-- Final Fantasy X (US) Monster Arena FAQ -- -- by CB! (Christine Bomke, circe@san.rr.com) -- -- Version 1.4, 1/30/02 -- LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This guide is for PERSONAL USE ONLY, copyrighted to me, Christine Bomke. Do not put this FAQ on your site without first emailing me for permission. If permission IS granted, you are not permitted to change a single word of this FAQ when you post it, and must leave it as a .txt file unless I've explicitly told you otherwise that you may change it. Do not steal information from this FAQ for your magazine, or other form of media - printed, online, or otherwise. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. If you violate this disclaimer anyway, blah blah copyright violation blah blah legal action blah. NOTE TO WEBMASTERS: If permission is granted to post this guide on your site, it is _your_ responsibility to get the most recent version from my site or GameFAQs.com periodically. If you can't be bothered to keep it current, then you may not post it. Avast ye matey, thar be spoilers ahead. -- Table 'o Contents -- I. Version History II. Foreword / Contact Information / General Strategies III. Area Creations a. Besaid Island: Stratavis b. Kilika Forest: Marlboro Menace c. Mi'ihen Highroad: Kottos d. Mushroom Rock Road: Coeurl Regina e. Djose Highroad / Moonflow: Jormungand f. Thunder Plains: Cactuar King g. Macalania Forest and Snowfield: Espada h. Sanubia Desert: Abyss Worm i. Calm Lands: Chimerageist j. Cavern of the Stolen Fayth: Don Tonberry k. Mt. Gagazet / Gagazet Cavern / Zanarkand Ruins: Catoblepas l. Inside Sin: Abadon m. Omega Ruins: Vorban IV. Species Creations a. Wolves: Fenrir b. Lizards: Ornitholestes c. Birds: Pteryx d. Insects: Hornet e. Floating Wizards: Vidatu f. Eyeballs: One-Eye g. Flans: Jumbo Flan h. Elements: Nega Elemental i. Armored Moles: Tanket j. Dragons: Fafnir k. Fungus: Sleep Sprout l. Bombs: Bomb King m. Horned: Juggernaut n. Iron Giants: Ironclad V. Original Creations a. Earth Eater b. Greater Sphere c. Catastrophe d. Th'uban e. Neslug f. Ultima Buster g. Shinryu h. Nemesis (or "Omega Gold") VI. Frequently Asked Questions 1. Where can I find [name of monster]? They're so rare! 2. What about Land Worms? 3. Which monsters appear in more than one area, and which area do they count towards when I capture them? 4. What is this "Passado" trick you keep mentioning? 5. What is the purpose of the Mark of Conquest? 6. Is there a difference between the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth and the Sunken Cave? 7. I don't like your strategy, nyah nyah. Why don't you write a different one? VII. Thanks, Acknowledgements, Shameless Plugs -- I. Version History -- v1.4 1/30/02: Added Frequently Asked Questions section, changed "Reraise" to "Auto-Life", and corrected the Iguion omission in the conditions for unlocking Ornitholestes. Thanks to the ten zillion people who emailed me about this. v1.3 1/17/02: Added the number of slots in dropped equipment, and number of abilities in dropped equipment to each optional boss. And despite my proclamation that I would no longer accept strategic submissions, Ultima Gamer emailed me with such a great Neslug strategy, I just couldn't help posting it. Smileys! v1.2 1/5/02: Expanded upon the strategy for Nemesis, added a strategy for Catastrophe which I'd forgotten, and fixed the Chocobo Wings/Feathers problem, thanks to everyone who emailed/IMed me about this. Tweaked little things about some strategies, and added the AP gained for each boss. (I still say the AP doesn't matter, since the monsters in the Omega Ruins give you at least as much per fight with less effort, but some people like to know everything about everything anyway.) v1.1 1/3/02: Updated pretty much every existing boss strategy, thanks to reader submissions, and fixed a few _really_ stupid mistakes. Also noted the insanely low encounter rates for some monsters (coughTonberrySimurghcough), and revised the "General Strategies" section. I will most likely not be updating this guide anymore, so if you want to submit a battle strategy, submit it to psych0midget's Monster Arena Boss FAQ. Details can be found at the end of Section II. v0.9 12/29/01: Finished most of the FAQ, and submitted to GameFAQs.com. The only things missing are strategies for a few bosses, and/or more reader- submitted strategies. v0.1 12/25/01: Began guide. Not released to the public. -- II. Foreword / Contact Information / General Strategies -- First, this is not a gameplay FAQ. This is an explanation of how the Monster Arena works, since the commercially released US strategy guides are lacking in explanation. If you need help figuring out the Sphere Grid system, or want a walkthough, look elsewhere. Most of this information came from my own experiences in the game, but some information concerning auto-abilities of dropped equipment, slots of dropped equipment, and drop rates came from the Final Fantasy X Ultimania "Battle" guide. It also bears mentioning I never would have appreciated the Monster Arena fully while playing the import if not for Muni Shinobu's "Training Facility" FAQ on GameFAQs, so much respect to him, too. If you have a question or submission about the Monster Arena, you may email me at circe@san.rr.com or cb@positronrecords.com. If your question is already answered in this FAQ, or one of my FAQs, I will probably delete your email. I hate to be strict like this, but I currently recieve between 20-40 letters per day about Final Fantasy X, most of which are from people who didn't read a FAQ well enough. I have a full-time job, a part-time job, and a social life, and I simply don't have time to answer every email. I've done my best to make this document as complete and self-explanatory as possible, so please respect that, and don't ask me to regurgitate material from it. The latest version of this FAQ, and all the other ones I've written, can always be found at GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com/) and my site (http://home.san.rr.com/circe/). Please reference them before finding fault with what may be an out-of-date version. Some scans and pictorial translations of key pages from the Final Fantasy X Ultimania books can also be found at my site. To capture monsters, go to the Monster Arena to the east of the Calm Lands, and buy monster-capturing weapons from the trainer there. If you deal the killing blow to a monster with one of these weapons, the monster is sent to the Monster Arena, and you can then fight it there for a nominal cost. If you lose any battle at the monster arena, it's not a game over, your characters simply have 1 HP afterwards, and you lose the money you paid to fight the monster. Capture enough monsters from an area or a species, and you'll unlock new bosses. The rest of this FAQ deals with these bosses. Assume that all of the following bosses are immune to all status ailments unless specified otherwise (Jumbo Flan is succeptable to Slow, for example), and defend against all elemental attacks, if not absorb them entirely. Lastly, the "Summon the Magus Sisters and use Mindy's Passado" strategy is a given - the strategies I'm providing are for people who don't want to cheat with Passado. Quick Hit is a nescessity. Let me reiterate, QUICK HIT IS A NESCESSITY. Quick Hit will allow you to get many, many extra attacks on a boss before it's had a chance to move, often allowing you to dispose of it without a scratch on you to show for it. Likewise, Hastega, or an armor with [Auto Haste], used in conjunction with Quick Hit, is a nescessity. The more frequently you can attack, obviously the sooner the boss will perish. [Auto Protect], [Auto Shell], [Auto Regen], and/or [Auto Potion] used in conjunction with [Alchemy] are also good to have, but nowhere near as important as the preceeding examples. Hitting for 99,999 damage with your characters is not essential for the first group of bosses, the Area Creations, but it certainly helps. For the Species and Original Creations, consider it vital. Having over 9,999 HP to defeat any of these bosses isn't nescessary, but you'd best have at least two characters with [Auto Phoenix] and/or