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FF5 Solos vs. Omega Part I
Feb. 24th, 2018 11:23 pmOkay, it's showtime.
Unlike the previous superbosses I've fought though, Omega is undoubtedly overdesigned. Its Encircle counter is incredibly obstructive to a solo character - the ones that can hit the thing, anyway. Its 95% evasion prevents many classes from practically being able to do damage to him, and those that do need to contend with 190 defense. Compounding things is the machine's inherent Reflect and Shell status to make magic users' lives miserable as well, and 150 magic defense on top of that. There are several ways for a regular party to fight through - no need to be horribly overleveled or decked out in the best gear and abilities ever - but solos often run into trouble here.
Because of this, not every solo class is capable of making it through Omega. But there's several that can, and I intend tosuffer show it. Actually no, suffer.
Obviously we need to take inspiration from the Terminator franchise for the name here. John Connor it is. As usual, there's no holds barred for the superbosses. As long as we're following the rules of a solo job class (e.g. no using the status bug to give a magic job Bone Mail protection), the job can do anything in its power to defeat the robot, including using said status bug, overleveling, and dirty tactics.
Overleveling in particular. The objective here is to see if a solo class can beat the superboss at all here (end of a solo run that includes the bonus dungeon?) - Omega is that bad. This also adds an element of protecting against Encircle, with the robot's cheated level of 117 making getting through things ordinarily problematic. Because this thing is so much suited to fighting it with a full party, I'll also give brief thoughts on how each does in such a setting - the purpose of which will become more apparent later on.
Be sure to read up on the status bug before getting into this if you haven't already done so. It's something I'll be making use of in this report in certain places. Like I said, no mercy to be had here.
Let's get right to it. Here I'll be doing it in a "what can best defeat it" tier type format, just coincidentally because it works best for this report. These first few - if they have what they need - can get the job done with little to no trouble. Regardless of this thing being overdesigned, or what they need to get it done. If you go in prepared and play right, it's toast.
__________
The Cannoneer
Like I said in my solo report of this, this job can handle Omega just as well as Shinryu at normal levels. !Combine may be able to be seen as a more balanced version of !Mix, but both commands allow their job to get a win over superbosses under reasonable circumstances.
Cannoneer has three advantages over Chemist. The first being Slow status, a nasty gamechanger easily inflicted. This allowed John Connor two turns for every turn Omega received. This meant firing off an attack and healing before it could move again. The second is Aegis Shield, which can negate certain attacks from Omega occasionally.
Finally, there's the counterattack quirk - if you use any status-inflicting !Combine on Omega that doesn't affect it, it won't counterattack (note that it does counterattack Slow when it hits). If you do this and combine it with the status bug for immunity to Blaster, this fight becomes ridiculously easy with the Cannoneer - although it's more than possible to do it without, as I've done it. This aside, Spark Cannon does healthy damage at a normal level, and as long as you block or avoid Encircles, you're good to go.
The first of more than you might expect! I put this one just above Chemist due to a few factors, but as far as killing Omega is concerned, they're top class for a solo.
Cannoneer is also very good in a party setting for this thing - especially for the easy inflicting of slow status.
__________
The Chemist
No surprise. But then again I am on GBA, so nonsense in getting all the way to level 255 via mixtures is out the door. At least there's no Level 3 Flare to embarass myself with here...
Chemist's big advantage is of course its myriad of mixtures. The trickiest part is getting them up. Of course Chemist needs to wear Reflect Ring to protect against Delta Attack, though I suppose praying it doesn't show up is an option. But even with Haste status, I found that Omega was occasionally getting two turns to John Connor's one. Might be able to avoid that by shedding some equipment to reduce weight.
Once buffed sufficiently, Chemist has a few avenunes of attack. Shadowflares work if you've farmed Dark Matters. Split Shell/Turtle Soup can reduce its magic defense after which the robot can be kissed to death. And due to knives halving an enemy's evasion, it's more than possible for Chemist to use a strategy based around the Chicken Knife. One thing to watch out for if you are using that or kisses, though - if Omega uses Delta Attack and damages itself, it will counter. Got owned by some untimely Mustard Bombs a few times when going for the win here. Shadowflare of course doesn't suffer from this.
Either way, this too can easily clean out Omega. Chemist gives up Slow in exchange for immunity to a lot of things with Dragon's Kiss. It's far from the only one who can pull this win off.
Chemist's Dragon Kisses are of course excellent in a full-party setting, too.
__________
The Mystic Knight
I think the thing I learned most from my solo fiesta some years ago is that this is a damn good class. Sure it sucks at multi-targetting, but when it's one-on-one, like most boss fights, it handles itself spectacularly.
