Pope Dress
The Pope Dress in EBF4.
EBF5 version (with golden Celtic Cross).
EBF5 (with "Cleavage" off)
The Pope Dress, also known as Pope's Dress in EBF4, is a recurring female armor in the Epic Battle Fantasy series, appearing in Epic Battle Fantasy 3, 4 and 5. Its hat counterpart is the Pope Hat.
Description
In EBF3 and 4, the Pope Dress is a largely white dress with red and gold trim, featuring a strapless bodice, a golden cross on a necklace, a long skirt tied with a red rope belt, and a knee-length jacket that hangs off of the wearer's shoulders. Natalie's version has an additional red stripe along the neckline of the bodice.
EBF5's version of the Pope Dress removes the cross necklace, replaces the jacket with detached sleeves and makes the red and gold elements more prominent, including a red sash with a small square cross and thin golden stripes beneath the belt (matching the newly redesigned Pope Hat). The bodice is now extended to fully cover the midriff, unless worn by Natalie with the Cleavage option enabled, in which case it has sections removed from the center to expose her cleavage and navel.
The Pope Dress is generally resistant to Holy and Dark and specializes in increasing the wearer's Magic Defence; later games gave it abilities focused on granting Auto-Revive to the wearer or their allies. While its stats are a superb way of patching up Anna's average Magic Defence or making Natalie an outright magic tank, the lack of other meaningful boosts generally leave it outclassed by other pieces of equipment against most foes. That said, at least one of its resistances will almost always come up in the endgame, and the ability to occasionally apply Auto-Revive is quite useful in general. As such, while a fairly niche piece of equipment, the Pope Dress does have its assets which can make it useful in battle if the situation calls for it.
Epic Battle Fantasy 3
The Pope Dress has rather average bonuses to both defensive stats, but it's notable for the best MP among Natalie's armor options. It can buff Natalie's Magic Defence if she takes a powerful attack, but the Cow Costume's Defence buff may be preferred for bolstering her lacking physical bulk; the latter also has a massive HP boost to make Natalie more durable overall. The Whitemage Dress is another competitor, sacrificing a bit of MP and an elemental resistance for an HP boost and auto-Regen. On the other hand, the Pope Dress's resistances tend to be more useful than those of the Cow Costume or the Whitemage Dress, especially in the final areas of the game.
The Pope Dress is resistant to Holy, Dark, and Doom, becoming immune to Doom at Level 5.
Epic Battle Fantasy 4
The Pope Dress offers a small boost to MP and a massive bonus to Magic Defence, but at the cost of a moderate Attack penalty; this makes it better suited for Natalie unless Anna is using a pure support build. It also has a chance to cast Revive on a random living ally between turns, giving them Auto-Revive status; while a bit unreliable, this gives the party leeway to keep their buffs even if they're killed once.
For defensive purposes, the Pope Dress's main weakness is its lack of HP and Defence, which leaves its wearer vulnerable to physical attacks; as such, the Blue Dress or the Shrine Maiden Dress may be preferable despite fairly lower Magic Defence. It also lacks much in the way of offensive benefits, in which case the Dark Gown may be superior. On the other hand, its elemental resistances are useful for the endgame; particularly Godcat, who makes liberal use of both Holy and Dark attacks.
The Pope Dress resists Holy, Dark, and Curse, becoming immune to the latter at Level 5.
Epic Battle Fantasy 5
Normal
The Pope Dress has below-average Defence and ridiculously high Magic Defence; the latter is almost twice as high as the next-best female armors. It also empowers Holy skills and occasionally gives the Auto-Revive status to the wearer; the latter effect is unreliable, but provides a safety net.
Despite its impressive Magic Defence, the Pope Dress is hampered by its lacking physical bulk, especially since dangerous physical skills are more common than their magical counterparts. Its elemental boost is easily exploited by either Natalie or Anna, but its complete lack of Attack or Magic Attack means that they can get similar results from the likes of the Dark Gown or the School Uniform. Its resistances are useful enough for the endgame, but the Spider Gown and Obsidian Armor provide competition in this regard.
The Pope Dress resists Holy, Dark, Curse, and Bad Luck, becoming immune to the latter two at Level 5.
Equip Remix
Between strong defenses and a pinch of HP, the Alt Pope Dress is one of the all-around bulkiest female armors in Equip Remix. Its healing boost is largely irrelevant, but its enhanced buffing skills give it some good utility. It also empowers Holy skills, which can help Anna or Natalie do some damage despite its lack of offensive stats.
Either girl can make use of the Alt Pope Dress in a buff build (with its superior bulk being its main advantage over the Alt Casual Skirt), but Anna may be better served by the Alt Ranger Skirt; in exchange for a bit of bulk, it offers great Evade and a valuable status boost. The Alt Mecha Suit and the Alt Fur Dress are even bulkier options, but their support utility is lower; the Alt Mecha Suit in particular has some additional offensive power and a better Thunder resistance in exchange for a Water weakness and a less exploitable elemental boost in Natalie's case.
