Heavy Lance (Final Fantasy IX)

The Heavy Lance is Freya's sixth spear in Final Fantasy IX. It teaches her Six Dragons, a Dragon ability with random outcomes, both positive and negative. The Heavy Lance has a 1 in 5 chance of stopping her target when she uses Attack with Add Status active. The Heavy Lance is a missable weapon, and if not bought in time, Freya can never learn Six Dragons.
==Obtain==
The Heavy Lance is bought for 4700 gil from Esto Gaza after the events at Desert Palace. Esto Gaza becomes inaccessible once the player enters the Shimmering Island portal.
==Mechanics==
The Heavy Lance's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
:Base = 42 - Enemy's Defense
:Bonus = Strength + A random value 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8]
:Damage = Base * Bonus 
The damage is then modified by variables like Freya's row position and equipped Killer abilities and MP Attack, as well as the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, her Bonus would be 1.
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 = 18 - Enemy's Defense
When Freya equips Add Status, using Attack (or Charge! or Counter) with the Heavy Lance has a 1 in 5 flat chance of stopping a susceptible target.
==Use==
By the time the player can buy the Heavy Lance, Freya may already have her ultimate weapon, the Dragon's Hair, or the superior Holy Lance from Ark. As the ability from the Heavy Lance is nothing special, the player could skip getting it as it is not needed for synthesis either, however, the effect it inflicts with Add Status is good and likely her best Add Status. If the player is not doing the Chocobo Hot and Cold quest and did not steal from Ark, then the Heavy Lance is Freya's strongest weapon for Mount Gulug, until the superior Obelisk becomes available at Daguerreo.
It is worth activating Add Status when using the Heavy Lance as it frequently stops the enemy, which is effectively the same as Instant Death. Defeating enemies with Stop forgoes EXP from them. The ability the Heavy Lance teaches, Six Dragons, is not useful, as its effects are too random and more often than not leave the player party in a worse position than prior to using it.
==Gallery==
Heavy Lance FFIX Art.jpg|Artwork.
Heavy Lance FFIX.png|Strategy guide scan.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy IX