Halicarnassus (Final Fantasy V)

Halicarnassus, also known as Halycanos or Harikalnasson, is a boss and one of the Demons of the Rift in Final Fantasy V. Though referred to as "king" in in-game dialogue, his other appearances depict Halicarnassus as feminine.
Halicarnassus is the self-proclaimed master of illusions and king of Dimension Castle. He poses as a helpless damsel captured by Catastrophe. After the heroes defeat the monster, Halicarnassus gives Bartz the kiss of death and scurries off. Later, he approaches the heroes once more and reveals his true form.
In the Finest Fantasy for Advance and the now discontinued 2013 Matrix Software versions, Halicarnassus is also fought in the Sealed Temple's Cloister of the Dead.
==Stats==
== Battle ==
Halicarnassus will begin the battle by saying "Ribbit" and turning the party into frogs. He proceeds to use physical attacks; his specialty Critical Attack, which is the same as his normal physical attack; Reverse Polarity, which swaps the row positions of the party; and rarely the White Magic spells Dispel against one party member, and Haste and Shell to buff himself. On his eighth turn, Halicarnassus casts a devastating Holy spell against one target, most likely dealing max damage and knocking them out. He then cycles back to "Ribbit" and repeats the process.
If hit with a summon, a messages appears saying "Focusing power!", then Halicarnassus will use Strong Attack to hit for eight times his normal physical damage and probably KO one party member. Otherwise, his normal hits are not nearly as devastating.
He is vulnerable to mini, darkness, old, silence, and slow, but has a very high level, reducing the chance ailments connect.
=== Strategy ===
To resist the Toad transformation, equipping Ribbons or the Genji Gloves is a good way to prepare for the battle. Another way is to start the battle as frogs, meaning Halicarnassus turns the entire party back to normal. Otherwise, Recover allows one character to restore the whole party with a single turn guaranteed, as opposed to Maiden's Kisses and Esuna, which both must be done one at a time, or a group cast of the Toad spell, which can miss.
The best strategy is to strike him with the party's most effective blows and take him out as fast as possible, before he manages to set Haste on himself. If he successfully Hastes, it is difficult to have Slow or Dispel connect to counter the buff, unless the party boosted their levels temporarily.
Due to the constant row switching, it is best to use attacks that are not affected by row position. Examples include Throw, Jump and any offensive magic. Bows, whips, boomerangs and other long reach weapons are not affected by rows, so Rangers, Beastmasters and Ninjas may be particularly useful.
The player can safely summon Carbuncle to bounce Halicarnassus's Holy spell back at him. By counting Halicarnassus's actions (taking "Ribbit" as the first action), it is possible to reflect Holy every time, as it will always be his eighth action.
Otherwise, Halicarnassus primarily relies on physical attacks for damage, so summoning Golem, Image, or Guard with Cover are all great ways to block that damage.
If the party level boosts through mixing Samson's Might or Dragon Power, or by singing Hero's Rime, inflicting status ailments can prove highly effective. Mini makes nearly all of Halicarnassus's physicals deal 0 damage and Silence Spellblade eliminates the threat of Holy.
The party can wear Hermes' Sandals for permanent haste. The party can use Phoenix Downs to revive if someone falls to Holy.
==Other appearances==
===Final Fantasy Record Keeper===
===Final Fantasy Trading Card Game===
Halicarnassus appears in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as a Water-elemental Forward card.
Halicarnassus 7-119H from FFTCG Opus.jpg|Halicarnassus [7-119H] Opus series card.
==Behind the scenes==
The initial design documents for the game suggest that Halicarnassus would have appeared earlier in the game', being the elite guard captain of Castle Exdeath (originally known as Hades), serving a role similar to Gilgamesh. He would have originally served as the boss within the Sealed Forest, being joined with imperial soldier subordinates.
== Etymology ==
In the Anthology version, despite the enemy name of "Halycanos", he calls himself "Harikalnasson".
==Citations==
de:Halikarnassos
it:Alicarnasso
Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy V