WIP: Boss Strat Guide
BOSS STRATEGY GUIDE: FFX-DC
Note on Drops: Shells/Bullets/Spheres = Cirru, Gems/Bombs/Food = Parae. Staffs and Cloaks are for Airen, Lances and Gauntlets are for Robinton, Swords and Bands are for Parae, Guns and Gloves are for Cirru, Blades and Shields are for Cariadyne, and Knives and Beads are for Rehnari.
Reminder to FFX converts: You cannot customize weapons or armor in this game. You can pay NPCs to create weapons and armor for you, however. When necessary this will be noted in the guide.
Leviathan
Type: Manditory
When: On the boat to Luca, after talking one final time to Airen.
All right, there are three basic things to remember in this battle. First of all, unless you did any sort of spherelevel-grinding back at Kilika, Leviathan's Overdrive will wipe out all of your party members. Therefore, you must have Airen summon Valfore or Ifrit when the text "Leviathan seems to anger!" appears. If you're lucky, you might have time to get in an Overdrive from an Aeon. If you did any grinding, Robinton will be the only one to survive if you have him out.
Secondly, you need to remember to buy Shocking Shells before this battle. You probably have a few from drops, but not enough. Cirru's Elemental Shot attack helps greatly in this battle, making it relatively painless.
Lastly, you don't want to attack normally with Parae, as Leviathan takes half-damage from fire (which is what her sword does). Go ahead and steal, and if you have Lightning Gems use those, too. You could also have her use her Cheer ability, or if you did a little grinding, Haste ... just about anything but her normal attack should do fine.
About Overdrives: Cirru's Triple Shot will be invaluable with Shocking Shells, and it never hurts to have a double Overdrive with Valfore, presuming she hasn't been killed by Leviathan's Overdrive. However, Parae's fire-based Overdrive is not very useful. It is important to note that it's nearly impossible to get Robinton's Overdrive here.
Generally, use Thunder from Robinton, heal with Airen, Elemental Shot - Shocking Shells with Cirru, and just about anything with Parae. This battle does go a lot faster if you have Haste. Robinton's normal attack can be used, but it doesn't do as much damage as Thunder. Notice he doesn't have any of his breaks for some time on his grid, so don't bother grinding for that. Pull out an Aeon when Leviathan uses Overdrive, and presto! You have beaten the first difficult boss of the game.
Steal-able Items: Water Gem x 2 (first attempt), Soaked Shells x 3 (second attempt)
Dropped Items: Blue Cloak OR Blue Glove, and Level 2 Key Spheres x 3
Al Bhed Kidnappers
Type: Manditory, multi-part.
When: In Luca after the Truth cutscene, talk to all party members, then talk to Robinton again.
Let's address each part of this boss. There are three, but the third fight does't matter because it auto-resolves. Just concentrating on beating the first two parts. It's a little tricky, but it isn't hard - especially compared to Leviathan. What makes it tricky is that you can only use Parae, and then Parae and Cirru.
The first part: Only Parae is available in this battle. Make sure that Parae is equipted with some defensive armor, like an Iron Band. You could also use a Red Band, for reasons explained later. It also helps if you discovered the Goers Training Center - inside the stadium, third door if you're traveling clockwise - because you can win Fire Bombs there. Have her use a Fire Bomb right away. Before you know it, one of the five Al Bhed will Confuse her, which is actually in your favor since she's alone. With an Iron or a Red Band, she won't damage herself much - and she'll also confuse the other Al Bhed into hurting themselves. With luck, you can damage them faster then they damage her.
The second part: Cirru must have defensive, not elemental, armor equipted. You should also buy Remedies, since Parae could Confuse Cirru - which you do not want to happen. Whenever the fourth Al Bhed's turn comes up, make sure you have Cirru Talk. If you don't do this, then she will throw a Grenade - remember Rikku from FFX? - and it will hurt like hell. Use more Fire Bombs from Parae and have Cirru use Spheres on Parae and act as a healer. OPTIONAL: If you did the Pick-Pocket mini-game, you will have gotten the item Mango. Using this item will Auto-Life Parae for the rest of the battle ... but she will also be Confused. Confusion won't matter because Parae can't be killed, but it does make the fight rather long and annoying. Better keep the Mango (and stock up more!) for later bosses - bosses that don't negate Auto-Life, that is.
The third part: This fight will auto-resolve when Cirru and that fourth Al Bhed - you know her name now is Lem - speak five times. Unless you do something stupid and die before this happens, you're in the clear.
Steal-able Items: Big Bomb (first attempt, first part), Ice Gem x 2 (second attempt, first part), Hit Sphere x 2 (first attempt, second part), Magic Bullet x 2 (first attempt, third part).
Dropped Items: Quiet Gun OR Early Glove, and Quiet Sword OR Early Band
Chocobo Eater
Type: "Optional" ... if you want a Chocobo, you have to fight him.
Where: The first time you head to the Highroad Travel Agency.
I guess they felt it necessary to put this guy in the game. Unfortunately, he's a little trickier than in FFX - you must knock him off the cliff. Use Airen only for Ifrit's Overdrive and her healing skills - otherwise, you want the other three in your party at all times.
Haste has probably been added to Parae's skill list, so make sure she hastes herself and Cirru. Parae's default sword is excellent here, as the Chocobo Eater is weak against fire. You should buy Sizzling Shells for Cirru to also score maximum damage. By now, you'll notice that Robinton's grid stacks him more strongly in attack than magic in this part of the game, so his Fire spell isn't too impressive. Instead, have him use Armor Break (it's the first Break he can learn, and you should have learned it by this point) and then Guard the rest of the time - to keep Airen or Cirru from getting killed, mostly.
Overdrive-wise, all of them are very good in this battle. Specifically, it'd be nice to sit on Airen's before this battle so you can use a double-Hellfire against the Chocobo Eater. Likewise, Parae's Overdrive is quite nice.
The last part about this battle is strategy. If you can beat the Chocobo Eater in 10 turns or less, you get a really good drop! Twenty turns, and it's a good drop. Otherwise, it's a fair drop. To beat the Eater in ten turns: Have Parae cast Haste on Airen (1). Use Airen to double-Overdrive with Ifrit (2, 3), and then hit the boss with Parae's (4) and Cirru's Overdrive (5). Switch Airen out for Robinton and have him Armor Break (6). (Unless you're really lucky, you probably won't have Robinton's Overdrive, but if you do, this fight is now over.) Parae should attack (7), Cirru should use Sizzling Shell (8), Parae should attack twice more (9, 10) and if no-one missed then it's over. Note: If you haven't been leveling Airen, this won't work! Ifrit's Overdrives are only strong enough if she's been leveling with the rest.
Steal-able Items: Chocobo Greens x 2 (first attempt), Ronso Nip (second attempt) Note: These are pretty good items for this early in the game, but stealing will waste valuable turns!
Dropped Items: If the boss is defeated in 10 turns - Super Bullet, Magic Missle, and Grounded Cloak. If boss is defeated in 20 turns - Magic Missle and Magic Cloak OR Frenzy Band. Otherwise - Shining Cloak OR Shining Band, and Mythril Glove OR Mythril Gauntlet.
Sinspawn Wave
Type: Manditory
When: At Mushroom Rock Road, a little ways after the Crusader NPCs.
This is actually four seperate boss battles, but I combine them all into here. You don't have time to buy equiptment or rest in between, anyhow, but you can level up and heal.
Moonflow Ghost
Type: Manditory
When: Just before the Moonflow on your map. Don't forget the save sphere before hand!
This boss is actually kind of annoying, only because it's immune to elemental attacks. Then again, you should have plenty of Bullets to use since Cirru had little reason to use them before.
Guado Apprentice
Type: Manditory
When: After the Kidnapped cutscene, and after you reach the exit to Guadosalam. Talk to the black-garbed Guado female (who introduces herself as Cariadyne) and attempt to leave to trigger the battle.
Ah! No! It's the Dark Aeons! ... heh, just kidding. Luckily these are not your nightmares returning from FFX International. These are just normal Aeons ... which can still be a pain in the ass, all things considered. Remember, without Airen in your party, you have no-one to eat their Overdrives.
This is the first time you get Cariadyne in your party, but you can't equip her (and you have nothing to equip her with!) before this battle. Her speed won't come in handy until later, because the boss ambushes you and immediately summons Valfore. Use her normal attack, since all her skills are useless against Aeons - don't worry, you'll use her later in battle.
Kill Valfore quickly by casting Haste on Parae and Cirru, exchanging Caria with Robinton for now. Her Overdrive will likely kill everyone but Robinton, but that means that his Overdrive bar will fill up nicely. Make sure he only heals and Guards against Valfore.
Once Valfore is dead, exchange any character for Cariadyne and have her use her Sniper Skill - Dream Hit. This will probably put the boss to sleep, and if he doesn't, try to have her use Dream Hit again before the boss summons Ifrit.
You have a slight chance of killing the boss if Dream Hit puts him to sleep and Parae, Cirru, or Robinton can kill him. More likely, even if Dream Hit succeeds, the boss will awaken to summon Ifrit.
Parae is useless here, so you can have her Haste Cariadyne and take exchange her with a Hasted Cirru. Cirru should use Shivering Shells, and Cariadyne should act as your healer while Robinton Guards. As you might guess, Ifrit uses his Overdrive at least once. But - lucky for us! - Robinton can barely survive, and now gains Overdrive when Cirru dies, too. Exchange him quickly for Parae, so she can revive Cirru and Cariadyne, then switch her or Caria with Robinton. After two Overdrives from Ifrit, he should have his own Overdrive, which will kill it if Cirru hadn't. You can sit on his Overdrive instead and let Cirru kill Ifrit, if you trust your healing-Haste-pheonix skills.
