A detailed guide on beating what is arguably the single most difficult boss battle in all of Final Fantasy.
Introduction
If you’re interested in Trial Mode for whatever reason, just know it’s a blast. You’ll be fighting various combinations of all enemy types, including boss fights you’ve previously visited, across 100 increasingly challenging stages.
Eventually you’ll make it to the 100th and final stage. And when you do — oh boy, does the game have the perfect challenge for you! It will be the ultimate test of skill, strategy, and preparedness that will push even the most seasoned players to their limits!
In this guide, I’ll go over exactly what you need to know to conquer this final stage and earn that coveted Imperator trophy. Let’s go!
They That Await You On Stage 100
First off, you need to know exactly who you’re up against. In this case, you’ll be fighting five Judges all at the same time. But do NOT mistake them for the storyline bosses in the main game; these guys are Level 90+ and have all manner of crazy mechanics that will guarantee your defeat if you aren’t prepared.
Their names are Ghis, Bergan, Drace, Gabranth, and Zargabaath. Each of them has a different role to play in this grand battle, and you need to know exactly what they can do, because there’s a certain way they need to be defeated. Let’s go over each of them in detail.
Judge Ghis
123,244 HP
He casts debuffs on your party and can also Dispel your buffs, not to mention he will use Elixirs to heal his injured comrades. On top of that, his Scourge attack hits VERY hard. The good news is he’s vulnerable to Sap, Sleep, Slow, Stop, and Disease; of these, Slow and Disease are critical to inflict on Ghis so you can take him down. Eliminate him FIRST.
Judge Bergan
382,348 HP
Just like on Mount Bur-Omisace, all he does is relentlessly whack your party with overwhelming physical attacks. He is vulnerable to Sap, Sleep, Slow, and Stop. After you take down Ghis, focus on him next.
Judge Drace
194,543 HP
She will buff the Judges with things like Haste, Protect, and Shell, which warrants you using Dispelga on the Judges at regular intervals. She can be Diseased and Immobilized; the former is more important, so make sure you put it on her ASAP. Take her down after you get rid of Bergan.
Judge Gabranth
343,243 HP
This guy is quite a pain to take down, especially if Zargabaath is still alive. Not only does he hit hard and fast, but he and Zargabaath like to toss Elixirs on each other (but thankfully won’t use it on themselves) when either is seriously injured. Even worse is the fact that Gabranth is immune to practically every debuff in the game, which means you have no chance of eliminating Zargabaath until Gabranth is out of the way. You can try to use Wither on him, but I haven’t tested it to see if it works. Regardless, he should be your next target after Drace is out of the picture.
Judge Zargabaath
224,843 HP
He buffs Gabranth with things like Bravery and (as mentioned above) will also heal Gabranth with Elixirs. The good news is he’s susceptible to Sleep, so make sure he stays asleep AT ALL TIMES until Gabranth is defeated. If he wakes up for even a split second, he’ll throw an Elixir on Gabranth and force you to start that step over from scratch. Save him for last.
Preparing for Battle
When you first arrive here, more than likely your party will be worn down after dealing with Omega Mark XII on stage 99, so immediately use a Megalixir to top off your party’s HP and MP if necessary. After this, equip a Nihopalaoa on 1-2 of your characters and have them QUICKLY toss Remedies to the Judges. Hit Ghis first, then Bergan second, then Drace third, and finally Zargabaath. Don’t bother using one on Gabranth because he’s immune to it. Once they’re debuffed, switch your accessories back to Bubble Belts so that you don’t lose Bubble in the event of a KO or Dispel.
Most importantly, do NOT waste any time doing this first step. You only have about 20 seconds to get this entire fight under control; if you let the Judges get the upper hand in this battle, you’re completely screwed. And DO NOT use Reverse under ANY circumstances!
You CANNOT hope to win this battle by spamming Reverse because these Judges will toss Elixirs and Potions on any character that has it, essentially taking Reversed characters out of the battle.
Once you’re set up, take down the Judges one by one in the exact order in which I listed them here in this guide. You can spam Zodiark’s Final Eclipse to speed up this process, but make sure you have an Elixir ready to use on the summoner immediately after every use. Also keep an eye on each Judge’s debuffs and refresh them as necessary. Putting Sleep on Zargabaath is critical, because you cannot hope to eliminate Gabranth without doing this.
For gambits, each character should have Ally: any / Phoenix Down in the 1 slot and Ally: HP < 60% / Curaja in the 2 slot, followed by 2 different attack gambits for differing Judges:
- Foe: lowest max HP / Attack (for Ghis & Drace)
- Foe: highest max HP / Attack (for Bergan & Gabranth)
Needless to say, you only need 1 of these attack gambits active at any time. When you switch targets, make sure to turn on the attack gambit you need and the other one off.
For everything else, you’ll have to do it manually, because again, Zargabaath MUST stay asleep at all times or you have no chance of taking out Gabranth. When it’s down to just Gabranth and Zargabaath, have a character with Nihopalaoa equipped spam Prince’s Kiss on Zargabaath every 8-10 seconds.
After Gabranth goes down, you can either keep Zargabaath asleep and have your Black Mage safely spam Scathe, or just take him down with regular attacks and not worry about what he can do. Either way, when he falls and you get the victory fanfare, pat yourself on the back and enjoy your hard-earned Imperator trophy! And don’t forget to check out New Game Minus if you’re interested.