keep everyone in Auto-Life status if you don't have more than 9,999 HP. Auto-Life is preferable to [Auto Phoenix], because it doesn't require a living party member to activate, but it wastes a turn. The tradeoff is yours to decide. I won't be updating this FAQ with any more boss strategies unless they're completely different that the ones I've given. If you don't like the strategy I've given, wait for the next revision of this FAQ, which will be a joint effort between myself and the lovely and talented psych0midget, who wrote an extremely detailed guide to preparing for battle. In the meantime, use common sense and simply level up if you can't defeat a boss. -- III. Area Creations -- - a. Besaid Island: Stratavis - Name: Stratavis HP: 320000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Smoke Bomb x3 (common), Stamina Spring x2 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Amulet x2 (common) x4 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: HP +10%, HP +20%, HP +30% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Easy, easy, easy. Don't be fooled by his Zuu-like appearance, this bird is a pushover. When he flops to the ground, which should happen after only a few hits, you'll know he's low on HP. At low levels, boost Youjimbo's Evade % with Speed Spheres, and have him kill Stratavis. Youji's evasion is so good, Stratavis will miss nearly every time! This tactic is courtesy of dreavien, who swears up and down that it works great on other Area Creation and Species Creation bosses. Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from Besaid Island. These are: Dingo, Condor, and Water Flan. Prize for unlocking: Stamina Tonic x99 - b. Kilika Forest: Marlboro Menace - Name: Marlboro Menace HP: 640000 (Overkill: 12000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Remedy x4 (common), Mana Spring x2 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Mana Tonic x2 (common) x4 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Sleepstrike, Silencestrike, Darkstrike, Poisonstrike, Stonestrike, Zombiestrike, Slowstrike Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Sleepproof, Silenceproof, Darkproof, Stoneproof, Poisonproof, Zombieproof, Slowproof Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-4 Strategy: This guy is like a souped-up, giant Great Marlboro, so equip armor with the [Berserkproof], [Confuseproof], and [Auto Med] abilities. No matter what you do, Marlboro Menace will _always_ surprise attack you, so if you have a weapon with the [First Strike] auto ability, make sure you have it equipped to get an extra hit on him at the beginning of the battle. If you're lucky, Marlboro Menace will use a tentacle attack that targets a single character first, and not Putrid Breath. (The latter, if anyone is curious, is just "Bad Breath" plus small damage, but the damage is nothing compared to having a whole party afflicted by Confusion...) Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from Kilika. These are: Killer Bee, Ragora, Dinonix, and Yellow Element. Prize for unlocking: Poison Fang x99 - c. Mi'ihen Highroad: Kottos - Name: Kottos HP: 440000 (Overkill: 15000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Stamina Spring x4 (common), Soul Spring x2 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Healing Spring x20 (common) x40 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Counter, Evade & Counter, Magic Counter Auto-abilites of dropped armor: HP +10%, HP +20%, HP +30% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-3 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Kottos counterattacks everything - Overdrives, phsyical attacks, magic attacks, even simply Stealing from him will cause him to attack you. If you fight Kottos when you're just beginning to capture monsters, you may get creamed, but he's a piece of cake at higher levels. Have everyone in Protect status, and lots of HP and Phoenix Downs. Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from Mi'ihen Highroad. These are: Raldo, Floating Eye, Mi'ihen Fang, White Element, Bomb, Dual Horn, Vouivre*, and Ipiria*. *These last two only appear in the "Old" part of Mi'ihen Highroad. The "Old" Highroad is the sunken canyon part that you can get to by doing a U-turn at the screen right before Mushroom Rock Road. Prize for unlocking: Soul Spring x99 - d. Mushroom Rock Road: Coeurl Regina - Name: Coeurl Regina HP: 380000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Farplane Wind x2 (common), Blessed Gem x1 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Shining Gem x3 (common) x6 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Deathstrike, Double AP Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Sleepproof, Silenceproof, Darkproof, Stoneproof, Poisonproof, Zombieproof, Slowproof, Deathproof Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-3 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Another pushover - kind of a spiritual successor to the panther enemies you fought in the Tower of Bab-il in Final Fantasy IV, except without the difficulty. She'll sit there while you attack her repeatedly, and sometimes use a combination Doom/Curse/Confuse attack called "Chaos" (someone correct me if this isn't the US name, I'm playing the import), but so long as you have [Confuseproof], [Deathproof], and possibly [Curseproof], it can't harm you. Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from Mushroom Rock Road. These are: Thunder Flan*, Gandarewa*, Raptor, Lamashtu, Red Element*, Funguar*, and Garuda. *These asterisked monsters appear in more areas than just Mushroom Rock Road. Thunder Flan also appears in the "Old" part of Mi'ihen Highroad, and Red Element, Funguar, and Gandarewa appear in the southern part of Djose Highroad. Prize for unlocking: Candle of Life x99 - e. Djose Highroad / Moonflow: Jormungand - Name: Jormungand HP: 520000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Petrify Grenade x4 (common), Three Stars x1 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Supreme Gem x2 (common) x4 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Sleepstrike, Silencestrike, Darkstrike, Poisonstrike, Stonestrike, Zombiestrike, Slowstrike Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Sleepproof, Silenceproof, Darkproof, Stoneproof, Poisonproof, Zombieproof, Slowproof Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-4 Strategy: Yet another easy fight. Jormungand likes to petrify you, but you expected that from his palette-swapped Basilisk appearance, right? Right. If he doesn't use a stone gaze-type attack, he'll attack one party member with his claws for piddly damage, or use a sonic tail attack that hits your whole party. He's slow as molasses, so as long as you have [Stoneproof], and abuse Overdrives and Quick Hit, he'll probably only get one hit on you. Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from Djose Highroad. These are: Bite Bug, Garm, Bunyip, Simurgh*, Snow Flan, Basilisk, and Ochu**. *The Simurgh only appears at the north part of Djose Highroad near Djose Temple and the lone chocobo rider, and very rarely at that. **The Ochu only appears along the Moonflow, which is west of Djose Temple. Prize for unlocking: Petrify Grenade x99 - f. Thunder Plains: Cactuar King - Name: Cactuar King HP: 100000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Chocobo Wing x2 (common), Designer Wallet x1 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Blessed Gem x3 (common) x6 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Defense +5%, Defense +10%, Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Cactuar King is fast with a high evade rate, so definately include Wakka in this battle - he may be the only one who can reliably hit him. And regardless of whether you're able to make a connecting hit on him or not, the Cactuar King will counterattack with "10,000 Needles". Wakka'a Attack Reel Overdrive, or Blitz Ace will finish him off quickly. Between this fight, and the Cactuar minigame in Sanubia Desert, you may wind up hating Cactuars for life. Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from Thunder Plains. These are: Aerouge, Buer, Melusine, Kusariqqu, Qactuar*, Gold Element, Larva, and Iron Giant**. *You will not encounter Qactuars until you've prayed to at least one of the glowing Qactuar stones. **The Iron Giant only appears north of Rin's travel agency. Prize for unlocking: Chocobo Wing x99 - g. Macalania Forest and Snowfield: Espada - Name: Espada HP: 280000 (Overkill: 15000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Farplane Shadow x4 (common), Farplane Wind x1 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Rename Card x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Defense +5%, Defense +10%, Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Espada has a rather annoying instant-death counterattack, but very low HP. You can circumvent this by zombifying your party members, which makes them immune to instant death, or having the [Deathproof] and/or [Auto Phoenix] abilities in your armor. If your evade is high enough, you don't even need to worry about it. Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from Macalania. These are: Wasp, Murussu, Blue Element, Xiphos, Chimera, Evil Eye*, Snow Wolf*, Mafdet*, and Ice Flan*. The monsters without asterisks appear in Macalania Forest, and the ones with asterisks appear around Lake Macalania and Macalania Snowfield. Also, do not confuse Murussu with Mafdet - they're both armored moles, but one is pink, red, and blue, and has a crystal growing out of its head (Murussu), and the other is grayish-lavender with smoke coming out of pores in its back (Mafdet). Prize for unlocking: Shining Gem x60 - h. Sanubia Desert: Abyss Worm - Name: Abyss Worm HP: 480000 (Overkill: 12000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Shadow Gem x4 (common), Stamina Tablet x1 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Stamina Tonic x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Defense +5%, Defense +10%, Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: The Abyss Worm only LOOKS intimidating - but then you hit him, and you realize he's just an overgrown earthworm with serious post-nasal drip problems. The Abyss Worm is extremely slow, and he doesn't have much of physical defense power, so if at least one of your party members can deal 99,999 damage every time, this battle is over before it's even begun. Even if you can't deal 9,999 damage, Hastega, Doublecasting Flare or Ultima, or Lulu's Fury Overdrives will expedite things tremendously. Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from Sanubia Desert. These are: Alcyone, Sand Wolf, Sand Worm*, Mushussu, Zuu, and Cactuar*. *All of the monsters appear in all areas, EXCEPT for the Sand Worm and Cactuar. The Sand Worm only appears in the Ruins and Sandstorm areas, and the Cactuar only appears on the screen closest to home - most frequently in the Sandstorm area. You can find all of these monsters except for the Mulfushu and Alcyone at the Sanubia Sand Dune location, accessable by searching the coordinates X-15 Y-41 while on the airship. I think. Prize for unlocking: Shadow Gem x99 - i. Calm Lands: Chimerageist - Name: Chimerageist HP: 120000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Mana Spring x2 (common), Stamina Spring x1 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Return Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Firestrike, Waterstrike, Icestrike Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Fire Eater, Water Eater, Ice Eater Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-3 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Chimerageist will most likely be the easiest of any of these bosses, because he'll also be the first one you fight - the Monster Trainer won't let you fight any of the other bosses until you've captured all the monsters from the Calm Lands, remember? Aqua Breath, which Kimahri may learn from it, is the most damaging of his attacks, and it hits your entire party, but so long as you have [Waterproof] or [Water Eater] armor, it's nothing to worry about. His other attacks include a fireball called Megido Flame (again, correct me if this isn't the English name, I'm going by the import), and the usual complement of Chimera spells. Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from the Calm Lands. These are: Nebiros, Skoll, Flame Flan, Anacondaur, Shred, Coeurl*, Ogre, Marlboro*, and Chimera Brain. *The Coeurl and Marlboro also appear in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, but if you capture them there, they count towards your Calm Lands total. If you're having trouble running into a particular monster, the trainer even tells you that the rarest monsters tend to spawn in the northwest corner of the Calm Lands. Prize for unlocking: Farplane Wind x60 - j. Cavern of the Stolen Fayth: Don Tonberry - Name: Don Tonberry HP: 480000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Candle of Life x2 (common), Designer Wallet x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Farplane Wind x3 (common) x6 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Sleepstrike, Silencestrike, Darkstrike, Poisonstrike, Stonestrike, Zombiestrike, Slowstrike, Deathstrike Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Sleepproof, Silenceproof, Darkproof, Stoneproof, Poisonproof, Zombieproof, Slowproof, Deathproof Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 2-4 Strategy: If you attack Don Tonberry when he's at the far side of the screen, he'll automatically counterattack with an insanely powerful version of Karma, which will usually kill you, even at high levels. Whereas if you defend until you can see the whites of his eyes (that is, if Tonberries have whites in their eyes), and only attack him when he's right in front of you, he won't counterattack. As always, [Auto Phoenix] or Auto-Life are good to have. For a laugh, try summoning an Aeon and see how he attacks it... Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth. These are: Epaaj, Imp*, Yowie, Thorn, Dark Element, Nidhogg*, Valaha, Ghost, and Tonberry. *The Imp and Nidhogg also appear in Mt. Gagazet, but if you capture them there, they count towards your Cavern of the Stolen Fayth total. The encounter rate for certain monsters in the cave is ridiculously low, so if you can't find a certain monster right away, like a Tonberry, don't despair, you're not the only one. I personally spent four hours searching for Tonberries in the cave, and only found five in that time. Arcaneja and others on the GameFAQs FFX board have reported that the Tonberry rate was highest in the "green" room, so maybe I was just looking in the wrong place. Regardless, whomever programmed the encounter rates in this area should be strung up by their toenails and Everyone's Grudged repeatedly. Grrr! Prize for unlocking: Silver Hourglass x40. - k. Mt. Gagazet / Gagazet Cavern / Zanarkand Ruins: Catoblepas - Name: Catoblepas HP: 550000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Healing Spring x3 (common), Stamina Tonic x1 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Three Stars x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Sleepstrike, Silencestrike, Darkstrike, Poisonstrike, Stonestrike, Zombiestrike, Slowstrike, Deathstrike Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Sleepproof, Silenceproof, Darkproof, Stoneproof, Poisonproof, Zombieproof, Slowproof, Deathproof Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 2-4 Strategy: Treat Catoblepas as you would a mega King Behemoth, because that's what he is, and bear in mind that when you defeat him, he'll cast Ultima as a last gasp. Hope you have high magic defense! Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from Mt. Gagazet. These are: Bandersnatch, Grat, Grenade, Bashura, Ahriman, Grendel, Dark Flan, Mandragora, Behemoth, Splasher, Achelous, and Maelspike. Bear in mind that this area encompasses the snowy exterior of Mt. Gagazet, the Cavern interior, the flooded part of the cavern, and the ruins of the Zanarkand Freeway. Also, capturing at least two of the Splasher, Achelous, and Maelspike will unlock Shinryu in addition to Catoblepas - see Shinryu's entry in the Original Creations section for more detail. Prize for unlocking: Blossom Crown for unlocking Catoblepas, and 30 Mega Elixirs for unlocking Shinryu. - l. Inside Sin: Abadon - Name: Abadon HP: 380000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Purifying Salt x3 (common), Shining Gem x1 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Mana Tablet x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Magic +5%, Magic +10%, Magic +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Magic Defense +5%, Magic Defense +10%, Magic Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Cast Hastega. Attack with Quick Hit. Rinse, lather, repeat. Don't bother with magic, because he has constant Nul-All, Reflect, and other protective statuses in place. His attacks include Pharoah's Curse, which you may have been afflicted by when fighting Demonoliths, all of the -aga spells, and Flare. Abadon tends to use Pharoah's Curse more than anything, though, so either have [Blindproof], [Poisonproof], [Curseproof], and/or [Auto Med] in your armor. Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from Inside Sin. These are: Exoray, Gemini (both kinds, each count as a seperate monster)*, Adamantoise*, Behemoth King, Wraith*, Great Marlboro*, Barbatos, and Demonolith*. *The asterisked monsters also appear in the Omega Ruins, but if you capture them there, they count towards your Inside Sin total. Barbatos only appears in the second "deserted city"-type area - dunno what this is called in the US release, but it was something like "Dreams of the Dead" in Japanese. Prize for unlocking: Lunar Curtain x99 - m. Omega Ruins: Vorban - Name: Vorban HP: 630000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Healing Spring x2 (common), Stamina Tablet x1 (rare) Cost: 6000 gil Drop: Friend Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Defense +5%, Defense +10%, Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Don't bother with Armor Break, since it only works about 10% of the time, and use Auron's third Overdrive, Banishing Blade, instead - this will ALWAYS put Vorban into Power Break, Magic Break, Armor Break, and Mental Break status, and make your fight a lot easier. It'll still be a long one unless your characters can hit for 99,999 damage. Otherwise, Vorban has all of the same attacks that a Barbatos does, and whether he'll counterattack when you hit him seems to be totally random. Conditions: Capture at least one of each monster from the Omega Ruins. These are: Varuna, Floating Death, Black Element, Zaurus, Spirit, Halma, Machea, Master Coeurl, Master Tonberry, and Puroburos. Prize for unlocking: Designer Wallet x60 -- IV. Species Creations -- - a. Wolves: Fenrir - Name: Fenrir HP: 850000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Chocobo Feather x2 (common), Chocobo Wing x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Agility Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Sleepstrike, Silencestrike, Darkstrike, Poisonstrike, Stonestrike, Zombiestrike, Slowstrike, Deathstrike Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Sleepproof, Silenceproof, Darkproof, Stoneproof, Poisonproof, Zombieproof, Slowproof, Deathproof, Confuseproof Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 2-4 Strategy: Fenrir is fast, agile, and has two very powerful attacks, one of which is instant death even to Aeons, and the other does 15,000+ damage on top of confusion to a single character. And did I mention, he's FAST? Even if you cast Hastega, you may not be able to keep up with Fenrir. If there was ever a battle to abuse Mindy's Passado, this is it. Conditions: Capture at least 3 of each monster from the wolf species. These are: Dingo (Besaid Island), Mi'ihen Fang (Mi'ihen Highroad), Garm (Moonflow), Snow Wolf (Macalania Snowfield), Sand Wolf (Sanubia Desert), Skoll (Calm Lands), and Bandersnatch (Mt. Gagazet). Prize for unlocking: Chocobo Feather x99 - b. Lizards: Ornitholestes - Name: Ornitholestes HP: 800000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Rename Card x1 (common), Chocobo Wing x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Gambler's Spirit x2 (common) x4 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Double Overdrive Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Defense +5%, Defense +10%, Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-3 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Ornitholestes has a high evade rate, but low speed, and I can't recall him ever once defeating me before I'd dispatched him. So consider this an easy fight. However, if you fight him on lower levels, you may run into one of two attacks: a) a damage plus poison attack that never misses unless you have [Poisonproof] armor, or b) an HP-draining attack. Don't worry too much about the latter attack, instead worry about curing the poison before it has a chance to really damage you. Conditions: Capture at least 3 of each monster from the lizard species. These are: Dinonix (Kilika Forest), Ipiria (Mi'ihen Highroad), Raptor (Mushroom Rock Road), Melusine (Thunder Plains), Iguion (Macalania) Yowie (Cavern of the Stolen Fayth), and Zaurus (Omega Ruins). Prize for unlocking: Stamina Spring x99 - c. Birds: Pteryx - Name: Pteryx HP: 100000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Smoke Bomb x4 (common), Candle of Life x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Evasion Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Defense +5%, Defense +10%, Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: High evade rate, medium speed, low HP, constantly in Regen status. The one attack that's even worth mentioning is Pteryx's beak attack, which curses you. Yawn. Next? Conditions: Capture at least 4 of each monster from the bird species. These are: Condor (Besaid Island), Simurgh (Djose Highroad), and Alcyone (Sanubia Desert). Prize for unlocking: Mega Phoenix x99 - d. Insects: Hornet - Name: Hornet HP: 620000 (Overkill: 50000) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Poison Fang x4 (common), Cleaning Salts x2 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Accuracy Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Defense +5%, Defense +10%, Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Wouldn't you know it, another monster with a high evade rate! Heavens to Betsy! He hits pretty hard for an overgrown insect, including a poison stinger, and instant death stinger attacks, and never misses (there's a reason the Hornet drops Accuracy Spheres) but all of his attacks target a single character. Conditions: Capture at least 4 of each monster from the insect species. These are: Killer Bee (Kilika Forest), Bite Bug (Moonflow), Wasp (Macalania Forest), and Nebiros (Calm Lands). Prize for unlocking: Mana Tonic x60 - e. Floating Wizards: Vidatu - Name: Vidatu HP: 95000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Lightning Gem x4 (common), Mana Tonic x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: MP Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Double AP Auto-abilites of dropped armor: MP 10%, MP +20%, MP +30% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-3 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Don't bother using elemental spells on Vidatu, because his constant Nul-All and Regen status will nullify all of them. I believe he's also in Shell status, so non-elemental spells aren't very powerful either. His evade rate doesn't seem to be as high as any of the preceeding monsters, so use whomever you like, and take him down in a single hit if you can hit for 99,999 damage. Conditions: Capture at least 4 of each monster from the floating wizard species. These are: Gandarewa (Mushroom Rock Road), Aerouge (Thunder Plains), and Imp (Mt. Gagazet or Cavern of the Stolen Fayth). Prize for unlocking: Mana Spring x99 - f. Eyeballs: One-Eye - Name: One-Eye HP: 150000 (Overkill: 15000) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 1000) Steal: Lunar Curtain x3 (common), Blessed Gem x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Magic Defense Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Triple AP Auto-abilites of dropped armor: MP +10%, MP +20%, MP +30% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-3 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Stategy: If One-Eye has the first move, he'll use an attack called "Shock Wing", which is every status abnormality in the book, on top of about 9,999+ damage to every character. If your party has the first move, however, you can defeat in two hits. Like Vidatu, despite floating, One-Eye's evade rate is nothing to write home about. Conditions: Capture at least 4 of each monster from the eyeball species. These are: Floating Eye (Mi'ihen Highroad), Buer (Thunder Plains), Evil Eye (Macalania Snowfield), Ahriman (Mt. Gagazet or Inside Sin), and Floating Death (Omega Ruins). Prize for unlocking: Stamina Tablet x60 - g. Flans: Jumbo Flan - Name: Jumbo Flan HP: 1300000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Lunar Curtain x4 (common), Mana Tablet x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Magic Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Magic Booster Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Fire Eater, Water Eater, Ice Eater Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Jumbo Flan is HARD... well technically he's jellylike, and probably soft and squishy to the touch, but he's hard to defeat. Would you want to touch him, anyway? I wouldn't. Jumbo Flan absorbs all kinds of elemental spells, and has high Magic Defense to boot, so non-elemental spells don't do much damage. Don't even think about using physical attacks - no matter how high your strength is, all weapon-based techniques do 0 damage. Jae kindly informed me via email to try to use Ultima in conjunction with Doublecast and Copycat, and having road tested this, can confirm he's correct. To make this battle even easier, Slow Jumbo Flan by casting Reflect on one of your party members, then Slow on that same member. Alternately, make sure Anima knows Haste, Ultima, Lancet, and _maybe_ Shell and Dispel. Summon her, Haste and Shell her, and have her use "Pain" repeatedly, which is not weapon-based and will therefore do 99,999 damage if Yuna is moderately built up. If Jumbo Flan whittles Anima's HP down, use Lancet to heal her. When Jumbo Flan is close to dying, he'll cast Regen on himself, which you can Dispel if you like, or keep Paining him, and he'll probably die in two rounds at most. Credits to Crimson Shadow and Billy Auyang for submitting this. Conditions: Capture at least 3 of each monster from the flan species. These are: Water Flan (Besaid Island), Thunder Flan (Mi'ihen Highroad), Snow Flan (Moonflow), Ice Flan (Macalania Lake or Snowfield), and Dark Flan (Gagazet Cavern or Zanarkand Ruins). Prize for unlocking: Twin Stars x60 - h. Elements: Nega Elemental - Name: Nega Elemental HP: 1300000 (Overkill: 15000) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Star Curtain x4 (common), Twin Stars x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Twin Stars x2 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x2 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Firestrike, Thunderstrike, Waterstrike, Icestrike Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Fire Eater, Lightning Eater, Water Eater, Ice Eater Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 2-4 Strategy: Nega Elemental counterattacks all physical attacks with Ultima, even Overdrives, so don't use those unless your Magic Defense is 255. You cannot get around this by casting Reflect on your party, either, because Ultima penetrates Reflect. Instead, use the same strategy you used to kill the Jumbo Flan above - Doublecast Ultima, and Copycat like it's going out of style, or summon Anima and have her use Pain, because Pain is not a physical attack. Nega Elemental's regular attacks are insignificant compared to its Ultima counter, and all they consist of is a weak Drain, and Reflect when its HP is getting low. Conditions: Capture at least 3 of each monster from the elemental species. These are: Yellow Element (Kilika Forest), White Element (Mi'ihen Highroad), Red Element (Mushroom Rock Road), Gold Element (Thunder Plains), Blue Element (Macalania Forest), Dark Element (Cavern of the Stolen Fayth), and Black Element (Omega Ruins). Prise for unlocking: Star Curtain x99 - i. Armored Moles: Tanket - Name: Tanket HP: 900000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Light Curtain x4 (common), Lunar Curtain x4 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Defense Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Defense +5%, Defense +10%, Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Despite being the ultimate armored mole, Tanket's defense doesn't seem to be much higher than any of the rest of these bosses. He has very high magic resistance, and only the standard bodyblow attack, which also Berserks the target. You do NOT want your bearers of [Auto Phoenix] to become Berserked, because this will prevent them from using a Phoenix Down on a fallen party member. Also, when only one party member is left alive, the Tanket will repeatedly bodyblow them until they die, without giving you a chance to attack or counterattack. If you can kill the Tanket without any of the above transpiring, it's such a cheap and easy way to get Defense Spheres, I almost feel sorry for the little guy. Conditions: Capture at least 3 of each monster from the armored mole species. These are: Raldo (Mi'ihen Highroad), Bunyip (Djose Highroad or Moonflow), Murussu (Macalania Forest), Mafdet (Macalania Snowfield), Shred (Calm Lands), and Halma (Omega Ruins). Prize for unlocking: Gold Hourglass x99. - j. Dragons: Fafnir - Name: Fafnir HP: 1100000 (Overkill: 13000) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Gold Hourglass x2 (common), Stamina Spring x2 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Light Curtain x20 (common) x40 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Firestrike, Thunderstrike, Waterstrike, Icestrike Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Fire Eater, Water Eater, Ice Eater Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-4 Strategy: Fafnir is like any other dragon you've fought - it has a physical attack, mauling one character, and an elemental breath attack. Generally on its first and second turns, it'll use a physical attack against a single character, but on subsequent attacks, will use a "Three Stage Attack" move. The first "stage" is a physical attack, the second is a random elemental breath that can be blocked with any of the Nul-spells, and the the third is another physical attack. Conditions: Capture at least 4 of each monster from the dragon species. These are: Vouivre (Mi'ihen Highroad), Lamashtu (Mushroom Rock Road), Kusariqqu (Thunder Plains), Mushussu (Sanubia Desert), and Nidhogg (Cavern of the Stolen Fayth or Mt. Gagazet). Prize for unlocking: Purifying Salt x99 - k. Fungus: Sleep Sprout - Name: Sleep Sprout HP: 98000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Poison Fang x4 (common), Farplane Wind x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Teleport Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Sleepstrike, Silencestrike, Darkstrike, Poisonstrike, Stonestrike, Zombiestrike, Slowstrike Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Sleepproof, Silenceproof, Darkproof, Stoneproof, Poisonproof, Zombieproof, Slowproof Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-4 Strategy: The first rule of Sprout Club is, YOU DO NOT ATTACK SLEEP SPROUT. The second rule of Sprout Club is, YOU DO NOT ATTACK SLEEP SPROUT. When in doubt, refer to rule 1. These rules don't apply if you can hit for 99,999 damage every time, in which case, attack away! If you attack Sleep Sprout, it will automatically counter with a spore attack that hits your entire party with every status abnormality in the book, along with huge damage. Conditions: Capture at least 5 of each monster from the fungus species. These are: Funguar (Mushroom Rock Road or southern Djose Highroad), Thorn (Cavern of the Stolen Fayth), and Exoray (Inside Sin). Prize for unlocking: Healing Spring x99 - l. Bombs: Bomb King - Name: Bomb King HP: 480000 (Overkill: 10000) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Fire Gem x4 (common), Shining Gem x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Door to Tomorrow x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Defense +5%, Defense +10%, Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Bomb King is a strange one. Unlike his bomb brethren, normal attacks don't automatically make him swell... sometimes. Christian Washington postulated that when you deal a certain amount of damage to Bomb King, regardless of whether it was a physical or magical attack, he will swell. When Bomb King swells a fourth time, every attack you do will make him counter with Ultima. An easy way to defeat Bomb King is to make sure all of your characters are equipped with weapons that have [Magic Counter], then Haste the Bomb King, Shell your party members to offset some of Bomb King's magic damage, and have them defend. Whenever Bomb King attacks, your characters will automagically counterattack. However, these counterattacks by your party do not make Bomb King swell. Again, credit to Christian Washington for this strategy. Conditions: Capture at least 5 of each monster from the bomb species. These are: Bomb (Mi'ihen Highroad), Grenade (Mt. Gagazet), and Puroburos (Omega Ruins). Prize for unlocking: Turbo Ether x60 - m. Horned: Juggernaut - Name: Juggernaut HP: 1200000 (Overkill: 15000) AP: 8000 (Overkill: 8000) Steal: Lunar Curtain x4 (common), Shining Gem x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: Strength Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Defense +5%, Defense +10%, Defense +20% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: The Juggernaut isn't hard, it's just hard to wear down. Immediately cast Hastega upon entering the battle, and use Quick Hit until the Juggernaut's second turn comes up. You actually get a free turn - the first move the Juggernaut will make is to charge up for a multiple-character fire breath attack, which is the second move. If you're swift about it, you can probably kill the Juggernaut before it has a change to unleash this move, but if you're not, swap one of your characters for Yuna, and have her summon an Aeon to take the brunt of the Juggernaut's fire breath attack. Alternately, if you have armor with [Fire Eater], you'll absorb its breath. During subsequent turns, the Juggernaut may charge up for another fire attack, thus forfeiting its turn, or (more likely) it will rush up to one or more characters and maul them, like Fafnir a couple bosses above likes to do. Conditions: Capture at least 5 of each monster from the horned species. These are: Dual Horn (Mi'ihen Highroad), Valaha (Cavern of the Stolen Fayth), and Grendel (Gagazet Cavern or Zanarkand Ruins). Prize for unlocking: Light Curtain x99 - n. Iron Giants: Ironclad - Name: Ironclad HP: 2000000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 10000 (Overkill: 10000) Steal: Light Curtain x4 (common), Stamina Tablet x1 (rare) Cost: 8000 gil Drop: HP Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Str +5%, Str +10%, Str +20% Auto-abilites of dropped armor: HP +10%, HP +20%, HP +30% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Like Vorban, Ironclad is armored, and Armor Break only works a small fraction of the time, so use Auron's Banishing Blade Overdrive. Whenever you attack Ironclad, he'll automatically counterattack with his sword for fairly sizeable damage, but it's nothing [Auto Phoenix] or Auto-Life won't cure. Conditions: Capture 10 of each from the iron giant species. These are: Iron Giant (north part of Thunder Plains), Gemini A (Inside Sin or Omega Ruins, armed with a sword), and Gemini B (Inside Sin or Omega Ruins, armed with a club). Each Gemini counts as a seperate monster! Prize for unlocking: Mana Tablet x60 -- V. Original Creations -- - a. Earth Eater - Name: Earth Eater HP: 1300000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 50000 (Overkill: 50000) Steal: Gambler's Spirit x1 (common), Level 1 Key Sphere x1 (rare) Cost: 15000 gil Drop: Fortune Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Triple Overdrive Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Auto Potion Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1 Strategy: When standing upright, the Earth Eater will attack you physically, and will counterattack when attacked with Megaton Punch. Very nasty. If you do enough damage to it cumulatively or all at once, you'll knock it on its back. When it is on its back, it cannot attack you, or do anything except roll back and forth looking pitiful... unless you attack it. If you disregard this warning and attack the Earth Eater while it's on its back, it will counterattack with a pretty powerful Flare spell, reflected off itself. Conditions: Capture the nescessary number of monsters to conquer 2 areas. Prize for unlocking: Three Stars x60 - b. Greater Sphere - Name: Greater Sphere HP: 1500000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 50000 (Overkill: 50000) Steal: Gambler's Spirit x1 (common), Return Sphere x1 (rare) Cost: 15000 gil Drop: Luck Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: One MP Cost Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Auto Phoenix Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1 Strategy: Auto-Life, Auto-Life, Auto-Life, and Auto-Life some more. Even at very high levels, the Greater Sphere still gave me lots of trouble, because it constantly randomly counterattacks with Aqua Press or Ultima, and the former doesn't seem to take defense into account. You can't even equip [Water Eater] and squeak by. Luckily the Greater Sphere doesn't have much HP, so a few Attack Reels should weaken it enough to kill. Don't feel guilty about using Passado on this fight, because I don't. Conditions: Capture the nescessary number of monsters to conquer 2 species. Prize for unlocking: Supreme Gem x60 - c. Catastrophe - Name: Catastrophe HP: 2200000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 50000 (Overkill: 50000) Steal: Gambler's Spirit x1 (common), Level 2 Key Sphere x1 (rare) Cost: 15000 gil Drop: Designer Wallet x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Sleepstrike, Silencestrike, Darkstrike, Poisonstrike, Stonestrike, Zombiestrike, Slowstrike Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Sleepproof, Silenceproof, Darkproof, Stoneproof, Poisonproof, Zombieproof, Slowproof Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-4 Strategy: Catastrophe begins the battle in its shell, and won't come out until you've inflicted about 400,000 damage upon it. While in its shell, its defense is slightly higher, and it will attack all of your characters with a combination Poison/Confusion attack if given the chance. Hastega at the beginning of the fight, and proceed to attack Catastrophe until it comes out of its shell. Looks just like Sinspawn: Genais and Sinspawn: Geneaux, doesn't it? I'm actually surprised how much they reused boss designs in the game, only Neslug below isn't simply a palette-swapped version of something else. Anyway, out of its shell, Catastrophe's attacks include Demi, which will reduce all of your characters' HP by 1/4, a wimpy attack where it spits water at a single character, and an utterly punishing Hundred Needles attack that is exactly like the Cactuar King version, only it hits all of your party members. The latter seems to be a rare attack, but clues you into why this boss is called "Catastrophe". This is the easiest battle of the Original Creations, easier than most of the Species Creations too, and only the fact that Catastrophe has 2.2 million HP would prevent you from winning this battle before you can hit for 99,999 damage. Conditions: Capture the nescessary number of monsters to conquer 6 areas. Prize for unlocking: Door to Tomorrow x99 - d. Th'uban - Name: Th'uban HP: 3000000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 50000 (Overkill: 50000) Steal: Gambler's Spirit x1 (common), Teleport Sphere x1 (rare) Cost: 15000 gil Drop: Underdog's Secret x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Triple AP, Triple Overdrive Auto-abilites of dropped armor: HP +10%, HP +20%, HP +30% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Fighting Th'uban is lots of fun, if your idea of fun is DYING QUICKLY AND REPEATEDLY. Th'uban annoyingly counterattacks every physical and magical attack with