Magepower Shishak (Final Fantasy XII)

The Magepower Shishak is a top-tier heavy armor helm in Final Fantasy XII that boosts the wearer's magickal defense by 47 (Zodiac) or 39 (original), Strength by 11 and—unusually for a heavy armor helm—Magick Power by 5, the latter making it good for a katana-wielder. The Magepower Shishak is metallic for the purposes of the magnetize debuff present during the Vinuskar (though mainly available after this boss) and Ultima boss battles.
==Obtain==
===Original===
In the PlayStation 2 version, the Magepower Shishak is bought for 15,000 gil from the "secret shop" in Necrohol of Nabudis after obtaining the Treaty-Blade.
It is found in a treasure in Cerobi Steppe's Old Elanise Road (50% chance to appear, 50% chance for gil, 10% chance the item treasure is the Magepower Shishak with the Diamond Armlet equipped ). It is rarely stolen from Doctor Cid in the encounter against him in Pharos.
Magepower Shishak is rarely poached from the Brainpan.
It is made in the bazaar set "Magepower Helm" by selling five Charger Bardings (from some insect or plate wyrm-type enemies e.g. Deathclaw), two Chimera Heads (from Chimera Brain), and one Feystone (from elementals and entites).
Magepower Shishak is available through the Hunt Club sidequest on the Phon Coast by giving Blok 25 Rare Game trophies; the shishak can then be bought from the Shifty-Eyed Merchant's store nearby for 13,500 gil. However, it is a better deal to give the trophies to Atak or Stok, as the best armor pieces from the Hunt Club from giving trophies to Blok can be bought from normal shops, albeit the "secret shop" in Nabudis is in a dangerous optional area; by the time the party has the Treaty-Blade, they should be strong enough to brave it, however.
===Zodiac===
In the updated Zodiac versions, the Magepower Shishak is no longer sold in normal shops, but sells for 7,500 gil. It is found as a treasure in Lhusu Mines' Site 6 South (always appears) and Cerobi Steppe's The Northsward (20% chance to appear, 80% chance for gil, 5% chance the item treasure is the Magepower Shishak with the Diamond Armlet equipped).
It is still the rare steal from Doctor Cid during the encounter in Pharos, and now also the uncommon steal from the Pallicant in Trial Mode Stage 43, and Monid in Stage 60, and the rare steal from Terror Tyrant in Stage 85. It is still the rare poach from Brainpan and made in the bazaar set "Magepower Helm" with the same items as before.
==Use==
Magepower Shishak is a top-tier helm giving 47 or 39 Magick Resist depending on version, 11 Strength and 5 Magick Power, the latter useful for a katana-user whose weapon takes the user's Magick Power into account for damage calculation. The ultimate helm, Grand Helm, offers more in other stats but no Magick Power, so Magepower Shishak could be the ultimate helm for a katana-user, although in the Zodiac versions, Bushi can only use the shishak with Zodiark unlocked. The Grand Helm is also so arduous to procure in the original version, the player may simply want to stick with the shishak anyway for all endgame content.
The strength bonuses make heavy armor ideal for frontline fighters, and the Magepower Shishak is a good helm to equip over any inferior equipment the player may have on anyone who attacks physically, although a gun-wielder does not benefit from the strength-boost.
In the Zodiac versions, Uhlan, Knight, Time Battlemage, and Foebreaker can equip it natively, and Archer can unlock it with Shemhazai, and Bushi with Zodiark. Magepower Shishak is only useful to obtain if the player has chosen these License Boards for the party. In The Zodiac Age versions, after fighting Belias the player can choose two License Boards per party member and so more characters can benefit from heavy armor, as it is usually a good idea to match jobs that use different types of armor to bolster light armor jobs' strength, and to give more durability to spellcasters.
In the original version, the best way to get the helm is to buy it from the secret shop in Necrohol of Nabudis, while in the Zodiac, it is available from the Lhusu Mines, and thus can be nabbed as soon as the player reaches Hunter's Camp on Phon Coast to get the key from next to the Fallen Bhujerban to the deepest parts of the mines. The bazaar set for it is very late-game, as the Chimera Head needed for it is only available from the Chimera Brain enemy inside the Pharos. The earliest the shishak is available would be from doing the Trial Mode; in The Zodiac Age versions, the player can bring Trial Mode spoils to the main game.
==Aletap Rumors==
*Gained by defeating Ice Elemental
==Etymology==
The lobster-tailed pot helmet, also known as the zischägge or shishak, was a type of post-Renaissance combat helmet.
Category:Armor in Final Fantasy XII