How to beat Lich, the Fiend of Earth in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

Upon failing to protect his friends, a certain Stranger's lingering regret turned him into the Fiend of Earth, Lich. Taking up residence in the Cavern of Earth, he has begun to hoard the Earth’s Crystal’s power, viciously attacking anyone foolish enough to intrude upon the halls of his earthen castle. Defeating this nightmarish Fiend will take all of the courage you can muster, but don’t worry—we’ve put together a battle plan to help. Here’s how to defeat Lich, the Fiend of Earth in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

Fighting Lich, the Fiend of Earth

Preparing to fight Lich

Before taking on Lich, you’ll want to be prepared to exploit his weakness—wind. Setting either the Black Mage or Sage as one of your Jobs will give you access to powerful wind magic. Choosing a secondary Job that utilizes axes will allow you to also exploit the weaknesses of any Dark Skeletons that Lich summons during battle.

Related: Can you change your party members’ Jobs in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin?

The Mission Levels range from 50 to 84 for both the Main and Side Mission versions of the Lich fight, so equip gear of at least an equal level before heading in to face him. Additionally, if you’ve unlocked the option to Change Special Effects through the Smithy, be sure to give your weapons and armor at least a few of the following Equipment Effects before heading into battle:

• Imbue Wind
• Wind Damage Dealt
• Wind Break Damage Dealt
• Magic Damage Dealt
• Magic Break Damage Dealt
• Enemy Weakness Damage Dealt
• Enemy Weakness Break Damage Dealt
• Physical Damage Taken
• Magic Resistance
• Status Ailment Resistance
• MP Recovery Rate with Normal Attacks
• Action Ability MP Cost

Once your party’s Jobs and gear have been decided, head to the Cavern of Earth area on the World Map to confront the Fiend of Earth.

Lich's attacks and abilities

Lich relies on his magical prowess to sling a barrage of elemental spells at his enemies, preferring to attack from a safe distance during combat. Due to this, Lich has the potential to overwhelm your party if you aren't careful—spells like Fellflame and Ice Dust are typically cast at the same time, damaging players directly in front of him and players farther away. The attacks Lich will use during battle are as follows:

• Normal Attack Combo
  • Lich delivers two to four swipes to any player directly in front of him. This attack can be blocked normally or can be avoided by dodging.
• Bone Nails
  • Lich extends five of his fingers toward the ground, attempting to pierce any player directly in front of him. This attack can be blocked or can be avoided by dodging.
• Call of the Underworld
  • Lich summons two skeletons from the Underworld to fight alongside him.
• Earthquake
  • Lich causes the ground to erupt beneath all players, dealing earth-based damage. This attack can be partially blocked or can be avoided by dodging. The attack is typically used after Call of the Underworld.
• Fellflame
  • Lich creates five explosive orbs in a horizontal line directly in front of him, dealing fire-based damage. This attack can be partially blocked or can be avoided by dodging.
• Ice Dust
  • Lich creates five icy spears that home in on a player, dealing ice-based damage. This attack can be partially blocked or can be avoided by dodging.
• Judgement
  • Lich summons down a lightning bolt to strike a player, dealing lightning-based area-of-effect damage. This attack can be partially blocked or can be avoided by dodging.
• Flare
  • Lich creates a massive explosion using the souls of defeated skeletons, dealing massive area-of-effect non-elemental damage. This attack can be dodged by avoiding or turned against Lich by using Soul Shield.
• Curse
  • Lich fires off three ethereal skulls that home in on a player, dealing minor damage and inflicting the Curse status ailment. This attack can be avoided by dodging or turned against the Lich by using Soul Shield.
• Bindga
  • Lich fires off a small projectile, grasping any hit player and dealing massive non-elemental damage. This attack cannot be blocked and should be avoided by dodging.
• Putrid Ground
  • Lich temporarily turns the ground around him toxic, inflicting Poison and Curse to any players caught within its radius. This attack can be avoided by dodging.
• Offering to the Dead
  • Lich wildly swings his scythe-wings as he dashes around the field, dealing hefty physical damage. This attack can be partially blocked or can be avoided by dodging.
• Terrifying Embrace
  • Lich lunges toward a player with his scythe-wings, grabbing and afflicting them with a deadlier version of Curse. This attack cannot be blocked and should be avoided by dodging.

Related: How to beat Kraken, the Fiend of Water in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

How to beat Lich

The key to fighting Lich is using wind magic for crowd control, then dashing in to deliver physical attacks. To start out the battle, switch to your Black Mage or Sage Job and hit Lich with Aeroga until you've run out of MP. From there, initiate both of your ally's resonance states, causing them to act as a distraction by using their abilities on Lich more aggressively.

While Lich is preoccupied with attacking your teammates, hit him with Normal Attacks to recover your MP, then distance yourself from Lich once again before casting Aeroga. Additionally, if your weapon has the Imbue Wind equipment effect, each Normal Attack will exploit Lich's weakness to wind and lower his break gauge.

Simply continue that cycle of casting Aeroga, using resonances and dashing in to attack, then backing off to cast Aeroga again. If you're running low on max MP, using axe attacks or wind magic will exploit the weakness of nearby Dark Skeletons and lower their break gauge. Soul Burst can then be used to deal a finishing blow, raising your max MP.

The battle will enter its second phase upon Lich's health being lowered to the halfway mark, at which point he'll lose the ability to cast elemental spells and will focus on using physical attacks or inflicting status ailments. Lich's other attacks will remain the same for the rest of the fight, however, so continue using Aeroga magic and wind-imbued Normal Attacks to chip away at his break gauge. Just remember to stay on your toes, and you'll surely take down this earthen Fiend in no time!

Looking for more great Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin content? Be sure to check out How to defeat Captain Bikke in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin here at Pro Game Guides.

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