FFXII - Espers - Zalera, the Death Seraph
Mithuna Ascendant
Heretic scion who wrapped the world in dark energies, seeking to take the souls of all living things unto himself. Created in opposition to Emet-Selch, Angel of Truth, and scion of light. Originally tasked with the judging of men upon their deaths, his soul was tainted by the curses of those who raged against the heavens, and seizing one of the gods' servants, a shamaness, as a hostage, he rebelled against his creators. Even now, in defeat, he clutches the shamaness to him in his right arm, and with the aid of her death-wail does he summon the soul of darkness to do his bidding.
Previously seen in: Final Fantasy Tactics as one of the Lucavi.
Location: Barheim Passage, Terminus No. 7.
Battle info
Status: None (at start), Protect Shell Haste Reflect (with Enrage)
Steal: Gemini Gem
Attacks: "Zalera braces against attacks" (takes 0 damage), Enrage (Protect Shell Haste Reflect), Kill (death, 1 character), Death, Lvl 2 Sleep, Lvl 3 Disable, Lvl 4 Break, Lvl 5 Reverse, Prime Lvl Death (Death if lvl prime number?), Regular (~300 plus chance of Confuse)
Stipulation: 5 minute countdown to defeat him.
LP received: 40
LP to acquire: 25
Advice: You have 5 minutes to defeat him, but don't worry about that, you'll either beat him or you won't. When he "braces", pairs of Dead Bones (~3500 HP, Undead, Weak: Holy) surround him; defeat them and he will eventually unbrace. I found he tends to use "Enrage" once he unbraces, and he'll suddenly have numerous statuses - whether the statuses are related to Enrage or unbracing, I'm not sure, but be sure to Dispel him whenever it happens. He has several attacks based on levels, including the fearsome "Prime Level Death", so you'll want to make sure your levels are appropriate; ideally, a good level would be 49, as none of his level-based attacks would hit you, but chances are your level won't be that high when you fight him. I would STRONGLY recommend not having a level divisible by 3, as Disable is the worst possible status that can be inflicted. Note that there's a strong chance he'll "brace" soon after Prime Lvl Death, so keep that in mind.
So, in conclusion: check your party's levels before confronting him, and if they're not adequate, do some levelling up to put them in a better place. Destroy the Dead bones while he's braced, and when he's unbraced, go crazy attacking him. And of course, have Raise and/or Phoenix Downs ready to go, as people will be dying frequently - he is the Death Seraph, after all!