Make sure Cariadyne's in your party when Ifrit dies, so she can attempt to Dream Hit the boss again. If you did so last time and can manage it this time, killing the boss is easy now that he's asleep. If you couldn't hit him last time and you can this time, kill the boss with Robinton's Overdrive. If you still can't hit him, prepare for Ixion.
Ixion is easy to kill if you were sitting on Robinton's Overdrive. Have Cirru hit the Aeon with a few Soaking Shells, throw in some Water Gems, and then unleash Robinton. Otherwise, use the same strategy as with Ifrit, only using water-elemental items instead. Parae can be kept in this time as she has Water Gems.
After Ixion is dead, the boss is out of summons, and Dream Hit isn't necessary. All status spells can be used against the boss, so Cariadyne can be fun to play around with here. It should be easy to kill the boss now.
Steal-able Items: You can get Magic Missle from the boss once each time between summons.
Dropped Items: Tsunami Blade, and Tidal Sword OR Spring Lance, and Level 3 Key Sphere x 2.
Frost Giant
Type: Manditory
When: After the Avoiding Monks cutscene in Macalania, after the save point.
This boss is a piece of cake. Mainly, because most of the status effect stuff works on it. The reasons why it's a boss, however, are as follows: It can kill Cirru or Caria in one hit, severely damaging Parae and Robinton, and it has a lot of HP. This is also not one of the bosses where Robinton's Overdrive fills quickly. Rather, his special attack can Beserk Robinton.
If you could find or buy a Meditation Guantlet, equip it now. It will save you a great deal of hastle, because Robinton is more valuable for his skills in this battle than his strength. Use Cariadyne's Night Hit and Tainted Hit to grant Dark and Poison to the boss. If you have a Super Bullet, use it; otherwise you can have Cirru use Sizzling Bullets. It's better, though, if you switch him out for Parae, as she can deal the same damage without using items, and she can survive the Giant's attack. Robinton should Mental Break if Cirru has no Super Bullets, and then cast Fire continually. His magic should be better by now.
Don't bother to Guard. Why? Robinton doesn't get Overdrive when Caria dies, but Caria does due to the damage alone. If she keeps getting hit, she'll get her Overdrive many times, which is usefull against this boss. You can use Parae's Point and Laugh skill if you've unlocked it to help. The poison damage does more than Caria can, and that combined with the Overdrive damage is more than Parae and Robinton can both normally do combined. And it all stacks. :D Add Parae's Overdrive on top of that, since you're not Guarding, and you can kill this boss easily.
Insane Cariadyne
Type: Manditory auto-resolve.
When: At the Bevelle Inn, after the cutscene.
This is only included in the boss strategy guide for reasons of completeness. You cannot actually "lose" this battle, nor can you beat Caria. Note: DO NOT SELL HER ITEMS! You'll get her back later in the game, so hang on to them.
Zealot Monks
Type: Manditory, multi-part
When: Search the Market for Rin. The boss follows the short cutscene.
I know what you're thinking, and we're all thinking it too: "This battle would be so much easier if we had a healer or a summoner, damn it." Well, this boss is still relatively simple, despite being a multi-parter.
Rehnari and Spider-Sphynx
Type: Manditory, multi-part
When: After the end of the third "map" in the Sleeper Barrens. Save first!
You only get Robinton for the battle, which is fine, since it auto-resolves. Just don't use any cool items. You need to use his Overdrive once the party "dies", however, so it's nice to not have one saved up as you'll get one automatically. In between battles, you can equip items and heal, but not save. There is a short cutscene when you begin to move.
This second battle is tough, because right away you don't get Robinton, and in 20 of your turns you lose control of Cirru. It is also not possible, unless you purposefully spheregrinded a LOT, to beat the Sphynx in twenty turns.
It does introduce the Split Mode, however, a new feature. Split Parae and Airen, and then use Provoke on Robinton. Robinton should be focused on Parae now. He is not "your" Robinton; regardless of your build of him: he has high HP, defense, and decent attack. Have Parae heal herself every so often, since she gets about two turns to every one of Robinton's, an even two turns if you cast Haste. This way you can keep her alive.
Cirru and Airen remain in the other side. Use Sizzling Shells on the Spider Sphynx, and have Airen summon her Aeons. They will be dismissed, but that's not the point. They won't be dismissed immediately, they'll have three turns (boss's turns, not yours) to deal damage. Saving up Overdrives helps you here. When the Spider-Sphynx is at half hit points, the option "Dance" will appear. If she uses Dance for five of her (not your) turns, the Sphynx will be defeated.
