Hello, my gamer friends!
Today I’m bringing you a complete guide on how to defeat Gaffgarion. While he isn’t one of the toughest enemies in the game, the solo battle against him can end up blocking or even stopping your adventure if you’re not prepared.
To help you avoid
that, in this video I’ll show you four different ways to defeat him: the
easiest method, the fastest method, and two more tactical strategies
for those who prefer a more strategic approach.
You can use these
strategies in both the original PS1 version and the new version, The
Ivalice Chronicles. I'm playing on Hard, which is Tactician mode, but
they also work on Normal, the Knight mode.
So, without further ado, let’s get started!
But why is the final battle against Gaffgarion so difficult?
This fight takes place at a more restricted point in the game. You can’t return to other locations on the map, and you also won’t have access to all the weapons and equipment available for purchase in this chapter.
Additionally, Ramza will face Gaffgarion in a solo battle and won’t be able to rely on his allies, who will likely be busy fighting other enemies. That’s why preparation is crucial.
If you need to level up your characters’ jobs and abilities — especially Ramza’s — go to the river area where you rescued Agrias and use it as a training spot. Also, remember to bring Thunder-element spells or items (like bombs), as there are aquatic enemies in this area that are vulnerable to this element.
But which abilities should you prioritize?
Before deciding which jobs and abilities to level up, it’s important to understand what makes Gaffgarion so tough. Basically, there are two main factors: his energy-draining attacks and his high speed.
When Gaffgarion attacks and absorbs part of the damage dealt, it’s almost like he’s dealing double damage. You not only have to recover the lost HP, but you also have to deal with the HP he restored. This prolongs the battle and puts extra pressure on Ramza.
His speed — likely around 8, which is high for this stage of the game — allows him to act more frequently. This means that if your character doesn’t have similar or higher speed, you’ll always be at a disadvantage. In many cases, you’ll need to attack without moving from your current position to gain small advances on the action bar and avoid losing valuable turns.
So, the first priority is making sure Ramza can survive the initial attacks without falling behind in the turn cycle. To do this, it’s essential to:
- Have a reliable way to recover HP (items, healing, or similar abilities).
- Increase speed if possible, or quickly close the distance to apply pressure.
- Deal consistent damage to counteract the drain effect.
In short, this battle requires strategic preparation. It’s not just about being at a high level — you need to understand the mechanics of the fight and build Ramza to balance offense, speed, and survivability.
The best way to ensure HP regeneration is by using the Auto-Potion ability from the Chemist.
Alternatively, you can combine the Archer’s Speed Up ability with the Monk’s Walk HP Up.
In most cases, it’s safer to play conservatively and rely on Auto-Potion. Sell all your 30 HP potions and buy several High Potions, which restore 70 HP — an amount even higher than the damage Gaffgarion deals.
The Easiest Method
- Destroying Gaffgarion's Weapon
- Archer Job
Now that we’ve addressed the regeneration issue, we need to figure out how to defeat Gaffgarion. There are basically two ways to beat an opponent who drains your HP: either you prevent him from draining your life, or you deal more damage than he can recover.
The easiest way is to disarm him. Yes, it’s possible to stop Gaffgarion from draining your HP. All Holy Swordsmen who use swords to perform special abilities—such as Wiegraf and Agrias—lose their abilities if their sword is destroyed or stolen. Therefore, destroying Gaffgarion’s sword is the best strategy.
To do this, you’ll need the Knight ability Rend Weapon, which must be learned beforehand. Then, assign that ability as a secondary skill to your Archer before the battle. This allows the Archer to attack from a safe distance while still having access to the weapon-breaking ability.
Among the jobs available at this point, the best option for this strategy is the Archer job. From Ramza’s starting position, you can target Gaffgarion on the very first turn. Once his sword is destroyed, he’ll be forced to cross a long distance just to attempt a basic physical attack, since he can no longer use his sword abilities.
After defeating him, Ramza can still support the rest of the team by firing arrows from the top of the castle gate, where the battle begins.
