History InfinityMinusOneSword / FinalFantasy

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' there are the twelve legendary [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Weapons Of Plot Advancement]]. Only three of the twelve are actually the strongest weapons of their type in the original game, and in the Advance remake there are many weapons better. In the literal sword category there's the Excalibur again--the actual strongest sword (not counting the two in the Advance bonus dungeons), the Ragnarok, is obtained in an area roughly three screens before the final boss, and is guarded by Shinryu, a BonusBoss famous for being incredibly difficult to defeat if you try and face him in a head-on battle of attrition.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' there's the Excalibur. It isn't too hard to get--you need to visit a blacksmith in a very easy to reach location, he needs Adamantite, also obtained from an easy to reach location. The single catch is you have to trade a Rat Tail for it, which isn't a problem because it's in an optional area you're likely to visit anyway (the area provides access to two good [[SummonMagic Summons]]) and the chest holding it is right out in the open at the entrance. Cecil's ultimate weapon Ragnarok is found deep in the final dungeon only accessible via an [[GuideDangIt invisible pathway]], guarded by a strong optional boss, while Excalibur can be gotten before you attempt said dungeon.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'' has the Ragnarok, which is given to the player for completing Blackthorne's sidequest chain (unlocked with four main story missions to go), and the Defender +1 and +2, which can be crafted with materials purchasable in pretty much any shop upon returning from the second-to-last main story mission. All are very powerful and relatively easily obtained weapons which are only really surpassed by the Gotterdammerung, which needs materials acquired from several difficult sidequests in the final stretch of the game.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' has the Ultima Blade, which normally would be the InfinityPlusOneSword in any other Final Fantasy game. However, in ''[=XV=]'' the Ultima Blade is the ultimate form of the Engine Blade, which is Noctis's starting sword. Transforming it to Engine Blade II and III is easy, but transforming the latter into the Ultima Blade is anything but [[note]]The item needed to transform the Engine Blade III into the Ultima Blade is a rare drop that requires the player to break the horns of a rare monster, most easily found in a specific hunt. Even then, breaking the horns doesn't guarantee the drop... luckily, the game's freeform save system allows the player to [[SaveScumming save scum]] until they get it.[[/note]] Once obtained however, the sword is the strongest one Noctis can use during the main questline, and combines big damage with a fast attack speed, making the grind worth it. It's ''technically'' not the game's InfinityPlusOneSword though, as an even stronger blade - the Balmung - exists, which can only be obtained in the post-game. However, the latter's damage scales with how much MP you have remaining, so depending upon how much you use Noctis's Warp ability, it either will be your best sword... or worse than useless, leaving the Ultima Blade as your psuedo-InfinityPlusOneSword.

* The Eureka weapons in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' end up becoming these in the 3D versions of the game, since the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity +1 Weapons]] all require a visit to the LegendaryBlacksmith and reaching Job Level 99 for the jobs they're associated with.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' has an ultimate weapon for each weapon type, with the Masamune and the character-exclusive weapons added in the remakes as the game's [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity+1 Weapons]].

** It also has this with its armor--the best stuff tends to be either one-of-a-kind from GuideDangIt chests, ridiculously hard to get drops from the [[BossInMookClothing Rare Game]], or both. Hence, gamers who can't or don't want to chain Helvinek for Grand Armor survive with the Maximilian, fill the empty slots left by only two possible Circlets with Golden Skullcaps, and so on and so forth. It doesn't hurt that the Maximilian is actually better in some ways: it has weaker defense and physical attack power than the Grand Armor, but it gives a large bonus to speed, making the Grand Armor something of a [[PenultimateWeapon Penultimate Armor]].

** The Orochi is acquired from the Bazaar by selling fairly common [[VendorTrash loot]] and is the second-strongest ninja sword by 8 attack points. The strongest ninja sword, the Yagyu Darkblade, is a very rare drop from the Bombshell, a powerful enemy deep in a dangerous optional dungeon, and besides the fact that there's a very slim chance it'll drop the weapon at all, there's only a 20% guarantee of the Bombshell itself appearing in the first place.

