bonus * 1.5)
No Mercy takes on the element of Amarant's equipped weapon, but Bonus is unaffected by Elem-Atk raising gear. Bonus is halved by target's Protect and is reduced to 1 when Amarant is minied.
No Mercy's element depends on Amarant's weapon:
*Non-elemental: Cat's Claws, Poison Knuckles, Mythril Claws, Scissor Fangs, Tiger Fangs, Avenger, Duel Claws, Rune Claws
*Water: Dragon's Claws
*Wind: Kaiser Knuckles
==Use==
No Mercy is a powerful ability, dealing around 170% Amarant's normal attack to one enemy; this is better than his normal attack with a Killer ability equipped. For its fairly low MP cost, Amarant can use it instead of his normal attack on his turn, and should he run low, use Chakra to replenish his MP. He can now also freely equip Healer, if desired, and stay in the back row. This can be useful in Oeilvert where the party can't use magic to heal, and in Ipsen's Castle, where normal attacks deal pitiful damage if the character equips a powerful weapon, as the damage calculation is inverted.
Though No Mercy takes into account the element of Amarant's weapon, he only has two options: Water with Dragon's Claws and Wind with Kaiser Knuckles. Of these, Kaiser Knuckles is more useful as flying enemies are weak to Wind, and these include the superbosses and final bosses. However, as No Mercy does not benefit from Elem-Atk, it is better to use Amarant's regular attacks along with equipment that augment Wind-elemental damage (Bracer, Black Belt, Fairy Earrings) and MP Attack and an appropriate Killer ability, than it is to use No Mercy.
Unlike other physical attackers, Amarant lacks an ability that can consistently do 9999 damage, as No Mercy rarely reaches this either.
==Etymology and origin==
No Mercy originates from Final Fantasy VIII as Seifer Almasy's ability. Amarant's ability using gesture resembles Seifer's movement in the opening FMV to Final Fantasy VIII when using the ability, but Seifer fights with a blade whereas Amarant's No Mercy is a simple fiery-looking blow, similar to Seifer's opening with a fire spell. The Japanese name of both abilities refers to disposing of insignificant threats, whereas the English name alludes to the military command to not spare any enemy.
Category:Flair abilities in Final Fantasy IX