Legend of Dragoon Side Quests: Defeating Magician Faust
The Magician Faust is an optional boss of the game, available after collecting the 50 Stardust from Martel and acquiring the Vanishing Stone. Dominate the Wingly city of Zenebatos and take a ride on Coolon to Kashua Glacier. Follow the path leading to Flanvel Tower and make your way through the winding tunnels until you reach the save point before the boss battle previously fought in the game. Warp through the right-hand side port to arrive in a small, dark room. Faust will appear, warning travelers to flee before he attacks. Yet, with Vanishing Stone in hand, the now known apparition of Faust disappears, and Dart is allowed to descend into the taboo area. Follow the linear path to reach a Dragon Helm and a room with a save point and three Wingly warp tunnels. The order of choosing does not matter; each path leads to a lower room with a large platform surrounded by three entrances. The first and second entrances your character discovers will break away, leaving one route to Faust. My final path was using the middle port, riding the tunnels until I reached a point with four options. Choosing the rightmost tunnel led to the last path to the platform where Dart and the others crash down into a dungeon where the real Faust appears.
Before battle preparations should consist of stocking at least five each of Angel’s Prayer, Healing Breeze, Healing Fog, and Healing Rain. MP healers and magic items will not be helpful, unless you want to spam Rose Storm like crazy. When choosing a team, consider speed and magical defense. I used Dart (Lv. 36), Rose (Lv. 33), and Albert (Lv. 35), despite his low MD, because Rose Storm saves lives and often determines the outcome of high-powered battles. For equipment, I used Therapy Rings on Rose and Albert and gave Dart a Dragon Helm and Physical Ring to dramatically increase his HP. Legend Casque is not required to defeat Faust, and I would dare say using one is cheating. Dragoons are completely capable of handling this insane magician on their own. Fully charge all SP gauges beforehand, mainly for Dart and Albert, and use additions delivering high damage and 100 SP gain. Strategy is key to the battle. Do not expect to attack every turn with every character, because you will achieve “game over” in less than five turns. Most importantly, save before entering the final path; this battle may take a few tries to conquer.
Faust provides a veritable onslaught of magical attacks, ranging from small blasts from his wand to gigantic fire spheres hurled from the heavens that destroy unprepared parties. Do not use magic against him; simply rely on additions, Dragoon additions, and healing items. The first attack is up for grabs depending on your team selection and the speed of characters. In my case, Albert attacked first, followed by Faust. I tried different scenarios, using Special Mode, throwing Speed Down, defending on the first move — my party died every single time. Faust’s first move is always a huge meteor that instantly kills Rose and Albert. Dart is then forced to play catch-up while fighting off the magician’s powerful attacks. Instead, immediately invoke Albert’s Dragoon mode and use Rose Storm, protecting all party members from devastating HP loses. Follow up transforming Dart and having Rose heal or defend, depending on character HP. Rose remains to be the healer and item user for the rest of the battle, because she has a higher tolerance to magic attacks and can withstand a few attacks when not defending. Albert should rarely attack in human form, as one magic blast can take him out. He is there for Rose Storm, and the occasional attack when you need more SP. Faust will attack a few times during one turn, up to four moves in a row, meaning defenses should be kept at maximum. In Dragoon form, Dart’s addition blasted over 1800 HP from Faust, while Albert reigns supreme at 2300 plus attacks. Speed Down does not truly slow down Faust, although Power Down works wonders on his stats. Use in conjunction with a Power Up on Dart to increase attack strength. While whittling away his HP, Faust releases strong spells when his HP is at half, and again when it is at a quarter of the full amount. In preparation for these spells, have Rose Storm invoked while defending with Rose and Albert. Following this strategy, Faust will go down in about 30 minutes. Just keep delivering those physical attacks with Dart!
