Dia III

From FFXIclopedia, the free Final Fantasy XI encyclopedia

Lowers an enemy's defense and gradually deals Light elemental damage.

Description Spell cost: 45 MP Spell element: Light Magic skill: Enfeebling Jobs: Level 75 Red Mage Merit Info: Lasts 30 seconds upon first unlocking. Each additional Merit increases the duration by 30 seconds.

Timers Casting Time: 2 second Recast Time: 7 seconds

How to Obtain

Obtained: Red Mage Merit points Group 2

Other Information

Dia III initially lasts 30 seconds. Each upgrade increases the duration of the spell by 30 seconds.

Effects

Casting Dia III will lower the target's defense by approximately 15% (39/256). This effect cannot be resisted except with Magic Shield.

Note

Some monsters are able to use Dia III as well:

Alexander

Byakko

Razfahd

In addition, the Wamoura ability Erosion Dust inflicts Dia III.

Dia / Bio Priority 

Dia and Bio do not stack.

Bio III > Dia III > Bio II > Dia II > Bio > Dia

Example: If Dia is cast, and Bio is cast afterwards, Dia will be overwritten. If Dia II is then cast, Bio will be overwritten. If Bio II is cast, Dia II will be overwritten.

Note: This is not necessarily the case for player characters who have been hit with both spells.

Useful Macros

/ma "Dia III" <t> Casts onto current target

/ma "Dia III" <bt> Casts onto last target claimed by party

/ma "Dia III" <stnpc> Allows you to select a target from available NPCs

The Meaning of Dia

The spell "Dia" comes from the original Japanese release of the first Final Fantasy in the series, where it is the base name of several spells, all of which inflict varying amounts of damage on undead enemies. The name of this spell in the North American release was changed to "Harm", "Hrm2", and so on. The reason for the change is speculation at best, but most likely due to the 4 character limitation in spell names combined with a desire to name spells in ways English speakers could more easily identify their purpose. Despite seeming to be a truncation of the word "diamond" in English, in Japanese the spell "Dia" bares no relationship to diamonds and is spelled and pronounced ディア(dia /diä/, "Dee-ah"), not ダイヤ(daiya /däɪjä/, "Dye-ah").

What "Dia" itself actually refers to can have multiple interpretations. "Dia" can be defined as the prefix that was derived from Greek roots, which means "to pass through or join", and also refers to God in Gaelic, being part of the greeting "dia duit", meaning "God's blessing." Most likely, however, it is meant to refer to "the day" after the word "el día" in Spanish. This is due to the fact that the spell would only damage the undead, presumably by sunlight, and is even animated as a blast of sunlight in more graphically advanced remakes of the game.