Rubicante (Final Fantasy IV 2D)

Rubicante, originally known as Rubicant, is a storyline boss in Final Fantasy IV. An honorable warrior known as the Autarch of Flame, he is one of Golbez's four Archfiends.

First Encounter
Rubicante is first encountered in the Tower of Babil after witnessing the deaths of Edge's parents. The battle will begin after Rubicante heals the party. As a Fire Element type enemy, he is weak to Ice and Water-element weapons and magic spells. Whenever he hides behind his cloak, all magic except Fire will heal him rather than do damage. Blizzara and Blizzaga are great attacks here as well as using the Ice Brand or Kain's Jump attack. Using a Fire spell on him while his cloak is up will cause him to cast Life on all party members.

DS Strategy
Rubicante will cast Inferno on your party, which not only heals himself but deals a large amount of damage to your party (enough to knockout everyone except Cecil and possibly Kain). Luckily, he only casts this when his cloak is open. He closes his cloak if you have Edge steal from him, during which he'll resort only to physical attacks. He'll counter attacks with Fira so dealing a lot of damage in single attacks (such as Kain's Jump) would be a good way to go about the battle; additionally, having Kain and Cecil equipped with an Ice Shield or Ice Mail would be best suited for this battle as it effectively reduces the damage from Rubicante's Fire-based attacks.

Rubicante counters with Blizzara on himself after summons, which will heal him if he's wrapped in his cloak but will backfire if his cloak is open. A few well-timed casts of Shiva or Dragon will easily defeat him.

Related Enemies

 * Scarmiglione
 * Cagnazzo
 * Barbariccia