How to defeat Tiamat in Stranger of Paradise with ease

Stranger of Paradise is the latest spinoff to join the Final Fantasy series, retelling the events of the very first game with a new modern flair. Co-developed by Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja, the team behind Nioh, the game also blends in elements from Souls-like games. Following that, Stranger of Paradise is filled to the brim with challenging boss fights, and each mission ends with one. These boss fights see you going up against a variety of iconic Final Fantasy creatures, including the Four Fiends from the original game. Tiamat is one of the most challenging of those, and the boss of the Flying Fortress. We’ll go through exactly how to beat Tiamat, including both phases.

Best loadout and jobs for Tiamat boss fight

By the time you reach Tiamat, you should have nearly all of the Advanced Jobs unlocked, but if not you may want to consider training a bit to unlock the jobs we suggest. Your first equipped job should absolutely be Black Mage, as Tiamat is extremely weak to blizzard magic. Your second job should be some kind of melee-focused one with wide attacks. Two good choices are Dragoon and Warrior.

Dragoon’s Jump ability can be used to avoid Tiamat’s melee attacks, then hit its multiple heads at once. Warrior, on the other hand, has the super useful Warcry ability that applies regen for roughly a minute, which is huge when you have limited heals. Of course, you’ll want to equip both your jobs with the best weapons and armor you have.

In terms of party members, it’s best to bring Ash and Neon with their strongest jobs, as they have the more likely chance of staggering the boss than Jed.

Tiamat Phase 1

Like all bosses in Stranger of Paradise, the Tiamat encounter is split into two different phases. The first phase is significantly easier, but still no pushover. The best strategy for this battle is to use your Black Mage to cast Blizzard whenever you have MP. You’ll want to consistently use your party member’s Resonance by pressing left or right on the D-pad when it’s ready. However, you should only use one at a time, in an effort to keep Tiamat’s focus on the party members instead of you.

When you’re out of MP, switch to your melee class and get in close to do melee attacks, but make sure to only do a quick combo in between Tiamat's attacks. You’ll basically want to continue this formula until you get the boss to half health or deplete its break gauge. Below we’ll list out the attacks from the boss and how to deal with them.

• Swipe Attack - A close-range swipe attack that Tiamat can use 1-3 times. Back up or Soul Shield to avoid.
• Tail Attack - If you attack the boss from behind she’ll use a tail swipe one or two times that can knock you down.
• Macro Burst - Tiamat charges up a series of beams and shoots them straight forward. You can absorb the attack with Soul Shield if timed right.
• Tempest - Tiamat leaps into the air and shoots four bursts of wind in front of it. You can steal this attack using Soul Shield.
• Breath - Tiamat spins around the immediate area with four beams. You can actually get in right next to her underneath the beams and attack.
• Leap - Tiamat leaps into the air and crashes down right on top of you, doing heavy damage. If you time it exactly right, however, you can use Soul Shield to block the attack.
• Poison Gas - Like with Tempest, Tiamat leaps into the air and fires orbs of poison. If you block the attack you’ll still get poisoned, but you can Soul Shield to steal the attack.
• Ire of Dragons - Tiamat focuses and counters any attack for a few seconds. Do not attack when this ability is used.

Tiamat Phase 2

Phase 2 is where things get really difficult, as essentially you’ll never be able to deplete the boss’ health to zero. Tiamat gains a regeneration ability that it uses multiple times, healing it to full health and restoring a portion of the break gauge. The only way to beat Tiamat now is to reduce its break gauge to zero. Now’s the time to have your party members hammer away with Resonance whenever they have it. Still focus on using your Blizzard attacks, as they’ll do huge damage to the break gauge. However, if you or your teammates stagger the boss, close in and unleash some melee attacks — the same if Tiamat uses its Breath attack.

During this second phase, Tiamat will use all of the previous attacks, as well as a couple of deadly new ones, which we’ll also list below.

• Thunderbolt - This attack is exactly like Tempest, but is lightning-based instead of wind. You can also steal it with Soul Shield.
• Wind Blast - Tiamat quickly fires a wind orb directly ahead. You often won’t have time to dodge so block or Soul Shield.
• Tri-disaster - This is by far Tiamat’s deadliest attack, and it can even take you from full health to zero if you get hit head-on. Tiamat takes a few seconds to charge and focuses a massive beam of lasers on one character, usually you. The attack cannot be blocked and is incredibly difficult to Soul Shield, so your best bet is to run and doge to the side. Even if you get hit, try and dodge out of the beam, as you might be able to escape with barely enough health to survive.

This second phase can be incredibly challenging, so don’t be afraid to back off and lean on your party members and their Resonance attacks. It’s essential that you learn the timing of Tiamat’s attacks, and when to slip in one or two hits.

But follow these steps, and you should come out on top. Then you’re one step closer to killing Chaos!