STAR OCEAN: TILL THE END OF TIME
BOSS FAQ
(v0.7, 9-01-04)
by Edward Chang (chang dot 459 at osu dot edu)
Revision History
v0.7 (9-01-04)
About 3/4 done.
v0.5 (8-23-04)
First version. Around half of the bosses done.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. General Tips
3. In-depth Boss Strategies
4. Credits
1. INTRODUCTION
This is an FAQ for Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Director's Cut, AKA Star
Ocean 3: DC. The Director's Cut is the version that the US release of SO3 is
based off of, so if you are playing the US version you've come to the right
place.
This guide deals with strategies on dealing with the bosses in the game. With
a fully real-time, 3D fighting system, strategy is extremely important in
taking down some of the harder bosses. Although I address some quick-and-
dirty tips on the bosses in my main walkthrough, this guide is intended
to give you a much more in-depth look at fighting the bosses, as well as
much more in-depth tips on earning the Battle Collections associated with
those bosses.
There are four difficulty levels in SO3. "Earth" is the easiest difficulty,
more like a Beginner's Mode, as the enemies are made weaker than the default.
Since Battle Collections cannot be earned in Earth difficulty, most players
skip it and go straight to Galaxy. Earth mode will not be considered in this
guide, but if you are playing on Earth you can multiply the provided enemy
HP and MP stats by 0.7. "Galaxy" is the standard difficulty. "Universe" and
"FD (Fourth Dimension" are unlockable difficulty levels which feature
considerably buffed-up enemies; HP and MP values for enemies in Universe
are 150% of their Galaxy values, and those in FD difficulty are 180%,
although most bosses get an even higher boost, up to 300%.
Enemies in FD difficulty also move faster than normal, and you can no longer
see their Guts gauge. Enemies also sometimes 'cheat' in FD mode; since you
can no longer see enemy Guts gauge, you have to guess on how much Guts the
enemy has by what they're doing. However, in certain situations in which they
should not have 100% Guts (such as immediately after starting a strong
attack, for instance), they still manage to Counter Aura your attacks anyway.
Other than the increased difficulty, however, most strategies remain the
same. All strategies presented in this guide should work regardless of
difficulty level, unless otherwise noted. Just be prepare to heal/revive
more often on Universe/FD.
2. GENERAL TIPS
Having the best equipment possible is a good start. In the early-mid game,
make sure you have the best equipment purchasable in stores. In the mid-late
game, you'll want to make use of Item Creation to make more powerful
equipment; details can be found in my Item Creation guide. In the late-post
game (secret dungeons), you'll be able to find and make use of each
character's "ultimate weapons"; see my Maximization Guide for information
on using those.
If you have trouble with an early boss and the strategies here just don't
seem to work for you, you can always gain a few levels and then come back.
This is not feasible in the post-game, as you'll likely end up hitting
the Level 255 barrier before reaching the last set of secret bosses, and
they'll be trouble even at Level 255. Thus strategy, patience, and skill
are much more important in these fights.
Healing and reviving are very important aspects of boss battles. The Healing
spell gained from the Common Support Spell skill is good, though it's tough
to give up those 2 Capacity Points to equip CSS. Nel, Sophia, and Adlai all
learn Healing naturally, making them excellent characters for inclusion in
the party. Only Sophia and Adlai can use Raise Dead. Casting spells takes
time, though, and you may not have time to use it.
Items are the other possibility. Item stack size in SO3 is limited to 20
items, though, so you have limited healing capacity. This isn't as much
of a problem if you are able to make unique items via Item Creation; for
instance the Blackberry and the Aqua Potion do the same thing (heal 30%
of one character's max MP), but since they are two different items, you
could have 20 of each.
Here's a list of healing, reviving, and other items that will probably be
useful to you, as well as how to make them:
HEALING ITEMS
Blueberry - 30% HP, single. Buy in stores.
Blackberry - 30% MP, single. Buy in stores.
Vitality Stimulator - 50% HP, single. Buy in stores.
Mind Stimulator - 50% MP, single. Buy in stores.
Berry Potion - 30% HP, single. Refinable to 10, 50, 70, 90, 100%, or
add 30% MP. Item Creation, base cost 21.
Aqua Potion - 30% MP, single. Refinable to 10, 50, 70, 90, 100%, or multiple
30%s. Item Creation, base cost 22.
Fruits Pot - 50% HP, single. Refinable to 10, 70, 90, or 100%. Item Creation,
Millenia, Ruid, or Mirage, base cost 13.
Fresh Botle - 100% HP, single. Item Creation, Millenia, Ruid, or Mirage,
base cost 310.
Witch Beads - 30% HP, all. Item Creation, Millenia, Puffy, or Ruid, base
cost 210.
Heal Unit - 30% HP, all. Item Creation, Vanilla, Meryl, or Cliff, base cost
201.
Ripe Berry - 30% HP, all. Find in treasure chests.
Super Heal Unit - 60% HP, all. Item Creation, Meryl or Souffle, base cost 401.
Very Ripe Berry - 60% HP, all. Find in treasure chests.
