Angelic Ankh

The Angelic Ankh is a Ankh-class Artifact weapon found throughout the Golden Sun series.

Basic Description by Game
In all appearances, the Angelic Ankh increases the wielder's Attack by 83 points. It can be bought for 6400 coins and sold for 4800 coins. Thus, the Angelic Ankh was classified as a Staff-class weapon. In Golden Sun, it is sold in Tolbi, and can be equipped by Ivan and Mia. In Golden Sun: The Lost Age, it is sold at the Apojii Islands, and can be equipped by Jenna and Sheba.

In Golden Sun and The Lost Age, there was no differentiation between staffs and Ankhs except for in-battle appearance. Its Unleash effect is Life Leech, which is effectively a standard physical attack that adds 29 damage points and then modifies the resulting damage based on the user's Mercury Power and the target's Mercury Resistance. It may also restore the user's HP meter by the amount of damage inflicted. Life Leech visually resembles the user attacking the target and a flurry of light blue orbs being siphoned from the target to the user.

In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Ankhs become a separate weapon class, with its own experience gauge. As an Ankh class weapon, the Angelic Ankh can only be equipped by Rief and Himi. The Angelic Ankh is sold in Port Rago. It retains Life Leech as its main Unleash, but also gains Berserk Rush as a secondary Unleash. Berserk Rush is a non-elemental physical attack that multiplies damage by 1.6.

Analysis
In Golden Sun, this might not actually be all that impressive an upgrade to your party due to how you could possibly have equipped the Mystery Blade from Crossbone Isle, while the previous staff, the Frost Wand, is only slightly weaker than this. And this is not considering what you can get from the Lucky Medal mini-game in Tolbi, including an Assassin Blade that can be equipped on Ivan instead and a Grievous Mace that can be equipped on Mia instead. However, the native Mercury damage and healing side effect may make it ideal for Mia (as opposed to the Earth-aligned Grievous Mace) up until Lalivero, when stronger Mercury element weapons are acquired.

In The Lost Age, it has a similar issue in its lack of sharp power improvement for a purchasable Artifact that becomes available once the Great Eastern Sea becomes available. It becomes all the more undesirable as a purchase because of other weapon artifacts available for purchase that are stronger than it, which themselves are ignored because of much better weapon artifacts that can be forged from both raw material and rusty items, as well as weapons found in dungeon chests.

In Dark Dawn, the Angelic Ankh's reclassification means that only Rief will be able to equip it when it first becomes available. Life Leech's Mercury-based nature and its chance at restoring HP make it a useful weapon for him to equip. However, the player may also choose to equip the Grievous Mace, if it has not been given to another Adept. While the Grievous Mace is a Venus-based pure-element weapon, it does give a higher attack bonus.

Gallery of Dark Dawn unleashes