Barthandelus (boss)

Barthandelus is a powerful boss in Final Fantasy XIII. He is fought three times in the storyline.

First Encounter
Barthandelus has four adornments attached to the sides of his head that enable him elemental protection and attacks. He can open up his face to execute his Thanatosian Smile attack. His attacks include Ruinga, Baptism in Ruin, and his ultimate attack Destrudo. He will also cast Doom when the battle reaches the twenty minute mark.

Right Pauldron
 * Level: 51, HP: 50,400, Chain resistance: 80, Stagger Point: 150
 * Casts Fire, Fira, Firaga

Right Ailette
 * Level: 51, HP: 50,400, Chain resistance: 80, Stagger Point: 150
 * Casts Thunder, Thundara, Thundaga

Left Pauldron
 * Level: 51, HP: 50,400, Chain resistance: 80, Stagger Point: 150
 * Casts Water, Watera, Waterga

Left Ailette
 * Level: 51, HP: 50,400, Chain resistance: 80, Stagger Point: 150
 * Casts Blizzard, Blizzara, Blizzaga

Barthandelus
 * Level: 57, HP: 462,000, Chain Resistance 100, Stagger Point: 250 (Can not be staggered until adornments are destroyed)
 * Buffs adornments, Uses Magical amplification to boost the spell levels of adornments

Recommended Paradigms: Diversity (MED/COM/RAV) - Solidarity (COM/MED/SEN) - Relentless Assult (RAV/RAV/COM) - Combat Clinic (MED/MED/SEN) - Evened Odds (MED/SAB/SYN) - Bully (COM/SAB/SYN)

The party should start with Diversity (MED/COM/RAV) and turn their attention to the adornments, using a Librascope at the start of the fight to use the respective elemental weakness from each. After each adornment is destroyed, the party should quickly switch to Evened Odds (MED/SAB/SYN) or Bully (COM/SAB/SYN) and buff themselves up, hopefully getting a Slow on the boss at the same time. The party should then switch to Relentless Assault (RAV/RAV/COM) or back to Diversity (RAV/MED/COM) to stagger him as quickly as possible.

After Barthandelus has been staggered once, Barthandelus will begin to randomly cast Destrudo. This can also happen if the party chip off enough his HP without staggering him. Once Barthandelus begins to cast Destrudo, he will reset the stagger counter back to zero percent. The spell takes some time to cast (approximately 26 seconds) so the party can wait until he grunts and shakes his head to switch back to using a healer. Equipping Doctor's Code will help give the party a second healer who can also attack. Barthandelus will cast Destrudo after about 1/4 of his HP is gone, regardless of whether he is staggered or not. Depending on the characters' states the party can do a number of things here: if the team is in green health and buffed, they can switch to Relentless Assault (RAV/RAV/COM) as it is possible to hinder the ability so it won't hit as hard. If, when Barthandelus begins casting the spell, the team lack buffs and are in low health, they need to quickly switch to Evened Odds (MED/SAB/SYN) and heal up to 100% while the Synergist buffs the team and the Saboteur weakens the boss, then switch to Solidarity (COM/SEN/MED) to mitigate some of the damage from the huge attack (from start of charge to the actual cast is about 20-25 seconds). After the attack, the party should immediately swap to a Paradigm with at least two Medics in it such as Combat Clinic (MED/MED/SEN) to heal and chip away using Diversity (RAV/MED/COM) or Solidarity (MED/COM/SEN). Destrudo deals less hits to characters closer to him; one can take advantage of this to further avoid the party leader getting killed.

The party should be able to stagger him a couple of times, although it should be noted that when he begins to cast Destrudo he will reset the chain gauge even if he's in the middle of stagger. Barthandelus can still be staggered when he's charging Destrudo. The party only have to fill the chain gauge halfway to induce a sort of "mini-stagger." This forces Barthandelus to restart his Destrudo charging, and the attack is then weaker. Also, after the mini-stagger, the chain gauge remains half-full, meaning he's easier to stagger a second or third time. So instead of backing off and defending when Barthandelus begins charging Destrudo, it's wiser to heal up with Potions (with main party member having the Doctor's Code accessory equipped for +300 HP rather than +150 without it), and continue attacking with RAV/RAV/RAV or RAV/RAV/COM, depending on the party.

Barthandelus will cast Doom on the party leader, if the battle lasts over 20 minutes. However, the time won't run during the time an Eidolon is being summoned.

