As far as Magick-casting goes in FF12, Mystic Armor is your best option to keep outputting the strongest damage (or healing).
Mystic Armor is available to the Black Mage, White Mage, Bushi, and Red Battlemage classes. So there’s a lot to go around.
There are better pieces of gear for damage vs. defense and healing, but we’ll go over all of it in this ranking. Let’s dive in first with the best headgear armor picks.
Best Mystic Headgear
Your typical Mystic Headgear involves Magick Resist benefits, as well as Magick Power increase.
You’ll often see an increased MP from these gear pieces.
5. Celebrant’s Miter
The Celebrant’s Miter is first on our list.
It’s a very strong option for mid to late-game, and has decent specs to take you to endgame.
It has a Magick Resist of 50, Magick Power 6, and MP increase of 90.
If that weren’t enough already, it also increases your Speed by 5. The Celebrant’s Miter is a very nice well-rounded headgear.
License needed: Mystic Armor 9 How to get:
– Purchased in Balfonheim Port (after Treaty-Blade) for 10,700 gil
– Found in the Echoes from Time’s Garden area of Ridorana Cataract
– Stolen from Chimera Brain
4. Black Mask
The Black Mask is already a bit harder to get than the Celebrant’s Miter.
It’s the first item that isn’t purchasable for Mystic headgear.
For stats, is has a Magick Resist of 53, Magick Power 8, and MP increase of 81.
And as the name might suggest, it also has an Absorb effect for Dark – which makes you much safer against those attacks.
License needed: Mystic Armor 10 How to get:
– Found in The Terraced Bank area of Cerobi Steppe and Horizon’s Cusp of Pharos – First Ascent
– Drops from Banshee
– Acquired through the bazaar as Black Vestments
– Acquired through the Hunt Club
3. White Mask
You’ll notice that the White Mask is a powerful item with very similar stats as its counterpart, the Black Mask.
Although it does have slightly higher resistance, so it’s certainly an upgrade.
It has a Magick Resist of 56, Magick Power 8, and MP increase of 81.
And similar to the Black Mask, this one mask absorbs Holy damage.
If you have both masks you could easily swap them around the party too, just based on circumstance.
License needed: Mystic Armor 11 How to get:
– Found in the North Liavell Hills area of Cerobi Steppe and Cloister of Distant Song of Necrohol of Nabudis
– Drops from Juggernaut
– Acquired through the bazaar as White Vestments
– Acquired through the Hunt Club
2. Golden Skullcap
This next entry is a grind to acquire – but it’s worth it for the stat increases.
This item is very comparable to the ultimate headgear for mages.
The Golden Skullcap has a Magick Resist of 58, Magick Power 10, and MP increase of 107. It also has a Speed increase of 3.
If you can acquire this early from the Nabreus Deadlands then you’ll have a strong advantage for the rest of the game.
License needed: Mystic Armor 12 How to get:
– Found in the Site 11 area of Lhusu Mines and The Northsward of Cerobi Steppe
– Drops from Dead Bones (or steal from Dead Bones)
1. Circlet
The Circlet is the ultimate Mystic headgear in the entire game.
It’s never easy to acquire ultimate gear, but it’s always worth it if you want maximum output.
For stats, the Circlet has a Magick Resist of 60, Magick Power 10, and massive MP increase of 151.
It also, surprisingly, increases Strength by 2 for the wearer.
A Bushi wielding a Katana will benefit greatly from the Circlet, as the strength bonus increases that damage.
Obviously your Mage classes will be very successful with this ultimate piece of gear as well.
License needed: Mystic Armor 13 How to get:
– Found in the Phase 2 Dig area of Henne Mines and Crossfield of Cerobi Steppe
Best Mystic Armor
Mystic Armor provides stat bonuses to Defense and Magick Power.
You’ll also get increases to MP, much like the Mystic Headgear. So let’s see which ones are worth tracking down:
8. Maduin Gear
The Maduin gear is a mid-game piece of gear that can likely take you to late-game.
It’s a safe bet to upgrade to this from any previous gear.
It has a Defense of 41, Magick Power 8, and MP increase of 46.
Plus is also increases Strength by just 1 point.
That may seem small, but depending on your class and weapons, it could make all the difference in combat.
License needed: Mystic Armor 7 How to get:
– Purchased in Archades and Balfonheim Port for 7,000 gil
– Found in the Lost Way area of Tchita Uplands and The Slumbermead of Nabreus Deadlands
– Stolen from Ahriman
– Poached from Imp
7. Jade Gown
This next entry is a strong upgrade – but it’s the weaker of the two in this license slot.
