The CES challenge is one of the oldest challenges in Final Fantasy VI.
Likely, it was completed the year the game was released. To explain briefly, in
order to reach Kefka, only three characters are actually required- Celes,
Edgar, and Setzer. The CES challenge is beating the game, having recruited only
these three characters. Implicit is that several espers, spells, and equipment
is unavailable.
In 2006, this game was ported for the Game Boy Advance. This game included a
bonus dungeon, the Dragon's Den, unlocked by defeating the eight dragons. In
the Dragon's Den are eight upgraded versions of the dragons, plus Kaiser
Dragon. And after putting down Kaiser Dragon, there is Omega Weapon.
One may think it is impossible to complete a Dragon's Den CES challenge.
These enemies must have so many tricks that would require a party of four, not
to mention Arise or Reraise.
But that is not the case! A CES challenge can be completed for the Dragon's
Den. Like the challenge for the main game, it requires a lot of preparation.
I. Preparation
To underttake this immense challenge, there needs to be much preparation.
first of all, you m,ust be familair with the CES challenge for the main game.
Second, you must be familiar enough with the Dragon's Den that you can
navigate it and remember where the super dragons are.
Third, you need to boost your characters's stats. At a minimum, the
characters should have at least 45 speed. Celes must have at least 105 magic
and 930 MP. Cactuar and Odin can boost speed, Bahamut boosts HP, and Zona
Seeker boosts Magic.
The spells Quick, Merton/Meltdown, Flare, and Meteor are absoluitely
essential. Quick can be learned from Raiden or Gilgamesh. Merton/Meltdown can
be learned from Crusader. Flare can be learned from Bahamut, And Meteor can be
learned from Odin or Crusader.
You will need the Minerva Bustier and Force Shield for Celes. Flame Shields
are needed to be able to spam Merton/Meltdown (buy Falchions in Maranda, and
bet them in the Coliseum). the Fixed Dice is a must for Setzer. The
Offering/Master's Scroll and the Gem Box/Soul of Thamasa are also essential.
And there is no finishing the challenge without the Ribbon and the Safety Bit.
The desert near Maranda is the best place to grind magic. The dino forest
northwest of the Veldt is the best place to grind experience.
II. What You Will Miss
You will clearly miss Blitzes, Lores, and Rages.
Here is a list of espers, spells, and equipment you will miss.
A. Espers
* Starlet/Lakshmi- need to recruit Relm .
* Phoenix- need to recruit Locke.
* Alexander- need to recruit Cyan.
* Ragnarok- need to recruit Locke.
B. Spells
* Holy (need Alexander, except for Celes, who learns it by leveling up)
* Curaga- need Starlet or Phoenix
* Arise- need Phoenix
* Reraise- Need Phoenix
* Ultima- need Ragnarok or Paladin Shield
C. Equipment
* Paladin Shield- need Locke to get Cursed Shield
Note: it IS possible to obtain the Ragnarok sword, and thus the
Illumina/Lightbringer. Equip one of the characters with the merit award and
thief's knife just before starting the final battle, and have that character
attack Lady during the penultimate battle befoere Kefka. the character may
steal the Ragnarok, which will be in the party inventory once the game is saved
after being beaten. Attacking Rest with the thief's knife can also get you a
second Ultima Weapon.
III. Ice Dragon
We know head to the Dragon's Den. Like Kefka's Tower, you will split in to
three one-person parties.
You should be familairt with the Dragon's Den, so I will not guide you
througn it, I will only give strategiesd for taking down the dragons.
The Ice Dragon counterattacks with physical attacks iof attacked with a
spell. You could case (Vanish on yourself and attack with fire spells (except
Merton/Melytdown, which nullifies Vanish) Or you could stick to physical
attacks. Abusing Quick is a must. Any character will do.
IIII. Storm Dragon
Storm Dragon is very evasive. You should rely on non-blockable attacks
(Meteor, Meltdown, Fixed Dice, Tools) Equpping Thunder Shields is very helpful.
Vanish will make physicals miss.
V. Earth Dragon
Gaia Gear is essential. Vanish will nullify physical attacks. Earth Dragon
is weak to Water attacks.
VI. Blue Dragon
Blue Dragon is vulnerable to Thunder attacks. Just make sure to abuse Quick.
VII. Red Dragon
Here is one of the trickier dragons. Red Dragon can not be hurt. Instead,
you must survive his attacks, which incluide various fire spells, flare, and
Meteor. Just before he dies he casts Ultima and Flare.
Celes is best for this, as she can Runic most of the attacks, including
Ultima. Make sure she has Haste, and Runic unless you have to heal (Meltdown
and Meteor can not be runicked). If you have to heal, cast Quick first, then
heal, then runic.
It may be possible to win with Edgar or Setzer, if they have high HP (to
survive Ultima and Flare at the end) and a Flame Shield which will absoRb fire
attacks.
VIII. Skull Dragon
Another tricky dragon. He can only be beaten by reducing his MP to 0. If his
HP is reduced to 0, he auto-revives with full HP and MP.
Your character must have a high magic stat (100+), and equip both the Safety
Bit and the Ribbon, to protect against Zombie, Instant Death, and status
effects. Start if with Quick> Haste (Self)>Rasp. Make sure to use Quick eveery
round, and Rasp. If low on MP, cast Osmose. If low on HP, cast Cura.
VIIII. Holy Dragon
The toughest of the eight super dragons. He will cast Holy and Saintly Beam,
and he counters each attack with Curaga. His most dangerous attack is Heartless
Angel.
