Gilgamesh (Final Fantasy XII boss)

Gilgamesh is an Elite Mark in Final Fantasy XII, and is petitioned by Montblanc. He is located in the Lhusu Mines and must be fought twice. The first is on the bridge just to the west of the Gate Crystal, in a homage to the "Clash on the Big Bridge" (which is also the name of the Hunt) from Final Fantasy V; a reworked version of the iconic theme music is also heard during each fight. Gilgamesh escapes after defeat and the player must find the Site 11 Key and venture deep into the mine to Site 7. During the second fight, Gilgamesh's HP is triple what he previously had and his stats are all raised which makes for a very tough fight.

He uses weapons from various Final Fantasy games, as well as one from Dragon Quest (also known as Dragon Warrior). However, all of the swords differ from their appearances in their respective games, and the Bestiary states that none of the swords are authentic. He is voiced in the Japanese version by Daisuke Gori, who voiced Fungus in Final Fantasy: Unlimited. In the English version he is voiced by John DiMaggio of "Futurama" fame, who also voices Migelo, as well as the Final Fantasy X characters, Wakka and Kimahri.

Hunt 40: Battle on the Big Bridge
Petitioner: Montblanc

Petitioner's Location: Rabanastre / Clan Hall
 * A petition has been submitted for the hunting of the Ancient Man of Mystery (Rank 7). The petitioner is Montblanc in the clan hall in Rabanastre.
 * Hunt accepted. Montblanc tells you that an individual has wagered his sword in combat with the Ancient Man of Mystery and lost. This mysterious adversary is to be found on a bridge somewhere in the Lhusu Mines.
 * Gave chase to Gilgamesh, yet he escaped. You must find out where he hides and confront him once again!
 * Gilgamesh defeated in the depths of the Lhusu Mines! Report to Montblanc in the clan hall.
 * Hunt reported. But just who was Gilgamesh, and why did he yearn so for a sword? No wonder they call him the Ancient Man of Mystery!

Bestiary Entry
Genus: Elite Mark

Classification: ???

"An ancient Man of Mystery, traveling the Dimensions with his lone Companion, Enkidu, in search of a legendary Sword. It is said he confronts all Adventurers he meets and challenges them for their Weapons. Each of his six Arms bears a Weapon of great Fame, yet there is no Evidence that any are the genuine Article. Petitioned as a Mark by a Swordsman bereft of his beloved Blade."

Battle (First Encounter)
Before the fight, buff your characters with protective spells; a Gate Crystal is located just before entering the bridge. After entering the area, Enkidu will howl and Gilgamesh will come flying. Then, by unknown reason, he slipped, hit his head and almost fell from the bridge.Then the fight begins. First, dispel both Gilgamesh and Enkidu's positive status. If you have the Nihopalaoa accessory, you can use it to "Sleep" Enkidu. Oil it and Fry it with Fire Spells. If you're not intent on getting Genji Armor set, I suggest you minimize your steal action into getting Genji Gloves. Gilgamesh's positive status will always renew whenever he pulls out a sword, so make sure you dispel it. His attacks only damages individual, which gives you more advantage if you've defeated Enkidu. When Gilgamesh's HP left around 30% he will pull out Tournesol, the strongest 2-hand sword in the game. Now you have the opportunity to steal his first Genji set, Genji Shield and Genji Gloves, it is highly advisable you at least steal the Genji Gloves, since this accessory only works well with Masamune. After defeating him, go to the Phon Coast, a search for "the man from sky". Check around him for a glittering object, the Lhusu Site 11 key, which is required to access deeper into the mine and challenge Gilgamesh the second time.

Battle (Second Encounter)
There is a Save Crystal before you approach Gilgamesh, so make sure you buff your party members. First, Gilgamesh has status inflicting magicks, such as:
 * Lv.2 Sleep
 * Lv.3 Disable
 * Lv.4 Break

As you can see, if your party members are at Lv: Prime number, you'll have more advantages while fighting him. If your party's levels are divisible by 2,3, or 4, make sure you set Remedy or Esunaga gambit while fighting Gilgamesh. You can also purchase the Black Belt accessory, which give immunities to Disable. If you have leveled yourself accordingly so that you are immune to all of those spells, Gilgamesh will still waste time casting them, giving you a little time to heal and buff yourself. For a level that's safe to be at when fighting Gilgamesh, basically any level that isn't an even number and isn't divisible by 3 is great.