a tail swipe that instantly removes any protective statuses from your whole party, like Regen, Haste, Protect, etc, unless that character has [Auto Regen], [Auto Haste], [Auto Protect], etc, in their armor. He also has a Pulsar Shockwave-esque attack that does 99,999 damage to one character, regardless of defense, and a vicious wing attack called Rainbow, which hits all characters multiple times, on top of cursing them. (Speaking of cursing, that's what I do every time Th'uban kills me.) To defeat Th'uban the legitimate way, you'll probably want to employ Blitz Ace, Attack Reel, Passado, and a little bit of luck. If you don't mind cheating, however, and have lots of patience, there's a dirty trick you can use... Th'uban is vulnerable to Death Sentence. You can sentence him by using Kimahri's "Doom" Ronso Rage, or a Candle of Life item. To ensure that you'll win the battle, keep everyone in Auto-Life status, and defend for all of the 255 turns that it will take for Death Sentence to automatically kill him. Do NOT attack him while you're Auto-Lifed, otherwise his tail swipe counterattack will remove the Auto-Life, along with any other positive statuses. Off the subject, does his design remind anyone else of the Atma Weapon from FFVI? Conditions: Capture the nescessary number of monsters to conquer 6 species. Prize for unlocking: Gambler's Spirit x99 - e. Neslug - Name: Neslug HP: 4000000 (Overkill: 12000) AP: 50000 (Overkill: 50000) Steal: Gambler's Spirit x1 (common), Friend Sphere x1 (rare) Cost: 15000 gil Drop: Pendulum x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Piercing (Kimahri, Auron), Triple AP Auto-abilites of dropped armor: HP +10%, HP +20%, HP +30% Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-3 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: Besides having fallen out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, the Neslug likes to retreat into its shell and regenerate large amounts of HP per turn with Curaga and Regen when you've depleted some of its life. While in its shell, it becomes impervious to all weapon-based attacks. (In other words, Mindy's Passado doesn't work. Boo hoo!) So what do you do? First, make sure at least one person knows Ultima and Doublecast, everyone knows Copycat, and you've got a good supply of Turbo Ethers. Cast Hastega at the beginning of the battle, and Quick Hit, Attack Reel, or Blitz Ace the Neslug until it retreats into its shell. If you're quick enough, the Neslug won't even get a change to attack you before it goes into its shell. The Neslug will not come out of its shell until it is completely healed, so don't wait for it to come out, and thereby negate all of your hard work. Instead, Doublecast Ultima, and Copycat until its shell shatters, stopping only to replenish the MP of a party member who's low. Alternately, despite Blitz Ace being weapon-based, it still does damage. You could go into battle with everyone's Overdrive bars full, and Entrust them to Tidus so that he can Blitz Ace over and over. When the shell shatters (and this is a pretty cool animation, IMHO), you'll know the Neslug only has about one million HP left. Obviously it cannot retreat into its shell anymore, so eleven hits at 99,999 damage later, you've won! Congrats. One warning, however - kill the unshelled Neslug as quickly as possible, because once its shell is broken, it will only attack you with an ultra powerful slime attack that does 50,000 damage to your entire party. If its turn is coming up, don't hesitate to summon an Aeon to absorb the damage. On the other hand, Ultima Gamer (ultimagamer@hotmail.com) submitted the following, which I am paraphrasing: go into battle with Wakka and any other two characters. Wakka and the other two characters must have a strength of 255, or near to it, and everyone must have full Overdrive gauges. Wakka must know Attack Reel, and you must be skilled at lining up the "2 Hit" slots. The other two characters must know Entrust, and someone must know Hastega. Cast Hastega at the start of the battle, and use Wakka's Attack Reel. If you successfully lined up three slots of "2 Hit", Attack Reel will hit Neslug 12 times. Then use Quick Hit 8 times, for a total of 20 hits. Now, these numbers are very precise for a reason - Neslug automatically goes into its shell when you've dealt 2,000,000 damage to it. 20 hits at 99,999 equals 1,999,980 damage, which is just barely enough for the Neslug to stay out in the open. Immediately Entrust one of your character's Overdrive gauges to Wakka, and have him use Attack Reel once more. This should break the shell before Neslug has even had a chance to retreat into it! Finally, use Quick Hit until Neslug dies. This is an awesome strategy, and takes a fraction of the time my strategy above does, so please send Ultima Gamer your praises for it. Conditions: Conquer all areas. This means you need to pretty much capture one of each monster. Prize for unlocking: Winning Formula x99 - f. Ultima Buster - Name: Ultima Buster HP: 5000000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 50000 (Overkill: 50000) Steal: Gambler's Spirit x1 (common), Level 3 Key Sphere x1 (rare) Cost: 15000 gil Drop: Winning Formula x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Triple AP, Overdrive -> AP, Triple Overdrive Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Break MP Limit Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1-3 Strategy: This isn't nescessarily a hard battle, just a long-ish one. First, cast Hastega, and if you can spare the turn, Auto-Life at least one party member. Then destroy its arms and head with Quick Hit, and continue to use Quick Hit until Ultima Buster's turn comes up - immediately have Yuna summon an Aeon to take the brunt of Ultima Buster's attack, which 4 out of 5 times, will be an extremely powerful Ultima spell. The other time, it will bodyslam a single character for 10,000+ damage, but because this is so unpredictable, use Aeons as damage absorbers just in case. Conditions: Capture at least 5 of each monster. Prize for unlocking: Dark Matter x99 (!!) - g. Shinryu - Name: Shinryu HP: 2000000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 50000 (Overkill: 50000) Steal: Gambler's Spirit x1 (common), Three Stars x1 (rare) Cost: 15000 gil Drop: Wings to Discovery x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Double AP Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Auto Med Number of slots of droppped equipment: 2-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1 Strategy: Because this battle takes place underwater, you can only use Tidus, Wakka, and Rikku. Shinryu will counterattack with his claw whenever he is attacked, which does about 8000+ damage to one character with 120 defense, but so long as one of your other party members has [Auto Phoenix] in their armor, this doesn't matter. Some people recommend killing off Tidus and Rikku, and letting Wakka take care of Shinryu with his Attack Reel Overdrive, because Shinryu won't use his instant petrification and shattering attack if only one of your party members is alive. Barring that strategy, if your speed is high enough, just cast Hastega, and Quick Hit, Attack Reel, or Blitz Ace him to death. Usually you can kill him before he's had more than one turn if you do this, totally circumventing being hit by his petrify attack. Conditions: Capture at least 2 Splashers, 2 Achelous, and 2 Maelspikes from the flooded portion of Gagazet Cavern. Prize for unlocking: Mega Elixir x30 - h. Nemesis (or "Omega Gold") - Name: Nemesis (aka Omega Gold, aka Subete Wo Koeshimono) HP: 10000000 (Overkill: 99999) AP: 50000 (Overkill: 50000) Steal: Level 4 Key Sphere x1 (common), Warp Sphere x1 (rare) Cost: 25000 gil Drop: Warp Sphere x1 (common) x2 (Overkill) Dark Matter x1 (rare) x2 (Overkill) Auto-abilites of dropped weapons: Break Damage Limit Auto-abilites of dropped armor: Break HP Limit Number of slots of droppped equipment: 3-4 Number of abilities in dropped equipment: 1 Strategy: First of all, you don't need high HP or even Auto-Life to defeat Nemesis, all you'll need is to be able to hit for 99,999 damage, and an agility stat of at least 170 to pull this