Optional Bosses

Bahamut's ordinary claw attacks are manageable, but Mega Flare is the real threat because it hits the entire party for heavy, Spirit-ignoring damage. Shell and high HP give the party much more room to survive it, while Darkness and Slow can reduce the pressure from Bahamut's other actions. Meltdown followed by strong physical attacks or Limit Breaks keeps the fight from dragging on. Bahamut is also an excellent source of Full-Life; if the party can safely absorb Mega Flare, this is one of the better opportunities to Draw a large stock before finishing the battle. Defeating him awards the Bahamut GF.

Cerberus becomes dangerous when it casts Triple on itself, because its ordinary magic suddenly arrives three times per turn. Dispel Triple immediately rather than trying to heal through repeated casts, and avoid Thunder or Wind offense because its elemental affinities make those poor choices. The boss can be Slowed, and strong physical or non-elemental attacks work consistently once its spell multiplier is removed. Defeating Cerberus directly recruits the GF, so there is nothing to Draw first. If Triple goes back up, make removing it the next action; the fight is far easier when Cerberus is limited to single casts.

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Diablos looks dangerous because Demi and Gravija can strip away huge portions of HP, but Gravity damage cannot deliver the final KO. The real threat is his physical charge after Gravija leaves everyone near critical, so Darkness is extremely effective. Draw Demi and cast it back on Diablos while his HP is high; it removes a percentage of his current HP and, unusually, a Demi cast from your own stock causes Diablos to counter by healing the caster with Curaga. Continue until Demi damage becomes small, then finish with physical attacks or Limits. Save before using the Magical Lamp because the battle starts immediately.

Jumbo Cactuar combines a huge HP pool with 10,000 Needles, an unavoidable attack that deals 10,000 damage to one target and therefore functions as a guaranteed KO under normal conditions. Keep revival ready at all times, inflict Slow if possible, and use Meltdown so physical attacks and Limit Breaks can chew through its defense quickly. Water is especially effective, making Water-junctioned attacks a useful alternative when Limit Breaks are unavailable. When its HP becomes low it may hesitate and flee, so finish aggressively once it approaches the end of the fight. Its guaranteed Gaea's Ring reward is generally more valuable than replacing the drop by Mugging a Cactus Thorn.

Minotaur is the more durable half of the Brothers fight and becomes much easier once Sacred has been removed. Keep Float on Minotaur so he cannot use the ground to regenerate HP, and keep the party floating to nullify the most dangerous Earth-based attacks. His physical damage is the remaining concern, so Protect or strong Vitality junctions can stabilize the fight if needed. Poison provides additional steady damage, but concentrated attacks are usually enough. Defeating Minotaur completes the encounter and awards the Brothers GF, so there is no reason to preserve resources once Sacred is gone.

Odin never attacks normally; the battle is decided entirely by the Centra Ruins timer. If the timer reaches zero before Odin is defeated, Zantetsuken ends the battle immediately, so arrive at his chamber with enough time left to attack continuously rather than trying to play defensively. Triple can be Drawn here and is valuable both as magic stock and for junctioning, while Mug can yield the rare Luck-J Scroll if that reward is worth spending a turn on. High Strength junctions and Limit Breaks make the safest finish. Obtaining Odin before the final Seifer battle also enables the later scripted Gilgamesh event.

Omega Weapon should be treated as a scripted survival problem as much as a damage race. Junction Death to ST-Def-J before the fight because Lv. 5 Death opens the battle and can immediately remove characters whose levels are multiples of five, and remove elemental offense because Omega absorbs every element. Cast Meltdown, use Aura, and concentrate on high-damage Limit Breaks while one character remains ready with Megalixirs, revival, and support. Megido Flame deals 9,998 damage to the party, Gravija leaves everyone critically low, and Light Pillar deals 9,999 to one target; each demands immediate recovery. Terra Break is the most dangerous physical sequence, so Protect, very high Vitality, or the Defend command should be ready before it arr

Sacred and Minotaur regenerate HP while they are touching the ground, so Float is the key spell in this battle. Cast Float on both brothers to shut off that recovery, and consider casting Float on your own party as well to avoid their Earth-based group attacks. Sacred has the lower HP and should normally be focused first, reducing the fight to a single boss before the brothers can combine pressure. Poison also works if you want passive damage. Once Sacred is down, keep the party floating and move directly to Minotaur rather than letting the remaining brother recover through a prolonged defensive phase.

Tonberry King appears after defeating roughly twenty Tonberries in Centra Ruins, so the real preparation begins during the kill chain that summons him. He has a very large HP pool and hits much harder than the ordinary Tonberries, while Everybody's Grudge can punish characters with high kill counts. Cast Meltdown to reduce his defense, use Protect or Slow if needed, and rely on high-damage physical attacks or Aura-assisted Limit Breaks rather than a long attrition fight. Full-Life can be Drawn from him, but stocking large amounts is risky unless the party is already comfortable surviving his offense. Defeating him recruits the Tonberry GF.

Ultima Weapon is extremely fast and can end a turn instantly with Light Pillar, which deals 9,999 damage to a single target, so revival must be immediate rather than postponed. Gravija removes a large percentage of current HP without killing outright, but it often leaves the party vulnerable to the next physical attack, Meteor, or Quake. Draw Eden before dealing the final blow if the GF has not already been obtained, then cast Meltdown and use Aura-assisted Limit Breaks to shorten the dangerous portion of the fight. Ultima can also be stocked here if desired, but do not let Draw farming compromise recovery. The guaranteed Ultima Stone reward makes defeating rather than Mugging it particularly worthwhile.