* In the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', at least in the PS and WSC versions that aren't afflicted with bugs, it is better to keep the Knight class equipped with the Excalibur instead of the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Masamune]] due to the former's [[WeaponOfXSlaying damage bonus]] to ''every enemy type in the game'' making it the stronger weapon in practice. Also, the Masamune is actually the Infinity Plus One Sword for the ''White Wizard''.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' has the Ultima Blade, which normally would be the InfinityPlusOneSword in any other Final Fantasy game. However, in ''[=XV=]'' the Ultima Blade is the ultimate form of the Engine Blade, which is Noctis's starting sword. Transforming it to Engine Blade II and III is easy, but transforming the latter into the Ultima Blade is anything but [[note]]The item needed to transform the Engine Blade III into the Ultima Blade is a rare drop that requires the player to break the horns of a rare monster, most easily found in a specific hunt. Even then, breaking the horns doesn't guarantee the drop... luckily, the game's freeform save system allows the player to [[SaveScumming save scum]] until they get it.[[/note]] Once obtained however, the sword is the strongest ones Noctis can use during the main questline, and combines big damage with a fast attack speed, making the grind worth it. It's ''technically'' not the game's InfinityPlusOneSword though, as an even stronger blade - the Balmung - exists, which can only be obtained in the post-game. However, the latter's damage scales with how much MP you have remaining, so depending upon how much you use Noctis's Warp ability, it either will be your best sword... or worse than useless, leaving the Ultima Blade as your psuedo-InfinityPlusOneSword.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' has two classes of Infinity -1 Sword nowadays:

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' has the elemental staves, each of which grants a variety of massive boosts to spells of that element. Despite only being level 51 weapons, mages will carry a collection of them all the way to level 75 and beyond thanks to their versatility and crafted, auctionable nature. Even supposed "ultimate" staves are completely ignored. The game eventually introduced entire branching family trees of Infinity Minus One Swords (and daggers, and clubs, etc) with the Trial of the Magians system. Time, patience, and perserverence translate ''directly'' into progress towards upgrading the weapons created for this system, which is more than can be said about earning [[InfinityPlusOneSword relic and mythic weapons]]--not to mention that the completion of each stage only takes a few days' investment. (Relics and mythics can be upgraded via this system too, but at a maddeningly slow pace--and you have to earn such a weapon first.)

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendIII''):

* In the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', at least in the PS and WSC versions that aren't afflicted with bugs, it is better to keep the Knight class equipped with the Excalibur instead of the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Masamune]] due to the former's [[WeaponOfXSlaying damage bonus]] to ''every enemy type in the game'' making it the stronger weapon in practice.
** Also, the Masamune is actually the Infinity Plus One Sword for the ''White Wizard''.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the Enhancer. Its attack power is only average, but it gives +7 magic power, the highest stat boost to magic power of any equipment piece in the game--even the ultimate weapons in the bonus dungeon in the Advance release don't give more than that. The Enhancer also gives +20% Magic Block, so with a [[DualWield Genji Glove]] and two Enhancers, your magic power is +14 and you have roughly a 33% chance to block any blockable magic attack. And if you're playing the [[GoodBadBugs SNES version]], where evasion of physical attacks is mistakenly tied to the Magic Evade stat, the Enhancer can help make some characters [[NighInvulnerability nearly invulnerable]]. And to top it off, the Enhancer is buyable in a normal town and is actually pretty cheap.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' by Steiner's Ragnarok sword. His "best" weapon, Excalibur 2, is difficult to obtain to the point of being a BraggingRightsReward--it is found only in one single spot in the final dungeon, but only if you can get there in under twelve hours. This means a lot of missed content and rushing through the entire game for a weapon that is simply not worth the hassle. If you play the game normally, the Ragnarok will be the most powerful sword you can get for Steiner, making it his ''real'' InfinityPlusOneSword.

* The Brotherhood in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' - you get it early in the game, and at that point it has only one effect (Strength +5%). However, when you reach Guadosalam and visit the Farplane, it gets an upgrade, gaining a total of four effects (Strength +5%, Strength +10%, Sensor and Waterstrike). These effects are are nothing to scoff at--if you want a stronger weapon for pure power you're looking at expending several rare items to customize Strength +20% onto a different weapon. Furthermore, due to ElementalRockPaperScissors water attacks are effective against lightning-elemental enemies, and you power up the Brotherhood just before you enter an area full of lightning enemies. The only drawback of the sword is that it heals enemies that absorb water attacks, but thanks to Sensor you'll be given advance warning of them.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' the Orochi is acquired from the Bazaar by selling fairly common [[VendorTrash loot]] and is the second-strongest ninja sword by 8 attack points. The strongest ninja sword, the Yagyu Darkblade, is a very rare drop from the Bombshell, a powerful enemy deep in a dangerous optional dungeon, and besides the fact that there's a very slim chance it'll drop the weapon at all, there's only a 20% guarantee of the Bombshell itself appearing in the first place.

