Final Fantasy IV Low-Level Walkthrough
Version 1.2
January 14, 2020
Copyright 2020 by David Thompson
Sharing Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dWv8i_qqCxoNcpMMLbF7cdZi6Nn0yJOVSsed66C0ESU/


*****************
TABLE OF CONTENTS
*****************

0. Version Info
1. Introduction
    1.1 What is a Low-Level Challenge?
    1.2 How do you beat Zeromus?
    1.3 EXP Mechanics
    1.4 Inventory Management
    1.5 General Advice
2. Walkthrough
    2.1 The Overworld
        2.1.1 Baron and Mist
        2.1.2 Kaipo and the Watery Pass
        2.1.3 Damcyan and Antlion’s Nest
        2.1.4 Mt. Hobs and Fabul
        2.1.5 Mysidia and Mount Ordeals
        2.1.6 Back to Baron
        2.1.7 Toroia and the Magnetic Cave
        2.1.8 The Tower of Zot
    2.2 The Underground
        2.2.1 The Dwarf Castle
        2.2.2 The Tower of Babil, Part I
        2.2.3 An Above Ground Interlude, and the Drain Sword
        2.2.4 The Tower of Babil, Part II       
        2.2.5 Exploring the Underground 
        2.2.6 The Sealed Cave, a Frying Pan and a Whale 
    2.3 The Moon
        2.3.1 A First Trip to Space: Meeting FuSoYa
        2.3.2 Back to Earth: The Giant of Babil
        2.3.3 The Attack on Zeromus
3. Boss Fights
    3.1 Mist Dragon
    3.2 Soldiers and Officer
    3.3 Octomamm
    3.4 Antlion
    3.5 Water Hag
    3.6 Mom Bomb
    3.7 Fabul Battles
    3.8 Milon
    3.9 Milon Z
    3.10 Yang and Guards
    3.11 Baigan
    3.12 Kainazzo
    3.13 Dark Elf
    3.14 The Magus Sisters
    3.15 Valvalis
    3.16 Cal and Brena
    3.17 Golbez
    3.18 Dr Lugae
    3.19 Dark Imps
    3.20 Stalemen
    3.21 Rubicant
    3.22 The Four Fiends
    3.23 CPU
    3.24 Zeromus
        3.24.1 Phase I
        3.24.2 Phase II
        3.24.3 Phase III
        3.24.4 Phase IV
4. Other Information
    4.1 The Exchange Screen Glitch
    4.2 Getting 255 Silver Apples
    4.3 Stealing Shields for Rydia and Rosa
5. Acknowlegements

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

***************
0. Version Info
***************
Version 1.2:
Date: January 14, 2020
Description: More typo fixes

Version 1.1:
Date: January 9, 2020
Description: Fixed a few small typos

Version: 1.0
Date: January 8, 2020
Description: Initial upload

***************
1. Introduction
***************

This is a walkthrough for a Low-Level Challenge (LLC) for Final Fantasy IV, the
original Japanese release (released in the US as Final Fantasy Chronicles on
Playstation).

So far as I know, there is no guide for completing this game at the lowest
possible levels. Garland the Great has a nice playlist of LLC boss fights on
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL429D1C813111D9F7), but stopped
prior to the Four Fiends in the Giant of Babil. Curtsed has a video of a
low-level party beating Zeromus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-R9FEXiOCw) in
the Japanese version of the game; this guide will fill in the details needed to
execute his approach.
 
This is a hard challenge, so I recommend you play through the game at least once
to familiarize yourself with the game’s plot and mechanics. The walkthrough will
be relatively sparse, focusing on key items/prep and boss strategies.
 
For your sanity, this challenge will be more enjoyable on an emulator. The
endings of several boss fights are tricky, and Zeromus is a long, precise fight.
However, all of the strategies can be performed on console.

**********************************
1.1 What is a Low-Level Challenge?
**********************************

The goal of this LLC is to beat the game with the lowest average levels among
your final party. In particular, you will reach Zeromus with an average party
level of 17.8:

-Kain: 31
-Edge: 25
-Rydia: 16
-Rosa: 16
-Cecil: 1

It is not possible to achieve a lower average party level. Achieving these
levels requires you to keep specific characters alive at the end of each fight
(see Section 1.3 for a discussion of EXP mechanics).

If you’re curious how I determined the fight plan, see the Google Sheet here
(https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OhNpovKcE597zjIkfS-YpsbuQzF84GZQ9pHYOJt
IEjU/edit?usp=sharing), or email me at ff4lowlevel@gmail.com and I’ll be happy
to share my code and Excel with you.

****************************
1.2 How do you beat Zeromus?
****************************

Let me say a word about Zeromus, who has been the bane of previous LLC attempts.
At these levels, Zeromus’s Big Bang is almost always a one-hit KO for the whole
party, so the only way to survive is to have Kain Jump over Big Bang.
 
The approach for beating Zeromus borrows heavily from curtsed’s videos
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-R9FEXiOCw). He uses Star Veils to reflect
Zeromus’s magic and strategically times Kain’s Jump to avoid Big Bang. See
Section 3.25 for the full details.

There is another way to make the Zeromus fight easier, which is to use Silver
Apples. While there are only a handful of Apples available in a typical
playthrough, you can use the Mimic Glitch (see Section 4.2) to generate 255
Silver Apples and give the party enough HP to take out Zeromus. This approach is
not needed, but is a fun application of the Mimic Glitch.

*****************
1.3 EXP Mechanics
*****************

EXP is divided among surviving party members. Milon-Z, for example, gives 3600
EXP. If one member survives the fight, that member will receive all 3600 EXP. If
all four members survive, each will receive 900 EXP. KO’ed party members receive
no EXP, and fractional EXP is rounded down.
 
Your “shadow party” are members that have entered your party and subsequently
left (e.g. Rydia between the Leviathan attack and her return). Shadow members
receive the same amount of EXP as the surviving members of the fight.

To continue the Milon-Z example: if one party member survives the fight, Rydia,
Rosa, Kain and Yang (your shadow party at the time) will each receive 3600 EXP;
if all four members survive the fight, Rydia, Rosa, Kain, and Yang will receive
900 EXP apiece.
 
Since the goal is to prevent our final party from gaining EXP, the mechanics
imply three general principles:

-Avoid all unnecessary EXP (i.e. run from optional fights)
-Keep non-final party members alive at the end of fights (to reduce the EXP your
shadow party receives)
-Keep final party members KO’ed at the end of fights 

These rules aren’t ironclad (for example, we keep Kain alive for the Cal/Brina
fights in order to reduce the EXP Rydia receives), but they’re good to keep in
mind. The boss descriptions in Section 3 give the details of who needs to
survive each fight.

************************
1.4 Inventory Management
************************

One irksome aspect of FFIV is the small inventory relative to the number of
items, weapons, and armor available. You’ll quickly find your inventory filling
up and will need to make decisions regarding which items to hang onto and
which ones to sell or throw away. Since some items are important for beating
Zeromus, here is an incomplete list of things you should NOT throw away:
 
-Star Veils
-Blood Sword
-Bacchus
-Silk Web
-Bandanna
-Black Belt
-Strength Ring
-Strong magic items: Stardust, Inferno, White Fang, etc.
-Cat Claws

If you need to lighten your inventory, I would recommend you sell/throw away: 

-Items you can buy in stores
-Items that will never be used again (Edward’s Harps, Cid’s Hammers, Cecil’s
Dark Knight gear, etc. Hang on to the Cat Claws, but you can toss Yang’s other
claws)
-Bows and Arrows
-Weak healing items (e.g. Potions once you have Hi Potions) 

You should also look at the late-game boss fights and make sure you hang onto
the equipment called for there. 

Lastly, you can store goods that you might want later with the Fat Chocobo,
available on the Lunar Whale or in any Chocobo Forest.

