Pile Banger (Final Fantasy VII)

The Pile Banger is a weapon for Barret in Final Fantasy VII. It is first available at the Shinra Bldg. during the Raid on Midgar. The Pile Banger is a high-tier weapon for Barret with six linked Materia slots (with no Materia growth) and a boost to Barret's critical hit rate. Despite having melee animations, and not being stated as such, it is a long range weapon. The player can equip it to Barret or throw it or sell it for 1 gil.
==Obtained==
The Pile Banger is obtained in the Shinra Bldg. during "Mako Cannon Rampage". It is found around the same time as the Max Ray and Missing Score, both superior weapons. If not obtained then, it is permanently missed.
==Mechanics==
As the Pile Banger has a base Attack stat bonus of 90, this means the base damage for physical attacks when the Pile Banger is equipped is in the following formula:
:\text{Base Damage} = \text{(90 + Strength)} + \frac{\text{(90 + Strength)} + \text{Level}}{32} \times \frac{\text{(90 + Strength)} \times \text{Level}}{32}
where "Level" is Barret's current level and "Strength" is his Strength stat. The Pile Banger also has an Attack% (Accuracy) of 80%, which is fairly low for most weapons of this time, and no boost to Barret's Magic stat.
==Use==
The Pile Banger is a high-tier weapon for Barret, which is more geared towards physical attack. It has a high Attack stat, and improves Barret's critical hit rate, but has no AP growth for its six Materia slots, no boost to Barret's Magic stat, and relatively low accuracy. It is nonetheless the best weapon for Barret below the Max Ray and the Missing Score are obtained.
Pile Banger has three lots of two Materia slots that can benefit from Support Materia to grant various effects to Magic and Summon Materia. However, despite this, it has no boost to Barret's Magic stat, meaning that these slots are better off given to Command or Independent Materia, and use Barret for dealing damage with physical attacks while the Pile Banger is equipped.
The Pile Banger is a strong weapon, but is weaker overall than the Max Ray, which has no drawbacks for using magic. This means if the player has no desire for the critical hit rate provided by the Pile Banger, they can forego the Pile Banger entirely in favor of the Max Ray, which is better for Barret's spellcasting ability.
==Etymology==
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy VII