Lamia's Tiara (Final Fantasy IX)

The Lamia's Tiara is a light armor headgear in Final Fantasy IX. It is a mid tier headband for Dagger, Eiko, Freya, and Quina. It teaches the passive ability Clear Headed, which inoculates against Silence; and the White Magic spells Confuse, which disorientates an enemy into harming itself, and Float, which protects against certain Earth attacks, respectively. The headband provides minor level up bonuses to Magic and Spirit, both generally good stats to boost for mages, and halves Wind damage to the wearer. It is used in synthesis.
==Obtain==
The Lamia's Tiara is first found in Fossil Roo. Far into the dungeon, the player will come across a mining site. There is a chest on a ledge above the left side of the room containing a Lamia's Tiara. To get there, the player must flip switch no 4 and take the nearby gargant.
The tiara can be bought for 800 gil from Conde Petie, Black Mage Village (before going through the Shimmering Island portal), Madain Sari, Treno (after the party returns from the Outer Continent), Alexandria, and Daguerreo (endgame).
==Mechanics==
The Lamia's Tiara provides 17 Magic Defense, mitigating damage from magic attacks. The headband minorly boosts the wearer's Spirit and Magic when they level up with it equipped. When enough "level up bonuses" from gear have been accrued, the character gains a permanent stat increase, though they would need to level up multiple times with +1 gear for noticeable stat gain. Magic stat is used for damage calculation for magic-based abilities and determines the character's MP growth. Spirit is used to determine expirable status effects' duration, the HP the character is revived at, the frequency Regen and Poison tick, and how fast Trance builds and runs out, among other things.
The tiara halves Wind damage.
==Use==
The Lamia's Tiara is a good headgear for its stat-boosting traits; though Freya does not need Magic as much for damage, her Magic stat still determines her MP growth. However, level grinding or min-maxing is unnecessary in a normal playthrough and the player can prioritize gear based on their defensive offerings and abilities, and still be able to do any encounter in the game with the right strategy. The best stat-boosting gear is available in the endgame, and so for best stats one would need to limit their level ups until near the end of the game.
The Lamia's Tiara teaches some White Magic spells and Clear Headed. Clear Headed is a crucial ability against enemies that disorient the player's party, or the player will lose complete control of their characters' actions. E.g. it could be hazardous in the Ark battle where the tiara's Wind-halving effect would also benefit the wearer. Confuse and Float, meanwhile, are niche spells that do not see much use; Float is useful against the boss of Conde Petie Mountain Path but not really ever again afterward.
The Lamia's Tiara is used in synthesis to make the Extension.
Though the Tantalus thieves who join the party as guests can also wear the tiara, the player cannot see this in a normal playthrough.
==Etymology==
 Lamia is an enemy in Final Fantasy IX fought in Gizamaluke's Grotto, who sports a headband with a large feather.
Category:Armor in Final Fantasy IX