There are several keys that go into Mystic Knight being able to successfully defeat Omega. The first of these is how knives halve a target's evasion. This allows it to connect with Thundaga Spellbladed Chicken Knife strikes for 9999 damage. The second of these is Genji Armor to resist the confusion from the incoming Rocket Punches. Very important to get and wear.
Finally, setting up its HP to activate Shell status early into the fight will help guard against nasty things like Maelstrom and Encircle. For further protection, the status bug can be used to definitively protect against Blaster, too. With all this, the Mystic Knight has what it takes to get it done.
And at a reasonable level, too! That being 65, like the above. With reasonable luck, too. Really, this class is most indicative of one small change to FF5 it would take to make Omega possible for several classes: a lightning-elemental knife of decent endgame power. Add that and several classes could at least show up to play. No such luck, though. Of course a hypothetical weapon like that it won't be as overkill as what Mystic Knight does here...
It's just as solid in a full party, too. Mystic Knight is one of my favorite classes to get in a four job fiesta setting because of all its advantages.
__________
The Ranger
This class had severe troubles against Gil Turtle due to low vitality. It also ran into trouble against Shinryu due to circumstances. Here we finally come to a superboss where it can perform decently enough.
Ranger brings the offense to Omega in spades: !Rapid Fire will absolutely tear through it - over 16000 at max level, and still well over 10000 at more reasonable ones. The big-ass downside is that this provokes a double counterattack. This includes Rocket Punch, which will almost definitely inflict confusion. Heavy armor classes can equip the Genji Armor to combat this. Those who can equip mage armor can use a Lamia's Tiara. Ranger can only equip light armor, so gets stuck with Bone Mail. That means rolling the dice with Assassin's Dagger to heal. Of course if you want you can also just use the status bug and Elixirs...
When doing it without that bug and due to the front row requirement, the Ranger will want to !Aim at Omega with the Assassin's Dagger. This guarantees a hit, doesn't involve the Ranger hitting itself, and the Death spell if it triggers will bounce right off and onto the Ranger.
The good news is that this fight doesn't take long, one way or another. The strategy is to try for a preemptive, get off a !Rapid Fire, survive, and start stalling. To really make it easier, prep the Magic Lamp for Carbuncle. Use it when possible - but not too early. The Ranger can get several free shots in after Search is bounced. And of course once it's in kill range, you can just go for the throat (??) on the next turn.
If all goes well, the Ranger at 99 can kill Omega before its script loops. Lower to more reasonably leveled ones should be able to do it too (and will definitely want the status bug for breathing room), but Encircle will be more obstructive at those lower levels. Delta Attack too - strangely, only Ribbon and Aegis grant immunity to it. Probably another additional thing FF5 could've used. Though I didn't know of it when I did this one, learning of the status bug made me move it up here.
Of course, the classic Spellblade Rapid Fire works well on Omega - if you're prepared for the counters. But there's better base jobs, even though it has some excellent commands to use on it, including !Aim.
__________
The Dancer
Oh god not anothe-wait, excuse me? I know I said it's fascinating how a job that does poorly against one superboss might be just fine against another, but EXCUSE ME? Bad vitality?! Hello?!?!!
Dancer's advantages are pushed to the forefront here. Sword Dance ignores accuracy checks while doing insane damage, and this boss is purely magical so row makes no difference. Due to its nature, it comboed with Chicken Knife tears through the machine's defense. Its equipment disregards a lot of the things Omega can do: Blaster, Delta Attack, Rocket Punch confusion...the two biggest threats that remain are Encircle of course, and Maelstrom. For the former, you simply need to pray it doesn't show up and hit. For the latter, it could be recovered from depending on whether John Connor's turn was active and how much HP he was left with.
Timing in attacking is critical when facing Omega with Dancer due to its low HP. Some with higher health numbers may be able to get away with more, but Dancer's is low enough so that Mustard Bomb can kill after a Wave Cannon, and Atomic Ray comes very close.
I rank it in this group because it has more than enough tools to get the job done without relying on luck overly much Even long strings of Jitterbugs and Mystery Waltzs won't matter too much. There is the SLIGHT catch that it wants as many levels as possible, though it still fits how I defined this grouping once it has it. And unlike some of the other jobs - it can still do very heavy damage at these high levels.
Dancer's equipment is probably more desirable for use against Omega than Dancer itself, though just using it itself with Sword Dance is an option (fiesta settings where you get it with Mystic Knight?)
__________
If not using the status bug, then drop Ranger down to the list of those who can get the job done even though Omega is overdesigned. The jobs that can defeat the robot, but have more trouble with it for various reasons. The odds might be very low for some of them, but all can get it done. Those will be next time.
