Game:

Final Fantasy IX (2000)

Duration: 8:41

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Tiamat is easily the toughest of the Memoria bosses, but he still has that devastating Sleep vulnerability. As you've probably noticed in the last few fights, Sleep weaknesses on bosses tend to translate into easy wins for you. Be careful, though, Tiamat has some nasty moves waiting for you.

Twister is back again, and, while strong, it's far from the biggest problem you face. It'll use Float on your party, increasing Wind damage temporarily (you can Dispel it if you want, but Wind nulling/absorbing will make this meaningless). Absorb MP will likely zero off a character's MP stack. Jet Fire is Fire-elemental damage with a shot at setting Heat to one. Silent Claw is a basic physical that can also set Silence. The real threat, however, comes from three moves primarily. Absorb Strength and Absorb Magic reduce a character's Stength or Magic respectively by 50% and give it to Tiamat, essentially powering it up while weakening your offense. But Snort is the real horror. It is sometimes used as a counterattack against Floating characters, and will eject them from the battle. It never misses, and the only way to avoid its effect is to never see it used.

As in the last several battles, Sleep reigns supreme. It stops everything Tiamat does (including the feared Snort and Absorb abilities), giving you time to steal the Blood Sword and Grand Helmet. Slow helps as well, but don't bother with Silence unless someone is unprotected against Wind; it will only stop Twister and Float. Once you're done Stealing, a smart player will keep Tiamat asleep and just pound it with magic or Summons. A non-sleeping Tiamat will rapidly drain your offensive capacity, so just let it snooze even if it means some characters have to wait turns. Above all, if it's awake and a character is in Float status, don't attack it with that character or it could Snort them off.

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