Bandana (Final Fantasy IX)

The Bandana is a light armor headgear in Final Fantasy IX. It is a low to mid tier hat that everyone but Steiner and Freya can wear. It teaches the support abilities Insomniac, which immunizes against Sleep, and Man Eater, which makes the character deal more damage to human enemies. Leveling up with the Bandana equipped provides a minor bonus to the character's Strength and Speed. The Bandana is used for synthesis.
==Obtain==
The Bandana can be bought for 500 gil in Treno (when visited with Garnet as party leader), Cleyra, Lindblum (second storyline visit), Dragon's Gate, Fossil Roo, and Black Mage Village (before entering the Shimmering Island portal). Cleyra and Fossil Roo become inaccessible as part of the story and the towns stop selling it, but it should still be purchasable from the Lindblum Castle Dragon's Gate.
==Mechanics==
The Bandana provides 12 Magic Defense, mitigating damage from magic attacks, and 2 Evasion, allowing the wearer to slightly more often avoid enemies' attacks. The headband minorly boosts the wearer's Strength and Speed when they level up with it equipped. When enough "level up bonuses" from gear have been accrued, the character gains a permanent stat increase, though they would need to level up multiple times with +1 gear for noticeable stat gain.
==Use==
The Bandana is a good equipment piece to wear for both its alright stats and stat-boosting effect as well as the abilities it teaches. Insomniac is a good ability for everyone to learn, making Quina's Night spell more usable when every party member has it active. Man Eater can also be useful for Zidane and Amarant.
The stat boosts from leveling up with the Bandana are most useful for Zidane, but level grinding or min-maxing is unnecessary in a normal playthrough; the player can prioritize gear based on their defensive offerings and abilities, and be able to do any encounter in the game with the right strategy. The best stat-boosting gear is available in the endgame, and so for best stats one would need to limit their level ups until near the end of the game. 
The Bandana is used for synthesis to make the Silk Robe, a powerful robe for mages.
Though the guest characters from Tantalus can also equip the Bandana, the player can only do this with Marcus as the others are not in the party when the Bandana is normally available. There is no benefit in outfitting Marcus, however, as he will leave the party.
Category:Armor in Final Fantasy IX