Final Fantasy IX Boss FAQ Version 1.0 By LightRanma@aol.com --- Disclaimer: You may not use this FAQ on your website or distribute it ANYWHERE without my written permission first. I usually say yes, but you have to ask me first! If I find anyone has done otherwise, I'll bring the law into it. And yes, this FAQ is copyrighted. Thanks for cooperating! *THE NEWEST VERSIONS OF ALL MY FAQS CAN ALWAYS BE FOUND AT WWW.GAMEFAQS.COM!* ----------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- I. Introduction II. Version History III. Legend IV. Boss Walkthrough V. Conclusion VI. Thanks ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------- I. Introduction ---------------- Yo, everyone - Ranma here, with his latest (and hopefully greatest) FAQ on Square's newest masterpiece, Final Fantasy IX! Some of you may know me by my past works, especially my highly-acclaimed Boss FAQs for Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy VIII, and Xenogears. To my past readers, welcome back! For those of you who are new to my FAQs, you've come to the right place if you want all the truthful, best strategies on the toughest Bosses. As usual, this Boss FAQ will be presented in the same layout as all my others; however, there's one thing I'm doing differently this time. This FAQ is work in progress; I have not completed Final Fantasy IX, and in fact, I'm only halfway through Disc 1 at the moment because I have so little free time. So, unlike my other Boss FAQs, which were uploaded with one version only and had all the game's Bosses, this Boss FAQ will be uploaded numerous times as I get farther in the game and am able to add new strategies. In any case, enjoy, and E-mail me at LightRanma@aol.com if you have any RPG questions. Keep in mind, though, that the response won't be immediate, and if you type "lazy style" ("u" instead of "you," etc.), can't spell, and/or otherwise muck up your letter to where it's not understandable, your mail will simply be ignored and deleted. Sorry, but I get way too many idiotic letters, and I only want to respond to people who have at least half a brain. And one more thing - *THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS FAQ*, so read at your own risk. Anyway, on to the FAQ! ^_^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------- II. Version History -------------------- Version 1.0, 11.23.00, 12:43 PM PST: The initial version of my Final Fantasy IX Boss FAQ. Added Boss strategies up to Black Waltz Number 2, around halfway through Disc 1. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ III. Legend ------------ Here, you'll get a general look at the layout of my Boss strategies. Boss' Name: Boss' HP: Boss' Location: Boss' Elemental Weakness: Boss' Attacks Spoils (common, then rare) Stealable Items (common, then rare) AP for Winning My Party Difficulty (1, easiest; 5, hardest) Boss Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------- IV. Boss Walkthrough --------------------- - DISC 1 - Boss Fight #1 Name: Steiner HP: 169 Location: Prima Vista (Disc 1) Elemental Weakness: None Attacks: Physical attacks Spoils: None Stealable Items: Leather Hat, Silk Shirt AP: None My Party: Zidane (Level 1), Blank (Level 1), Cinna (Level 1) Difficulty: 1 This battle with Steiner, and the two that follow, are extremely easy, but things only get tougher after that, so enjoy the easiness while you can. Have Zidane and Blank attack, but make sure you have Cinna steal; Cinna seems to be the best thief out of the whole gang, even Zidane. Besides, you don't want to miss the chance to pick up some nice stuff this early in the game! If you really need to, use a Potion to heal, but you really shouldn't since Steiner's physical attacks are dismal. Boss Fight #2 Name: Steiner HP: 162 Location: Alexandria Theater (Disc 1) Elemental Weakness: None Attacks: Physical attacks Spoils: None Stealable Items: Leather Hat, Silk Shirt AP: None My Party: Zidane (Level 1), Garnet (Level 1), Vivi (Level 1), Marcus (Level 1) Difficulty: 1 Now that you have a true party of four members, things will be even easier. If you didn't get both of Steiner's items with Cinna in the last battle, try to steal what you missed using Zidane. Otherwise, have