Stona (Final Fantasy XII)

Stona is a White Magicks spell in Final Fantasy XII, both in the original PlayStation 2 version and the Zodiac re-releases. It is a single-target status heal spell that removes Petrify and Stone; the former is an ailment that counts down to the afflicted being turned to stone, them becoming increasingly more resilient to damage, and Stone is an ailment that flags the afflicted as defeated akin to the K.O. status, and they disappear from the screen.
==Obtained==
Stona's license costs 40 License Points in the Zodiac versions, where the spell is bought for 800 gil in various shops from Jahara onwards. It is also found in a Trial Mode Stage 57 treasure with the Diamond Armlet equipped.
In the original version, Stona's license costs 30 LP and the spell is bought for 800 gil from the following shops: Bhujerba (after meeting Ba'Gamnan in the Lhusu Mines), Dreadnought Leviathan, and after the events on the Leviathan, in Rabanastre, Dalmasca Westersand, and from the traveling merchant Dyce.
In the Zodiac versions, Stona can be used by the job classes White Mage and Red Battlemage.
==Mechanics==
Stona removes Petrify and Stone from a target. It costs 12 MP to use without Channeling licenses. It bounces from Reflect unless the caster wears the Opal Ring.
Petrify begins a 10-tick countdown (4.5 seconds per tick) until the afflicted turns to stone while the physical damage both received and dealt by the afflicted will dwindle. Stone is the fully-petrified status where the character vanishes from the battlefield until cured; if all party members are fully petrified or KO'd, the game will end.
==Use==
Stona is a niche status heal spell the player can easily set up via the gambit system (Ally:Any→Stona works well). However, for more utility, the player can set up Ally:Any→Esuna gambit instead, which will respond to various ailments, not just Petrify. The player can also rather set up a gambit for Gold Needles, which take no charge time to use, and are fairly cheap and plentiful. The player can also protect against Petrify with Fuzzy Miter or Ribbon. Ribbon does not actually prevent Stone, but because it prevents Petrify, it effectively does the same, as the Stone status is always preceded by the countdown phase. This also means that Stona is not really needed, as Esuna can remove Petrify, however, if petrification is the only status affliction the player needs to worry about, setting up a Stona gambit would cost much less MP.
If the player wants to make strategic use of Petrify's damage reduction, they should carefully manage the countdown manually and not use gambits for status healing.
==Etymology==
Category:White Magicks in Final Fantasy XII