_____ _ __ /__ \__ _| | ___ ___ ___ / _| / /\/ _` | |/ _ \/ __| / _ \| |_ / / | (_| | | __/\__ \ | (_) | _| \/ \__,_|_|\___||___/ \___/|_| __ _ _ / _\_ _ _ __ ___ _ __ | |__ ___ _ __ (_) __ _ \ \| | | | '_ ` _ \| '_ \| '_ \ / _ \| '_ \| |/ _` | _\ \ |_| | | | | | | |_) | | | | (_) | | | | | (_| | \__/\__, |_| |_| |_| .__/|_| |_|\___/|_| |_|_|\__,_| |___/ |_| Boss Guide Version 1.00 Author: Al Lewis (themagicgoalie20) Version Date: August 5, 2004 Contents A. Introduction B. Version history C. Format D. Bosses 1. Vidaar 2. Exbelua 3. Botta 4. Ktugach 5. Clumsy Assassin/ Guardian Wind 6. Magnius 7. Kilia 8. Adulocia 9. Windmaster 10. Iapyx 11. Resolute Assassin/Guardian Lightning 12. Kvar 13. Iubaris 14. Undine 15. Fairess/Yutis/Sephie (The Sylphs) 16. Efreet 17. Remiel 18. Kratos 19. Pronyma 20. Convict (3x) 21. Convict 22. Defense System 23. Volt 24. Yuan/Botta 25. Winged Dragon/Baby Dragon (2x) 26. Gnome 27. Celsius/Fenrir 28. Rodyle 29. Shadow 30. Aska/Luna 31. Forcystus 32. Plantix 33. Kratos 34. Yggdrasill 35. Gatekeeper 36. Pronyma 37. Yggdrasill 38. Kratos 39. Origin 40. The Fugitive 41. The Judged 42. The Neglected 43. Mithos 44. Mithos E. Tech and Equipment Set Ups F. Secret/Coliseum Bosses G. Legal stuff H. Special thanks =================================================== "Once upon a time there existed a giant tree that was the source of all mana. A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed in order to take its place. Grieving over the loss, the goddess disappeared unto the heavens. The goddess left the angels with the edict: "You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed." The angels bore the Chosen One, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens. And that marked the beginning of the regeneration of the world." =================================================== ============ Introduction ============ The following is a boss guide for the game "Tales of Symphonia." This guide was written as as a supplement for the pre-existing walkthroughs, located at www.GameFaqs.com. It describes the better strategies and weaknesses of the games many bosses. So, without further delay, the bosses of "Tales of Symphonia." =============== Version History 1.00-First Version. Added Everything. Things to look forward to- More thorough boss strategies, using shared information from other sources. Secret and additional bosses strategy. ====== Format ====== Boss name: Location: Hit Points: Tech Points: Experience: Gald: Items dropped: ====== Bosses ====== ***General Boss Strategy*** For every boss battle, make sure that everyone is close to near HP and TP. Always look at what weaknesses a boss has, and set your party's techs to exploit that weakness. To get an edge in physical attacking, use tempest or another aerial attack to spin behind the boss. Then attack it from behind. This prevents you from getting hurt, and does damage to the boss. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Vidarr Location: Martel Temple Hit Points: 4000 Tech Points: 30 Experience: 115 Gald: 25 Items dropped: Life Bottle Avoid directly attacking Vidarr. Use long range attacks, such as Lloyd's demon fang. Attack from a distance using demon fang, then when your Tp runs out, run in close. Attack him using the tetra slash combo. After, Kratos joins the battle, use his healing ability to aid in a more direct assault of Vidarr. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Exbelua Location: Iselia Hit Points: 5000 Tech Points: 38 Experience: 280 Gald: 320 Items dropped: Panacea Bottle Attack Exbelua from afar with demon fang until your tp runs low. Then charge the mutant and attack it directly with normal attacks. Have Genis remain in the background, while continually using tech attacks and spells. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Botta Location: Sylvarant Base Hit Points: 4200 Tech Points: 224 Experience: 475 Gald: 1500 Items dropped: Poison Charm Attack Botta's accompanying henchmen, and eliminate them quickly. This will allow the party members to freely attack from afar with tech attacks. As Lloyd, directly confront Botta, whittling away at his HP. Whenever Botta begins to use magic, back away and spread out. His spells are capable of knocking out a party member in one hit. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Ktugach Location: Triet Ruins Hit Points: 5000 Tech Points: 50 Experience: 628 Gald: 85 Items dropped: Red Quartz Set Genis to only use his aqua edge and icicle spells. Have him concentrate on using these spells from afar, and periodically restore his TP with Orange gels. As always with accompanying monsters, eliminate the two Ktugachling first. Then, concentrate all attacks on the boss. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Clumsy Assassin/ Guardian Wind Location: Ossa Trail Hit Points: 1800/2000 Tech Points: 131/400 Experience: 200/250 Gald: 128/250 Items dropped: Holy Bottle/Magic Lens The assassin is the weaker of the two foes, so eliminate her first. She and her guardian have no real weakness, so use your strongest attacks. Make sure that either Raine or Kratos frequently heals the party while both foes are alive. The battle becomes much easier once the assassin is defeated. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Magnius Location: Palmacosta Human Ranch Hit Points: 8500 Tech Points: 120 Experience: 675 Gald: 1700 Items dropped: Warrior Symbol, EX Gem Lv1 Dispatch Magnius' minions within the first moments of combat. With all the enemies on screen, you won't last long. Magnius often goes for the counterstrike. So launch a barrage of attacks at him, then quickly back off and block his oncoming retaliation. Be patient, and keep everyone's HP up, and he will fall. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Kilia Location: Palmacosta Hit Points: 10000 Tech Points: 400 Experience: 500 Gald: 500 Items dropped: Heal Bracelet Kilia is a simple battle, unlike the last few. She has no help in battle, making attacking her and healing an easy task. Simply keep everyone's HP up and smash at her with your best attacks. Angel feathers does the best damage, so set Colette to only use that spell. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Adulocia Location: Temple of Water Hit Points: 10000 Tech Points: 248 Experience: 825 Gald: 765 Items dropped: Mermaid's Tear Adulocia is helped by two Amphitras, both with 2300 HP Quickly use Genis' fire and lightning techs to kill them. Then use his techs, and everyone else's attacks, to take down Adulocia. Beware of Adulocia's bubble attacks, which can be devastating. Use Raine or Kratos to keep everyone near 75% HP. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Windmaster Location: Asgard Hit Points: 10000 Tech Points: 220 Experience: 1325 Gald: 800 Items dropped: Map of Balacruf, Talisman Windmaster, while only a single enemy, is capable of knocking 500 HP off any character. Make sure that Kratos, Raine, or both are healing almost every turn. Command the remaining party members to use only their strongest techs. Use life bottles as necessary, and Windmaster will eventually fall. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Iapyx Location: Balacruf Mausoleum Hit Points: 14000 Tech Points: 88 Experience: 1324 Gald: 2000 Items dropped: Paralysis Charm, Spirit Bangle Wind based and lightning based techs or attacks are useless in this battle. Iapyx is deadly at close range, so try and attack from afar. Use techs other than wind/lightning techs, and try and keep your distance. Keep everyone's HP high or they will fall quickly to Iapyx. Try and use long range techs until its HP drops below 2000, then quickly assault him with strong normal attacks to finish him off. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Resolute Assassin/Guardian Lightning Location: Balacruf Mausoleum Hit Points: 4500/5500 Tech Points: 164/400 Experience: 300/250 Gald: 450/250 Items dropped: Dark Bottle/ Fine Pellets, Magic Lens Once again, the assassin should be your first target. Use the same strategy that you used on her before, but don't use lightning or wind techs on her guardian. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Kvar Location: Asgard Human Ranch Hit Points: 10000 Tech Points: 340 Experience: 1680 Gald: 1500 Items dropped: Holy Ring. EX Gem Lv1 Kvar comes with three energy stones, each with 5500 HP. Eliminate them first, the go after Kvar. He is strong against lightning, so use other techs. Heal often to survive his relentless assault. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Iubaris Location: Tower of Mana Hit Points: 16800 Tech Points: 1500 Experience: 2650 Gald: 2500 Items dropped: Brass Protect all the fighters from Iubaris' attacks by casting defensive techs during the first moments of combat. Use Lloyd and another fighter to preoccupy the monster while Genis and Raine use techs from the backline. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Undine Location: Lake Umacy Hit Points: 13000 Tech Points: 320 Experience: 2110 Gald: 765 Items dropped: Guardian Symbol You MUST use Sheena to succeed in this battle. Have Sheena and Lloyd attack Undine from the front line. With Genis and Raine supporting from the backline. Every time that Undine begins to cast magic, drop back and cast defensive techs. Attack her in between spells and she will go down easy. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Fairess/Yutis/Sephie (The Sylphs) Location: Balacruf Mausoleum Hit Points: 6190/6480/7320 Tech Points: 250/80/220 Experience: 690/770/880 Gald: 285/290/320 Items dropped: Saffron/Sage/Savory Set everyone to attack the same character. That way you efficiently eliminate the sylphs one at a time. Attack Sephie first,as she is the most deadly. Then move on to Yutis, who uses long range arrows. Finally, kill off the defensive Fairess. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Efreet Location: Triet Ruins Hit Points: 18000 Tech Points: 850 Experience: 2430 Gald: 945 Items dropped: Attack Symbol Use Raine to heal the party often, but don't use resurrection spell. Instead, use life bottles, which take less time to use. keep everyone's TP high with Orange gels. Attack using your strongest techs and attacks. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Remiel Location: Tower of Mana Hit Points: 16000 Tech Points: 258 Experience: 2795 Gald: 1840 Items dropped: EX Gem Lv1, Rune Bottle Disable Raine's photon attack for this battle, as the angel is impervious to light techs. Use fighters to knock away his HP, while Genis casts techs. Use unison attacks and try to knock Remiel off his guard, so that he will be forced to stop attacking. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Kratos Location: Tower of Mana Hit Points: 22500 Tech Points: 1500 Experience: 3280 Gald: 2900 Items dropped: EX Gem Lv3, Life Bottle Use Raine to cast defensive and restorative magic throughout the battle. Use your strongest attacks and combos, but be leery of Kratos' retaliation. Use the defense skills that Kratos taught you to defend from his vicious attacks. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Pronyma Location: Fooji Mountains Hit Points: 18000 Tech Points: 750 Experience: 3000 Gald: 1500 Items dropped: Rosemary, EX Gem Lv2 Use light based attacks, from Colette and Raine to take down this boss. Also, have Raine cast defensive magic to counteract Pronyma's acid rain attack. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Convict (3x) Location: Meltokio Sewers Hit Points: 6300 Tech Points: 300 Experience: 300 Gald: 150 Items dropped: None One the easiest battles in the game. Simply concentrate on each convict and attack them using your best attacks and techs. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Convict Location: Gaoracchia Forest Hit Points: 12000 Tech Points: 320 Experience: 2250 Gald:1500 Items dropped: Elixir Use tetra slash, and combo attacks to substantially damage the convict. Keep him away from your magic users, and he will go down easily. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Defense System Location: Toize Valley Mine Hit Points: 12000 Tech Points: 100 Experience: 2350 Gald: 0 Items dropped: Metal Sphere The Defense system has a few components, such as the auto repair unit and the orbits. Take the auto repair unit out firs, then the orbits. After dismantling its components, attack the system until it falls. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Volt Location: Temple of Lightning Hit Points: 24000 Tech Points: 240 Experience: 3580 Gald: 2800 Items dropped: Emerald Ring The creatively named Lightning boss is a hard hitting boss. Volt uses a lightning attack that strikes multiple times. Use Raine to constantly heal and cast support magic. Summon the Sylphs with Sheena, and attack using your strongest attacks. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Yuan/Botta Location: Teth'Alla Base Hit Points: 16000/12000 Tech Points: 652/580 Experience: 4890/1680 Gald: 3150/2800 Items dropped: EX Gem Lv4 Have Genis use water and fire magic. Make sure everyone is set to attack the same character. Attack Botta first, using the same strategy that we used on him before. Ignore Yuan's attempts to draw the combat out over the entire battle grounds. Eliminate Botta, healing as necessary, then turn towards Yuan. Use defensive techs before dealing with Yuan. Attack Yuan just like Botta, by directly assaulting him, and backing off afterwards. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Winged Dragon/Baby Dragon (2x) Location: Dragon's Nest Hit Points: 18000/12000 Tech Points: 400/800 Experience: 2450/1250 Gald: 1200/500 Items dropped: Venom, Flare Cape Focus on the baby dragon first, and it's a good idea to set your characters to "Attack Same" Just use your unison attacks on the Baby Dragons because it's most likely your initial attack for U Attack will miss. Any combination of characters will do. Just be sure to keep blocking. Every once in a while the winged dragon will cast an attack (It might be Dreaded Wave)That goes right beneath your characters, and jumping isn't much of a defensive move, so just run out of the way. Your Tempest moves for Lloyd are highly recommended for this fight, against both th baby dragons and the winged Dragon. If you're thinking about using something like Beast or Sword Rain on the Baby Dragons, try to get behind them, or they'll just swipe at you and you'll stagger. Once the baby Dragons are out of the picture, the winged dragon is only a small problem. If you try to attack it up close, it will most likely slam it's head right on you, so the item "hourglass" will freeze it for a short amount of time leaving a good opportunity to strike without fear of taking damage. You still have to watch out for it's attack with Dreaded Wave. Regal is great for aerial attacks against the Winged Dragon. Lloyd's Tempest moves and Tiger Blade moves are great. Genis can use pretty much anything (except for Dreaded Wave because it'll go right under)Colette's Angel Feathers are good aerial as well, but not much else. Presea should be used primarily for the baby dragons, but isn't too good against the Winged Dragon. Zelos can use light Spear for a good aerial, and Hurricane Thrust against the baby dragons. Raine should stay far from the battle and heal your party, and occasionally use Photon. Sheena and just use normal attacks and summon when she can. Magic Lens are a good item, cause once you use them, when you target with R you can see their Health. It's just frustrating when you got 3 dragons all out on you, but once one is gone, the others don't seem all too hard. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Gnome Location: Temple of Earth Hit Points: 28000 Tech Points: 682 Experience: 5890 Gald: 4280 Items dropped: Holy Symbol Summon the Sylphs to start the battle off. Have Genis use wind techs, while you build towards getting a unison attack. Gnome's attacks are rare and extremely powerful. Try and get a hard counterattack in, to knock him off balance. Only use your best attacks, and heal often. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Celsius/Fenrir Location: Temple of Ice Hit Points: 18000/12000 Tech Points: 600/300 Experience: 5120/2600 Gald: 5800/1380 Items dropped: Spirit Symbol/ Blue Quartz Use Genis' tech attacks to heavily damage the two bosses. Keep him safe, as both will try to knock him out quickly. Have Sheena use S. Seal: Fire on the weapons of Lloyd, Regal, Presea, and Zelos. Summon Efreet after the weapons are full of fire. Unless Genis is in trouble, attack Fenrir first, then go after Celsius. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Rodyle Location: Otherworldly Gate Hit Points: 35000 Tech Points: 500 Experience:6240 Gald: 5800 Items dropped:None This bosses attacks can inflict damage ranging from 400 to 1000 HP. Use defensive magic early to soften the damage. Use tetra combos and strong tech attacks like Colette's judgment. Try and build towards 2 or 3 unison attacks by using the Taunt command too. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Shadow Location: Temple of Darkness Hit Points: 30000 Tech Points: 800 Experience: 6320 Gald: 4500 Items dropped: Dark Seal Prepare for this battle by casting defensive magic on everyone. Shadow uses a number of strong group effect spells. Keep everyone's HP up by using Raine to cast restorative magic. Use Colette's light based techs to attack Shadow, while fighters try to attack him from behind. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Aska/Luna Location: Linkite Tree Hit Points: 19650/18000 Tech Points: 600/720 Experience: 3480/3250 Gald: 2800/4800 Items dropped: Rare Pellets/Moonstone Command the party to attack Luna, while a fighter attacks Aska. Try and use items to keep yourself alive while you tackle Aska alone. Fend off Aska log enough for the rest of the group to kill Luna. Then heal everyone back up and finish off Aska. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Forcystus Location: Iselia Human Ranch Hit Points: 20000 Tech Points: 400 Experience: 7100 Gald: 5800 Items dropped: Faerie Ring Forcystus is accompanied by two Exbones. Have everyone but Lloyd attack from afar, while you take out the Exbones. Have Raine cast defensive magic, and attack using light based techs. The fight with only Forcystus is truly a epic duel, due to his high defense. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Plantix Location: Latheon Gorge Hit Points: 36000 Tech Points: 250 Experience: 7500 Gald: 1250 Items dropped: Blue Sephira Attack Plantix with strong normal and tech attacks until its HP are cut in half. Then,and only then, will unison attacks damage the boss. Its skull head is exposed once its HP drops below half. At that point start using unison attacks. It is bes during the first half of the battle, to stay close to Plantix and attach it directly, to avoid its swarms of insects. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Kratos Location: Tower Of Salvation Hit Points: 25000 Tech Points: 980 Experience: 7600 Gald: 4800 Items dropped: EX Gem Lv4, Energy Tablets Kratos is gaining immense power. Now he is able to use strong light techs, like Judgment. Use defensive techs to protect everyone, then hit him with everything you got. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name:Yggdrasill Location: Tower of Salvation Hit Points: 40000 Tech Points: 3000 Experience: 3000 Gald:0 Items dropped: None Merely causing 10000 HP of damage to this boss will cause him to retreat. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Gatekeeper Location: Tower of Salvation (Ruins) Hit Points: 18000 Tech Points: 800 Experience: 8880 Gald: 8970 Items dropped: Mystic Symbol Quickly defeat the two Angel Swordians that accompany the Gatekeeper. Normal attacks only cause half damage to this boss, so use techs. Have Genis around half TP at least for the entire duration of the battle. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Pronyma Location: Tower of Salvation (Ruins) Hit Points: 32000 Tech Points: 850 Experience: 7000 Gald: 4800 Items dropped: Red Savory, Black Quartz Knock off the minions that Pronyma has brought along. Have Raine cast her most powerful light techs, while you occupy Pronyma with physical attacks. Have Sheena summon Luna, this is the best attack to use against her. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Yggdrasill Location: Tower of Salvation (Ruins) Hit Points: 40000 Tech Points: 3000 Experience: 8320 Gald: 4800 Items dropped: EX Gem Lv4, Energy Tablets Use Sheena to summon Shadow at the onset of this battle. Have Sheen summon darkness for everyone's weapons. Then begin a relentless assault on Yggdrasill. Use energy tablets if you need to keep the assault going at full speed. The lord of Cruxis should fall as long as you keep up the relentless attack. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Kratos Location: Torent Forest Hit Points: 12000 Tech Points: 1400 Experience: 9990 Gald: 5520 Items dropped: None This is one of the hardest battles in the entire game. You must duel Kratos one on one with Lloyd. Attack conservatively, like with Botta. Attack and try and land a combo to knock Kratos off balance, then drawback and use defensive techs to lessen damage received. Keep at it, and use items to stay alive. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Origin Location: Torent Forest Hit Points: 40000 Tech Points: 800 Experience: 10240 Gald: 9870 Items dropped: Reflect Ring Use a lot of defensive techs and magic to defend against Origin's powerful attacks. If it beings to cast Thunder Arrow, run as far away as possible. Use summons and S: Seals to weaken the monster with tech, magic, and physical attacks. Use a Unison attack to help finish it off. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: The Fugitive Location: Welgaia Hit Points: 20000 Tech Points: 500 Experience: 2800 Gald: 3200 Items dropped: Magic Ring The next three boss fights are fairly similar. Use your most powerful attacks to knock these bosses out, while trying to conserve your health and items. Use fire, ice, wind,or earth techs to aid in the physical assault. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: The Judged Location: Welgaia Hit Points: 20000 Tech Points: 500 Experience: 2800 Gald: 3200 Items dropped: Attack Ring Use ice, water, or fire techs to aid in the defeat of this boss. As always, use your best physical attacks too. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: The Neglected Location: Welgaia Hit Points: 20000 Tech Points: 500 Experience: 2800 Gald: 3200 Items dropped: Defense Ring Use water, wind, or earth techs to kill this boss. Use your strongest physical attacks and combos too. If you get a unison attack during this battle, consider saving it for the next fight. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Mithos Location: Vinheim Hit Points: 55000 Tech Points: 5000 Experience: 8280 Gald: 1690 Items dropped: None Leave Colette out of this battle. Use Raine, but set her only heal the party. Genis and/or Sheena is a good bet. Periodically use defensive techs to lessen the damage received in this long and arduous fight. Summon every summon but Luna on Mithos. Have Sheena use T or S Seal techs to aid in physical attacking. Use life bottles and items as necessary, and keep your HP high. ---------------------------------------------- Boss name: Mithos Location: Vinheim Hit Points: 60000 Tech Points: 1500 Experience: 0 Gald: 0 Items dropped: EX Gem Max Mithos gains 5000 HP, but becomes somewhat weaker. Kicky restore the party's status, using whatever items you have. This is the final battle so pull no stops. Use unison attacks, and cast all the defensive magic you have. Make sure everyone is near full HP during the battle. Protect Genis and Raine, and occupy the beast with physical attacks. Good Luck! ================================================= Optional Bosses and Recommended Character Set-ups ================================================= This section is designed to concentrate on Great Character setups for a party of Lloyd, Genis, Raine, and Kratos/ Zelos. This is the party that I played most with, so I'll stick to them. Some of these setups should make the optional bosses at the end of the section much more manageable. Note that this is all opinion, and if you think you've got something better, use it! I. Lloyd: Techs- I find Lloyd to be much better suited as a T-type; his purpose is to string combos in most situations. There are a few S type moves that he should have, too, however. Start with him as all t, and then forget the following: Double Demon Fang, Tiger Rage, and Hurricane Thrust. Now switch him over to an S-type and have him learn the corresponding moves: Fierce Demon Fang, Heavy Tiger Blade, and Supersonic Thrust. These moves deal more damage and give him some balance. As a bonus, these can become Adv. Techs by equipping: Ruby (Grave blade),Sardonyx (Lightning Thrust), and Lightning Tiger. You must use Fierce Demon Fang 200 times for the first, Sonic thrust 200 for the second, and Tiger Blade 200 times for the third. Ex-gem setups: I find these two setups very useful- 1) Lvl. 1 Tough, Lvl. 2 Vitality, Lvl. 3 Eternal, and lvl. 4 Immunity. This setup is great for the beginning/intermediate parts of the game. This gives you life up, unison force, Phys. Status, and Self Cure. Self Cure and Phys. Status keep you healthy and unison force is useful against tough bosses. Life up will occasionally give you more max hp, which in time will