Hell Wyrm

Hell Wyrm is an optional boss in Final Fantasy XII. It is regarded as a prelude to the most difficult superboss in the game, Yiazmat.

Page 1: Observations
Genus: Boss

Classification: Dark Dragon

''Being a dragon of such high order of evil it is called the King of Hell. Legend claims that it once traveled freely between this world and the underworld spreading destruction until the gods themselves intervened, robbing it of the power of flight, and sending it plummeting into the abyss.'' Though it spread its wings again, meaning to challenge the gods' judgment, the power of the shining glyphs they had placed upon it kept it earthbound, and so it slept for many eons in dark passages, awaiting the chance to rise once more.

Finding Hell Wyrm
There is a sub-quest involved in being able to enter the Hell Wyrm's lair and defeat it. In order to gain access to this battle, the player must have already defeated the Vyraal in order to complete Hunt #20: Get My Stuff Back in the Balfonheim/Cerobi Steppe area. Once the hunt has been complete, the player will receive the key item Dragon Scale, which will allow the player to participate in the Wyrm Philosopher sidequest.

Upon collecting the reward for the hunt, the player must return to Cerobi Steppe and search Windmill #10 located in the northeastern part of the Cerobi Steppe in order to trigger a scene where the Wyrm Philosopher awakens to find out that he had slept through the battle with the Vyraal. Eventually he will trade the Dragon Scale for the Age Worn Key which will open the Hall of the Wroth God located in the Sochen Cave Palace.

Access to the Hall of the Wroth God can only be obtained upon solving the puzzle of the Ascetic Door in Destiny's March.

Battle
All of the characters should be at level 70 or higher. This battle can be abandoned at any time, and the Hell Wyrm's HP stays at the point where the player left it, but if left for to long he will regain health. Hell Wyrm can cast several high-level spells and can use Stone Breath, which can deal around 1500 damage to all characters in an arc in front of it with a chance of petrifying them. Hell Wyrm uses Judgment each time it loses 10% of its HP, which deals Holy damage and has a chance of inflicting stop on characters. The enemy often uses Invert, which inverts one character's HP and MP. The Esper Zodiark is quite helpful, but it can be beaten easily by one of Hell Wyrm's special attacks. With the correct gambits and ample preparation, this battle can be done almost automatically until the Hell Wyrm's HP becomes significantly low, at which point it will start to use Invert. One character should be equipped with Mystic Armor and a Greatsword, if a staff is not needed. This character will be on the healing job, and should have the gambit Ally: HP &lt;60% -&gt; Curaga as well as Ally: Status = KO -&gt; Arise. Another character will be the party's "tank", and should be equipped with Heavy Armor and a basic attack gambit. The tank may also have some minor supportive gambits such as Self -&gt; Bravery and Ally: Status = Petrification -&gt; Stona/Gold Needle. The last character should be primarily a "buffer". Equipped with Light or Heavy Armor, this character should have a basic attacking gambit as well as various buffer gambits such as Ally: Any -&gt; Protectga, Ally: Any -&gt; Hastega, Ally: *party healer* -&gt; Faith, Ally: *party tank* -&gt; Lure, and Ally: *party tank* -&gt; Bravery. All characters should be equipped with a gambit to get rid of Stop, such as Ally: Status = Stop -&gt; Chronos Tear. Shell can be useful once Hell Wyrm starts to use Invert. The Hell Wyrm, along with Invert, will use various "-ga" level magicks to deal area damage and kill the targets of Invert. You need to be very quick with healing; X-Potions can work well if you have a large stock (it is recommended that all characters have every Potion Lore license at this point in the game). Remember to deactivate the Bravery/Faith and Hastega/Protectga gambits at this point in the battle; your characters need to focus on quick healing and quick attacking. Your tank will probably need to use Curaja at least once or twice during this fight. Starting the battle with 99 Ethers helps (again, each character should have every Ether Lore by now), which will be used once a character finishes one MP bar. If a character's MP drops really low, he/she may benefit from using Charge; however, this is risky when MP is not low. Using Expose to lower Hell Wyrm's defence can be an effective tactic. Bubble Belts are highly recommended for this battle.

Some other noteworthy tactics:
 * It is recommended that each character have at least the top half of the License Board entirely filled in before beginning this fight. To make this task easier, make it a priority to buy a Golden Amulet for each character as soon as you have enough gil. Then, once a given character gains the license to use Golden Amulets, keep him/her equipped with one until he/she completes the License Board. If you need to remove an amulet for some reason, always remember to re-equip it as soon as possible. Keep it equipped even for the reserved characters. **SIDE NOTE** Once every character has finished the license board, you should sell the Golden Amulets, buy an Embroidered Tippet for each character, and keep them equipped for the rest of the game.
 * Consider buying at least one of any armor that protects/immunizes against, or even absorbs, damage from an element. Hell Wyrm will use high-level "-ga" magicks throughout the battle, so reducing the negative impact of such spells can save some MP or an X-Potion. For example, Demon Shields and Black Masks absorb dark elemental damage, Adamant Vests and Adamant Hats halve damage from fire (weak against ice, though, so do not use as your default armor), and Rubber Suits nullify thunder elemental damage. The key to making good use of this tactic is keeping a close watch on Hell Wyrm's actions during the battle. For example, if you see that Hell Wyrm is about to use Waterga, then immediately equip your party with Viking Coats to nullify damage from the spell. Even if you think you have missed your chance to reduce the damage, equip the corresponding armor anyway; the switch should take effect as long as the damage from the attack has not been displayed yet.
 * The same is true for status effects such as Blind or Sap. If you see that Hell Wyrm is preparing to use Stone Breath, then immediately equip the party with Fuzzy Miters to immunize them against Petrify.
 * When choosing which weapons to use, keep in mind that Hell Wyrm is weak against holy elemental damage and absorbs the dark element. With this in mind, it would be unwise to equip your party with ninja swords, all of which deal dark elemental damage. On the other hand, equipping your "tank" character with a Holy Lance can shorten the battle significantly. Excalibur, which may be found in the upper levels of the Great Crystal, can be a vital ingredient for success because of its holy element and +128 attack. **NOTE** While it may seem like a good idea to hit Hell Wyrm with the Holy spell, this may not be wise. The reason for this is that no one else may do anything other than attack while Holy or another high-level spell is being used. For example, Hell Wyrm might Rake your "tank" to death because your healer could not heal the "tank" while Holy was being used.
 * If your healer is low on MP, it may be a good idea to have him/her use Syphon on your "tank" character. The reasoning behind this strategy is your "tank" should focus mainly on attacking, so he/she probably will not use much MP during the battle. Keep in mind that the "tank" will recover MP any time he/she deals or takes damage because of the Martyr and Inquisitor licenses.

Related Enemies

 * Ash Wyrm
 * Shield Wyrm
 * Lindwyrm (mark)
 * Ring Wyrm (mark)
 * Yiazmat (elite mark)
 * Tiamat (boss)
 * Elder Wyrm (boss)