Final Fantasy IX

The same way as the other abilities. You need to find/buy the right equipment and gain enough AP to master the skill. If you unequip it too soon you will not be able to use the particular magic/summon.
Summons are usually bound to a gem or accessories.

If you are wondering why others do not have magic/summons it is because these abilities are character dependant in FF9.
---
Gaming paradox - The lower the score the better the game
http://steamcommunity.com/id/jaccob5/

wigsplasher posted...

I'm on disc 3 now and my characters hardly know any spells. What am I missing!?

You learn summons by equipping stones such Topaz, Amethyst, etc.

You learn magic and abilities by equipping weapons on your mages or other equipment that contain the desired magic.

For example, to learn Holy (the most powerful White Magic in this game) you must have a specific armor equipped to your White Mage. You can see the guides for more details.

Note: Not all stones can teach Dagger summons, and not all stones can teach Eiko summons. Some teach it only to Dagger, some only to Dagger, and some other abilities.
---
I go on message boards to complain about games I never played.

wigsplasher posted...

So I just leave them equipped and battle?

Yep, battle until the AP bar is complete. Then you'll have permanently learned that ability, be it magic, summons, or whatever other in-game ability. Some take more AP, some less.
---
I go on message boards to complain about games I never played.

What have you been doing for three disks?

MysterPixel posted...

joeygerald805 posted...

What have you been doing for three disks?

I think the way that equipment becomes available to the casters makes it pretty easy to 'miss out' on their spells, if you equip the best stuff as soon as you get it and don't spend time grinding. It seemed like this on my first time through anyway.

It's the worst part of the game - the skill system.

If you play the game at a standard pace and don't grind, you will never master a very large portion of important spells and abilities, as these are the ones that usually take loads of AP to master.

Weapons are the worst candidate for this, and FF9 is the only FF where I feel compelled to grind to master abilities before I can equip the shiny new weapon I've just bought.

One of the worst examples is when you get to Lindblum and can get The Ogre and Butterfly Edge at the same time, both have different skills on, but The Ogre is just flat out better. So you have to grind 45 AP or so on the Butterfly Edge before you can start wandering around with The Ogre. So frustrating.
---
PSN: Toastie88 | XBL: Mor7al S7rike | Steam: webbc99
Playing: Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy IX, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Dark Souls