Miracle Heal Unit - 90% HP, all. Item Creation, Meryl or Isaac, base cost 801.
Magical Berry - 90% HP, all. Find in treasure chests.
Mix Syrup - 30% HP/MP, single. Refinable to 50, 70, 90, 100, or multiple
30%s. Item Creation, Millenia, Ruid, or Mirage, base cost 20.
REVIVING ITEMS
Fresh Sage - Revive+30% HP/MP, single. Buy in stores.
Resuscitation Medicine - Revive+30% HP/MP, all. Buy in stores.
A final caveat: these are the strategies that have worked for me. They may
not work for you, if your play style happens to be vastly different from
mine; that's just a consequence of the way SO3's battle system works. Get
used to switching characters on-the-fly, rapidly, to respond to the new
situations that come up; adjust your characters' tactics as needed or use
the R2 button shortcut to set a character on manual (a key point since the
AI sometimes makes your characters charge into certain death when the enemy
is doing a super-powerful move; setting all of your characters on manual
rapidly is the best way to deal with some of these).
3. IN-DEPTH BOSS STRATEGIES
Here's a list of the bosses in the game, with my strategies for each
boss. Bosses for which Battle Collections can be earned will have notes on
how to obtain those BCs, not just strategies on simply defeating them.
Suggested Character: Fate
Suggested Skills: (Short Weak) Blade Reactor
(Short Strong) Blade Reactor
Battle Collections: Defeat Norton in 30 Seconds, Defeat Norton with No Damage
Norton's the first boss of the game, and you'll have Cliff join you for the
first time. Cliff is quite a monster compared to your puny level at this
point in the game, so your strategy should mostly consist of letting Cliff
handle Norton, while you avoid eating his gunshots. You should be able to get
the Defeat Norton with No Damage pretty easily just by running in circles
around him. 30 Seconds is a little more complicated, as you'll have to
join in with Cliff. I suggest setting your Battle Skills as indicated, and
then doing a normal short weak attack -> short weak attack -> cancel bonus
short weak Blade Reactor (2 hits only) -> cancel bonus short strong Blade
Reactor (all 3 hits). Repeat until you defeat him. Norton takes half-damage
from Fire attacks, so I suggest NOT using Blaze Sword.
Half-crazed is a rapid, semi-circular series of shots. It's a weak attack,
so you can Protect it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GIANT CRAB
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy: 3500 HP, 80 MP
Universe: 5250 HP, 120 MP
FD: 6300 HP, 144 MP
Special Attacks: Burst Run (weak)
Burst Cannon (strong)
Elemental Defense: Water (null)
Fire (weak)
Counter Aura: Standard
Suggested Character: Fate
Suggested Skills: (Long Strong) Blaze Sword
Battle Collections: Defeat Giant Crab in 1 Minute, Defeat Giant Crab with No
Damage
Like many bosses, Giant Crab suffers from a severe lack of MP. He's also
weak against Fire, which means that having Fate use Blaze Sword will spell
a quick demise for the Giant Crab. You should have no problems getting the
1 Minute Battle Collection. Slightly trickier is the No Damage condition,
as you have to get close to Larva Crab to do any damage with Fate. If you're
having trouble, I suggest switching to Nel and using Kagebarai (if you
have it, which you may not) as a long-range battle skill.
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kagebarai
(Long Strong) Kagebarai
Battle Collections: Defeat Earth Pluto in 1 Minute, Defeat Earth Pluto with
No Damage
Earth Smasher is another boss quite low on MP. His attacks do cover quite a
large area, so I recommend staying far away. Enter Nel and her Kagebarai.
If set to long-range, Kagebarai just barely hits, but it also keeps you out
of the way of most of Earth Smasher's attacks. The MP damage it's capable of
causing will bury Earth Smasher in no time.
Earth Grave is similar to the spell, but it counts as a weak attack, and
so you can Protect against it.
Suggested Character: Cliff
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Might Hammer
(Long Strong) Might Hammer
Battle Collections: Defeat Shelby in 1 Minute, Defeat Shelby with No Damage
Shelby isn't very difficult. However, he does come accompanied with 4 extra
Shikkoku knights, and if you get stuck in the middle of them, it's bad news
for you. Go after the extra knights first. Shelby himself is slow and has
no long range attacks, so you should be able to avoid him and clean up the
others. I suggest using Cliff's Might Hammer, which does MP damage (not
useful for Shelby, but useful for the knights) and can hit a large area
at once. Nel's Kagebarai is another alternative. Once you've got them
all, focus on Shelby with whatever your most damaging skills are. Have Nel
use Healing if the situation merits it, but you shouldn't have too much
trouble.
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kagebarai
(Long Strong) Kagebarai
Battle Collections: Defeat Moonshadow Clan Chief in 1 Minute, Defeat Moon-
shadow Clan Chief with No Damage
An absolute joke, thanks to his lack of MP and his lack of serious attacks.
He can cast healing, but if you just hammer away at his MP with Kagebarai,
he'll go down in no time at all. The Battle Collections aren't even a
challenge for this particular boss.
