Air Racket (Final Fantasy IX)

Air Racket is a weapon for Dagger and Eiko in Final Fantasy IX, being the weakest racket, available during the time Dagger briefly takes over as the party leader. It teaches support spells, Scan and Panacea; Scan is only for Dagger and shows enemies' HP and weaknesses, and Panacea cures Poison. Rackets are ranged weapons and deal Wind damage when used with the Attack command.
==Obtain==
Air Racket is sold for 400 gil in Summit Station and Treno during the time Dagger is traveling with Steiner and Marcus. Later on, it can also be found in Ipsen's Castle, in the room with the lift .
==Mechanics==
Air Racket's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
:Base = 13 - Enemy's Defense
:Bonus = [(Strength + Speed) / 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 the enemy's Protect and resistance/weakness to Wind. If the wielder were under Mini, her Bonus would be 1, and if they equip Healer, damage is converted to healing.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and the Base part of the damage formula is altered to:
:Base = 47 - Enemy's Defense
Rackets are ranged weapons, meaning they will do the same damage from the back row, and are thus ideal for the party's white mages. They also deal Wind damage with Attack, meaning they will do 150% damage against enemies weak to Wind, and half damage to those who resist it, and no damage to those who nullify Wind, and heal those who absorb Wind. Most flying enemies are weak to wind.
Dagger and Eiko can augment their Attack with rackets via Elem-Atk gear; by wearing a Feather Hat, Bracer, Black Belt, or Fairy Earrings simultaneously with a racket, Dagger and Eiko deal 150% damage and the effect stacks with the +50% damage already done to enemies who are weak to Wind. Wearing multiples of these Wind-enhancing equipment pieces at the same time does not stack the effect.
==Use==
Air Racket is available for the time Dagger takes the lead, but the stronger Multina Racket can also be found at this time, at the Bohden Gate during the time Steiner is concealing Dagger in a burlap sack. It is still worth buying an Air Racket from the Summit Station or Treno even if Dagger did not equip it (as she can also learn Scan from the Desert Boots) as Air Racket is the only source of Panacea for Eiko, and it is used later in synthesis to make Priest's Racket.
Though Air Racket does Wind damage and thus could be augmented to deal 150% of normal Attack damage, this is not so useful for white mages who are not physical attackers and cannot strengthen their Attack commands in any other way unlike characters like Zidane and Steiner. However, rackets are ranged weapons, which tend to be the better offensive weapons over Dagger and Eiko's other weapon selections: rods and flutes.
The player could equip the racket while in Ipsen's Castle and use Eiko or Dagger as a physical attacker while there.
==Gallery==
AirRacket.png|Artwork.
Air Racket.png|Strategy guide scan.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy IX