High Tide (Final Fantasy IX)

High Tide is a support ability in Final Fantasy IX that every permanent party member can learn. It allows them to enter Trance faster for the cost of 8 Magic Stones.
==Obtained==
High Tide is learned from numerous equipment pieces for variable amounts of AP; Freya learns it the fastest at 20 AP, while Quina learns it the slowest at 250 AP. However, Quina never goes without access to High Tide, as all of their forks have it, and therefore the actual AP requirement does not matter. Equipping multiple equipment pieces that all teach High Tide, masters the ability faster.
High Tide is learned from numerous equipment pieces, and the first opportunity for a character to learn it varies. Quina starts with it, whereas Freya's Partisan is first bought from Cleyra. Everyone can learn High Tide from a Sapphire, and Eiko joins the party with one as her add-on; later on, the player can get more Sapphires from drops and chocographs and synthesis.
==Mechanics==
Whenever an enemy hits a party member, the character's Trance gauge fills regardless of how much damage was sustained. Normally the amount that the Trance gauge fills up is a random number, up to the character's Spirit. With High Tide active, the gauge fills up equal to the character's Spirit stat instead. The Trance bar is filled when the value reaches 255.
==Use==
With High Tide the character's Trance gauge always fills faster, but the higher the character's Spirit, the faster they enter Trance. Zidane has the highest base Spirit of all characters, and Quina the lowest, but it is possible to max out everyone's Spirit to the highest possible value of 50. At maximum Spirit and High Tide, mere six hits from enemies would be enough to send the character into a Trance.
Quina always has High Tide available, and others get it later, though everyone can learn it when Eiko joins. High Tide may be better for characters who are expected to take hits in battle, such as Zidane, Steiner, and Amarant, who can also wear Cover and Protect Girls and Counter. It is less useful on characters who are not expected to be hit much in battle, like Freya if she is always using Jump.
High Tide is something of Quina's signature ability as it is in all of their weapons. It can be good for them to use Cook more often to learn Blue Magic from enemies.
As Trance is so unpredictable, potentially activating at the end of an unimportant random encounter, effectively wasting it, High Tide is not a high priority support ability to equip.
Category:Support abilities in Final Fantasy IX