Suggested Character: Cliff
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Might Hammer
(Long Strong) Might Hammer
Battle Collections: Defeat Mudman in 1 Minute, Defeat Mudman with No Damage
Another boss that suffers from the lack of MP problem. Unlike the Tsukikage
Leader, his reach is quite long and you'll have to stay pretty far away
if you want to avoid taking damage. He can also poison your characters.
Still, a repeated Might Hammer cancel combination will take him out very
quickly. Alternatively, if you're sick of MP damage, you can use Nel's
Fuujin, which handily causes wind-elemental damage. Fuujin is unique in
that you can activate it anywhere on the screen, and as long as the
whirlwind is active, anybody that gets near you takes damage. So in Nel's
case, all you have to do is set Fuujin to long weak and long strong,
cancel combo it into itself until you get as high a multiplier as possible,
then just run up to Mudman and rack up the hits. He'll go down in no time.
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kagebarai
(Long Strong) Kagebarai
Battle Collections: Defeat Cockatrice in 1 Minute, Defeat Cockatrice with No
Damage
Cockatrice's MP is even worse than Mudman's. Thus, you can use Cliff's
Might Hammer as described above, or Nel's Kagebarai. I prefer Nel slightly
in this battle as she is faster than Cliff. Be warned that almost all of
Cockatrice's attacks can petrify you, so be prepared and carry along a bunch
of Sage. If your whole party is petrified, it's game over, so keep at least
one character out of Cockatrice's attack range. Still, with MP damage,
1 Minute should be no problem.
A word of caution if you are going for the No Damage condition: if you take
damage from the rocks that are rolling around the field in the battles in
this dungeon, that counts against the No Damage condition. So be on the
lookout to make sure a wayward rock doesn't roll you over.
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Touga
(Short Strong) Aerial
(Long Strong) Touga
(Support) Critical HP
Battle Collections: Defeat Demetrio in 1 Minute, Defeat Demetrio with No
Damage
This is a tough battle compared to the previous battles, so be prepared.
Demetrio comes along with two fellow dragon knights. These guys are wimps
in the MP department, with less than 200 MP on Galaxy difficulty. Try setting
skills like Might Hammer and Icicle Edge on Fate and Cliff, while you focus
on Demetrio with Nel. Fate/Cliff should be able to clean up the dragon
knights by themselves, though if you get unlucky, they'll eat fire breath
and die quickly. Demetrio himself is not suited for the quick MP kill,
so you'll have to make use of Nel's insanely good Aerial skill, as well
as Touga. Nel's Aerial does approximately 10 times the damage of a normal
Strong attack, so that's where your main damage is going to come from.
Unfortunately, it's a little slow. Basically your tactic should be repeated
Touga cancel combo chains normally. When Demetrio charges up for his fire
breath (the purple shadow indicative of strong attacks will clue you in),
quickly run behind him and activate Aerial. He shouldn't survive more than
a few Aerials.
The 1 Minute condition might be a little tight, but Touga also causes
lots of damage, so if you have it at a moderately high level you shouldn't
have too many problems getting it.
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kagebarai
(Long Strong) Kagebarai
Battle Collections: Defeat Albel 1 with Items Only
Like Demetrio, Albel comes along with some lackys. Again like Demetrio,
the lackys are a wimp in the MP department, so have Fate finish them off
with Icicle Edge and the like, while you help out with Kagebarai. Now you
can focus on Arbel himself. He's not too threatening; almost all of his
attacks are weak, and his strong attack is easy to see coming. With all
three of you pounding on him, he shouldn't be much of a challenge.
Defeating him with Items Only, however, IS somewhat of a challenge. You
can't cause him damage with anything else, thus, you'll have to set your
other characters on Manual and have them just stand still. Then you'll
have to whittle away at his 2600 MP (along with his 2 pals) with bombs
made through Item Creation. The best bomb you're probably going to be able
to make at this point is EM Bomb MP, which does 600 points of MP damage.
You can make it with Machinery for a base cost of 61. Be sure to make them
before defeating Cockatrice! With 7 of these bombs, you should be able
to take out Albel and his pals with MP damage, thus earning yourself
the Defeat Albel 1 with Items Only condition.
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Touga
(Short Strong) Aerial
(Long Strong) Touga
(Support) Critical HP
Battle Collections: None
Vox is like a pumped-up version of Demetrio, with a few special moves added.
However, he comes alone, and so in some respects he's much easier to handle
than Demetrio. The same strategy that worked for Demetrio pretty much works
for Vox as well. Simply run around, Touga cancel combo, and if he charges
up for the fire breath, run behind him and smack him with a strong Aerial.
You don't even have to worry about earning any Battle Collections for him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CRYSTAL CERBERUS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy: 30000 HP, 3500 MP
Universe: 45000 HP, 5250 MP
FD: 54300 HP, 6370 MP
Special Attacks: Tri-spike (weak)
Elemental Defense: Fire (null)
Water (null)
Wind (null)
Earth (null)
Counter Aura: Standard
Suggested Character: Maria
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Aiming Device
(Long Strong) Aiming Device
(Support Critical MP)
Battle Collections: Defeat Crystal Cerberus in 1 Minute, Defeat Crystal
Cerberus with No Damage
The most annoying thing about the Crystal Cerberus is his incredible speed.
