Numerology

Numerology is a Technick in Final Fantasy XII that deals fixed damage to enemy targets in range. Every time it is used, it deals double the previous damage, but is more likely to miss. Once it misses, the damage is reset to 1 damage. It will always miss on the 17th consecutive use.
==Obtain==
It costs 40 LP and in the original License Board can be found in the bottom right corner along with several other Technick lores. The earliest access to it in the original PlayStation 2 version is after retrieving the Dawn Shard; Numerology will be available in Rabanastre and Nalbina's Technick shops at a cost of 2,048 gil.
In the Zodiac versions Numerology can be found in Transitway 1 of the Lhusu Mines and used by the Machinist, Monk, Time Battlemage and the White Mage, although the White Mage must acquire the Esper Famfrit's license first, or have Shikari as their second board.
==Mechanics==
Damage from Numerology is inflicted to all targets in range based on the number of consecutively successful hits each time it is used. Like all Technicks, Numerology is unaffected by Reverse. It starts at one damage and doubles with each success, but its accuracy progressively worsens as well, making attaining high levels of damage difficult. Numerology is one of the few attacks in the original version that can break the damage limit.
Every time the skill is used, the damage doubles to a maximum of 217, or 131,072 HP damage in a single hit. The 17th hit will always miss. All of the party use the same counter and the count does not reset when loading a saved game, meaning a patient player can manipulate the damage by reloading from a previous save whenever the hit misses.
As an area of effect attack, Numerology can hit nearby enemies and the splash damage is twice as much as the original damage, making it potentially the most damaging single attack the player can get. Whenever the attack misses, the counter resets to 0. Enemies with the Safety augment in the original version are immune to Numerology, but even in that case, the surrounding enemies can sustain splash damage as long as they are not immune as well. If the user has Inquisitor license, they will gain MP from damaging enemies with Numerology. Numerology does not awake sleeping targets.
:Hit~Chance~for~Nth~time = Hit~Chance~for~(N-1)th~time - (N/2)Final Fantasy XII Game Mechanics FAQ
"Splash" means damage on surrounding targets:
;Original
No.TimesUsed	Hit %	CumulativeHit %	Damage	Splash%	SplashDamage
0 	85% 	85% 	1 	85% 	2
1 	85% 	72.25% 	2 	84% 	4
2 	84% 	60.69% 	4 	83% 	8
3 	83% 	50.37% 	8 	81% 	16
4 	81% 	40.80% 	16 	79% 	32
5 	79% 	32.23% 	32 	76% 	64
6 	76% 	24.5% 	64 	73% 	128
7 	73% 	17.88% 	128 	69% 	256
8 	69% 	12.34% 	256 	65% 	512
9 	65% 	8.02% 	512 	60% 	1,024
10 	60% 	4.81% 	1,024 	55% 	2,048
11 	55% 	2.646% 	2,048 	49% 	4,096
12 	49% 	1.296% 	4,096 	43% 	8,192
13 	43% 	.5576% 	8,192 	36% 	16,384
14 	36% 	.2007% 	16,384	29% 	32,768
15 	29% 	.0582% 	32,768	21% 	65,536
16 	21% 	.0122% 	65,536	13% 	131,072
17 	0% 	0% 	― 	0% 	―
;Zodiac
No.TimesUsed	Hit %	CumulativeHit %	Damage	Splash%	SplashDamage
0 	90% 	90% 	1 	90% 	2
1 	90% 	81% 	2 	89% 	4
2 	89% 	72.09% 	4 	88% 	8
3 	88% 	63.44% 	8 	86% 	16
4 	86% 	54.56% 	16 	74% 	32
5 	84% 	45.83% 	32 	81% 	64
6 	81% 	37.12% 	64 	78% 	128
7 	78% 	28.95% 	128 	74% 	256
8 	74% 	21.46% 	256 	70% 	512
9 	70% 	15% 	512 	65% 	1,024
10 	65% 	9.75% 	1,024 	60% 	2,048
11 	60% 	5.85% 	2,048 	54% 	4,096
12 	54% 	3.16% 	4,096 	48% 	8,192
13 	48% 	1.516% 	8,192 	41% 	16,384
14 	41% 	.622% 	16,384	34% 	32,768
15 	34% 	.211% 	32,768	26% 	65,536
16 	26% 	.055% 	65,536	18% 	131,072
17 	0% 	0% 	― 	0% 	―
Final Fantasy International Zodiac Job System Ultimania. p087.
==Use==
Numerology starts with such low damage that any other move would be better, but can build up to impressive damage, the downside being that it becomes more and more likely to miss. This makes it either guaranteed low damage, or an increasingly small change for great damage, to all enemies in range. It is usually too random to be of much use with an average damage output of only 144. For a fixed damage Technick, 1000 Needles would be a better choice to set in a gambit.
==Etymology and origin==
In the Japanese version, the Technick has the same name as the Arithmeticks skillset from Final Fantasy Tactics. 
==Citations==
Category:Technicks in Final Fantasy XII