Salamander (Final Fantasy III)

Salamander is a boss in Final Fantasy III. He is a mutated form of Gutsco, turned into a monster by the Fire Crystal. After his defeat, the Fire Crystal is cleansed and the party receives new Jobs.

Strategy
The best idea with this boss is to finish it as fast as possible. Salamander has an all-attacking Flame attack that deals massive damage. The best way to fell this boss is to tout at least two Black Mages spamming Ice spells. If you have not already, it is a good idea to travel to the Valley of the Ancients (located at the south-western most corner of the map) to retrieve the spell Blizzara, which is a higher level Ice spell than Blizzard and deals more damage. It costs around 1,500 gil, so at this point of the game, it is expensive. but it will be well worth the investment later. A White Mage should also heal at every turn to eliminate the odds of guesswork on who the boss will hit (buy Cura while you are in Valley of the Ancients too, while you are at it). It is also worth mentioning that this boss can attack twice. This includes using Fire Breath twice in a row, so it is a good idea to finish him before he has a chance to do this. You should also go around outside the dungeon and level up your party a bit. It may seem like a waste of time, but it will make this boss fight easier in the long run.

It would also be a good idea to use Antarctic Wind items, which can be farmed from monsters in the sea surrounding the island, or obtained from certain treasure chests. Non-black mage characters should use this item while Black Mages cast Blizzara.

Don't use Blizzard unless you really have to- though it is ice elemental, it will only do around 70 damage against the Salamander. If you run out of Antarctic Winds and level 3 MP, it will be a better idea to use Zeus's Wrath-this will inflict about 200 damage.

Another viable strategy is to equip one or more Warriors with the Ice equipment, which can be purchased from the Dwarven Hollows. A Warrior equipped with the Ice Armor, Ice Helm, and Ice Shield can easily survive Salamander's Fire Breath while healing with Potions. Equipping a Warrior with the Freezing Sword, which can be found in the Molten Cave, will allow a Warrior to deal high amounts of damage to Salamander even while equipped with a shield.

Related Enemies

 * Gutsco
 * Vulcan
 * Pyralis