******************
1.5 General Advice
******************

-Run from random encounters. The only avoidable fights in this walkthrough are
the Stalemen (3.20, to get the Blood Sword) and the Lamia (3.24, to underflow
Star Veils)
-Pick up chests throughout the world, but avoid “Monster!” chests, as you cannot
escape from these battles
-Unequip party members before they leave you. You can either give their
equipment to another character, or sell it for Gil
-You lose Gil for running away, so I tend to spend my money as soon as I get it.
Cures, Lifes, and Softs are good options for spending money early in the game.
-Many weapons can be “cast” from the Item menu, a technique I never knew as a
kid. In the item menu, press up to access your current left- and right-hand
equipment. Select a weapon twice to cast it (not all weapons do something)
    -In this run, whenever I say to use Dancing Daggers, I mean to cast them
this
way.

**************
2. Walkthrough
**************

*****************
2.1 The Overworld
*****************

2.1.1 Baron and Mist
--------------------

Collect the treasures in the castle and the town of Baron. Stop into Baron’s
Item shop to buy 10 Potions (for Antlion fight). Once on the World Map, remove
Kain’s Iron gear, and kill him off in your first fight.
 
Make your way to the Mist Dragon, collecting chests in the Mist Cave along the
way. There are no shadow party members to worry about, so feel free to win any
random encounters with Cecil. When you’re ready, approach the Mist Dragon [3.1].
 
Head to Mist and open the package. After your encounter with Rydia, Kain will
leave. From here on out, run from any random encounter unless otherwise told.
Take Rydia to Kaipo, where you’ll be attacked by a group of Baron guards [3.2].

2.1.2 Kaipo and the Water Cavern        
--------------------------------

Visit Rosa in the northwest corner of town, where you’ll find she’s taken ill
and needs the Sand Ruby to break her fever. Leave Kaipo and head northwest to
the Water Cavern. Pick up Tellah and make your way through the Pass, again
picking up items as you go, particularly the Dark Sword and Hades gear for
Cecil. Save when you reach the world map, and then head through to Octomamm
[3.3].

2.1.3 Damcyan and Antlion’s Nest
--------------------------------

After Octomamm, unequip Tellah. When you exit the cavern, you’ll witness Baron
bombing Damcyan. Enter the castle and skirt around the outside to the right to
find the treasure room. After collecting the goods, climb the castle to find
Edward. Tellah will leave, and Edward will join your party. If you’re low on
Potions or Lifes, head to Kaipo for a refill (the item shop is in the Inn); you
can also restore your HP on the top floor of Damcyan Castle.
 
When you’re ready, go to the Antlion’s Den. Collect the treasures here, and then
head down to the Antlion’s nest where you’ll be attacked [3.4].
 
With the Sand Ruby in hand, leave the Antlion’s Den and return to Kaipo to heal
Rosa. Overnight, Edward will be attacked by a Water Hag [3.5].

2.1.4 Mt. Hobs and Fabul 
------------------------

In the morning, take the hovercraft to Mt. Hobs, where Rydia will overcome her
fear of fire. Collect the treasures, then climb the mountain until you see Yang
battling a group of monsters. You’ll come to his aid when he is attacked by Mom
Bomb [3.6].
 
After conversing with Yang, head to Fabul. Raid the treasure room (left tower),
and then talk with the King. Afterwards you’ll face a series of battles [3.7]
before being attacked by Kain and losing Fabul’s Crystal.
 
Return to the throne room and pick up Cecil’s Demon Shield in the hidden room on
the right. If you have the cash, buy a Bolt Claw from the Weapon Shop. Unequip
your characters, sell Edward’s Harps and Cecil’s old weapons/armor, and then
stay at the Inn.

After receiving the Death Sword from the King, head out to the ship.

2.1.5 Mysidia and Mount Ordeals
-------------------------------

After the ship wrecks, walk to Mysidia. Purchase some Hi Potions. Talk to the
Elder and he will introduce you to Palom and Porom and send you on your way to
Mount Ordeals. If you get beat up on your way to the mountain, you can heal with
Porom and restore your MP using the White Chocobo in the Chocobo Forest south of
the mountain.
 
Once at Mount Ordeals, climb until you run into Tellah. Give Tellah a helmet,
then continue up the bridge on where you’ll encounter Milon [3.8]. Heal using a
tent and then cross the bridge, where you’ll fight Milon Z [3.9].
 
At this point, unequip Cecil and enter the sanctuary at the top of Mount
Ordeals. Don’t attack your mirror image and you will become a Paladin. You can
now give Cecil all of Kain’s Iron gear that we unequiped at the beginning of
the game.
 
Leave Mount Ordeals and head back to Mysidia (I like to heal using Tellah’s
magic and then use a White Chocobo to recover MP before hitching a ride to
Mysidia on a Chocobo). After visiting the Elder he’ll reopen the Devil’s Road,
which you can take to Baron.

2.1.6 Back to Baron 
-------------------
Head to the Inn in Baron, where you’ll find Yang. After you knock some sense
into him and his guards [3.10], he’ll give you the key to Baron’s waterways.
Immediately upon entering, collect the 1000Gil in the chest hidden to the right.
 
Make your way through the waterway, collecting treasures as you go. When you
reach Baron, you can rest in Cecil’s room, if needed, before continuing to fight
Baigan [3.11]. The right half of the castle is now open to you, so raid it for
treasure before resting up in Cecil’s room and confronting Cagnazzo in the
Throne Room [3.12].
 
After defeating Cagnazzo, Cid will join and Palom and Porom will exit. You now
have access to the airship!

2.1.7 Troia and the Magnetic Cave
---------------------------------

Unless you’re morally opposed to it, I’d recommend you stock up on cash now by
underflowing Dancing Daggers with the Exchange Screen Glitch. This glitch is not
necessary to beat the game, but makes life easier.

Go to Mist and buy two Dancing Daggers (two stacks of one). Make sure your
inventory is full (buy Potions from Baron if not), and go to the building in the
northwest corner of Mist. Walk through the fireplace to reveal several hidden
chests. Open one to bring up the exchange screen, and then use the Exchange
Glitch described in Section 4.1 to get a stack of 255 Dancing Daggers. Keep 30
or so for the party (we’ll have Edge throw them later), and sell the rest.
 
With this money, head to Mysidia and stock up on Hi Potions, Lifes, and Softs.
You’ll want at least 20 Softs for Valvalis, along with 30 Lifes and 50 Hi
Potions..
 
Next, head to Silvera and get a set of Silver armor for Cecil and Cid, plus a
Silver Hammer for Cid.
 
Next, go to Baron and pick up a Bolt Claw if you didn’t do this at Fabul
earlier. It’ll come in handy for Lugae.
 
You can also collect some treasure at this point:

-The Change Rod and the Tiara hidden in the fire place of the northwestern
building of Mist
-The treasures in Eblan Castle (avoid the monster chests)
-A 5000Gil chest in the town of Silvera (in the tall grass)
-A few treasure chests hidden in the woods in Troia

Once you feel well-stocked, go to Troia Castle and talk with Edward. After
receiving the TwinHarp, walk north to the Chocobo Forest, and take a Black
Chocobo to the Magnetic Cave (heal with Tellah’s magic and then use the White
Chocobo before grabbing the Black Chocobo).
 
The Magnetic Cave is annoying; just run from everything and pick up the treasure
as you go. The Dark Elf will wipe the floor with you before Edward helps out and
gives you a fighting chance [3.13].
 
Return to Troia Castle and walk north to the Crystal room. Kain will call you to
your Airship; before leaving collect the treasures from the eastern side of the
castle. Once in your Airship, Kain will lead you to the Tower of Zot.

2.1.8 The Tower of Zot
----------------------

Zot is where I first noticed back attacks becoming more frequent. Keep your HP
high in between battles to avoid any unpleasantness from a back attack gone
wrong. Pick up the items throughout, avoiding the monster chest on the second
floor. Restore everyone at the save point before the Magus Sisters [3.14].
 
Save after the fight, then unequip Tellah – his confrontation with Golbez is not
going to end well for him. After Tellah dies, collect Kain, save Rosa from being
crushed, and then get ready for Valvalis [3.15]. This is a good time to check
that your levels and EXP are on track. Before the Valvalis fight you should
have:

-Cecil Level 1, 0 EXP
-Kain Level 17, 15,778 EXP
-Rosa Level 16, 12,190 EXP

After exiting the Tower of Zot, take the Airship south to Agart and drop the key
Kain gave you in the well. Make sure you’re well-stocked on Hi Potions and Lifes
before heading underground. You will immediately be attacked by the Red Wings
and crash in front of the Dwarf Castle. 

