Beast Killer (Final Fantasy IX)

Beast Killer is a support ability in Final Fantasy IX for physical attackers, allowing them to increase the power of their Attack toward beast enemies. It costs 4 Magic Stones to equip.
Killer abilities in Final Fantasy IX are reminiscent of weapons in the Nintendo-era Final Fantasy games that dealt more damage to specific types of enemies.
==Obtained==
Beast Killer is learned from numerous equipment pieces for variable amounts of AP: Broadsword, Flash Hat, Leather Wrist, Egoist's Armlet, Platina Armor, Moonstone, and Black Belt. Amarant learns it the quickest at 10 AP, where Zidane requires the most at 30 AP.
Steiner starts with the Broadsword, and a Moonstone, equipped by everyone, is obtained early by impressing 100 nobles in the sword-fighting minigame and Queen Brahne, and then talking to her when in control of Steiner.
Leather Wrist for Zidane and Amarant is first stolen from the Prison Cage and soon found in Ice Cavern and Dali.
There is a free Black Belt to be found in Black Mage Village item shop; the player must ask for "the usual" after overhearing conversation from the walkway above. It will also be available for synthesis later.
Egoist's Armlet for Zidane and Amarant is first bought in Oeilvert. Flash Hat for Zidane and Amarant, and Platina Armor for Freya and Steiner, are available to buy in Bran Bal and Daguerreo after visiting Bran Bal.
==Mechanics==
With Beast Killer active, using Attack deals 150% normal damage to beast enemies. It does not stack with other Killer abilities if the enemy belongs to more than one category, but does stack with MP Attack and Elem-Atk gear, and the attack can still critical. If the attacker also has Healer (only possible with Amarant), the amount healed with Attack is increased against beast enemies. Beast Killer affects any use of Attack command against beasts: via Attack, Charge!, or Counter. It does not affect damage from any other move besides the basic Attack command.
==Use==
Beast enemies are common early on, but their prevalence tapers off. In the endgame, there is only one beast left in areas the player needs to visit to complete the game: Behemoth deep in Memoria. The only boss in this enemy type is the Zaghnol fought during the Festival of the Hunt, which the player may not even want to slay as Zidane to get Freya's reward for winning the contest. Beast Killer is most beneficial learned and equipped early for Zidane and Steiner; by the time Amarant joins, Bird Killer and Devil Killer are more useful, though the party usually has enough Magic Stones to equip multiple Killer abilities.
;Beast enemies
*Axe Beak
*Bandersnatch
*Basilisk
*Behemoth
*Catoblepas
*Cerberus
*Fang
*Torama
*Wyerd
*Zaghnol
Category:Support abilities in Final Fantasy IX