Merit Award

Merit Award is a relic in Final Fantasy VI. It allows the wearer to use equipment they cannot normally equip, with some exceptions. The relic can be worthwhile in some circumstances broadening the party member's possible strategic value.
Betting the Merit Award at the Coliseum pits the player against a Covert for the reward of a Rename Card.
==Obtained==
Merit Award can only be obtained from the Dragon's Neck Coliseum. It is earned by betting the Cat-Ear Hood or Excalipoor (in versions with the Excalipoor available). Cat-Ear Hood is relatively easy to obtain, but also requires betting at the Dragon's Neck Coliseum, making Merit Award somewhat convoluted to obtain.
==Mechanics==
Wearing Merit Award lets the character equip gear they normally cannot use. The exceptions to the Merit Award are exclusive relics, female-exclusive equipment, costumes, Bone Club, Royal Crown, and Snow Scarf. In the SNES version, Ultima Weapon is also excluded.
==Use==
Merit Award can greatly expand the potential of some party members who are otherwise limited by their equipment selection. For instance, Sabin has the highest Strength in the game, but his limited weapon system limits him as a physical fighter, meaning Merit Award could expand his weapons selection to compete with Terra, Celes, Edgar, or Locke. However, doing so will take up a relic slot, meaning Sabin cannot completely substitute them in this role as he will not be able to use both Genji Glove and Master's Scroll, only able to use one or the other.
Merit Award can have very beneficial defensive benefits to spellcasters such as Relm whose inability to equip heavier armor is one of her biggest drawbacks. Given she has the highest Magic stat, making her the strongest natural spellcaster, using Merit Award to allow her to equip heavier armor can make up for her biggest weakness. Since she can still equip Soul of Thamasa, this is not too great a drawback for her. Conversely, other spellcasters such as Strago benefit less from this as they cannot equip female-exclusive equipment.
The most powerful use of Merit Award is the "Wind God Gau" combination for Gau, available only in the SNES version, in which Gau can equip Merit Award and Kazekiri together with the Stray Cat rage.
==Notes==
Category:Relics in Final Fantasy VI