Dinomaton (FF1)

## Overview

Dinomatons immunity to status elevates it from a fragile offensive-based Vivosaur only capable of inflicting damage to the greatest hinderance against status spam teams, excluding Confusion. By negating common SZ threats that make great use of status (Guera, Raptin, Dynal, and potientially Cryo, Jara, Megalo, Brontoth, and Squirth) the opposing teams odds of successful disruption/offense are lowered to inconsistency over the course of the whole battle. Herein lies Dinomatons strenth: it can either chip down an isolated Vivosaur with no fear or simply hold the AZ, potientially invalidating part of the SZ where these status oriented Vivosaurs naturally resides. The latter buys time for your team to perform fortunate Zone Swaps as the opposing status spam must force Dinomaton out before beginning their annoyances. Should Dinomaton find itself in the SZ, however, it will hardly contribute to victory as it lacks both secondary effects and beneficial support effects. This lack of status and naturally low Defense leaves Dinomaton a losing matchup against either bulkier AZ foes (Guhlith) or stronger, bulky foes (Frigi, Dynal), adding another scenario Dinomaton may struggle in after a Zone Swap. For the same reasoning Dinomaton is often a poor choice to enter the Endgame with, as it is very dependent on its team to perform well. See here for stats and moveset.

## General Gameplan (Earlygame)

Try to remain in the AZ for as long as possible. Taking great amounts of damage isn't to be feared so long as Dinomaton can trade its own LP for the LP of Guera, Raptin, or anything else it threatens. Steel Slash is the go to attack since Scissor Swipe doesn't provide enough damage for its cost. Steel Slash -> Heartless Fury is optimal unless your team needs to expose weaker Vivosaurs with Zone Swap or can provide great damage themselves (Raptin, Long Range attackers). Death Ray is a notably cheap team skill which can chip the SZ if your source of Zone Swap is stuck in the EZ for the turn, which may leave something more frail in range of a Long Range attack later when you have the opening. Just try to inflict as much damage as possible to whichever has the most threatening status without impeding your team, since thats all Dinomaton can do.

## Midgame/Endgame

Dinomaton's performance at later stages of battle are usually less valuable as either its team may have lost tools to expose support Vivosaurs or Dinomatons own LP may have been reduced in the process of removing a Vivosaur, leaving it less suitable to take on status found on more offensive Vivosaurs (Raptin, Dynal). Again, Dinomaton is quite straightforward as it can't provide much value in the SZ: stick it out in the AZ and attack repeatedly. Dinomaton's fragility means that oftentimes it will go down before your other teammates, so your other two members should offer great options at this point of the game.

## Teammates/Strategies

Teammates which are flexible to position pair well with Dinomaton as to avoid becoming terminally weak to Zone Swap: Apato, Duna, Guhlith, Dynal, etc. These Vivosaurs can assume the AZ somewhat comfortably (Dynal must avoid it if the opposition can trap him for successive Reaper Wrath's however) if Dinomaton is shuffled out of it, or provide value from the SZ where they would ideally remain. Guera can improve Dinomatons survivability by ensleeping the opposing AZ and provides the Zone Swap all teams require. Furthermore Sleep or Excite will entrap the opposition after a successful Zone Swap isolates either Raptin, Dynal, or the Zone Swap user which sets up Dinomaton to attack away without status disrupting it. Besides providing flexible positioning and a good performance at any point of battle, Duna's Confusion can itself force switches and provides excellent evasive support to Dinomaton (Frigi and Guhlith cannot reliably connect against Dinomaton after support effects). Additional Vivosaurs to threaten opposing support Vivosaurs can step up in the case that Dinomaton was only able to weaken the opposition: the best support Vivosaurs can escape isolations before dying. Especially debilitating support effects from Vivosaurs such as Frigi or Giganto greatly hamper Dinomaton, since it must always maintain the AZ to provide any benefit and these support effects cannot be shuffled out otherwise.

## Winning/Losing Matchups

Especially after the opposing team has been shuffled out of optimal positioning, Dinomaton throws a knot into the opposing status spam gameplan. Dinomaton itself loses hard to Zone Swap as explained. Confusion pierces through Dinomatons immunity, and will likely force a bad move if the EZ is occupied since Steel Slash is what Dinomaton opts to use most of the time. Obviously, Dinomaton lacks a purpose against non status spam teams. Bad luck to attain positioning is the greatest counter to Dinomaton since it usually wont have much time to complete its role due to its comprimising bulk and reliance on support.