*******************
2.2 The Underground
*******************
 
2.2.1 The Dwarf Castle
----------------------

Before entering the castle, set your Battle Speed to its slowest possible level.
Beating Golbez is difficult without doing this. When you’re ready, enter the
Castle and walk north to find the Dwarf King.
 
While talking with the king, Yang will notice something behind the walls, which
will prompt you to investigate. Once in the crystal room, you’ll discover the
Cal/Brina dolls [3.16]. After beating them, they’ll call for Golbez [3.17].
 
Another status check: Rydia should return at Level 16 with 16,330 EXP.
 
Back in the King’s room, immediately revive Rydia and cast Warp. This will send
you back to the Crystal Room which happens to contain…the Dark Crystal! By
picking this up you can avoid the Sealed Cave and bypass a substantial amount of
EXP.
 
Raid the Dwarf Castle for goods, particularly the Black Belt and Strength Ring.
Buy Rydia a Wizard Helm and Armor, and buy three Rune Rings for Rydia, Rosa, and
Yang. I tend to avoid Fire Armor for Kain and Cecil, as it is weak against Fire
and we have Rubicant coming up.
 
2.2.2 The Tower of Babil, Part I
--------------------------------

Once you’re ready, leave the Dwarf Castle through the back and make your way to
the Tower of Babil. Head straight up, making sure to collect the Bandanna on the
second floor and the Cat Claw on the third floor.
 
If you want to beat this challenge without underflowing items to generate Gil,
you need to grind Gil with Yang now. You have no shadow party
members at this point (Edge enters at Level 25 no matter what), so you can win
solo fights with Yang without impacting your final party levels. I’d recommend
getting ~1,000,000 Gil in order to pick up weapons and armor as well as
stockpile a few Elixirs. If you’re okay using the underflow glitch, you need not
worry about this.
 
You will eventually encounter Dr. Lugae [3.18]. Don’t heal much afterward the
Lugae fight, since you will need to kill everyone off in the upcoming Dark Imp
fight anyway. To avoid getting killed by a back attack, I’d recommend reviving
everyone but not refilling their HP.
 
After uncovering the plan to take out the Dwarves, backtrack to the cannon room
which you can now unlock. Unequip Yang before going inside. In the cannon room
you will be attacked by a group of Dark Imps [3.19], after which Yang will
sacrifice himself to stop the cannon.
 
IMPORTANT: Revive your characters immediately after Yang leaves the party. If
you get into a fight with a dead party, it’s an automatic game over. Also, even
though Yang is gone, do not get rid of his Cat Claw. Edge can equip it, and the
stat boosts it gives are useful for the fight against the Elements.
 
Leave the Tower of Babil. Cid will make a dramatic reappearance to save you from
falling to your death, and after a chase with the Red Wings, he will sacrifice
himself to get you out of the Underground (man, rough sequence for the good
guys).

2.2.3 An Above Ground Interlude, and the Blood Sword
----------------------------------------------------

Return to Baron and speak with Cid’s engineers (east side of the castle), and
they will attach a hook to the Enterprise for you. Collect the hovercraft from
Mt. Hobs, and drop it near Eblan Cave.
 
Head through the cave to where the people of Eblan have taken refuge. Buy an
Icebrand for Kain and Cecil, and give Cecil the Ice Shield and Armor as well.
Continue through the caves (make sure to pick up the two Elixirs along the way)
until you find Edge challenging Rubicant.
 
After Rubicant demolishes Edge, don’t go to the Tower of Babil immediately.
Instead, go south to the save room, and take the hidden passage in the top
right, which leads to a monster chest. Defeat the Stalemen inside [3.20] and
you’ll be rewarded with a Blood Sword, which is important for the fight with
Zeromus. Heal afterwards at the Save Point. If you’re so inclined, you can steal
a shield for Rydia and Rosa from Mythrils or Armadilos in the cave (see Section
4.3 for details); this can also be done after beating Rubicant. When you’re
ready, continue on to the Tower of Babil.

2.2.4 The Tower of Babil, Part II
---------------------------------

Collect the treasures throughout the Tower of Babil, including the Ashura Sword
for Edge and the 82,000 Gil near Rubicant. Avoid the monster chest at the bottom
of the long stairway.
 
After finding the mutated remains of Edge’s parents, Rubicant will appear and
challenge the party [3.21]. After falling through the trap in the Crystal Room,
continue through the Tower until you find a new Airship. Return to the Dwarf
Castle and speak with the King, who will inform you that the final Dark Crystal
sits in the Sealed Cave. Go downstairs to find Cid in the infirmary; he’ll offer
to put a heat shield on the Airship so that you can get to the Sealed Cave.

2.2.5 Exploring the Underground
-------------------------------

At this point, there are a few odds and ends I’d recommend taking care of before
the Sealed Cave.
 
First, steal Silver Shields for Rydia and Rosa if you haven’t already (see
Section 4.3 for how to do this). This isn’t crucial, but it’s useful for the
Four Fiends fight since the shields give Rydia and Rosa an extra defense
multiplier, as well as allow them to dodge attacks.
 
Next, go to the Land of Summons. Watch out for Arachne’s—if your health is low
and you get back attacked, Quake can take out the party. Save before entering
and keep your health up between battles. You can skip most of the chests in the
caves, but in the southwest corner of the third floor pick up the Kikuichi sword
for Edge.

Once in the town, go to the Armor shop on buy Sorcerer Robes for Rydia and Rosa
and an Aegis Shield for Cecil. In the Weapon shop, get a Lunar Rod for Rosa and
a Kotetsufor Edge.
 
Third, go to the Sylvan Cave. Collect the treasures here, particularly the Fairy
Rod and the second Cat Claw. Talk to Yang and the Sylphs before leaving.
 
Lastly, go to Tomra and pick up a second Tiara for Rydia/Rosa, and a Diamond
Helm for Cecil. Don’t bother with the other Diamond gear for Cecil – we’re about
to pick up Genji gear on the Moon and we’ll use the Ice Armor for the Elements
fight. I would also recommend using the Exchange Screen Glitch to generate (and
then sell) 255 Ogre Axes in Tomra. You can buy two axes on the Weapon store,
then use the chests containing a Cabin in the top left of town to get to an
exchange screen (just make sure your inventory is full and that you have no
Cabins – see Section 4.1 for details).
 
After all the equipment gathering, check your equipment against the list for the
Four Fiends [3.22] and make sure you’ve got what you need. If Edge doesn’t have
a Rune Ring, buy one for him at the Dwarf Castle. 

2.2.6 The Sealed Cave, a Frying Pan and a Whale
-----------------------------------------------

Once you’re done with all this, head to the Sealed Cave. Since you already have
the crystal, Kain will depart immediately, meaning you don’t need to deal with
this portion of the game. Return to the Dwarf Castle and Cid will help you
get out of the Underground.
 
Before getting the Lunar Whale there are a few things to do in the overworld. Go
to Fabul and speak with Yang’s wife (left tower), who will give you the Frying
Pan. Then drop the hovercraft near the town of Mythril (east of Baron) and use
it to visit the Adamant Grotto. Give the sprite there the Rat Tail and it will
give you some Adamant Ore in Return.
 
Now return to the Underworld. Head to the Sylvan Cave and whack Yang over the
head the Frying Pan. Then go to the Smithy’s (in the southeast portion of the
map) and give him the Adamant Ore.
 
Lastly, return to Fabul. Speak to Yang’s wife again and she will give you the
Knife, which we will use to deal some serious damage against Zeromus.
 
Now go to Mysidia and call upon the Lunar Whale. 

************
2.3 The Moon
************

2.3.1 A First Trip to Space: Meeting FuSoYa
-------------------------------------------

Upon reaching the Moon, land near the cave in the oval section northeast of
where you first appear. This cave is filled with Namingways, and one of them
sells Elixirs. If you used the Exchange Glitch to sell 255 Ogre Killers, you
should be able to buy ~50 of these. Do so, as they’re useful for the Four Fiends
fight. (Alternatively, you could use the Exchange Screen Glitch to underflow
Elixirs and get 255 of them. See Section 4.1)
 
Next, go to Bahamut’s Cave and collect the Genji gear. Give the armor and helm
to Edge, and give Cecil the Glove.
 
