Attack enemies by channeling the power of the surrounding area.Description
Gaia, also known as Terrain and Earth, is the ability of the Geomancer job in Final Fantasy V. It is an offensive skillset whose effects vary depending on the terrain on which the current battle is taking place. There may be several different Gaia effects that may take place on a single type of battlefield.
Mechanics
The Gaia command is useful, especially in the hands of a spellcaster. It has a random effect, based on the current location's environment. In all versions barring the discontinued mobile/Steam version, the outcome depends on the caster's level. The effects caused by the command vary, causing something as simple as minor damage to inflicting instant death. Regardless, this command is based on the user's Magic Power and costs no MP, so it is a cheap alternative to magic.
The abilities are randomly selected depending on the current terrain. The higher the character's level, the more powerful abilities they can get. To choose which ability to use, the game generates a random number between 0 and the character's level. Most terrains have four abilities which can be used. If the random number is between 0 and 10, ability 1 is used; if it is between 11 and 20, ability 2 is used; if it is between 21 and 50, ability 3 is used; ability 4 can thus only be used if the character is level 51 or higher. Some terrains have fewer abilities, with the random number adjusted accordingly. In the defunct mobile/Steam version, all abilities are available regardless of the user's level.
Mimicking Gaia still has a random outcome.
List of abilities
Default sorting is alphabetical. Sort by Terrain to see which abilities happen in the same terrain. Sort by Effect to separate single-attacks, multi-attacks, and special effects; attack abilities will also get sorted by element.
| Ability | Images | Terrain | Effect | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bindweed (Vine Hell) |
 |
Forests | Disable: Inflicts slow and non-elemental damage to one enemy. | Unblockable |
| Branch Arrow |  |
Forests | Attack one: Non-elemental-damage to one enemy. | 53 |
| Branch Spear |  |
Forests | Attack one: Non-elemental damage to one enemy. | 150 |
| Leaf Swirl (Rage) |
 |
Forests | Disable: Wind damage to all enemies. 99% chance to inflict darkness. | Unblockable |
| Burning Sands (Heat Sand) |
 |
Deserts | Attack all: Fire and earth damage to all enemies. | 150 |
| Desert Storm (Maelstrom) |
 |
Deserts | Attack all: Reduces all enemy's HP to a single digit. | — |
| Quicksand |  |
Deserts | Attack all: Instant death to all enemies. Fails against Heavy-types. | Unblockable |
| Sandstorm (Dust Storm) |
 |
Deserts | Disable: Wind and earth damage to all enemies; 50% to inflict darkness. | Unblockable |
| Big Wave (Big Tsunami) |
 |
Beaches, Ocean, Ship Graveyard, Walse Tower | Attack all: water damage to all enemies. | 90/120 |
| Tsunami |  |
Beaches, Ocean, Ship Graveyard, Walse Tower | Attack all: Water damage to all enemies. | 38 |
| Waterfall |  |
Beaches, Ocean, Ship Graveyard | Attack all: Water elemental damage to all enemies. | 120 |
| Whirlpool |  |
Beaches, Ocean, Ship Graveyard, Walse Tower, Guido's Cave, Istory Falls | Attack one: Reduces one enemy's HP to a single digit. | — |
| Bottomless Bog (Bottomless Swamp) |
 |
Swampland | Attack all: Death to all enemies. Fails against Heavy-types. | Unblockable |
| Poison Mist |  |
Swampland, Pyramid of Moore | Attack all: Poison damage to all enemies and 99% chance to inflict poison. | Unblockable |
| Sonic Boom |  |
Plains, Towers, The Void, Castle Exdeath, Cleft of Dimension, Pyramid of Moore, Ship Graveyard, Library of the Ancients | Attack one: Reduces one enemy's HP to 1/4 of total HP. | Unblockable |
| Earthquake |  |
Plains, Fire-Powered Ship, Drakenvale, North Mountain | Attack all: Earth damage to all non-flying enemies. | 90 |
| Gust |  |
Plains, Drakenvale, North Mountain, Fire-Powered Ship, Castle Exdeath, Tule Area, The Void, Castle Basements, Big Bridge | Attack one: Wind damage to one enemy. | 38 |
| Twister (Tornado) |
 |
Plains, Towers, The Void, Drakenvale, North Mountain, Fire-Powered Ship, Big Bridge, Cleft of Dimension | Attack one: Reduces one enemy's HP to a single digit. | — |
| Wind Slash (Gale Cut) |
 |
The Void, Towers, Plains, Castle Exdeath, Ronka Ruins, Castles, Big Bridge, Caves, Mountains. | Attack all: Wind damage to all enemies. | 90 |
| Cave-In (Cave-in) |
 |
Drakenvale, North Mountain, Pyramid of Moore, Caves, Istory Falls | Attack all: Earth damage to all enemies. Hits up to 4 times. | Unblockable |
| Stalactite |  |
Caves, Istory Falls, Cleft of Dimension, Castle Exdeath | Attack one: Non-elemental damage to one enemy. | 120 |
| Ignus Fatuus (Will-o-Wisp) |
 |
Swampland, Caves, Pyramid of Moore, Mountain Caves, Interdimensional Rift, Istory Falls, Ship Graveyard, Library of the Ancients | Disable: Fire damage to one enemy; 50% chance to inflict confuse. | Unblockable |
| Phantom (Faen Fantom) |
 |
Beaches, Walse Tower | Kills one enemy. Does not bypass _target's immunity to Death but Kills Heavy enemies. Fully heals the undead. |
Final Fantasy V: Algorithms/Stats FAQ by instructrtrepe contains a list of all Gaia ability sets
Other appearances
Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Many Gaia abilities appear as ability and legend cards used by the party members from Final Fantasy V.
Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Gallery
- GBA
Etymology
Gaia or Gaea was the goddess or personification of Earth in ancient Greek religion, one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia was the mother of all: the heavenly gods, the Titans and the Giants were born from her union with Uranus (the sky), while the sea-gods were born from her union with Pontus (the sea). The Greek word "γαῖα" (transliterated as gaia or gaea) is a collateral form of "γῆ" meaning Earth. Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was named Gaea (Terra in more ancient documents). This is alluded to in Final Fantasy IX with the existence of Gaia's twin world.
The mythological name Gaia was revived in 1979 by James Lovelock, whose Gaia hypothesis proposes that living organisms and inorganic material are part of a dynamic system that shapes the Earth's biosphere, and maintains the Earth as a fit environment for life. In some Gaia theory approaches the Earth itself is viewed as an organism with self-regulatory functions. This theory is especially alluded to in the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within take on Gaia as the planet's soul.