Paragon (Final Fantasy X-2)

Paragon is a superboss in Final Fantasy X-2 located in the bottom of the Via Infinito dungeon underneath Bevelle. It is the unsent spirit of Lord Zaon and shares its monster model with Nemesis from Final Fantasy X.
After this battle the Trema battle will begin without the party being healed in-between, so one should watch the party's health when killing Paragon. Paragon can be fought again if the player exits Via Infinito and returns to the final floor, where the monster awaits at the end of the room with a Tonberry standing guard in front of it. An Oversoul Paragon is needed to complete Shinra's Bestiary.
==Stats ==
==Battle==
Paragon is swift and powerful, with physical attacks that are devastating to one character, with five variations:
* The first one has a high chance of inflicting Poison.
* The second one inflicts Itchy as long as no immunity exists against it. This status effect cannot be inflicted on captured creatures. 
* The third variation can trigger both Poison and Confusion on the target character. The Poison effect always occurs in the absence of immunities, while the Confusion effect has a 120/254 chance of occurring.
* The fourth variation does not inflict a status ailment, but rather ignores Defense, resulting in 7,814~8,823 HP worth of damage.
* The fifth variation steals HP from a character and has a 50% chance of being used every time Paragon's second turn comes up.
However, the real threat lays in the magic-based Genesis attack that hits every party member in a 180-degree angle in front of him and removes all buffs, including Auto-Life. This attack can inflict over 9,999 damage to an unprepared party and has a 50% chance of being used every time Paragon's second turn comes up.
Big Bang is used in response to an ability that bypasses effects like Shell or Protect (such as Dark Knight's Darkness). Big Bang also removes positive status effects, rendering Auto-Life useless. Paragon also uses the Big Bang attack if the party doesn't attack it for too long. Big Bang can deal up to 99,999 damage, so it is imperative for Paragon to never use it. However, while it is possible to block Big Bang by removing Paragon's MP pool in the International and HD Remaster versions, such as by Baralai's Looming Glacier, using a Mana Spring for this will still result in the boss counterattacking with Big Bang. If Paragon is drained of MP, he also loses access to Genesis. Big Bang's damage can be reduced to around 13,500~27,000 by having maxed out Magic Defense, having the Adamantite accessory equipped (Big Bang cannot nullify Auto-Protect or Auto-Shell), and setting the Cheer Gauge to one star or lower. With 255 Magic Defense, Big Bang will only do 23,803~26,877 damage.
Paragon is slightly easier in Oversoul. While it has slightly more HP, it does not use Genesis as often and uses more high level black magic, and it becomes possible to dodge its physical attacks. When Paragon is Oversouled, it will not attack for about 2.5 minutes unless provoked, and will counter all attacks. It counters Attacks with a physical attack of its own that causes Itchy. If the party uses magic, Paragon counters with the same spell, unless the party uses curative magic on it, which it will counter with Demi. If the party uses any Arcana abilities on it (except Black Sky), it will counter with the same ability. If the party uses MP Absorb, it will counter with MP Absorb. If the party uses Supernova, it will counter with Supernova.
After it loses ~45% of its HP, Paragon starts using magic and can use spells even with no MP. If the party uses Reflect, it will cast Dispel. Once it loses ~80% of its HP, it will start using Ultima. It uses Final Impact in low health that does fractional damage that cannot be reduced for 10 hits due to inflicting special magic damage, and each hit deletes 12.5% of max HP and MP. If the party waits too long without Paragon counterattacking, it will use Judgment, which deals heavy damage to one character.
To Oversoul it, the player must fight Ultima or Omega Weapons. When one of them Oversouls, the party can escape, and when fighting Paragon, it will be Oversouled. This is made easier in the HD Remaster version, where Omega Weapon and Paragon can be fought in the Fiend Arena.
The party can bribe Paragon for 800,000 gil, or by getting the CONGRATS! reels in Lady Luck.
===Strategy===
The player can either bribe Paragon or fight it normally. The party's equipment is important, because they will not be possible to change equipment before the battle with Trema. To survive Paragon's attacks, the party will want to have high Defense and Magic Defense. The Valiant Lustre Garment Grid suits well. One will also need high HP, so it is recommended to use the Dark Knight dressphere, because it also has high Defense. Equipping two girls with Dark Knight and having them wear Crystal Bangles should give them 9,999 HP. One may also want to equip a girl with a Ribbon, so she is unaffected by the Itchy status Paragon can cause with its attacks.
