Mog masters a new Dance along the Lethe River in Final Fantasy VI.

Main Walkthrough

One of the few optional party members in Final Fantasy VI - even if you are forced to steer him around a few times - Mog is worth recruiting. This is in no small part because his special command, Dance, which allows Mog to draw on the powers of nature to restore the party and inflict harm on enemies. Mog learns new Dances by exploring different landscapes around the world, so the more you poke around, the more powerful he becomes.

Mog must not perform a Dance during combat in unfamiliar terrain if he wants to learn a new Dance. Whenever Mog successfully Dances he changes the background of the battlefield, and since he by definition already knows the Dance associated with that background he can't learn a new one. Use Fight or Magic to get Mog through the battle and he'll learn the Dance once you win the fight.

There are a few rules associated with Mog's Dances that you need to keep in mind:
  • Mog randomly stumbles when starting a Dance. If this happens you'll just have to try again. This doesn't happen nearly as often if Mog attempts to Dance on a terrain that matches the Dance.
  • Each of Mog's Dances has four associated moves. Mog randomly chooses the moves he uses, with some coming up more often than others.
  • Similar to Gau's Rages, you can't control Mog's Dances. He'll do whatever he wants.
  • Mog won't stop Dancing unless he gets knocked out, or until the battle ends. If you want to regain control of Mog you'll have to knock him out yourself.
This guide will help you learn, and use, the eight Dances of Final Fantasy VI. They aren't always advisable, since you can't control Mog, but his Dances can help you carve a path of easy destruction through a number of dungeons.

Mog uses the Wind Rhapsody Dance in Final Fantasy VI.

Wind Rhapsody (Wind Song)

Learn: World map plains
Moves:
  • Cockatrice - Inflicts non-elemental damage and Petrify on a single target
  • Plasma - Inflicts Lightning damage to a single target
  • Sunbath - Restores HP to whole party
  • Wind Slash - Inflicts Wind damage on all enemies
A dance of the plains. Wind Rhapsody is a solid early-game Dance, and when you don't have great healers in your party it's even a decent choice for boss battles thanks to Sunbath. Cockatrice is the only so-so move, since it won't work on bosses, but it hardly ever comes up.

Mog learns Wind Rhapsody by walking on any featureless terrain on the world map. It's the easiest Dance to learn.

Mog uses the Forest Nocturne Dance in Final Fantasy VI.

Forest Nocturne (Forest Suite)

Learn: World map forests
Moves:
  • Forest Healing - Removes most status ailments from the party
  • Leaf Swirl - Deals non-elemental damage to all enemies
  • Will o' the Wisp - Inflicts Fire damage on a single target
  • Wombat - Inflicts non-elemental damage to a single non-flying target
A dance of the trees. Forest Nocturne is a solid choice, given the high damage output of Will o' the Wisp and the non-elemental nature of Leaf Swirl and Wombat. Forest Healing is quite situational, and not worth counting on in a pinch.

Mog learns the Forest Nocturne by stepping into a forest and getting into a battle. There are forests all over the place on the world map, making this a simple Dance to learn.

Mog uses the Desert Lullaby Dance in Final Fantasy VI.

Desert Lullaby (Desert Aria)

Learn: World map deserts
Moves:
  • Antlion - Inflicts Instant Death on a single target
  • Meerkat - Casts Haste on the whole party
  • Sandstorm - Inflicts Wind damage on all opponents
  • Wind Slash - Inflicts Wind damage on all opponents
A dance of the dunes. Desert Lullaby would be much more useful if Meerkat popped up more often, but as it is this Dance is good largely for reliable Wind damage. One of the lesser Dances, on the whole.

Mog learns the Desert Lullaby by fighting in deserts on the world map. The area surrounding Figaro Castle is a nice, easy place to pick up this Dance.

Mog uses the Love Serenade Dance in Final Fantasy VI.

Love Serenade (Love Sonata)

Learn: Indoor battles
Moves:
  • Apparition - Inflicts Confusion on a single target
  • Snare - Inflicts Instant Death on a single target
  • Tapir - Removes status ailments from the whole party, and fully restors HP and MP to characters with Sleep status
  • Will o' the Wisp - Inflicts Fire damage on a single target
An urban dance. Love Serenade is a middling Dance, with Will o' the Wisp acting as the only consistent damage-dealer. The other moves are too situational to be that great in the majority of battles.

