Table of Contents
Introduction
In this article, I'm going to help you clear the Iron Giant EX 3 fight. This fight is a bit different from the EX 1 and EX 2 versions. The Iron Giant has bigger stats, and its move set pattern is different as well. This battle has a lot of gimmicks, which we will cover in the guide. Let's get into it.
Iron Giant [Level 70]
- [HP: 710046]
- [PATK: 6914]
- [MATK: 1728]
- [PDEF: 100]
- [MDEF: 300]
- [HEAL: 0]
Damage Resistances: None
Elemental Resistances: -200% Water
Immunities: Poison, Silence, Darkness, Stun, Fatigue, Fog, MATK Down, MDEF Down
Description:
Has extremely high physical attack, and uses many physical attacks. Becomes incapacitated for a certain amount of time when PDEF Up—the buff granted by Mighty Guard—is removed.
Physical attacks are effective against this enemy.
Attacks:
Pound [Phys. Non-elem.]
150% Phys. Non-elem. Damage [Range: Single Enemy]
Downward Slash [Phys. Non-elem.]
250% Phys. Non-elem. Damage [Range: Single Enemy]
Reap [Phys. Non-elem.]
150% Phys. Non-elem. Damage [Range: All Enemies]
Greater Helm Splitter [Phys. Non-elem.]
5000% Phys. Non-elem. Damage [Range: Single Enemy]
Grand Sword [Phys. Non-elem.]
600% Phys. Non-elem. Damage [Range: All Enemies]
Heavy Slash [Phys. Non-elem.]
800% Phys. Non-elem. Damage [Range: Single Enemy]
Adrenaline [Phys. Non-elem.]
Cancel Effect(s): PATK Down [Range: Self]
└ 600s PATK Up (+600s) (Mid -> Extreme) [Range: Self]
Short Fuse [Phys. Non-elem.]
Cancel Effect(s): PATK Down, PDEF Down, MATK Down, MDEF Down [Range: Self]
└ Permanent Buff Effect: +50% PATK [Range: Self]
Mighty Guard [Phys. Non-elem.]
Cancel Effect(s): PDEF Down [Range: Self]
└ 600s PDEF Up (+600s) (Extreme) [Range: Self]
Topple [Phys. Non-elem.]
15s Stun (+0s) Ignores Resists [Range: Self]
Vigor [Phys. Non-elem.]
Begin 20s Phase -> Grand Sword
Inspirit [Phys. Non-elem.]
Cancel Effect(s): PATK Down [Range: Self]
└ 600s PATK Up (+600s) (High -> Extreme) [Range: Self]
└ Begin 20s Phase -> Grand Sword
Recommended Party Members:
- Zack wields a dark whisker weapon for defense break and water breach.
- Tifa specializes in physical attacks and physical defense breaks. She can also serve as your main healer.
- Cloud equips the maritime sword as your primary water DPS.
- Lucia with Serpent Eater is not as good as Cloud with his maritime gear, which boosts water damage but can also serve as the main water DPS.
Recommended Materia:
- Watera Blow for Zack and Tifa so they can deal some damage.
- Barrier for added survivability.
- Debrave for debuffing physical attacks if you don't have Tifa to handle this.
- Breach Materia if you don't have any means of removing physical defense buffs, but it may be challenging due to its low potency.
Fight Mechanics:
Right at the start of the battle, the Iron Giant will buff its physical attack (Inspirit) to an absurd level. Your goal is to remove the buff by debuffing it. It'll be a challenge if you are using weapons with low potency and materia. The best weapons to do this are the Full Metal Staff, Iron Blade, Slick Beetle, Northern Lights, and Leather Gloves. I went with Tifa's Leather Gloves since she was already part of the party.
It will then charge up for a heavy slash attack. Optionally, you can cast Barrier on its target for added survivability.
If the unit manages to survive, continue the fight. If not, just restart. You won't be able to clear it with only two members.
Next, it will cast Mighty Guard and boost its physical defense to an absurd amount. Your goal here is to remove the buff. It will use Vigor and start casting Grand Sword, a physical AoE attack. Make sure your party's HP is topped up. Otherwise, you can try to stun it (Topple) by removing the defense buff.
Here is a list of weapons that are capable of debuffing physical defense: Sun Umbrella, W Machine, Hardedge, Iron Collar, and Cutlass.
The rest of the fight will follow a similar pattern with harder-hitting attacks coming your way. Make sure to kill it as fast as you can while keeping the party alive.
Rewards
For your efforts, you receive 300 Golden Tickets and 200 Blue Crystals. It's not very rewarding, but I quite understand why, because it's almost impossible for casual players to clear it. It would have caused outrage if the rewards were significant. This feels fair.
