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Kefka's Tower - Outdoor / Trash Tunnel Enemies
Kefka's Tower - Factory Enemies
Kefka's Tower - Vector Palace Enemies
Accessible as soon as you retrieve the Falcon from Darill's Tomb, Kefka’s Tower is one of the last places you should go when playing through Final Fantasy VI. Located in the middle of the southern continent, Kefka’s Tower is home to many powerful monsters that can make mincemeat of a small team of three or four characters. Even if you make it through the entire dungeon you’ll face a string of terrifying bosses at the end, and new players may be overwhelmed. At a minimum you should go into Kefka's Tower with twelve party members, around level 45 to 50 apiece.
Similar to the Phoenix Cave, Kefka’s Tower is split into multiple paths, each traveled by a different team. This time you'll be managing three teams, however, and all three need to work together to make their way to Kefka at the end of the tower. We’ll call them Party One, Party Two, and Party Three. Any of these three groups can remove everyone from Kefka’s Tower by casting Teleport, or by using the airship hooks dangling at the start of the three paths.
Kefka’s Tower
We’ll start, predictably, with Party One. This first area is patrolled by the weakest enemies of the bunch, but they’re still powerful enough to challenge your party members. Your greatest threat is the Great Malboro, a hideous beast that uses its Bad Breath to inflict a host of status ailments on your team. Kill these things Fire. (Strago can learn Bad Breath as a Lore, coincidentally.)
Head south and east. There’s a doorway on your left, marked by orange-and-yellow arrow signs. Check further north to find a chest containing a Hypno Crown, then head through the doorway. Follow the path until you reach an industrial area. Here you’ll find Fixed Dice. These are a risky, but incredibly overpowered, set of weapons for Setzer, especially if you give him the Master’s Scroll for a relic. This area’s good for Strago, as the Dark Forces here can teach him most of his Lores.
Eventually you’ll reach a dead end with Party One, which means it's Party Two’s turn. Walk until you wind up in an indoor area that forces you south, down some unmoving conveyor belts. In the northwest corner of this area is a chest containing a Minerva Bustier, a very handy piece of equipment for your female party members. South of here are two potential pathways. The northern door leads to a Pinwheel, while the south leads to a small, familiar jail. An optional boss awaits in the western cell.
Ultima Buster
HP: 55,000
Absorbs: Wind, Earth, Water, Poison, Holy
Remember the Ultima Weapon boss from the Floating Continent? Its counterpart in Kefka's Tower is stronger. Ultima Buster uses the following attacks:
- Normal melee attacks
- Firaga / Blizzaga / Thundaga, elemental spells
- Tsunami, a Water spell against your whole party
- Quake, an Earth spell against your whole party
- Southern Cross / Flare Star, Fire spells against your whole party
- Northern Cross, an Ice spell against your whole party that can inflict Frozen status
- Meteor / Ultima, non-elemental spells against your whole party
Ultima Buster relies almost exclusively on elemental and non-elemental spells that hit your entire party. Notable among them is Quake, which heals Ultima Buster while damaging your party. Unless you have high magic defenses you’re going to take a lot of damage every time this thing takes its turn. This gets especially deadly if the battle wears on for too long, as Ultima Buster starts using Ultima.
There’s no special way to beat this thing over than to choose one dedicated healer with a high level curative spell (Curaga at this level) while your other characters use their most powerful attacks to sap Ultima Buster's HP in as few turns as possible. Stick to non-elemental or Fire / Ice / Lightning attacks (Ultima Buster absorbs everything else) to shred the Ultima Buster. Reflect works well in this fight, sending Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga back at the Ultima Buster, though you'll need to rely on items for healing.
Defeating Ultima Buster creates a save point in this cell. If you try to Steal from the Ultima Buster you can get either a Blood Sword, not that useful, or a Crystal Orb, which is only handy if your characters haven't maxed out their MP. Bring Strago along and he can learn the Tsunami Lore.
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Head south from the cells to drop into another area. Follow the path until you reach a room with two pipes, one leading east, the other west. East leads to the Pinwheel room, while west takes you outside. Go west.
Head south. On your left, above a north-running conveyor, is a chest containing a Force Shield. Head south down the conveyor to find two doors, one on the left, one on the right. Go through the left door and you’ll wind up in the small room with Party One. Step on a switch in here to move a platform into place that will allow Party One to move south. Check the chest near the button for a Ribbon.
Head back outside. Head southwest to the bottom of the path, take a left past the conveyor to find a Force Armor, then double back and go through the right door. Straight north through the door you’ll find the Gold Dragon, one of the Eight Dragons.
Head up the stairs. Be careful travelling through this area, as the Ahriman enemies along the way can inflict a Doom effect on your characters - and they’re more than hardy enough to wait out the deadly effects. This path eventually leads to a green button, in an area built for all three teams to congregate. Stand Party Two on the button, then jump to Party Three.
