Iron Sword (Final Fantasy IX)

The Iron Sword is a weapon for Steiner in Final Fantasy IX, being the second weakest sword. The guest characters Blank and Marcus also have Iron Swords equipped during the brief times they are playable. The Iron Sword teaches Steiner the Minus Strike Swd Art, which lets him do fixed damage to a target determined by the difference between his maximum health and his current health.
==Obtain==
The Iron Sword is stolen from Baku during Zidane's one-on-one duel with him as part of the story in the Evil Forest crash site. Blank and Marcus come equipped with the Iron Sword as well; going into the menu, the player could swap their weapons for the inferior Broadsword, however, having multiple copies of the Iron Sword is not useful for anything specific, as it is not used in synthesis. The Iron Sword is also bought for 660 gil from Dali, Lindblum (first storyline visit), and Ipsen's Castle Mogshop.
==Mechanics==
The Iron Sword's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
:Base = 16 - 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 = 44 - Enemy's Defense
==Use==
The Iron Sword is Steiner's second weapon. If the player steals it from Baku, they can equip it to Steiner and it remains his strongest weapon for all of "disc 1" content where Steiner is playable: Evil Forest, world map on the Mist Continent, Ice Cavern, and the boss battles in Dali. The player can equip it even without mastering the Beast Killer from the Broadsword first, as many other equipment pieces also teach it.
The Minus Strike that the Iron Sword teaches is useful to master from the Iron Sword, especially for the Tantarian battle if the player attempts to take it on at the earlier opportunity.
==Gallery==
IronSword.png|Artwork.
Iron Sword FFIX.png|Strategy guide scan.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy IX