Goblin Punch (Final Fantasy IX)

Goblin Punch is a Blu Mag spell for Quina in Final Fantasy IX that causes minor non-elemental magic damage to a single target; should the target's level match Quina's, the ability deals more damage. It cannot be reflected but works with Return Magic.
==Obtain==
Quina learns Goblin Punch by eating a Goblin or a Goblin Mage. Goblins are met in the Gunitas Basin near the Ice Cavern, while the Goblin Mage can be found on the Outer Continent overworld areas.
The earliest Quina can learn Goblin Punch is after the party heads to the Outer Continent as part of the story, as there is no way to get back to the Ice Cavern–Evil Forest area of the Mist Continent's bottom where the regular Goblins appear before the party has the Blue Narciss. The player needs to eat a Goblin Mage before meeting Eiko Carol on the Conde Petie Mountain Path, because that's when Quina exits the party and will not be available for a while.
If left after the point of no return, Goblin Punch can be difficult to learn as the world map is flooded with new encounters and it becomes harder to find Goblins and Goblin Mages. However, no Blue Magic spell is missable. If looking for the spell in the endgame, the player can try the overworld near Madain Sari.
==Mechanics==
Goblin Punch deals non-elemental damage to one target. If Quina's level does not match the target's, damage is calculated as follows:
:Base = 20 - Target's Magic Defense
:Bonus = Magic + Rnd MOD ([(Level + Magic) / 8] + 1)
:Damage = Base * Bonus
Where Rnd means a random number, while MOD means modulus operation. "Rnd MOD x" can be read as a random number between 0 and x-1.
If Quina's level matches the target's, the damage is calculated as follows:
:Base = 20 
:Bonus = (Level + Magic) + Rnd MOD ([(Level + Magic) / 8] + 1)
:Damage = Base * Bonus
Bonus is halved by target's Shell or Quina being under Mini.
==Use==
Goblin Punch is not particularly strong, so there are not many good uses for it. However, it has a cheap MP cost. The player could use it while in Ipsen's Castle if they wanted to equip a good weapon for Quina for learning abilities. It bypasses Reflect, but not many enemies use this status.
Goblin Punch disregards the target's Magic Defense if Quina is on the same level as their target. If the player does not level grind, enemies in every new area tend to be around the same level as the player party, though Zidane tends to pull ahead as he is a mandatory party member for most of the game, whereas Quina's EXP gains vary depending on if the player is using them or not. The player can check an enemy's level with Dagger's Scan (it fails on bosses).
Category:Blue Magic in Final Fantasy IX