Zidane and Marcus attack, have Vivi cast fire, and have Garnet act as the party's healer if it ever becomes necessary. It probably won't be, though, and so you can have her attack too, although her physical attacks are too weak to be of much help. Brace yourself - noble knight Steiner isn't done yet! Boss Fight #3 Name: Steiner HP: 167 Location: Alexandria Theater (Disc 1) Elemental Weakness: None Attacks: Physical attacks Spoils: None Stealable Items: Leather Hat, Silk Shirt AP: None My Party: Zidane (Level 1), Garnet (Level 1), Vivi (Level 1), Marcus (Level 1) Difficulty: 1 You really should have jacked all of Steiner's stuff by now, but if you haven't, try once again to do so with Zidane. You can't do anything about the Bomb that absentminded Steiner is completely oblivious to, so just whack that stupid head of his over and over until the battle ends. Have Garnet heal if you need it, but otherwise, Steiner will fall quickly to the combined power of Zidane's and Marcus' physical attacks and Vivi's Fire spell. Boss Fight #4 Name: Prison Cage HP: 513 Location: Evil Forest (Disc 1) Elemental Weakness: Fire Attacks: Physical attacks, Absorb, Left Tentacle, Right Tentacle Spoils: None Stealable Items: Leather Wrist, Broadsword AP: None My Party: Zidane (Level 5), Vivi (Level 1), Steiner (Level 1) Difficulty: 3 This Boss' difficulty lies not within its actual strength, but the fact that Garnet is being held prisoner by this thing, and if the Prison Cage is able to drain all of her HP, it's Game Over. This is very reminiscent of Final Fantasy VIII's Adel battle - you have to be sure to keep Garnet's (in FF VIII's case, Rinoa's) HP up at all times, and make sure that you do NOT hit her for any reason. All-hitting attacks are a big no-no, but you don't have any of those anyway except for Zidane's Trance ability Tidal Flame, and an all-hitting Fire spell. Hit the Prison Cage fast and hard, but always keep one party member on standby (hit Triangle to switch turns) to use a Potion on Garnet if her HP reaches critical range (and it probably will). I recommend using Steiner as Garnet's healer, because he'll be doing the least damage in this battle (he'll be Level 1 compared to Zidane's Level... well, something higher, and Vivi will be doing high damage with Fire). Whatever you do, just make sure you don't accidentally target Garnet and kill her - especially when Zidane goes into Trance. Hold off on stealing for now - you'll get your chance in the next battle. Boss Fight #5 Name: Prison Cage HP: 533 Location: Evil Forest (Disc 1) Elemental Weakness: Fire Attacks: Physical attacks, Absorb, Left Tentacle, Right Tentacle Spoils: Phoenix Down, Eye Drop, Goblin Card Stealable Items: Leather Wrist, Broadsword AP: 3 My Party: Zidane (Level 5), Vivi (Level 1), Steiner (Level 1) Difficulty: 2 Immediately after releasing Garnet and disappearing, the ever-persistent Prison Cage captures Vivi by surprise, and another battle ensues - this time, for Vivi's life! I'm not quite sure if it's Game Over if Vivi does or not, but I'm willing to bet that it is, so keep Vivi's HP up with Potions if the Prison Cage decides to use Absorb. In any case, this battle is a litte less urgent than the last, because Vivi will automatically cast Fire on the Prison Cage every turn (even while inside it?!) and do 90+ damage each turn. This means it won't take longer than six turns for the Prison Cage to die no matter what happens as long as Vivi doesn't die, so use this battle to have Zidane plunder the Prison Cage's items, especially making sure to get the Leather Wrist (an awesome accessory for this point in the game). Once again, the Prison Cage's physical attacks are dismal, and the real danger comes in Vivi's imprisonment. Have a party member at the ready to heal Vivi if he needs it, and make absolutely sure not to target Vivi! Boss Fight #6 Name: Baku HP: 150 Location: Prima Vista/Evil Forest (Disc 1) Elemental Weakness: None Attacks: Physical attacks Spoils: None Stealable Items: Hi Potion, Iron Sword AP: None My Party: Zidane (Level 5) Difficulty: 3 Zidane fights this battle against his leader alone, and if you're not prepared, Baku will make short work of Zidane. Even at Level 5, Baku's