Hell Wyrm
---------------------How to beat Hell Wyrm
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This is a brief guide to defeating the Final Fantasy XII boss, Hell Wyrm. I'm sure that the game is basically the same for all regions but this is for the Australian (PAL) version of the game. I warn now, this will be a long battle. Items, spells, technicks, locations and NPCs will be in italics.
Fast-find menu—[Ctrl] + F
o You have to get there first…(O1)
o The tension rises…(O2)
o What the heck is that?!...(O3)
o Well, that was weird…(O4)
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Getting there (O1)
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First, make sure you have the Soul Ward Key. It will be needed later, and is obtained from an Arcadian professor after defeating the Vyraal. To get the key, hand the Vyraal Scale to him, thus receiving the key in exchange. For more information on this sidequest, refer to one of the many excellent Faqs available.
Head to the Sochen Cave Palace, entering from Old Arcades. Three or so areas after the teleport crystal, you will come to an area that resembles a cross. You enter from the north and head, from this perspective, down the right path, opening the doors there. You follow this down again, ignoring the doors to your left and right. Now you should be at the most southern circle. Ignore the upper and lower doors and open the left, walking through that. Walk up through this hallway and refrain from opening the doors to your left and right, opening the northerly door. Run up this hallway and open the last door; you should hear a noise and get a message. Run back down the left path and into the room. The previously ‘held by mechanism’ door is now able to be opened. Walk through this and to the Soul Ward Door. Stop Here.
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Preparation (O2)
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Before you enter the next room, prepare yourself according to these guidelines:
It is strongly suggested that your characters be at least level 70 before you try this. I defeated this boss with characters levelled between 69 and 75.
Spells needed are Haste/ega (I recommend applying this first), Curaga/Renew, Arise, Protect/ega, Shell/ga, Bubble, Bravery and Faith, at the least. Casting Reflect/ega will just cause curing problems—I learned the hard way. Syphon can be used on party members when your main caster is out of MP, and Berserk should be cast on your warrior for that extra strength (Basch was the character I used for this).
I recommend having the third character as just a general healer-warrior-caster. They can be used for casting the offensive technicks listed below, as well as being a distraction.
There aren’t many useful technicks, but these will come in handy in-battle; Shear and Expose can work excellently in the upcoming chaos, seeing as they lower both types of defence. Gil Toss is even more effective then these if you have a minimum of 500,000 Gil—it’ll deal out 9,999 damage every time until you’re out of cash. It’ll only scratch Hell Wyrm, but at least it’s something.
Gambits…
There are potentially thousands of combinations, but these worked the best for me, so I recommend them.
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Warrior
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[Enemy: Any > Attack] Well, it doesn’t really matter what numbers 2 to 12 are…
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Mage/Caster
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[Ally: HP < 50% > Curaja]
[Ally: Any > Hastega]
[Ally: Any > Protectega]
[Ally: KO > Arise]
[Ally: *status ailment* > Esuna]
[Ally: *Your warrior* > Bravery]
[Ally: *your warrior* > Berserk]
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General party member
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[Enemy: Any > Gil Toss]
[Enemy: Any > Expose]
Among a combination of whatever items, spells and technicks you like.
And now some extra tips:
-- Choose the best equipment for the strongest characters.
-- Identify your strongest three characters and use them until you no longer can (using this advice correctly, you’ll keep ‘em usable throughout the battle).
--Using Bubble Belts is an easier (and cheaper MP-wise) alternative to casting the spell.
-- Keep calm. Getting excited about killing Hell Wyrm won’t help your judgement.
-- On the options menu, change the settings so the game pauses when you open the battle menu.
-- No matter how well the combat seems to be going, DO NOT leave the game by itself, e.g. getting up to have a sandwich—you’ll come back to find a ‘game over’ screen.
-- Finally, never focus one character on doing one thing. If your mage has been KO’d, wake them up with your third party member. If your warrior is KO’d, make the former attack until they are revived.
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The Battle (O3)
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Prepared? Good. Confidence? Even better. You’re going to need it. Walk through the Soul Ward Door—cue cutscene. Meh. Flamey-looking ringwyrm. Can’t be that bad, right? Wrong. This thing is huge, and as a result takes up most of your viewing area with its fiery pixelness. You can hardly notice the colour of the area walls. Look up at the health bar. Yes, that’s right. FIFTY million HP. That’s 50,000,000.
Anyway, start off by running forward (Obviously). Control either your mage or third character so you can run around doing stuff while your berserk, hyped-up warrior attacks. Not much else to be done, but if you’re going to use Quickenings, try to chain at least 20 and do it now, at the start of battle, so you can recuperate your MP. The same rule applies to Espers.
Hell Wyrm’s attacks consist mostly of slapping your characters, dealing 2—5 thousand points of damage a go, depending on your defence. See why you needed Bubble, now? Hell Wyrm’s other attacks include a spell or two, but nothing really worth worrying about; and an attack that triggers a mini-cutscene, but also isn’t much of a worry. He uses this more and more as his HP depletes.
Expect this laboured battle to continue for several hours. With my characters, it took me 3 ½ hours to finish. There really isn’t much of a reward from Montblanc, but you do get a Hell Wyrm trophy in Sky Pirate’s Den. Now, go attend to your needs such as hunger, thirst and the toilet.
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Afterword (O4)
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Okay, this took me about an hour to write, and thus is enjoyably brief. Thing is, I wrote this a year ago (early '07) but haven't had a chance to upload it. There's not much else to say about the Hell Wyrm battle, really. It's easy if you know how, and there're a few battles more difficult then it. Alas, fighting Zodiark was easier.