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Head south. On your left is a door and a chest containing a Red Cap. You’ll find a dead end through this door, as well as chests containing a Nutkin Suit and a Gauntlet. The enemies in this area are largely robotic in nature, and you can fry them with Lightning attacks. (Likely Thundaga.)
Backtrack outdoors and head south to find a second door. This leads into another factory area. Check the chest near the stairs for a Hero’s Ring, then hop on the conveyor to the north. It leads to a save point, a short walk to the west. Make sure you use it, as you’re about to get ambushed by a boss.
Inferno
HP:
- 30,800 (Inferno)
- 11,000 (Ketu)
- 8,000 (Rahu)
Weakness:
- Lightning (Inferno)
- Fire (Ketu)
- Ice (Rahu)
A more powerful doppelganger of Number 128, Inferno is another three-part boss. It uses the following attacks:
- Normal melee attacks (all)
- Sobat, a powerful single-target melee attack (Inferno)
- Thundara / Thundaga / Gigavolt, Lightning spells (Inferno)
- Atomic Rays, a Fire spell against your whole party (Inferno)
- Shockwave, a non-elemental spell against a single target (Inferno)
- Meteor, a non-elemental spell against your whole party (Inferno)
- Delta Attack, which inflicts Petrify on a single target, without fail (Inferno)
- Magitek Barrier, which applies Protect and Reflect status to Inferno (Inferno)
- Metal Cutter, which inflicts non-elemental damage on one target (Ketu)
Inferno's two arms, Retu and Kahu, will assault you with physical attacks while Inferno itself uses fire and electrical attacks and spells to batter one or all members of your party. While the two arms are alive Inferno occasionally Petrifies your characters, and once they’re destroyed, Inferno uses Magitek Barrier to apply Protect and Reflect to itself.
The arms regenerate over time, so smash one of them to limit the attacks on your party, then go to town on Inferno with Lightning attacks to take advantage of its inherent weakness to the element. As long as you avoid destroying both Ketu and Rahu this battle isn't so bad.
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Save and heal after the battle, if necessary, then head west and south. You’ll wind up back outside. Head south. There’s a chest on your right containing a Megalixir, and if you head south and left you’ll find a second chest with a red light over it. Hit it to create a path for another team. Head north from this chest to find a Rainbow Brush, then loop right and back south to find a door.
Through the door is another of the Eight Dragons, the Skull Dragon. (It’s actually easier than the enemies in this area, which are quite tough to kill.) Up the stairs nearby you’ll come to, the second of the green buttons that you probably saw earlier. Step onto the button.
Jump to Party One. The path south is now clear. Follow it through a few more straightforward areas until you’re back outside and find an intersection. To the left is a chest containing a Pinwheel; to the right is the pathway to the green buttons you pressed earlier. With the buttons pressed and your teammates still in place the door north opens, revealing three more buttons. Party One has to choose a side path, left or right, and we’ll go with left. As soon as you step past the middle of the road the way will be blocked.
To the south on the left side you’ll find a weight. Move Party Two out of the way below, then hop back to Party One to push the weight down onto the button. This will allow you to move Party Two through the central door. Repeat the process on the right side with a second weight to get Party Three inside. That done, position all three Parties on the green buttons inside this building. This will create a bridge for Party Three in the centre of the room. Get ready for a boss battle on the other side.
Guardian
HP: 60,000
Weakness: Lightning, Water
You may have been driven off by these machines before, but no longer. It’s time for a proper battle. The Guardian uses the following attacks:
- Normal melee attacks
- Magitek Laser, a neutral magic attack against a single target
- Missile, a single-target attack
- Moves by Ultros, Dadaluma, Air Force, and Ultima Weapon
The Guardian is an adaptive battle platform, and it shifts between attacks similar to Magitek Armor (laser, missiles, etc.) and attacks from previous bosses (Ultros, Dadaluma, Air Force, and Ultima, in that order). The Magitek attacks aren't that bad, while the boss attacks vary from lackluster to brutal, especially when you reach Ultima.
Your goal should be to get through Guardian’s HP before it can reach either Dadaluma or Air Force, and you can do this rather easily with high-level Lightning magic (Thundaga, preferably) and strong physical attacks that Lightning-elemental. So long as Guardian doesn’t get to bring out Wave Cannon or Meteor, its later attacks, you won’t find this battle too difficult.
Defeating the Guardian reveals another save point. If you attempt to Steal from the Guardian you can pick up either Force Armor or a Ribbon. Both are useful.
Use the Guardian's save point to heal your party, because next up is a gauntlet of three deadly bosses. All are as, if not more, powerful than the Guardian, and will tax your party to its utmost. If you can’t beat these guys, you won’t beat Kefka. The central party can reach their boss by heading north, and this same party will have to go straight south through their building to find a button that will open doors for your other two parties.