attacks are pretty damaging (when he doesn't miss, anyway), and it'll be extremely tough to manage a Steal in this battle. However, if you're confident you can survive and you've got some Potions, try to get Baku's Iron Sword, because it will come in handy when you get Steiner in your party. Otherwise, all you can do is trade physical blows with Baku. Zidane will most likely be the one doing more damage, but Baku's 20-30 damage hits will add up quickly, so make sure you have some Potions at the ready. Oh, and if you're tired of these "mini" boss battles, you'll get your chance to test your mettle against a real Boss next! Boss Fight #7 Name: Plant Brain HP: 916 Location: Evil Forest (Disc 1) Elemental Weakness: Fire Attacks: Physical attacks, Pollen, Left Tentacle, Right Tentacle Spoils: Phoenix Down Stealable Items: Iron Helmet, Eye Drop AP: 20 My Party: Zidane (Level 6), Garnet (Level 4), Vivi (Level 5), Steiner (Level 5) Difficulty: 3 Here it is - your first real Boss fight, with the authentic Boss theme and everything! And this fight is no cakewalk, either; you've got to be alert in this battle, or the Plant Brain will make short work of your party. It shares many similarities with its smaller counterpart, the Prison Cage; it has dismal physical attacks, and it was a weakness to Fire, which Vivi can exploit. However, its physical attacks are nontheless a bit stronger than the Prison Cage's, it's faster, and it has the devastating Pollen attack, which not only does around 100 damage to your entire party, but also Blinds them, making it tougher for anyone to hit much of anything. However, the Darkness ailment isn't as much of a problem as you'd think in this battle; the only character it really affects is Zidane, but you'll want to have him Steal for the first few turns anyway, to make sure you get the Iron Helmet that the Plant Brain has. Otherwise, you'll want to use Steiner's Fire Sword ability (which consumes Steiner's MP, not Vivi's), which not only is not hindered by Darkness, but will also cause big damage to the Plant Brain. Of course, have Vivi cast Fire relentlessly for more big damage, and always, ALWAYS keep Garnet on standby as the party's medic, and they'll need a medic in this battle. Never attack physically with Garnet no matter how good a condition your party's in, because your physical attacks are literally useless, and the Plant Brain may use Pollen right after you've wasted her turn. If Garnet is killed, use a Phoenix Down immediately on her and use Potions to take care of the healing until she's back. But otherwise, Steiner's Fire Sword and Vivi's Fire will take care of the Plant Brain pretty quickly - just have Garnet ready to cast Cure on the whole party after it uses Pollen! Boss Fight #8 Name: Black Waltz Number 1 and Sealion HP: 229, 472 Location: Ice Cavern (Disc 1) Elemental Weakness: Fire, Fire Attacks: Fire, Blizzard; Physical attacks, Blizzard, Tidal Wave Spoils: Hi Potion, Phoenix Down, Fang Card Stealable Items: Silk Shirt, Remedy; Mythril Dagger, Ether AP: 5 My Party: Zidane (Level 8) Difficulty: 3 This battle is tough, because you have to fight it with Zidane alone. With your other party members, this would be a cinch... but unfotunately, you don't have that leisure, so let's try to make do with what you have, shall we? First off, keep an eye on your HP at all times, and use Potions consantly to heal. If you feel Zidane's Level is high enough to survive, try to steal the Silk Shirt from Black Waltz Number 1 (the wizard) and the Mythril Dagger (from Sealion). Both are great items, especially the latter. Other than that, though, focus your physical attacks on Black Waltz Number 1 first, because Sealion just can't be killed without killing BW first (he casts Blizzard on the Sealion to heal it, as it's Ice Elemental). BW Number 1 will fall quickly to Zidane's powerful physical attacks, as it has only 229 HP; the Sealion, however, is a bit of a different story. It has more HP, and it'll take awhile to whittle down its 472 HP with only Zidane. Hopefully, Zidane will go into Trance at some point in the battle, at which point you can use Tidal Flame to decimate Sealion. As far as their attacks go, BW Number 1's Fire