This is the easiest way to defeat him.
The Fastest Method
- Magic Attacks
- Black Mage Job
Now, instead of trying to disarm Gaffgarion, let’s go straight into the confrontation. The real question is: how do we deal more damage than his attack plus his regeneration?
Among the available options, the fastest way is to use the Wizard job. It’s not recommended to keep the main character as a mage permanently — mainly because of possible MP limitations. However, in this specific case, you’ll have enough MP to defeat Gaffgarion.
But first, let’s prepare.
Use the Auto-Potion ability and equip any gear that increases Magic Attack. It’s also essential to use a staff that matches the element of your spell. For example, if you’re casting Fire, equip a Fire-element staff. This rule applies to any element, since elemental staves increase the damage of their respective element.
As for spells, level up one Tier 1 spell and one Tier 2 spell, but the Tier 2 spell will be your main source of damage.
With this setup, Ramza will be able to deal strong damage from a distance, sometimes even avoiding the need to move — which gives you a few turns of advantage. Depending on his level, you may be able to defeat Gaffgarion in about three to five attacks.
Tactical Approach 1
- Doublehand Attacks
- Lancer Job
We’ve already covered the easiest and fastest method. Now it’s time to talk about close-combat strategies.
For this, we need a different approach, since Gaffgarion has the advantage in direct melee combat. We have two strategic ideas, and the first — and simplest — is using the Lancer job.
However, simply turning Ramza into a Dragoon and repeatedly using Jump won’t deal enough damage to defeat him.
For the Lancer to truly become powerful, you need to learn the Doublehand ability. This ability makes the Dragoon’s spear deal nearly double damage with normal attacks. In fact, it can deal more damage than Jump itself.
It’s important to remember that Doublehand does not increase the damage of the Jump ability.
Tactical Approach 2
- Doublehand Attacks
- Knight Job
- Blood Sword
On Normal difficulty, this strategy may even feel too easy. But on Hard mode, you’ll likely need to defeat Gaffgarion in about four to six attacks.
It’s also important to keep in mind that Doublehand isn’t easy to obtain. It costs 900 JP and belongs to the Samurai job, which already requires significant effort to unlock.
Because of that, this strategy shouldn’t start right before the fight against Gaffgarion. Ideally, you should begin planning it at the start of Chapter 2, leveling up the required jobs and unlocking the necessary abilities ahead of time.
Instead of spending a long time grinding Samurai first and only then learning Doublehand, try to distribute your progression more efficiently — following a strategy similar to the one I used in our channel’s gameplay.
Finally, we reach the ultimate close-combat strategy.
For this approach, Ramza must be in the Knight job. You’ll be facing Gaffgarion on completely equal terms. And yes — it’s actually possible to drain his energy. To pull this off, you need to steal the Blood Sword, which he wields only in the execution scenario — the one where Princess Ovelia is supposedly about to be guillotined.
Once you’ve stolen the sword and activated the Doublehand ability, you’ll be able to battle Gaffgarion head-to-head, each of you sapping the other’s strength.
I highly recommend having the Speed Save ability as well. With it, you’ll gain a crucial speed advantage during the fight, letting you act before him and seize the upper hand.
Even without the speed edge, you can still defeat Gaffgarion in roughly 3 to 5 strikes — maybe a few more if he maintains his speed advantage.
This was the exact strategy I used in our gameplay. You can use it as a roadmap to acquire the essential abilities and, of course, the Blood Sword. Prepare carefully — this is the ultimate showdown.
There are, of course, other ways to defeat Gaffgarion, but on Hard difficulty, these are the most effective strategies I’ve found. I even considered using Ninja or Monk, but they didn’t prove very efficient against him. I hope these tips help you overcome this challenge without slowing down your gameplay in this incredible game.
What about you guys? Which path do you prefer? Let me know in the comments!
Youtube Video:
How to Beat Gaffgarion – Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
إرسال تعليق