add up quicker than you think. This setup has no real problems with it- the only thing better is: 2) Lvl. 1 Sharp eyed, Lvl. 3 Add Combo, Lvl. 4 Follow up, and Lvl. 4 Sky Combo. This setup will let you melee like mad. Have fun. Equips: For Lloyd's Accessories, a Tp enhancer is a must- he eats through tp like no one's business. The Faerie Ring is ideal, but Moonstone will work as well. In the other spot I like to put a Krona Symbol to keep Phys. Status because I use the latter ex-gem setup. II. Genis: Techs: Ahh, the bread and butter of Genis. The best setup for him hands down requires a little work, but is well worth it. Start him as an all T- type, and then when he reaches lvl. 60, switch him over to s- type. Have him forget the Ice Tornado series, Tidal Wave Series, Cyclone series, and Dreaded Wave series. Now, those might be some great techs, but trust me, you're about to get better. Once over to the S-side, learn Freeze Lancer (Icicle 50x), and Grave (Stone Blast 50x). Use both of these and you should learn Absolute, a great tech alone, but half of what you need (you'll see). Now, you need to learn Atlas: Use Air Blade and Aqua Laser. Now then, use Atlas and Absolute, and Genis will learn... Prism Sword! Prism Sword is Genis's best tech aside from Meteor Storm. It is like a concentrated version of Judgment and is Genis!|s only light tech. It is said there are quicker ways to get Indignation and Prism Sword, but I know this works. Also, throughout the course of the game, the t techs are far better. The only good s techs are Atlas, Absolute, and Prism Sword, so if you do it as mentioned above, you!|ll get the best of both. Ex- Gem setup: Lvl. 4 Spell Charge, Spell Save, Speed Cast. Lvl. 3 Rhythm. This makes it so Genis will never be interrupted during an incantation. Very useful! Equips: Early on, you'll want Genis to have enough tp, so equip tp saving items. Later in the game, a Faerie Ring and Black Onyx are ideal- you need to bolster his hp a bit for some of the later bosses. I also like the Rune Cape- it raises his Int. III. Kratos/ Zelos: Techs: Either way is fine- I slightly prefer t- type, but that!|s just me. Ex- gems: Lvl. 3 Eternal, Slasher, Super Chain. Lvl. 4 Speed Cast. The 3 lvl. 3's give Kratos/Zelos a six hit linkable combo. Kinda hard to be displeased with that. The last one is optional, but I feel that the only time this character will need to cast a spell would be in a dire situation, so I'd prefer it sooner rather than later :P Equips: Extreme Symbol, Faerie ring, and Black Onyx are all good here. IV.Raine: Techs: T-type all the way. No question. These healing techniques are a must in any of the upcoming battles. Ex-gems: Lvl. 4 Happiness, Spell Save, Item Pro. Lvl. 3 Speed cast. You do not want Revitalize interrupted. Period. Set her up like this and don't worry about it :P Equips: Black Onyx all the way- she needs lots of hp, because if she dies, who's going to heal you? After maxing out hp, a def. booster would be nice. (Note: For a weapon, she should use her Devil's Arm- it has the highest Int. Rating.) Alright, that'll do for now. These setups should make the next few fights easier. Boss Name: Sword Dancer 3 Location: Iselia Forest (Dirk!|s side) Hit Points: 99999 Tech Points: Experience: Gald: Items Dropped: Kusinagi Blade Well, for our first optional fight, we face the SD3. This guy can be tough if you aren't leveled enough, so here!|s what you should do. First setup your party as above. Next, have Genis on "Don't pursue" and use skills freely. Turn off everything except Explosion, Indignation, Absolute, and Prism Sword (and Meteor Storm if you have it). Have Kratos and Raine on "Hold Position" and shortcut healing techs (Revitalize and Healing Stream) to the c-stick. Press them non- stop. Now, as Lloyd, you'll want to attack with a high hit combo (I like SR Beta) and then move away. Two things to watch out for 1) Blade Spiral: I think that's what it's called, but you'll know it when you see it, for SD3 loves this move. He uses his four arms and twirls around with swords extended- annihilating you if you get stuck in it. AVOID THIS! 2) Indignation: When you see the little circle appear under you, RUN! This move does massive damage and to possibly multiple