Gigantuar (Final Fantasy XIII)

Gigantuar is a mark in Final Fantasy XIII. It can be fought in Mission 54.

To activate the mission the player must find a Cactuar on Archylte Steppe. One can be found on Eastern Tors, the bit of the Steppe guarded by Adamantortoises (one can sneak past them easily); on the hill of that area the party comes across a Cactuar that Sazh immediately notices. After the cutscene, Cactuars have been released on the Steppe and can be fought as regular enemies.

Mission 54: The Bigger They Are...
Class: B Stone Location: Archylte Steppe - Northern Highplain Mark Location: Archylte Steppe - Eastern Tors

''We five l'Cie are the Shepherds who see the caravan safe from harm. Though we act as one, it falls to me to fulfill our Focus, for I am the leader, and what manner of leader would shirk his most onerous of duties? I could not abide such shame. The eastern tors are the dominion of our mark--a fell gigantuar. It is said to frequent a rise within the oretoise territory. For honor, the fal'Cie, and my brothers, I will slay the spiny scourge, and carve my own legend in its ruined husk.''

Strategy
Despite being given as rank B mission, Gigantuar is one of the hardest missions. He uses 10,000 Needles that inflicts the target with Pain and Fog and has a dispelling effect. Equipping Pain Dampeners on the Commandos and White Capes on the Medics can help prevent Gigantuar from disabling the party. Gigantuar himself is vulnerable against Daze.

It is possible to reduce the damage from 10,000 Needles with a Sentinel. When Sazh employs fire attacks as a Ravager, it will gradually push Gigantuar back - eventually rendering 10,000 Needles ineffective as it cannot reach the party.

Strategy 1
Gigantuar is susceptible to Random: Instant Chain. Character can get Instant Chain by equipping a Stagger Lock or Quick Stagger weapon with a sash as accessory, by equipping a sash and a Champion's Badge, or by equipping multiple sashes and the Survivalist Catalogue. Instant Chain activates randomly when a character attacks a target. Gigantuar does not have much HP so getting him to stagger should be enough for a win. This way it is possible to defeat Gigantuar even with low level characters, if one gets lucky. Sazh's Full ATB Skill Cold Blood is the superior ability when used in conjunction with Random: Instant Chain; a single Cold Blood hits 17 times, each time carrying the chance to trigger the instant chain.

The chance of Random: Instant Chain activating is 0.5% per hit, but if a player attacks relentlessly with one character, it will trigger eventually. A good strategy is to use Sazh as the player character and have the allies as Sentinel and Medic all through the battle until the Gigantuar is staggered, at which point they can switch to Ravager. Lightning's Army of One and Hope's Last Resort can also be used for the same effect, but don't hit as many times as Cold Blood.

Strategy 2
Another strategy is to enter the battle with the set-up of COM/SEN/MED. Gigantuar will concentrate its attacks on the Sentinel while the Medic heals and one character is left over to attack. It is not the fastest method, however. It is recommended to use Hope or Vanille as the Medic, as they have access to Curasa and Curaja. Hope has been noted in other strategies to be more concerned with dispelling Fog and Pain than actually healing. Use caution when having Hope as the Medic - stay on top of your status ailments with items, rather than relying on Esuna.

Strategy 3
It's possible to exploit Gigantuar's vulnerability against Daze. Daze works like Sleep in the other games: attack the target physically and it will wear off. One can start with a team of Saboteurs and Synergists and buff up the team while Gigantuar is Dazed, then switch to COM/COM/COM for serious damage, and move back to Saboteur to Daze it again. Daze also allows characters to inflict double damage with the hit that will bring it out of the Daze state. Snow might be a good choice of a Saboteur in the battle, because of his liberal use of the Daze spell. Because Gigantuar has low HP the Commandos can finish it off fairly quickly.

Strategy 4
There is another strategy that has a high success rate, but probably won't yield a 5-star rating. Have a team of Sazh, Snow, and Hope in the RAV/SEN/MED roles, respectively. At the start of the battle, use a Librascope so that Auto-chain commands always use Fire, Flamestrike, Fire, Flamestrike, Fire. As Sazh does this, he will slowly back away from Gigantuar. Snow should be taking the brunt of the assault, but Sazh will occasionally be struck. Hope probably won't heal him (he'll simply Dispel Fog and Pain), so use Renew to prolong your survival. You can make Hope focus more on healing if you make Snow more resistant to Pain and Fog.

After you have left Gigantuar's range, it's just a matter of time. Gigantuar may become unprovoked after while and target Hope. On the off chance Hope is hit with Fog, use Dispelga. If he is killed, use a Phoenix Down. Be careful not to let Sazh close the distance. If he is equipped with Random: Instant Chain, he might Stagger Gigantuar. If this happens, manually select Flamestrike, Flamestrike, Flamestrike, Flamestrike, Flamestrike or Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire for maximum damage and range. This strategy is ideal for low-level parties, but is not advised if you are trying for a 5-star rating.

Related Enemies

 * Cactuar
 * Flowering Cactuar
 * Giant Cactuar
 * Cactuar Prime