Yunalesca (boss)

Yunalesca is a storyline boss from Final Fantasy X fought in the Zanarkand Dome. The battle is fought in three stages, with her becoming more demonic with each change. Her third form resembles the sprite of Goddess from Final Fantasy VI.
The Sun Crest can be found after defeating Yunalesca, revealed by descending the end set of stairs. In the PAL, International and HD Remaster versions, if the player does not obtain it upon her defeat, the next opportunity to obtain it is after defeating Dark Bahamut.
In the Final Fantasy X HD Remaster version, defeating Yunalesca earns the Overcoming the Past trophy/achievement. The battle is notorious for being among the hardest non-optional bosses in the game due to Yunalesca inflicting many negative statuses to the party and her 132,000 total HP normally making it a lengthy battle. The theme for the battle is called "Challenge". Interestingly, the Seymour Flux boss battle shares this theme and is also notorious for its difficulty and for being the only other instance in which the Zombie status is used by a boss.
==Stats==
==Battle==
Yunalesca has three forms, each having a separate HP pool. Whenever a form is defeated, Yunalesca will transform into her next form. Despite being implied by her Sensor description, she does not take extra damage from Holy. Hellfire, Thor's Hammer, and Delta Attack have alternate animations against Yunalesca, though the latter can't be seen under normal circumstances.
During the first round, Yunalesca counters physical attacks with Blind, magical attacks with Silence, and other attacks, such as Special commands, with Sleep. On her turn, she will alternate between a weak physical attack, which removes positive status effects (except Reflect, Regen, and Auto-Life), and Absorb, which inflicts damage equal to half of the affected character's maximum HP and heals Yunalesca by the same amount. Absorb is always used on the party member with the highest current HP.
Yunalesca will start the second round by using Hellbiter, which puts the party in Zombie status, and then cast Regen or Cura on a random party member afterwards. If 0~2 party members are afflicted with Zombie, she may use Hellbiter again, with fewer party members leading to a higher chance. She also has a 50% chance of countering attacks with her physical attack, which is no longer used manually, and will now only use Absorb against aeons, which is alternated with Hellbiter.
The third round begins with Yunalesca using Mega Death, which kills all party members not afflicted with Zombie or protected by Deathproof. She retains Hellbiter, Regen, and her physical counter-attack from her previous form, which now counters all attacks, and she now has access to Curaga, Osmose (against aeons), and Mind Blast, which damages the party and inflicts Curse (on aeons) and may inflict Confuse (on party members). Hellbiter can now be used even if the entire party is afflicted with Zombie. Yunalesca's pattern of attacks is: Mega Death, followed by Hellbiter or Curaga/Regen, then Hellbiter or Curaga/Regen, then Mind Blast, and Hellbiter or Curaga/Regen. Against aeons, she uses Mind Blast, then Absorb, then Osmose, and Absorb again.
===Strategy===
The fastest option, assuming one doesn't care about everyone getting AP, is to steal four Fire Gems from Flame Flans in the Calm Lands, or from Grenade in Mt. Gagazet, and ensure Rikku can mix Trio of 9999 (Quartet of 9 could also work, but it would need to land on someone who has the ability Use, such as Rikku herself). When facing Yunalesca, Rikku must mix Trio of 9999 and throw four Fire Gems for a quick win.
Before the battle, it is useful to have Yuna and Rikku to have their Overdrive gauges filled, along with any aeons. Customizing the ability Auto-Med on either Rikku, Wakka, or Auron is beneficial. When the battle begins, the trio should be in the starting line-up and steal a Stamina Tablet from Yunalesca. It can be used in mix with a Potion and to get Mega Vitality, which will double everyone's hit points. Yuna is handy for Reflect and Esuna. For the first phase, Yuna should cast Reflect on everyone and no one should switch to nullify Yunalesca's counterspells. However, Reflect can become a liability in later phases, so the player can consider dispelling it before moving to the next phase.
When the second phase starts, the party should continue the same strategy, mixing in Overdrives, although Yuna is needed to dispel any Regen that might land. Whoever is the Auto-Med can function as a curer and use Holy Waters to cure the Zombie. A good follow up is to have Yuna use Curaga. However, the party must ensure at least one zombified/Deathproof-equipped character is on the field in case of Mega Death.
Having armor pieces with Death, Zombie and Confusion protection would be optimal, but unless all three abilities are present on the same armor piece, the player will need to switch armor at the appropriate time by watching Yunalesca's attack pattern. To get Farplane Winds needed in customizing the ability Deathproof, the player can capture one of every type of fiend from the Calm Lands for the Monster Arena owner, who will reward the party with 60 Farplane Winds. This is especially useful for Yuna to immunize her to Mega Death even without the Zombie status so she can revive and heal the others. It is also possible to use Auto-Life to survive Mega Death by either casting the spell or by using Rikku's Hyper Mighty G. If Yuna has learned Holy or Ultima, it is a good time to use them, although Ultima consumes more MP.
Inflicting Zombie on the party member with the highest HP during the first phase of the battle will cause Yunalesca to damage herself with Absorb. Another tactic for the second and third phases is to keep the Zombie status active for any participating party members and have Yuna bestow them with Reflect. This heals Yunalesca on her succeeding turns, but it also helps her refrain from using Mega Death. The party must have good Defense to minimize damage from Hellbiter. If Yunalesca attempts to put Regen on a zombified party member with a Reflect status active, and it bounces back to her, Yuna can Dispel it. This tactic can work faster if any of the party members have SOS Haste and SOS Protect. If a character needs to heal, the player can cure the Zombie status with Holy Water and heal them. Afterwards, the player can wait for Yunalesca to use Hellbiter again to re-inflict the Zombie status.
Parties without Break Damage Limit can still get an Overkill on Yunalesca by using Bahamut's Mega Flare Overdrive, which can exceed 9,999 damage, or by using multi-hit attacks, such as Wakka's Attack Reels.
==Gallery==
Yunalesca2.jpg|Concept art of the second form.
Yunalesca-ffx-artwork3.jpg|Concept art of the third form.
Yunalesca boss first form.jpg|Dispelling Slap (HD Remaster).
Yunalesca boss second form.jpg|Second form (HD Remaster).
Yunalesca boss third form.jpg|Third form (HD Remaster).
FFX Absorb.png|Absorb (PS2).
FFX Curaga EA.png|Curaga (PS2).
File:FFX-HD-Yunalesca-boss-1-front.jpg|First form (HD Remaster).
File:FFX-HD-Yunalesca-boss-1-rear.jpg|First form, rear view (HD Remaster).
File:FFX-HD-Blind.jpg|Blind (HD Remaster).
File:FFX-HD-Silence.jpg|Silence (HD Remaster).
File:FFX-HD-Yunalesca-boss-2-rear.jpg|Second form, rear view (HD Remaster).
File:FFX-HD-Hellbitter.jpg|Second form using Hellbitter (HD Remaster).
File:FFX-HD-Yunalesca-third-form-face.jpg|Yunalesca as she is transforming to her last form (HD Remaster).
File:FFX-HD-Yunalesca-boss-3-side.jpg|Third form, side view (HD Remaster).
File:FFX-HD-Yunalesca-boss-3-rear.jpg|Third form, rear view (HD Remaster).
File:FFX-HD-Hellbitter-2.jpg|Third form using Hellbitter (HD Remaster).
File:FFX-HD-Mind-Blast.jpg|Mind Blast (HD Remaster).
==Related enemies==
===Final Fantasy X-2===
*Chac
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Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy X