Final Fantasy IV for Nintendo DS "Boss FAQ"
By Mykas0
version 1.06
15-3-2008
BE SURE TO READ THIS FIRST PART! You can read this faq as long as you
don't change ANY part of it (including this small introduction). Also,
you can print it but only for use at your home, you may NEVER sell
this stuff or else you will make me really mad and maybe I won't work
anymore! Finally, if you want to use this faq on your site (or use any
part of it for other things, like writing your own faq or something) you
have to mail me and ask me for it, I will almost surely grant it to you!
Finally, this guide may NEVER be published in CheatCC.
Also, I must warn you that this faq is full of small spoilers, so if
you don't want the game spoiled for you, just don't read it!
0~. Version History
1~. Introduction and important tips
---------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Normal Bosses
2~. Mist Dragon
3~. General + 3x Soldier
4~. Octomammoth
5~. Antlion
6~. Mom Bomb
7~. Milon + 4x Scarmiglione
8~. Milon Zombie
9~. Dark Knight
10~. Guard x2
11~. Yang
12~. Baigan
13~. Cagnazzo
14~. Dark Elf
15~. Sandy + Cindy + Mindy
16~. Barbariccia
17~. 3x Cal + 3x Brina (or Calbrina)
18~. Golbez
19~. Dr. Lugae + Barnabas (or Barnabas-Z)
20~. Lugaborg
21~. King Eblan + Queen Eblan
22~. Rubicant
23~. Evil Wall
24~. Elements (Milon Zombie, Cagnazzo, Barbariccia or Rubicant)
25~. Attacker + Cpu + Defender
26~. Zeromus
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Optional Bosses
OP1~. Asura
OP2~. Leviathan
OP3~. Odin
OP4~. Bahamut
OP5~. White Dragon
OP6~. Dark Bahamut
OP7~. Lunasaur
OP8~. Plague
OP9~. Ogopogo
OP10~. Thumbingway
OP11~. Geryon
OP12~. Proto Babil
---------------------------------------------------
FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions
B_END. Special Thanks
END. Contacts
0~. Version History
-> version 1.06 <-
- Added a new strategy for the "Proto Babil" battle.
-> version 1.05 <-
- Added some new strategies for "Geryon" and "Proto Babil".
-> version 1.0 <-
- Now contains strategies for all boss battles;
-- Updated the "Frequently Asked Questions" section;
--- Improved the information given in many boss battles.
-> version 0.99 <-
- This guide now covers all the bosses;
-- Added a new question to "Frequently Asked Questions".
-> version 0.95 <-
- Improved strategies for all the bosses.
-> version 0.9 <-
- Covered all the storyline bosses, along with (possibly) all the optional
ones.
1~. Introduction and important tips
Another Final Fantasy remake, and fortunately this one comes with a few
interesting aditions, unlike most of the previous ones . Let's skip this
kind of unimportant blabber and advance to the initial notes, which you
should give a look to before even trying to read specific boss strategies,
as they may help you.
- Like in most RPGs, your current level is quite important, allowing you
to easily increase your stats and even have an easier time with the
battles that you will face later on. In case you really can't seem to
defeat a particular boss, ALWAYS consider gaining a couple more levels
before trying again.
- Apart from levels, your armor and equipment is also important. Every
time you visit a new town, try to get the best weapons and armor that it
sells for each of your characters, even if that means selling some of
your items and equipment, or even getting into more battles just to win
some extra cash.
- Every time an Inn crosses your path, take your time to decide if you
should rest there or not. Most of the times, you'll be wanting to rest
in there, to restore the HP and MP of your characters.
- "Tent" and "Cottage" are items which can be used at save points (or in
the world map). They both fully heal the HP of your characters, but only
the second one reposes all their MP. As you can easily understand, these
are amazing items, and you should try to keep more than three in your
inventory at every point in time. Doing so will allow you to quickly
heal your members without relying on Inns or curative magic/items, which
you may eventually run out of.
- The white magic spell "Slow" is a good friend of yours. Unlike what
happens in other games, here such a spell works in plenty of bosses and
normal enemies, and it is a good help when it comes to having more time
to defeat a particular enemy.
Having all these tips and informations in mind, you can now continue
reading, for more information on each of the bosses you can fight in this
game.
2~. Mist Dragon
Unless you're new to this genre, I doubt you'll even need any help in your
fight against this first boss. However, be sure to take a few healing
items, possibly four Potions, with you, or else you may find yourself in a
tigh spot, even with your characters at level 12.
Strike physically with both Cecil and Kain, and feel free to use Cecil's
"Dark Wave", which will allow him to cause more damage to this enemy, at
the price of his own HP. If the health of any of your two characters drops
below 70 HP, use one of your Potions (you brought some, right?) to quickly
heal him.
Later, this monster will turn into a white cloud, a form which, if
attacked, heavily damages all your characters. So, when that happens, you
should simply defend (press right, at the command prompt, and select the
first option), skip turns (press Y) or simply wait (doing nothing) until
he reverts back to its normal form, an opportunity which you should take
to inflict some more damage. If this beast ever reverts back to its cloudy
form, simply repeat this same strategy and you'll be fine. You just have
to strike (and heal) as necessary until your enemy goes down, which is
easy to do, if you brought the previously-mentioned healing items with
you.
3~. General + 3x Soldier
Appears there are several ways to beat this battle, and you're free to use
any you like. Personally, I took the three soldiers down and the last
enemy simply retreated, but you may also take the General down first, in
order to gain significantly more experience - there's no other benefict in
doing so, since that enemy usually just hangs around, without even
attacking you. In fact, the best strategy is eliminating two soldiers,
then taking care of the General and finally killing off the last soldier,
as that will also add an entry on the General to the in-game "Bestiary".
Bear in mind that if you actually managed to lose this battle, I'm not
really sure you should be playing this game...
4~. Octomammoth
For some reason, when fighting this enemy I recalled a certain monster
from Final Fantasy VI, if you know what I am talking about. Anyway, it is
easy to figure out the weakness of this monster, and you should take fully
advantage of it. Also, I strongly suggest you repose everyone's HP and MP
before heading to this battle, since you'll be needing those extra points.
When you get to the battle, Tellah should either use his "Recall" command
(remember, this uses his MP, but also allows him to cast a random, high
level offensive spell) or cast "Thunder". Rydia should be mostly used to
heal your characters, and you should be careful with that, since she plays
a very important role here. Concerning Cecil, he should activate his dark
aura as soon as possible (remember, this depletes your HP with each hit
you land, and its effect eventually vanishes), since such an action
heavily raises the damage he can cause to this specific boss.
Also, be aware that after the in-battle dialogue your enemy will be
throwing more powerful attacks, which means that you should heal your
party members members more often, but provided Rydia has enough MP to
keep all your party members alive and kicking, this won't be an hard
battle. It may take you a while to finally get the enemy down, but sooner
or later you'll manage to do it.
5~. Antlion
As soon as you notice this monster's weak point, he becomes a stable and
fable opponent - he tends to counter all your attacks with a strong move,
and the only way to avoid that is by casting Rydia's "Chocobo". So, have
her constantly cast such a summon spell, while Cecil simply defends every
turn. As for Edward, he can't cause much damage and he is mostly useless
here, so you should simply use his forth option of the "Sing" menu, which
regens the HP of all your members. When he stops singing, just re-choose
that command, until he is finally down.
Provided you avoid his powerful counterattack, he won't be much of a
problem, and you can beat him easily.
6~. Mom Bomb
This is probably the toughest battle so far, mostly because it requires a
very specific strategy which, if not followed, may lead you to a very
simple, and extremely painful, game over sequence.
Since you're facing a fire-based creature, your basic strategy is indeed
too set, you should simply attack with "Blizzard" (Rydia can cast it) and
have everyone else strike with their best physical attacks, while Rosa
heals those who need it. So far so good, this wouldn't seem a hard battle
at all, but things seem to change once you've caused enough damage to your
enemy. It's easy to realise when you've reached such a point, since the
monster will morph into a bigger, and a lot more menacing, form.
A few seconds later, your enemy will start a small countdown, following
which he will blow up. There's no way to avoid this from happening, unless
you're using patch codes (and no, I don't know any that you could use),
and so you should be specially careful when it comes to this part of the
battle. Stop attacking and have EVERYONE on your party defend, which
should prevent the opponent from instantly killing all your members with a
single explosion. If done correctly, all your friends (or close) will
survive, and the monster will split into six smaller bombs, three of each
kind.
By then, you can easily figure out that they are as weak as the monsters
found in random battles nearby. Proceed in accordance, feel free to use
Yang's "Kick" (it hits all enemies for high damage) and in a few turns
this battle will be over. It isn't hard at all, that's easy to figure out,
but the main issue is surviving the boss' explosion, and once you manage
to do so the battle is virtually over.
7~. Milon + 4x Scarmiglione
Even though this turns out being an easy battle, I strongly suggest you
gain a few levels before attempting it, since you'll be needing all the
help you can get real soon.
Here, you should start by using Palom and Porom's combined move, which can
be unleashed by picking the second command with both those characters and
wait until their command bars are sincronized. When that happens, they'll
either perform a powerful magic spell or simply miss it all - if they
actually hit it, which tends to happen often, they'll probably kill all
the enemies at once, instantly ending this battle. However, if that
doesn't really work, it probably means they made a weak attack OR their
levels are just too low. If that's your case, continue follow that pattern
with the twins, striking physically with Cecil (be aware not to attack
Milon, or he will counter with a "Thunder" spell) and using Tellah's fire
magic, either with his normal command or via the "Recall" option. Even
though this second option may randomly perform stronger attacks, I advise
you against it, since Tellah may just cast an ice spell, healing your main
enemy.
As you may understand, this battle isn't hard at all, and one (or, at
most, two) strikes from Palom and Porom's combined moved is more than
enough to vanquish all enemies. Once you defeat them, be sure to head back
to the save point on the right before crossing the bridge, since a tough
battle is fought just ahead.
8~. Milon Zombie
Fought a bridge away from the previous boss, this enemy is a lot stronger
than his former self. Apart from simple (and yet, very strong) physical
strikes, he is also able to counter some of your attacks with two
stat-inducing moves, which may affect your entire party - the first blinds
(not literally...) your characters, making them unable to strike
physically, and the second one makes it impossible for them to cast any
kind of magic.
Since this monster is weak against fire, it could seem like a good idea to
cast Palom's "Fire" and Tellah's "Fira", along with physical strikes from
Cecil, but any of those options lead to a powerful counter from your
enemy. Instead, heal the enemy. No, I'm not kidding, but it is easy to
realise that this enemy is a zombie, a creature weak against "Holy" magic,
and you should use such a weakness to your advantage. Have Tellah and
Porom use their "Cura" spell ON THE ENEMY, which will heavily damage him,
and your two other characters should use "Potion", "Hi-Potion" or "Phoenix
Down" items at the enemy.
Even if this strategy heavily damages the enemy, you can't forget to heal
your own characters, since they'll still suffer the powerful physical hits
that the enemy throws at you, once in a while. Following this strategy you
can avoid all kinds of status effects that the enemy may want to cause (he
only uses those as counters for physical attacks and "Fire" magic), which
is a good idea and will spare you a lot of trouble, but it sure won't
grant you an instant win, and provided you keep on healing your own
members you won't have much trouble.
9~. Dark Knight
Easiest battle ever - constantly defend, by pressing right and then
picking the first option. Keep on doing it and eventually a dialogue will
pop up, ending the battle with an unexpected victory from Cecil.
10~. Guard x2
Provided you take these enemies seriously, instead of some sort of random
battle, you will have an easy time defeating them. Even thought they
generally strike with physical attacks, they can also counter your attacks
with a "Mini" spell, which reduces the physical damage caused by your
allies to 1. Now, if you realise Cecil is the only physical striker that
your party currently has, you could think that you should only get rid of
his own status changes (the other members will be striking with magic
spells, which aren't affected by the aforementioned status change), but
that's not really true - you should also be aware that such status change
also increases the physical damage they suffer, which is obviously
problematic.
Now, as soon asthe battle starts, Porom (or Tellah) should use their
"Slow" magic on both enemies, which gives you some more time to strike
them. Then, Cecil should strike with physical attacks, Palom and Tellah
should use their best special attacks (be sure to aim them at all enemies,
which you can do by pressing left when you're selecting targets) and Porom
should be used to heal your party, if anyone's health gets below 150HP. If
you follow these tips, you'll be just fine!
11~. Yang
Oddly, Yang strikes with his "Kick" all the time, and as you probably know
this is a powerful move that damages your entire party. There's no way to
prevent it or anything, so you should use one of your characters (probably
Porom) to heal your party EVERY round.
Once more, as soon as the battle starts you should cast "Slow", with
either Palom or Tellah. Next, they should stick to the best fire spells
they have available, and Cecil should strike physically, with his normal
attack. Very soon, your enemy will be down, and you won't even gain any
experience points for this battle.
12~. Baigan
If you're not properly equipped, this battle may appear to be a lot harder
than it actually is, and I gotta admit that everyone becomes extremely
easy when your three magic caster are actually able to perform their
roles, i.e. they have full (or just "enough") MP.
Cecil's task should be mostly the one of striking physically, but he
should also use his healing spells, if required. Yang should stick to
"Power" (his second command), which increases the damage of his next
physical attack. Your three other characters should stick to healing, and
even if you realise that Palom's "Bio" spell causes a lot of damage, you
should be careful using it, since this enemy can cast "Reflect" in his
main body as soon as the battle begins, and that's also the reason on why
you should avoid using multi-hit spells against him.
Such information leads to something that you should have in mind: even
though this enemy has three points that you can attack (a main body and
two arms), he tends to revive his two arms often. Therefore, I suggest you
skip attacking those and focus all your attacks in the main body, until it
goes down. When that happens, you should try to dispose of the two arms as
quickly as possible, since they'll soon explode, causing a fair amount of
damage to one of your characters. This explosion isn't as powerful as Mom
Bomb's one, but it may actually knock one of your characters out.
The enemy attacks, which tend to induce a few status changes, aren't that
powerful, and so you should stick to healing and attacking in the most
effective way, following the strategy stated above.
13~. Cagnazzo
Set up is an important part of this battle, and I strongly suggest you
rest in Cecil's room (placed in the upper level of the upper left tower)
before confronting the King, an action which leads here.
This enemy isn't very strong, but one of his most powerful attacks, one
where a huge tide washes the battlefield, may cause you a lot of trouble,
and you may regret ever seeing it. Fortunately, there's a set-up time, and
it becomes easy to see when he is about to unleash it, since a small
stream of water is seen circling the enemy, and when that happens you
should cast an electrical spell (either "Thunder", "Thundara" or even
"Thundaga") as soon as possible, which will allow you to stop the enemy
from actually lauching his powerful attack.
As soon as he battle begins, have someone cast "Slow" on your enemy. Then,
if the enemy uses "Slow" on your party, have Tellah cast "Haste" on all
your members (you'll have to repose his MP by using an "Ether"), and
continue by casing "Thundaga", which should be complemented it with
Palom's "Thundara". Both Cecil and Yang (be sure to equip him with claws
that have an electrical effect, before the battle takes place) should
stick to physical attacks, while Porom should be your party's healer, in
every sense of the word, as he should be the one getting rid of all status
effects and increasing everyone's HP, when the need to such an action
arises. If you follow these actions, and provided your characters are
strong enough to cause a lot of damage easily, your enemy will be down in
no time, and you'll spare yourself a lot of trouble.
14~. Dark Elf
When you first see this boss, he is totally invencible - no, there's
absolutely no way you're going to beat him, and you should have everyone
simply strike with their physical attacks, until the battle ends. There is
no need to use magic or special techniques, since they're virtually
useless and you just can't seriously harm your enemy. However, after this
first dummy battle you'll get to see a small cutscene, where Edward starts
playing his harp, weakening the enemy.
Once that cutscene is over, the real battle begins. If you equipped all
your characters with their best weapons (unlike before, they can now use
metalic ones), you should simply strike physically with them, using Cecil
as a healer, when needed. As for Tellah, he should use "Thundaga", which
appears to be a rather damaging spell here. Casting "Slow" as soon as the
battle begins may also be a good idea, since the enemy may eventually cast
"Poison", or some other annoying spells, on your characters.
After your party has caused enough damage, this enemy will morph into a
more powerful, dragon-like, creature, and this is where things start
getting harder. Apart from some less important skills, this monster can
use an attack that heavily damages everyone in your party, possibly even
killing two or three members on the process, and he uses it more often
than you should be expecting. The best way to dodge such a technique is by
keeping everyone's health as high as possible, and when you reach this
part of the battle you should adopt a slightly different strategy.
Start, as usual, by casting "Slow", and then proceed with Yang, striking
with his physical attack, along with Cid. As for Cecil, he should assume
the role of a healer, instantly healing members whose health drops below
300 HP. If everyone's HP is dangerously low, you should also use Tellah as
a healer, but his preferred role should be the one of an offensive magic
caster, throwing "Thundaga" at the enemy as many times as possible. You
could also try to have him cast "Tornado", which was a 1-hit kill in the
past few games, but I'm not sure if it still works by now.
If you just can't beat this enemy, feel free to head back to the cave you
just came from and get a few more levels on your characters. Eventually,
you'll find it easier to beat this battle, and sooner or later you'll
manage to do it.
15~. Sandy + Cindy + Mindy
You probably already heard of a little thing called 'teamwork', am I
right? Well, that's exactly what the three sisters throw at you in this
boss battle, and even if they barely pose you a trouble alone, combined
they can perform a powerful attack that can heavily damage all the
characters in your party.
In general, each of the sisters has a very particular task that, when
combined, improves the damage, and that's why you may want to get rid of
one of them as soon as possible. Sandy, the leftmost girls, tends to cast
"Reflect" on the middle sister. Then, Mindy casts some magical spell on
that very same sister, which is reflected onto one of your characters,
heavily damaging him. Besides, Cindy, the middle sister, is also capable
of striking with a powerful physical attack.
Another important thing to have in mind about Cindy, the middle sister, is
that she is able to revive her siblings. This looks like a reason for you
to kill her as soon as possible, right? Well, WRONG!