He's hard to hit, but thankfully doesn't have much in the way of MP, so
that is his one weak point. Unfortunately, he nullfies all elemental
damage, so Fate is going to be pretty much useless in this battle (since
all his MP damage comes from his elemental enchantments). I suggest having
Cliff with Aerial Raid set on both short range skills, Nel with Kagebarai
set on all four, and your own Maria with Aiming Device. Maria is slow,
but Aiming Device's biggest attraction is that you don't have to be
anywhere near the Crystal Cerberus to hit him, and if you cancel combo
Aiming Device you can get a goodly amount of MP damage off of it. Meanwhile
Cliff and Nel should be able to whittle away at the Crystal Cerberus on
their own. Don't be afraid to use Healing if your allies need help. No
Damage should be easy enough if you're successful at running away. One
minute might be a little harder, but if you're moderately levelled up at
this point it should be no problem. If you're STILL having problems, take
Nel up to Level 30, when she learns Kokuyousen, which will totally massacre
the Crystal Cerberus.
Note that you must have the Saint Amulet in your possession to damage the
Crystal Cerberus. To get the Saint Amulet, you must collect the three
Saint Stones and then use the factory hidden in one of the rooms behind
the cracked walls to make the Saint Amulet.
This "boss" comes as a collection of 4 regular enemies. They can be tough
if you let them get to you, but otherwise they're a piece of cake. Once
again, MP damage will finish them off quickly. Unlike the Crystal Cerberus,
they specialize in long-range attacks, making getting close to them a
challenge. Thus, once again Aiming Device is your best friend. Be warned
that they can petrify your characters, so bring along some sage. Otherwise
they shouldn't be much of a problem.
Another pumped-up version of Demetrio. Oh wait... pumped-down. He comes with
two pals, like Demetrio, but unlike Demetrio, he is similarly low in MP
to his pals. You should have Nel close to Level 30 by now, and Kokuyousen
will take these guys out in less than a minute. Really, the only way you
could lose this battle is if you were caught unawares by their appearance
and neglected to heal up...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLUE DRAGON ZOMBIE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy: 30000 HP, 2500 MP
Universe: 45000 HP, 3750 MP
FD: 54300 HP, 4525 MP
Special Attacks: Poison Breath (weak)
Fire Breath (strong)
Elemental Defense: Fire (null)
Water (null)
Wind (null)
Earth (null)
Counter Aura: Ring Wave
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kokuyousen
(Long Strong) Kokuyousen
Battle Collections: Defeat Blue Dragon Zombie in 1 Minute, Defeat Blue
Dragon Zombie with No Damage
He doesn't move much, and he has low MP. However, he's pretty dangerous
up close, as he has plenty of MP-damaging capabilities (hence, Cliff is
in danger of dying rapidly); plus, he nullifies all elemental attacks, so
Fate is a bad choice. Kokuyousen will take him out quickly, though, it's
just a question of how fast you can kill him. 1 Minute and No Damage
should both not be a problem (again watch out for falling rocks).
Incidentally, he'll drop a good weapon for Maria, who up to now will
have had pretty crappy attack power.
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kokuyousen
(Long Strong) Kokuyousen
Battle Collections: Defeat Robin Wind in 1 Minute, Defeat Robin Wind with
No Damage
Quite an annoying little bugger. He's got wind-elemental attacks up the
wazoo, so if you have some of the wind accessories that halve wind damage,
equip them. Air Slash will take out anyone close to him, so stay far
away with your character and heal as necessary. Once again, Nel with her
Kokuyousen and built-in Healing capabilities is the best possible choice.
One Minute shouldn't be much of a challenge. No Damage you'll have to get
lucky with, as if he casts Thunder Flare at you, there's almost no way
to dodge.
To make things vastly easier, you could retreat from the Bar Mountains
as soon as you recruit Misty Lia, and then attempt to create and Orihalcon
with her in Alchemy (you'll definitely need the Alchemy Stone from the
Mosel Sand Hills). Orihalcon has an ATK+500 factor, so synthesizing it
to Nel's weapon and then refining it constantly will boost her attack
by 4000. With this much ATK, 1-2 Kokuyousens will kill Robin Wind flat.
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kokuyousen
(Long Strong) Kokuyousen
Battle Collections: Defeat Crosell in 1 Minute, Defeat Crosell with No Damage
Be scared, Crosell is a big bad guy and just as threatening as he looks... or
at least, he used to be. Prior to the DC, with no Cancel Combos and no
Orihalcon, Crosell was very, very tough. Now in the DC, with Cancel Combos
and especially with Orihalcon, should you choose to use it, he's very, very
easy. In either case, you'll have to fight him twice. The first form isn't
very threatening, as he doesn't use much in the way of special attacks, but
his second form is quite threatening. Doom Raid is a near instant shockwave
attack that will really hurt your characters. It's weak, so you can Protect
it, but don't count on always being able to do it. His second form also
has the Wide Aiming counter aura, which does damage proportional to what
you would've done with that attack. Getting hit with all four blasts of
Wide Aiming hurts a lot, and they home pretty well, so try your best not
to trigger his Counter Aura.
