Final Fantasy 12 is full of battle challenges for players, and while most of these are in the form of Hunt Marks, some are just traditional optional bosses that can be found hidden in the world. One of the optional bosses that are not a Hunt Mark is Hell Wyrm, and defeating it is a prerequisite to being able to tackle the super boss Yiazmat.
Defeating Hell Wyrm will earn you the "Radiant Savior" achievement/trophy. However, finding and defeating this guy is not the easiest of tasks. Fortunately, we've got everything you need to know about slaying Hell Wyrm right here.
Pre-requisite Hunt
Hell Wyrm is found in the Hall of the Wroth God in the Sochen Cave Palace, but in order to access the area that this boss is in, you have to first obtain the Age-Worn Key. In order to get this key, you need to do the following:
- Complete the "Get My Stuff Back!" Hunt: The petitioner is Viera Wayfarer in Balfonheim and your mark is the Vyraal, which can be found in the Northsward area of the Cerobi Steppe. Return to the Viera Wayfarer afterward, and one of your rewards will be the Dragon Scale.
- Give the Dragon Scale to the Wyrm Philosopher: This NPC can be found at Windmill #10 in the Northsward area of the Cerobi Steppe. Examine the Windmill to prompt a cutscene with the Wyrm Philosopher and then agree to give him your Dragon Scale, in exchange, he will give you the Age-Worn Key needed to unlock the Hall of the Wroth God.
Hall of the Ascetic Door Puzzle
Even though you now possess the Age-Worn Key, it's not as simple as just unlocking the door to get to Hell Wyrm. First, you need to head to the Destiny's March area of the Sochen Cave Palace and solve a puzzle.
In the circular map area shown above, you want to approach from the eastern side, then travel clockwise around the map only using the "Doors of Hours" until you reach the position that you started at (the 3 o'clock position if you think of this part of the map as a clock face). At this point, the Ascetic’s Door on the western side of this circular area can now be used to enter into battle with Hell Wyrm. Don't worry about heading round the long way, you can just cut across the circular area to reach the door once it is open.
Battle Strategy
Hell Wyrm has nearly 90,000 HP and so its colossal health bar is separated into smaller bars, and each time you deplete the large upper bars, you are removing one of the smaller bars. Take some medicine items with you just in case you find yourself in a tough spot.
This is a lengthy battle and Hell Wyrm hits particularly hard, so make sure your characters are well equipped to handle the fight. Bubble Belts are a must and ideally, your characters need Stop Gambits set up for when Hell Wyrm uses its Judgment move. You should also make sure at least one character has a Power Armlet or Ribbon equipped to mitigate Hell Wyrm's Stop. Judgment is Holy-based, so you can also equip Sage's Ring and/or White Mask to ensure your characters absorb the damage instead.
You'll want to keep your party buffed throughout the battle at all times with the full works of Bubble, Protect, Shell, Haste, and Bravery. Additionally, you can maximize your damage by using the Shear and Expose Techniks and casting Wither.
Watch out for when Hell Wyrm uses a move called Invert, as this will switch your characters' HP and MP, so prepare yourself to heal up quickly. It's worth having a dedicated healer to ensure that your party stays in the best shape and no one suddenly gets KO'd when their HP and MP get inverted.
Additionally, when Hell Wyrm's HP falls below 30%, it will begin to use Rake, a move that can deal some hefty damage, and a move called Stonebreath that can inflict Petrify. You'll need to counteract this, so you can either use Gold Needles to remove Petrify or Esuna it away. Watch out for Hell Wyrm's physical attacks, as there is a 5% chance that they can cause Instant Death. While this isn't likely to happen, just be prepared to raise your party members if and when needed.
Hell Wyrm will also use a variety of elemental -ga attacks, so if you have any armor that can help to reduce the damage taken from elements, then it'll be handy, but is not essential. Hell Wyrm is weak to Oil, so you can equip a character with Nihopalaoa and then use a Handkerchief, or more simply just use the Time Battlemage's Oil spell. Once Hell Wyrm is oiled, you can follow up with Belias for some decent damage. Ultima is another great choice of Esper to use against Hell Wyrm, but as it is only obtained near the end of the game, you might not have it by the time you want to take on Hell Wyrm.
After you've defeated Hell Wyrm, if you speak to Montblanc in Clan Centurio in Rabanastre, he will give you 50,000 Gil.