Instead of following such a strategy, start by taking down Mindy, the
smaller sister, and the three siblings will lose their main attacker, an
important part of their strategy. Then, you'll see that Sandy (the taller
sister) is constantly casting "Reflect", eventually hitting one of your
characters with such an effect. When that happens, simply have Tellah cast
"Blizzaga" on that character, which will be bounced back to one of the
sisters, causing her a lot of damage. When only two sisters are up, you
should have Tellah constantly follow that strategy, while your other three
members strike the leftmost sister, Sandy, physically. After two or three
of Tellah's spells hit Cindy, she will go down.
Even though there are tons of different strategies that you can follow
when you're fighting this boss battle, there are plenty of reasons on why
you should follow mine. First, you could obviously cast "Reflect" on one
of your characters by yourself, but doing so would spend Tellah's MP, and
you may want to spend those only on stuff that is really worth your time,
such as the "Blizzaga" strategy I told you about. Also, even though Cindy
looks like the most threatening of the three sisters, trying to strike her
physically causes her to counter with a powerful physical attack, one
which you should try to avoid at all costs, as it really causes a lot of
damage and may even kill your characters with one hit. However, by
striking her with magic spells, she won't be able to counter your attacks,
which is rather useful. If she later revives her other sisters, you can
simply repeat the whole strategy and they will be going down, yet again,
without much effort.
You're obviously free to use any other order strategy, but personally I
find this one to be rather useful, and very easy to follow.
16~. Barbariccia
Kain and Rosa join your party just before this battle, and such a fact
becomes a big problem if you realise that they are probably weaker than
the rest of your current party. Concerning Rosa, for example, she may be
easily knocked out by a single of Barbariccia's attacks, which is an
obvious problem, as you may need to revive her quite often.
You should also be aware that this boss has two different forms. In the
first one, she is easily damaged but tends to counter with a powerful
electrical attack, while in the second one she turns into a hurricane-like
foe, which can only be stopped by hitting her with Kain's "Jump" move.
The best way to defeat her would be by casting magic, which would make it
impossible for her to counter your moves, but the problem is that you
currently have absolutely no characters that can use offensive magic.
As soon as the battle starts, have Rosa cast her "Slow" spell. Now, when
she is in her first form, you should have Rosa for your healing tasks
(with support from Cecil's healing and revival spells), have Kain always
use his "Jump" technique. As for Yang, have him use his "Power" command
multiple times, since it doubles the damage caused by your next physical
attack, allowing you to cause a lot of damage easily. In fact, it works
even better if this character is equipped with his "Hell Claw", which you
can gather in this very same dungeon, and which may randomly induce the
"Poison" status on the boss, which helps you cause some more damage
without much effort. Whatever you do, just DON'T strike the boss
physically with the other characters, or else she will counter with her
powerful electrical attack, which damages everyone.
When she turns to her second form, feel free to heal everyone (by then,
she only has a single powerful attack skill, the previously-mentioned
eletrical one) and stack more damage using Yang's "Power". Using Rosa's
"Pray" is a good idea, since it reposes some HP and also some MP. When
you're ready to proceed, simply have Kain use his "Jump" ability, and
apart from causing some damage he will also revert the enemy to her normal
form, mentioned above.
The biggest problem here, as you can probably notice, is the enemy's
powerful electrical spells, which heavily damages everyone. If they just
can't stand such an attack, feel free to head to the last dungeon and gain
a few more level ups in your characters, you'll be needing them in the
uture, and they may also end up being useful against this same boss.
17~. 3x Cal + 3x Brina (or Calbrina)
This battle starts with six enemies on the screen, three Cal and three
Brina. Those are very easy to defeat, but later, depending on your
strategy, they may (or not) form Calbrina, a strong enemy that may cause
you a few trouble. However, there's something you should realise - unlike
what happened in the original version of this game, it appears that it is
harder (or less usual) for those six enemies to form Calbrina, a fact that
you should use to your advantage. Personally, out of seven battles I've
tested, Calbrina was formed only twice, and only if you're caught up
unprepared will you lose that battle.
One of the best ways to approach this battle is by starting with Yang's
"Kick", who will damage all enemies. Then, proceed with everyone else's
physical attacks, and if you manage to kill the last Cal alongside with
the last Brina, they will never get to form the real boss. Even if you
fail to meet such a condition, it is only a matter of luck, and it is
actually possible to end this battle without ever seeing the real boss.
Now, I know that plenty of players dislike relying on luck, and one may
not feel like restarting the battle for several times, in hopes of
avoiding the main enemy. If that's your case, you should actually face
Calbrina. She tends to strike (and counter your physical attacks) with
physical attacks, causing high damage to a single of your characters, but
she can also confuse or paralyze your characters, status effects that you
should try to get rid of as soon as possible. In terms of an offensive
strategy, simply have Rosa heal your characters, probably backed up by
Cecil himself, and strike physically with everyone else - healing is a
major detail here, since the enemy can harshly hurt your friends with a
simple physical attack, and you should also use healing items, if Rosa is
in no condition of continue casting spells.
From the two strategies stated here, I strongly suggest you skip Calbrina,
since you'll be facing a stronger enemy in just a few minutes. However, be
aware that defeating the real form of this boss can give you a good amount
of experience points, an adition that some may like. This choice is really
up to you, since the formation of Calbrina appears to be really random,
and one might just want to skip it (or not), but be aware that skipping
her won't give you the "Calbrina" entry to the Bestiary.
18~. Golbez
This may be one of the most difficult battles so far, perhaps because you
fought another boss a few seconds ago. Golbez first freezes your
characters and quickly gets rid of all of them, with Cecil being the only
survivor. You may try to time Kain's "Jump" in order to dodge the freezing
attack, but you should be told that it is an hard thing to do. However, I
strongly suggest you cast Rosa's "Slow" in her very first turn, which will
make you have an easier time later in the battle. After a small cutscene,
Rydia will be back, Golbez will cast a magic shield and the real battle
begins.
One of your biggest problems is the lack of party members - out of five,
three of them are probably dead by now, and you may obviously want to
revive them as soon as possible. The problem is... how? You only have two
characters and Golbez is constantly casting multi-hit spells, which may
easily kill any revived characters. Well, I have no magical answer to give
you, so you should just rely on luck. Have Cecil and Rydia use a simple
combo - Rydia uses a "Phoenix Down" and Cecil quickly heals that same
character - and hopefully
you'll manage to revive them in a short time.
When everyone is finally up, and hopefully with more than 500 HP each, it
is time to start attacking.
Have Cecil wield a sword that has no elemental effects (you can change his
equipment by pressing up while using the "Items" command) and striking
physically, apart from healing those who need it, a task that he should
share with Rosa, who can also use her "Pray" to help you. Yang and Kain
(feel free to use his "Jump") should also strike physically. Rydia should
summon her "Pochika", if you've already improved that beast's stats in the
mini-games. Stick to physical attacks - those don't cause much damage, but
they are better than nothing - and completly ignoring elemental spells and
summons, since those appear to heal your enemy. Be aware that he can
switch his own elemental weaknesses, but it may take you a while to figure
out which one he currently has, and you may want to pass such a problem by
simply striking physically or using the "Bio" magic.
If you're healing everyone in a proper way, this may turn out into a long
battle but Golbez will eventually go down, just don't let ANY of your
characters die, or else you may be put in trouble.
Strategy by Duminas:
"
An alternate way to beat Golbeza, that has likely been mentioned at least
on the Boards already, is to use any number of characters (though bringing
Rosa up makes this a load easier, at the very least). Cecil and Rydia are
the key players here, though.
Once you've revived other characters (or just Rosa, or no one, depending
on how brave you feel), simply have Cecil use "Libra", and then have Rydia
sit on "Attack", or "Black Magic". Once "Libra" connects, take an action
(i.e. put the "Attack" cursor on Golbeza, or select whatever spell you
want and target him) - though don't attack with it. Take a look at his
weakness in the Help window at the bottom (the first line of two across
from his HP indicator), and use the appropriate summon - Black Magic is
something I'd not recommend, since you don't have ~ga-level spells yet.
Once he's hit with his weakness, you'll need to "Libra" him again, and
have Rydia use the appropriate summon. Two or three of these end it
easily; I got him in a "Shiva" and "Ifrit", personally. I'd also
personally relegate Cecil to entirely support here, regardless of strategy
used; his melee attacks are too weak, when compared to a "Charge" x3
attack from Yang. Have him "Shell" your party, and keep using Curaga to
take some of the weight off Rosa's shoulders.
And as an aside... using "Hermes Sandals" with Yang can make the pounding
go a lot easier, if you're going the direct damage route, and ignoring
Golbeza's "Elemental Shift".
"
19~. Dr. Lugae + Barnabas (or Barnabas-Z)
Unless you're underlevelled, this ends up being an easy battle. You first
start with two opponents on the field (Dr. Lugae and his robot, Barnabas),
and even if none of them is very strong, the most important thing here is
the order in which you defeat them. If you defeat Dr. Lugae first, his
robot will later self-destruct, an action which will probably kill one of
your characters. However, if you kill Barnabas first, Dr. Lugae will summon
his Barnabas-Z, a more powerful unit which he controls himself. Obviously,
you should aim at killing them at exactly the same time (or close) to
nullify these problems, but that's not as simple as it sounds.
In order to attempt such a strategy, your best bet is splitting the
attacks of your team, i.e. while some of your characters target Dr. Lugae,
others should aim at Barnabas. Follow this strategy with Cecil, Yang and
Kain, while Rydia should always cast her "Ramuh" summon. Rosa must, as
usual, be the party's healer, not that you'll need one.