It's best to only have one short-range fighter, so have Cliff with Aerial
Raid, or Fate with Icicle Edge. If you want to use Arbel, he learns Kikoushou
at Level 26, which is another good skill to use. Adlai can cast spells from
afar, but in general his spells AND his skills all cause elemental damage,
plus he's rather slow, so he may not be the best choice. Maria can cast
Protection to buff up your characters. Once again, however, Nel's
Kokuyousen is your best bet. Run around, trying to get Crosel to follow
you instead of beating up on your melee characters, and fire off Kokuyousens
in his general direction. Use the tactical skill Taunt, if necessary.
Note that the Battle Collection conditions only apply to the second form.
Suggested Character: Cliff
Suggested Skills: (Short Weak) Flash Chariot
(Short Strong) Flash Chariot
(Long Strong) Aerial Raid
Battle Collections: Defeat Biwig in 1 Minute, Defeat Biwig with No Damage
Coming into this battle, you will have a party of Fate, Cliff, and Maria.
(You can actually have fewer than this if you actively decide to take
somebody out, which you should do if you are planning to shoot for
Defeat Lucifer at Level 1 - just put Fate in the reserve in this case,
although this means that fighting Biwig will be that much harder). Biwig
comes with two extra Bandein Soldiers. The Bandein Soldiers, like before,
have very little MP, so take them out quickly with Aerial Raid or Maria's
Aiming Device and the like. Biwig himself is a different matter. He's
weak against Earth, but since you have nothing substantial to do earth
damage with, this doesn't matter much. Just keep in mind that he doesn't
take much damage from fire or water so Fate's Blaze Sword or Icicle Edge
shouldn't be used. Biwig's HP is high, but once the other soldiers are
gone you should be able to focus just on him. Use a Flash Chariot cancel
combo (the cancel point for Flash Chariot is right before the last two
punches, so you can basically keep punching him forever until you run out
of Guts). If your attack power is high enough, doing such a combo should
allow you to beat him in 1 minute.
Beating him with no damage might be tougher, as he and his pals all have
long range attacks. Just try to run around in circles to avoid getting shot,
and don't do anything that will lock you into place for long (in other
words, don't do Flash Chariot until the two Bandein Soldiers are gone).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE PROCLAIMER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy: 50000 HP, 50000 MP
Universe: 75000 HP, 75000 MP
FD: 91000 HP, 102500 MP
Special Attacks: Divine Wave (weak)
Moving Bug (special)
Dark Circle (magic)
Elemental Defense: Fire (half)
Water (half)
Earth (half)
Wind (weak)
Counter Aura: Aiming
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Fuujin
(Long Strong) Fuujin
(Support) Critical HP
Battle Collections: Defeat Proclaimer in 1 Minute, Defeat Proclaimer with No
Damage
As you explore the Moonbase you'll be ambushed by this lovely character,
so make sure you do NOT have Souffle or Sophia in your party when you do
(since they'll more than likely be Level 1, or at least a very low level).
The Proclaimer has equal amounts of HP and MP (more MP on FD), so since your
capability to cause MP damage is generally less than HP, your best bet is
to aim for HP damage. The Proclaimer also takes only half damage from most
elements, but is weak against Wind. Enter Nel and Fuujin, the lovely
skill that you learned back at Level 25. Simply set it to both Long range
skills, and cancel combo it into itself until you get a 200% (or 250%, if
you have Guts reduction equipment) whirlwind. Then just run up to the
Proclaimer and watch her take loads of damage.
The Proclaimer can cause lots of damage on her end, but her strong attacks
take very long to happen and so are quite easy to dodge. Her only magic
is Dark Circle, which is also easy to dodge (and usually doesn't work
anyway, it's an instant death spell whose rate of success depends on your
current HP level). You shouldn't have too much trouble getting 1 Minute
and No Damage with the Fuujin method, especially if you made Nel that
Orihalcon-enhanced weapon from before fighting Crosel. If you're having
trouble, switch Nel back to Kokuyousen and use repeated cancel combos of
that instead so that you can play keep away. Beware of Moving Bug, however,
which allows the Proclaimer to teleport instantaneously. Just don't stay in
one spot too long and you'll be fine.
Suggested Character: Fate
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Blaze Sword
(Long Strong) Blaze Sword
Battle Collections: Defeat Azazer in 1 Minute, Defeat Azazer with No Damage
Azazer is fast and can damage your MP pretty quickly. Conversely, his own
MP is quite low. He's weak against Fire, so Fate's Blaze Sword, set to long
and cancel combo'ed into itself, can make a huge damage source against
him. To tag along, have Fate repeatedly using Might Hammer (another huge
MP damage source that is fire-elemental), and for the third person have
somebody with high MP who can heal, such as Maria, Nel, or (if you have her
built up enough) Sophia. Beating Azazer in 1 Minute shouldn't be much
of a problem.
