Asura's Rod (Final Fantasy IX)

Asura's Rod is a weapon for Dagger in Final Fantasy IX, being her fifth rod, available after the events in Desert Palace are over. It teaches her status ailment spells, which allow her to hinder enemies and still use her turn for offense when her attack power is weak and no one in the party needs healing. Asura's Rod does Holy damage and is a missable weapon, as shops stop carrying it in the endgame.
==Obtain==
Asura's Rod is sold for 3180 gil in Esto Gaza after the events in the Desert Palace, and in Daguerreo before the party enters the Shimmering Island portal. As Esto Gaza becomes inaccessible, and Daguerreo stops carrying it, Asura's Rod is missed if the player goes through the Shimmering Island without having purchased it. However, it is not used in synthesis and its spells can also be found in other equipment, and so the player could skip it if they wanted to.
==Mechanics==
Asura's Rod's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
:Base = 27 - 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 Dagger's row position and the enemy's Protect. If Dagger were under Mini, her Bonus would be 1. If Dagger equips Healer, damage is converted to healing.
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 = 33 - Enemy's Defense
Asura's Rod deals Holy damage with Attack, meaning it will do 150% damage against enemies weak to Holy, and half damage to those who resist it, and no damage to those who nullify Holy, and heals those who absorb Holy. It also means that Dagger can augment her Attack with Asura's Rod via Elem-Atk gear; by wearing a Flash Hat, Light Robe, White Robe, Angel Earrings, Maiden Prayer, or Rebirth Ring simultaneously with Asura's Rod has Dagger deal +50% damage and the effect stacks with the extra damage already done to enemies who are weak to Holy. Wearing multiples of these Holy-enhancing equipment pieces at the same time does not stack the effect.
==Use==
Asura's Rod is available after the events in the Desert Palace, but Dagger may already have her ultimate rod by this time, the Whale Whisker, if the player has been prioritizing the Chocobo Hot and Cold side quest and trained Choco to a sea-faring version and found the Ocean chocograph.
Though Asura's Rod does Holy damage and thus could be augmented to deal 150% of her normal Attack damage, this is not so useful for Dagger who is not a physical attacker and cannot strengthen her Attack command in any other way unlike characters like Zidane and Steiner. However, this would allow her to heal allies who absorb Holy with her normal Attack without equipping Healer, though this would be a niche use for the rod.
Asura's Rod's spells are all status-inducing: Mini shrinks enemies, making them weak; Confuse disorientates enemies, making them attack themselves and their allies; and Silence disables enemies' magic-use. However, the spells' hit chances are not impressive in comparison to Zidane who can always succeed with his Soul Blade. It is generally better to leave Dagger for healing and support, or to damage enemies with her eidolons, than to use her Attack command or status magic, and so Asura's Rod's strengths are lost on Dagger.
==Gallery==
Asura's Rod FFIX Art.jpg|Artwork.
Asura's Rod.png|Strategy guide scan.
==Etymology and origin==
The weapon may be named after Asura, the summons' leader in Final Fantasy IV; after Final Fantasy IX, re-releases to Final Fantasy IV added Asura's Rod to the game as a likewise Holy-related weapon, likely as an allusion to Final Fantasy IX.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy IX