Unless you're insane and did tons of grinding, Cirru will be controlled by the boss before Airen is done. Have Parae Provoke Cirru, too. Now comes the tricky part. She should have Haste cast at this point. If you use a Hi-Potion every three turns or so, she should be able to live long enough for Airen to "send" the Sphynx.
If you're underleveled (or, specifically, Airen is underleveled) then you need to attack the boss with Parae as well because the Aeons didn't deal enough damage, which means you must cancel Split Mode. Parae must be Hasted, and it helps if she has a Mango. This boss can't be Confused, but Airen can't either while Dancing and both Robinton and Cirru can. Robinton and Cirru will be unlikely to hit Airen if Confused, and might even hit the Spider-Sphynx as well. If all else fails, all of the party but Parae will die, which causes the Mango to cancel and you can try to revive Airen before the boss kills Parae.
Steal-able Items: None.
Dropped Items: Mirror Knife, Glittering Cloak OR Glittering Guantlet, and Level 4 Key Sphere.
Ghost Train
Type: Optional
Where: Click "No" when it asks you to fix the train. Attempt to go down the tunnel five times. A funny cut-scene occurs.
Why on earth do you want to fight this thing? Ah, yes. Super Bullets and Key Spheres. Very well, at least you can use all of your party members and Split Mode.
The Devouerer
Type: Manditory
When: At Macalania, after talking to the ghost and fighting the monks.
The Split Mode is manditory this time, and you can't choose who goes where. However, the arrangement isn't too bad, and with a little strategy this boss is only tricky, and not tooth-grindingly difficult.
Crystal Tree
Type: Manditory
When: At the end of Rehnari/the ghost's path in Macalania Forest. There's a short cutscene.
Split Mode is availabe, but not necessary for this battle. What is usefull is the Talk ability with Rehnari's ghost friend.
Unsent Geosgaeno
Type: "Optional" ... if you agree to get Anima, then you fight this boss.
Where: After exiting Anima's temple, there's a short cutscene.
I'm not even going to cover the hard way to defeat this boss. There's the easy way. Remember Evare, from FFX? That's right. Three X-Potions is all this guy takes, or one Mega-Pheonix, or one Mango, etc. A really easy boss, definately shouldn't be a deterrant to getting Anima.
Nemru, Avatar of Death
Type: Manditory, multipart
When: At Nemru's Estate, in the last and bottom dungeon floor.
Thought you were getting a reprieve from tough boss fights? Think again. This boss fight is long and difficult. It also effectively marks your halfway point in DC. :) After the lengthy cutscene, you have control of everyone but Airen and Robinton (not surprisingly).
Nanukei/Rehnari, and Tenikyo
Type: Manditory, multipart
When: At Gagazet, talk to all the Ronso in the villiage during the second day to activate the cutscene.
Not as tough or as long as Nemru, but you better hope you've leveled up a little bit before attempting this one.
Feral Nanukei
Type: Manditory
When: Outside Zanarkand Dome, after completeing the Cloister of Trials and getting kicked out after the cutscene.
This battle is annoying because you can't control who gets KO'd during the course of the battle. It all depends on you fighting well with each individual character while you can.
Dragon Kinslayer
Type: Manditory
When: Calm Lands, after talking to Less and Malnoth.
This is the only time you'll have the option Call - and it's not only fun, but useful in battle!
tons of optional open-map stuff here.
Lorimar
Type: "Optional" ... if you want to get Parae's second Overdrive AND Airen's Overdrive Summon of Parae, you must fight this boss.
Where: After getting Parae's Ultimate Weapon, visit Luca five times. The fifth time, a cutscene will occur and Parae will be removed from your party.
It's really helpful to have gotten the other Ultimate Weapons at this point, because you can't use Parae and Break Damage Limit is exceedingly helpful. This fight is kind of cool because it gives plot hints towards the sequal, FFX-DC: Demon Chronicles (or FFX-DC^2).
Chained Spirit
Type: First Ending Boss
When: Outside the Gate of Nemru's Sanctuary
In this battle you'll see why Ultimate Weapons are your friend, and so are the optional Overdrive Summons (as annoying as they are to use).
Dragonkith
Type: Second Boss
When: The first stage of Nemru's Sanctuary
Split Mode is necessary if you want to keep from pulling all of your hair out.
The Weaver
Type: Mid-Boss
When: The inner part of Nemru's Sanctuary
And who said fighting the oldest and wisest dragons ever to live was a good idea?
Nemru the Death
Type: End-Boss, mulitpart
When: After the cutscene with the Weaver, decend the stairs and save. This is your last chance to back out.
Lucky you! The end part of this boss you are permanently auto-lifed, just as with Yu Yevon in the original FFX. Unfortunately for you, you must beat both Avatar of Death and then actual Death before you get to that part.
To-Do: Come up with list of weapons, armors, and other items.