If you’re wanting to stay on top of gear upgrades then it’s still worth buying.
The Jade Gown has a Defense of 44, Magick Power 8, and MP increase of 53.
No special effects for this armor, but a nice upgrade regardless.
License needed: Mystic Armor 8 How to get:
– Purchased in Balfonheim Port for 8,100 gil
– Found in the Ice Field of Clearsight area of Feywood and Cloister of the Highborn of Necrohol of Nabudis
– Stolen from Topstalk
6. Gaia Gear
The Gaia Gear is a solid pick to upgrade as well.
However it is the first non-purchasable armor in this list.
That said, it has a fun stat combination that can work really well in certain fights.
Gaia Gear comes with a Defense of 47, Magick Power increase of 8, and MP increase of 10.
It may seem a bit weaker in terms of stats so far- but it also increases the wearer’s HP by 150!
The combined HP and Defense buffs can make this a solid armor piece for late-game.
License needed: Mystic Armor 8 How to get:
– Found in the South Liavell Hills area of Cerobi Steppe and Trahk Pis Praa of Great Crystal
– Drops from Mythril Golem
5. Cleric’s Robes
This is the final type of mystic armor that’s purchasable in-game.
If you buy only one piece of gear for end-game, buy this one.
The Cleric’s Robes offer a Defense of 50, Magick Power 9, and MP increase of 70. It’s a great boost for any Magick-user to at least take you forward to find better gear for the rest of the game.
License needed: Mystic Armor 9 How to get:
– Purchased in Balfonheim Port (after Treaty-Blade) for 10,700 gil
– Found in the Echoes from Time’s Garden area of Ridorana Cataract
– Poached from Vivian
4. White Robes
The White Robes offer a great end-game piece of armor, so they’re absolutely worth tracking down.
You’ll likely want to combine this with the White Mask – and you can find them in roughly the same areas & the same bazaar entry.
These magical white robes have a Defense of 53, Magick Power 10, and MP increase of 66.
They also increase HP by 100 and Speed by 4.
Not to mention these also have elemental potency increase for Holy attacks. The varied stat increases really seal the deal here & make this armor a nice well-rounded choice.
License needed: Mystic Armor 11 How to get:
– Found in the Old Elanise Road area of Cerobi Steppe and Spire Ravel – 2nd Flight of Pharos – Third Ascent
– Stolen from Piscodaemon
– Acquired through the bazaar as White Vestments
3. Black Robes
The Black Robes have similar stats as the White Robes, naturally.
They also combo nicely with the Black Mask – which should come as a surprise to no one.
With these darker robes your party will get a Defense boost of 56, Magick Power 12, and MP increase of 66.
These also increase Magick Resist by 5.
And as a special effect, this armor also increases the potency for Dark attacks.
License needed: Mystic Armor 10 How to get:
– Found in the Terraced Bank area of Cerobi Steppe and Cloister of the Highborn of Necrohol of Nabudis
– Poached from Mistmare
– Acquired through the bazaar as Black Vestments
2. Glimmering Robes
The Glimmering Robes offer one of the absolute best pieces of Mystic armor in the game.
This is quite comparable to the ultimate Mystic armor, and can easily take you to endgame.
These robes have a Defense of 59, Magick Power 12, and MP increase of 120. Plus they also increase Vitality by 10.
If you invest the time to acquire these early in your FF12 adventure, these robes can carry you through a lot of encounters without difficulty.
License needed: Mystic Armor 12 How to get:
– Found in the Site 5 area of Lhusu Mines and The Northsward of Cerobi Steppe
– Stolen from Crystal Knight
1. Lordly Robes
And here it is: the ultimate Mystic armor in the entire game.
Obviously the Lordly Robes.
This is the gear to get if you want the best output for your Magick-user. As the ultimate armor, it is very difficult to obtain.
The Lordly Robes offer a Defense of 61, Magick Power 15, and MP increase of 100. And they also increase Strength by 5.
That Strength can translate nicely to help Greatswords and Katanas for the White or Red mages, and Bushi, respectively.
And for headgear, well the Circlet is the obvious choice to combo with the Lordly Robes for your armor build.
They both offer Strength increases, and are both the ultimate gear for all FFXII Mystic Armor.
License needed: Mystic Armor 13 How to get:
– Found in the Special Charter Shaft area of Henne Mines and The Northsward of Cerobi Steppe
– Acquired through the Hunt Club