Also, try to have everyone at full health when this battle ends, for
reasons that you'll soon understand.
(Be aware that not fighting "Barnabas-Z" won't add such entry to the
"Bestiary", or not killing "Barnabas", won't add their entries - in the
first playthrough you should face "Barnabas-Z", while you should kill the
other two fellows in your second one, just to add all the entries to such
an option)
20~. Lugaborg
If you don't know what you're doing, this may end up being an extremely
difficult battle. As soon as it begins, the Lugaborg uses "Reverse", a
spell that changes many battle effects. Striking your enemy, for example,
appears to heal him, and using healing magic (or items) actually damage
your characters. Your enemy isn't that strong, but since this effect makes
it harder to heal your characters (actually, you can heal them by casting
black magic spells on your party), you can't really follow the usual
strategies. Instead, I advise you to simply disregard the enemy strategies
and, as soon as the battle begins, start throwing healing items at the
enemy, which will damage him. "Elixir" and "X-Potion" work fine, but so
do Rosa's healing spells. Use them all and your enemy will be down in no
time at all, but you should also be aware that throwing an "Elixir" at the
enemy may instantly kill him.
21~. King Eblan + Queen Eblan
This battle is really easy. Your two enemies just strike with weak fire
magic, which you can easily withstand. Use Rosa's "Pray" every turn,
strike physically with everyone else (this way, you won't be spending any
MPs) and, eventually, the battle will end.
22~. Rubicant
This boss isn't very strong either, but one of his best features is that
he tends to counter every attack you throw at him. If you hit him
physically, he will cast a weak fire spell that hits your entire party,
but throwing some magic at him will allow him to unleash a more powerful
magic attack, which may knock out some of your friends. Even though your
most powerful ice magic can actually deal a lot of damage, there are
easier ways to beat this battle.
Instead of striking physically, constantly use Rydia's "Dragon" summon,
which heavily damages your opponent. If he has his cape open, he will
counter with "Blizarra" on himself, which is rather amusing. However, if
you use it when his cape is covering his body, he will do the very same
thing BUT he will cure himself for a very small amount of HP. Just ignore
that part, it's not really significant, and keep on using the stated Rydia
summon until he goes down. As odd as it may sound, everyone else should
stick to healing, don't attack the enemy physically or he will counter
your attack with his "Fira" spell, targetted at your entire party. If you
can withstand his "Blaze", which causes a lot of damage, you should
quickly revive the members he killed, using "Phoenix Down" items (those
are faster than using "Rise" or "Arise") and then quickly heal them using
Rosa' best healing technique. If nobody survives such an attack, I'd have
to suggest that you go back to the previous dungeon and raises a couple
more levels in your entire party.
Keep on striking with the stated summon spell, healing everyone and in a
few turns this enemy will be down.
Strategy by Duminas:
"
This one, instead of being a simple derivative of yours, is moreso an
"addon" that people can use if "Blaze" knocks a lot of people down.
At any point, casting "Fire" on Rubicante will result in him using "Raise"
on your entire party - quite a time-saver, and lets me keep Rosa busy
with "Pray" or "Curaga" spam. Beyond that, your Dragon tactic works nice.
I'm not sure if "Bomb Fragments" or "Bomb Right Arms" will cause the same
effect, as they cast "Fire" and "Fira" respectively, but they might be
worth a shot as well.
"
23~. Evil Wall
Before heading to this battle, be sure to buy as many "Phoenix Down" items
as possible. They play an important role in the next battle, and even
though you can attempt this same strategy by using the "Life" spell,
following such an approach may things significantely harder (or maybe even
impossible) for your party.
As soon as the battle begins, have Rosa cast "Slow" on the enemy, and then
start casting "Haste" in all your characters. Cecil strike physically and
Kain use his very own "Jump". Edge should throw unimportant weapons (or
items) at the enemy, while Rydia should summon "Leviathan" or cast her
best elemental spells. Finally, Rosa should use her "Aim" command, when
she resumes all the tasks I mentioned above. You should follow this
strategy until the Evil Wall gets dangerously next to your characters, a
time where it will start casting instantl kill spells. When that point is
reached, don't bother using spells, since they take a while to be casted,
and stick to use "Phoenix Down". Each time someone dies, have one of your
characters (I'd suggest Rosa or Rydia, but it's really up to you) use a
"Phoenix Down" and strike physically with all other characters. Provided
you have enough "Phoenix Down" items to continue this strategy for a
while, this boss will sooner or later be defeat.
This isn't a hard battle, but if you forgot to get some "Phoenix Down"
items before, it may end up being much harder, since spells such as "Life"
take a while to be casted. If that's your case, and even if such a request
may sound harsh, you'd better head back to the last town (possibly the
Dwarven Castle) and buy at least 20 of those items - you'll be needing
them, either now or in the future.
24~. Elements (Milon Zombie, Cagnazzo, Barbariccia or Rubicant)
Unless you know what you're doing (and if you're following this guide,
you'll know it), this battle may turn out being incredibly hard, since you
will be facing four tough enemies, one after the other. Even though there
are several possible strategies for this one, I strongly suggest you equip
everyone with armor that can resist (or absorb) fire-based damage, it will
make this confrontation a lot easier. As a general strategy, I suggest
that you use the white spell "Slow" as soon as each boss appears in the
screen, since doing so will spare you a lot of trouble, and allow you to
place some more extra damage before they get to attack you.
First, you'll be facing the earth-based enemy. This one isn't that
powerful, but he tends to counter most of your attacks with a move that
slows all your characters. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could just
avoid such a nasty move? Well, actually you can, you just need to HEAL the
enemy, and no, I'm not joking. Instead, you should recall that, as I
previously mentioned, this boss was weak against "holy", which means that
healing items and spells will damage him. Have Rosa throw him two or three
"Curajas" and he will be down in no time, and without even requiring much
effort from your own characters.
When this enemy goes down, he will be substituted by Cagnazzo. Feel free
to use the "Slow" spell, and be sure to cast "Haste" in ALL your
characters, which is a big help. Strike physically with Edge and Cecil,
while Fusoya and Rydia should cast their best electrical spell - it won't
cause any extra damage, unless the enemy has a small wave surrouding him,
but it sure causes a lot of pain. If he retreats to the inside of its
shell, merely ignore that action and keep on striking with this same
strategy - eventually, he will also go down without much trouble.
The third enemy, Barbariccia, isn't very strong, either. As usual, cast
the "Slow" spell as soon as possible, and then strike normally until she
reaches her hurricane-like form. When that happens, she'll start using
two powerful spells - one reduces the HP of some of your characters to
less than 10HP, while the other is simply an electrical-based spell. If
you properly heal everyone (i.e. use Rosa or Fusoya's best healing spell
in your entire party), that combo won't kill anyone, and you'll be sparing
yourself some trouble. In terms of battle strategy, when she is in her
hurricane-like form you should use Cecil as a healer (there's not much he
can do, is there?), Fusoya should cast his best electrical spell and Edge
should be casting his electrical spell. Also, Rydia should use her "Ramuh"
summon for a lot of damage. As for Rosa, well, you should either use her
as a backup healer or stick to her "Pray" command, which not only cures a
bit of your character's HP but also reposes a bit of their MP. Keep on
following this strategy and, eventually, you'll face the last enemy that
this battle has to offer.
Rubicant, the fire-based element, is the last and most powerful foe that
this battle has to offer. Unless you equipped everyone with armor that
halves the damage caused by fire-based magic, you'll be in deep trouble,
and it may become impossible for you to actually win this battle.
Start by casting "Slow" AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Then, have Rydia use her best
water summon (possibly "Dragon" or "Leviathan"), but only when the enemy
has its cape open - doing so will not only cause a lot of damage but also
make it so that the enemy counters the attack by hitting himself with a
powerful "Blizzara". Fusoya should obviously cast his "Blizzaga", but also
only when the cape is open. Rosa should be used as a healer and Cecil,
alongside with Edge, should be defending every turn - striking with them
will make it so that Rubicant counters you with powerful magical spells,
probably damaging everyone and maybe even kill all of your characters.
Be aware that even though you can use Rosa to heal the weaker fire spells
that the enemy throws at you when he counters your attacks, Rubicant will
sooner or later use his most powerful spell, "Blaze", which is the biggest
problem here. Hopefully, and if you've been following my suggestions, this
attack won't kill your entire party, and you should quickly use Rosa (or
the other living characters) to quickly restore everyone back to full
health. However, if he indeed killed everyone, well, you're in a lot of
trouble. Try getting a few more level ups, REALLY equipping armor and
items that decrease fire damage and constantly healing your party when
you're facing Rubicant, since there's not much else you can do.
25~. Attacker + Cpu + Defender
When you know what you're doing, this battle becomes so easy that you
shouldn't even consider it to be a boss.
As soon as the battle begins, be sure to cast "Slow" in both the Attacker
and the Defender, i.e. the smaller orbs on the left and right side of the
screen. Next, have everyone strike physically the left orb ("Attacker"),
until it goes down. From there on, the enemy has no means of attacking
your party, which is rather amusing. So, have Edge use his electrical
spell, Rydia constantly cast her best summon (either "Bahamut",
"Leviathan" or "Dragon", depending on what spells she has) and everyone
strike THE CPU (ignore the Defender!) until that part of the boss is
defeated. After that happens, have everyone strike the Defender
physically, and that part will also be down in no time at all.