Next | Index
Unlike the previous superbosses I've fought though, Omega is undoubtedly overdesigned. Its Encircle counter is incredibly obstructive to a solo character - the ones that can hit the thing, anyway. Its 95% evasion prevents many classes from practically being able to do damage to him, and those that do need to contend with 190 defense. Compounding things is the machine's inherent Reflect and Shell status to make magic users' lives miserable as well, and 150 magic defense on top of that. There are several ways for a regular party to fight through - no need to be horribly overleveled or decked out in the best gear and abilities ever - but solos often run into trouble here.
Because of this, not every solo class is capable of making it through Omega. But there's several that can, and I intend to
Obviously we need to take inspiration from the Terminator franchise for the name here. John Connor it is. As usual, there's no holds barred for the superbosses. As long as we're following the rules of a solo job class (e.g. no using the status bug to give a magic job Bone Mail protection), the job can do anything in its power to defeat the robot, including using said status bug, overleveling, and dirty tactics.
Overleveling in particular. The objective here is to see if a solo class can beat the superboss at all here (end of a solo run that includes the bonus dungeon?) - Omega is that bad. This also adds an element of protecting against Encircle, with the robot's cheated level of 117 making getting through things ordinarily problematic. Because this thing is so much suited to fighting it with a full party, I'll also give brief thoughts on how each does in such a setting - the purpose of which will become more apparent later on.
Be sure to read up on the status bug before getting into this if you haven't already done so. It's something I'll be making use of in this report in certain places. Like I said, no mercy to be had here.
Let's get right to it. Here I'll be doing it in a "what can best defeat it" tier type format, just coincidentally because it works best for this report. These first few - if they have what they need - can get the job done with little to no trouble. Regardless of this thing being overdesigned, or what they need to get it done. If you go in prepared and play right, it's toast.
__________
The Cannoneer
Like I said in my solo report of this, this job can handle Omega just as well as Shinryu at normal levels. !Combine may be able to be seen as a more balanced version of !Mix, but both commands allow their job to get a win over superbosses under reasonable circumstances.
Cannoneer has three advantages over Chemist. The first being Slow status, a nasty gamechanger easily inflicted. This allowed John Connor two turns for every turn Omega received. This meant firing off an attack and healing before it could move again. The second is Aegis Shield, which can negate certain attacks from Omega occasionally.
Finally, there's the counterattack quirk - if you use any status-inflicting !Combine on Omega that doesn't affect it, it won't counterattack (note that it does counterattack Slow when it hits). If you do this and combine it with the status bug for immunity to Blaster, this fight becomes ridiculously easy with the Cannoneer - although it's more than possible to do it without, as I've done it. This aside, Spark Cannon does healthy damage at a normal level, and as long as you block or avoid Encircles, you're good to go.
The first of more than you might expect! I put this one just above Chemist due to a few factors, but as far as killing Omega is concerned, they're top class for a solo.
Cannoneer is also very good in a party setting for this thing - especially for the easy inflicting of slow status.
__________
The Chemist
No surprise. But then again I am on GBA, so nonsense in getting all the way to level 255 via mixtures is out the door. At least there's no Level 3 Flare to embarass myself with here...
Chemist's big advantage is of course its myriad of mixtures. The trickiest part is getting them up. Of course Chemist needs to wear Reflect Ring to protect against Delta Attack, though I suppose praying it doesn't show up is an option. But even with Haste status, I found that Omega was occasionally getting two turns to John Connor's one. Might be able to avoid that by shedding some equipment to reduce weight.
Once buffed sufficiently, Chemist has a few avenunes of attack. Shadowflares work if you've farmed Dark Matters. Split Shell/Turtle Soup can reduce its magic defense after which the robot can be kissed to death. And due to knives halving an enemy's evasion, it's more than possible for Chemist to use a strategy based around the Chicken Knife. One thing to watch out for if you are using that or kisses, though - if Omega uses Delta Attack and damages itself, it will counter. Got owned by some untimely Mustard Bombs a few times when going for the win here. Shadowflare of course doesn't suffer from this.
Either way, this too can easily clean out Omega. Chemist gives up Slow in exchange for immunity to a lot of things with Dragon's Kiss. It's far from the only one who can pull this win off.
Chemist's Dragon Kisses are of course excellent in a full-party setting, too.
__________
The Mystic Knight
I think the thing I learned most from my solo fiesta some years ago is that this is a damn good class. Sure it sucks at multi-targetting, but when it's one-on-one, like most boss fights, it handles itself spectacularly.
