Walkthrough - Part Twenty Six - The Final Battle
Lavos takes ten different forms, all of which you've faced before. Admittedly, one of them pasted you into the ground but mweh. I'd recommend taking Crono, Marle and Lucca, giving them all Gold Studs and the best equipment you've got... like you weren't going to do that anyway! Here goes:
Form: Dragon Tank (Head, Grinder and Tank)
HP: 600 (Head), 208 (Grinder), 266 (Tank)
The head of the tank will be on our left and remember, it's immune to lightning and fire. So, just cast Antipode 3 instead, which does Shadow damage.
Form: Guardian, Bit (x2)
HP: 1200 (Guardian) 200 (Bit)
Luminaire. Need I say more?
Form: Heckran
HP: 2100
Luminaire. Or Flare. Or pretty much anything really.
Form: Zombor (Top and bottom)
HP: 960 (Top), 800 (Bottom)
The bottom half is strong against Ice and Shadow while the top is strong against Fire and Lightning. Me? I got bored and beat it to death with Crono only and he was equipped with the Mop!
Form: Masa&Mune
HP: 3600
Oh for the love of God! This is the final boss; can't it at least put some effort in? Still, having said that, I did have to hit this one more than once which says something.
Form: Nizbel
HP: 4200
For the sake of making this quick, equip Crono with the Prism Specs, have him cast Lightning on Nizbel and then just beat him into a pulp.
Form: Magus
HP: 6666
Totally and utterly embarrassing. Hit it to make it change barrier and then hit it with the strongest spell of that type you've got. So that's Luminaire, Fire Sword 2, Ice Sword 2 or Antipode 3. Just one of those should push Magus into his second phase where he starts casting Dark Matter. Now just beat him with whatever you want to really, it won't take long.
Form: Azala & Black Tyrano
HP: 2500 (Azala) 12,000 (Black Tyrano)
Use Antipode 3 to kill Azala and then wait until the Black Tyrano removes its defence to push it into an early retirement.
Form: Giga Gaia (Left arm, right arm and core)
HP: 9500 (Core), 900 (Both arms)
I thought this guy was pathetic the first time round. Imagine what I think of it now... My fight went something like this. Giga Gaia did a move that took 12 health of each member of my party. I replied with Antipode 3, killing both hands, quickly followed by Luminaire, Antipode 3, Luminaire and a final Antipode 3 at a grand cost of 31 magic points and 36 health.
Form: Lavos
HP: 10,000
I nearly wept with relief when it didn't say it was changing attack mode. We're gonna get a real fight at last! Use a Mega Elixir before the fight and then weep when you realise you didn't need to. Five attacks in and it was dead. For Christ's sake, I just killed the final boss in five hi--oh wait, it's NOT the final boss. "Step inside my parlour," said the spider to the fly...
Inside, you'll find a save point and a gate. Now, because I'm a dramatic sod, I usually take the gate out, take the Epoch to 1999AD and then fly it straight through Lavos' outer shell. It's a useful point to remember since it means you can skip the warm up fights BUT to get New Game +, you HAVE to reach Lavos via the Black Omen and of course, if you do that, you have to do the warm-up fights. Life just isn't fair, is it?
One way or another, head straight up and you'll find something...
Boss: Lavos (Left arm, right arm and core)
HP: 8,000 (Left arm), 12,000 (Right arm), 20,000 (Core)
Now, THIS is a fight and a half! Start off by casting Luminaire and Antipode 3 repeatedly until the arms are dead. Once the right arm (our right) is gone, the shield is removed from the core. Keep casting Luminaire and Antipode 3 but keep a close eye on your health at all times. If it drops below 400, heal that person immediately. Marle is nigh on godly in this fight with Life 2. She saved my arse with that spell so many times I want to kiss her! Just keep on plugging away until it croaks.
Game over, you won, right? WRONG! And thank god coz' as hard as that last fight was, it's not a good final boss fight unless you can actually lose it easily if you don't have the right strategy.
Boss: Lavos Core (Body, left bit and right bit)
HP: 10,000 (Body), 2,000 (Left bit), 30,000 (Right bit)
Let's start with what bits do what: the left bit heals the core and removes your status defence, the core does most of the attacks and the right bit revives the left bit and core when they're dead. The main point is that the part you need to kill is the right bit. That dies and it all dies. The key feature is that the right bit maintains a very strong defence, making it near impervious to damage. The only time it'll drop that defence is when it's reviving the other parts, so the first thing to do is destroy the weakest bit. Have Crono use Confuse on, and Lucca shoot, the left bit. That SHOULD do it but we all know what the Wondershot is like. Almost immediately after that, the right bit will drop its defence. Now weigh in heavy, casting Antipode 3 and Luminaire constantly, healing whenever necessary. Remember, since you saved it before fighting the fake Lavos and New Game + requires a save file to load from, anything you use in this fight won't have been used in the New Game +, thus there's no reason to be sparing with the Mega Elixirs and Hyper Ethers; use whatever you need to in kicking Lavos' arse!
The Lavos Core's attacks depend on what era you're in, which is signified by the background you're fighting against. The list is as follows:
- Grassy cliff: 65,000,000BC - 'Grand Stone'. Ultimate physical attack; targets all.
- Mammon Machine: 12,000BC - 'Invading Light'. Inflicts Slow-status on the party; only used when all three parts are alive.
- Magus' Castle: 600AD - 'Evil Star'. Halves HP of the entire party.
- Leene Square: 1000AD - 'Spell'. Random status effects; targets all.
- City ruins: 2300AD - 'Dreamless'. Ultimate magical attack, targets all.
Dreamless and Grand Stone are certainly aptly described. Dreamless will almost certainly kill anyone not wearing a Prism Dress, i.e. Crono's screwed, while Grand Stone will almost certainly kill anyone who has low physical defence, i.e. Marle and Lucca are screwed. Again, Marle's Life 2 and Crono's Life are invaluable here and the Gold Studs mean you can keep casting magic until the cows come home. Just remember, the right bit is your main target. You cannot kill Lavos without destroying the right bit. If you need to heal, have Marle cast Cure 2 while Crono and Lucca cast Fire Sword 2 on the right bit. Use Heals to undo the effects of Spell and Invading Light as quickly as possible since you need all hands on deck.
Just keep at it and eventually Lavos will fall...
Prev: The Fated Hour (Various)