Now on attacking Gilgamesh, as usual, dispel his and Enkidu's buff and focus your attacks mainly on Enkidu first. Gilgamesh's standard attacks are pretty strong, so do heal whenever needed to. As stated above, if you're party's Lv is set on Prime Number, you'll have more time defeating Enkidu, if not, simply use the Nihopalaoa trick to "Sleep" Enkidu, then Oil it and fry it with Fire Spells.

After defeating Enkidu, make sure you still have Vanish, or Protect status, Gilgamesh's attacks chain often. Every time he pulls out a different sword, dispel his positive status. When about 30% of his HP is drained, he'll use his special attack, Bitter End and has chances of inflicting Sap to all your characters. Once you have drained 60% of his HP, which is confirmed when he draws out the Tournesol, you can steal the Genji Helm. You need to do this before you have drained about 70% of his HP, when Gilgamesh will pull out the Wyrmhero Blade; saying "Quake, mortals! You face the blade of legend!" and erects a paling, during this period, Gilgamesh can be extremely lethal, his attacks has a high chance of chaining up to 15 hits! Basically once his attacks connect, your character is dead, his special attack are replaced by Monarch Sword, luckily, his paling fades after he executes Monarch Sword twice.

After his paling fades, you can steal the remaining piece of Genji Equipment: Genji Armor. Once you have defeated him a cutscene will follow as you leave the battle field (the cutscene varies depending on which character you're using as Party Leader).

Report and Reward
Once Gilgamesh has been defeated for the second time, the hunt can be reported to Montblanc, who rewards Vaan with 10,000 gil and the Masamune, the ultimate Katana.

Other Events
Related to the Fishing Mini-game, after the second battle with Gilgamesh, the swordsman will appear in a niche at the end of the bridge at the Barheim Passage West Annex. He explained that he wasn't there to spill their blood but to hunt for a sword; he even refers to them as friends. He says "there was no treasure, a useless stick I found". He hands the party the Matamune fishing rod and leaps away with Enkidu hot at his heels.

Related enemies

 * Enkidu

Swords
Throughout the battles with Gilgamesh, he wields various famous swords used by the protagonists of other Square Enix games. When he first appears he only uses unnamed katanas, but as the fight progresses he draws his other swords. These swords are:


 * Cloud Strife's Buster Sword: The blade has the kanji for "fake" / "imitation" painted on blade, and four holes instead of the usual two.
 * Squall Leonhart's Revolver: Instead of Griever, the blade has an image of a Chocobo and Chocobo footprints present on blade. It also has no keychain or trigger.
 * Tidus' Brotherhood: The blade has two hooks protruding from the tip instead of one, and is more transparent. The guard has a slightly different design.
 * Odin's Zantetsuken: The blade edge is curved, as opposed to "lightning-shaped", and features a skull near the guard.
 * Zidane's Orichalcum: This is Zidane's left hand dagger. It is much longer then the original.
 * The Wyrmhero Blade, Loto's sword from Dragon Quest III.
 * The Tournesol, the strongest sword in the game. It has an additional blade going straight, between the curvy blade.

Trivia

 * Gilgamesh's special attack is called Ultimate Illusion (Kyuukyoku Gensou in the Japanese version), a synonym for Final Fantasy. While using the attack, Gilgamesh cries "This sword I wield...is no counterfeit!", referring to the fact his swords are all fakes.
 * As with Final Fantasy V, the player can steal a full set of Genji equipment from Gilgamesh, and his sidekick, Enkidoh, returns as a dog named Enkidu.
 * As in his original appearance in Final Fantasy V, the party battles Gilgamesh the first time on a large bridge.