Providence (boss)

Providence is the final boss of Bravely Second: End Layer.

Battle
In Providence's first form, he uses regular attacks until he reaches approximately 3/4 health. After that, he will use Pawn of Fate, which applies Doom to the party ranging from 1-5 turns and with a difference of turns (i.e. 1 character may die in 1 turn but others may die in 4). He also casts Mandate of Heaven, which forces a specific party member to attack an ally, or defeat him in two turns or less. If the player does not, he will cast Divine Punishment, which deals 9,999 to all party members. His other attacks include Star of Destruction a strong Magic Attack and Seven Stars, which hits the party at random for several physical attacks. Once he reaches half HP, he heals himself back to full HP and the battle resumes. Fortunately he will not use Pawn of Fate almost, never again. Once he is low on HP, he will decree with Mandate of Heaven to be defeated in two turns or less.

In his second form, he has his two hands that cast Ruin, which deals magic damage to the whole party, and Salvation, more or less the same as Ruin except it is a physical attack. Providence also casts Dispel frequently, and Ruin or Salvation? on his own hands or himself to boost attack in proportion to defense. He sometimes activates Bravely Second to attack the party with New World Order. Once he reaches half HP, a cutscene will play where he breaks the fourth wall and seemingly messes with the player's ability to control the game to the point of "deleting" the save data. This is a scripted cutscene and nothing bad will happen. After the scene, the battle restarts but Providence restores his HP and he revives both hands.

Strategy
His first form is tricky but not overly difficult. Due to Mandate of Heaven being his most dangerous move that will kill the party in two turns unless they obey his decree, it is imperative to bring a high level Bishop that can use Calm. This way the Bishop can cast Calm during the second turn, nullifying all damage that turn thus blocking Providence's Divine Punishment, therefore ensuing a way to bypass and completely ignore Providence's orders, leaving the player to play as normal.

Other good options include a buffer, such as (and preferably) a mix of Astrologer/Performer as it can buff the party at the start of each turn, monopolizing benefits. During this stage, Star of Destruction is its most damaging attack but is manageable if buffed correctly. A Hawkeye can capitalize on its Wind weakness and inflict severe damage. Since Providence tends to assault the whole party at once, specially with Seven Stars, a Guardian can be very useful as it will be usually charged with Soul Points constantly (even when Divine Punishment fails to kill the party). A good combo involves Soul Blaster with the Kaiser's ability Centurion, guaranteeing Soul Blaster to become a far stronger single-target attack which can potentially hurt Providence for several thousand damage. When Providence is on his last HP he will use Mandate of Heaven to decree being defeated in two turns. Once more Calm can help the player, otherwise since he is on his last legs, going for a full Brave assault can do the job.

His second form, follows a more simple pattern. Providence will perform Dispel on the party while letting his hands deal the damage. One of the hands uses Ruin which is Magical, while the other will use Salvation which is Physical. However both hands use 4 BPs when doing each attack and are thus rendered vulnerable. The hands both have 9,999 HP, which can be easily dispatched with multi-attacks from a Summoner or Black Mage or even an hybrid of either with a Bishop to capitalize on Good Measure. Fortunately Providence is slow so he will at most Dispel at the end of each turn, giving ample time for the player to buff himself. The aforementioned Astrologer/Performer is good since it can buff at the start allowing the Magic jobs to damage the hands and Providence.

A physical attacker should be reserved exclusively for Providence, preferably one that can equip the Hadean Claws as this weapon can injure Providence in both of his weak points due to being weak to Dark and Inorganic, thus causing massive damage when mixed with abilities that inflict strong physical damage such the Monk's abilities, or an hybrid with a Fencer (preferably with Muscle Memory and Eye of the Wolf) or Guardian skill set.

The buffer should be ready to buff before a hand revives, as they will always revive employing their signature attack. If the hands are killed in time, Providence is likely to fail his Ruin or Salvation? attack which buffs his hands. Following this approach, will leave Providence with only one attack to worry about, New World Order which is a strong attack followed instantly after he performs his own Bravely Second, which can happen at any time, even during the player's turn, therefore it is recommended that if the player need to think its strategy that they press the "Home" button or put their console in sleep mode as this will pause the game.

While seemingly simple the battle is full of elements to take notice of. But with the aforementioned strategy, the player will be able to damage the hands, Providence, and keep himself protected and healed, thus reducing most of the threat.