There are several keys that go into Mystic Knight being able to successfully defeat Omega. The first of these is how knives halve a target's evasion. This allows it to connect with Thundaga Spellbladed Chicken Knife strikes for 9999 damage. The second of these is Genji Armor to resist the confusion from the incoming Rocket Punches. Very important to get and wear.
Finally, setting up its HP to activate Shell status early into the fight will help guard against nasty things like Maelstrom and Encircle. For further protection, the status bug can be used to definitively protect against Blaster, too. With all this, the Mystic Knight has what it takes to get it done.
And at a reasonable level, too! That being 65, like the above. With reasonable luck, too. Really, this class is most indicative of one small change to FF5 it would take to make Omega possible for several classes: a lightning-elemental knife of decent endgame power. Add that and several classes could at least show up to play. No such luck, though. Of course a hypothetical weapon like that it won't be as overkill as what Mystic Knight does here...
It's just as solid in a full party, too. Mystic Knight is one of my favorite classes to get in a four job fiesta setting because of all its advantages.
__________
The Ranger
This class had severe troubles against Gil Turtle due to low vitality. It also ran into trouble against Shinryu due to circumstances. Here we finally come to a superboss where it can perform decently enough.
Ranger brings the offense to Omega in spades: !Rapid Fire will absolutely tear through it - over 16000 at max level, and still well over 10000 at more reasonable ones. The big-ass downside is that this provokes a double counterattack. This includes Rocket Punch, which will almost definitely inflict confusion. Heavy armor classes can equip the Genji Armor to combat this. Those who can equip mage armor can use a Lamia's Tiara. Ranger can only equip light armor, so gets stuck with Bone Mail. That means rolling the dice with Assassin's Dagger to heal. Of course if you want you can also just use the status bug and Elixirs...
When doing it without that bug and due to the front row requirement, the Ranger will want to !Aim at Omega with the Assassin's Dagger. This guarantees a hit, doesn't involve the Ranger hitting itself, and the Death spell if it triggers will bounce right off and onto the Ranger.
The good news is that this fight doesn't take long, one way or another. The strategy is to try for a preemptive, get off a !Rapid Fire, survive, and start stalling. To really make it easier, prep the Magic Lamp for Carbuncle. Use it when possible - but not too early. The Ranger can get several free shots in after Search is bounced. And of course once it's in kill range, you can just go for the throat (??) on the next turn.
If all goes well, the Ranger at 99 can kill Omega before its script loops. Lower to more reasonably leveled ones should be able to do it too (and will definitely want the status bug for breathing room), but Encircle will be more obstructive at those lower levels. Delta Attack too - strangely, only Ribbon and Aegis grant immunity to it. Probably another additional thing FF5 could've used. Though I didn't know of it when I did this one, learning of the status bug made me move it up here.
Of course, the classic Spellblade Rapid Fire works well on Omega - if you're prepared for the counters. But there's better base jobs, even though it has some excellent commands to use on it, including !Aim.
__________
The Dancer
Oh god not anothe-wait, excuse me? I know I said it's fascinating how a job that does poorly against one superboss might be just fine against another, but EXCUSE ME? Bad vitality?! Hello?!?!!
Dancer's advantages are pushed to the forefront here. Sword Dance ignores accuracy checks while doing insane damage, and this boss is purely magical so row makes no difference. Due to its nature, it comboed with Chicken Knife tears through the machine's defense. Its equipment disregards a lot of the things Omega can do: Blaster, Delta Attack, Rocket Punch confusion...the two biggest threats that remain are Encircle of course, and Maelstrom. For the former, you simply need to pray it doesn't show up and hit. For the latter, it could be recovered from depending on whether John Connor's turn was active and how much HP he was left with.
Timing in attacking is critical when facing Omega with Dancer due to its low HP. Some with higher health numbers may be able to get away with more, but Dancer's is low enough so that Mustard Bomb can kill after a Wave Cannon, and Atomic Ray comes very close.
I rank it in this group because it has more than enough tools to get the job done without relying on luck overly much Even long strings of Jitterbugs and Mystery Waltzs won't matter too much. There is the SLIGHT catch that it wants as many levels as possible, though it still fits how I defined this grouping once it has it. And unlike some of the other jobs - it can still do very heavy damage at these high levels.
Dancer's equipment is probably more desirable for use against Omega than Dancer itself, though just using it itself with Sword Dance is an option (fiesta settings where you get it with Mystic Knight?)
__________
If not using the status bug, then drop Ranger down to the list of those who can get the job done even though Omega is overdesigned. The jobs that can defeat the robot, but have more trouble with it for various reasons. The odds might be very low for some of them, but all can get it done. Those will be next time.
Next | Index
