Shemhazai (Final Fantasy XII)

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Shemhazai
(密告者シュミハザ, Mikkokusha Shumihaza?, lit. Shemhazai, the Betrayer)
Background information
Home	Ivalice
Race	Esper
Gender	Female
Specifications
Summon abilities	Devour Soul, Soul Purge, actions
More information
Boss Recurring appearance

Scion that is both horse and woman, wielding utter control over the souls that wander the underworld, in opposition to the Martyr Igeyorhm, scion of light. Though she once served the gods as a guardian, when Ultima announced her rebellion, Shemhazai went to her, whispering of the gods' hidden weaknesses. She then descended upon the land without leave of the gods, and taught men of destruction and evil. For this was she stricken down and bound.

Clan Primer Bio

Shemhazai, the Whisperer is a level two Esper in Final Fantasy XII. She is fought during the main storyline in the lowest reaches of Giruvegan.

Shemhazai's license costs 50 LP, and she requires two Mist Charges to summon.

Profile

The Esper of Soul, Shemhazai represents the zodiac sign of Sagittarius, the Archer. Shemhazai's hands resemble crossbows, she has horse-like qualities and from her power of soul, her color sign is pink. She is also referred to as the Dhanus Ascendant, which is the Sanskrit name of its zodiac sign as used in Jyotish (Hindu) astrology.

Shemhazai is based on a Scion from Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. She returns in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings as a Rank III Lightning Melee summon, although she is referred to as being male.

Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Shemhazai is found in the lowest reaches of Giruvegan, just before the warp point leading to the Occuria, in the Gate of Fire. It can be assumed they sealed her here to protect them. Shemhazai is the third of the five Espers obtained during the main story.

Spoilers end here.

Obtained

After being fought as a boss during the main storyline, her license can be purchased on the License Board for 50 LP.

Unlocked abilities in Zodiac versions

Esper licenses sometimes unlock licenses that could not otherwise be reached. Shemhazai's license will appear on all boards, but once chosen by a character, will disappear from all other boards. In The Zodiac Age version, the player can choose two license boards for each playable character, and activated licenses are activated on both boards if present.

Shemhazai allows access to the following licenses on these boards:

• Archer: Heavy Armor 10, 11, 12 (Dragon Helm, Dragon Mail, Magepower Shishak, Maximillian, Grand Helm, Grand Armor)
• Black Mage: Mirror Mail
• Shikari: Guns 5, 6 (Spica, Antares, Arcturus, Fomalhaut)
• Knight: Potion Lore 2
• Machinist: Hand-bombs 3 (Caldera, Volcano)
• Monk: Potion Lore 3
• Red Battlemage: White Magick 7 (Esuna, Cleanse)
• Bushi: Shield Block
• White Mage: +230 HP

Battle

Shemhazai requires two Mist Charges to summon.

Abilities

Devour Soul

A non-elemental attack. Its damage is calculated just like the item Knot of Rust:

Shemhazai's Current HP / (Random number 1–10)

Its damage cap is 9999.

In the Zodiac releases, its damage depends on the maximum HP. In the original release, it is her current HP, and thus does more damage when she's at Max HP. To improve damage, the player can cast the spell Bubble on her.

Soul Purge

A non-elemental attack, and Shemhazai's ultimate attack. Shemhazai walks to the top of a cliff under the moonlight. She charges her guns, jumps off the cliff, shooting the enemies in range with pure soul energy. She lands near the enemies, and the soul energy that struck the enemies charges up into multiple explosions. Damage is calculated just like the item Dark Matter:

(Sum of all Knot of Rust damage + Sum of all Devour Soul damage) / 3

Its damage cap is 60,000, making it the second most powerful single attack in Final Fantasy XII, only bested by Zeromus's Big Bang, and one of the only attacks that breaks the damage limit. Once used, the damage is set back down to 0, and has to be built up again. Unlike most other Esper attacks, Soul Purge is unaffected by Reverse.

