Sanctuary Keeper

The Sanctuary Keeper is a boss from Final Fantasy X which is encountered at the Summit of Mt. Gagazet. It is a hulking Sacred Beast Fiend that is sent by Yunalesca to challenge the Summoner and their Guardians before entering Zanarkand.

Sanctuary Keeper uses several different attacks which can hit one or all of the party. Photon Wings causes several status effects as well as damage. Mana Breath is directed at one target but inflicts heavy damage. He will often use Tail Sweep, which delays the turn of all characters; and after suffering enough damage, will begin to cast Curaga on himself, restoring 9,999 HP. Sometimes, he will cast Reflect on a party member, then cast Curaga on the same party member so the heals will bounce back at him.

A palette-swap of the Sanctuary Keeper later appears in the Original section of the Monster Arena as Th'uban, who uses similar attacks.

Strategy
Before fighting Sanctuary Keeper, use the monsters in Mt. Gagazet to fill all of Yuna's Aeons' Overdrives. As soon as the battle starts, cast Reflect on the Sanctuary Keeper to prevent him from healing himself. If he casts Reflect on one of your party members, Dispel it immediately or swap them out. Otherwise he will cast Curaga on that party member during his next turn, so the heal bounces back to him. Have every Aeon use their Overdrive, and he should be down to about an eighth of his health. Finish him off by having Auron Armor Break it and using physical attacks.

Alternately, if you manage to have a weapon (or more) with Break Damage Limit which takes the hit count to above 9,999, finishing the Sanctuary Keeper is easy.

Related enemies

 * Th'uban

Final Fantasy X-2

 * Azi Dahaka
 * Guardian Beast