Shin-Ryu the Dragon God (Day 212)

It's been a long time since I returned to this blog, and it's not without reason that I left for so long. The truth is, I got to the end of Final Fantasy V awhile ago, but I had to defeat Shin-Ryu in the crystal palace - and that's not easy. This is definitely the hardest boss in the game, and one of the hardest bosses in all of Final Fantasy. Let's not forget his return in Final Fantasy 10. But anyway, the strategy begins.

Firstly, I don't have four coral rings, I have two. This makes it really hard because his Tidal Wave attack hits 8000 damage. Surviving the first wave meant I had to do reviving for two of my other characters. His other attacks include Poison cloud that does 800 - 1500 damage, Ice Storm that does 2 - 3000 damage, Heat Ray that does 3 - 4000, and Lightning, which causes 1 - 2000 damage on all. In addition to all that, he does Mighty Guard on himself and hits from 2500 - 4000. His evasion is only second to Omega Weapon, but still it isn't impossible.

Now I was level 46 when I first fought him, and I realize that it can not be done at that level. I had all the spells, but there just weren't enough HP. Sooner or later he'd hit you and you'd die flat. I read some strategies, but they all involved four Coral rings and having Dragon Whisker spears; which was a no go. My recourse? Back to leveling up. After dying a couple of times, yes it was humbling and agonizing, I decided that I had to go back to the castle and level up. I powered up my Canoneer job so that I can get the "EXP UP" for two of my characters. It wasn't that hard with Iron Giants walking around giving 2500 exp each (Use Odin and slice him up). I decided to stop when all my characters were level 50. It wasn't enough, but it was a difference.

The new fight against him meant a new strategy. I turned off the active battle configuration and set it on wait. It's a bit of cheating, but I really couldn't think fast enough to fight this boss. Next I set my characters to Gladiator (!Finisher, !Throw), Knight (!Cover, !Throw), Summoner (!Summon, !Time), and Mime (!White, !Black, !Time). I took off my Genji gear and put on Ice Shields and Diamond armor to fend off ice and lightning.

Now the one thing that really helped me out was the "Berserk" spell. Place it on him and he will not use spells for a couple of rounds. Next every time my mages' turns were up I'd use "Quick" so that I can use two spells. The warriors just threw Fuma Shurikens, which I used 10 of. It was a tough battle, but I defeated him after all the healing, reviving, and ninja stars.

Next update: the End Game.

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• Game Time: 33 Hrs and 6 mins (+30 mins lost time)
  


• Days: 212