Nabaat (boss)

Jihl Nabaat is a downloadable content "monster" from Final Fantasy XIII-2. Since her death by Barthandelus, Jihl Nabaat has been among the various lost souls bound to battle in the Coliseum until the Day of Reckoning in the trial known as "A Study in Elegant Death".

Battle
Jihl starts the battle by summoning reinforcements. With the exception of the Azure Behemoth, the reinforcements are not a significant threat in terms of damage (although they can be more problematic by virtue of numbers), and mostly are more of an annoyance; for instance, by inflicting Poison, or launching the party members into the air. Given that Jihl destroys her own minions with the Sacrifice Pawn technique, a well-prepared party could just focus all its efforts in attacking Jihl.

However, this is not generally an advisable strategy, as the three enemy types all confer some benefit to her when she absorbs them: Azure Behemoths significantly increase the damage her special attack deals, Nightblade Pumas cause the party to be Dazed when she uses Sacrifice Pawn, and PSICOM Wardens heal her. Consequently, the priority should always be to eliminate all PSICOM Wardens before she sacrifices them.

If the player defeats all of the Azure Behemoths (usually only one is summoned, but sometimes two), she will take damage equal to one quarter of her maximum HP when she attempts to absorb them with Sacrifice Pawn. This can be an effective way to quickly deplete her HP if the player is able to kill the summoned enemies soon enough to prevent any from being absorbed. However, Nabaat cannot kill herself with this backfire, as it can only lower her HP to 10% of her maximum HP.

Nabaat has a high stagger point and chain resistance, so staggering her is not easy. She casts buffs such as Protect and Shell (with Defensive Maneuvers) and Bravery (with Offensive Maneuvers) on herself and her allies, which in combination with her halving of both physical and magical damage, can make damaging her more difficult. Nabaat is susceptible to most debuffs, although it can take many attempts to get them to stick; therefore, if the player intends to include a Saboteur in their paradigm deck, Poison and Imperil can potentially be useful, and Dispel is also beneficial.

Nabaat's special attack, Sadistic Surge, is strong enough to kill whoever it hits. If she absorbs 2 Azure Behemoths with Sacrifice Pawn, she will use Malicious Surge instead, which deals even more damage. The final blow of this attack does area of effect damage, and if not careful, can wipe out both Noel and Serah. Nabaat uses this attack after Sacrifice Pawn, and then follows it up by summoning a fresh set of allies. Given this pattern, the player can change paradigms to one with at least one Sentinel to reduce damage; however it is not mandatory to do so.

Paradigm Pack
Nabaat is a useful Saboteur, with attacks that complement Serah and Noel's limited skillset. She is quick with both physical and magical movements, helped by her good Strength and Magic. Her HP is average at best.

Nabaat's Feral Link, Sadistic Surge, is strengthened with a control stick input and gives multiple magical hits to one foe. The attack is best used during an enemy's stagger period, as it does minimal damage otherwise.

Trivia

 * Nabaat uses Sanctum's AMP-technology to create artificial magic and call reinforcements.
 * Jihl Nabaat is the only playable deceased character from Final Fantasy XIII.
 * In the Extra Episode Snow's Story: Perpetual Battlefield, all participants of Coliseum appear to fight against Snow and Lightning, including Jihl Nabaat, along with PSICOM soldiers who praise her.