An enormous wyrm chased me through the Westersand, but I gave it the slip, I did! This is no place for the unprepared, kupo!
Cartographers' Moogle from Estersand
Earth Tyrant is an optional boss in Final Fantasy XII located in the Wyrm's Nest section of the Dalmasca Westersand, and is the cause of the heavy sandstorms in the area. Encountering Earth Tyrant is possible after receiving the Windvane, an item that quiets the sandstorm surrounding the boss enough to allow the party access. The parts from the Windvane can be obtained by talking to NPCs around Rabanastre (see below).
After Earth Tyrant has been slain, Rimzat, the bangaa who asked Vaan to find it, can be found on Phon Coast in the Hunters' Camp, where he will talk about what went on since Earth Tyrant was killed. He will pretend he does not know the party if the tyrant is not slain.
Earth Tyrant is also fought in the Zodiac versions' Trial Mode in Stage 19 where it yields some equipment for stealing: Broadaxe (common), Hornito (uncommon), and Main Gauche (rare).
Bestiary entry[]
Page 1: Observations[]
- Being one of eight legendary wyrms of great power, preferring to dwell in arid climes.
It is said that the Earth Tyrant appears as a mighty shadow within a great sandstorm, moving with the sound of rolling thunder.
Of those brave souls who have entered the sandstorm to catch a glimpse of this creature of legend, or perhaps to do battle with it, none have returned.
Earth Tyrant's bestiary entry mentions him as a member of "Eight legendary Wyrms of great Power," a reference to the Earth Dragon from Final Fantasy VI, a member of the eight legendary dragons that had the appearance of a T-Rex and shares its Japanese names with the Earth Tyrant.
Stats[]
AI script[]
| Abilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Name | Condition |
| Screwtail | HP >50% repeat every 16 commands (100%) HP <50% repeat each 8 commands (100%) | |
| Ram | Use all battle (25%) | |
| Sonic Fangs | Use all battle (25%) | |
| Ignore Evade | When HP <50% | |
| Reduce Damage | When HP <50% | |
| Attack CT0 | When HP <20% | |
| Properties | ||
| Type | Property | |
| Targeting | ||
| Linking | ||
| Attacks | ||
| Pursuit | ||
How to find[]
At the Rabanastre Westgate, the green bangaa Rimzat will appear after the events in the Tomb of Raithwall. He will ask Vaan to gather information on sandstorms. After agreeing to help him, a man by the name of Cotze will be sitting in the fountain at the crossroad of the gates, who will tell Vaan to go to Lowtown to find his friend Northon near the entrance to the Garamsythe Waterway. Northon will explain about the Windvane and why he and Cotze split it, and directs Vaan to his half in the Dalmasca Westersand.
Northon hid his half of the Windvane under a Dynast Cactus in the Windtrace Dunes area. It is in the small, closed-off area only accessible from the Shimmering Horizons. A Dynast Cactus is a large, sometimes flowering cactus. There will be two Dynast Cacti in the area. The player should go north and look for a cactus against the west wall and examine it to get Northon's half of the Windvane, the Wind Globe. Back at the Westgate Rimzat, Cotze, and Northon have met. Cotze gives his half, and Vaan will get the Windvane.
With the Windvane the party can access the northern part of Westersand, previously blocked off by a sandstorm.
Battle[]
Earth Tyrant is like a Wild Saurian and will mainly attack physically, taking off around 500 HP per hit. It can inflict Poison on the party. Earth Tyrant's Screwtail attack is damaging and will hit all close party members. The battle can be long, because of Earth Tyrant's tremendous HP. Once it nears a little lower than half life, its Defense will increase, and will increase further when it hits critical health.
Strategy[]
The party's recommended level is somewhere around 27–30. Recommended gambits include:
- Ally: any > Phoenix Down
- Ally: any > Haste
- Ally: ((Strong Character)) > Decoy
Earth Tyrant is susceptible to various status ailments that make the battle easier. To inflict these ailments reliably (and quickly, before the boss can do much), the player could equip someone with Indigo Pendant and have them cast status spells (however, Indigo Pendant will not be available when Earth Tyrant is first ready to be fought), or equip Nihopalaoa and throw a Remedy. In the original version, the Nihopalaoa is sold by the Clan Provisioner once the Headhunter rank is reached at ten defeated marks. In the Zodiac versions, the player will have to make one at the bazaar if they want one early. If the player has neither, they can still use magicks though they might miss a few times before landing.
- Blind makes Earth Tyrant often miss with its attacks.
- Slow reduces the rate at which Earth Tyrant acts.
- Confuse is situational, making Earth Tyrant attack itself but also wearing off when it receives any physical attack (including its own). The player would have to attack with magick exclusively and also inflict Blind and Slow, so that Earth Tyrant takes longer to land a hit on itself. Sleep may be preferable.
- Sleep stops Earth Tyrant from acting but wears off when it receives any physical attack. The party would have to attack with magick exclusively, but as long as they reapply Sleep before it wears off, the boss will never attack. The party's levels and equipment become largely irrelevant. If the player is not using Nihopalaoa for applying ailments, they can ignore all of the other ailments on this list, with the possible exception of Blind (which has an infinite duration, so it only has to be applied once) just in case they are late in reapplying Sleep.
- Berserk is also situational: it restricts Earth Tyrant to only using regular attacks, but those become faster and more powerful. It should be combined with Blind and Slow to be useful.
Battle against the Earth Tyrant.
The main savior of this battle is to have a tough party member with good evasion and a good shield along with Decoy cast on them. The Lured party member should be equipped with Tourmaline Ring to avoid the Earth Tyrant's Poison attacks; although it does not inflict Poison that often, it is still better than setting up an extra gambit just to cure a rare status.
It is best to have Protect on everybody—either from the spell or the Shielded Armor (from Mt Bur-Omisace).
If he is in the party, Larsa will help out. In the original version Larsa has an infinite stock of Hi-Potions, but in the Zodiac versions the player can configure his gambits at will and he will use items from the player's inventory. If Larsa is not in the party, one could make one's own "Larsa" out of a party member with Hi-Potion cure gambits, because a quick healer is needed—magick sometimes takes too long and the party may be busy casting other spells.
Instead of having one person cast Decoy, the party could have two people (counting the Lured person) to cast Decoy on the one person.
The party could perform a Quickening chain when Earth Tyrant is at 75% life to avoid the boosted Defense. The player should have at least one person with a Quickening in the reserve party and switch them in at the right time.
For a party with an affinity for magick, or when using the Sleep strategy, it is wise to equip magick-enhancing gear and cast Aeroga. With Faith active, and a decent level (30+), each spell should do good damage. Should the party members also be hasted, this will make quick work of the Earth Tyrant. Equipping Cherry Staff on the caster boosts the power of Wind attacks. The player could also reflect the wind magick off the party onto the boss to get in multiple hits per casting, but would then need to use items for healing (not necessary if Earth Tyrant is asleep).
Rewards[]
Montblanc will give 1200 gil for defeating the Earth Tyrant. With the tyrant defeated, the player also opens another route to the north bank of Dalmasca Estersand and can head to Mosphoran Highwaste.
Gallery[]
Related enemies[]
- Wild Saurian
- Diresaur
- Tyranorox
- Archaeosaur
- Giruveganus
- Pylraster (Mark)
- Terror Tyrant (Rare)
- Abelisk (Rare)