Iron Helm (Final Fantasy IX)

The Iron Helm is a early game helmet in Final Fantasy IX for Steiner and Freya. It teaches Bright Eyes, which inoculates against Darkness status, and Level Up, which lets the wearer gain more EXP from battle. The Iron Helm gives a minor bonus to the wearer's Spirit when they level up with it equipped.
==Obtain==
The Iron Helm is stolen from the Plant Brain boss in the Evil Forest. The player will have two thieves, Zidane and Blank, making stealing a little easier.
It is also found in Dali Underground storage area by climbing on the crates on the left of the path (from either end). The Iron Helm is bought for 450 gil from Lindblum (first storyline visit) and the Summit Station.
==Mechanics==
The Iron Helm provides 7 Magic Defense, mitigating damage from magic attacks. The helm minorly boosts the wearer's Spirit when they level up with it equipped. When enough "bonuses" upon level up from gear have been accrued, the character gains a permanent stat increase. Spirit is a generally useful stat to raise, affecting various gameplay mechanics: the HP gained when revived, the duration of expirable statuses, how often Regen and Poison tick, how fast Trance builds or runs out when active, etc. The character would need to level up multiple times with +1 Spirit gear for noticeable stat gain.
==Use==
The Iron Helm is Steiner's best helmet for world map exploration after Evil Forest, for the Ice Cavern, and the boss battles after Dali (though the Rubber Helm can also be good for these bosses for its Thunder-halving effect). The Iron Helm can also be equipped to Freya for world map exploration outside Lindblum, Qu's Marsh, and Gizamaluke's Grotto until the better Barbut can be purchased from Burmecia.
The Bright Eyes ability is sometimes useful but there are only few enemies that use blinding attacks. Level Up is generally useful to equip whenever the character has Magic Stones left over unless the player is trying to limit level ups for min-maxing purposes. Though the Iron Helm has a minor Spirit-boosting effect, the player does not need to min-max in a normal playthrough and can choose equipment based on the abilities they teach and their defensive offering. The best stat-boosting gear will be available late into the game, meaning the player would be optimized to limit their level ups until endgame for the best stat gains; therefore it is not particularly useful to level-grind with the Iron Helm equipped unless the player gets stuck in a tough encounter or dungeon.
Beatrix can also equip the helm for the brief time she is a guest during the Battle of Alexandria, but there is little point in equipping it to her.
Category:Armor in Final Fantasy IX