The Alt Pope Dress resists Fire, Thunder, and Holy, with none becoming an immunity at Level 5.
Epic Battle Fantasy 3
The Pope Dress is obtained by finishing a quest for Celeste in the chasm area of Glacier Valley.
|
Pope Dress |
|---|---|
| Sacred clothes of the pope. Level 4: Buffs magic defence when hit by a powerful attack. |
| Statistics | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stat Bonus | Resistance | ||||||||||||||||
| LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | |||
|
- | - | - | - | - | 
|
- | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 
|
10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% |
|
- | - | - | - | - | 
|
- | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 
|
10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% |
|
- | - | - | - | - | 
|
- | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 
|
20% | 40% | 60% | 80% | 100% |
|
- | - | - | - | - | 
|
- | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Spells & Statuses | |||||||||||||||||
| Power | Chance Modifier | ||||||||||||||||
| Auto Skill | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Bonus Skill | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Forging Information | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lvl | Requirements | Lvl | Requirements | ||||
| 2 |  x 2 |
-- | -- | 3 |  x 4 |
 x 1 |
-- |
| 4 |  x 3 |
 x 1 |
-- | 5 |  x 1 |
x 1 |
x 2 |
Epic Battle Fantasy 4
The Pope Dress is found in the Temple of Godcat, in the bottom-left chest on the next screen after the Ice Cave. The chest is blocked by a Gold Block, necessitating a Gold Key to bypass.
|
Pope's Dress |
|---|---|
| Become the Pope. Randomly casts Revive between turns. |
| Statistics | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stat Bonus | Resistance | ||||||||||||||||
| LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | |||
|
|
- | - | - | - | - |
|
- | 5% | 5% | 10% | 10% |
|
10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% |
|
|
-20% | -20% | -20% | -20% | -20% |
|
- | - | - | - | - |
|
10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% |
|
|
- | - | - | - | - |
|
20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 
|
20% | 40% | 60% | 80% | 100% |
|
|
- | - | - | - | - |
|
- | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Spells & Statuses | |||||||||||||||||
| Power | Chance Modifier | ||||||||||||||||
| Auto Skill | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Bonus Skill | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Auto Status | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| -- | |||||||||||||||||
| Forging Information | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lvl | Requirements | Lvl | Requirements | ||||
| 2 | x 3 |
-- | -- | 3 |  x 2 |
x 2 |
-- |
| 4 | x 8 |
x 3 |
x 1 |
5 | x 6 |
x 3 |
 x 1 |
Epic Battle Fantasy 5
The Pope Dress is found by a star at the end of the Secret World, accessible after defeating Snowflake.
|
Pope Dress |
|---|---|
A holy dress that wards off evil.
|
| Statistics | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stat Bonus | Resistance | ||||||||||||||||
| LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | |||
|
|
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 
|
10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% |
|
|
- | - | - | - | - |
|
- | 5%[0%] | 10%[0%] | 15%[0%] | 20%[0%] | 
|
10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% |
|
|
- | - | - | - | - |
|
20% | 30% | 40% | 55% | 70% | 
|
20% | 40% | 60% | 80% | 100% |
|
|
- | - | - | - | - |
|
- | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Spells & Statuses | |||||||||||||||||
| Power | Chance Modifier | ||||||||||||||||
| Auto Skill | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Bonus Skill | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Auto Status | 1x 
|
(30%) | |||||||||||||||
| Defend Status | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Note: Stats in brackets (below/right from actual) are for its pre-v2 update version. | |||||||||||||||||
| Forging Information | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lvl | Requirements | Lvl | Requirements | ||||
| 2 |  x 1 |
-- | -- | 3 |  x 2 |
-- | -- |
| 4 |  x 2 |
 x 1 |
-- | 5 |  x 1 |
-- | -- |
Statistics with Equip Remix enabled.
|
|
Pope Dress |
|---|---|
A holy dress that wards off evil.
|
| Statistics | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stat Bonus | Resistance | ||||||||||||||||
| LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | LV1 | LV2 | LV3 | LV4 | LV5 | |||
|
|
- | - | - | - | 5% | - | - | - | - | - | - | 
|
10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% |
|
|
- | - | - | - | - |
|
10% | 15% | 20% | 25% | 35% | 
|
10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% |
|
|
- | - | - | - | - |
|
10% | 15% | 20% | 25% | 35% |
|
10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% |
|
|
- | - | - | - | - |
|
- | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Spells & Statuses | |||||||||||||||||
| Power | Chance Modifier | ||||||||||||||||
| Auto Skill | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Bonus Skill | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Auto Status | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Defend Status | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Forging Information | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lvl | Requirements | Lvl | Requirements | ||||
| 2 | x 1 |
-- | -- | 3 | x 2 |
-- | -- |
| 4 | x 2 |
x 1 |
-- | 5 |  x 2 |
 x 1 |
 x 1 |
Trivia
- The Pope's Dress and its associated hat first appeared in Epic Battle Fantasy 2, being worn by the Angel that helped the heroes after they were poisoned by the Sandworm.