Game:

Final Fantasy IX (2000)

Duration: 0:00

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3

I'm detecting a strong demon ahead. Do you want to go on?

I was legit wondering if this would be possible at all this run, but here we are! Tantarian is an optional boss you can fight on your first trip through Alexandria Castle or your second. The first trip has no convenient save and your levels are low but, in my opinion, the second one is harder due to the party comp. For this opportunity, we very importantly have Steiner.

Tantarian is a puzzle boss. When the book is closed, it can perform incredibly powerful attacks, easily one-shotting the entire party, even in a normal run. It also takes significantly reduced damage. This is because every time you hit it, it opens to a page between 1-200, depending on how much damage you did, rolling over back to 1 if you do more than 200 damage. Tantarian itself can be found between pages 150-200. The trick here is to use a fixed damage attack, Steiner's Minus Strike, which deals his Max HP - Current HP as a fixed damage number. We have to make a slight adjustment here for the 0.5 * Enemy Damage modifier, but otherwise it works like a charm. Once Tantarian is open, it only cast Poison. It is imperative with give Steiner the Antibody ability to prevent this, as his HP changing would ruin the strategy. We must also be careful not to use Reis's Wind, giving Steiner Regen will also ruin everything.

Once open, Tantarion will immediately slam shut if hit with a physical attack, so we simply bombard him with magic instead. After a few rounds, it will close again manually. As the open phase draws to a close, we have the party standby or otherwise not attack for two reasons. 1. A queued action could hit Tantarian after it closes, contribute to the page opening counter. 2. Steiner is ready to act as soon as it closes, avoiding any closed phase actions. If performed correctly, it's possible to do this fight taking no direct attacks, simply losing some HP from Poison.

During my research, I found some conflicting information as to whether Tantarian is weak or not to fire. I purposefully cast Bio (Sword), then Fira (Sword) to confirm and as you can see it is indeed weak to fire, being a book. This is good news, as Fira (Sword) is cheaper than Bio (Sword), meaning we can stay offensive through all of the open phase.

[Important Levels/Gear/Abilities]
Steiner: 15 | Gold Helm, Mythril Gloves, Linen Cuirass, Glass Buckle | Antibody
Zidane: 15 | Bandana, Bone Wrist, Mythril Vest, Yellow Scarf | N/A
Vivi: 15 | Magus Hat, Glass Armlet, Silk Robe, Gold Choker | N/A
Freya: 15 | Mythril Helm, Thunder Gloves, Mythril Armour, Cachusha | HP +10%, Chemist

[Run Restrictions] (See playlist description for details:    • Final Fantasy IX [Hard Mode-No Shared...  )
• Hard Mode
• 0.5 * Enemy Damage
• 1.5 * Ally Damage
• No Shared Abilities
• No Deaths
• No Broken Abilities
• No Trance
• Same level or lower (41)

[Modifications]
• Moguri Mod
• Memoria Engine
• PSX SFX
• 100% Steal
• AP gain modifier

[Music Used]
• Battle - C2 - Shin Megami Tensei IV
• Battle Over - Shin Megami Tensei IV