Etém is an undead/reaper-type enemy in Final Fantasy XII found in the optional part of the Henne Mines accessed after the player has acquired ten Espers and spoken to the geomancer in Jahara. It can drop the Ivory Pole.
Bestiary entry[]
Page 1: Observations[]
- Being casualties of invasion or oppression, these entities appear before those who are doomed to die, cutting away their victims' lives with cruel scythes, out of hatred for the men who ended theirs. Many accounts hold these creatures to be a sort of grim reaper, but recent research has confirmed them to be nothing more than ghosts.
Page 2: The Town Crier[]
- Hear ye, hear ye! Another Day of Dust has come and gone, and what a day it was! On what other day can you have fey dust sprinkled upon your forehead, instantly absolving you of all sin and evil? Of course, it's not always such a day of rejoicing. Why, last year, shipments of the dust, known as soul powder, where waylaid and merchants everywhere sold out of the stuff far too quickly. This year, stock was set aside in advance, and all who wished to participate could.
Stats[]
Battle[]
Etém can attack physically and with a range of elemental spells. It can instantly kill party members with Death or Dimensional Rift. It can inflict Stop and Doom with the spells of the same name. Lastly, it can deplete MP to 0 with Annul.
If an Etém has been made invisible without it seeing a party member, it can only attack if a party member is below 50% HP or is afflicted with Doom.
Etéms sometimes spawn Necrofiends after being defeated.
If an Etém is afflicted with both Disable and Confuse, it will continuously teleport without pause, making it difficult to take out due to both the invincibility granted and status effects not wearing out. The player can easily witness this by throwing a Remedy at an Etém with the Nihopalaoa equipped.
Strategy[]
Etém is harmless if inflicted with Disable. The player can equip someone with the Indigo Pendant and have them cast Disable. Another option in the Zodiac versions is attacking with the Vrsabha spear, which has a 50% chance to inflict the status, but this may not be quick enough when facing groups of Etéms.
If not using Disable, then having the Shell status on the party will reduce damage from the Etém's spells and also reduce the chances of Death, Stop, or Doom landing. As an alternative, equipping Ribbon will immunize against the latter two status ailments.
As undead enemies, Etéms are weak to holy attacks and healing. Holy Lance and Excalibur are good for attacking them physically. Curaja can be used to greatly damage multiple Etéms at once.
Because of how they behave when invisible, a healthy party can quickly neutralize Etéms by using Vanish or Vanishga.
Other appearances[]
Pictlogica Final Fantasy[]
Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
The name probably refers to etemmu, a ghost in the Akkadian language that some sources describe as an angry and malevolent being who sought to harm the living because they were not buried properly, their funerals provided insufficient offerings, or they were irritated by their method of death.
Related enemies[]
- Gazer
- Gespenst
- Nightwalker
- Reaper Mage
- Reaper Claw
- Reaper
- Oversoul
- Ixtab (Mark)
- Deathscythe (Mark)
- Dustia (Rare)
- Ishteen (Rare)
- Vorres (Rare)
- Negalmuur (Rare)