Gilgamesh (Final Fantasy V boss)

Gilgamesh is a recurring boss in Final Fantasy V. He appears for the first time in Castle Exdeath's dungeon and fights against Galuf, who seeks to rescue his comrades, making return appearances at the Big Bridge, Xezat's Fleet, the top of Castle Exdeath, and twice in the Interdimensional Rift, in a warp field at first and later during the fight against Necrophobe.

He possesses the Genji equipment which can be stolen from him and also features his own battle theme.

Encounter #1: At Castle Exdeath Dungeon
He will do nothing but attack (as well as make some gestures while doing so). The player can only control Galuf, but he should win the battle by simply attacking each round, regardless of Job. If for some reason the player needs to heal there is nothing to stop him/her. He runs away after his health drops to 10,000, effectively making his HP about 1,500. Alternatively, cast Missile or Gravity and the battle should end almost immediately.

Encounter #2: At the Big Bridge
The first "real" battle against him. He will mostly use physical attacks which cause considerable damage, but it is nothing that cannot be healed easily. He will also occasionally cast Aera, Wind Slash, and Goblin Punch.

When his HP drops below 2,500 he will cast Protect, Shell, and Haste on himself and will also start using Jump attacks, so when his HP is near this point cast Silence on him (Mage Mashers will also work). If this fails, the player may have problems keeping the characters fully healed, but they should survive long enough to bring him down.

Encounter #3: At Xezat's Fleet
The player's third encounter against him and the first you get a piece of Genji equipment from. Bring some back-row damage if possible.

In the first part of this battle, Gilgamesh will once again use mostly physical attacks, using Missile or Death Claw once in a while. The player should not have any problems keeping your characters in optimum condition.

After a short while, Gilgamesh's loyal sidekick Enkidu will appear and cast White Wind, completely healing Gilgamesh. The player should now attempt to wear him down as soon as possible; he has a nasty amount of attacks he can use but the most important ones are White Wind and Vampire, healing him for huge amounts of HP if used at the wrong time (and probably also killing one of the characters). Additionally, he receives half damage from short-range attacks and the player still has to deal with Gilgamesh. Fortunately Enkidu only has 4,000 HP and can be silenced, or even confused.

After Enkidu dies Gilgamesh will once again be an easy target, but the player still has to take away his HP which is presumably intact so it might take a while. Steal his Genji Gloves if the player has not already.

Encounter #4: At Castle Exdeath
The player's fourth confrontation against him and the last "real" one. This fight can be skipped by simply not opening the treasure chest in the room after the Save Point, but the player will not receive the Excalipoor or be able to steal his Genji Helm, and a scene will be skipped, causing the next encounter against him to make no apparent sense, unless you are playing the Advance version, in which case he will not appear again.

He has a lot of annoying attacks such as Rocket Punch, Flash, Frog Song, Tiny Song, Hurricane, Time Slip, Dischord, Daze Dance, and, of course, physical attacks. The player's main concern here will be keeping the characters free of ailments, particularly Sleep and Confusion, as well as making sure the party shaves enough HP to survive Gilgamesh's attacks, but do not bother too much about keeping them full. Do not be afraid to have the non-healers in the party use recovery items whenever possible and do not forget that equipment can be changed (e.g., to equip the Healing Staff to remove the above conditions from your party members by attacking them). Use Golem whenever possible.

While fighting with the party, he also notices that Galuf was nowhere to be seen, and asks where he is. He then learns that he sacrificed himself to save the party from Exdeath.

After the player has dealt enough damage to him, he will convert to his true form and show off his true power. It is at this point that you can steal his Genji Helm, but be quick since it does not take long for Exdeath to get tired of Gilgamesh's worthlessness and banish him to the Void.

Encounter #5: At the Void
For some reason, Gilgamesh thinks you are monsters and will attack the party: he deals a moderate amount of damage, but that is the only thing he will do. After taking some damage, he will recognize the party and walk away. Do not forget to steal his Genji Shield!

Encounter #6: Against Necrophobe
This is the final encounter with Gilgamesh, he appears after you have defeated Necrophobe. Steal the final piece of the Genji Equipment, the Genji Armor, from him during this short battle. He will sacrifice himself in order to defeat Necrophobe after a short amount of time, so do it quickly.