If you've done it all correctly, and you followed my strategy, it is even
possible to complete this battle without suffering any damage at all.
26~. Zeromus
This battle is a lot easier than you could be expecting, mainly if you
really know what you're doing. Your enemy has tons of different attacks,
but you can cut them down to the most important three.
First, he is able to use "Black Hole", which nullifies all the status
effects that you (and him) have. BOTH of you suffer the effect of this
attack, and that's a keyword here.
Second, his "Big Bang" causes enormous amounts of damage to your entire
party, and may end up easily killing your members, if you're not fully
prepared for it. Besides, those who manage to survive will be affected by
"Virus", a status effect that magically drops the HP of your members.
Third, and last, he will cast a weak version of "Meteor" when he is
running low on HP, and even if such a spell is not really troublesome by
itself, it may kill your party if they're already weak by then.
By thinking for a bit, you can easily realise that this boss' "Big Bang"
is the biggest threat here, and since there is no way to decrease the
damage that it causes to your characters (you can steal "Dark Matter", a
very important key item, from him, but that no longer decreases his attack
power), you'd better avoid its usage at all costs, trying to kill him as
quickly as possible.
As soon as the battle starts, have Cecil use the "Crystal" item, which
turns Zeromus into his real form. By the way, it is impossible to defeat
the blue version of Zeromus, and trying to do so is a simple expense of
your time.
While he is shaking and turning into his real form, quickly switch to Rosa
(you can do so by pressing Y until she is selected) and cast her "Slow"
spell. From there on, Rosa should be focused on healing your party (always
use her best healing spells) and recasting "Slow", every time your enemy
uses his "Black Hole". You may also use her to cast "Haste" in all your
characters, but that's up to you - I didn't.
Cecil should be used as a backup healer, if you need one, but mainly he
should stick to striking physically.
As for Kain, he should always use his "Jump" command, which not only
causes good damage but may also make it harder for him to be hit with the
powerful "Big Bang" attack. If, when he is back from his jump, everyone's
down, you should also use him to quickly revive Rosa (by means of a
"Phoenix Down"), before taking him to the usual strategy.
Edge should throw his best items at the enemy, don't be regretful about
any of them, it's not like you'll need them in the future.
Concerning Rydia, she should switch between casting "Asura" or "Bahamut",
depending on your needs, but remember that the results of the "Asura"
summon are usually unrealiable.
Hopefully this part won't be need, but if you're ever hit by the effects
of "Big Bang", simply drop all other strategies and concentrate all your
characters in reposing the dead members of your party. When they're all
up, use Rosa to cast "Curaja" in your entire party, before resuming the
strategy mentioned above.
Sooner or later, and provided you manage to avoid (or solve) the problems
caused by the powerful "Big Bang" attack, the enemy will be going down
sooner than later. When that happens, feel free to enjoy the ending
sequences and rest for a while (you deserve it!), since the credits also
take a long time. Hope you liked the game, but there is still some fun to
take place - save the game at the end of the credits and be sure to enjoy
the "New Game +" option.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Above this line are several bosses that you don't have to fight in order
to complete the storyline. You can face them whenever you want, provided
you have access to the areas they are included in, and even thought I
strongly suggest you fight them at the highest possible level, such a
choice is really up to you. If you're facing one of these bosses and you
just can't seem to win the battle, don't get upset - instead, go get a few
more levels and return here later on, I'm sure you'll have an easier time
fighting all of them.
OP1~. Asura
Found in the Land of Summoned Monsters, west of the Dwarven Castle. This
enemy isn't very strong, but heading to this battle unprepared may become
your demise. Apart from curing itself, this boss is also able to counter
your attacks with powerful physical attacks, which may even kill a single
of your members in one hit. However, you should bear in mind that this
enemy never attacks your party, she just counters whatever attacks you
throw at her, apart from healing her, once in a while.
Everything becomes extremely easy if you have someone (probably Rosa) cast
"Reflect" on the boss as soon as the battle begins, which will make it so
that the boss' healing spells are reflected towards your members. Then,
instead of striking physically, have Rydia cast her "Dragon" summon, which
is probably the best means of attack that she currently has. After doing
so, the boss will counter you with a powerful physical attack, which may
even knock one of your characters out. If that happens, have someone else
(NOT Rydia!) bring that character back to life, using a "Phoenix Down",
but don't bother healing them - they're just supposed to be sittings
ducks, which Asura will hit when she is countering.
Keep on summoning "Dragon" with Rydia, recasting Asura's "Reflect" when
its previous effect vanishes and, sooner or later, this enemy will go
down. When that happens, Rydia will become able to summon "Asura", a beast
whose final effect is slightly random.
OP2~. Leviathan
Also found in the Land of Summoned Monsters, west of the Dwarven Castle,
you get to fight him in the very same room where you fought Asura. Oddly,
he is even weaker than the previous boss, and provided your party can
withstand Leviathan's "Big Wave", you'll have an easy time defeating this
monster.
Rydia should constantly cast her "Ramuh" summon, while other characters
should strike physically. Edge's electrical spell, if you have him while
you're facing this boss, also works great, and you should have both those
characters constantly casting those attacks. If you follow this strategy,
I'm sure that the enemy will be down in less than a couple turns, without
causing any trouble, and when that happens Rydia becomes able to summon
"Leviathan", the water-based creature that you just defeated.
OP3~. Odin
After you've defeated both Asura and Leviathan, you can fight this enemy
by heading to the basement of the the tower in the right side of Baron
Castle. Just like the other monsters, he isn't very strong, but he has a
single attack that may quickly decimate your entire party. Obviously, you
may want to get rid of him before he even manages to unleash it, making
this a battle of speed, not skill or power.
As soon as the battle begins, have someone cast "Slow". This will allow
you to have some more time to strike him before he unleashes his most
powerful attack. Then, have everyone strike physically, while magic
casters should use their best electrical spell. If done correctly (i.e. if
you're strong enough to kill him quickly), he will be down before being
able to use his famous move, which is a good thing. Also, you may want to
use Edge to steal the "Darkness" key item from this boss, since it appears
there is no other way to get it.
When you defeat him, Rydia becomes able to summon "Odin", a summon which
instantly kills weaker enemies (i.e. most of the ones found in random
battles).
OP4~. Bahamut
After you've defeated Asura and Leviathan, you can fight this monster. In
order to find him, head to the moon and look for a cave in the middle of
some circle-shaped mountains. After entering it, you go across a small
dungeon until you find this monster in the middle of some complex that
looks like a temple.
As soon as you enter this battle, you'll see a timer counting down, and
when it reaches 0 your enemy will cast his most powerful attack, kinda
like a more predictable version of Odin's special attack. Now, as I told
you in the previous boss, the best way to prevent your party against such
an attack is actually defeating him before he is ever able to use it,
something that you should try to do as quickly as possible. Bearing such
statement in mind, the battle strategy becomes slightly more predictable,
and the final result depends only on the stats of your characters.
As soon as the battle begins, have one of your characters cast "Slow" in
the boss. This will give you more time to think before he decreases a
number in his countdown. Now, strike physically with some of your
characters, cast Rydia's best summon (probably "Leviathan") and, if you
want to make it even easier, have Rosa cast "Haste" on your other four
characters (you don't have to cast it on her, since she won't be playing
an important role here). Provided you can cause physical damage quickly,
and bearing in mind that Bahamut has no elemental weaknesses, your victory
depends on how quickly you can take this beast down.
Be aware that in the last few versions of the game you could cast
"Reflect" in your party members in order to bounce back this monster's
special attack, but now he has a way to avoid it (he simply puts a
"Reflect" spell on himself, and later uses it to bounce back the attack at
you). Therefore, I strongly suggest you rely on my own technique, since it
makes it easier to beat him overall. Sure, you may need to face him when
your characters are stronger (I fought him around level 75), but it is one
of the easiest ways to beat him, no matter how you see it, and once you
kick his ass Rydia becomes finally able to summon "Bahamut", the final
summon magic she can acquire in this game.
OP5~. White Dragon
Found in one of the special weapon stands that you can find in the Lunar
Subterrain, this enemy is slightly weaker than its former version.
Before, heading to this battle, be sure to cast "Float" (Rosa has that
spell) in all your characters, since this monster's most (or "only")
powerful spell is "Quake", which gives severe damage to all characters who
are standing on the ground.
As soon as the battle begins, cast "Slow" on the monster. Then, he will
counter your attacks by casting that very same spell on your allies, but
you shouldn't take your time to repose their normal status (which can be
done by casting "Haste"), since he will just recast that spell. Instead,
have everyone strike with their best moves and he will go down fairly
quick. Be aware that his physical moves are quite strong, but if you keep
on healing everyone who is damaged, probably with Rosa, I doubt you'll be
put into any trouble at all. Rydia, if possible, should strike with her
"Bahamut" summon, but everyone else should strike the enemy physically,
and in a very short period of time this enemy will be down. Once you
defeat him, you'll be awarded the "Murasame", a powerful blade that only
Edge can equip.