Lastly, take the Lunar Path to the Lunar Palace. Pick up the Moon Veil and
Stardust along the way. In the Palace you’ll meet FuSoYa, who will reveal that
Golbez is under the control of a deranged moon-being named Zemus. Return to the
Lunar Whale, and when you’re ready, return to Earth.

2.3.2 Back to Earth: The Giant of Babil 
---------------------------------------

Unfortunately, you can’t explore the world with FuSoYa. Immediately upon
landing, the Giant of Babil will emerge. After entering the Giant, simply go
straight through. Save at the save point, then continue on to face the Four
Fiends [3.22] and the CPU [3.23]. After these fights, FuSoYa will break Zemus’s
hold over Golbez, and Golbez will reveal that he is…Luke’s father! I mean,
Cecil’s brother! Kain rejoins the party for good. Your party is now at its final
levels:

-Cecil: Level 1, 0 EXP
-Kain: Level 31, 140,629 EXP
-Rydia: Level 16, 16,681 EXP
-Rosa: Level 16, 12,541 EXP
-Edge: Level 25, 74,128 EXP

2.3.3 The Attack on Zeromus
---------------------------

Once you’ve regained control of the party on the moon, take the Lunar Path to
get to the Lunar Core.
 
There’s a lot of treasure you can get here - the Fire Whip, Kain’s Dragon
equipment, the Protect Ring, the White Robe – but most of it is irrelevant. The
only things I use for the battle with Zeromus are Kain’s Dragon Shield, the
Blizzard on the fourth floor, the Inferno found in the small room on the fifth
floor, and the Gold Apple on the sixth floor. Make sure you know what chests to
open, as many others are are guarded by monsters that you cannot escape from.
 
There’s one last thing to do before tackling Zeromus: harvest some Star Veils.
Save on the seventh floor and then head to the crystal section of the Core. Run
around until you encounter an Evil Mask, and have Edge steal a Star Veil from
it. This may take several attempts, as your success rate is on the order of 5%.
 
You’re going to want about 15 Star Veils. One way to get them is to continue
stealing them from Evil Masks. This is time consuming. Alternatively, if you
didn’t fight a Lilith to get Silver Apples earlier in the run, you can win a
Star Veil from a Lamia in the Underground [3.24] and use the Exchange Screen
Glitch to quickly get 255 of them. While you’re in the Underground, visit the
Smithy and pick up the Excalibur.
 
Once you’ve stocked up on Star Veils, make your way to Zeromus. Keep your party
fully healed throughout the crystal section—it’s very easy to die while trying
to run away. I’d recommend feeding Kain your Silver and Gold Apples at this
point, as it makes the last part of the fight with Zeromus a little more
comfortable (you should have two Silver Apples and one Gold Apple unless you
followed the steps earlier for stockpiling 255 Silver Apples). However, the
fight is doable without any HP boosts. 

Read over the setup and strategy for Zeromus [3.25], then take him on and get
ready to celebrate finishing the FFIV Low-Level Challenge!

**************
3. Boss Fights
**************

3.1 Mist Dragon 
---------------
HP: 465
EXP: 700
Party: DK Cecil, Kain
Surviving Members: DK Cecil
 
Attack 4-5 times with Cecil before he turns into mist, then wait for him to
re-form. Three or four rounds of this and he’ll be done. 

3.2 Soldiers and General
------------------------
HP: 27 (Soldier)
EXP: 471 
Party: DK Cecil
Surviving Members: DK Cecil
 
Again quite straightforward. Just take out the Soldiers and let the General run
away to avoid receiving excess EXP. 

3.3 Octomamm
------------
HP: 2350
EXP: 1200
Party: DK Cecil, Tellah, Rydia
Surviving Members: DK Cecil, Tellah
 
Nothing fancy here. Attack with Cecil and use Bolt1 with Tellah. Have Tellah use
Cure2 if anyone gets low on health, and the fight will be over soon. If Rydia is
still alive by the time Octomamm is down to two arms, have Tellah cast Fire on
her. 

3.4 Antlion
------------
HP: 1100
EXP: 1500
Party: DK Cecil, Edward, Rydia
Surviving Members: DK Cecil, Edward
 
This fight is slow but manageable. Make sure you have ~10 Potions before
engaging Antlion.

Cast Chocobo with Rydia if she has enough MP, then kill her off and let Cecil
take over. Every attack by Cecil prompts a counter from Antlion, so use Potions
whenever his HP dips below 50 or so. Have Edward hide and parry; if he’s killed
before he can hide, simply revive him.
 
3.5 Water Hag
-------------
HP: Hit three times
EXP: 800
Party: Edward
Surviving Members: Edward
 
Three hits and the hag is done. The only risk in this fight is if Edward misses
several times in a row. Put him in the back row if you’re having trouble.
 
Interestingly, Cecil and Rydia do not receive any EXP from this fight, while
Kain does.

3.6 Mom Bomb
------------
HP: 11,000 (Mom Bomb – I only dealt ~1000 damage before it transitioned), 55
(Bomb), 111 (GrayBomb)
EXP: 2418
Party: DK Cecil, Rydia, Rosa, Edward, Yang
Surviving Members: DK Cecil, Edward, Yang.
 
This fight can be tricky as you need to keep the right set of characters alive
at the end, but it’s not too bad.
 
Set your lineup so that three slots are in the back row. Put Cecil and Rosa in
the back, with Rydia and Edward in the front. Doing it this way, Yang will enter
in the back row.
 
On Edward’s first turn, have him Hide. Keep him hidden for the remainder of the
fight.
 
Let Cecil and Yang beat up on Mom Bomb, using Cure1 with Rosa to keep their HP
full. Rydia will die off soon – don’t worry about her.
 
After Mom Bomb explodes, again use Rosa to cure Cecil and Yang, but don’t revive
her if she falls. Get off a round or two of Kick with Yang and Dark with Cecil,
but above all else keep their HP high. When the bombs start detonating, so long
as they don’t gang up on Cecil or Yang character you should be fine. If one of
them falls, try and use a Life and hope the other bombs leave them alone. 

3.7 Fabul Battles
-----------------
Captain and Fighter (x3)
EXP: 800 (only kill the Fighters)
 
Weeper, Imp Captain, Water Hag (x2)
EXP: 477
 
Gargoyle
EXP: 315
 
Party: DK Cecil, Yang, Edward
Surviving Members: DK Cecil, Yang, Edward
 
Before the battles, place Cecil, Edward, and Yang in the back row and give Yang
defensive gear. None of these fights are hard, as you can simply whack away at
them with all three. Heal when needed and revive anyone who gets KO’ed, as you
want all three characters to survive all six fights.

3.8 Milon
---------
HP: Online sources say 3100
(https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Scarmiglione_(Final_Fantasy_IV_2D)), but
for me he fell after ~2500 damage)
EXP: 3400
Party: DK Cecil, Tellah, Palom, Porom
Surviving Members: Everyone
 
This fight isn’t too bad. Use Hi Potions to clear out the Ghasts, then let Cecil
work on Milon while the twins use Twin and Tellah cures the group. Annoyingly,
Milon counters every attack with Bolt 1. If Palom and Porom die, just revive
them and heal up.

3.9 Milon Z
-----------
HP: 3523
EXP: 3600
Part: DK Cecil, Tellah, Palom, Porom
Surviving Members: Everyone
 
Another manageable fight. Put Tellah, Palom, and Porom in the front row before
the fight (so that they’ll be in the back for the actual fight). Attack with
Cecil, use Cure 2 against Milon Z with Tellah, and use Hi Potions with Palom and
Porom. If Palom or Porom fall, don’t worry too much. Once Milon Z has ~200
health left bring everyone back to life and finish him off with a Hi Potion.
 
Milon Z is also weak against Holy, so the White arrows do decent damage if you
run out of Hi Potions for Palom and Porom to throw.