Make sure your character is equipped with Flame shield and has Meltdown.
Cast Reflect on Holy Dragon so that Curaga is bounced onto you. Then spam
Meltdown, which will heal your character, and hit the dragon as he is not
immune to Fire.
X. Gold Dragon
the last of the eight, he has a gimmick, which is a permanent Runic status.
this will absorb spells like Flare and Cura and Haste.
Runic does not absorb Quick, so it can still be (ab)used. Setzer's Fixed
Dice with offering/master's Scroll, Edgar with the Radiant Lance, Dragoon
Boots, and Dragon Horn, and Celes with a Flame Shield and spamming Meltdown
(which can not be Runicked) are all good options.
XI. Kaiser Dragon
The capstone of this dungeon. Unlike the battle with Kefka, you will have to
solo him in a CES challenge.
Kaiser goes through five lives. In the first four lives, he goes to the next
life after some time or if damaged by 65,000 HP. In the first four lives, he
has an elemental weakness, and an attack pattern associated with that weakness.
In his fifth life, he has Hyperdrive, which will kill your attacker if it
connects. He counters either with Revenge Blast (which will kill your partty
member if more than 9998 damage was inflicted) or Last Breath (an exrtremely
powerful physical attack)
Only Celes has a chance against him in a CES challenge, because only she has
access to Runic, which can nullify Hyperdrive.
Equyip her with the Soul of Thamasa. you must choose between the Ribbon and
the Safety Bit. You will be vuilnerable to Instant Death OR status effects.
Pick your poison.
the Minerva and the Force Shield are musts. Equip the Enhancer or Illumina to
boost her Magic.
During the first four lives, make sure Celes has Haste. If Kaiser uses
physical attacks, cast Vanish on Celes as he might use Last Breath, which will
kill her if it connects.
On the fifth life, you must rely on these attack patterns.
(if not vanished) Quick> Vanish> Rasp> Rasp> Runic
(If needing more MP) Quick>Vanish>Osmose>Rasp>Runic
Vanish nullifies Last Breath, and Runic nullifies Hyperdrive. Rasp reduces
MP. Revenge Blast will not hurt if Kaiser is at full HP.
Once all of Kaiser's MP is reduced to 0 (you can check this by substituting
Libra for Rasp), then it is time to gio after his HP, as he can not use Revenge
Blast anymore. Here are the attack patterns.
(if not vanished) Quick> Vanish> Flare>Flare> Runic
(If needing more MP) Quick>Vanish>Osmose> Flare>Runic
runic is still needed, as Hyperdrive uses 0 MP. This should not take as long
as Rasping away Kaiser's MP.
Once kaiser goes down,. collect the Diabolos magicite and exit. The Soul
Shrine and Omega Weapon are unlocked.
XII. Omega Weapon
Omega Weapon is another challenge. Omega has three lives, each with 65,000
HP. It also has substantial magic evasion. Omega is immune to Osmose.
In its first and third lives, he uses Grand Delta and Forsaken, respectively,
after focusing his strength. Grand Delta will hit for 9999 damage even for
someone wearing force armor and holding a force shield. (Forsaken may do so as
well.) Grand Delta can not be Runiced, unlike Kaiser’s Hyperdrive.
the foundation of the strategy is to force Omega to its second life before it
can cast Grand Delta, and likewise to kill Omega in its third life before it
can cast Forsaken.
What is needed is a character with at least 8000 HP, 939 MP, 110 Magic, and 60
Speed.
This is the equipment setup.
R-Hand: Any, though weapons that increase magic or speed are preferred.
L- Hand: Force Shield (to increase magic defense and evasion)
Head: Any, preferably hats or helmets that raise magic, speed,, or magic defense
Body: Minerva Bustier (Celes), Force Armor (Edgar, Setzer) (to increase magic
defense and evasion)
Relic: Ribbon
Relic: Soul of Thamasa
On the first turn, use Haste>Quick>Meteor>Meteor>Meteor>Cura or Libra (self)
Haste, of course, is used to speed up your already 60+ Speed character. Quick’s
purpose is obvious to anyone who finished the CES challenge for the main game.
Meteor is used because it is the most powerful unblockable non-elemental spell.
The last action under Quick is Cura or Libra, on self, depending on the
character’s current HP.
Omega may counter with Freezing Dust, which will delay the battle long enough
to get Grand Delta (1st life) or Forsaken (3rd life) out. But counters can only
be triggered by the last action performed under Quick. Thus, Omega will not
counter.
Omega’s HP will be depleted by 27,000 to just under 30,000, and the MP cost
will be up to 320.
When your character goes again,
Libra or Cura (self)>Quick>Meteor>Meteor>Meteor>Libra (Self)
Another 27,000 to 30,000 HP down.
On the third turn,
Libra (self)>Quick>Meteor>Meteor>Elixir
This will deplete Omega’s first life before it can cast Grand Delta. The elixir
at the end restores all MP.
Omega will use Vengeance, which will debuff you. After that,
Haste>Quick>Meteor>Meteor>Meteor>Cura or Libra (self)
Then repeat the cycle as above,
The one thing that can kill you is an Instant Death attack, and you will only
be able to rely on magic evasion to avoid it. Negative status effects are more
likely to cripple your character, and you need that Soul of Thamasa to be able
to do more than 27,000 damage.?
Once Omega is defeated, you can say you finished the Den in the CES challenge.