** This "making do" occurs because any character can equip any weapon, and this technicality also does some very weird things with the InfinityPlusOneSword designation. The InfinityPlusOneSword is most definitely the Zodiac Spear - it has the strongest attack power in the game at 150. The second-strongest, the traditional InfinityMinusOneSword, is the Tournesol, which has an attack power of 140. The problem is that the InfinityPlusOneSword, if you know what chests to avoid, is relatively easy to get by the time you hit the Salikawood and available long before that. Meanwhile, getting the Tournesol is [[GuideDangIt absolutely infuriating]] and can take ''well'' over six hours of item hunting. Geeze.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has weapons obtained from exchanging tomestone currency with a specific NPC. They are usually second best compared to weapons obtained from difficult raids or the more time consuming relics, which are the game's InfinityPlusOneSword. Sometimes weapons made by crafters and putting a lot of materia on them can also serve as a suitable second best weapon.

* ''VideoGame/SaGa3'' (aka ''Final Fantasy Legend 3''):

** The game also features spell synthesis: the best spell is Flare and requires two Fire Stones, but there are only 4. Combining a Fire Stone with any other stone gives you an elemental spell that's almost as good, but lets you get enough spells for everyone. The 'White' and 'Nuke' spells are also a step down, but cost less {{mana}} and can be bought with regular money.

** The game also features spell synthesis: the best spell is Flare and requires two Fire Stones, but there are only 4. Combining a Fire Stone with any other stone gives you an elemental spell that's almost as good, but lets you get enough spells for everyone. The 'White' and 'Nuke' spells are also a step down, but can be bought with regular money.

* Oddly enough, ''VideoGame/SaGa3'' (aka ''Final Fantasy Legend 3'') forces you to get the InfinityPlusOneSword, but you have to quest to find the other three mythic weapons. The #2 blade would be the Masamune, which is found as the Muramasa and misses every time you use it until uncursed by your party's smith back at your time-travelling stealth jet. The game also features spell synthesis: the best spell is Flare and requires two Fire Stones, but there are only 4. Combining a Fire Stone with any other stone gives you an elemental spell that's almost just as good, but lets you get enough spells for everyone.
** The reason the Mythic Swords are worthwhile is because they have no element, even "Weapon", and the final bosses have blanket strengths against every element, including "Weapon". So on a similar note, the element-free White spell, otherwise three tiers from the top, becomes your only spell casting option.

* In the original ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', at least in the PS and WSC versions that aren't afflicted with bugs, it is better to keep the Knight class equipped with the Excalibur instead of the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Masamune]] due to the former's damage bonus to ''every enemy type in the game'' making it the stronger weapon in practice.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' also features a version of this in a more wide term, rather than a single weapon it applies to a [[EvolvingWeapon rank of weapons]], as it is better to keep your weapon of choice in "Tier 2" rather then upgrading it to the ultimate one, as the ultimate ones not only require expensive materials with a absurdly low drop-rate, but also lose their ability to create Synthesized Skills with other equipment, and due how battle rank and the ATB cost for the "ultimate" attacks are calculated the higher attack and magic stats and additional ATB bar do not compensate for losing those, even after players have capability to make ultimate weapons for the whole party they are still likely to use Tier 2 ones instead.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' does away with the upgrading system to go back to the more typical system of buying weapons or having Chocolina craft them. The "Ultimate" weapons of the game are more of a BraggingRightsReward, as their stats are tied to how many Fragments you have collected. Players are more likely to use the weapons just underneath them which give useful bounses, such as an extra ATB slot, a faster ATB charge rate, or an improved stagger rate.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' has the Ultima Blade. Normally, this would be the InfinityPlusOneSword in any other Final Fantasy game. However, in ''[=XV=]'' the Ultima Blade is the ultimate form of the Engine Blade which is actually given to the player as Noctis's starting sword. Transforming it into the Ultima Blade is anything but easy. First, the player needs to have it upgraded to the Engine Blade II, then III, which is fairly easy. Then, the item needed to transform the Engine Blade II into the Ultima Blade is a rare drop that requires the player to break the horns of a rare monster, most easily found in a specific hunt. Even then, breaking the horns doesn't guarantee the drop... luckily, the game's freeform save system allows the player to [[SaveScumming save scum]] until they get it. Once obtained however, the sword is the strongest ones Noctis can use during the main questline, before going into the post game, and combines big damage with a fast attack speed, making the grind worth it. This plus the fact that the Ultima Blade is the strongest sword the player can get before completing the game's story, would normally qualify it as an InfinityPlusOneSword. However, an even stronger blade exists - the Balmung, which can only be obtained after finishing the main questline.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' has the Ultima Blade. Normally, this would be the InfinityPlusOneSword in any other Final Fantasy game. However, in ''[=XV=]'' the Ultima Blade is the ultimate form of the Engine Blade which is actually given to the player as Noctis's starting sword. Transforming it into the Ultima Blade is anything but easy. First, the player needs to have it upgraded to the Engine Blade II. Then, the item itself needed to transform the Engine Blade II into the Ultima Blade is a rare drop that requires the player to break the horns of a rare monster. Even then, breaking the horns doesn't guarantee the drop. Luckily, the game's freeform save system allows the player to [[SaveScumming save scum]] until they get it. Once obtained however, the sword is the strongest ones Noctis can use during the main questline, before going into the post game, and combines big damage with a fast attack speed, making the grind, worth it. This plus the fact that the Ultima Blade is the strongest sword the player can get before completing the game's story, would normally qualify it as an InfinityPlusOneSword. However, an even stronger blade exists - the Balmung, which can only be obtained after finishing the main questline.