OP6~. Dark Bahamut
Found in another weapon stand that you find in the Lunar Subterrain, this
beast is a lot tougher than you may suppose. He takes a while to
powerfully strike your characters, but he is able to counter everything
you throw at him, which is an obvious problem - if you use more powerful
attacks, he will also answer to your move with a powerful move, which may
heavily damage your entire party.
As soon as the battle starts, have Rosa cast her "Slow" spell. Then, she
should only focus on healing all her partners. Kain should constantly use
his "Jump", while Cecil strikes physically and Edge throws some unneeded
equipment at the enemy. Rydia should cast her best summon, "Bahamut", but
you should be aware that doing so leads to a powerful counterattack from
your opponent, after which you may want Rosa to use "Curaja" in your
entire party. Keep on healing with this same character, using Cecil as a
backup healer and, provided you keep everyone's health high enough, this
monster will go down after a while. Once you defeat him, you'll be awarded
the "Ragnarok", a very powerful sword that only Cecil can equip.
OP7~. Lunasaur
Found in one of the caves next to Lunar Subterrain's second save point, he
simply pops up when you advance further in a cave that contains two
chests.
He isn't very strong, unlike some of the other optional bosses, but one of
his attacks is extremely annoying. When he uses it, your entire party will
suffer tons of different status effects, the only common ones being "Toad"
and "Confusion". When that happens, there's not much you can do, apart
from standing back and waiting for one of your characters to drop out of
his confusion, in one way or another. Fortunately, it appears that he only
uses such a move when he is running out of MP, which is the opportunity
that you should take to beat him.
Bearing in mind that such a monster is weak against fire and holy magic,
you should start the battle by casting "Slow" on your opponent. By itself,
this action won't magically save you, but you can use its effect to allow
you to land a few more hits. Then, Edge should strike with his fire magic,
Rosa should use either "Holy" or "Curaja" in the opponent, Cecil should
strike physically (be sure to equip him with her "Crystal Sword" or
"Excalibur", since those cause holy damage). Kain should constantly use
his "Jump" ability (which may also prevent the previously-mentioned move
from hitting him) and Ridya should cast either "Firaga" or summon "Ifrit".
Later in this battle, when the monster start using his horrible attack
(and be aware that it doesn't cause any damage at all!), the best thing
you can do is throw healing items at him. NOT MAGIC, since that takes some
time to be casted, nor physically hit (they often miss), but pure healing
items, such as "X-Potion" or, if you want to beat him quickly, "Elixir",
since all of those appear to harm him. By the way, in case you were
considering to use a "Phoenix Down", those will only damage him for less
than 1000 HP, they don't instantly kill him, unlike what happens in other
games.
This monster isn't very strong, as you can easily realise, but his special
attack may put you across a lot of trouble. I found myself laughing at how
many times my party was turned from frogs to humans and the opposite, in
something that looked like an endless cycle. When he starts using those
ugly moves, simply follow the strategy above (i.e. throw healing items at
him) and he will be down fairly quickly, just don't get caught in the
middle of the endless cycle, where poison will do more damage than the
enemy himself. You've been warned!
Once you've defeated him, be sure to grab the two chests in the back,
since they both contain "Ribbon", one of the best pieces of equipment that
your party can acquire.
OP8~. Plague
This is yet another of those monsters found in the Lunar Subterrain, which
you get to fight when you touch the weapon stand containing a lance. He is
a lot weaker than the other monsters, the only problem is that as soon as
the battle starts he will cast "Doom" in your characters, an effect that
kills them once 10 seconds have passed. Ugly, hum? You can obviously dodge
that effect by killing off one of your members and later revive them (the
enemy will probably recast "Doom", but the counter will be back to 10),
which is a good idea, but the overall strategy is a lot more straight than
that.
As soon as the battle begins, have Rosa cast "Slow". In the next few
rounds, she should cast "Haste" in all your other characters, starting
with herself and advancing to Cecil, Kain, Edge (in that very same order),
all of which should strike physically. As for Rydia, you should have her
either strike physically or cast some basic spells, since the most
powerful ones (or even summon) may take too long to cast. Hopefully, this
will enable you to kill the enemy before your characters run out of time,
but it is also a matter of luck.
If you want another strategy, you can use Rydia and Rosa as supporters,
which should kill each other off and later use a "Phoenix Down" on each
other, apart from bringing all the other characters back to life. That
should be their ONLY task, while the other three members of the party
simply strike the enemy physically. If the enemy is under the effect of
the "Slow" spell, he may take a while to recast "Doom", and you can use
those small limits of time to increase the damage you're causing him, just
don't let both Rydia and Rosa die at the same time, or you may get into
trouble. The basic idea is having Rydia kill Rosa when her counter is
lower than three, and then using a "Phoenix Down" to bring her back to
life, following which you should use her to kill Rydia when she reaches
the same condition, before also using one of the famous items on her
fallen comrade. During those tasks, they should also use those items to
bring the other characters back to life. Easier than it sounds, hum?
There's a rule you should keep in mind - unless everyone is down, you
won't lose this battle - and provided you avoid that condition from ever
being met, you'll be just fine.
Once you've defeated him, you'll acquire the Spear of Longinus, coff coff,
I mean, the "Holy Lance".
OP9~. Ogopogo
The last of the monsters found in the Lunar Subterrain, you fight him
after touching the weapon stand containing a blade. Not only he looks
like a palette swap of Leviathan but he also behaves like such a beast,
and that makes it easier for you to defeat him.
Just like the famous summon beast, this monster has a few weaker attacks
and one that may heavily damage your party, where some huge waves pass
across the battlefield. If your stats and armor is good enough, the
damage caused by such an attack will be just fair, and you should
instantly use Rosa to heal all your characters, using her best healing
skill in your entire party. As soon as the battle starts, have Rosa use
her "Slow" magic, as usual. Then, Rydia should use her "Bahamut" or
"Ramuh" summons, Edge should cast his electrical spell, and Kain should
strike physically, along with Cecil. Rosa should always be healing your
party, either with her best healing spell (whenever this boss uses his
most powerful attack) or simply with "Pray", which has the interesting
effect of also regenerating everyone's MP.
Once you've defeated him, you'll acquire the "Masamune", another blade
that only Edge can equip.
OP10~. Thumbingway
Even though this is an optional boss, he is an extremely fable foe. You
can easily beat him in less than a turn, but your problem is actually
finding him. For those of you who played the original game and some of its
remakes, you probably remember Namingway - he is back in this game, and
he brings with him an entirely new quest. Follow the the next few steps in
order to fight him:
Enter the west (as in, left one) tower seen on Baron's castle, and talk to
Namingway. Next, when you enter the Mist Cave (i.e. the first cave that
you face in this game), this character will show up and change his name.
When you reach the town of Kaipo (i.e. the one where Rosa is sleeping), be
sure to visit her house. You'll find this character there, and be sure to
talk to him in order to continue the quest.
Later, when you reach Fabul, talk to him in the inn.
In order to continue, simply visit any chocobo forest, talk to this
character and give him all your "Tent" items for a small reward.
After accomplishing such a requirement, head back to the city of Baron,
open the weapon shop (Yang had its key, and you can now open it) and talk
to this character.
In order to continue, look around the city of Troia and, eventually,
you'll see this character. Talk to him, then head to the (unmarked) pub
available in that town and talk to the bartender.
Proceed to the city of Agarth and you'll see this character blocking the
entrance to one of the houses. He'll ask you for a "Rainbow Pudding",
which is a super rare item that flan-like enemies drop. As you may
imagine, this is the most difficult point of the entire quest, since you
will probably go across a lot of trouble in order to find one of those
rare items. I strongly suggest you gather the "Treasure Hunt" Decant
Ability (acquired by getting 100% in EVERY map of this game), give it to
one of your characters and head to the Antlion Cave. In the room placed
just before the place where you fought Antlion, you can fight turtles and
yellow flans - those may drop the "Rainbow Pudding", and even if you can
try to get one without using the previously mentioned Decant Ability, be
aware that it is EXTREMELY hard to get them. Personally, it took me around
two days in order to get one. Now, when you finally manage to get such an
item, give it to the character (he will still be in Agarth) and you will
be able to continue your quest.
Finally, in order to fight him, head to the Dwarf Castle (it is placed
underground, as you may know) and look for the area with the Weapon and
Armor shops. In the middle of those two, there's a door - enter it and
you'll be taken to the bar. Look around and you'll easily see this
character, you just have to talk to him twice and you'll fight him.
Now, be aware that this quest doesn't end here. There is still a lot more
to do if you want to complete everything that pertains to this character,
but the rest of the quest is out of the scope of this guide. Really, I
can't even help you with it.
Concerning a boss strategy, well... just have your strongest character
give him a physical blow and he will go down. It's not hard at all, I
doubt he'll put you in any trouble, but once you defeat him you'll receive
the "Thumbing" Decant Ability, which makes all enemies that you are facing
in a battle instantly suffer from the "blind" status effect.
OP11~. Geryon
After you fought the four "Elements", you can check the central area of
the place where you fought them (it's a darker tile, which you're not
allowed to step into) and you'll be prompted for a selection. Picking
"yes" allows you to fight this boss, composed by small parts of each of
the bosses you just fought, and which can also use all their attacks and
techniques. If you've already passed across that part of the game, be
aware that you can head back to Mount Ordeals (east of Mysidia), to the
exact place where Cecil turned from Dark Knight to Paladin, and
interacting with the tombstone will allow you to make the same selection I
stated above, which makes it possible for you to fight this same boss,
after exiting the Babil Giant. Also, be aware that you can only find this
boss if you're playing across the storyline after completing the game
once, or else he won't be there, but provided that condition is met you
can fight him as many times as you want, each giving some experience and a
lot of money. Not that you'll need those, as I strongly suggest that you
face this battle only when all your party members are at level 99.
