One of the Four Fiends that Jack and the party will have to contend with, Lich commands the domain of death. When living beings die, they are absorbed back into the loam and soil, giving Lich sovereignty over the Earth element as well. Lich, like the Phantoms you’ve fought prior, has the ability to appear and disappear at will, while also retaining some tricky new powers. Here’s how to defeat Lich in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.
Lich is slow moving and acts more like a caster compared to Marilith or Tiamat. This offers up good opportunities to get in close and deal heavy damage, but be mindful that Lich’s spells must be respected — in addition to dealing heavy damage, some of them can do status effects as well. Here is a list of Lich’s attacks in Phase 1:
- Ice Dust: Lich will summon plenty of ice spears and launch them at a target. This attack can be parried, but be mindful that there are several shards, so several parries will be required. Dodging is easier to avoid this attack.
- Judgement: Lich will summon a pool of electricity under a target. This pool will not activate immediately, but when it does activate it will leave behind a circle of electricity for several seconds. This attack can build up Paralyze very quickly, but it can be parried.
- Call of the Underworld: Lich will summon several Skeleton enemies. These can be Soul Bursted like any other enemy in the game, but they must be dealt with immediately because for every Skeleton on the field, Lich will gain a Regen effect.
- Teleport: Lich will fade away and appear elsewhere. Be on the lookout for a delayed appearance — he can start firing off spells immediately.
- Earthquake: Lich will summon circles of Quake underneath all party members. This attack can be parried, but should instead be dodged — the quakes come in sets of three.
- Bindga: Lich will attempt to inflict Bind on a target. This attack cannot be parried and must be dodged.
- Cross-Swipe: Lich will leap backward while swiping with his wings. This attack can be parried.
- Gaia’s Wrath: Lich will summon a circle of Quake around him in an attempt to trap a target, and follow it up with another spell. The Quakes can be parried.
- Flare: At around 65%, Lich will begin to cast Flare on a random target. Flare can be parried, and moreover can be Stolen as an instant action. This is important, as it can easily deal with the random Skeletons summoned by Call of the Underworld.
- Bone Nail: Lich will fire nails of bone from his hand at a target. This attack can be parried.
Lich’s gameplan is to teleport around the arena, summon Skeleton mooks, and throw random spells at you. Most of his arsenal can be parried, and high cast times combined with long recovery animations allow for big damage abilities to be charged and used. Once you’ve whittled his HP or Break Gauge down, Phase 2 begins:
- Putrid Ground: Lich will begin Phase 2 by covering the entire arena with a viscous goo. Putrid Ground will build Curse and Poison on all party members — halving your Break Gauge and causing continuous damage as well. Putrid Ground also summons several Skeletons, which still provide a healing effect to Lich. This attack cannot be avoided, but the ill effects can be cured.
- Terrifying Embrace: Lich’s grab attack. This cannot be parried and must be dodged.
- Wing Swipes: Lich will swipe three to five times with his wings. All hits can be parried.
- Offering to the Dead: Lich will swipe forward with darkness attached to his wings. This attack can be parried, but is a multi-hitting move.
Lich’s plan doesn’t really change, but he can no longer cast a variety of spells from Phase 1. Putrid Ground puts unavoidable pressure on your team, and dealing with the Skeletons is a must to prevent Lich from healing up residual damage. Avoiding Terrifying Embrace is key, because it will hurt significantly — combined with Poison damage and glancing attacks from Skeletons, you can find your health and Break Gauge depleting rapidly. Keep the Skeletons dead and keep applying pressure to Lich, and soon you’ll restore the Earth Crystal to light.