3.10 Yang and Guards
--------------------
HP: 300 (Guards), 62,000 (Yang – don’t need to do all this)
EXP: None
Party: Cecil, Tellah, Palom, Porom
Surviving Members: Doesn’t matter
 
Take the guards out quickly using Tellah’s Bio. Don’t bother using physical
attacks as they retaliate with Mini, which can get ugly fast. For Yang, attack
him with Cecil after he uses his second Kick and the fight will end.

3.11 Baigan
-----------
HP: 4444 (Main Body), 444 (Arms)
EXP: 4820
Party: Cecil, Tellah, Palom, Porom, Yang
Surviving Members: Tellah, Palom, Porom, Yang
 
Set Tellah, Palom, and Porom in the back row.
 
This is another fight that is easy to win but tricky to ensure the right people
are standing at the end. Have Palom take out one arm with a Fire 2, and have
Tellah cast Ice 3 on the body, which will respond by casting Wall. Attack the
other arm until it has <100 health left, then attack the main body with Cecil
and Yang, healing with Tellah, Palom, and Porom. If Palom or Porom falls, don’t
worry about reviving them yet.
 
After three rounds, Baigan’s Wall should wear off, at which point cast Ice 3
again. Revive the twins and heal everyone except Cecil. If Baigan does not kill
Cecil, have Palom use Fire 2 to do the job. Attack with Yang throughout, and if
Baigan is still standing after three rounds, use a multi-target Ice 3 with
Tellah to finish things off.

If you’re low on MP, use Psych to replenish; alternatively, use Bio on Baigan,
as the arm will simply detonate afterwards. If its health is low enough, it
won’t pose a risk to your party. 

3.12 Cagnazzo
-------------
HP: 5312
EXP: 5500
Party: Cecil, Tellah, Palom, Porom, Yang
Surviving Members: Tellah, Palom, Porom, Yang
 
Cagnazzo is interesting, as Big Wave’s damage output is tied to his health.
Early on, don’t worry if Palom and Porom fall. Immediately hit him with Bolt 3
with Tellah. If Cagnazzo can take another Bolt 3, do so, otherwise Bolt 2s plus
attacks from Cecil and Yang to bring him down to ~1000. Heal as needed with
Cecil and Yang during this stage.
 
Now revive and restore Palom and Porom, as Big Wave is no longer strong enough
to knock them out. Have Palom knock Cecil out with Fire 2, then finish Cagnazzo
with Bolt 3. 

3.13 Dark Elf
-------------
HP: About 3000 to transition, 3927 after
EXP: 6000
Party: Cecil, Tellah, Yang, Cid
Surviving Members: Tellah, Yang, Cid
 
Put Yang, Cid, and Tellah in the back row. Equip a RubyRing to Tellah, which
will prevent him from getting Pigged.
 
This fight isn’t too bad. During the first phase, attack with Cecil (use the
Legend, as the Dark Elf is weak against Holy), Cid, and Yang, and use Tellah to
keep everyone but Cecil healed. After about four/five rounds of attacking, kill
off Cecil, then finish the first phase by attacking with Yang and Cid.
 
Once the Dark Elf transitions, you want to quickly cast Weak on him and then
attack with Yang or Cid to finish him off. If you’d rather not use Weak, have
Tellah use Level 3 elemental spells and use Yang and Cid to heal, but the fight
is hard this way.

3.14 The Magus Sisters
----------------------
HP: 2591 (Sandy), 4599 (Cindy), 2590 (Mindy)
EXP: 7500
Party: Cecil, Tellah, Yang, Cid
Surviving Members: Tellah, Yang, Cid
 
Behold the awesome power of the Gaia Hammer. Select and use it from the Item
menu while Cid has it equipped, and he will use a mini-Quake against everyone
for a good amount of damage. Combined with Cecil using his Dancing Daggers
against the middle sister (from the Item menu, of course), your damage output is
several times higher than if you were using regular attacks. Just be careful not
to take out the left and right sisters with Quake.
 
The Magus Sisters will rotate through a pattern of Fire2, Ice2, Bolt2, and Bio.
Attack the middle sister with Yang and heal with Tellah – you can use Cure 2 if
your target isn’t Walled, otherwise use a Hi Potion. If Bio OHKOs someone,
revive them, Cure 2, and keep going. Tellah can Psych the left or right sister
if he’s low on MP.
 
Once the middle sister is down, kill off Cecil, then use Ice 3 on the remaining
sisters. That’s it! 

3.15 Valvalis
-------------
HP: 8636
EXP: 9000
Party: Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Yang, Cid
Surviving Members: Yang, and Cid
 
Valvalis is obnoxious, but not too bad once you know how to approach her. The
biggest challenge of this fight is having the right people alive at the end.
 
Put Cecil and Rosa in the back row and everyone else up front. Give Cecil the
best armor you have. He will be your tank for this fight (that’s right, the ol’
Level 1 tank). Valvalis has three attacks: a physical attack, Wind, and Ray,
which causes gradual Petrify. The only attack that can kill someone is her
physical attack. Since Wind puts characters into critical status, Cecil will
protect them so long as he’s not also critical! (Or defending. Do NOT defend
with Cecil)
 
In general, I try to get in the following cycle. Jump with Kain. After he lands,
attack with Yang and Cid and use Dancing Daggers with Cecil. Have Rosa keep
Cecil’s HP up and use Softs to remove Petrify. Note: if Cecil uses Dancing
Daggers against Valvalis’s Spin phase, they’ll do no damage.
 
If Cecil ever gets hit with Wind, heal him immediately. If anyone gets knocked
out, revive them quickly. 
 
Once Valvalis is below 300 health, switch rows and then heal Yang and Cid to
full health while letting Cecil and Rosa die off. If Valvalis is very low on
health, you can kill her while she is spinning (just make sure Kain dies
beforehand).

If you’re struggling with that approach, wait until Valvalis uses Wind on Kain
and then Jump with Kain. If you’re lucky Valvalis’s counter will kill Kain, and
you can finish her off quickly with Yang and Cid. Otherwise kill Kain using
Yang/Cid and use the other to attack Valvalis. Hopefully that finishes her, but
if not, either keep attacking with Yang/Cid or revive Kain, heal, and try the
Jump technique again. If you’re struggling to get Yang and Cid back to full
health, revive the entire party and let Cecil shield them. 

3.16 Cal and Brina
--------------------
HP: 1369 (Cal), 369 (Brina)
EXP: 1000 each, 6000 total
Party: Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Yang
Surviving Members: Kain, Yang
 
This fight isn’t bad once you know how to approach it. If either the Cals or the
Brinas are the only dolls remaining, they will transform into Calbrena. Since
Calbrena gives 12,000 EXP, we want to avoid fighting her.
 
Simply pick off one Cal and one Brina at a time. Jump with Kain, use Dancing
Daggers with Cecil, and attack/Kick with Yang. Cecil will again act as your
tank, so don’t worry about keeping Kain and Yang’s HP up (but revive them if
they fall). Use Rosa to heal Cecil, or Yang if Rosa falls.
 
When there is one Cal and one Brina left, whittle their health down so that each
can only survive one more attack. Heal Yang and Kain, then kill off Cecil and
Rosa. Attack in quick succession with Kain and Yang, and hope the attacks don’t
miss :).

3.17 Golbez
-----------
HP: 3000? (FF Fandom says 9,999, but he fell after about 3000 for me)
EXP: 15,001
Party: Cecil, Kain, Rydia, Rosa, Yang
Surviving Members: Yang
 
As soon as the fight begins, revive Cecil and give him a Hi Potion. You’ll need
quick fingers here, which is why we lowered the Battle Speed before the
Cal/Brina battle. You can try getting Kain in the air after doing this, but I’ve
never been able to.
 
Once Rydia rejoins the team, quickly revive the team using Lifes and Hi Potions.
Then starting whittling Golbez’s HP down. Sources online say you need to deal
9,999 damage here, but he typically falls after about 300 damage for me. One or
two Jumps, Titan, and a Dancing Daggers or two from Cecil should get him close
to down. Depending on damage rolls, you may want to attack with Yang as well,
which will do 100-150 damage.
 
Once Golbez is one hit from Yang away from dying, let him whittle down your
party. Keep Yang healed, and try to have his turn queued as Golbez takes out the
last remaining party member. Then finish him with Yang.
 
If Golbez doesn’t die as expected, try and revive your party, since Yang cannot
survive for long on his own.
 