It is usually hard to defeat him, and you may want to do the best you can
to stop the enemy from causing so much damage to all characters. I suggest
you equip all your party members with a "Cursed Ring" (which is dropped by
spirit-like creatures or the "Saurus Zombie" enemies from the final
dungeon), since it drops the damage caused by elemental attacks. Also, you
MUST equip both Kain and Cecil with an "Onion Sword" and an "Onion
Shield". Having everyone wear "Adamant Armor" is probably a good idea, but
it may take you a quite while to get five of those, and they're really
useful here, as they also prevent several status effects, including "Slow"
and "Silence". When you complete all these preparations (and yes, I'm
aware that getting those items may take you quite a while, but it is worth
it), head to the top of Mount Ordeals, save your game in the point to the
right, and be sure to fully heal your characters (you will need them with
full HP and MP) before heading to the stated battle point.
As soon as the battle begins, have Rosa use "Slow" in the boss, which is a
very important action, since it will make him attack less often. From
there, have Cecil, Kain and Edge strike physically every turn, while Rydia
should always cast her "Bahamut" summon. Rosa should only work as a
healer, casting "Curaja" on your entire party every time they get damaged
by one of the enemy's poweful attacks, or casting "Life 2" when someone
goes down.
Unless you have all the gear stated above, you'll soon see that the enemy
counters most of your attacks with a spell which makes your party members
slower. Don't worry about it, simply keep on striking as stated above, and
be very careful with the enemy's powerful physical attacks, since those
may easily knock out one of your party members with a single hit. Provided
you keep on healing all your members each time they are hit by one of the
enemy's spells, this battle won't be that hard, and you will manage to
complete it without much effort.
Strategy by Eyedunno1:
"
Equip as many characters as possible with armor that resists elemental
attacks, and also "Cursed Rings". At the VERY least, Cecil and Rosa should
be thus protected. "Blink" everybody with Rosa. Throw your most powerful
non-elemental attacks at him, keep "Blink" up, and he'll go down.
"
Strategy by captainj_:
"
Teach 2 people "Phoenix". I chose Cecil and Rydia (see below for reasons).
Teach Edge "Psychic Wave" and "Hide".
At the start of battle, Edge uses "Psychic Wave" and then "Hide" quickly.
As long as Edge is alive, "Psychic Wave" still has effect. When all other
people die, it will trigger one of the "Phoenix", e.g. Cecil dies and all
others revive. If they all die again, it will trigger another "Phoenix",
Rydia dies and others revive. Then Cecil's MP will be recovered by
"Psychic Wave". Repeat. Cecils' and Rydia's MP will be recovered right
after they revived so the team is unbeatable.
Just use this unbeatable strategy and keep attacking. It is easy. Anyone
can do it.
"
OP12~. Proto Babil
If you thought that the previous optional boss wasn't strong enough, this
one is here to give you a run for your money. You can only face him after
finishing the game once, and you'll need the "Dark Matter" key item, which
can only be stolen from Zeromus, the final boss. When you're feel like you
are ready to fight this enemy, head to the moon and look for a face in the
moon, found in the upper section of the map. Land the Lunar Whale nearby,
SAVE YOUR GAME, head to that face-like mountain and interact with it. You
will be prompted to select an item, pick the "Dark Matter" and you'll
get to fight this enemy.
I strongly suggest you try to face him only when all your characters are
at level 99, and with the best stats you can get. Also, you will need to
equip all your characters with "Adamant" and "Onion" equipment, or you
won't even stand much of a chance against this enemy. There aren't any
real options here, you WILL have to get that equipment, and if you are
having trouble finding those any of those items, you should give a look to
the "Frequently Asked Questions" section of this very same guide.
When it comes to the strategy, it is hard to devise one. As soon as the
battle begins, have Rosa use "Slow" in the enemy, which is an extremely
important action. Then, it is up to you, since this battle heavily depends
on your play style. Personally, I gave both "Phoenix" and the "Break
Damage Limit" Decant Abilities to Kain, and had him constantly use his
"Jump" ability, which not only causes a lot of damage but also prevents
the enemy from damaging him, while he is in the air. By giving him the
"Phoenix" ability, you'll decrease the number number of times he revives
the other characters, while causing even more damage to the enemy. While
you are doing that, Cecil should strike physically, Edge should throw all
he can at the enemy and Rydia should be constantly summoning her "Bahamut"
spell, while Rosa should focus on using her "Pray" ability or reviving
those characters who manage to get killed.
When all your characters are killed, and the "Phoenix" ability is used,
your strategy should change for a short bit of time - instead of
attacking, try to revive Kain (or whoever you gave "Phoenix" to) as
quickly as possible, and use any kind of MP healing item on him. You don't
have to fully repose his MP, just give him some MP (more than 1 MP is
enough for this strategy) before continuing to follow the offensive
strategy stated above. It is very important to revive that character (in
my particular case, he was Kain) as quickly as possible, but don't forget
to repose his MP, or else this strategy just won't work.
Eventually, you'll reach a point where the enemy starts to repose his very
own HP, around 22000HP at each time - when that happens, simply disregard
his action and continue following the strategy stated above. If you, like
myself, gave "Break Damage Limit" to Kain, he will be able to cause that
very same amount of damage in two turns, and causing some damage with your
other characters will make it even easier to retake his HP.
Following this strategy, you'll eventually manage to kill this powerful
enemy, provided you can keep up with his attacks. Just don't forget to
equip ALL your characters with "Adamant" and "Onion" gear, since those
pieces of equipment may not save your team from all of the opponent's
attacks, but they really help when it comes to halve some of the damage
caused by particular attacks (more information on that kind of gear is
mentioned in the next section of this guide).
This enemy is the strongest boss that this game has to offer, and this
ends up being the ultimate challenge this game offers. Bearing that in
mind, don't get frustrated if you just can't seem to defeat him. Instead,
try facing him later on, when you achieve all the requisites stated in the
first two paragraphs of this section. If you do that, you'll have the
easiest possible time when it comes to facing this extremely strong foe.
Strategy by Eyedunno1:
"
This boss probably can't be beaten without decants. Also, the higher the
level, the better.
Equip Cecil with either "Adamant Armor" or the "Aegis Shield", and also
the "Attract" Decant.
Equip Rydia with the "Hide" Decant.
Equip Kain with "Darkness", "Reverse", and "Break Damage Limit" Decants,
the best weapon you've got, and kill him off, then revive him with "Life"
or a "Phoenix Down", as you want his HP numbers to be yellow in this
fight. An "Onion Sword" will also help.
Equip Rosa with "White Magic" and the "Doublecast" Decant.
Equip Edge with the "Phoenix" Decant.
Come into this battle with some "Spiderwebs", plus a BUNCH of "Ethers"
(REGULAR "Ethers" are better than dry ones or "Elixirs"!), "Phoenix
Downs", and "Hi-Potions".
1. Use "Darkness" with Kain, "Spiderweb" on Proto Babil with Edge or
Rydia, "Phoenix Down" on Cecil (who's probably dead) with Edge or Rydia
(whoever didn't use the "Spiderweb"), and Doublecast "Haste" and "Berserk"
on Kain (but only AFTER he has Darkness up; if Rosa comes first, use her
for an item).
2. Hide Rydia some of the time (though this is the least vital part of
this strategy).
3. If Cecil goes down, use a "Phoenix Down" as soon as possible.
4. After Kain attacks, use a "Hi-potion" as soon as possible (though Cecil
is your defense against single-character strikes, so reviving him still
takes priority).
5. If Proto Babil wipes out your whole party (which might just happen a
LOT), Edge should use "Phoenix" automatically. Revive Edge as soon as
possible with a "Phoenix Down", then use ONE "Ether" (low MP is GOOD, as
long as it's non-zero) on him with someone else. After that, go back to
keeping Cecil alive and getting "Darkness", "Haste" and "Berserk" on Kain.
Keep repeating these strategies, and the enemy should go down fairly
quickly. Remember that only Kain is attacking (hopefully for BIG damage if
you've done everything right), and everybody else is serving different
support roles to keep Kain chugging away.
"
Strategy by captainj_:
"
Kain: "Charge", "Reversal", "Darkness", "Break Damage Limit", Jump (auto
command).
Cecil: "Attack", "Cry", "Attract", "Phoenix".
Edge: "Psychic Wave", "Throw", "Hide", "Break Damage Limit".
Rosa: "Aim" (equip a bow), "Upgrade", "Hide", "Reversal", "Slow (auto
command)
Rydia: "Doublecast", "Twister", "Phoenix", "Item Knowledge" (use Stardust
Rod).
Teach 2 people "Phoenix". I chose Cecil and Rydia (see below for reasons).
At the start of battle, Edge uses "Psychic Wave" and then "Hide" quickly.
