The Floating Continent

Ready to face the Ultima Weapon in Final Fantasy VI? Get the lowdown on its devastating attacks and learn the best strategies to defeat this powerful foe and claim your reward.

Alright, so you've made it to the Floating Continent, and it's time to face one of the toughest optional bosses in the game: the Ultima Weapon. This thing is a pure destruction machine, created way back during the War of the Magi. Seriously, expect a tough fight, but we'll get through it together!

Stats / Weaknesses:

• Name — Ultima Weapon
• Attacks — Basic Attack, Full Power (doubled attack), Fira, Flare, Bio, Quake, Tornado, Graviga, Rasp, Blaze, Meteor, Mind Blast (random statuses), Flare Star.

Phases:

1. Until ~50% HP: Uses Attack, Blaze, and Flare.
2. After ~50% HP: Switches to Bio/Quake/Meteor, then Attack/Full Power, then Fira (party-wide), then Mind Blast, then buffs itself with Protect, Haste, and Shell.
3. After Buffs: Waits a bit, then uses Flare Star, and then loops back through its patterns.
4. Below ~25% HP: Uses Attack, Blaze, Graviga, Rasp, and Tornado. Flare can also appear as a counterattack.

Strategy:

• This boss hits HARD, with some attacks capable of one-shotting a character or leaving your whole party with critically low HP. Keep your healing spells ready!
• When I went through this fight (using Terra, Locke, Cyan, and Shadow), Terra was on constant party-wide Cura duty after using Kirin.
• Locke was busy with his two Hawkeyes, occasionally tossing out party-wide Cura or using a Phoenix Down if someone went down.
• Cyan was using his Bushido techniques (#1 and #4 are great here), and Shadow was tossing out some of the Scrolls I'd accumulated.
• Don't forget Dispel! It's super useful after the Ultima Weapon casts Protect, Haste, and Shell on itself.
• Shadow's Unicorn summon is a lifesaver if the Mind Blast status attack hits your party.
• After you finally defeat this beast, Shadow will decide to leave. A bit of a bummer, but it's not the end of the road! Head north to find what you came for.
• After a scene, Celes will join your party, taking Shadow's place. Then it's time to move on!