Crystal (Final Fantasy V boss)

Crystal or ???? is a boss in Final Fantasy V. They are fought in the end of the Great Forest of Moore. In the Finest Fantasy for Advance and the now discontinued 2013 Matrix Software versions, the Crystals are also fought in the Sealed Temple's Cloister of the Dead.
The Crystals are not named in the original Super Famicom, PlayStation, and Game Boy Advance versions, displaying their names blanked in the battle UI, whereas in the now discontinued 2013 versions, they are called "????" in battle. In both the Game Boy Advance and the 2013 versions, they are called "Crystal" in the bestiary.
==Stats==
== Battle ==
The battle has four Crystals: the top one is fire-elemental, the right water-elemental, the left wind-elemental, and the bottom is earth-elemental. Each fights with normal physical attacks and the occasional Critical Attack to deal 1.5x normal damage.
When their HP is reduced to below 3000, each crystal uses a high level attack of their corresponding element that damages all targets; Crystal of Fire uses Firaga, Crystal of Wind uses Aeroga (can be learned as a Blue Magic spell), Crystal of Water uses Aqua Breath (even though it deals non-elemental damage; can be learned as a Blue Magic spell), and Crystal of Earth uses Earth Shaker.
The Crystals are not Heavy type like most bosses and are not immune to instant death or Death Claw.
=== Strategy ===
The fastest way to defeat the Crystals is by mixing Death Potions for each Crystal. This requires having four Dark Matters, which can rarely be stolen from Zombie Dragons at Drakenvale. Other ways to potentially inflict instant death are with the Death Sickle weapon, and by releasing an Aquathorn with a Beastmaster to cast Death.
If the player took the trouble to acquire Death Sickle(s) in Bartz's world, the party members that can wield axes can potentially instantly kill the Crystals one by one. This can be bit of a gamble, especially when done with Berserkers, as the Death Sickle has only a 33% chance of inflicting instant death and the player cannot control Berserker actions. There is a risk that the Berserkers damage the Crystals too evenly, leading to multiple Crystals using their high level elemental attacks and devastating the party. This can be mitigated by using the mini status on the Berserkers, inflicted by either White Magic or the nearby Mini Magicians that cast Lilliputian Lyric.
Battling them more conventionally, summoning Golem should be the first priority, as the Crystals at the start of the battle attack only with physicals, which can be blocked by Earthen Wall. A Knight (or other heavy-armor job) can also cover their allies to make the Crystals' physical attacks a non-issue. Blink or Image can also be used, as well as Guard.
The key to the battle is eliminating a Crystal as soon as possible once its HP is below 3000, to prevent it from casting its powerful party-wide magic attack. The player should also avoid spreading damage too evenly across the four Crystals, as if multiple Crystals fall into low HP range at the same time, the party will most likely not survive the resulting barrage of magic. Therefore, single-target attacks are preferred, and multi-target only skills, like Summon Magic, should be avoided.
While the Crystals are vulnerable to darkness and slow status ailments, in addition to fractional damage and HP to critical attacks, their high level makes it difficult for the afflicting spells to connect. This can be offset by raising the party's levels through drinking Hero Cocktails and/or mixing Dragon Power, granting their spells better accuracy.
Useful Blue Magic spells include:
* Flash helps reduce the Crystals' accuracy, if Golem's Earthen Wall is getting destroyed too quickly.
* Death Claw has low accuracy, but will make a Crystal fall on the next attack. It will not be paralyzed.
* Missile will reduce a Crystal's HP to a quarter and has better accuracy than Death Claw. However, it will place a Crystal into its magic casting range with a sizable amount of HP still remaining, so this needs to be immediately followed up with a strong set of attacks.
* Aeroga is the strongest single-target Blue Magic attack available, and works on all Crystals except the Crystal of Wind.
*Goblin Punch can be used, especially if the caster's level has been raised to match 77.
Useful Time Magic spells include:
* Slow or Slowga help manage the Crystals and give more time in between attacks during a Crystal's magic-casting phase. They work best when paired with Haste or Hastega on the party.
* Graviga will reduce a Crystal's HP to a quarter and has a better success rate than the Blue Magic Missile. Like Missile, the party must follow up immediately with a strong set of attacks.
* Although inconsistent, Comet is the best Time Magic attack available, and none of the Crystals resist it.
Black Mages can use Firaga on three of the four Crystals, and use Bio against the Crystal of Fire.
If a character has Samurai mastered, one can raise their level as much as possible, then use Iainuki to destroy all Crystals at once.
If the party wants to learn Aeroga and/or Aqua Breath from the battle, they can use the aforementioned fractional damage or HP to critical spells to quickly set a Crystal into the correct range for casting their Blue Magic. This also leaves them vulnerable to be destroyed right after they use their skill. If the party has trouble surviving these attacks to learn them, the target Crystal can be slowed and one or two hasted party members can Hide to avoid the attack, re-enter after, destroy the Crystal and resurrect their party members. Golem's Earthen Wall should be kept up so that the remaining Crystals' physical attacks won't wipe the party. Equipping Elven Mantle and a shield on the hider would be good for additional safety.
In the Cloister of the Dead in the Advance and the now defunct mobile and Steam versions, when fighting the Crystals again, the player may use Odin to instantly kill all four at once.
== Other appearances ==
=== Final Fantasy Record Keeper ===
===Final Fantasy Brave Exvius===
== Related enemies ==
* Crystelle
de:Kristall (FFV)
it:Cristallo (Final Fantasy V)
Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy V