Shield Wyrm

The Shield Wyrm is a dragon/fell wyrm-type enemy from Final Fantasy XII. It can be found on the Cerobi Steppe and the Nabreus Deadlands. It drops an unusually high amount of EXP and LP for a regular enemy. Also it is fought in the International Zodiac Job System trial mode at stage 67 along with Dheed.

Bestiary Entry
Genus: Dragon Class: Fell Wyrm

Page 1: Observations
"Being one of the most powerful dragons ever to roam Ivalice. Though nothing is known about the ancient beings who placed the ring on this wyrm's neck, it is clearly meant to offer some kind of magickal protection in battle, indicating that these dragons were once used as weapons of war. Nor is it known what these creatures were directed to attack, but surely it was something truly fearsome. In modern times, its nigh impenetrable hide has earned it the nickname of the 'walking fortress' among adventurers."

Page 2: The Town Crier
"Hear ye! No other society is as difficult to penetrate as the Iron Stomach, legendary tasting guild. The competition for entry is fierce, and the trials required nigh on impossible to overcome. The trial for entry this year: submit the monster liver best suited to gourmet creations. It is thought that markets will soon be flooded with ring wyrm livers and the like, as everyone tries to guess just which creature's liver can make the judges' mouths water."

Battle
The Shield Wyrm can catch a player off-guard, as for a normal enemy it has a lot of HP. During the middle of the fight, the Shield Wyrm will almost always cast Great Barrier, which casts Protect and Shell. It can use Restore to heal itself but usually only uses it once and, on some occasions, not at all. It uses strong attacks and Level 3 elemental magic. To minimize the danger of its magic, keep the party members spaced out and cast Shell on them. Slow can help give the player an edge, and if the player wants to do some extra damage, they can cast Oil on the Shield Wyrm and use Fire-elemental weapons for increased damage. To speed up this otherwise lengthy fight, the player can use Haste on all party members, set up healing gambits to ally>50%>Curaga and Use Dispel on the Shield Wyrm's buffing.

Unless the player has a Guest in the party, the easiest way to beat the Shield Wyrm is to cast Oil and Sleep on it, and then simply bombard it with Firaga. It should die very quickly using this method. Overall, besides its high HP the Shield Wyrm is not a remarkable enemy. However, it gives access to some very good Loot, so the player may wish to chain Shield Wyrms, which is difficult as they are not entirely common, but it is rewarding.

Related Enemies

 * Ash Wyrm
 * Lindwyrm (Mark)
 * Ring Wyrm (Mark)
 * Fafnir (Mark)
 * Yiazmat (Ultimate Mark)
 * Tiamat (Boss)
 * Elder Wyrm (Optional Boss)
 * Hell Wyrm (Optional Boss)