** Steiner's Excalibur sword is something of an Infinity Minus Two sword, if such a thing exists. In terms of stats, it's third-best overall, but as noted above the Ragnarok is Steiner's true InfinityPlusOneSword. If you skipped out on Chocobo Hot and Cold and didn't get the Ragnarok, you can obtain the Excalibur with enough gil, a ChainOfDeals and a FetchQuest. The Excalibur is an excellent weapon on its own, is Steiner's real InfinityMinusOneSword, and teaches a very good ability in Climhazzard. Shock, the ability Steiner gets from the Ragnarok, is quite frankly [[GameBreaker overkill]] in most situations, and since the damage {{cap}} doesn't go past 9999 and Shock will do that to almost any enemy unless Steiner is horribly underleveled, the only benefit Excalibur 2 would give him is maybe saving some MP in the long run, which isn't an issue by the time you have access to Shock. The Excalibur can also have its regular boosted by equipment that powers up the Holy element, pushing its attack power above the Ragnarok and even Zidane's Ultima Weapon.
** Freya's Holy Lance is similar to the Excalibur in that it is only her third best weapon on paper, but can be improved by using it alongside armor or accessories that power up the Holy element, making it stronger than her intended ultimate weapon. However, this does not apply to Freya's Jump attack or Dragon skills.
** Amarant is another character whose third strongest weapon, the Kaiser Knuckles, can end up stronger than his nominal best weapon because it is elemental, in this case by power up the Wind element. The Kaiser Knuckles can also be obtained much earlier as part of the Chocobo Hot-and-Cold sidequest, while the Rune Knuckles can be obtained partway through the final dungeon. Like the Excalibur, the Kaiser Knuckles end up even stronger than the Ultima weapon this way. Unfortunately this does not apply to Amarant's No Mercy ability.

** Steiner's Excalibur sword is something of an Infinity Minus Two sword, if such a thing exists. In terms of stats, it's third-best overall, but as noted above the Ragnarok is Steiner's true InfinityPlusOneSword. If you skipped out on Chocobo Hot and Cold and didn't get the Ragnarok, you can obtain the Excalibur with enough gil, a ChainOfDeals and a FetchQuest. The Excalibur is an excellent weapon on its own, is Steiner's real InfinityMinusOneSword, and teaches a very good ability in Climhazzard. Shock, the ability Steiner gets from the Ragnarok, is quite frankly [[GameBreaker overkill]] in most situations, and since the damage {{cap}} doesn't go past 9999 and Shock will do that to almost any enemy unless Steiner is horribly underleveled, the only benefit Excalibur 2 would give him is maybe saving some MP in the long run, which isn't an issue by the time you have access to Shock. The Excalibur can also have its regular attacks and Steiner's Stock Break ability boosted by equipment that powers up the Holy element, pushing its attack power above the Ragnarok and even Zidane's Ultima Weapon.

** Steiner's Excalibur sword is something of an Infinity Minus Two sword, if such a thing exists. In terms of stats, it's third-best overall, but as noted above the Ragnarok is Steiner's true InfinityPlusOneSword. If you skipped out on Chocobo Hot and Cold and didn't get the Ragnarok, you can obtain the Excalibur with enough gil, a ChainOfDeals and a FetchQuest. The Excalibur is an excellent weapon on its own, is Steiner's real InfinityMinusOneSword, and teaches a very good ability in Climhazzard. Shock, the ability Steiner gets from the Ragnarok, is quite frankly [[GameBreaker overkill]] in most situations, and since the damage {{cap}} doesn't go past 9999 and Shock will do that to almost any enemy unless Steiner is horribly underleveled, the only benefit Excalibur 2 would give him is maybe saving some MP in the long run, which isn't an issue by the time you have access to Shock.

** Alternately, you can run away a bunch and pick up the Chicken Knife. It's as powerful as the Brave Blade, does more damage, and since it's a knife, can be wielded by a larger variety of classes.