Masamune·1600
06-08-2005, 03:34 AM
According to the start-up manual that accompanies Final Fantasy VII, as well as the listings under Status in the menu, the game contains nine elemental properties. These elements are, of course, Fire, Ice, Lightning, Earth, Wind, Water, Poison, Gravity, and Holy. They occur in a number of attack forms, and can be halved, nullified, or absorbed by means of linking an Elemental materia to another materia of the desired elemental property in a character's armor. However, it can be argued, based on in-battle evidence, that there is a hidden 'tenth' element. It seems to correspond to non-elemental properties, but only in certain situations.
The specific scenario that brought this thread about is, of course, the relatively well-known fact that Ultima Beam (used by Ultimate Weapon) can be halved, nullified, or absorbed by linking an Elemental materia to any non-specific materia (Neo Bahamut and Ultima are working examples) in one's armor. Ignoring the seeming contradiction inherent in a "non-elemental element," this flies in the face of FF tradition. The only comparable situation I can think of offhand would be Vivi's Mag Elem Null ability in FFIX, which could be considered almost the opposite of what is seen here.
In any case, absorption of Ultima Beam by this method would seem to suggest all non-elemental spells are of a hidden elemental property, but this is not true. An (Ultima)-(Elemental) link will not, for example, absorb or otherwise defend against Ultima. It would seem, then, that the Ultima Beam alone constitutes an unknown element. I would simply attribute this to a glitch, but it nevertheless raises an interesting question. I also recall reading that the same set-up could allow one to absorb the spell Star, used by Death Dealers, but can no longer find this information online, have not tested it myself, and doubt its veracity. I'll be checking it soon.
This information regarding the "unknown element" of Ultima Beam may be new information to some, a long-known fact for others. I would ask, however, that anyone with further information on the phenomenon contribute to this thread, and that anyone interested in doing so attempt to devise an in-battle and/or storyline explanation outside of being a beneficial glitch (similar to the W-Item trick or the third Mystile). Thanks in advance for your thoughts, opinions, and conjecture on the subject.
The specific scenario that brought this thread about is, of course, the relatively well-known fact that Ultima Beam (used by Ultimate Weapon) can be halved, nullified, or absorbed by linking an Elemental materia to any non-specific materia (Neo Bahamut and Ultima are working examples) in one's armor. Ignoring the seeming contradiction inherent in a "non-elemental element," this flies in the face of FF tradition. The only comparable situation I can think of offhand would be Vivi's Mag Elem Null ability in FFIX, which could be considered almost the opposite of what is seen here.
In any case, absorption of Ultima Beam by this method would seem to suggest all non-elemental spells are of a hidden elemental property, but this is not true. An (Ultima)-(Elemental) link will not, for example, absorb or otherwise defend against Ultima. It would seem, then, that the Ultima Beam alone constitutes an unknown element. I would simply attribute this to a glitch, but it nevertheless raises an interesting question. I also recall reading that the same set-up could allow one to absorb the spell Star, used by Death Dealers, but can no longer find this information online, have not tested it myself, and doubt its veracity. I'll be checking it soon.
This information regarding the "unknown element" of Ultima Beam may be new information to some, a long-known fact for others. I would ask, however, that anyone with further information on the phenomenon contribute to this thread, and that anyone interested in doing so attempt to devise an in-battle and/or storyline explanation outside of being a beneficial glitch (similar to the W-Item trick or the third Mystile). Thanks in advance for your thoughts, opinions, and conjecture on the subject.