Thief Hat (Final Fantasy IX)

The Thief Hat is a light armor headgear in Final Fantasy IX for Zidane. It teaches Long Reach, which has Zidane do full damage from the back row; Lucky Seven, which deals fixed damage but Zidane's HP needs to end in a 7; and Mug, which makes Steal do minor damage. It grants a +2 level up bonus to Speed.
==Obtain==
The Thief Hat is bought for 7,100 gil in Black Mage Village in the endgame.
==Mechanics==
The Thief Hat provides 3 Evasion, allowing Zidane to avoid enemies' attacks slightly more often, and 38 Magic Defense, mitigating damage from magic attacks. The hat boosts Zidane's Speed when he levels up with it equipped. When enough "level up bonuses" from gear have been accrued, the character gains a permanent stat increase.
==Use==
The Thief Hat is endgame gear for Zidane. It is notable for its Speed bonus, but none of the abilities it teaches are worth using. Speed helps Zidane do more damage with Thievery, but generally Speed is of lesser importance than Spirit and Strength what it comes to min-maxing. Thief Hat is the best Speed-boosting gear alongside the Running Shoes and Zidane could stack the bonuses by wearing both. Level grinding or min-maxing are unnecessary in a normal playthrough even for the superboss encounters (though the player may need some luck and optimal strategy).
If the player does not care about the Speed bonus, Zidane is better off wearing headgear with better stats that are available at the same time as the Thief Hat: Circlet and Golden Skullcap. As bosses do not yield EXP, a gear piece's stat growth is inconsequential for these encounters.
The guests from Tantalus can also equip the hat, but the player cannot see this in a normal playthrough.
Category:Armor in Final Fantasy IX