off in a reasonable amount of time - 220+ is ideal. If you don't, stop reading this strategy right now and go slaughter Fenrir until you do. ...Done? Good. Nemesis counters Overdrives, but nothing else. Using whomever you like, cast Hastega at the beginning of the battle. Use Quick Hit until Nemesis' turn comes up, and swap someone out for Yuna, who will immediately summon an Aeon to act as a sacrificial lamb. (If you're already using Yuna as one of your three characters, even better.) One hit from Nemesis will probably kill your Aeon, but this is okay, because doing so will bring the turn to move back to you, even if Nemesis had two or more turns in a row after your Aeon! At 220+ agility, you should be getting 18-20 Quick Hits between each of Nemesis' turns. Seven dead Aeons later, Nemesis will turn into pyreflies and that sweet "Overkill" will appear on your television. Congratulations, you've just beaten the "hardest" boss in Final Fantasy X. The moral of the story is, HP size doesn't matter, it's the motion of the Quick Hit ocean. I'm not claiming this is the end-all be-all strategy for defeating Nemesis, but it IS the only way that's worked consistently for me. Best of luck to you! Conditions: Capture 10 of each monster, and beat all of the bosses at the Monster Arena. Prize for unlocking: Master Sphere x10 -- VI. Frequently Asked Questions -- 1. Where can I find [name of monster]? They're so rare! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the encounter rates for some monsters are just brutal. Here are the locations for some of the rarer ones: Simurgh - appears on the sunny patches of Djose Highroad. Because the biggest sunny patch is closest to Djose Temple, you'll have the best luck there. Qactuar - appears in Thunder Plains only after you have prayed to at least one glowing Qactuar stone. Examine the stones first with the [X] button, then use [circle] to pray. Again, the stones must be glowing in order for you to pray. Tonberry - appears in the "green" room in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, and at the very end of the cave right before Youjimbo's chamber, where all the pyreflies are swirling around. Garuda - appears in Lower and Upper Mushroom Rock Road. (I'm not 100% sure of the US names here, but "Lower" means the area with the zigzag path that winds into the distance, and "Upper" is the screen with the elevator that takes you to the Crusaders' HQ.) Barbatos - appears more frequently the deeper into the Tower of the Dead that you go. The area with the three seals near the beginning is a Barbatos hotspot, as is the area where the blocks shoot up from the floor. (Don't confuse the latter with Sin's Nucleus, and the icicles that shoot up from the floor!) Machea - appears more frequently near the Save Point in the Omega Ruins, and in the "loop" to the right of the entrance. Master Coeurl - see Machea. Black Element - see Machea. Master Tonberry - appears most frequently in the Omega Ruins B1, but rarely on the main level. Any rare monster from the Calm Lands - appears more frequently in the north- west corner. The trainer even tells you that the "rarest fiends spawn in the northwest". Shred is extremely common near the entrance to the Monster Arena. 2. What about Land Worms? Land Worms only appear in the very last part of the very last dungeon, past where you may backtrack from. So obviously, you can't capture them. Thank you, drive though! 3. Which monsters appear in more than one area, and which area do they count towards when I capture them? I specified when monsters appear in more than one area earlier in this FAQ, but for the sake of reiteration, here we go again. Thunder Flan appears in both the "Old" part of Mi'ihen Highroad, and southern Mushroom Rock Road, and counts towards Mushroom Rock. Red Element, Funguar, and Gandarewa appear in both Mushroom Rock Road and Djose Highroad, and all count towards Mushroom Rock. The Coeurl and Marlboro appear in the Calm Lands and Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, and both count towards the Calm Lands. The Imp and Nidhogg appear in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth and Mt. Gagazet, and both count towards the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth. Lastly, the Geminis (both colors), Adamantoise, Wraith, Great Marlboro, and Demonolith appear in Sin and the Omega Ruins, and all count towards Sin. 4. What is this "Passado" trick you keep mentioning? "Passado" is Mindy's unique attack, like Meteor Strike is Ifrit's unique attack, or Pain is Anima's unique attack. It consists of 20 (?) bee stingers fired at an enemy for up to 99,999 damage apiece, which if Yuna is leveled up enough, is sufficient to defeat almost all of the Area and Species Creation bosses in one shot. The problem is that the Magus Sisters are so unpredictable, when you tell Mindy to attack, she may do a standard attack, Passado, or cast a black magic spell. I suppose that's the tradeoff for such a cheap attack, no? If Passado is only doing mediocre damage for you, level Yuna up. The strength of any Aeon is tied to the strength of the summoner. 5. What is the purpose of the Mark of Conquest? The "Mark of Conquest" does nothing other than take up space in your Key Items inventory, and is proof that you defeated Nemesis. If you played Final Fantasy VIII, you may remember recieving a similar item for defeating the Omega Weapon. ("Proof of Omega"? My memory sucks.) The description for this item goes "For those who have surpassed mortal bounds"; this is an obvious allusion to Nemesis' name in the Japanese import, Subete Wo Koeshimono, which translates to "He who has surpassed all". 6. Is there a difference between the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth and the Sunken Cave? No, they're two names for the exact same location. "Cavern of the Stolen Fayth" is kind of a long name, and wouldn't fit into the tiny text box. Hence, Sunken Cave. 7. I don't like your strategy, nyah nyah. Why don't you write a different one? Gee, I forgot that writing a _free_ guide required me to bend to your every whim. If the strategies I've given don't work for you, either you're not of a high enough level, or you're not doing it right. Most of these bosses do not require that you have 255 on every stat - all of the Area and Species Creations, and a few of the Original Creations can be defeated with stats between 100 - 200. Only the harder Original Creations require stats above 200. Short of coming to your house and playing the game for you, I don't know how I could possibly be more specific. But if this still isn't good enough, the next revision of this document will combine my FAQ with psych0midget's Monster Arena Bosses Guide - he went into excruciating depth about boss attack patterns, and how to prepare for each battle, which I simply couldn't do due to time constraints. Look for it very soon. -- VII. Thanks, Acknowledgements, Shameless Plugs -- Thanks to Jae for submitting good, detailed battle strategies for Jumbo Flan and Th'uban, and thanks to Crimson Shadow, Arcaneja, dreavian, Christian Washington, HuskerCubs, and Billy Auyang for submitting strategies for Chimerageist, Fafnir, Jumbo Flan, Bomb King, and Catastrophe. Thanks to Ultima Gamer for submitting the holy grail of Neslug strategies. Kudos, guys, I would have either given up on trying to beat these bosses, or written less informative strategies without you. :) Thanks to Muni Shinobu (muni_shinobu@yahoo.com) for his excellent FFX walkthrough and numerous other guides on the game. Without him, we would not know wairo from Shinola. Much respect to Alexander O. Smith for his fantastic localizations of Vagrant Story, Parasite Eve 2, Final Fantasy X, et al, worthy of fine literature and for not calling me an idiot when I misunderstood his contribution to Final Fantasy IX. Oops. Extra special thanks to Square (http://www.playonline.com/) for creating FFX and many other quality titles, and GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com/) for hosting FAQs on every game imaginable, and respecting FAQ author's rights. If your name should be here and it isn't, blame the memory and not the heart.