��������������������������������������������������� FINAL FANTASY IX o z m a b a t t l e g u i d e v . 1 by Jov playstation, rpg -- http://www.disc13.com animanga, rpg -- http://www.chocobuckle.com ��������������������������������������������������� Final Fantasy IX is � SQUARESOFT Please do not copy this game guide without permission from me, Jov. Any questions about it should be e-mailed at the above address. Other FAQs and reviews I made can be found at http://www.disc13.com ��������������������������������������������������� T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S : I. Introduction II. Information III. Items and Abilities IV. Your Party a.) Their Equipment b.) Their Requirements c.) Recommended Team V. The Battle VI. Credits .:.VERSION UPDATES.:. [v.1 : 010201] - will include more details soon, especially on Quina's Blue Magic! ______________________________________________________________________________ I.) Introduction ______________________________________________________________________________ Ah, optional bossess...don't you just love them to bits? They're tougher than the crap they keep throwing at us (by that I mean final bosses you're meant to defeat). Just when you thought you got through the toughest boss yet, (think: you found it in the Alexandria Castle's library) here comes...Ozma. That stupid book was just an appetizer, ladies and gents. ^_^ So here it is, a guide to defeating Ozma, the toughest boss in Final Fantasy IX. Just a few steps to keep that huge marble from kicking your ass. ______________________________________________________________________________ II. Information ______________________________________________________________________________ When can you fight Ozma? You can do this as soon as you get a gold chocobo. The gold chocobo will enable to get you to Chocobo's Air Garden. There's a little cave there, and if you insist on examining it, you'll eventually come across Ozma. He looks like a huge, colorful marble (I think Square ran out of ideas for bosses. Like, wow, Ozma looks original). Here's the thing: you'd do much better in defeating Ozma if you have finished the "Friendly Spirit SideQuest". This sidequest lessens your disadvantage against Ozma, but I'm not really sure how. Maybe he'll cut back on d physical attacks, or use lesser spells once you finish this quest. Anyway, the friendly spirits are the cute little monsters who kept asking for ores and other gems like emerald, diamond, moonstone, etc. There are 9 of them. However, if you defeat Ozma without completing this quest, that last friendly spirit (if you get to meet him) will quip a funny, disbelieving line about how you already defeated "that round guy". Hades does the same. If you defeat Ozma before fighting Hades (he's found in Memoria, in the part where Quina thought s/he was swimming), he'll say some- thing cowardly like, "What? You defeated Ozma? It's too late to back out now..." Fighting Hades before Ozma doesn't really heightens your advantage against Ozma, so I think it'll be better if you fight Ozma first. Hades is a wimp compared to him, plus you'll get to see that funny line. ^_^ ______________________________________________________________________________ III. Items and Abilities ______________________________________________________________________________ Here are some of the stuff I recommend for usage in the battle (put them on top of your inventory): ITEMS These are some things you bring for back up, just in case you're not equipped for immunity. (This is starting to sound more and more like a Survivor episode...) 1.) Remedy - cures all status. If you're bringing Quina, then you will definitely need them as an ingredient for the Blue Magic Spell "Angel Snack". Stock up! 2.) Eyedrops - cures Darkness 3.) Gysahl Greens - cures Berserk 4.) Phoenix Down - revives 5.) Antidote - cures Poision and Venom 6.) Elixir - come on, use them before they rot in your inventory. I know I had all 26 of them unused when I ended the entire game--here's a very good chance to savor the full HP experience! 7.) Ethers - if you run out of MP... ABILITIES Choose your abilities wisely, because you're going to need every one of them. In this battle, you will need to pump up on your defense. I ranked this according to importance. The first six abilities I listed are those which I found really necessary to equip. 1.) Clearheaded - very important, as Confuse can get pretty annoying. 2.) Antibody - guards you against posion. If you have Auto-Regen it won't matter much, but then again, Ozma will be dealing a LOT of damage. 3.) Auto-Regen - very, very useful especially with Haste equipped. 4.) Auto-Haste - very helpful especially with Auto-Regen equipped. Plus, Ozma is VERY FAST. Must equip this. 5.) Half MP - equip on your magic-users, especially if you have Quina in the party. It can save you a lot of trouble using ethers. 6.) HP + 20% - equip on hardhitters. You need the extra HP, trust me. 7.) Auto-Life - you can still survive without this, but it is also important (and can save your hide when Ozma decides to unleash his meteors)! If you can afford to equip it, then do so with your healers and revivers. 