Part 90: DS It's a Dragon, it's a God, it's a Dragon God

DS Update 32: It's a Dragon, it's a God, it's a Dragon God




Welcome, one and all! Last time, we left off in the second floor of the Lair of the Father, after getting our asses thoroughly and completely kicked.

Many times.


Today, we are finishing this thing! But first,


Grudge match!


You may recall, I didn't manage to beat one of these things last time.


Mostly due to this attack. Take two of those, and it's Game Over, no questions asked.


Fortunately, this time, the bastard didn't do that.


But he still blasted Cecil.


It's OK, though. Rosa's got this!


Not messing around with Curaga today. We're pulling out the Curajas!


This is your best weapon against these things.


Lightning spells, specifically. Rydia's your best weapon against pretty much everything. Let's face it.


Just be careful,


because it can Counter magic attacks. Fortunately, Rydia lives this time.

Just make sure she's at full health and/or toss Blink on her before she blasts him.


Armored Fiends are immune to Stop, unfortunately, so Slow will have to do.


Keep in mind, Edge can Blink himself with his Mirage Ninjitsu ability.


Rydia fries him again,




and I ignore my own advice.


Whatever. We can handle this.


Edge is Blinked, and Cecil's eating this thing's attacks like a good little meat shield.


Kung-fu Paladin, bwahahaha! That shit never gets old!


Setting up Protect isn't a bad idea either when fighting these things.


Fusoya may not have that much MP, but he has enough to revive Rydia.


One last Throw from Edge,


and victory is ours!

Now, we're free to claim our prize!


Remember this? This was the farthest we got last time. I got wiped, by an Armored Fiend, oddly enough, before I could even look at it.


Well, here it is. It's a pretty nice piece of armor, actually! I equip it. That extra Magic Defense should come in handy.


Continuing on, we encounter a new enemy!


The Bone Dragon may look scary, but it's actually one of the least threatening enemies in here. They have a respectable 24,000 HP to tear through, but that's mitigated by their fire and holy weaknesses. Also, as you might figure, they're undead, so curative magic will damage them.


But Kicks to the face will damage them just fine too!


Observe.


Hmm, not bad. Comparable to Edge's Shurikens.


Thanks to Dualcast, she can heal Cecil too. Dualcast is pretty amazing.




Aforementioned fire weakness. 'Atta girl, Rydia!


Oh yeah... that. That can be somewhat of a problem.




It hurts, but keep your HP up and you should be fine. Just don't go too crazy with the Firaga/Holy/whatever. You don't want to eat more counterattacks than Rosa can heal!


Speaking of Holy,




it looks pretty neat, and does decent damage to these things! Fusoya has to watch his MP consumption, though. Look, he's almost out!




One more Dualcast of Curaga and,


the undead dragon is re-dead!


And Fusoya... levelled up...? Come on, old man, that's just lazy! Even Tellah had the grace to increase his stats... sometimes.


Eh, whatever. I picked up another prize!


That completes the set, as well! Naturally, I equip it. Cecil has quite a bit of Magic Defense now. I've a feeling he'll need it...


Now, heed this warning: before you head down this narrow path, make sure your party is at full health/MP!

For, when you pass a certain point in the path:




You will face a fixed encounter against one of these guys. It may look like an ordinary random battle, but the boss music should tip you off. This is actually a mini-boss.


Our purple friend here is called a Behemoth. He has a whopping 46,000 HP and no easily exploitable weaknesses to help you along. His normal attack hits hard, as you can see in the screenshot.


He gets kicked in the face for his trouble.

Now, I'm not going to lie. When I first played this game, these things absolutely tore me apart. Fighting them was a long, uphill battle where I tried desperately to heal all the damage they were doing to me. And they were doing so goddamn much!


I'll show you how to deal with these things. First, set up your buffs. The Behemoth has two attacks: his normal attack, and a counterattack he does in response to magic. Don't bother with Shell. Protect is all you need.


And then, you will want to Slow him. The Behemoth can whack you on his own, and as a counterattack. Slowing him will mitigate the former.


Casting Blink will completely neuter both.


And Cecil is now practically invincible. _{So long as I remember to re-cast Blink when it runs out}


Oh... but this you might want to be aware of. This is the Behemoth's other counterattack.


Hello, purple cyclones.


Hello, single-digit health. How nice to see you! Maelstrom is basically a full-party Tornado.


Oh, and by the way,


Libra counts as a magic "attack" too.


However, bear this in mind: Maelstrom cannot kill you. Ever. As long as you can heal the party after the fact, and you keep Blink up on anyone who attacks the Behemoth, he can't fucking touch you.


Don't worry about Edge. He can Blink himself. Just worry about getting Blink on Cecil and Rydia.


Remember Bio? It's still useful!


Granted, the damage is nothing special, but it inflicts Sap. Yes, the Behemoth is vulnerable to Sap. For a monster with as much HP as the Behemoth has, steadily draining it over time is very helpful!


Like I said, utterly fucking untouchable. Draw Attacks + Blink = you'd have to be trying to lose against these things.