Once he gets low on HP, he begins to use Crystal Jail, which can freeze
your opponents. Be prepared with Lavender or equip Freeze checks, as a
character who is frozen will die instantly if hit again. Still, if you
keep him surrounded he shouldn't have too many chances to attack. If you
are going for the No Damage condition, you may want to end up controlling
Sophia or Adlai instead and casting Explosion over and over while your
two melee characters keep him busy. Don't forget to heal MP as well as HP
and you'll be fine.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BERIAL AND BELZEBER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Belial)
Galaxy: 70000 HP, 5000 MP
Universe: 105000 HP, 7500 MP
FD: 128100 HP, 9100 MP
Special Attacks: Auto Aiming (weak)
Fire Dance (weak)
Elemental Defense: Water (half)
Earth (half)
Wind (weak)
Counter Aura: Aiming
Suggested Character: Fate
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Lightning Bind
(Long Strong) Lightning Bind
(Magic) Rock Rain
Battle Collections: Defeat Belial and Belzeber in 1 Minute, Defeat Belial
and Belzeber with No Damage
A tough duo boss. Belial hits very hard, his missiles home and do tremendous
damage, and he has a tendency to use an invincible sidestep-like maneuver
with aggravating frequency. Belzeber is weaker but faster, has much more MP,
and can suck up your HP and MP when he gets low on health.
Your first priority should be to take out Belial. The weak point of this
pair is definitely his low MP total of 5000 on Galaxy, and he's weak against
Wind. With this in mind, use Lightning Bind with Fate, and then go after
him while your other characters (hopefully) keep Belzeber busy. He shouldn't
last too long, but watch out for his sidestep. You can Protect most of his
moves so you can try and dizzy him as well.
Once he's gone it's time to turn your attention to Belzeber. Belzeber
is weak against earth, so if Fate's high enough level to learn Rock Rain,
you can just keep casting that, or you can try and get into the fray with
your best battle skills. Belzeber is not as threatening damage-wise as
Belial is, although his Life Steal and Spirit Steal are quite annoying, as
well as his Regeneration counter aura. Just be prepared to keep piling on
the damage and don't let him heal too much. With appropriate use of
cancel combos, you should be able to take out the pair in a minute.
Winning with No Damage requires a fairly different tactic. One is to
control Sophia, and just cast Thunder Flare/Thunderstruck on Belial
and Rock Rain on Belzeber from a safe distance. The problem is as usual
Belial's homing missiles, and Sophia's relatively slow movement speed. It's
doable, but risky. Another tactic is the trusty Nel/Kokuyousen tactic. Once
Belial is gone, you should have a much safer time avoiding damage. One last
note, getting your HP/MP sucked up by Belzeber's Life Steal or Spirit Steal
does NOT count as taking damage for the battle collection, so as long
as you don't receive any other kinds of damage you'll still earn it.
Suggested Character: Arbel
Suggested Skills: (Short Weak) Goumashou
(Long Weak) Kouryuuha
(Short Strong) Goumashou
(Long Strong) Kouryuuha
Battle Collections: Defeat Convictor in 1 Minute, Defeat Convictor with No
Damage
The Convictor is rather creepy, but other than his excellent elemental
defense, he's quite easy. All of his attacks except for one are weak, and
his strong attack is extremely easy to see coming and only hits in front
of him. He also has rather low MP. Your tactic should simply be to run up to
him and wait. If a weak attack comes, you will be able to counter aura it
and dizzy him; if he happens to use his strong attack, you should have more
than enough time to run behind him and use Goumashou or Kouryuuha to cause
good damage. In the meantime your allies will be attacking him as well,
and as long as you heal them (one melee and one long-distance healer is
recommended) you should be able to take him out in no time.
Although I've suggested Arbel, you can pretty much do this with anybody
who can run fast and can deal good MP damage. Nel and Cliff come to mind;
Fate would be ok, except for the fact that the Convictor nullifies fire
and water and takes only half damage from wind, so his enchant skills
will not be useful.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LESSER EYE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy: 230000 HP, 56000 MP
Universe: 345000 HP, 84000 MP
FD: 439300 HP, 116480 MP
Special Attacks: Fire Circle (strong)
Misery Circle (strong)
Dark Circle (magic)
Thunder Flare (magic)
Elemental Defense: Fire (absorb)
Water (absorb)
Earth (absorb)
Wind (absorb)
Counter Aura: Ring Wave
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kokuyousen
(Long Strong) Kokuyousen
(Support) Critical HP
Battle Collections: None
Quite an annoying opponent. He absorbs all elements, has a goodly amount of
HP and MP (nearly twice that of the last boss), and often floats up into the
air out of reach of your characters. The key is staying out of the way
of all of his attacks, which are mostly radius attacks around him. The AI
generally tends to make your characters run up and attack the enemy head-on,
which is not a wise idea for this guy. Maria is an exception, so make sure
you have her in your party and have her set with the strongest long-distance
battle skills you have (Pulse Emission, perhaps). Your job as Nel is to
shoot of Kokuyousens and cast Healing when necessary. For the third
character, you could use Adlai. His Southern Cross is non-elemental, meaning
he'll actually be able to cause some damage. However Southern Cross requires
him to be a certain distance from the Inferior Eye.
