Bind

Type Black Magic
Level 3
Effect Paralyzes a foe.
Hit Rate 115%
Target One foe
Element Status
Status Paralysis
Price 1,500 gil
Sold In Elfheim

Learned By

WM
RM
BM
Kn
WW
RW
BW
Ni
Bind is a very hit-or-miss Spell (and not just literally). It's highly accurate, so it will usually work, but there's always the chance the Monster you hit will break out of its Paralysis immediately. It's more likely than most debuffs to actually work on bosses (especially Marilith), though. Any time you find yourself facing one tough enemy, see if they have high Magic Defense or resist Status. If not, Bind can be great. It's a good third Spell for your Black Mage simply because Focus2 is so mediocre.
Compare Bind to other Spells
Shops: Where Bind is sold – 1 shown
Map Shop
Elfheim L3 Bl.Magic
Monsters: Which use Bind – 7 shown
Minibosses are only found in repeatable set encounters; bosses are encountered only one time during the game; the final boss must be defeated to complete the game; superbosses are the most dangerous monsters in the game, but are optional
Name		 HP Gil
The total amount of experience earned for defeating this monster (this is split evently among surviving party members)
Exp
Each physical hit will deal between one and two times this amount of damage to the target, reduced by the target's defense
Att
The number of hit chances the monster gets whenever it attacks; each successful hit will deal full damage and can be a critical hit
Hits
The accuracy of the monster's attacks; the base chance to hit is approximately 84% plus half of the monster's accuracy, modified by the target's evasion
Acc
The status ailment, if any, that can be inflicted by this monster's attacks; the base chance of affliction is 50%, reduced by 1% for each two points of magic defense the target has
Status
The chance of each of this monster's attacks being a critical hit (unless the attack misses); critical hits add double the monster's attack rating to their normal damage (this extra damage ignores defense)
Crit
Each physical hit the monster takes will have its damage reduced by this amount
Abs
The monster's base chance to evade any given physical attack; each two points of evasion result in a 1% better chance to evade attacks
Eva
For each two points of magic defense, the monster has a 1% better chance of resisting any given spell
Mag. Def.
The lowest party level at which the monster may choose to run away; the chance to run is approximately 4% for each level the party leader is above this level
Run Lev.
The chance that the monster uses a magic spell on its turn; each monster that can cast spells has a specific cycle of spells that they always use in the same order (see the monster page for specifics)
Magic
The chance that the monster uses a special attack on its turn; monsters with multiple special attacks have a specific cycle of special attacks that they always use in the same order (see the monster page for specifics)
Sp. Att
The families this monster belongs to; only undead monsters are affected by Dia spells; regenerating monsters recover 5% of their maximum hp (rounded down) at the beginning of each round; some weapons gain a +4 bonus to attack and are approximately 20% more likely to hit when used against certain monster families
Family
The elements this monster is weak against; weakness against an element causes spells and special attacks of that element to be approximately 20% more likely to hit, and damaging spells or special attacks deal an additional 50% damage
Weakness
The elements this monster is resistant to; resistance to an element drops the base hit chance for spells and special attacks of that element to 0, and those attacks cause half damage
Resists
Ogre Mage 144 723 gil 723 23 1 101 - 1% 10 27 40 27 50% - Giant, Regenerating, Spellcaster - Earth
Lich 800 3,000 gil 2200 40 1 108 Paralysis 1% 40 12 60 - 75% - Magic Beast, Spellcaster, Undead Fire Death, Ice, Poison, Status
Horned Devil 94 387 gil 387 10 4 96 - 1% 32 36 64 27 50% - Magic Beast - Earth, Fire, Ice
Marilith 1,200 3,000 gil 2475 40 6 115 - 1% 50 24 92 - 38% - Magic Beast, Spellcaster Status Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison
Evil Eye 162 3,225 gil 3225 30 1 104 - 1% 30 6 46 - 63% 23% Spellcaster - Earth
Water Naga 356 2,355 gil 2355 9 1 119 Poison 1% 8 36 58 - 75% - Aquatic, Spellcaster Lightning Earth, Fire
Death Eye 360 1 gil 1 120 1 158 Paralysis 20% 60 12 80 - 50% 25% Magic Beast, Regenerating, Undead Fire Death, Earth, Ice, Poison, Status
Steel Bolt2

Related

Stun

Type Black Magic
Level 6
Effect Paralyzes a foe.
Target One foe
Element Status
Status Paralysis
Price 20,000 gil
Sold In Crescent Lake

Learned By

WM
RM
BM
Kn
WW
RW
BW
Ni
Stun is a seemingly weird Spell, unless you're familiar with the Power Word Spells in D&D. Along with its brethren Blind and Doom, Stun only works on Monsters with less than 300 current HP. On the upside, it always works on those creatures, unless they resist Status magic. It can occasionally be useful, but late in the game most of the Monsters you fight have too much HP to make this Spell immediately useful. Of course, if you aren't a fan of instant KO Spells, Stun is a fine choice of a level 6 Spell.

Stop

Type Black Magic
Level 8
Effect Stops time for foes, immobilizing them.
Hit Rate 107%
Target All foes
Element Time
Status Paralysis
Price 60,000 gil
Sold In Gaia

Learned By

WM
RM
BM
Kn
WW
RW
BW
Ni
Stop is a very strange Spell, as it exactly the same as its level-mate Banish, except that it's 8% more accurate and causes Paralysis instead of KO. Um... yeah. Even if Paralysis wasn't simple enough to inflict with lower-level Spells, Stop would still be a pretty useless Spell.

HOLD

Sprite
Hit % 115%
Type Black Magic LV 3
Effect Inflicts Status-elemental Paralysis on one foe
Target One foe
Element Status
Inflict Status Paralysis

Learned by

WM
RM
BM
Kn
WW
RW
BW
Ni
Sold In ElfLand (1,500 G)
HOLD is a good Spell with an element of risk. It's highly accurate, so it will usually work, but there's no way to know when the Monster you hit will break out of its Paralysis. (That said, Monsters have less than a 10% chance to recover each turn.) It's more likely than many debuffs to actually work on bosses (especially KARY). Any time you find yourself facing one tough enemy, see if they have high Magic Defense or resist Status. If not, HOLD can be effective.

Stun

Sprite
Power 5 Accuracy +40%
Type Black Magic
Effect Inflicts body-elemental paralysis on the target
Status Paralysis
Element Body
Tome Stun Tome
Effect Stun 6 (All enemies)
Value 4,000 gil
Found In Castle Deist 1F
Dropped By Magician, Royal Guard
Used By Beelzebub, Ghost, Hecteyes, Pit Fiend, Skull, Sorcerer
Stun and Stop are interesting Spells. They both do the same thing, the only difference being that Stun is slightly more accurate and is Body-elemental as opposed to Matter-elemental. Less Monsters resist Body than Matter, and Stun is resisted by every Spell Stop is, but the reverse is not true. Thus, if you're going to choose between the two, Stop is more flexible at the cost of a bit of accuracy.

Hold

Type White Magic
Effect Inflict Paralyze
Status Ailment Paralyze
MP 5
Base Accuracy 85%
Reflectable No
Target One

Learned By

Pin

Type Ninja Magic
Effect Inflict Paralyze
Status Ailment Paralyze
MP 5
Base Accuracy 75%
Reflectable No
Target One

Learned By