Zodiark (Final Fantasy XII)

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Zodiark
(戒律王ゾディアーク, Kairitsu Ō Zodiāku?, lit. Zodiark, King of Precepts) Alternate names: Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts
Background information
Home	Ivalice
Race	Esper
Gender	Male
Specifications
Element	Dark
Summon abilities	Banish Ray, Final Eclipse, actions
More information
Boss Recurring appearance

Strongest of the scions created by the gods, they feared his growth, and so kept him a child. So indomitable is his strength that all things are by him twisted and pressed into oblivion. He alone fashions the laws governing all things, and administers punishment in place of the gods. So is he Keeper of Precepts, and his authority is absolute.

Clan Primer Bio

Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts is an optional level three Esper in Final Fantasy XII. He dwells in the Henne Mines in the hidden Special Charter Dig area.

His license costs 200 LP, and he requires three Mist Charges to summon.

Zodiark is unlocked in the Sky Pirate's Den in the Clan Primer by defeating him, earning the title Zodiac Knight.

Profile

The Esper of Dark, Zodiark represents the zodiac sign of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder. Zodiark is indeed a serpent, in the form that Ophiuchus is most commonly associated with: a snake. From his power of Dark, his color sign is black. Zodiark is also referred to as the Ashlesha Ascendant, which is the Sanskrit name of its zodiac sign as used in Jyotish (Hindu) astrology.

Zodiark is based on a secret summon in Final Fantasy Tactics, associated with the thirteenth auralith. Zodiark returns in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings in its second form as a non-elemental ranged Rank III summon. His twelve wings may be a reference to the 12 Espers corresponding to the horoscope signs.

Obtained

Zodiark is located in the Henne Mines, in the Special Charter Dig area. To unlock the Special Dig site the player must collect at least ten Espers, go to Jahara and speak to Geomancer Yugelu. He'll unlock the gate to the Phase 2 Dig, which leads to the Special Charter Dig area. Zodiark is found at the very end. The path to Zodiark is littered with strong foes, but the player can use the Immobilize glitch to avoid them.

As the Immobilize glitch requires the party leader to be a decent distance away from the rest of the party, the trek will still be difficult. Fleeing is not suggested, as certain enemies can transport to the space in front of a character, and if there are many teleporting enemies the player's path may become blocked. Without a correctly trained party, the trek to Zodiark can be harder than the Esper itself.

When found, Zodiark is fought as a boss, and once defeated, his license can be purchased for 200 LP.

During the boss fight, of the items the player can steal from Zodiark is the rare Serpentarius gem needed in making the Tournesol weapon.

Unlocked abilities in Zodiac versions

Esper licenses sometimes unlock licenses that could not otherwise be reached. Zodiark's license will appear on all boards, but once chosen by a character, will disappear from the 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.

Zodiark allows access to the following licenses on these boards:

• Archer*(also achieved with Ultima): Infuse, 1000 Needles
• Machinist: +390 HP
• Monk: White Magick 13(Renew)
• Red Battlemage: Greatswords 4 (Ragnarok)
• Bushi: Heavy Armor 9, 10, 11 (Giant's Helmet, Carabineer Mail, Dragon Helm, Dragon Mail, Magepower Shishak, Maximillian)
• Time Battlemage: Swords 9 (Durandal, Simha)
• White Mage: Greatswords 1 (Claymore)

Battle

Zodiark costs three Mist Charges to summon.

Abilities

Banish Ray

A Dark-elemental attack and Zodiark's basic offensive spell. Banish Ray usually deals 9,999 damage, which is only mitigated by enemies immune to Dark-elemental attacks.

Final Eclipse

A non-elemental attack and Zodiark's ultimate attack. In an eclipse, Zodiark falls into a calm sea. An egg rises to the surface, and Zodiark hatches to reveal his second form, a serpent with vast, feathered wings. Folding his wings around his body, he draws energy from his surroundings and spreads his wings wide, filling them with power and obliterating his surroundings. As he flies off into space, with the energy of the eclipse charged in his body, Zodiark flies to the targeted enemy, and in a catastrophic explosion destroys the fabric of reality itself.

Final Eclipse will always deal 50,000 base damage. (Yiazmat possesses a passive damage-reducing ability; against him Final Eclipse deals 35,000 damage), making it one of the most powerful attacks. Unlike Shemhazai's Soul Purge, Final Eclipse does not need to be charged up using items, therefore making it a better choice in many players' opinion. Unlike most other Esper attacks, Final Eclipse is unaffected by Reverse.

Gambit information

Zodiac

Priority	Condition	Action
1	Summoner: status = Petrify	Final Eclipse
2	Foe: Dark-vulnerable	Banish Ray
3	Foe: nearest visible	Attack
4	Ally: HP < 100%	Renew

Original

Priority	Condition	Action
1	Summoner: status = Petrify	Final Eclipse
2	Foe: more than one present	Scathe
3	Foe: Dark-absorb	Flare
4	Foe: Dark-weak	Banish Ray
5	Foe: nearest visible	Banish Ray

Stats

Stat	FFXII	Zodiac
Attack	201	201
Defense	61	67
Magick Defense	40	62

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	4,635-4,636	296-300	36	47	26	26
10	4,837-4,872	350-390	42	53	28	28
20	5,205-5,304	430-530	48	59	31	30
30	5,677-5,862	512-674	54	65	34	33
40	6,124-6,390	612-854	60	71	36	35
50	6,838-7,237	698-999	66	77	39	37
60	7,468-7,984	788-999	72	83	42	40
70	7,825-8,404	838-999	78	89	45	42
80	8,238-8,890	898-999	84	95	47	44
90	8,800-9,556	938-999	90	99	50	47
99	9,435-9,999	956-999	96	99	53	49

Original

Level	Max HP	Max MP	Strength	Magic	Vitality	Speed
1	3,090-3,091	23-25	60	45	26	26
10	3,225-3,248	50-70	66	51	28	28
20	3,470-3,536	90-140	72	57	30	30
30	3,785-3,908	131-212	78	63	33	33
40	4,083-4,260	181-302	84	69	35	35
50	4,559-4,825	224-378	90	75	37	37
60	4,979-5,323	264-448	94	81	40	40
70	5,217-5,603	294-498	99	87	42	42
80	5,492-5,927	324-548	99	93	44	44
90	5,867-6,371	344-578	99	99	47	47
99	6,290-6,873	353-587	99	99	49	49

Actions

Zodiac

Name	Range	Target	CT*(Charge Time)	Type	Element	Power
Attack	2	Single	30	Physical	None	201
Renew	10	Circle 10	23	Magick	None	－
Scathe	10	Circle 8	23	Magick	None	190
Hastega	10	Circle 10	23	Magick	None	－
Banish Ray	12	Single	15	Magick	Dark	240
Final Eclipse	12	Circle 10	0	Magick	None	－

Original

Name	Range	Target	CT*(Charge Time)	Type	Element	Power
Flare	10	Single	30	Magick	None	163
Scathe	10	Circle 6	30	Magick	None	190
Banish Ray	12	Single	16	Magick	Dark	240
Final Eclipse	12	Circle 8	35	Magick	None	－

Status effects

• Protect
• Shell
• Haste
• Faith
• Libra

Augments

• Ignore Vitality (Zodiac only)
• Ignore Reflect
• Magick CT0
• Ignore Weather & Landscape (Zodiac only)

Boss

Main article: Zodiark (Final Fantasy XII boss)

Zodiark is fought in the special dig site of the Henne Mines and also fought in Stage 97 of the Trial Mode in the Zodiac versions. His special move is Darkja, a powerful Dark-elemental cinematic attack that has a chance to instantly KO a target, and can inflict Blind on a character even if he or she is KO'd. He starts the battle with Reflect, Protect, Shell, and Haste. Zodiark's Banish Ray usually inflicts 9,999 damage. At half HP Zodiark erects a Magick Wall, making him immune to magick attacks for two minutes. At quarter health Zodiark begins using Shift to change his elemental weakness. When Zodiark's HP is HP Critical, his attacks grow stronger and faster and Darkja is used more often. When his HP is almost gone. Zodiark's Battle Cry will make his attack stronger. Once Zodiark puts up the physical paling, physical attacks will be useless from then on, as Zodiark will only erect it again as soon as it falls.

Gallery

Glyph.

Seal.

Final Eclipse.

Final Eclipse.

Final Eclipse.

Final Eclipse.

Sky Pirate's Den sprite.

Etymology and symbolism

Zodiark could be an amalgam of words zodiac and ark.

[view · edit · purge]In both astrology and historical astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude that are centered upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year.

The term zodiac derives from Latin zōdiacus, which comes from the Greek ζῳδιακὸς κύκλος (zōdiakos kyklos), meaning "circle of animals", as half of the signs of the classical Greek zodiac are represented as animals (besides two mythological hybrids).

[view · edit · purge]In the Bible, Noah carried seven pairs of each clean animal species and one pair of each unclean animal species, each pair a male and female, into a giant ship called the Ark. The Ark was built by God's command to survive the deluge He sent to purge the world from the sins committed by mankind.

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

Zodiark was formerly known as Serpentarius. The rare gem, which can be stolen from Zodiark, refers to this.

Zodiark's second form—that of a snake with feathered wings—may be loosely based on the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, who is represented as a feathered snake. Also, in some legends, Quetzalcoatl is related to the Sun and is tasked with the creation of mankind. This seems to oppose Zodiark, who is adept at destruction.

Zodiark also resembles archaic depictions of Seraphim in that it is a serpent with many wings, although Seraphim conventionally only have six. Six-winged beings are prevalent throughout the series, including Kefka Palazzo's final form, and Garuda, and Siren from Final Fantasy XIV.