Also be warned that the Eye can cause all sorts of status effects - Paralysis,
Petrify, and Frozen. Equipping a bunch of different Checks is impractical,
so make sure you have a full complement of Basil/Sage/Lavender before coming
into this fight.
Thankfully there are no battle collections to get for the Lesser Eye.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DARK ARMOR
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy: 67000 HP, 6000 MP
Universe: 100500 HP, 9000 MP
FD: 122610 HP, 10980 MP
Special Attacks: Hammerquake (weak)
Elemental Defense: Fire (null)
Counter Aura: Standard
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kokuyousen
(Long Strong) Kokuyousen
Battle Collections: Defeat Dark Armor in 1 Minute, Defeat Dark Armor with
No Damage
Quite easy compared to the last boss. You'll find yourself matched up
against 3 Dark Armors, but they're pretty wimpy with a low low MP total of
6000. They are also quite slow, and their only really threatening attack
is their Hammerquake, which is a radius attack (but is weak). Once again,
your strategy will be to use Nel's fast speed to separate herself from
the Dark Armors, then send out cancel combo'ed Kokuyousens until they die...
which should be very quickly. 1 Minute is no problem, and unless you get
unlucky and eat a Hammerquake somewhere in there, you should be able
to get No Damage as well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CRYSTAL STATUE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy: 168000 HP, 10000 MP
Universe: 252000 HP, 15000 MP
FD: 315840 HP, 18500 MP
Special Attacks: Tri-spike (weak)
Elemental Defense: Fire (null)
Water (null)
Earth (null)
Wind (null)
Counter Aura: Standard
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kokuyousen
(Long Strong) Kokuyousen
Battle Collections: Defeat Crystal Statue in 1 Minute, Defeat Crystal Statue
with No Damage
The Crystal Statue is an enhanced version of the Crystal Cerberus you fought
a long time ago. He's not much different except for the fact that he's much
faster. He still has low MP, but he still nullifies all elements. An
interesting party to have at this point is Cliff and Mirage, both with Aerial
Raid set to both short range attacks, and Nel with Kokuyousen. If Cliff
and Mirage can keep the Crystal Statue relatively confined (don't bet on it),
you'll be able to defeat him pretty quickly. The same tactics will work here
(run away and take potshots); you just have to have faster reflexes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DARK EYE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy: 330000 HP, 56000 MP
Universe: 495000 HP, 84000 MP
FD: 646800 HP, 116480 MP
Special Attacks: Fire Circle (strong)
Misery Circle (strong)
Dark Circle (magic)
Thunder Flare (magic)
Elemental Defense: Fire (absorb)
Water (absorb)
Earth (absorb)
Wind (absorb)
Counter Aura: Ring Wave
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Kokuyousen
(Long Strong) Kokuyousen
(Support) Critical HP
Battle Collections: Defeat Dark Eye in 1 Minute, Defeat Dark Eye with No
Damage
Hope you didn't have any trouble with the Lesser Eye, because you're
about to face his bigger, stronger brother. Actually, aside from buffed
up HP (MP remains the same), this guy is no different from the Inferior
Eye, and so the exact same tactics should work. The addition of Battle
Collections to earn make this a little more challenging, and 1 minute
can be a bit tight if you haven't dedicated some time to Item Creation
yet (if you don't have Orihalcon-enhanced weapons yet, now would be a good
time to start).
Again, watch out for his status effects. Though annoying, make the long
trek back to Sealand if you don't have enough Basil/Sage/Lavender. No
Damage should be ok if you stick with a dedicated long-range fighter
(Nel or Maria); just be cautious and try to stay behind the Eye, as
he can send out his eyebeams pretty far forward.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHIMERA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy: 200000 HP, 28000 MP
Universe: 300000 HP, 42000 MP
FD: 380000 HP, 54320 MP
Special Attacks: Pyro Blast (weak)
Rush Extreme (weak)
Protos (strong)
Cao Upper (weak)
Elemental Defense: Fire (half)
Wind (half)
Counter Aura: Standard
Suggested Character: Nel
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Touga
(Long Strong) Touga
(Support) Critical HP
Battle Collections: Defeat Chimera in 1 Minute, Defeat Chimera with No
Damage
This is the boss that many got stuck on in the original version of SO3;
now, he's not as bad. One reason is the addition of Cancel Combos (for
greatly increased damage); another is the simple fact that the DC version
of the Chimera just has less HP and MP. Perhaps tri-Ace felt he was too
hard as well. In any case, he's not too bad now, but he can still wipe
out your party if you aren't careful enough. His flaming tail causes
damage to you even if you touch it, so close-range fighters will have to
watch out; sneaking up behind him is generally not possible. His tail
can also cause Paralysis, so if you do have a close-range fighter, try
putting a Paralyze Check on him or her.
Touga causes great damage, is fast, and can be done from quite far
away; thus it will be quite useful in this battle. Cancel Combo'ed,
it should do enough to let you take out the Chimera within 1 Minute,
although your allies might bite the dust in the meantime. No Damage
should also not be an issue, since you should be fast enough to run away
from anything the Chimera has coming. You can always equip Bunny Shoes
to improve your chances.