Strategy 2
Recommended party: Lightning, Snow, Vanille Recommended paradigms: COM/COM/RAV ; RAV/RAV/RAV ; COM/SEN/MED

The party should start off with COM/COM/RAV to easily dispatch Barthandelus's four masks (stagger not needed), and if someone runs low on HP switch to COM/SEN/MED, with Lightning being more than capable of dealing with said masks. After successfully destroying his masks, Barthandelus will switch to a more offensive tactic, using heavy-dealing attacks. The key to winning is stagger. The party should swap to RAV/RAV/RAV to fill his gauge easily up and after staggering him, change to COM/COM/RAV and devastate his life bar. When the stagger gauge diminishes, he'll have around 40% HP left. The hard part is Barthandelus will occasionally use Destrudo and start charging up it. When he starts charging the party should immediately switch to COM/COM/RAV and relentlessly attack him; if done correctly, Barthandelus will groan and the damage will be heavily reduced. One can summon Odin when Barthandelus has only little HP left to finish him off.

Strategy 3
This strategy requires Lightning, Vanille, and Fang. Because they can not use any Synergist abilities at this point, thus no buffing, it might be a good idea to use Shrouds before the fight, although it is not required. The starting paradigm should be Assassination, with Lightning as a Ravager, Vanille as a Saboteur, and Fang also as a Saboteur as well. Other recommended paradigms are: Relentless Assault (RAV/RAV/COM), Combat Clinic (MED/MED/SENT) for quick healing, Aggression (COM/RAV/COM), Delta Attack (COM/RAV/SEN), and Diversity (RAV/MED/COM).

The party should start off with Lightning taking down each Ailettes and Pauldrons one by one, with Vanille and Fang debuffing each one, switching to the Combat Clinic if healing is needed. After they are all taken down, the party should continue on with the Assassination if Barthandelus is not fully debuffed and after that, switch to the Relentless Assault and stagger him, building up his stagger, and switching to Aggression (COM/RAV/COM) if his stagger percentage is at a high number. If however, he starts to cast Thanatosian Smile, the party must quickly switch to Combat Clinic to reduce a small amount of damage from the Sentinel bonus from Fang, and with Lightning and Vanille quickly using Cura to heal. When Barthandelus casts Destrudo, the party should switch to Relentless Assault to attack him until he lets out a groan, or attack him with Diversity if the party's HP isn't so high. After having done that, the party can switch to Delta Attack to attack him until he releases Destrudo, or switch to Combat Clinic if all the characters' HP is not at green. The party should continue to use these paradigms throughout the battle, and switch back to Assassination, if Barthandelus' debuffs have worn off. If done correctly, the battle should take no longer than 5-6 minutes.

Strategy 4
Characters you should use : Snow - Lightning - Vanile

Paradigms : Tri-Disaster - Aggression - Solidarity

For Tri-Disaster You need - Lightning-Ravager Snow-Ravager and Vanille-Ravager For Aggression You need - Lightning-Commando Snow-Commando and Vanille-Ravager For Solidarity You need - Lightning Commando Snow-Sentinel and Vanille-Ravager

Ok, so the strategy is that you take down all of it's arms and legs in this order (its the easiest)|Right Pauldron|Right Ailette|Left Pauldron|Left Ailette| The reccomended way to do this is by using Libra on the opponent you are fighting, and switch to Tri-Disaster if you are not using it. You should be able to stagger them quickly. When they are staggered, switch to Aggression and they should be roasted in a very short amount of time. If any of your characters are running low on health, feel free to switch to Solidarity to heal up.

Right now, after you have defeated all the masks Barthandelus will switch to a more aggressive fighting style. Stagger it quickly with Tri-Disaster and when it's staggered, switch to Agression and own it. Use Solidarity when your HP is running low. After a while, Barthandelus will use his special attack move, Destrudo. While it is charging up, attack it as much as you can, preferably with Aggression or Tri-Disaster. You will recognise that the damage done to you is significantly decreased. And thats all i have to say to you! Good Luck with your Boss Battle and Thank you for reading my guide!

By Mann

Second Encounter
The battle plays differently than the first encounter. At first, Barthandelus only has access to a relatively weak laser attack that hits one party member. However, as he switches form, he uses the laser attack more frequently, and gains status-inflicting area-of-effect spells including Poisonga, Cursega and Dazega. By the time Barthandelus transforms into his fourth form, his persistent laser attack can occasionally inflict Pain and Fog, and gains access to two new attacks: Apoptosis, which removes all status enhancements from the party and all status ailments from Barthandelus, and Thanatosian Laughter, which inflicts a moderate amount of damage to all party members. As with many boss battles, Barthandelus can inflict Doom on the party leader after twenty minutes have elapsed.

After the battle the player obtains a Goddess's Favour, 100,000 CP, and a Crystarium expansion.

