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Giza Rains

Cloudy in Giza Plains in Final Fantasy XII.

Weather (天候, Tenkou?) is a natural phenomenon in several Final Fantasy games. While it has appeared in earlier games as a cosmetic effect, in later games it is an actual gameplay mechanic, often affecting the potency of elemental attacks, or the creatures that appear in the area.

Appearances[]

Final Fantasy XI[]

Weather can affect most areas in Vana'diel. There are twenty types of weather, sixteen related to the eight elements:

  • Fire: Hot spells/Heat waves FFXI Fire Element
  • Earth: Dust storms/Sand storms FFXI Earth Icon
  • Water: Rains/Squalls FFXI Water Element
  • Wind: Winds/Gales FFXI Wind Element
  • Ice: Snow/Blizzards FFXI Ice Element
  • Lightning: Thunder/Thunderstorms FFXI Lightning Element
  • Light: Auroras/Stellar glare FFXI Light Element
  • Dark: Gloom/Miasma FFXI Darkness Element

There are also four other weather conditions unrelated to elements: fair, sunshine, cloudy and foggy. While these conditions usually are only used to imply a lack of elemental weather conditions, the foggy elemental condition can cause bombs and Poroggo to appear. Weather can be predicted by non-player characters with the official weather Linkshell. These NPCs are usually wearing white cloaks.

Weather effects

Elemental weather has approximately a 1/3 chance to add a 10% bonus to the power of corresponding elemental spells, by player or by enemy. As an example, Fire or Fireball would have a chance to be increased in power during a hot spell. Enhancement spells such as Enfire or Blaze Spikes will also have their effects have a chance to deal more damage. In addition, Skillchains with the relevant element, such as Fusion or Liquefaction, also have a chance to be increased in power.

An elemental Obi, obtainable via a quest, overrides the "chance" of the effect occurring, allowing for a constant 10% bonus during the relevant elemental effect or day of the week. Weather also has a chance to have the same effects on the element it is strong against, only in the opposite manner. Continuing the example, any ice spells or related skillchains would have a chance to take a 10% penalty towards damage.

In addition, many pieces of equipment have a Latent Effect based on the current weather. Fulfilling these weather requirements allows for their full potential to be harnessed. Most Elementals also spawn only during their related weather effect. Chocobo digging during weather effects also gives a chance of the chocobo digging up a crystal of the same element as the weather effect.

Weather spells

Scholars are capable of replicating the effects of any weather condition, using their Storm spells on allies to grant them weather conditions as necessary to grant benefits to the elemental spells they are casting, or to automatically trigger weather-based Latent Effects on equipment.

Final Fantasy XII[]

Depending on the current weather and terrain conditions, certain magick elements and weapons behave differently. Certain enemies are only seen during specific weather conditions. Some enemies have the Ignore Weather passive ability, which makes them immune to weather and terrain effects, and the player can achieve the same by equipping the Agate Ring. For terrain effects, the enemy needs to be standing on the certain terrain type for it to affect damage; e.g. the sand terrain in the sandseas is only present in the ground level, not on the bridges.

The player may speak with Weather Eye to determine when the weather within the Giza Plains will change. The weather cycles are based on the in-game clock: 1 hour of rain followed by 2 hours of dry. The change happens at the top of the hour regardless of when the cycle was triggered. Giza's weather can begin to cycle when the player enters Jahara, but the timer will not start until the player either returns to Giza Plains or enters Eruyt Village; i.e. the player can roam an hour on the Ozmone Plain and it will remain wet at Giza, but after entering Giza Plains/Eruyt Village, the weather will change at the top of the hour.

Elemental effects
Weather / Terrain Fire Ice Thunder Water Wind Earth
Sunny
Cloudy
Sunny / Cloudy (strong winds) x1.2 x0.5 x1.2
Rain x0.5 x1.2
Rain (strong winds) / Heavy Rain x0.6 x1.2 x0.5 x1.2
Foggy / Dense Fog x1.2
Snow / Snowstorm x1.2 x1.2 x0.5 x1.2
Sandstorm x1.2 x0.5 x1.2 x1.2
Sand Terrain x1.2
Water Terrain x1.2 x1.2 x0.5
Snow Terrain x1.2

The effects of Sand Terrain and Sandstorm do not stack.

Weapon effects

Windy weather reduces the accuracy of bows and crossbows. Bows and crossbows will work poorly during Windy, Heavy Rain, Blizzard, and Sandstorm. Bow accuracy is reduced by 20% and crossbow accuracy is reduced by 50%.[1] The Cameo Belt accessory does not help, because the accuracy is due to the weather and not because the of the enemy's evasion.

Field effects

In addition to these effects, there are also a number of field effects that occur during certain battles, such as against Ultima. In the Zodiac versions, these effects are also present during certain stages of the Trial Mode.

  • HP Drain - Characters lose 1% of maximum HP three times every second
  • MP Drain - Characters lose 2% of maximum MP three times every second
  • Attack command disabled
  • Magick command disabled
  • Technick command disabled
  • Item command disabled
  • Magnetic field - Charge time will increase for characters that are using metallic equipment.
Gallery

Final Fantasy XIII[]

FFXIII-ClimateControlOrb

Vanille standing next to a Climate Control Orb.

A device that makes bad weather.

Sazh commenting on the climate control orb.

These spheres modulates precipitation levels in the surrounding area.
Certain indigenous fauna exhibit rain-shy behavior, taking cover during storms. However, inducing showers can result in encounter with otherwise elusive hydrophilic wildlife.

Game information

Climate Control Orb is a mechanism that changes weather in the Sunleth Waterscape. These orbs are strategically placed to allow the player to change the weather between parts of the area in an attempt to avoid the more difficult battles against opponents like the Wyvern or the Scalebeast.