If you face the Chimera alone (such as in the Gemity Arena), there is
a simpler way to defeat him; set Nel's Aerial on both shorts, and
then just stand still. The Chimera's strong attack is easily
avoidable if you see it coming, and most everything else (such as his
tail) counts as a weak attack. Thus, by simply repeating Counter Aura
(standard) -> Aerial, you should be able to finish him off. You might
get hit a few times, but you should be able to survive. If not, use a
move with less recovery time, such as Touga or Kokuyousen.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STONE GOLEM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy: 300000 HP, 20000 MP
Universe: 450000 HP, 30000 MP
FD: 585000 HP, 38000 MP
Special Attacks: Magna Blow (weak)
Magna Kick (strong)
Elemental Defense: Fire (null)
Water (null)
Earth (null)
Wind (null)
Counter Aura: Aiming
Suggested Character: Maria
Suggested Skills: (Long Weak) Aiming Device
(Long Strong) Aiming Device
(Support) Critical MP
Battle Collections: Defeat Stone Golem in 1 Minute, Defeat Stone Golem
with No Damage
The Stone Golem is big. Very big. You'll want to stay far away from it and
snipe at its MP - hence Maria and Aiming Device. The Stone Golem nullifies
all attacks, so unfortunately Cliff/Mirage's Might Hammer or Fate's enchant
skills will be of little use here. As backup, Nel with Kokuyousen and
Arbel with Goumashou or Kouryuuha are good choices (if you use Arbel, keep
a close watch on his HP, since he has to get close to the enemy to cause
damage).
He's slow, so you shouldn't have any problems running away with Maria, and
consequently No Damage shouldn't be much of a problem. You'll almost
certainly need enhanced weapons (most like with Orihalcon) to beat him in
1 Minute, but with 2 or 3 of them he'll go down in no time at all.
Suggested Character: Sophia/Adlai
Suggested Skills: (Strong Long or Magic) Thunderstruck
(Magic) Fairy Light
(Support) Quick Charge
Battle Collections: None
The Amoeba Giant is actually a better version of the Mudman you fought a long
time ago. He comes with the much more threatening Wide Aiming Counter Aura,
so keep your melee fighters down to one. (Fate, with Lightning Bind, is
a good choice). With Wind as his weak point, you'll almost definitely also
want to include Nel, with her plethora of wind-elemental skills such as
Fuujin, Raikoua, Thunder Flare, and (if you're high enough level)
Thunderstruck.
As Sophia or Adlai, stay to the perimeter of the battlefield and cast Fairy
Light and/or Healing as necessary. If you have time, send off a Thunderstruck
in the Amoeba Giant's general direction. There are no battle collections for
this boss, so don't worry about defeating him quickly, although if Nel/Fate
have Orihalcon-enhanced weapons, and if Sophia/Adlai have Dark Crystal-
enhanced ones (for INT+1000), you'll be in good shape. Keep in mind that
setting a spell to a strong battle skill will cause the skill to do 30%
more damage than it would if you had cast it from the Heraldry menu, so if
you have the spare CP, by all means set it.
Suggested Character: Adlai
Suggested Skills: (Strong Long or Magic) Rock Rain
(Strong Long) Titan Fist
(Magic) Fairy Light
(Support) Quick Charge
Battle Collections: None
You should have seen this type of monster before, so his attack patterns
should be familiar to you. Fundamentally, he's not much different from
the Amoeba Giant - specializes in short-range combat, has the dangerous
Wide Aiming counter aura, and so on. One major difference is his elemental
weakness, which has now been shifted to Earth. Another is his considerably
high MP, meaning you'll want to take him out via pure HP damage. For those
reasons, you'll probably want to take Fate out. If you have Roger, you
can stick him in, as his Stream Attack is about the only melee Earth-elemental
skill in the game, though any strong fighter (Cliff/Mirage perhaps, or Nel
with Kyoumensatsu, or Arbel) will do.
Once again with Adlai your job is to stay away from the enemy and cast Fairy
Light, and if you have time, Rock Rain. Adlai is suggested slightly over
Sophia here because he also has the earth-elemental long-range skill Titan
Fist, which can help a little. However, feel free to use Sophia if she's
more buffed up than Adlai.
There are no Battle Collections to worry about, so as long as you are
meticulous about Healing you shouldn't have any problems. Occasionally
Aurora Ganash can paralyze you, but that shouldn't be an issue with Cure
Condition in your repertoire.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCULPTERE LORD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BASILISK KING
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GABRIEL CELESTE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEL AND ZORTO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALBEL AND ROMERO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROGER AND FABNIR
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUFFLE AND HODGE-PODGE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FATE AND ???
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GREEN MOJARA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPER BLAIR
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. CREDITS
Thanks go to:
tri-Ace and Enix for the best RPG I have ever played.
This FAQ Copyright 2004 to Edward Chang. Redistribution in any form,
including reprinting in electronic or print media, without express
permission of the author is strictly forbidden.