The other Dark Knight can use a Defense Bracer, which will come in handy for the Trema battle. In the regular version the third girl should be a Gunner with a Cat Nip accessory, and something that raises Luck, such as a Rabite's Foot or Key to Success. The Highroad Winds and Mounted Assault Garment Grids are good for the Gunner, because of the First Strike status. The Gunner should enter the battle in HP Critical so she can do 9,999 damage with each hit. In the International and HD Remaster versions this does not work, as Cat Nip puts the character in permanent Berserk.
In the original PS2 version, the Gunner can use Trigger Happy to clear most of Paragon's HP. There is a chance Paragon will attack first, and if this happens, the others should revive the Gunner and try to get Trigger Happy off quickly, for Paragon's Genesis attack will surely knock her out. The player should heal the Dark Knights to full, but not attack. The second full Trigger Happy should put an end to Paragon.
One may also want to go around the edge of the Valiant Lustre Grid to get an extra 80 added to the character's Defense and Magic Defense, but this could be a waste, as the Gunner can kill the Paragon fairly quickly.
===Strategy without Cat Nip===
====Oversoul====
The Higher Power Garment Grid is useful in that it offers Break HP Limit and also Break Damage Limit if the player spherechanges through the gates. If the party doesn't have Higher Power, they can use Valiant Lustre grid for Defense, or Ray of Hope for Luck. The party should have near 9,500 HP. Highroad Winds or Mounted Assault can be used to get First Strike.
A mastered Dark Knight for all the girls is good for its high HP and Defense. The Lady Luck dressphere is useful for bribing from fiends, as the player should have a healthy stock of Soul Springs, Megalixirs, X-Potions, Stamina Tonics, Twin Stars or Three Stars, and Chocobo Wings.
Good accessories to use are Defense Bracers or Shining Bracers, and Crystal Bangles. Crystal Gloves and Oath Veil can also be used. When setting up the dresspheres, the party should start with Warrior or Dark Knight; Warrior is faster. The player can also use Lady Luck who should have the Felicity ability learned. When setting up the dresspheres, the Dark Knight, Warrior and Lady Luck should be next to each other on the Garment Grid.
The Oversouled Paragon misses often with it regular attacks and Warrior's Sentinel will reduce it to 1 HP. Since it cannot attack unless provoked this time can be used to set the party up by using a Stamina Tonic to double the party's HP, and bypass the HP Limit. Lady Luck can use Felicity to boost the party's Luck. Chocobo Wings increase the party's speed.
After all preparations are complete the girls should use Soul Springs to absorb Paragon's MP and then have two girls attack and one girl to stay ready to either heal or use more Soul Springs for draining. With this, Paragon will use Osmose every turn. Paragon can use magic even without MP, but keeping it busy with using Osmose protects the party from harm.
==== Normal====
Defeating the regular Paragon without the Cat Nip strategy is difficult. The Cat Nip strategy no longer works in the HD Remaster version, where Cat Nip inflicts Berserk. The party must have high Magic Defense (over 175) to survive the Genesis attack. With at least 165 Defense the party should survive Paragon's physical attacks, although some of its attacks ignore Defense. Crystal Bangles should be equipped. The Higher Power Garment Grid is very useful.
When the battle starts, the party should use a Stamina Tonic and Megalixir. At level 99 the party's HP should exceed 21,000 as Dark Knights, or at least 9,999 if they don't have Break HP Limit. Remedies can be used to heal Itchy. It is not worth buffing the party because Paragon's Genesis attack removes positive status effects.
The player should blast away with regular attacks and not use Dark Knight's Darkness, because using an attack that bypasses Protect and Shell will trigger Paragon to use Big Bang, which can inflict 99,999 damage to the party and removes positive status effects. It also uses Big Bang if the party doesn't attack it for too long. The player could opt to using the Dark Knight's Black Sky, but it has a long charge time.
