Daemon (Final Fantasy XV)



Daemons are nocturnal monsters that plague the world of Eos in the Final Fantasy XV Universe. They are humans and animals parasitized by the Starscourge and have started to appear in greater numbers; this is the direct result of the nights, which have gradually been increasing in length. The Wall maintained by King Regis prevents daemons from spawning in Insomnia.

Daemons resemble recurring enemies in the Final Fantasy series. Their otherworldly appearances contrast the more realistic monsters encountered in the daytime.

Profile
Daemons that were recently turned seem to retain some of their former selves. Iedolas Aldercapt, who sought the Lucis Ring before death was focused entirely on obtaining it from Noctis when he became the daemon Foras, allowing the group to identify him even though there was no similarity in appearances from before he was turned. Ravus, having switched sides before his death, begged Noctis and his friends to kill him, even though he could not control his actions. Throughout the battle with Noctis and his friends, Ravus cursed Ardyn for turning him into a daemon.

Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV
As a child, Noctis Lucis Caelum was attacked by a Marilith. The daemon killed the woman protecting Noctis, and it was fended off by King Regis.

Now an adult, Noctis heads to Altissia with his friends Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia and Prompto Argentum. They are attacked by Niflheim while on the road, and an imperial airship releases the same Marilith that injured Noctis long ago upon them. Enraged, Noctis engages the daemon in combat and is finally able to destroy it.

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV
The combined forces of Niflheim and Tenebrae use a variety of daemons to breach the borders of Lucis. Among them is Diamond Weapon, which forces the opposing Kingsglaive to retreat.

During the fall of Insomnia, Niflheim deploys several Diamond Weapons to ravage the Crown City.

Final Fantasy XV
All daemons were once normal creatures until the outbreak of a parasite introduced by Ifrit that began rapidly mutating organisms into monsters. Imperial research has shown that on the cellular level, daemonic cells rapidly disintegrate whenever exposed to light, but this is easily countered through the use of modern armor. These soldiers make up the magitek infantry, who start out as human babies but are changed through various procedures.

The Empire's use of Daemonic energy begins to spiral out of control in the later game, with Daemons overrunning the Zegnautus Keep and slaughtering civilians in the city. West Gralea had to be quarantined to prevent the parasite from spreading as more humans kept disappearing, though the city is said to have ultimately been taken over by the daemons, including high ranking imperials such as Ravus Nox Fleuret and the Emperor himself. Every time a human becomes a demon, their clothes are left behind, such as the many uniforms and the Emperor's robes in the Keep.

Gameplay
Daemons are encountered on the field at night and in caves during any time of the day. If Noctis and his friends come upon them while driving the Regalia, they will stop the car and get out to fight. Daemons are fiercer and stronger than the creatures that appear during the day. They will not disappear if the player is in a battle with one even if day breaks. If facing a powerful daemon for a hunt, it is advised to wait until 3 AM to start the fight, as once day breaks, the player simply needs to drag out the battle and the daemon will continuously lose HP from sunlight. With the Starshell, Prompto can weaken daemons by lighting up the surrounding landscape with a series of flares.

When Ignis can drive the Regalia at night, the player can open the main menu while the Regalia is on auto-pilot to prevent daemons from spawning.

Their attacks not only drain a character of their HP, but also reduces their maximum HP without putting them into the dying status. As such, one should keep the warp button pressed at all times when facing powerful daemons and should finish them off quickly as soon as possible.

List of daemons

 * Bomb
 * Thunder Bomb
 * Ice Bomb
 * Iron Giant
 * Red Giant
 * Tonberry


 * Diamond Weapon
 * Ultros
 * Cerberus
 * Marilith

Trivia

 * Daemons hearken to the concept of the Cie'th from Fabula Nova Crystallis games. Final Fantasy XV was originally part of the subseries under the name Final Fantasy Versus XIII, although the terms l'Cie, fal'Cie and Cie'th were not going to be used. The daemons' Japanese name,, is also pronounced identically to the Japanese name for Cie'th.