8.) Mug/Master Thief/Bandit - have Zidane do all the stealing of good stuff, and leave the offensive damaging to the other party members. Bandit is for increasing your luck in stealing and Master Thief gets you the better item. You can equip it if you want, but not really necessary. It's a definite option if you happen to have more gems to equip. 9.) Auto-Potion - may come in handy, if you need more healing. But not really necessary since Ozma doesn't deal bite-sized damages which the Auto-Regen can quickly fix. But if you have gems to spare, it won't hurt to equip it. 10.) Gamble Defense - it's a possibility that you may have 1 unused slot. If you do, then equip this one because it does help, especially with spells like Meteor. 11.) Bright Eyes - guards you against Darkness. This comes in handy if you're using a hard-hitting team (Steiner, Amarant or Zidane), but otherwise, it's not really very important. ______________________________________________________________________________ IV. Your Party ______________________________________________________________________________ -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ A. THEIR EQUIPMENT | -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Get the proper equipment before you go into battle. The most important thing is to equip your party against Shadow, because this is Ozma's strongest spell. As for the other equipment, you can go on and wear your best stuff. But remember to guard yourself ONE HUNDRED PERCENT against Shadow (the 50% protection doesn't help). He also casts Holy, but it's not as disabling as Doomsday, really. Here are a few of the things that will help you: 1.) Ninja Gear (Body) WHERE TO OBTAIN: Stolen from Garland USE: Absorbs Shadow 2.) Pumice Piece (Accessory) WHERE TO OBTAIN: Given in the Oliviert quest USE: Absorbs Holy and Shadow >> This is the most ideal item you can equip for the battle. I think I had two of them when before I defeated Ozma. 3.) Egoist Armlet (Arm) WHERE TO OBTAIN: Buy from weapon shop in Esto Gaza, Oleivert USE: Protection from Shadow 100% 4.) Demon's Mail (Body) WHERE TO OBTAIN: Treasure Chest, Stolen...?? USE: Absorbs Shadow **Obviously, I need help in this area. I can't remember where I got the other items, but they were just there in my inventory along with everything else, because I don't sell my equipment. ^^; If anyone can tell me where you can get the other equipment, then please do! It would be very much appreciated. Watch out for status attacks like DARKNESS, CONFUSION, MINI, BERSERK and POISION. Actually, rumor has it that Ozma also deals Sleep, Silence, Petrify and Stop, but in my very long battle with him, I was never afflicted with any of those status ailments. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ B. THEIR REQUIREMENTS: | -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ In choosing your party, you will also have to consider some requirements. 1.) No one must have a level that is a multiple of 5 (i.e., Lv60, Lv55). Ozma casts a Level 5 death, so you should prepare yourself for it. If one of your team members gets a level that is a multiple of 5, you can either change that member or level up. 2.) At least have members with competent levels! Characters with levels from 56 and above will do. 3.) Bring at least one white mage and another hard-hitter with 9999 damage. 4.) Don't forget to protect yourselves 100% from Shadow. 5.) It'd be especially nice if you can set their bars to near Trance mode before going into battle. Especially Zidane. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ C. RECOMMENDED TEAM | -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ You have, of course, to bring three other members of your team along with Zidane to defeat this guy. (Sorry, you can't leave Zidane behind--you can only do that in Memoria, but not in the outside world). I especially recommend this party for the battle against Ozma. ***Important equipment will be marked with an exclamation point (!). It is best to equip them right quickly before challenging Ozma. ***I put the levels my characters had when I battled Ozma. It isn't necessary to follow them exactly, but I guess you'd do much better if you had a higher level than mine. 1.) Zidane (Lv 64) Weapon: Ultima Weapon (!) >> get from Chocobo Dead Pepper sidequest; exact location of Shimmering Island (use the map to pinpoint the accurate location). Head: Circlet Arm: Power Wrist Body: Ninja Gear (!) Acc: Rosetta Ring ~~NOTABLE SKILLS AND ABILITIES:~~ Steal - Ozma has very nice items, including Robe of the Lords, Dark Matter (which you can also buy at the Treno auction) and Pumice. Thievery - this is his single offensive skill. Not much, but at least it does some damage. Solution 9 - you can only use this when Dyne is activated (meaning he's in Trance mode). Deals 9999 damage, fortunately. ~~ROLE IN BATTLE:~~ He's quite the useless guy for offense, but I love his stealing abilities! So when he's not tranced, just keep on stealing neat items or giving medicinal items to your afflicted party members (remedy, phoenix down, and elixir in particular). When