targets. Ouch. Be sure that you have plenty of lemon and pineapple gels for this fight as well- my first time I used 15 of the latter. An all-divide is recommended if you still have problems with this boss. Coliseum extras: 1) Seles: 2) Exhibition Match Boss name: Seles Location: Coliseum Hit Points: 12000 Tech Points: 800 Experience:8960 Gald: 12000 Items Dropped: Last Fencer Elemental Circlet. (Note: Do this immediately after the doctor in Flanoir events if you chose Kratos over Zelos.)If your using Zelos for this fight, it can be really tough. The ex- setup from above is absolutely vital. Now, the best strategy is to try to exhaust her 800 tp quickly. Thankfully, this is quite simple. Just runaway from her and use your force field when she casts Freeze Lancer, and run if she casts absolute. Once drained, it should be a fair fight. If you can't win with Zelos, just waste her with Lloyd :P Boss Name: Garr Location: Coliseum Hit Points:200000 Tech Points: 150 Experience:3200 Gald: 4800 Items Dropped: Mumbane Boss Name: Farah Oersted Location: Coliseum Hit Points:200000 Tech Points: 150 Experience:3300 Gald: 2800 Items Dropped: Star Cloak Boss Name: Meredy Location: Coliseum Hit Points:160000 Tech Points: 1450 Experience:2100 Gald: 2800 Items Dropped: Krona Symbol (Note: You only have 3 chars for this battle- I chose Lloyd Kratos, and Raine.)The first thing you probably noticed about this fight is all the great armor you'll win. But you have to win it first, and that's easier said than done. An all divide is recommended here as well as having the charged Nebilim. Speed is everything in the first part. First go after Meredy and wipe her out quickly. You should have Kratos and Raine healing non-stop during this time. Meredy will revive once on Normal and twice on hard , so be prepared. Next, go after the other two in any order- w/o Meredy around it should be quite a bit easier. Now enjoy your glorious armor!(Note: These guys have been know to use an hourglass very occasionally; if this happens to you just laugh it off- you're not going to win.) Boss name: Abyssion Location: Temple of Darkness Hit Points:120000 Tech Points: 8200 Experience:8000 Gald: 6800 Items Dropped: Hyper Gauntlet, Jet Boots. Well folks, this is the ultimate boss. He moves quickly, is a small target, and will block nearly all your attacks. First, you'll want Raine and Zelos/Kratos on nonstop heal, and on don't pursue or hold position. Shortcut Revitalize and Healing Stream. Press them constantly- even if you don't think you need it.Now then, for his attacks: His melee attacks are a combination of many styles, so he can combo you unexpectedly and repetitively. It's hard to block because he is unpredictable. His techs consist of a myriad of advanced magic, including Meteor Storm, which if unlucky, can wipe out low leveled parties in one go. He seems to cast more and more as he loses hp. Now, you're probably wondering how to fight this thing about now. Well, if you are a decent level (70 or so) it is very possible. First thing you'll want to do is use an all-divide. Now, have Genis attack with Indignation, Explosion, and Prism Sword (see tech setups). As Lloyd, your main goal is 1) preoccupy him, and 2) build up the unison gauge. Back-stepping is a must here, so master the art of attacking with Sword Rain (beta) for a few hits and then hitting guard plus back to get away. A couple Prism Stars and a lot of patience will have you emerge a winner. =========== Legal Stuff =========== This FAQ is copyright (c) 2004 Al Lewis. Feel free to take whatever info you need for your own pleasure, but at least give some credit to where it's due. This FAQ was written solely for use at www.GameFaqs.com Feel free to email comments questions and suggestions to themagicgoalie20@yahoo.com ============== Special Thanks ============== Thanks to me for being the coolest kid alive. DarthLampe for his help and awesomeness. Namco for the great game, and Nintendo for bringing it here. tardounderdog for saving it from being a dead end project. The Gang at the ToS board Stinko731GS Golf Guru Finally, to gamefaqs for having the site. ================================== "Success will be the best revenge" ================================== ========= Guide end =========