Duel Claws (Final Fantasy IX)

The Duel Claws is Amarant's penultimate claw in Final Fantasy IX. It teaches him the Flair abilities Aura, which bestows an ally with Auto-Life and Regen, and No Mercy, which damages an enemy. All but the final one of Amarant's weapons teach Counter, a passive ability that lets him respond to being physically attacked with an Attack of his own. Though it takes a lot of AP to master, this is inconsequential as all of Amarant's weapons have Counter until the very end of the game, and it is impossible to de-equip him of a weapon altogether. When Amarant equips the Duel Claws with Add Status, 1 in 4 uses of Attack berserks an enemy, making them attack uncontrollably.
==Obtain==
The Duel Claws is synthesized in Black Mage Village after the party has the Invincible for 16,000 gil and the weapons Dragon's Claws and Tiger Fangs. Tiger Fangs is missable; it was sold in Daguerreo before the party entered the Shimmering Island portal. If the player did not buy it or no longer has it, they cannot synthesize the Duel Claws. The Dragon's Claws are found in a chocograph.
Another way to get the Duel Claws is by stealing it from Deathguise, the very last battle before the point of no return; after fighting the Deathguise the player can still backtrack, but pressing on will put the player on the path of finishing the game.
==Mechanics==
The Duel Claws' damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
:Base = 79 - Enemy's Defense
:Bonus = Strength + A random value 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8]
:Damage = Base * Bonus 
The damage is then modified by variables like Amarant's row position and equipped Killer abilities and MP Attack, as well as the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, his Bonus would be 1. If Amarant equips Healer, damage is converted to healing.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and the Base part of the damage formula is altered to the minimum possible value.
With Add Status active, the Duel Claws berserks a susceptible enemy 1 in 4 uses of Attack, Charge!, or Counter. When berserked, the enemy will only physically attack on its turn, but will be stronger.
==Use==
If obtained at the earliest, the Duel Claws will be Amarant's strongest weapon for endgame exploration until the player finds his ultimate weapon in the final dungeon. The player could opt out of making the weapon for completionist reasons as to synthesize the Duel Claws, the player will need to use up the unique Dragon's Claws. The Duel Claws lack any unique abilities and its Add Status offering, Berserk, is not particularly useful, as the status is usually good against magic-using enemies, not the kinds that are fought in the endgame. The preceding Kaiser Knuckles will do more damage than the Duel Claws most of the time if the player wears Elem-Atk gear.
Aura and No Mercy are some of the most useful Flairs, and worth mastering if Amarant has not already done so.
==Gallery==
Duel Claws FFIX Art.jpg|Artwork.
Duel Claws.png|Strategy guide scan.
==Etymology==
The Duel Claws is made by fusing the Dragon Claws and Tiger Fangs. Its name may have been intended to be "Dual Claws" as allusion to its making.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy IX