Neo Exdeath (Final Fantasy V)

Neo Exdeath is the final boss of Final Fantasy V. When Exdeath is consumed by the Void, Neo Exdeath emerges, a being that only wants to consume and turn all to nothingness, so that it, too, can disappear. The battle's background is the only fully animated battle background in Final Fantasy V, similar to the final battle of Final Fantasy IV.

It is actually possible to avoid facing Neo Exdeath altogether, by employing a few tricks on his previous form.

Strategy
Neo Exdeath is split between four body parts: the front is the horned humanoid figure, the top is the region between the red and wolf-like creatures, the middle target is near to the grinning horned skull, and the back are the two skeletal figures.

Neo Exdeath attacks quickly and relentlessly, using a variety of status ailments, physical attacks, magic attacks, defensive spells, the almighty Almagest spell, which deals damage depending on the party's level, and his dangerous Grand Cross attack. The best strategy is to attack each section one part at a time. The Front section has the least HP, but should be focused on thirdly due to its lack of powerful attacks.

Neo Exdeath's most dangerous attacks, Almagest and Grand Cross, have signs of being prepared beforehand. If Neo Exdeath begins to shake violently, he is preparing to perform Almagest. If he says "The laws of the universe mean nothing!" and darkens in color, he is preparing to perform Grand Cross.

The Front section largely performs physical attacks, the Top section performs Grand Cross, the Middle section uses Almagest, and the Back section can perform Delta Attack.

For healing, the best strategy is to have a White Mage with Doublecast. Since this is the last battle, items (and gil if the party has Zeninage) can be used with reckless abandon, unless the player is playing the Advance version and wants to do the extra dungeon that opens after the game is completed. The Advance version's Gladiator's Finisher attack can be used to easily damage Neo Exdeath. A Cannoneer's Dragon Cannon also does great damage (Blitz Shot + Dragon Fang).

If the player is at a low level or is finding it difficult to beat the final boss, they may consider using this strategy: The party should have a character with the Mix ability and enter the battle with Exdeath's first form and mix a Hi-Potion with a Dragon Fang to cast "Dragon Power" on an ally and raise the character's level by 20 for the remainder of the battle. This may be cast as many times as needed to reach level 99. During this time a White Mage should be healing the party. Flare and Holy should now deal more than 6000 damage points. After defeating Exdeath's first form they enter the fight with the second form while still at level 99. If the player needs further help they can mix an Elixir with a Dragon Fang to cast "Giant Drink" which doubles the allies' maximum HP.

The cheapest method is to make the party all Mimes, with one of them equipped with the Summon and Doublecast commands. The characters can summon Bahamut twice and keep miming each other.

The battle is also fairly easy if the characters have mastered Ninja, Ranger, and Samurai. In the Freelancer class the character can equip Rapid Fire, and Zeninage. Having mastered Ninja all party members will already have Dualwield. The first form is easily defeated by using Rapid Fire five to six times and the second form is defeated by tossing gil. This should kill him before he has a chance to use his Grand Cross attack.

Although it is overall not a good idea to use one-hit KO moves on bosses, the summon Odin's Zantetsuken attack can, in fact, one-shot Exdeath's back portion, but only if used through the Magic Lamp; otherwise Odin will use Gungnir. Additionally, the Blue Magic spell Doom will also work.

Another interesting fact is that if the back portion is left on its own, it will use the powerful spell Meteor on every turn until it finally dies, so it is highly advised to destroy it before the other targets, to make the final part of the fight easier.

The game's ending is slightly different depending on which party members (if any) are knocked out at the end the battle.

Musical Theme
The music that plays during the confrontation of Neo Exdeath is "The Final Battle" (最後の闘い, Saigo no tatakai). It was known as "Neo Exdeath" in The Black Mages' third studio album.

Other appearances
Neo Exdeath is available in Dissidia Final Fantasy as a Player Icon. In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Exdeath's second alternate outfit is based on artwork of Neo Exdeath, and his EX Mode is based on Neo Exdeath's in-game sprite.

Related Enemies

 * Exdeath (Boss)
 * Exdeath (Tree Form)

Neo Exdeath