Golbez (Final Fantasy IV 2D)

Golbez is a boss in Final Fantasy IV. He is encountered twice. The first time is a battle only viewed between Tellah and Golbez, and the second is a playable battle.

First Battle
This is a cutscene battle where Tellah fights against Golbez. Tellah will cast Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga in that order until he finishes both Golbez and himself with Meteor.

Second Battle
In the second battle, you have very little time before Golbez paralyzes the entire party with Binding Cold and then summons the Shadow Dragon to use Black Fang to kill off everyone. During this time, swiftly cast Shell on Cecil. If Kain Jumps at the right time, he can survive, but this cannot be done on the DS version. The Shadow Dragon then uses its Black Fang attack to instantly defeat Cecil's allies one by one until only Cecil himself remains. At the last moment, Rydia finally makes her return and defeats the Dragon, as well as doing considerable damage to Golbez. After that, Golbez attacks with a very simple attack pattern - Bio, Thundaga, and Fira, over and over. Despite his HP total in the Super NES and Advance releases, one does not need to deplete Golbez's HP to win - once he has taken approximately 3,000 damage, he is defeated. Thus, he is actually a very simple boss to defeat.

Nintendo DS
In order to defeat Golbez, it is recommended to be at least at level 30.

The opening of the battle is identical, up until Rydia enters the battle. Golbez begins the second segment by casting Barrier Shift, acquiring a random elemental weakness and making himself absorb all other elemental damage. He will repeat this every time you hit his weak spot. Unlike the SNES version, all of Golbez's HP must be depleted in order to defeat him. His HP total also resets itself when he summons the Shadow Dragon, so any damage that you cause in the battle's opening will not count.

If Cecil was killed or badly hurt in previous the battle with Calcabrina, then it is imperative that you restore his health as quickly as possible, otherwise Golbez's first attack will almost certainly kill Cecil before you get the chance to make a move, and then this battle will be extremely difficult to win. Use a Spider Silk on Golbez as soon as possible to make the second half easier. It is imperative that Cecil has the Shell status, and it is very helpful that Rydia does, too.

You should focus on reviving Rosa and casting Shell on her, and afterward repeat the same for all your party members. If Rosa is KOed, Cecil should cast Cura to make sure he and Rydia can survive Golbez's spells and with the Sap ailment. Golbez will group-cast Level 2 spells on the party, and also casts Drain and Osmose on Cecil to heal himself.

Once Rosa is revived and protected against spells, she should use White Magic to revive, heal, and buff the party. Cecil should use Libra on Golbez. Rydia should summon an Eidolon that strikes his weakness, which deals massive damage. Kain's Jump is trivial, so he can be used to heal MP with Ethers, when necessary.

Golbez's spells can also be reflected, but Rosa can easily cover their damage with Cura if the party members have the Shell status.