Earth Tyrant

The Earth Tyrant is a boss in Final Fantasy XII. It is an optional boss located in the Wyrm's Nest section of the Dalmasca Westersand and is the cause of the heavy sandstorms in the area. Encountering the Earth Tyrant is only possible after receiving the Windvane, an item that quiets the sandstorm surrounding the boss enough to allow the party access. The parts from the Windvane can be obtained by talking to NPCs around Rabanastre.

After Earth Tyrant has been slain, Rimzat, the bangaa who asked Vaan to find it, can be found on Phon Coast in the Hunters' Camp, and he will talk about what went on since Earth Tyrant was killed. He will pretend he doesn't know the party if the tyrant is not slain.

Bestiary Entry

 * Genus: Boss
 * Classification: Greater Tyrant

How to find
At the Rabanastre Westgate the green bangaa Rimzat will appear after the events in the Tomb of Raithwall. He will ask Vaan to gather information on sandstorms. After agreeing to help him, the player should go to the fountain at the crossroad of the gates, and look for a man sitting in the fountain by the name of Cotze. He will tell Vaan to go to Lowtown to find his friend Northon, who is near the entrance to the Garamsythe Waterway. Northon will explain about the Windvane and why he and Cotze split it in half, and directs Vaan to his half in the Dalmasca Westersand.

Northon hid his half of the Windvane under a Dynast Cactus in the Windtrace Dunes area in Dalmasca Westersand. However, it is in a small, closed-off area only accessible from the Shimmering Horizons area. A Dynast Cactus is a large, sometimes flowering cactus. There will be two Dynast Cacti in the area. The player should go north and look for a cactus against the west wall and examine it to get Northon's half of the Windvane, the Wind Globe. Back at the Westgate Rimzat, Cotze, and Northon have met. Cotze should give his half, and Vaan will get the Windvane.

With the Windvane the party can access the northern part of Westersand, previously blocked off by a sandstorm.

Battle
This boss is like a Wild Saurian and will mainly attack physically and will take off around 500 HP per hit. It can inflict Poison on the party. Earth Tyrant's Screwtail attack is damaging and will hit all close party members. The battle can be long, because of Earth Tyrant's tremendous HP. Once he nears a little lower than half life, his Defense will increase.

Strategy
The party's recommended level is somewhere around 27 - 30. Recommended gambits include:
 * Ally:any > Phoenix Down
 * Self > Haste
 * Ally:((Strong Character)) > Decoy
 * Foe:party leader's target > Attack

This is a tough battle at low levels mainly because Blind and Slow will miss the Earth Tyrant almost every time.

The main savior of this battle is to have a tough party member with good evasion and a good shield along with Decoy cast on them. The Lured party member should be equipped with Tourmaline Ring to avoid the Earth Tyrant's Poison attacks, although he does not inflict Poison that often, it is still better than setting up an extra gambit just to cure a rare Status.

It is best to have a Protect shield set up on everybody in the party - the party can also equip the Shielded Armor from Mt. Bur-Omisace.

If he is in the party, Larsa will help out a bunch for this battle - in fact, the player can cast Haste on Larsa at the beginning or before entering and keep it on him at all times along with Protect. If Larsa is not in the party, one could make one's own "Larsa" out of a party member with Hi-Potion cure gambits, because a quick healer is needed - magick sometimes takes too long and the party may be too busy casting other spells.

Instead of having one person cast Decoy, the party could have two people (counting the Lured person) to cast Decoy on the one person.

The party could perform a Quickening chain when Earth Tyrant is at 75% life to avoid the boosted Defense. The player should have at least one person with a Quickening in the reserve party and switch them in at the right time.

Earth Tyrant can be Blinded, then Berserked to make the battle easier. While Berserked, the Tyrant will not perform his Screwtail attack. For an easy Blind, the party can have the Nihopalaoa equipped, and use a Remedy on him to hit all of his status weak points (the Nihopalaoa is sold by the Clan Provisioner once the Headhunter rank is reached at ten defeated marks).

For players with an affinity for magick, it is wise to equip party members with magick-enhancing gear and have them cast Aeroga. With Faith active and a decent level (30+), each spell should do 2,500 - 5,000 damage. Should the party members also be Hasted, this will make quick work of the Earth Tyrant.

Rewards
Montblanc will give 1200 gil for defeating the Earth Tyrant.

Trivia

 * Earth Tyrant's bestiary entry mentions him as a member of "Eight legendary Wyrms of great Power". Earth Tyrant may be a reference to the Earth Dragon from Final Fantasy VI, a member of the Eight Dragons and had the appearance of a T-Rex.

Related Enemies

 * Wild Saurian
 * Diresaur
 * Tyranorox
 * Archaeosaur
 * Giruveganus
 * Pylraster (Mark)
 * Terror Tyrant (Rare)
 * Abelisk (Rare)

Erddrache (FFXII) Drago terreno