Gaia Gear (Final Fantasy IX)

The Gaia Gear is a mid game light armor piece in Final Fantasy IX that everyone but Steiner and Freya can wear. It teaches High Tide, which allows the character to enter Trance more often; Insomniac, which inoculates against Sleep; and Osmose, which lets Vivi siphon MP from targets. The gear piece is needed for synthesis for two endgame robes and both boosts and absorbs Earth damage for the wearer.
==Obtain==
The Gaia Gear is first found in the Faraway Lagoon chocograph treasure. The player can reach it once they have the Blue Narciss and progress the Chocobo Hot and Cold quest. The player can beach their boat on a small island with chocobo foot prints in the southwestern archipelago and summon Choco and then ride him to the treasure's location along the shallows.
The Gaia Gear is also found in Oeilvert behind the large floor display with a triangular symbol and in Mount Gulug by going all the way to the right from the entrance and then down one level and searching at the dead end. The Gaia Gear is bought for 8,700 gil in Daguerreo (before entering the Shimmering Island portal) and Ipsen's Castle.
==Mechanics==
The Gaia Gear provides 25 Defense and 2 Magic Defense, mainly mitigating damage from physical attacks. The gear piece absorbs Earth damage to the wearer and also strengthens their Earth damage by +50%, compatible with Quina's Earth Shake and Fenrir's Terrestrial Rage.
==Use==
The Gaia Gear is the best light body armor for world map exploration on the boat and the exploration of the Forgotten Continent until the Power Vest is found in Oeilvert.
The abilities from the Gaia Gear are good, and its inclusion of Osmose makes it a good body armor for Vivi until he can master it, as Osmose makes him more self-sufficient. Insomniac is good to master to everyone and especially to make Quina's Night usable. High Tide is not crucial but the player can equip it if they have the Magic Stones to spare.
The Earth absorption would help against Adamantoise, Jabberwock, and Catoblepas on the world map and the Earth Guardian. The Earth Elem-Atk is best for Eiko's Fenrir.
The player should hold onto at least two Gaia Gears to synthesize the Black and White Robes in Daguerreo once the party gains a flying transport. The two robes themselves can be synthesized into the ultimate robe near the end of game.
The guest characters from Tantalus can also wear the Gaia Gear though the player cannot equip them with it in a normal playthrough.
==Etymology==
In the context of Final Fantasy IX, Gaia is also the name of the planet where majority of the game takes place. This connection is not present in the original Japanese version, however, where the garment is simply "Earth clothes" in relation to its its elemental properties. This is because the Gaia Gear is a recurring piece of gear from the series and has been localized as "Gaia Gear" in the past.
Category:Armor in Final Fantasy IX