Seriously.


No problem at all.


And another one, because why not? I love you, Dualcast.


Now that he's safely under Blink, Edge can do his usual.


Still good damage, just not as impressive as it used to be. I wish I had more Fuma Shurikens.




Don't care.


Fusoya Blinks Rosa, just in case.


Rydia drops a Titan on the Behemoth's head. Titan is Rydia's best bet when fighting these. Behemoths resist all the elements except Earth. Oh, and Summons don't incur Counter: Maelstrom. If only there were a really powerful non-elemental Summon...


Cecil's Blink wears off,


so he eats the Behemoth's next attack.


It's OK, though. He just kicks it in the face.




And Rosa fixes him right back up.


Now, easy they may be, but Behemoth fights are long. Setting up Bless early on is a good idea, to help relieve the strain on Rydia and Rosa's MP.


A little bit, anyway...


But after flinging so many Blinks and Curagas around, Rosa's MP is almost out!


So, Fusoya tosses her an Elixir.


Why not? I have plenty of 'em!


For Rydia's MP, if you're feeling bold,


you can Osmose a bunch from our friend.


Just beware, doing so can trigger Maelstrom!


Not like it matters with 3/5 of the party Blinked.


That 3/5 does not include Cecil, sadly.

Oh well. He's quickly revived.


And then Edge,


takes us home!


Scratch one Behemoth. (They drop quite a lot of EXP, too!)


More levels for our favorite murderess.


It was at this point that I realized, if I'm only fighting one or two things at a time, Rosa's Love is a better choice. I equip it for the remainder of the dungeon.


And there's actually not that much left! We've completed the second floor!

Obtained Golden Apple

I'll remember to use these soon, I swear!


Onwards, to the final floor, if you can believe it!


On this narrow path directly south of the entrance,


another Behemoth encounter.

It goes exactly the same as the first, with one difference.


This time,


Cecil fights back with the power of Love!


And... I'm running kind of low in Shurikens. I should have re-stocked before I came to the moon. I won't get a chance to buy more for quite some time!


I'll have to conserve them.


Another Behemoth down, and triple level ups!


Or rather,


I should say double level ups,


plus Fusoya.


This place has been taking a toll on my MP, so I get everyone topped off.


Because, at the end of this path,


another Behemoth. (Thankfully, that's the last one, though.)


Third verse, same as the first. Really, once you know how to handle those things, they're a complete joke.


Hey, Fusoya, you shouldn't be resting on your laurels. Cecil has almost as much Spirit as you (and Rosa has way more).


And... this is the end of the dungeon!


Time to top off everyone's HP and MP to get ready for-


No, not this. This is just a random encounter.


Fusoya helps us out with the vital statistics on our new friends.


They are, from right to left, Silver Dragon and Gold Dragon. How imaginative. Pretty much the only difference between them is their HP. The Silver one has 15,000, while the Gold has 16,400. Neither have any particular elemental weaknesses.


They're also not vulnerable to any fun status conditions, sadly. Just do the usual. Set up a Protect/Shell,


and start whaling on them.


Their normal attacks don't do that much damage. It's manageable, at least.


Everybody,


love and peace!


I finally got a chance to try something,


and it turns out I'm a big dummy. You can multi-target Slow.

Well, that just makes it even more useful!


Anyway, these things shouldn't pose a problem.


Keep up with your healing,


watch the damage, etc.


Just keep one thing in mind. These things resist every element, as I was slow to realize. Leave the Summons at home. Stick to Flare.


Even when they crit, they're not that scary.


Cecil does way more damage.


That's one down!


The Gold Dragon not only has more HP, it also has nastier attacks. Like this one.


On anyone else, that would inflict Paralysis. Be careful.


They have this attack too.


It looks cool,


and it hurts worse than their normal attack. But not by much.


Rydia drops a Dragon on it, because I forgot to check its elemental resistances.




And she gets Paralyzed for her trouble.


At least that's easily fixed.


And Edge finishes it off.


The Gold and Silver Dragons drop some pretty cool items. (Except Zeus's Wraths. Those aren't very interesting.) It's worth your while to fight them, even if it takes awhile.


One last level for the murderess.

And it is time.




These two moon children(?) have some words for us.


And here's the man himself. What man, you ask?


Why, it's Bahamut, of course!

Bahamut is another recurring character in Final Fantasy. He wasn't always a Summon, though. He first appeared in the original Final Fantasy as the King of the Dragons. Bahamut is based on a creature in Arabian mythology, which is a giant fish, oddly enough. It's also the alternate form of Behemoth. (That would be why you have to fight Behemoths here.)

Only the ultimate trial can determine if that most sacred force truly rests within you. The trial of I, Bahamut- Hallowed Father of the Eidolons!


Then the screen turns purple,




And we have a boss fight on our hands. As if fighting a god wasn't enough, we have to fight a dragon god. Hoo boy...


That said, Bahamut is... actually not that tough. He's easier than the Behemoths, which in turn are way easier than the random encounters in this nightmarish hellhole!