Mog learns the Love Serenade by fighting indoors. The quickest place to pick it up is to revisit Zozo and enter any of the buildings.

Mog uses the Earth Blues Dance in Final Fantasy VI.

Earth Blues

Learn: Outdoor mountain locations
Moves:
  • Boar Brigade - Inflicts non-elemental damage to a single target
  • Rock Slide - Inflicts non-elemental damage to a single target
  • Sonic Boom - Inflicts 5/8's of the target's HP as damage
  • Sunbath - Restores HP to whole party
A dance of altitudes. Earth Blues is one of the better Dances, as it's guaranteed to hit just about every enemy for some amount of damage (though Sonic Boom doesn't work on anything immune to Instant Death attacks). It also has Sunbath as a nice healing option.

Mog learns the Earth Blues by exploring mountain locations with outdoor sections. The easiest place to do this is at Mt. Kolts, northeast of South Figaro.

Mog uses the Water Harmony Dance in Final Fantasy VI.

Water Harmony (Water Rondo)

Learn: Rafting / underwater locations
Moves:
  • Apparition - Inflicts Confusion on a single target
  • El Niño - Inflicts Water damage on all enemies
  • Plasma - Inflicts Lightning damage to a single target
  • Raccoon - Restores HP and status to all allies
A dance of the tides. Arguably the best Dance in the game, Water Harmony can do lots of damage thanks to El Niño and Plasma, and the occasional use of Raccoon can help an ailing party. Any dungeon with fiery monsters will fear Water Harmony.

Mog learns the Water Harmony by fighting on water. If you're playing on the SNES or Pixel Remaster versions of Final Fantasy VI you'll only have two options for learning this Dance, both in the World of Balance:
  • Rafting on the Lethe River
  • Flowing down the Serpent Trench from the Veldt
In both cases you'll have to park your airship somewhere along the route of Sabin's scenario, find one of those two water sources, and fight a battle along it. Both separate you from the airship, meaning you'll have to trek back the long way. (Fortunately, you're able to skip the various dungeons and story battles associated with Sabin's scenario, so this doesn't take too long.)

If you have any version with the Dragons' Den and additional Magicite available, you have an option in the World of Ruin, as well: Bring Mog to the battle against the Esper Leviathan. Leviathan attacks your party if you try to take the ferry between Nikeah and South Figaro, though only after you acquire the second airship.

Mog uses the Twilight Requiem Dance in Final Fantasy VI.

Twilight Requiem (Dusk Requiem)

Learn: Cave locations
Moves:
  • Cave In - Inflicts 3/4 of a single target's current HP as damage
  • Poisonous Frog - Inflicts Poison damage to a single target, and may inflict Poison status
  • Snare - Inflicts Instant Death on a single target
  • Will o' the Wisp - Inflicts Fire damage on a single target
A dance of the deep. Twilight Requiem is of variable use, and the only truly reliable move is Will o' the Wisp, which doesn't come up as often as you might like. Still, this Dance proves quite useful the first time you get to use Mog, so you may want to give it a try anyway.

Mog learns the Twilight Requiem by fighting in caves. This is the first Dance you can get, as you have the option to control Mog while saving Terra at the beginning of Final Fantasy VI. If you don't pick it up then, just take Mog into the Narshe Mines to learn the Dance. You can also grab it while getting the Earth Blues on Mt. Kolts.



Snowman Rondo (Snowman Jazz)

Learn: Outdoor sections of Narshe
Moves:
  • Arctic Hare - Restores HP to whole party
  • Avalanche - Inflicts Ice damage to all opponents
  • Snare - Inflicts Instant Death on a single target
  • Snowball - Reduces a single target's HP by half
A chill dance. Snowman Rondo is a bit underwhelming by the time you get it, with comparable healing powers as other Dances but fewer opportunities to deal a lot of damage. There are better Dances than this one.

Mog learns the Snowman Rondo on the icy, outdoor plains of Narshe. Mog isn't available during the Battle of Narshe in the World of Balance, so you'll need to bring Mog along to the battles against the Ice Dragon or Valigarmanda in the World of Ruin instead.