Again, save states are useful here since you can better calibrate when to
isolate Yang. Plus, if you fail during a save state you don’t have to repeat the
Cal Brina fight!

3.18 Dr Lugae
-------------
HP: 9321 (second phase)
EXP: 10,101
Party: Cecil, Kain, Rydia, Rosa, Yang
Surviving Members: Yang
 
Before the fight equip Yang with you’re a Cat Claw, a Bolt Claw, the Bandanna,
the Black Belt, and the Strength Ring. Bolt Claws do 4x to Machine enemies
(which the second form of Lugae is), so with this and all the stat boosts from
his other equipment, Yang can deal north of 2000 damage in a single hit.
 
Focus your attacks on Lugae during the first phase: Jump with Kain, Dancing
Dagger with Cecil/Rydia, and Attack with Yang. Heal with Rosa as needed, which
shouldn’t be much. Once Lugae falls, Balnab will self-destruct and take out one
of your characters.
 
At the start of the second fight, revive whoever Balnab took out and start
whittling away. Dancing Daggers with Cecil/Rydia, Jump with Kain, and Attack
with Yang. Use Rosa to heal and revive people who are taken out by Laser.
 
When Lugae gets low on health, heal Yang and kill off all your other characters,
then finish him with Yang. Laser is tied to Lugae’s health, so it won’t be an
issue at this point of the fight.
 
Don’t heal much afterwards, since you will need to kill everyone off in the
upcoming Dark Imp fight anyway. To avoid getting killed by a back attack, I’d
recommend reviving everyone but not refilling their HP.

3.19 Dark Imps
--------------
HP: 199
EXP: 5790
Party: Cecil, Kain, Rydia, Rosa, Yang
Surviving Members: Yang
 
This fight is easy. Take out two of the Imps, then heal Yang and kill off your
other party members before finishing the third one. 

3.20 Stalemen
-------------
HP: 1950
EXP: 1406
Party: Cecil, Kain, Rydia, Rosa, Edge
Surviving Members: Kain, Rydia, Rosa, Edge (unless you defeated a Lilith to
acquire Silver Apples, in which case only keep Kain and Rosa alive)
 
These guys don’t pose much of a challenge. Put Kain and Edge in the back, and
then kill off the first golem using Kain’s attack and Rydia’s Ice 2. Get the
second golem within a hit or two of death, then kill off everyone in your party
except Kain and Edge.

3.21 Rubicant
-------------
HP: 34,000
EXP: 18,000
Party: Cecil, Kain, Rydia, Rosa, Edge
Surviving Members: Kain, Edge
 
This is Kain’s fight. Give him the Ice Brand along with the Bandanna, Black
Belt, and Strength ring. With this setup, his jump can do in excess of 6000
damage.
 
Rubicant counters physical attacks with a group Fire 2, so other than Jumping
with Kain the only thing I do is throw Dancing Daggers with Edge for ~750
damage. If you don’t have a stockpile of Dancing Daggers, just Jump with Kain.
 
Have Cecil, Rydia, and Rosa revive people who are killed by Glare, otherwise
have them defend.
 
Whittle Rubicant down to ~3000 health (about 7 Kain jumps if Edge is throwing
Dancing Daggers). Slowly kill off Cecil, Rdyia, and Rosa. Keep Kain and Edge
fully healed, and wait until Rubicant uses Glare on Edge. If he targets Kain,
have Edge bring Kain back to life, heal Kain, and continue waiting. Once Edge is
gone, quickly Jump with Kain and the fight will be over.

3.22 The Four Fiends
--------------------
HP: Not entirely sure. From my gameplay I estimate Milon ~20,000; Rubicant
~30,000, Cagnazzo ~ 25,000 and Valvalis ~25,000.
EXP: 62,500
Party: Cecil, Rydia, Rosa, Edge, FuSoYa
Surviving Party Members: FuSoYa
 
This fight is tough, but manageable with the right preparation. Once you’re past
Rubicant, things should be ok.
 
Before the fight, put FuSoYa, Edge, and Cecil in the back row. Have FuSoYa in
the middle slot. Set the battle speed to its lowest level; if you want a
challenge, see how fast a speed you can beat this fight on.
 
Your equipment should look like this:

-Cecil: Ice Brand, Aegis Shield, Diamond Helm, Ice Armor, Genji Glove
-Edge: Cat Claw, Cat Claw, Genji Helm, Genji Armor, Rune Ring
-Rydia: Fairy Rod, Silver Shield, Tiara, Sorcerer Robe, Rune Ring
-Rosa: Lunar Staff, Silver Shield, Tiara, Sorcerer Robe, Rune Ring
-FuSoYa: Initial Equipment

The Cat Claws give Edge +10 Agility, which gives him two extra defense
multipliers and an extra magic defense multiplier. Since he won’t be using his
physical attack for the fight, this is well worth the loss in attack power. I
put the Ice Armor on Cecil because it grants resistance to all three elements.
 
Your general priorities in this fight are:

-FuSoYa: always use level 3 elemental spells: Fire on Milon, Ice on Rubicant,
Bolt on Cainazzo and Valvalis.
-Rydia: always use level 2 elemental spells
-Edge: Revive or throw elixirs if someone needs them, otherwise use his Ninja
abilities
-Cecil: Revive or throw elixirs
-Rosa: Revive or throw elixirs
 
Milon isn’t too bad. A Fire 3 from FuSoYa, two Flames from Edge, and two Fire 2s
from Rydia should trigger the transition to Rubicant. Have FuSoYa heal/parry on
his second turn, and then queue an Ice 3 before Milon falls, so that he hits
Rubicant right at the beginning of the fight.
 
Rubicant is nasty because he uses nothing but multi-targetting attacks: Fire 2,
Fire 3, Glare in order. End this fight quickly: Ice 3 with FuSoYa, Ice 2 with
Rydia, and Flood with Edge. Have Cecil and Rosa use Elixirs if anyone is low on
MP and revive anyone who falls to spread out the damage from Glare. This fight
can get ugly if Rubicant does Glare more than once.
 
Cagnazzo is manageable. Revive your party quickly and cast Cure 4 with FuSoYa.
Hit him with Bolt spells with FuSoYa, and have everyone else keep the party
alive and well. If you’re in good shape, use Bolt 2 with Rydia or Blitz with
Edge. Cagnazzo will attack four times and then use Big Wave, so if you have
critical members, heal them in advance of Big Wave.
 
Valvalis can be tricky, since her Weak is now multi-targeting. Be patient and
keep everyone alive and FuSoYa’s MP high. Once you’ve done two Bolt 3’s with
FuSoYa and a Blitz with Edge, let Valvalis slowly kill your party, using
Elixirs/Cure 3 on FuSoYa whenever Valvalis casts Storm. Ideally you will have
FuSoYa’s turn queued up when Valvalis kills the last party member so that you
can quickly cast Flare. Flare is the fastest queueing spell, so hopefully you
can get it off and finish Valvalis before things go south.

3.23 CPU
--------
HP: 30,000 (CPU), 3000 (Attacker), 3000 (Defender)
EXP: 50,000
Party: Cecil, Rydia, Rosa, Edge, FuSoYa
Surviving Party Members: FuSoYa
 
On the first turn, have FuSoYa cast Flare to take out the Defender in the bottom
right. Then settle in for a slow but simple fight. The Attacker’s Laser does a
fixed 10% of each character’s HP every round, so you’re in no risk of dying so
long as you keep up with healing.
 
Edge is the main damage doer here. Haste him and Slow the Attacker. Have Edge
throw Dancing Daggers. Use Dancing Daggers with Rydia, Ice Brand with Cecil, and
cast Cure 2 on the group with Rosa. FuSoYa can attack or heal. FuSoYa’s greater
HP means he takes more damage every round, so you may need to give him a
dedicated Cure 2 or Cure 3 every now and then.
 
If you’re feeling lucky and want to speed things up, have FuSoYa cast Wall on
Cecil and then bounce Flares off it. Just pray it doesn’t hit the Attacker! This
strategy is more viable on an emulator.
 
Once you’ve done over 20,000 damage to the CPU (about 15 Dancing Daggers worth),
kill off everyone except FuSoYa, then have him cast Meteo to end the fight.