everything is as clear as the bluest sky, when there are no more items to steal and comrades to heal, then you can just do regular attacks, or Thievery. note: if you have Mug equipped, stealing does some damage. The amount depends on how often you steal from your enemies; the more you steal, the more damage it does. 2.) Eiko (Lv 63) Weapon: Tiger Racket (!) >> get it from the last screen in Quan's Dwelling where you first saw the ghostly image of Vivi's grandpa--examine corners; Choco will dive in the foaming waters from where you're standing to get it. Head: Circlet Arm: Egoist Armlet (!) >> The Egoist Armlet gives 100% protection from Shadow. If you'd rather equip her with a Power Wrist, then do so as long as you're going to equip her with a Pumice Piece. Since I only had two Pumice Pieces at that time, I gave the it to the other two members I brought. Body: Robe of Lords Acc: Rosetta Ring ~~NOTABLE SKILLS AND ABILITIES:~~ Curaga - VERY IMPORTANT! Don't forget to press the R1 button to make it heal all of your party members. Full-Life - VERY IMPORTANT, because it is likely that someone will die from this battle, so you have to revive that character with full HP. Esuna - you will get a lot of status attacks, so be prepared to use this frequently. Holy - it doesn't deal as much as it does to regular enemies, but just the same, if you find an extra turn just lying around... Phoenix - I didn't get to use it, but multiple deaths can get very annoying. This eidolon revives characters, 'nuff said. ~~ROLE IN BATTLE:~~ Eiko is plain there for healing and reviving your party members. But she can also cast Holy and summon Eidolons, especially Madeen. I guess you can bring Dagger if you want, but I brought her instead because she has Phoenix, Holy and Esuna. Plus, she has Double White Magic! She really is the better choice; I only bring Dagger for sentimental purposes, if I want her to be with Zidane. The only advantage Dagger has against Eiko is her Eidolons. Yes, they don't do much damage, but if you have Auto-Regen and Boost equipped, your characters get to regenerate up to their full HP when you summon Bahamut, or an eidolon that takes up plenty of screen time for their attack. 3.) Steiner (Lv 57) Weapon: Excalibur (!) >> get from the old man in Daguerro who wants the Magical Fingertips as a dying wish. To get the Magical Fingertips, sell Une's Mirror to the noble in Treno, Doga's Artifact to the old man in the Synth shop, Griffin Heart and Rat Tail to the adventurer (he's found in the same screen as the nobleman--the screen just before Doctor Tot's house). Yep, all four characters are found in Treno. After that, you can buy the Magical Fingertips at the auction house. You can buy back all the rare items you lost in the auction house, too, don't worry. Head: Grand Helm Arm: Defense Gloves Body: Grand Armor >> you can also equip Demon's Mail so you can absorb Shadow, but if you do, de-eqip Pumice Piece. Acc: Pumice Piece (!) >> you can de-equip this if you already have Demon's Mail equipped. Put Protect Ring as a substitute for this one. ~~NOTABLE SKILLS AND ABILITIES:~~ Climhazzard - deals 9999 damage. Shock - deals 9999 damage. note: both of these are Sword Arts, so you don't have to bring Vivi along. ~~ROLE IN BATTLE:~~ Steiner will be your hard-hitter. The rest of your characters will be mostly for defense, but Steiner will be the one to deal the major damage. Just keep on using Climhazzard or Shock until you defeat Ozma. You may have good defensive players like Eiko and Quina on your side, but Steiner is just as important. You won't be able to push through without the 9999 damage. 3.) Quina (Lv 56) Weapon: Gastro Fork (!) >> catch 99 frogs. ^_^ Head: Circlet Arm: Power Wrist Body: Robe of Lords Acc: Pumice Piece (!) ~~NOTABLE SKILLS AND ABILITIES:~~ Mighty Guard - casts Protect and Shell on your party. VERY IMPORTANT! Angel Snack - cures all status. Remember to stock up on remedy. VERY IMPORTANT! Learn from the pink flying dragon found in Burmecia and King Ed's Plains (that's around the Chocobo Forest). White Wind - heals all. For back-up purposes. Frog Drop - deals a whopping damage, from 7000-9999 if you've caught at least a hundred frogs with at least a level of 55. Learned from the frogs hanging about in the first Qu's Marsh. Auto-Life - automatically casts Life when member is KOed. VERY IMPORTANT! Can be learned from one of the monsters at Memoria (I think the name is Red Clipper), but can also be learned from Yan. I'd rather fight the Memoria monster, though, if I were you. The Yan I'm talking about is not the friendly one. ~~ROLE IN BATTLE:~~ Quina just might be your key player here. Just cast Mighty Guard to strengthen your defense. If you get status attacks, (of course you're going to get status attacks...a lot, too) just cast Angel Snack and save yourself the trouble of handing out remedies one by one, or even casting Esuna. Cast Auto-Life on your magic-users, Eiko and Quina. Cast Frog Drop if you have a free turn, and have a good laugh. The attack may look funny (A frog suddenly dropping out of nowhere to literally sit on the supposedly fearsome boss??), but it deals serious damage if you've caught a lot of frogs (take that, Ozma). With Quina in your party, the battle is a cinch! I was surprised to hear that many people didn't use Quina when s/he is such the obvious choice! ^_- note: Since Quina has the Angel Snack, you should equip him/her against status attacks that are almost incurable like Confusion. ______________________________________________________________________________ V. The Battle ______________________________________________________________________________ Remember to check on your abilities and equipment twice before you insist on examining the suspicous cave. If you're ready, then go all out! On the first turn, have Quina cast MIGHTY GUARD. Let Zidane steal the nicest goodies (which, for me, was Robe of Lords and Pumice). If Ozma runs out of good things you can steal, then better! Then you can quickly set Zidane on the offense--attack regularly or cast THIEVERY. Let Steiner whip out CLIMHAZZARD or SHOCK. It is important that you know what to do with the rest of the members before Eiko's turn. Since Ozma is fast, he'll be dealing his damage soon enough. If he casts FLARE STAR, CURSE or METEOR, then have Eiko cast Curaga on your party. If he casts Doomsday, then rejoice, but don't waste Eiko's turn just yet. There is huge possibility that right after you cast HOLY or something else, he will cast one of those whopping CURSES or FLARE STAR or METEOR (those three are the only spells you have to look out for). Just keep her casting CURAGA, and if Ozma does deal CURSE (it's like Bad Breath, numerous status ailments in one blow), quickly have Quina cast ANGEL SNACK. CURSE still does damage, so keep Eiko healing. The only times you can have Eiko on the offensive mode (Holy, or Eidolons) is when everyone is at full health and/or when Quina is on standby (that way, WHITE WIND will be put to use if Ozma pulls out a stunner). This is actually not much of a worry if you have AUTO-REGEN and AUTO-HASTE equipped because you will regenerate very, very quickly. Plus, Eidolon and Ozma attack scenes also give you enough time to regenerate. If you really want Eiko to attack, then have Zidane on standby with remedies and elixirs. On the second turn, have Quina cast AUTO-LIFE on Eiko first, but only if the party isn't affected with Ozma's CURSE, or any of his status attacks. Eiko should be given first priority since she has FULL-LIFE. You can cast AUTO-LIFE on Quina after Eiko, but it would be much better if you already had AUTO-LIFE equipped on him/her. Saves you a lot of time and effort. If Eiko manages to trance, kiss your lady luck, because her Double White Magic is awesome! Keep casting combinations like CURAGA & ESUNA, CURAGA & HOLY or FULL-LIFE & CURAGA when necessary. As for the other two, just keep them attacking (that is, if you've already gotten the goodies from Ozma by way of Zidane's thieving skills). If Zidane is in Trance mode, forget stealing for awhile and unleash SOLUTION 9 or GRAND LETHAL. I'm not sure if STELLAR CIRCLE deals a perfect 9999 in some cases, but I do know it deals 9000+ damage. Rejoice if Ozma casts Lv5 Death, Curaga, Doomsday or Holy. None of these spells will hurt you, (with the exception of Holy, but it's a tiny damage. Can be quickly fixed by Auto-Regen) if you have followed instructions so far. If you have taken lots of damage, take this time to cut back on the attacks to cure and remedy all your members. Cast Auto-Life on the rest of the party. If you are in full health, then take this time to deal all the damage you can--SOLUTION 9/THIEVERY, FROG DROP, CLIMHAZZARD/SHOCK, HOLY/MADEEN. By this time, I will assume that you have successfully casted AUTO-LIFE on Eiko. If Ozma wipes your party out, don't worry. FULL-LIFE will take care of them, but cast it on Quina first. Give priority to your magic users. Cast MIGHTY GUARD and ANGEL'S SNACK when necessary. The battle is quite a struggle, but I managed to finish the it with my party in their full HP (except that Zidane was affected with BERSERK). The trick is to keep using ANGEL SNACK and CURAGA, and to use the turns wisely as well as patiently. Ozma is fast, so don't go wasting the turns impulsively. After this battle, you get Dark Matter, Pumice, 18000 exp and 100 AP. #1 note.........You can learn Dagger's Ark and Odin summon with Pumice and Dark Matter respectively. You can also buy the latter at the Treno auction house. #2 note.........I was really pretty sure that I stole Pumice from Ozma, and am equally sure that I got another Pumice when the battle ended. But as I checked my inventory, there was only one Pumice. There was, however, another pumice piece added in my inventory. I think I got cheated of that Pumice! ______________________________________________________________________________ VI.) Credits ______________________________________________________________________________ Thanks to my wonderful cousin Naomi, and my sister Skysenshi who both advised me beforehand on the things to watch out for in my battle with Ozma. If you have more details to provide, or if you want to make a correction, feel free to email me at jov@chocobuckle.com.