Butterfly Sword (Final Fantasy IX)

The Butterfly Sword is Zidane's weakest thief sword in Final Fantasy IX, which outclasses his earlier daggers. Most thief swords are made via synthesis, and thus the player can first access them in Lindblum when the synthesis system is introduced. Butterfly Sword has innate Silence status, usable via Zidane's Soul Blade. Butterfly Sword teaches What's That!? skill, which turns enemies around for a back attack, and Protect Girls support ability, which makes Zidane intercept enemies' physical attacks against female allies.
==Obtain==
The player can craft the Butterfly Sword in the synthesis shops in Lindblum (first and second storyline visits), Treno (first and second storyline visits), and the Black Mage Village, for 300 gil, Dagger, and Mage Masher. The player most likely has the ingredients for it, as Zidane starts with Dagger and Mage Masher is also found along the way before Lindblum.
==Mechanics==
The base damage dealt with normal attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
:Base = 21 - Enemy's Defense
:Bonus = [(Strength + Spirit) / 2] + Rnd MOD ([(Level + Strength) / 8] +1) 
:Damage = Base * Bonus
Where Rnd means a random number, while MOD means modulus operation. "Rnd MOD x" can be read as a random number between 0 and x-1. 
The damage is then modified by variables like Zidane's equipped killer abilities or MP Attack, his row position, and the enemy's Protect. If Zidane is under Mini, his Bonus will be 1.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and the Base part of the damage formula with the Butterfly Sword is altered to:
:Base = 39 - Enemy's Defense
Butterfly Sword has innate Silence trait. When Zidane uses Soul Blade with the Butterfly Sword equipped, the enemy is inflicted unless they are immune. Thief swords' status abnormalities do not work with Add Status, and so it is pointless to equip the latter when Zidane wields a thief sword.
==Use==
Butterfly Sword is Zidane's first thief sword, and an upgrade over all of the daggers he has access to by the time the player reaches their first synthesis shop. It is worth crafting right away, as it also teaches Zidane some new abilities. Though What's That!? is not particularly useful, it unlocks a new Dyne ability and so it is worth learning all skills. Protect Girls can be useful later when the party has two white mages.
However, Lindblum synthesis shop already has thief swords that are stronger than the Butterfly Sword: The Ogre and Exploda. If the player has the money and the ingredients to make all of them, the player can equip the Butterfly Sword long enough to master its abilities and then swap to a better one, unless they want to make use of the blade's Silence status: Butterfly Sword with Soul Blade is the superior way to inflict enemies with Silence in comparison to the Silence spell or Zidane's own Mage Masher. However, Zidane's first source of Soul Blade is from The Ogre, the next thief sword after Butterfly Sword. It is still possible ti use Butterfly Sword + Soul Blade against Gizamaluke if the player gets both weapons at the earliest and grinds until they master Soul Blade.
==Gallery==
Butterfly Sword FFIX Art.jpg|Artwork.
Butterfly Sword.png|Strategy guide scan.
==Etymology and origin==
The butterfly sword is a short dao, or single-edged sword, originally from southern China, though it has also seen use in the north.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy IX