Magick that warps space, granting Float to distant units.
The Ivalice Chronicles' description
Float is a Time Magicks ability in Final Fantasy Tactics, learned by the time mage job. It charges a spell that grants the Float status to units within the effect radius, allowing them to move unhindered through certain terrain and become immune to earth-elemental damage. The action ability must be learned by expending JP earned for the time mage job.
Certain abilities and equipment grant Auto-Float, a permanent Float effect. These include the time mage's own Levitate movement ability, as well the winged boots and the Envoûtement (Cherche) accessories.
Obtained
Float costs 200 JP to be spent on the time mage job. Once the unit has learned it, it is available for other jobs as long as they have the Time Magicks or Arithmeticks skillset equipped.
If a unit that knows Float becomes a crystal, a human unit picking up the crystal may learn Float without spending JP, as long as said unit has unlocked the time mage job.
Mechanics
Land of mercy, loosen tight fists! Float!
Upon casting
Float costs 8 MP with a charge time of 50 speed, with a cross-shaped effect range that can affect up to five units. Magick has a chance to hit (including healing and supportive magicks) based on the caster's faith and the target's faith. Float's chance of success is based on the following formula:
This means that the higher both the caster and the target's faith stats, the higher the chances of the Float spell to take effect.
The Float status effect, as the name suggests, makes the units hover above the ground. Floating units are suspended 1 height above where they are standing and will be immune to earth-elemental attacks (such as the summoner's Titan or the monk's Shockwave). Units under the Float effect can move over rugged terrain without penalty, such as lava and water, and are unaffected by other terrain-based penalties, such as the inability to move in water of depth of 2 height or greater (a character with Float will hover 1 height above the water level). Units with the Levitate movement ability (but not those who received the status from accessories or from the Time Magicks) can stop over lava. Unlike most status effects, once applied, Float does not wear off, whether applied through Time Magicks or passively added with the movement ability or an accessory.
Float can be removed with other abilities, such as the mystic's Harmony or the templar's Dispel.
The unit can still attempt to cast magick even without the required MP, however, it will fail upon activating.
Float can be reflected, and will be nullified against a unit with zero faith or under the Atheist status; however the status effect will still make the unit hover if they were granted Float before becoming affected by Atheist, having their faith reduced to zero, or wearing an equipment that grants the Auto-Float effect. Float can be cast instantly by the arithmetician job command, Arithmeticks.
When casting magick, the player can choose whether to target the unit or the tile. Targeting the unit will result in the magick being cast directly at the character, meaning that if they move, the spell will still affect them. Targeting the tile will result in the spell only affecting the selected map tile; if there are no units within the spell radius, the cast will fail.
Use
Float's has a niche use, being mostly useful to circumvent maps with specific terrain obstacles, such as Tchigolith Fenlands poisonous swamp or Mount Bervenia volcanic geography.
The immunity to earth-elemental attacks is a powerful effect, but abilities that employ said element are significantly rare compared to others such as fire or ice, with the summoner's Titan being the most common.
Behind the scenes
In the PlayStation version, a time mage casting Float may chant: "Land of mercy, loosen tight fists! Float!" Spellcasting chants are not used in The War of the Lions version, but return in The Ivalice Chronicles with new localization.