and Blizzard spells are kind of damaging, but Sealion's physical attacks and Blizzard spells are more dismal. However, be careful! When Sealion is near death, it will use its awesome Tidal Wave attack on Zidane, causing around 100 damage, so keep your HP above the amount with Potions. But other than that, this battle isn't too bad. Boss Fight #9 Name: Black Waltz Number 2 HP: 1030 Location: Dali (Disc 1) Elemental Weakness: Fire Attacks: Fire, Fira, Blizzard, Thunder Spoils: Ether, Zaghnol Card Stealable Items: Steepled Hat, Leather Plate AP: 5 My Party: Zidane (Level 10), Dagger (Level 8), Vivi (Level 9), Steiner (Level 9) Difficulty: 4 This guy is nasty, and will give you your first real challenge in Final Fantasy IX. The first thing you should know about this guy is that this menacing-looking demon witch has orders to return Dagger to Alexandria ALIVE, so that means that he won't try to hurt Dagger. At least, he didn't in my game. It's now more important than ever to keep Dagger on standby at all times to be ready with a full-party Cure, because this guy has powerful attacks. All three of its basic spells - Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder, can do big damage, and he tends to use them on the whole party at times, too. He used Fira on my party once as well, and it nailed me badly at 100+ damage to the whole party. He even went as far as to kill Vivi, so make sure you've got Phoenix Downs to spare for this battle! If everyone is in good condition during any particular round, have Dagger cast Protect on one of the other party members, Vivi first. Otherwise, your battle strategies should be as follows: have Zidane steal the Steepled Hat and Leather Plate from the Boss if possible; have Vivi cast Blizzard on the Boss; and have Steiner use Blizzard Sword on the Boss. Yes, BW Number 2's weakness is Fire, but using any other spell besides Blizzard will provoke it to counterattack with a Spell of its own, and you want to keep BW's powerful spellcasting to a minimum if you can. As long as your Levels are high enough, you're alert and you revive and heal any fallen characters IMMEDIATELY with Phoenix Downs, you should be able to outlast BW Number 2. Just hit fast and hard, and make sure to keep those all-party Cure spells coming! --- More to come in following revisions of this FAQ as I have time to get father in the game! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------- V. Conclusion -------------- I hope this FAQ has been of use to you while playing Final Fantasy IX! As I mentioned before, feel free to E-mail me at LightRanma@aol.com if you have further questions on any RPG. Constructive criticism, corrections, suggestions, and compliments are always welcome, but insults, flames, and otherwise useless mails will be ignored and deleted. And, of course, always be sure to E-mail me before you use my FAQ on your website. If I find that you've done otherwise, there will be legal problems for you, especially if you've altered my FAQ in any way. Thanks for reading this FAQ, and I'll see you next time! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- VI. Thanks ----------- I'd like to thank the following people/things/entities for their help in making this FAQ possible: - Square Soft, for making such a magnificent game. Your accomplishments on the PlayStation have been many and varied, but most of them are truly spectacular. Keep up the awesome, awesome work on the PlayStation 2, you guys - you're easily the best game company out there. Let's see a Chrono 3 soon! - Nobuo Uematsu, for creating yet another awesome Final Fantasy soundtrack. FF IX's battle theme is your best yet. Keep up the great work! - BradyGAMES, for their Official Final Fantasy IX Players Guide. It was invaluable in collection HP amounts, spoils, and stealable items for all the Bosses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The following sites have permission to use this FAQ without my written consent: - GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com) - The Gaming Intelligence Agency (www.thegia.com) - RPGamer (www.rpgamer.com) - GameSages (www.gamesages.com) - IGN PSX (www.ign.com) - GameShark.com (www.gameshark.com) --- Copyright 2000