Gold Armor (Final Fantasy IX)

The Gold Armor is a mid game heavy body armor in Final Fantasy IX for Steiner and Freya. It teaches Stone Killer, which improves damage against stone type enemies. The armor piece gives a bonus to the wearer's Magic stat when they level up with it equipped. It is a missable piece of equipment as the shops that stock it eventually become inaccessible.
==Obtain==
The Gold Armor is bought for 2,950 gil from Oeilvert, Desert Palace, and Esto Gaza (after Desert Palace). All these shops become inaccessible as the player enters the Shimmering Island portal. However, the Gold Armor does not teach any unique abilities and is not needed for synthesis and so nothing is lost from skipping it.
==Mechanics==
The Gold Armor has 19 Defense, mitigating damage from physical attacks. It gives a +1 bonus to the wearer's Magic 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. Steiner and Freya only use their Magic stats for determining their MP growth; even their Swd Mag and Dragon skills use their Strength stats for damage calculations.
==Use==
The Gold Armor is already surpassed by the Shield Armor and the Demon's Mail by the time it can be purchased; the player can safely skip buying the Gold Armor as it is not needed for synthesis or abilities. The Shield Armor and the Demon's Mail can be obtained from chocographs and the Demon's Mail is also a very rare steal from Tantarian.
Stone Killer from the Gold Armor is not too useful as stone type enemies are best defeated with Softs rather than with Attack.
The Gold Armor's level up bonus to Magic is not so relevant to Steiner and Freya. It is not advised to level-grind unless the player is stuck in a boss or a dungeon; level grinding and min-maxing are unnecessary in a normal playthrough even when preparing for superbosses. The best stat boost gear will be available in the end of the game, so for best results one would need to limit their EXP intake.
Beatrix can also wear the Gold Armor but the player cannot see this in a normal playthrough.
Category:Armor in Final Fantasy IX