Antlion (Final Fantasy XII)

The Antlion is an Elite Mark from Final Fantasy XII. The hunt becomes available upon reaching Mt. Bur-Omisace, so if the player wishes to fight it with Larsa in the party, they should return to Rabanastre upon reaching the mountain to accept the hunt, because Larsa will leave the party if the player proceeds further in the story.

Antlion can be found in the Site 9 area of the Lhusu Mines. It is also fought in the International Zodiac Job System trial mode at stage 44, along with five Killer Mantises.

Hunt 38: Antlion Infestation
Petitioner: Niray

Petitioner's Location: Bhujerba/Staras Residence
 * A petition has been submitted for the hunting of an antlion (Rank 5). The petitioner is Lady Niray in the Staras Residence in Bhujerba.
 * Hunt accepted. Lady Niray tells you her children went into a magicite mine where the antlion is known to nest and have not returned. The antlion can be found in Site 9 of the Lhusu Mines.
 * Antlion defeated! Report to Lady Niray in the Staras Residence.
 * Hunt reported. Lady Niray's children have come safely home, but they dropped a key to the mines somewhere...

Bestiary Entry
Genus: Rank V Mark

Classification: ???

''Being a variety of Killer Mantis residing in the deepest crags of the Lhusu Mines. Aggressive in the Extreme, known to flay alive such giant Creatures as the Nidhogg for its food. As it has no natural Predators in the Mines, an Imbalance in the Food Chain is feared. Worried that her Children may have wandered into the Antlion's Nest, a concerned Citizen petitioned a hunt for this Mark.''

Battle
Before entering Antlion's lair, it is best to buff the party. Antlion is surrounded and protected by Killer Mantises, and the battle relies more on crowd control rather than depleting Antlion's HP. The Antlion will begin with buffs, but the buffs will expire and the Antlion will not cast them on itself again. The player can even hang around nearby until Antlion's buffs have expired before engaging it. Black Belt is a good accessory to wear to immunize against Disable.

A simple tactic is to lure the mantises one by one, and slowly depleting their quantities before the Antlion notices the party. If not, one can focus on using high-level magicks that hit all targets in range. Antlion itself is weak to Wind-elemental attacks. Another tactic is to use Warp to quickly kill the mantises - Antlion is Warp-immune, but his underlings are not, so a Warp ought to send most (if not, all) mantises into the void. The player can have the backup characters use a Quickening chain to get a Concurrence that will wipe out the Killer Mantises. The player can then switch to the main party to finish the battle. Overall, the Mantises can be annoying since they serve as an efficient meat shield, while the Antlion itself is capable of dealing moderate damage. Equipping Wind-elemental weapons works well while battling Antlion, but when around 40% of its HP is drained, Antlion will use Cannibalize to feast upon one of the Mantises and increase its stats and heal itself. Antlion is capable of using Cannibalize more than once, so one should focus on destroying all the Mantises first before focusing on Antlion itself. After eating one Mantis the Antlion's level increases to level 44, and if it eats another one, its level is boosted to level 52.

One tactic is to use a character equipped with a shield, preferably with Shield Lores learned, and under Decoy status to attract and then block most of the attacks. This tactic works especially well with Disease. The Nihopalaoa + Remedy trick will work on the Antlion and the Disease status stops it from gaining HP from cannibalizing the mantises and stops its HP threshold skills from activating, meaning Antlion won't become immune to shield blocks during the battle.

An alternate tactic is to clear the area near Antlion's lair and summon Chaos, wait until his summoning period is almost over, and enter Antlion's lair. Chaos's final attack, Tornado (Wind-elemental), should give the party a good start in defeating Antlion and the mantises.

Rewards

 * 4,300 gil
 * Bubble Belt
 * Sickle-Blade

After the battle, the kids mention of having dropped the key to Site 11. The Site 11 key can be found near the Fallen Bhujerban in the Phon Coast Hunters' Camp. The Fomalhaut gun also spawns in a random treasure at the back the room where Antlion spawns, making it one of the first ultimate weapons the player gains access to.

Related Enemies

 * Killer Mantis
 * Antares
 * Preying Mantis
 * Deathclaw
 * Scythe Mantis
 * Rageclaw (Rare)
 * Biding Mantis (Rare)

Ameisenlöwe (FFXII) Antoleon (Final Fantasy XII)