3.24 Lamia
----------
HP: 1200
EXP: 2059
Party: Cecil, Kain, Rydia, Rosa, Edge
Surviving Party Members: Kain, Rosa
Note: If you defeated a Lilith to get Silver Apples, you cannot win this fight
without gaining an unnecessary level.
 
I find it easiest to fight Lamias in the western portion of the underground.
There’s a small three-square vertical stretch where you can land and encounter a
single Lamia. This fight is nothing special, we just want to win a Stardust. On
an emulator, save state before a Lamia fight, and replay the fight until you win
a Stardust (the odds are 11/64 when an item is dropped). In the exchange screen,
use the Exchange Glitch to create a slot with 0 Stardusts (see Section 4.1 for a
description of the Exchange Glitch). Get into one more fight, use the 0 Stardust
slot, and run away before the spell is cast. Voila!

3.25 Zeromus
------------
HP: Variable (65,498 plus a possible refill of 49,498 – 53,498)
EXP: None
Party: Cecil, Kain, Rydia, Rosa, Edge
Surviving Party Members: Kain
 
Buckle up. This fight is a real challenge but a lot of fun once you get the hang
of it. 
 
Party Order (top to bottom – this matters!): Kain, Rosa, Cecil, Rydia, Edge
 
The only equipment that matters is for Kain: Gungir Spear, Dragon Shield,
Bandanna, Black Belt, and Strength Ring.  Using the “offensive” armor makes
Kain’s attack multiplier 7, as opposed to 5 with better armor. There’s no reason
to increase his defense since nothing will let him survive Big Bang. Give
everyone else what you like, but don’t give Cecil the Excalibur. We will be
throwing that away soon.
 
There are four phases to this fight, which we will tackle one at a time. 

3.25.1 Phase I
--------------------

After being restored by your former party members, do the following:

-Have Cecil use the Crystal on Zeromus
-Have all other party members use Star Veils on themselves

On Cecil’s second turn, use a Silk Web to slow Zeromus down. Any remaining turns
Cecil gets, use a magical item like Stardust, Inferno, etc. on Zeromus (a potion
also works). Don’t worry if Cecil is killed by a Flare counter.

-On Kain’s second turn, use a magical item.
-On Edge’s second turn, throw the Dagger you got from Yang’s wife, which will
-deal ~6,400 damage. If Edge gets a third turn, throw the Excalibur, which will
do ~4,000 damage</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
-On Rydia and Rosa’s second turn and beyond, use a magical item 

On Kain’s third turn, Jump. Zeromus should shake shortly thereafter and then use
Big Bang, which will wipe out everyone except Kain. If you got two Throws in
with Edge and had all the Flare counters reflected, you should have taken off
around 20-25K of Zeromus’s health. Good start!

3.25.2 Phase II
---------------

From here on out it’s Kain v. Zeromus. In this phase, Zeromus’s pattern is:

-Part 1: Black Hole, Disrupt (this action is invisible or coincides with him
shaking), Disrupt, Big Bang (he won’t cast Black Hole the first time he does
this)
-Part 2: Black Hole, Disrupt, Disrupt, Big Bang
-Part 3: Bio, Black Hole, Disrupt, Disrupt, Big Bang

When Kain lands at the start of Phase II, have him Jump immediately to avoid the
forthcoming Big Bang. Now settle into the following pattern:

-When Zeromus begins Part 2, use a Star Veil (during Black Hole animation), then
Jump.
-When Zeromus begins Part 3, use a magical item (during Bio animation), attack
(during Black Hole animation), then Jump
-When Zeromus begins Part 1, attack (during Black Hole animation), then Jump.
 
Zeromus will transition to Phase III if he takes a turn while his health is
between 12,000 and 16,000. If you miss the transition and get off-sync with his
new phase, you might get hit by a Big Bang. You won’t like getting hit by a Big
Bang.
 
I try to identify the transition by watching Zeromus’s actions every time I
attack or use an item. In Phase II, these are synced up with Black Hole/Bio
animations. Thus, if you’re about to execute one of these actions and Zeromus
does nothing, he has transitioned to Phase III and you need to Jump immediately.

This method isn’t foolproof, since you if trigger his transition right after he
does a Black Hole, he’ll shake like normal, perhaps with a longer pause
beforehand, but it’s easy to miss. To guard against this possibility, after he’s
hit you with Virus twice, use a Star Veil whenever he casts Black Hole (instead
of attacking during Part 1). This way, if you happen to miss his transition,
you’ll be protected when he fires Flare at you unexpectedly.
 
It may be possible to revive Edge and have him throw the Knife in order to skip
Phase 3 altogether, but that would be difficult to do in real time (you’d need
to keep very precise track of Zeromus’s HP, and it’s complicated by the fact
that Zeromus is inflicted with Sap from Bio). If anyone can come up with a
consistent strategy for doing this, I’m all ears, as it would shorten the fight
dramatically.

3.25.3 Phase III
----------------
This phase is similar to Phase II, but now Zeromus uses Flare instead of Bio.
Also, at the start of Phase III Zeromus refills his HP :).
Part 1: Disrupt, Disrupt, Big Bang
Part 2: Black Hole, Flare, Disrupt, Disrupt, Disrupt, Big Bang
 
We have a new cycle now:
-When Zeromus begins Part 1, Jump
-When Zeromus begins Part 2, use a Star Veil (during Black Hole animation),
magical item (during Flare animation. I’m typically using Potions on Zeromus as
this point), magical item (Zeromus does nothing), and then Jump.

Over the course of a cycle (Jump/Jump/Star Veil/Item/Item), we get two Jumps and
three Flare counters, which deals around 11,000 damage. It takes ~53,500 damage
to get Zeromus to transition to stage four, so he should transition at the end
of the fifth cycle. Instead of jumping after you use your second magical item,
equip the Blood Sword to Kain and then give him a Bacchus. With any luck Zeromus
will cast Meteo instead of Big Bang. You’ve entered the fourth phase and the
fight is as good as over!

3.25.4 Phase IV
---------------
When Zeromus is below 12,000 HP he’ll start using Meteo. Congrats—there are no
more Big Bangs to dodge!
 
This phase is why we picked up the Blood Sword. Assuming you got Kain berserked
before the first Meteo was cast, he should get three hits in for every Meteo,
and cannot lose.

If Zeromus casts Meteo before Kain gets berserked, you’re in a bit of trouble
but can still win.

-On your next turn, go into the Item menu, equip the Blood Sword, and then use
an Elixir.
-Continue using Elixirs until you get a Meteo roll that leaves you with ~700 HP
left (I’m assuming you gave Kain the two Silver and one Gold Apples before the
fight, otherwise you’re hosed).
-Press and hold to attack with the Blood Sword, and hope that you do enough
damage to survive the next Meteo.
-Throw an Elixir on your next turn (you’ll select it before the Meteo animation
and use it after)
-Assuming you’re still alive, then give Kain a Bacchus. From here the fight is
on autopilot
 
Congrats on taking down one of the tougher low-level bosses around!

********************
4. Other Information
********************

4.1 The Exchange Screen Glitch
------------------------------
(Note: I did not discover this glitch. For a text description, see Penguin8R’s
description here: https://pastebin.com/yk6dcg4u. For a video demonstration, see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utIVOJekE8c.)
 
The Exchange Screen Glitch allows you to underflow any consumable or equippable
items to generate a stack of 255 of them. The links above do a good job
describing the glitch, but I’ll write a few words here in case the links break
in the future.
 
The basic mechanics of the glitch work as follows:

-Have two stacks of item X you want to duplicate
-Enter the item exchange screen
-Place one of the stacks of X in the top exchange screen, then place it on top
of the second stack of X in your inventory.
-Select the slot in the top exchange screen where the stack of X just was. This
is a hidden stack of 0 X’s.
-Place this stack in your inventory
-Exit the exchange screen
-For equippables, have a character equip X from the 0 stack. This will create a
stack of “-1” X’s, which the game will interpret as 255.
-For consumables, get into a fight, and have a character use X. This will again
cause an underflow glitch and result in a stack of 255 X’s.
 