Strategy One
The second time the party fight Barthandelus is in the town of Oerba, on Gran Pulse. The recommended party is Lightning, Fang and Hope. Lightning should be far in her role as a Ravager, Fang as a Commando and Hope as a Medic. Recommended paradigms are Relentless Assault (RAV/COM/RAV), Combat Clinic (MED/SEN/MED), Soldarity (COM/SEN/MED), Delta Attack (COM/SEN/RAV), Mystic Tower (RAV/SEN/RAV), Evened Odds (MED/SAB/SYN)

The party should go straight on the offensive using Relentless Assault until they need to swap to Solidarity to heal. Once Barthandelus starts to change his form, the party should swap to Evened Odds and debuffs/buff, then switch to Delta Attack to bring Barthandelus's chain gauge to about 40%, and swap to Mystic Tower to stagger him. The party will have to repeat this a number of times. The battle's first stage should be the most aggressive phase, since he cannot perform any devastating attacks.

Throughout the beginning of the fight, Barthandelus will spawn "heads" in front of his main body. After few more have appeared, he will reveal his main face, completing the battle's first stage. Once he has fully transformed, Barthandelus will be able to use the Thanatosian Laughter attack, which deals moderate damage to all members. He also uses a move called Apoptosis, which removes buffs on the party and any debuffs Barthandelus may have. He can also inflict a variety of status ailments, including Curse, which could mean a huge disadvantage. If Barthandelus has time to cast Doom, it's better to go full-out offensive and try to take out whatever health he has left, using Renew for healing instead of Combat Clinic. Alternatively, one can summon an Eidolon to halt the Doom timer. Should the party be under the Curse ailment at this time, it spells an almost certain defeat, so one should heal it as soon as possible with the proper item.

Strategy Two
This strategy requires Vanille as a Saboteur. Also recommended is a character who will be a Sentinel throughout the battle, and Lightning as the party leader. Due to Apoptosis, Synergists are not particularly effective. Recommended paradigms: Dirty Fighting (COM/SEN/SAB), Delta Attack (COM/SEN/RAV), Mystic Tower (RAV/SEN/RAV), Solidarity (COM/SEN/MED), Entourage (MED/SEN/RAV), Relentless Assault (RAV/COM/RAV)

Barthandelus is vulnerable to Deprotect, Deshell and Imperil; starting with the Dirty Fighting Paradigm Vanille can inflict these status ailments on the fal'Cie, while the Sentinel draws its laser attack and Lightning attacks. Once the debuffs are inflicted, the party should shift to Delta Attack for two turns, then shift to Mystic Tower. Once Barthandelus is staggered, the party should shift back to Delta Attack. If anybody's HP falls into the red zone, the party can shift to Solidarity to heal.

As far as status effects are concerned, Poison and Curse can be safely ignored, but Daze shouldn't as it costs valuable time. If Lightning is inflicted with Daze, the player should shift to Solidarity until Vanille removes it. If Vanille is hit with the status, the player should shift to Entourage with Lightning as the Medic and remove it with Esuna. If Barthandelus uses Apoptosis, the party should shift to Dirty Fighting to reapply the expired buffs, but only if the party is in a relatively healthy state. If Barthandelus begins readying Thanatosian Laughter, the party should shift to Solidarity immediately.

With this strategy, Barthandelus should yield before he has a chance to inflict Doom, even with an under-levelled party, but in case he does cast it, one should use Relentless Assault and go for stagger if he still has over 400,000 HP remaining, and summon an Eidolon just before the Doom counter reaches zero to buy some more time.

Third Encounter
Barthandelus has lost the ability to inflict status effects, but retains his standard laser attack, which a Sentinel should be able to withstand for a long period of time. He also uses the Ultima spell, which inflicts moderate damage to all party members. His Thanatosian Laughter attack is his strongest, which puts all party members' health to critical and it can kill if they are inflicted with Deshell. A useful strategy is to use the Solidarity paradigm (COM/SEN/MED) after Ultima, Combat Clinic (SEN/MED/MED) after Thanatosian Laughter, and Delta Attack (COM/RAV/SEN) when the party is healthy. Also, try and have a Saboteur on hand to inflict Imperil for easy Staggering, and possibly Poison for more damage, which could make the battle go very fast.

As with the previous two battles, Barthandelus may inflict Doom on the party leader if the battle takes over 20 minutes, therefore speed is of the essence.

Related Enemies

 * Right Pauldron
 * Right Ailette
 * Left Pauldron
 * Left Ailette
 * Anima
 * Dahaka
 * Orphan
 * Orphan (Final Boss)

Trivia

 * When Lightning is the party leader in any of the three battles with Barthandelus (and she's forced to be the leader during the first encounter with him), she may utter his name upon shifting paradigms. This is also true with Snow, Sazh, and Fang, all of whom can be potential party leaders only during the second and third battles.  However, Snow says, "Dysley" instead of Barthandelus's actual name, and Sazh will call him "Primarch."