Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII-2 boss)

Lightning is a downloadable content "monster" from Final Fantasy XIII-2. As the Arbiter of Time reveals, this is only an exact copy of the actual Lightning that lacks a soul.

Battle
The fight begins with Lightning alone. At first she doesn't seem threatening as she only uses basic gunblade attacks. However, at about 80% health a brief cutscene introduces Amodar and his gargantuan machine gun.

It is recommended to enter the fight with a high-level party. The fight is still a challenge for a party with maxed-out Crystarium, full-fragment Odin weapons, a generic Paradigm deck (no Tortoise required), and fully developed Gold and Silver Chocobos.

Saboteurs are fairly useless in this fight unless the player intends to use a gradual Poison or Wound strategy. Both foes are immune to Dispel (among other things) and will be buffed with one thing or another for most of the fight. Casting Imperil on Amodar will decrease the time needed in this fight immensely, as he will become weak to Ice, Wind and Lightning.

Lightning and Amodar will Paradigm Shift periodically. Both have access to Commando, but while Ravager, Synergist, and Medic are exclusive to Lightning, Sentinel and Saboteur are exclusive to Amodar. Both will often pummel the player party with Ruinga and Blitz as their primary forms of damage while together.

Looking at their Role lists, one might think that Lightning should be the primary target as she can heal. If the player has trouble dealing enough damage to make her single-cast healing spells worthless, they should take her out first. However, Amodar is among the most bothersome Saboteurs faced in the game throwing grenades that can do damage and inflict multiple debuffs at a time, and can give the party a long list of debuffs in a matter of seconds in this mode.

Fog, Pain, and Slow are the most problematic, though Deshell, Deprotect, and Poison are threatening as well. Ribbons can help immensely in this fight, especially on a healer. Otherwise, the party should alternate between chain building and healing, as buffs won't last long.

Strategy
Recommended paradigms are: Player should start the battle with Evened Odds paradigm (SYN/SAB/MED) to cast Vigilance, Protect, Shell and Veil on the whole party (using their -ga variations makes things faster). During this time, it is recommended to inflict Imperil on Amodar. Using Tri-Disaster (RAV/RAV/RAV) the player can pummel away at Lightning using fire, wind and ice elemental abilities. If player needs to heal, it is recommended to switch to Diversity (COM/RAV/MED), and then go back to Tri-Disaster.

Once Lightning is staggered, the party should keep on pummeling at her until she gets at least 500.0% on the stagger gauge, then switch to Cerberus (COM/COM/COM). Launching her during this time proves an immense aid. She probably won't die in one stagger, so player should repeat this process. It is essential to buff the party.

Amodar is a greater problem as he can inflict a lot of serious debuffs on player's party. Going into Tri-Disaster and hitting him with wind, ice and lightning attacks is especially effective when he has the Imperil status.

Both opponents can be launched, rendering them harmless while airborne.

When one falls, the other gets stronger. If Amodar is the last one left, he will gain Protect, Shell, Regen and Veil. If Lightning is the last one left, she will gain Haste, Bravery, Faith and Vigilance. They will also gain access to their Full ATB abilities. Amodar's Iron Bear Claw will deal massive damage to one party member, while Lightning's Army of One will deal a long string of small physical hits. The latter sends the target flying, leaving them helpless for a few extra seconds. The player will be unable to act during these skills.

The drop rates on their crystals are low, so the player can expect to fight them many times before acquiring either.

Trivia

 * Lightning can cast Curasa and Curaja as a Medic, while the Lightning playable in Final Fantasy XIII could not.
 * At times, Lightning executes Ravage instead of Blitz even when no Ravagers are present.
 * Like her playable counterpart, this Lightning can learn all learnable elemental spells for their respective game as well as improved tiers in Thunder spells.
 * Her maximum level once tamed is 13, which may be an allusion to number 13, a recurring theme in both Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2.
 * When tamed, she says lines from her playable counterpart at certain occasions in battle. For example, when an enemy is staggered and she's active in the paradigm pack she may shout "The storm is here!" from when she uses Zantetsuken, and when her HP turns critical she utters "How can it... end like this?!" from when Lightning is KO'ed while the party leader in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Sometimes, when she's been tamed and is KO'ed in battle, one can actually briefly see her falling to her knees like her KO model from the previous game before she is dismissed. This is unusual since monsters commonly only disappear without any animation at all.

Related Enemies

 * Lieutenant Amodar
 * Nabaat
 * Snow