To expand on these details a bit:

-If you get in a fight and run away or win without using the underflow, the 0
stack will disappear.
-There are two ways to trigger the exchange screen. One is by winning an item
from a monster fight. The other is by opening a treasure chest (or receiving a
plot item) containing a new item when your inventory is full
-If you ever need to fill up your inventory, you can just buy single Potions
from an item store
-If you only have one stack of X and a monster drops an X, the glitch still
works exactly as above.
-However, if you only have one stack of X and a chest gives you an X, the X will
simply be added to the existing stack. You will not be taken to the exchange
screen in this case.
 
There are a few uses for this glitch in a Low Level run.

-Getting money. Buy two stacks of an expensive item, use the underflow glitch,
and then sell the resulting 255.
-Duplicating useful items/weapons, such as Elixirs

*****************************
4.2 Getting 255 Silver Apples
*****************************

**Read this whole section before starting to collect Silver Apples**
 
As mentioned up front, one way to tackle Zeromus is to increase the party’s HP
using Silver Apples. This is not necessary, but makes life easier. This section
will describe how to collect Silver Apples relatively quickly.
 
While glitching a near-unlimited number of Silver Apples may seem against the
sprit of the challenge, we could actually stockpile just as many Silver Apples
without the glitch if we had a year or so to spare. Sandworms drop Silver
Apples, meaning that we could use Dark Knight Cecil to amass as many of them as
we like. If we do this after defeating the Mist Dragon but before entering the
Town of Mist, there would be no impact on final party levels (so long as Kain is
killed off for these fights). Of course, since the Sand Worm drops Silver Apples
extremely rarely (1 out of 64 item drops), this would not be an enjoyable task.
By my estimates, if a Sand Worm were one out of every 5 fights and dropped an
item one out of every 20 fights, it would take about a year of game time to
acquire 255 Silver Apples.
 
The general approach for collecting Silver Apples goes like this:

-Win one Silver Apple from a Sand Worm before entering the Town of Mist
-Win one Silver Apple from a Lilith on Mt. Ordeals
-While in the exchange screen after winning the second Silver Apple, use the
Exchange Screen Glitch to create an item slot with 0 Silver Apples in it
-In the next fight, use the Mimic Glitch to make Palom use the 0 Silver Apple
slot, turning it into a collection of 255 Silver Apples
 
Let’s walk through step by step.
 
4.2.1 Collecting a Silver Apple from a Sand Worm
------------------------------------------------
 
This sucks. That’s all I can say. After defeating the Mist Dragon, have DK Cecil
fight Sand Worms until he receives a Silver Apple. It may take a long time,
though with an emulator it’s not as bad since you can save state right before a
Sand Worm fight. Simply execute the fight differently each time to vary the RNG.
If you’re willing to get sub-optimal levels, skip this and just get two Silver
Apples from the Liliths on Mt. Ordeals (by doing this, your final average level
will be 18, not 17.8).
 
4.2.2 Collecting a Silver Apple from a Lilith
---------------------------------------------
 
Liliths have an 11/64 chance of dropping a Silver Apple when they drop something
(11x higher odds than a Sand Worm), so this doesn’t take too long. If you’re
doing this on an emulator, save state before every fight and if you encounter a
Lilith, redo the fight until you get a Silver Apple (make sure to change up the
timing of the fight so that the RNG isn’t identical every time). If you’re on
console, fight until you get a Lilith, and reset if you don’t receive a Silver
Apple. Run away from all non-Lilith fights, of course.
 
Lilith’s give 2703 EXP, so with all of your characters alive, Kain, Rydia, and
Rosa will absorb 650 EXP. This has no effect on their final levels.
 
Save after collecting the first Silver Apple. Stay close to the Save Point while
hunting for your second Silver Apple. When you receive the second Silver Apple,
do NOT simply accept it in the item exchange screen and move on. Instead, you
need to…
 
4.2.3 Create a Slot with 0 Silver Apples
----------------------------------------

This is just an application of the Exchange Screen Glitch described in Section
4.1. While still in the item exchange screen:

-Press down to enter the exchange box
-Select the Silver Apple
-Place the Silver Apple onto your existing stack of Silver Apples. This creates
a stack of 2 Silver Apples in your inventory and in invisible stack of 0 Silver
Apples in the exchange box
-Select the slot in the exchange box where the Silver Apple used to be (the
hidden 0 stack)
-Place it on any open slot in your inventory

Voila! Your inventory now contains a slot with 0 Silver Apples. You can tell you
did this successfully by entering your inventory. The slot where you put the 0
stack of Silver Apples should look blank but give you the description “A silver
apple” when you hover over it.
 
Now save immediately! This 0 stack of Silver Apples will disappear after our
next fight, and the glitch we need to do is tricky. By saving/save-stating we
allow ourselves to attempt the Mimic Glitch repeatedly without having to hunt
Liliths anymore. If you get into a fight before the save point, pray that you’re
able to execute the Mimic Glitch on the first try.
 
If Silver Apples were an armor/weapon or a consumable, we could easily generate
255 of them using the technique described in the video above. However, since
Silver Apples cannot be equipped or used in battle, we need to get a little more
creative.
 
4.2.4 Use the Mimic Glitch to Get 255 Silver Apples
---------------------------------------------------
 
(Note: I did not discover this glitch. For a text description, see:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M9KickQYDJqSRTsYW208Q0Ub3FD0W8jCNFhZxxQLPpM/
edit. This document also contains links to video demonstrations).
 
First put Palom, Porom, and Tellah in the back row. Enter a fight with the 0
Silver Apple slot and perform the following:

-Have Cecil attack Porom
-Wait a second or two, then have Palom cast Fire1 on Porom
-Very quickly, have Porom select Twin
-Have Tellah cast Stop on Cecil. Around this time, Palom’s Fire1 should kill
Porom
-Before Cecil is stopped, have him enter the item menu and select a useable item
(e.g. a Potion) but not use it. Cancel the item, then swap the 0 Silver Apple
slot into that item’s position. Exit the item menu
-Wait. With any luck, Palom’s next move will be “Silver Apple”, which will have
no effect.
-Run away, and congratulate yourself on getting 255 Silver Apples!

My understanding of this glitch is that with Porom dead, Palom enters a state of
perpetual mimicry. By using the item slot Cecil had previously selected, he
consumes a Silver Apple, sending your stack of 0 to a stack of -1 Silver Apples,
which the game interprets as 255 (2^8 – 1).
 
If anything goes wrong, you can try and set this up again in fight, but I find
it easiest to simply reset and try again. It normally takes me 3-4 attempts to
get this, as there’s luck involved in Palom and Porom not getting killed at
certain times.
 
IMPORTANT NOTE: While you have a stack of 2 Silver Apples and a stack of 255
Silver Apples, DO NOT USE THE SORT FUNCTION IN YOUR INVENTORY! It will combine
them into a stack of 257 Silver Apples, which the game interprets as 1 Silver
Apple, undoing all your work. Save immediately once you have the stack. To avoid
mistakes, I’d recommend using or trashing two of your Silver Apples right away
(or, if you’re comfortable waiting a few minutes, on Paladin Cecil when you get
him).

4.3 Stealing Shields for Rydia and Rosa
---------------------------------------

Rydia and Rosa can’t usually equip shields, but a glitch with Edge’s Sneak
technique allows them to. Run into a fight that contains an Armadilo. Kill all
the enemies except one Armadilo, then kill off all your characters except Edge
and whichever lady you’re trying to get a shield for (let’s say Rydia).
 
On Edge’s turn, wait a few seconds and then use the Sneak command. With any
luck, Rydia will get her turn while Edge is about to steal. Quickly enter the
item menu with Rydia. If Edge steals a Silver Shield, Rydia will be able to
select the Shield, drag it up to the equipment box, and equip it. Don’t exit the
item screen before the shield is equipped.

*******************
5. Acknowledgements
*******************

-To Square Soft, for making this great game
-To curtsed, for his video convincing me that a low-level Zeromus was possible
-To the Final Fantasy Fandom wiki (https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki) and
GameCorner guides (https://guides.gamercorner.net/) for centralizing a
tremendous amount of information about Final Fantasy and other games
-To penguin8r, for his video about the Exchange Screen Glitch