Gambit information

Zodiac

Priority	Condition	Action
1	Remaining time < 10 seconds	Soul Purge*(targets enemy with highest HP)
2	Foe: nearest visible	Devour Soul
3	Ally: HP < 100%	Curaja

Original

Priority	Condition	Action
1	Remaining time < 10 seconds	Soul Purge*(targets enemy with highest HP)
2	Foe: character HP < 30%	Soul Purge*(targets enemy with highest HP)
3	Foe: nearest visible	Devour Soul

Stats

Stat	FFXII	Zodiac
Attack	73	76
Defense	47	50
Magick Defense	31	51

In the Zodiac releases, Shemhazai is weak against Fire and takes normal damage from every other element. In the original release, Shemhazai takes half damage from all elements.

Zodiac

For The Zodiac Age version, the HP values were doubled but other stats were kept the same.

Level	Max HP	Max MP	Strength	Magic	Vitality	Speed
1	3,645-3,646	234-238	36	47	26	26
10	3,847-3,882	288-328	41	52	28	28
20	4,215-4,314	368-468	47	58	31	30
30	4,687-4,872	450-612	53	64	34	33
40	5,134-5,400	550-792	59	70	36	35
50	5,848-6,247	636-944	65	76	39	37
60	6,478-6,994	716-999	71	82	42	40
70	6,835-7,414	776-999	77	88	45	42
80	7,248-7,900	836-999	82	93	47	44
90	7,810-8,566	876-999	88	99	50	47
99	8,445-9,319	894-999	94	99	53	49

Original

Level	Max HP	Max MP	Strength	Magic	Vitality	Speed
1	2,430-2,431	23-25	51	46	26	26
10	2,565-2,588	50-70	56	51	28	28
20	2,810-2,876	90-140	62	57	30	30
30	3,125-3,248	131-212	68	63	33	33
40	3,423-3,600	181-302	74	69	35	35
50	3,899-4,165	224-378	80	75	37	37
60	4,319-4,663	264-448	86	81	40	40
70	4,557-4,943	294-498	92	87	42	42
80	4,832-5,267	324-548	97	92	44	44
90	5,207-5,711	344-578	99	98	47	47
99	5,603-6,213	353-587	99	99	49	49

Actions

Zodiac

Name	Range	Target	CT*(Charge Time)	Type	Element	Power
Attack*(5% chance of inflicting Disease)	10	Single	25	Physical	None	73
Curaja	10	Circle 10	23	Magick	None	120
Shock	10	Single	23	Magick	None	133
Devour Soul	12	Single	15	Magick	None	－
Soul Purge	12	Circle 10	0	Magick	None	－

Original

Name	Range	Target	CT*(Charge Time)	Type	Element	Power
Devour Soul	12	Single	16	Magick	None	－
Soul Purge	12	Circle 8	35	Magick	None	－

Status effects

• Libra
• Haste

Augments

• Ignore Vitality (Zodiac only)
• Ignore Reflect (Zodiac only)
• Ignore Weather & Landscape

Boss

Main article: Shemhazai (Final Fantasy XII boss)

Shemhazai is a boss fought in Giruvegan. Shemhazai has a random elemental weakness. Her attacks consist of magick and standard attacks, but her standard attacks have a high chance of inflicting Disease and Silence. She also likes to use Shock and Flare. When her health depletes about 40%, Shemhazai will ready Chain-Magick, which cancels her magick charge time. During this time, she likes to blast high-level Black Magick spells.

Gallery

Shemhazai's Glyph from Final Fantasy XII.

Shemhazai's crystal from Final Fantasy XII.

Devour Soul.

Soul Purge.

Soul Purge.

Render from Final Fantasy XII.

Etymology

Shemhazai is derived from the name of the fallen angel, Samyaza. [view · edit · purge]Samyaza is a fallen angel of apocryphal Jewish and Christian tradition that ranked in the heavenly hierarchy as one of the Watchers.

She is also referred to as the Dhanus Ascendant, which is the Sanskrit name of its zodiac sign as used in Jyotish (Hindu) astrology.