Don't take him lightly, though. Bahamut has 45,001 HP (why the 1, I have no idea...) and no elemental weaknesses. In fact, he actually resists every single element, like his Gold and Silver buddies.


We might have to get clever, here. And with only 16 Shurikens to my name.


Still, what better time to use them than against a boss, I ask you?


Eh, par for the course, really.


Yes, Cecil still has Rosa's Love.


It's your best bet against single targets. No kung-fu kicking a dragon today, sorry. Though I admit, that would be cool!


First thing you'll want to do, no question, is to Slow Bahamut.


See, he doesn't actually attack you for most of the fight. He just sits there in his DBZ "power up" pose, while a timer counts down from 5 to 1.


He will counter any spell used on him with Reflect, so you have to make it count! Putting Slow on him is absolutely vital, because it slows the countdown. As to what happens when the timer reaches 0, well... you'll see!


This is another long fight, so definitely set up Bless.


As for Rydia, Black Magic is right out, thanks to Reflect, so you'll have to stick with Summons. However, since the bastard resists every element, that kind of limits your options. Leviathan is your best bet. He resists it, but Leviathan has the highest base power of any Summon that we currently have.

Oh, in case it wasn't obvious, you can't even fight this guy until you have Asura and Leviathan, so bear that in mind as well!


Bahamut's only attack is magic-based, so you'll definitely want to set up Shell.

In previous versions, Bahamut's ultimate attack was Reflectable. However, this game hates you, so no such luck here!


Your next order of business is to Haste everyone. More turns = more damage. It's totally possible to finish this fight without Bahamut attacking you at all.

I know. I did it. This is actually my second attempt. I wanted to give him a chance to show off his signature move.


First, Rosa Hastes Cecil,


and Rydia.




A one-two punch of Rosa's Love and Leviathan,


and the counter is down to 3!


Fusoya Hastes Rosa to help speed things along.


Then Rosa returns fire,


hasting Edge and Fusoya.


Now everyone in the party is Hasted, and we're free to unload on him.


Bless continues to work. If my MP starts running low, I can always have Rosa start spamming Pray. Since Bahamut barely attacks, Rosa doesn't have much healing to do.


When the timer hits 2 (or 1 if you're feeling frisky), start having everyone Defend!


Here it comes!


When the timer runs out, Bahamut casts his signature attack.


It looks painful...


and it sure as hell is! Owie! (Didn't kill anyone, though. That's impressive!)


Rosa busies herself with healing everyone up.




While the boys keep raining the pain.


Even Fusoya helps out. (And man, my Shuriken supply is dwindling!)


It doesn't matter, though. Because,


one last Rosa's Love and-


Bahamut goes down!


And that is how you kill a god... dragon. A dragon god. Yeah.


(Same level as before. This is my second attempt, remember.)


Man, Fusoya, you are so... not impressive at all!


Bahamut bows his head in deference.


Should you e'er require my aid, Rydia, it is yours to invoke.




x1,000


Yeah, like some kinda dragon moon... god... thing.


Oh, yes it will.


Indeed, you'd better not! Girl can Summon two dragons now!


Yep, I'm so proud of our little murderess.


An interesting point, and one I don't think is ever really addressed. Maybe Bahamut just moved up here because he wanted some peace and quiet?


Hell. Yes. Rydia now knows all the Summons in the game.

You know we gotta try this puppy out!


Perfect.


Eat some sweet black revenge, fuckface!


Polsy version


Dragon-flavored.


Mm hmm. Very nice, very nice.


Damn it, Fusoya. Why you even gotta do a thing?

Oh, and on the way out,


I filled in the last little bit of the map. What, were you afraid I forgot? Oh ye of little faith!

Obtained Golden Apple

Another one of those things. Unless someone makes a strong case not to. I think I'll use the Silver/Golden Apples on Cecil.


Anyway, at long, long last, we're done with this fucking place. Let's split!


Sweet freedom! And we never have to go back there!

Of course, we haven't seen the last of the enemies there, by a long shot, but let me enjoy my moment of victory!


We are done for today! Next time, we'll see what's been going down on the surface.


Bonus Segment:

How to break this dungeon.

I'm going to go into this when we reach the Final Dungeon, but for those following along at home, I'll post some helpful advice from the thread.

The Dark Sages are the biggest threat here. You'd do well to kit yourself up properly. Outfit Cecil with the elemental gear: a Diamond Helm (halves lightning), Flame or Ice Mail (halves ice or fire), and the remaining element for the shield. Then, toss a Cursed Ring on him. The Cursed ring, as you may recall, lowers all your stats by 15 points, but turns any elemental resistance into an absorb.

When it's time to fight the Behemoths, though, you should put Cecil's normal gear back on!

Other tips:

The Dark Mages are vulnerable to Death. Odin is your friend!

Tornado also works on them. Tornado + Kick can slaughter them pretty much instantly.

You can also put Reflect on Cecil, turning the Sages magic against them!