As long as Edge is alive, "Psychic Wave" still has effect. When all other
people die, it will trigger one of the "Phoenix", e.g. Cecil dies and all
others revive. If they all die again, it will trigger another "Phoenix",
Rydia dies and others revive. Then Cecil's MP will be recovered by
"Psychic Wave". Repeat. Cecils' and Rydia's MP will be recovered right
after they revived so the team is unbeatable.
Before attacking, use "Slow" and "Cry" to lower its defense first and use
"Twister" to make it weak to fire. Rosa uses "Upgrade" (add fire element).
The effect lasts for the entire battle. When Rosa's HP is yellow (e.g.
attack the boss to make it counter and kill all people and revive), uses
"Hide". When hiding, you can attack using "Aim" or "Throw" command.
Proto Babil has 400,000 HP. When you did ~280,000 damage, its attack
pattern will change: "Restore" (+28571 HP), multi-Holy Judgement., etc. At
this point, it is impossible to beat it because you keep dying/revived and
cannot attack. If it uses "Restore" (become less than 280,000 damage), its
attack pattern will resume normal. Your aim is to do 280,000- damage right
before it uses "Restore"/"Holy Judgement". Then quickly do another
120,000+ damage at a time. Now when you did 280,000- damage, Kain uses
"Charge" x3, "Darkness" and at low HP (trigger "Reversal"). Keep using
"Phoenix Down" on Cecil if he dies. Then Kain uses "Jump". If successful,
he should deal 90000 damage. Proto Babil will start using "Holy Judgement"
for a while. At this time, Edge and Rosa should attack quickly. Edge
throws "Knife" (20000-40000 damage) and "Fuma Shuriken". Rosa uses "Aim"
(6000 damage) 1 or 2 times. Proto Babil will die soon.
"
Strategy by Smith J.:
"
Here's the basics:
Break Damage Limit and Twin on Cecil and Rosa (or maybe just one; I'm not
sure).
Hide on someone other than Cecil or Rosa (Edge in this case).
Attract on someone else other than Cecil or Rosa (Rydia in this case).
Doublecast and White Magic on someone (Fusuya in this case).
Cry on someone.
Use "Cry".
Slow Proto Babil (and maybe Haste your guys as well).
Use "Twin" twice, with Cecil and Rosa.
Doublecast "Curaja" ON PROTO BABIL.
"Twin" once more, with Cecil and Rosa.
At this point, the damage done should be below the critical 280,000.
Now, hide whoever's assigned to that task, and use Twin again with Cecil
and Rosa. Before this, you might want to spend some time trying to steal
a Megalixir though, since once Proto's below 120,000, he starts to hit
hard.
Restore your guys (especially Cecil and Rosa) if it's necessary.
Get "Twin" off again, and he should go down.
I forgot to mention it when I told you my strategy, but "Cry" should be
used no matter what with this guy. It increases the damage you do, and
that's always a good thing.
"
FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions
Some of the questions you, readers, may have... in case you mail me an
interesting question and I think that other readers should also hear the
answer, your question will be added here and your name will be credited.
Q: [Insert something here], where should I go next?
A: Did you noticed that this was a Boss FAQ, not a FAQ/Walkthrough? Be
sure to read one of those instead, since I have no idea on what to tell
you about that kind of question.
Q: Hey, my strategy is better than yours! What should I do?
A: First of all, if your strategy is indeed better than mine, just use
yours instead of mine. Also, you can mail me that strategy and in case
I find it interesting, I will also add it to this guide and credit you.
Q: How do I customize the stats of my characters?
A: When someone reaches level 70, you'll be able to do. From there on,
your characters gain stats bonus depending on the skills that they have
equipped, and that's the way to do it. What bonus each skill gives is
beyond the scope of this guide, but I can tell you that the more unique
a skill is, the more points it will give to your characters.
Q: How do I steal items from a particular monster?
A: First, you should be aware that Edge is the only character that can
steal items. Next, when you're in the middle of a battle, simply use
his "Steal" command. If successful, and provided that monster has some
sort of item, the product of such move will be added to your inventory.
Q: Where do I get a "Cursed Ring"?
A: There are plenty of enemies who drop those, but the "Soul" enemies
found in the lower section of Mt. Ordeals seem to drop them more often
than the other enemies.
Q: Where do I get an "Onion Sword"?
A: First, head to the moon and buy some "Alert" items, in the secret cave
filled with Moggles. Then, head to the Lunar Subterrane B8, use those
items and you'll fight a "Red Dragon", which may eventually drop a "Red
Tail". Take that item to the secret cave east of "Mithril Town", and
you'll be able to trade it for an "Onion Sword". However, be aware that
the stated drop is REALLY rare, and it may take you quite a while until
your enemy drops it, but it is slightly easier to do if you equip one
of your characters with the "Treasure Hunt" Decant Ability.
Q: Where do I get an "Onion Armor"?
A: First, head to the moon and buy some "Alert" items, in the secret cave
filled with Moggles. Then, head to Bahamut's Cave B2, use those items
and you'll fight a "Evil Warrior", which may eventually drop a "Black
Tail". Take that item to the secret cave east of "Mithril Town", and
you'll be able to trade it for an "Onion Armor". However, be aware that
the stated drop is REALLY rare, and it may take you quite a while until
your enemy drops it, but it is slightly easier to do if you equip one
of your characters with the "Treasure Hunt" Decant Ability.
Q: Where do I get an "Onion Shield"?
A: First, head to the moon and buy some "Alert" items, in the secret cave
filled with Moggles. Then, head to the Cave of Summons B2, use those
items and you'll fight a "Rairyuu", which may eventually drop a "Blue
Tail". Take that item to the secret cave east of "Mithril Town", and
you'll be able to trade it for an "Onion Shield". However, be aware
that the stated drop is REALLY rare, and it may take you quite a while
until your enemy drops it, but it is slightly easier to do if you equip
one of your characters with the "Treasure Hunt" Decant Ability.
Q: Where do I get an "Onion Helm"?
A: First, head to the moon and buy some "Alert" items, in the secret cave
filled with Moggles. Then, head to the area outside the Sealed Cave,
use those items and you'll fight a "Green Dragon", which may eventually
drop a "Green Tail". Take that item to the secret cave east of "Mithril
Town", and you'll be able to trade it for an "Onion Helm". However, be
aware that the stated drop is REALLY rare, and it may take you quite a
while until your enemy drops it, but it is slightly easier to do if you
equip one of your characters with the "Treasure Hunt" Decant Ability.
Q: Where do I get an "Onionlet"?
A: First, head to the moon and buy some "Alert" items, in the secret cave
filled with Moggles. Then, head to area outside of the Cave of Summons,
use those items and you'll fight a "Yellow Dragon", which may
eventually drop a "Yellow Tail". Take that item to the secret cave east
of "Mithril Town", and you'll be able to trade it for an "Onionlet".
However, be aware that the stated drop is REALLY rare, and it may take
you quite a while until your enemy drops it, but it is slightly easier
to do if you equip one of your characters with the "Treasure Hunt"
Decant Ability.
Q: Where do I get the "Adamant Armor"?
A: First, head to the moon and buy some "Alert" items, in the secret cave
filled with Moggles. Then, head to Lunar Subterrane B5, to a cave in
the lower right corner, where you first got a "Red Fang" from a chest,
use those items and you'll fight a "Pudding Princess", which may
eventually drop a "Pink Tail". Take that item to the secret cave east
of "Mithril Town", and you'll be able to trade it for an "Adamant
Armor". However, be aware that the stated drop is REALLY rare, and it
may take you quite a while until your enemy drops it, but it is
slightly easier to do if you equip one of your characters with the
"Treasure Hunt" Decant Ability.
Q: Where do I get the "Phoenix", "Break Damage Limit" and "Treasure Hunt"
Decant Abilities?
A: To get the "Phoenix" one, give two Decant Abilities (doesn't matter
which ones) to Fusoya. After he leaves your party, head to the place
where you first see him and you'll see three sparkling areas - one of
them has the stated item. "Break Damage Limit" can be acquired by
completing the game once, and saving after the credits. As for the
important "Treasure Hunt" one, you automatically receive it by
exploring 100% of all the dungeons available in the game.
Q: Are there any other bosses, ones not mentioned in this guide?
A: I don't think so.
Q: Why do you display the bosses in that order? I fought them in a
different one!
A: The order given here is exactly the one I've faced in my game, yours
may be slightly different, specially for the optional bosses.
That's all...
B_END. Special Thanks
I want to thank the following people:
- Everyone who made this game;
- Christopher A., for an improved Milon Zombie strategy;
- RevenantThings, for some help with the Lugaborg strategy;
- roido_medasu, for some important help with the Elements strategy;
- Lots of readers, but specially Eyedunno1, for tips on my previous
strategies and information on where to get all the "Onion" equipment;
- Everyone who contributed strategies for this guide (they were credited
along with their very own strategies and tips);
- Everyone who likes my works, it's for those people that I like to work
in this type of project.
End. Contacts
If you want, you may see my web page, just check it at the HTML
address www.geocities.com/Mykas0/ .
My e-mail is Mykas0 [at] gmail.com , you can send me some questions you
may have or contributions to this guide, but please try not to ask any
questions that aren't about this guide or Boss battles, as I am not the
best person to reply to those. Also, se the following subject or I will
NEVER reply.
Subject: "FF4 BOSS FAQ" for posing questions or giving contributions
Thanks and until the next version!!!!!!
Explore the galaxy in the franchise's first open-world game.
