Defender (Final Fantasy IX)

The Defender is Steiner's ultimate short sword in Final Fantasy IX; his knight swords are stronger. It is Steiner's only stat-boosting weapon, giving him +3 to Spirit on level up, making it a great level grinding weapon.
The Defender teaches the Thunder Slash Swd Art that attempts to deal fractional Thunder damage to an enemy, but is bugged and always misses. The Defender halves Ice and Thunder damage done to Steiner.
==Obtain==
The Defender is bought from Bran Bal for 9340 gil, and also afterward from Daguerreo.
==Mechanics==
The Defender's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
:Base = 65 - Enemy's Defense
:Bonus = Strength + 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 Steiner's row position and any support abilities that enhance his Attack (killer abilities and MP Attack), and the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, his Bonus would be 1.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and with the Defender, Steiner will do the minimum possible damage.
When Steiner equips the Defender, he halves damage from Ice- and Thunder-elemental attacks done against him. Elemental defense does not stack in case Steiner has other equipment that also halve Ice and/or Thunder.
When Steiner levels up with the Defender equipped, he gains +3 to his Spirit stat. Spirit affects the amount of damage dealt with his knight swords, his counterattack and critical hit chances, Trance gauge fill rate and duration, and determines the duration of expirable status effects; positive statuses last longer the higher the character's Spirit, while negative statuses wear off faster the higher the character's Spirit. Spirit also affects status effects that have a delayed effect, like Regen and Poison; the higher the character's Spirit, the more often does Regen heal the character, and the less frequently does Poison sap their HP.
==Use==
The Defender is the best normal sword but by the time it is available to buy, Steiner could already have the Ragnarok knight sword. The Ragnarok also teaches Thunder Slash, though this is a pointless ability to ever use.
The Defender is valuable for being Steiner's only stat-boosting weapon, and Spirit is a good stat for him to build. This makes it a great level grinding weapon for the endgame. However, level grinding is not necessary in a casual playthrough even for the superbosses, and so any stat gains from the Defender can be viewed as simply a nice extra.
Though the Defender halves damage from two elements, it is not particularly useful to equip solely for this purpose; Steiner could get a superior effect by equipping the Defense Gloves.
The guest characters Marcus and Blank can also equip the Defender but are never in the party when the sword is normally available.
==Gallery==
Defender.png|Artwork.
Defender FFIX.png|Strategy guide scan.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy IX