Central Path - Demon
HP: 58,000
Weakness: Poison
Absorbs: Fire, Wind
Drop: Radiant Lance
The first of the Warring Triad! Demon uses the following attacks:
- Normal melee attacks
- Firaga / Southern Cross / Flare Star, Fire spells against one or more targets
- Wave Cannon, a Lightning spell against your whole party
- Aero, a Wind spell that greatly reduces everyone's HP
- Metal Cutter, which inflicts non-elemental damage to one target
- Meteor, which inflicts non-elemental damage to your whole party
- Blaster, which can OHKO a single target
- Stop, which can inflict the Stop status on a single target
Demon is quite the fiend. Beyond Firaga and Flare Star he’ll also use an all-hitting physical attack that’s moderately powerful, and, if you’re unlucky, he can use Blaster to immediately kill one member of your party. Painful.
Demon is weak to Poison, so have your magic users bust out repeated castings of Bio to rip through his health. Any high damage magic that’s not Fire-elemental will also prove helpful. Three of Demon's spells are Fire-elemental, so if you equip items that absorb Fire (Fire Shields or Red Jackets) you'll make this fight quite a bit easier.
You’ll earn a Radiant Lance for defeating Demon. If you attempt to Steal from Demon you can grab a Red Jacket, a powerful piece of armor for Edgar and Sabin that negates Fire damage. Bring Strago along and he'll learn the Aero Lore from Demon.
Right Path - Goddess
HP: 44,000
Drop: Excalibur
Absorbs: Holy
A pincer attack boss battle in your favor? How novel. Goddess uses the following attacks:
- Normal melee strikes
- Thundara / Thundaga / Flash Rain, Lightning spells
- Quasar, a non-elemental spell against your whole party
- Lullaby, which inflicts Sleep on a single target
- Entice, which inflicts a status similar to Confusion on a single target
- Overture, which forces a single target to cover physical attacks on Goddess
- Cloudy Heaven, which inflicts Doom timers on the whole party, turning characters into Zombies once they get KOed
Despite possessing less HP than the other members of the Warring Triad, Goddess is the most difficult. She prefers Lightning spells, which you can easily block with Thunder Shields. What makes Goddess so difficult is her reaction to physical attacks, which prompt her to use Overture. This charms a character into taking physical damage for her. She can also put people to Sleep, force Confusion on them that is only dispelled with a KO, and begin a Doom timer.
Stick to magic or special attacks, and put as much damage into each one as possible. If you attack too many times Goddess uses Cloudy Heaven, beginning the countdown timer to Zombies. Goddess doesn't have any particular elemental strengths or weaknesses, aside from healing to Holy moves, so go with your strongest, most reliable special attacks.
You’ll earn an Excalibur for defeating Goddess. If you attempt to Steal from her you can potentially grab a Minerva Bustier, a great piece of armor for the female members of the party. Bring Strago along and you can learn the Quasar Lore from Goddess.
Left Path - Fiend
HP: 63,000
Weakness: Holy
Drop: Mutsunokami
You've almost reached the end of the line. Fiend uses the following attacks:
- Normal physical attacks
- Targeting followed by Fiendish Rage, a powerful melee attack against a single target
- Blizzaga / Absolute Zero, Ice spells
- Northern Cross, which can Freeze your entire party
- Reverse Polarity, which changes the current rows of your entire party
- Force Field, which makes everyone on the field immune to a random element
The last of the Warring Triad can be really easy or really hard, depending on your party. Fiend is predominantly an Ice-elemental creature, and will blast your team with cold attacks. A simple cast of Fire on anyone who gets Frozen by Northern Cross. Fiend also counters your own attacks, and his physical strikes hurt enough that Vanish may be a good idea. Fiend is weak to Holy, so the Excalibur you just picked up, as well as the Holy spell, will dish out a fair amount of damage.
Simple enough - but about halfway through Fiend’s health his aura will begin to ‘tremble violently’, shooting his evasion through the roof and casting a permanent Reflect on the creature. Fiend then begins to use Force Field, making itself invulnerable to a random element. At this point you’ll either need spells that cannot be blocked by Reflect (Ultima, in other words) or special attacks (Tools, Blitz, Bushido, Throw, etc.) to reliably hit Fiend and rip away his remaining health. Watch out for Fiendish Rage while you're disposing of the remains of Fiend's HP.
You’ll receive a Mutsunokami for defeating Fiend. If you Steal from Fiend you can get a Safety Bit, an accessory that protects against Petrification and Instant Death. If you bring Strago along he'll learn the Force Field Lore - and he should participate in this battle, as Fiend is the only monster in Final Fantasy VI that knows Force Field. (You can ensure this by putting Strago in the first party at the beginning of Kefka's Tower, then have the party take the left path after reaching the three green buttons.)
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After trouncing the three members of the Warring Triad you’ll find green buttons, one per party. Step on all three to trigger the ascension to the final battle of Final Fantasy VI. You can probably guess who's waiting for you at the top of the tower.