The weather also appears to randomly change on Archylte Steppe between sunny and cloudy, although this has no effect on gameplay, apart from affecting what kind of wool the sheep give. Accepting a mission from the Cie'th Stone circle triggers a cutscene with Titan which makes dust blow across the plains, but this has no effect on gameplay either.

Final Fantasy XIII-2[]

A tribe of hunting nomads on the Archylte Steppe has a device which can change weather. Each change brings about different music and monsters. The four types of weather are: "rainy", "sunny", "thunder", and "cloudy". An achievement/trophy called "Big Game Hunter" requires defeating the most powerful enemies from each weather type—Long Gui (Sunny), Ochu (Rainy), Immortal (Cloudy), and Yomi (Stormy). Some cactuar tablets only appear during certain weather conditions, and sheep are found roaming the plains in cloudy weather only. Stormy weather makes only Cie'th appear on the plains and causes other monsters to hide.

Other areas also have weather conditions, but their change is dictated by the storyline. It first rains sometime after the player arrives at the Bresha Ruins 5 AF and defeats Paradox Alpha, but after having defeated Atlas, the rain stops. The Bresha Ruins 300 AF and Vile Peaks 10 AF have snowfall, which also changes the characters' appearance on the field: the tops of their heads and parts of their equipment turn white from the snow. Academia 400 AF is in a continual state of rain. When it rains, rain drops appear on the player's screen, like droplets on a camera lens.

Final Fantasy XIV[]

Stormy XIV

Eastern Thanalan subjected to showers.

The weather in each area changes to a small set of possible weather conditions, commonly sunny, rainy, or stormy. It is marked by an icon on the upper right corner of the mini-map. The weather changes every eight Eorzean hours—at midnight, 8:00 AM, or 4:00 PM. Most cutscenes in outdoor areas will depict the current weather and time-of-day. While it has no direct effect on battles or crafting, weather can affect conditions needed for fishing or completing the Sightseeing Log.

Weather in duties is generally constant, though there are certain times where the weather may change, such as when the player reaches the final boss of a dungeon. The weather can also indicate whether certain FATEs have spawned.

Skywatchers are NPCs found who provide a 24-hour forecast for all outdoor areas. Skywatchers can be found in all major cities and as well as a handful of other locations. Their forecasts do not include special weather conditions induced by FATEs.

Chocobo Racing also features weather effects that can improve the performance of chocobos racing in their preferred weather.

Final Fantasy XV[]

Weather affects the characters' appearance on the field; in rain the party's hair and clothes get a damp look, and in windy weather the party's hair and clothes blow about wildly. The Hair Gel accessory bought from the market in Lestallum stops the characters' hair from changing with the weather.

Weather has a tactical impact on battle conditions, with different types of Elemancy magic having varying effects. Using fire on a clear day can ignite the surrounding area. Some magic spells also "change the weather" temporarily, such as Behemoth King's ice attack that envelops the battle area in a blizzard (using ice Elemancy spells can have the same effect). Using -ga or "limit break" tier magic (or Holy from the Ring of the Lucii or Armiger Unleashed) will cancel out any active elemental effect on the field.

Weather is random, but depends on the region. It rarely rains in Leide, being a desert (it rains only once during a main quest segment), whereas rains in the north of Cleigne, in the Vesperpool, are common. Weather never changes in the areas around Galdin Quay; should it be raining when the party drives through the tunnel that leads there, the ground will be wet when they arrive, though the rain will cease. Leide has sandstorms (especially the Three Valleys region), whereas Cape Caem is commonly windy.

FFXV-Rain-Effect

Hair in the rain.

Some monsters only appear during the rain, such as the Gigantoad. This also affects some hunts. The Regalia automatically puts up its hood when it starts raining. If the player sets up camp in the rain, the party will stay inside a tent instead of sitting around a campfire. The ability to fast-forward time was added in patch 1.21, and doing this can also change the weather.

The weather affects the fishing minigame, as lures work depending on whether it is clear skies, rainy or cloudy. Some special fruit that appear during chocobo races only appear during rain. The characters might complain about it being cold when it rains, and Gladiolus will advise Noctis to put on his jacket if he is not wearing one, but it will not affect gameplay.

Final Fantasy Tactics[]

Weather conditions affect ranged weapons' accuracy and elemental damage. In stormy weather the accuracy of bows and crossbows is reduced, and during rain Lightning attacks are more powerful, and fire weakened. For random encounters the weather varies between seasons dictated by the calendar, but set battles have fixed weather conditions.

Final Fantasy Type-0[]

With the exception of normal weather, all weather has an effect on battle. Some accessories nullify weather effects, but do not correct the negative effects the weather puts on King's ranged attacks. The enemies that appear in battle sometimes depend on the weather; when enemies are influenced by the weather, there will be a change to damage amount depending on the type of weather.

Weather Impacts
Type Fire Ice Lightning Water Earth Wind King's Gun Lock-On Distances
Normal 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 40m
Fog 50% 113% 100% 150% 100% 25% 100% 10m
Snow Storm 6% 150% 25% 25% 100% 150% Decreases 10m
HP reduces at a rate of 3.75 per second apart from when standing still.
Snow 25% 113% 50% 50% 100% 100% Decreases 40m
Sandstorm 100% 25% 13% 13% 100% 200% 100% 10m
Heat Wave 150% 6% 100% 6% 100% 50% 100% 40m
HP reduces at a rate of 2.8 per second apart from when doing nothing.
Heavy Rain 13% 50% 398% 100% 13% Decreases 10m
Rain 25% 100% 113% 200% 100% 25% Decreases 40m

In the town of Amiter, tonberries only appear when the town is shrouded in fog.

References[]

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