Graviga (Final Fantasy XII)

Graviga is a Time Magick spell in the Zodiac versions of Final Fantasy XII and an Arcane Magicks spell in the original PlayStation 2 version. It is a multi-target spell (even though the in-game description states otherwise) that attempts to deal fractional damage by halving the foes' maximum HP. It is an upgrade to Gravity, which takes a quarter of enemies' maximum health.
The enemy Tower uses the spell against the player. There is also the enemy magick called Piercing Graviga used by Zeromus, which is a Graviga that ignores Reflect.
==Obtained==
Graviga's license costs 125 License Points in the Zodiac versions, where the spell is bought for 5800 gil from Balfonheim Port after the storyline events in Giruvegan.
In the original version, Graviga is an Arcane Magick spell whose license costs 105 LP. It is bought for 6800 gil from Archades.
In the Zodiac versions, Graviga is used by the Time Battlemage as well as by the Machinist who has unlocked the Esper Famfrit on their License Board to act as a bridge. Hashmal also knows it.
==Mechanics==
Graviga attempts to halve all foes' HP in range, capped at 9999 damage in the original version. Its range was extended for the Zodiac versions. Bosses, marks, Rare Game, and other tough foes are immune to fractional damage due to their Safety augment.
The success rate of Graviga is calculated as follows:
:Success~Rate = 40 + (User's~Magick~Power - Target's~Vitality) \%
The success rate is unaffected by the target's Magick Evade stat, as the spell instead checks against the target's Vitality.
The hit rate is improved by further 50% with the caster having Faith status, or doubled with Serenity license/Magick Gloves when on full health, or Spellbreaker license/Leather Gorget when in critical health. Target's Shell halves the accuracy of the spell. If the caster is wearing the Indigo Pendant, Graviga will succeed unless the enemy is immune due to Safety.
The accuracy underflow bug is a glitch in some versions of Final Fantasy XII where a low level character with extremely low Magick Power stat attempts to use a status move on a target with very high Vitality, and the accuracy of the spell becomes less than zero. In this case the accuracy will underflow to 100%, allowing certain status spells to always succeed. Though Graviga is not a status spell, it uses the same success chance formula as ailment spells do.
Graviga costs 28 MP to cast without Channeling licenses in the Zodiac versions and 36 MP in the original. The spell bounces from the target's Reflect unless the caster wears the Opal Ring. Bouncing the spell off the player's own reflected party can thus multi-cast it.
It has the maximum effect capacity, which means that in the PlayStation 2 versions no other spell or Technick can be performed simultaneously. This is alleviated in The Zodiac Age versions where the capacity is much larger.
==Use==
The player can automate Graviga via gambits (such as with Foe:HP<50%→Graviga). However, it is best used with the Indigo Pendant equipped whenever possible and used situationally, as it fails on enemies who have the Safety augment. Unlike in some other games in the Final Fantasy series, Graviga deals damage as per the foes' maximum HP, and thus can kill them. Graviga's upside is that its damage does not depend on the caster's Magick Power, but conversely, it also cannot be boosted with Faith status or conditional licenses (though these do boost the hit rate), meaning other spells at the player's disposal are likely to be equal or stronger than Graviga a lot of the time with the correct setup, while also not missing on the toughest foes.
Graviga's usefulness is limited because it would be most powerful on enemies with high health, but these also tend to be the ones who are immune to it. It could be more useful in a New Game Minus playthrough. Graviga could be useful against the Shield Wyrms on Cerobi Steppe, being strong foes with high health. It could be useful against the Abaddons in Pharos, especially when they swarm the party in Subterra. The player could multi-cast the spell by reflecting it off their own party; only two reflections hitting could kill all enemies in one cast.
Graviga eclipses the previous Gravity spell outright, and the player can stop using Gravity once they get Graviga. The spell is more usable in the Zodiac versions where its damage is no longer restricted to 9999 and using it no longer holds up every other magick or Technick.
Category:Time Magicks in Final Fantasy XII
Category:Arcane Magicks in Final Fantasy XII