The battle is tougher without Break HP Limit, but if the party doesn't have the Higher Power Garment Grid, they should use Valiant Lustre instead and equip accessories providing high Defense and Magic Defense, such as Crystal Glove and Oath Veil. Dark Knight and Mascot have the best stat boosts. The party should have many Megalixirs for healing and the party must heal constantly until Paragon uses the Genesis attack since healing and attacking whenever the party's HP is at a max before its Genesis hits results in a long stall time where the party only has to heal and barely get any hits.
====Captured Fiends====
In the International + Last Mission and HD Remaster versions, using high level captured fiends/humanoids with high stats is recommended, although they must have the Mascot dressphere to further increase their stats and be granted immunity to the status effects that Paragon can inflict. Unless Paragon is drained of its MP, the creatures must unlearn any attacks that would bypass Shell and Protect (e.g. Nooj's Lightfall) as Paragon will counter with Big Bang, which can neutralize the entire party.
A good strategy involves a party consisting of either Yuna, Rikku, or Paine and two other S-sized fiends (e.g. Tonberry and Dark Elemental). The fiends must be a very high level and have learned powerful offensive, defensive, and supportive abilities (e.g. Fireworks, Vigor, Full-Life, White Wind). The player-controlled girl should focus on keeping the party alive, preferably by using the Alchemist dressphere. If the player unlocked Paragon in the Fiend Arena and got Dark Matters from it there, they can mix them with any other item to bestow Invincibility on the entire party. The player can use a similar strategy with Angra Mainyu and Trema.
If the player plans to fight Paragon and Trema back-to-back with an L-sized fiend, the fiend must be at Level 99, have learned Auto-Life (mandatory for the Trema fight), and be equipped with the Last Resort Garment Grid (grants Hero's Stash, which bestows Invincibility) to be able to survive both fights. An Oversouled Paragon can be a bit difficult due to the danger of Final Impact, which has the potential to kill the player's L-sized creature.
==Creature Creator==
Paragon is recruitable into the party with a Trap pod L in Bevelle in Chapter 5 after he and Trema are defeated in Via Infinito.
Paragon comes into the party knowing Ailment Def. (complete protection against all negative statuses) and Total Limit Break (raises HP and damage limits to 99,999). The recruitable Paragon replaces its Genesis and Big Bang moves with Punishment and Supernova, respectively, and also comes with Tetra Eater (absorbs all elemental attacks except for Holy and Gravity) and Mighty Guard. Paragon must be hit with a powerful move to learn Supernova.
Paragon has no fiend tale due to living for the purpose of fighting. Taking Paragon to Level 99 requires 1,379,134 EXP, which is higher than any other L-sized creature in the game. By contrast, the Sahagin Chief requires only 952,717 EXP to reach Level 99, which is almost 70% the required Level 99 EXP for Paragon.
===Fiend Arena===
Paragon is an opponent in the Fiend Arena, as part of the Master of Spira enemy team. It appears in the Farplane Cup, where it beats most of the computer-controlled teams, and it is possible the player may face it in lieu of Trema or even Major Numerus. It fights exactly the same as in Via Infinito, and as such, the same tactics used in the Via Infinito fight can be used here.
On very rare occasions, Paragon may lose to the Insect Matriarch (Abyss Crawler) despite that she is much weaker by comparison.
==Gallery==
Paragon Zaon.png|Paragon.
Genesis in FFX-2.jpg|Genesis.
==Etymology and names in other languages ==
Subete o Suteshimono, its name in the Japanese version, literally means "One who discards all". It is similar to the Japanese name of Nemesis. This is touched upon in its French version name, Ultima Anachoreta, also playing on Ultima Weapon, as being a reclusive anchorite who lives outside civilization.
Paragon is called Derelictor in the Spanish version, Desolatio in the Italian version, and Exodus in the German version.
Its "Big Bang" attack could be seen as a contrast to Nemesis's "Armageddon". These two attacks share the same animation; additionally, the enemies using them share the same appearance and have similar attack power. 
==Related enemies ==
*Trema
*Omega Weapon
*Ultima Weapon
===Final Fantasy X===
*Nemesis
*Omega Weapon
*Ultima Weapon
===Final Fantasy X-2: Last Mission===
*Ultima Weapon
it:Desolatio
Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy X-2
Category:Superbosses