Rune Blade (Final Fantasy IX)

The Rune Blade is a weapon for Steiner in Final Fantasy IX, being the penultimate short sword. It is a large jump in power over his preceding elemental short swords, however, the player can also get a much better knight sword around the time the Rune Sword can be bought if they prioritize the chocobo sidequest.
The Rune Blade teaches the Iai Strike Swd Art that attempts to instantly dispatch an enemy. The Rune Blade is a missable weapon if not procured in time, and if the player misses it, Steiner cannot learn Iai Strike. When used with Attack when the Add Status is active, the Rune Blade has a 1/4 chance of inflicting Darkness status onto an opponent that is not immune.
==Obtain==
The Rune Blade is bought from Daguerreo for 8900 gil before the player enters the Shimmering Island portal.
==Mechanics==
The Rune Blade's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
:Base = 57 - Enemy's Defense
:Bonus = Strength + Rnd MOD ([(Level + Strength) / 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. 
The damage is then modified by variables like Steiner's row position and any support abilities that enhance his Attack (killer abilities and MP Attack), and the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, his Bonus would be 1.
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:
:Base = 3 - Enemy's Defense
With the Add Status passive ability active, the Rune Blade has a 1/4 chance to inflict a susceptible target with Darkness when used with Attack, Charge! or via Counter. Darkness halves the accuracy of physical attacks. 
==Use==
The Rune Blade is a strong weapon, but around the same (when the player has free access to a flying transport on the world map), the player could also procure the Ragnarok knight sword if they prioritize the Chocobo Hot and Cold quest, which is much stronger. If the player is not doing the chocobo quest, then the Rune Blade is Steiner's strongest weapon for Terra exploration until the superior Defender can be bought from Bran Bal.
The Rune Blade is the only source of Iai Strike, which is not especially useful as Steiner is usually better off using his turn for damage than for attempting an instant kill which most often misses. However, Iai Strike can be handy against Yans.
The sword's innate status, Darkness, is not particularly useful; the player can already halve enemies' accuracy with normal attacks by equipping Distract (though the two effects will stack to avoid damage even further, and not every character can learn Distract). The chance of Steiner inflicting the ailment is high, however, at 1 in 4 against a susceptible target, and so it is worth equipping Add Status when the player is using the Rune Blade, even if only just to master Iai Strike.
The guest characters Marcus and Blank can also equip the Rune Blade but are never in the party when the sword is normally available.
==Gallery==
Rune Blade FFIX Art.jpg|Artwork.
Rune Blade FFIX.png|Strategy guide scan.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy IX