Final Fantasy VI Bosses

Valigarmanda is attacking you. That's not very nice of him. Luckily, he has very little to damage you with. Blizzaga is his only offensive spell, and as most of your party is easily covered in Flame Shields, Ice Shields, or the Minerva Bustier bustier, the spell will do nothing to them. If you lack the above equipment for all characters, it's worthy of notice that the Thunder Shields and Force Shields both halve damage done by Ice-elemental attacks (dont't forget that the Force Shield also grants the wearer inherent Shell, reducing damage done by the Blizzaga spell by another 33%).

What Valigarmanda does is all very basic. The Esper attacks normally with the above three spells, although he hardly ever uses Freezing Dust just like that. Whenever Valigarmanda is hit by a Fire-elemental attack, it has a one-third chance of casting Rasp. Also, whenever Valigarmanda is hit by either SwdTech, Tools, Blitz, Lore, Sketch, or Rage, it has a one-third chance of casting Freezing Dust to freeze the attacker.

The strategy the game wants you to follow is clear. Fire-elemental Magic is the key. You will mainly be casting Fira here. Sabin's Rising Phoenix deals weaker damage to a single target and may incite a Freezing Dust attack, but if Sabin lacks Fira, it will have to serve as a suitable backup. If you brought Gau, the Twinscythe Rage (Shrapnel) works great because it inherently absorbs Blizzaga. A Rage like Devil Fist is also great, providing you can combine it with an Ice Shield or Snow Scarf on the Rager. The Io Rage is even better as it will consistently deal 9920 damage every time Gau uses Flare Star and inherently nullifies Ice-elemental attacks, but it's unlikely you have it at this point.

There's little strategy involved beyond this, as the battle is quite easy. If you somehow didn't bring any equipment with elemental properties, Zona Seeker can help you out there. Cast Haste on the entire party (now with the Hastega spell, brought to you by Quetzalli) can shorten the time a character is Frozen; heck, if that's taking too long as well feel free to just cast a Fire spell on the afflicted and watch him turn back to normal. Celes' Runic can absorb the Blizzaga and Rasp spells; it won't be necessary if you prepared enough, but if you haven't it's a great idea. Expand Full Strategy

Two Ipooh bears initially protect Vargas; you can't harm him until you have killed them. Ipooh attack physically only, with Attack and !Claw. Vargas will casually switch between Attack and Gale Cut in an Attack-Gale Cut-Attack rhythm. Dance to it. After every 50 seconds, he will taunt you cruelly by saying: "Come on! What's the matter?" and use Attack twice, as if to insult you. What a jerk.

Once he hits 10880 HP - that's after 720 damage - he will start getting bored with you and exclaim: "Enough of this! I'll send you all to the great beyond!" Just then, a new character will appear. It's Sabin Rene Figaro, long lost heir to the throne of Figaro and twin brother to Edgar.

It seems that Vargas misunderstood the outcome of a successor issue concerning Duncan, their master in the martial arts and Vargas' father. Vargas turned to patricide, and here Sabin is complimenting Vargas on his fine spirit. Morals these days, let me tell ya... Anyway, Vargas executes "Blizzard Fist!" Blasting all inferior warriors of the field, the battle is up to Sabin alone.

When Sabin has appeared and Vargas hits 10368 HP - that's 512 more damage - Sabin will lament over his master's teachings. You'll have to use a Blitz to win this battle. Once the primary Blitz technique has been used, Vargas will... die or run, it's kind of vague. At any rate, Vargas is never to be heard from again.

Your strategy? When you engage Vargas, try to pick some Ipooh pockets (metaphorically) with Locke, have Edgar use Auto Crossbow, and Terra use single-target Fire spells on the Ipooh you looted. After you've taken care of the Ipoohs, switch to the Bioblaster with Edgar and have Terra on stand-by for a multi-target Cure spell for every Gale Cut that is sent your way. After a successful Steal attempt with Locke, have him attack. The Bioblaster will facilitate the bulk of your damage anyway, so spending a turn moving to the Front Row and then taking more damage there probably isn't justified.

Eventually, Sabin will crash the party. Pay attention, as you are about to do the most complicated thing invented in video game history. That's right, you're about to execute a Blitz technique. Follow on-screen commands closely. Write them down. Remember. After you've completed a Raging Fist technique, you've won your battle. Expand Full Strategy