In this article, I'll guide you through clearing the EX versions of the Inferno Lantern battles. Only the EX1 version is a must-clear if you want to collect all the copies of Pumpkin Blaster. Don't worry if you can't clear EX2, but I'll do my best to help you understand how the battles work. Let's dive into it!
First, let's take a look at the Inferno Lantern's stats at level 60:
Inferno Lantern [Level 60]
- [HP: 189522]
- [PATK: 3133]
- [MATK: 6266]
- [PDEF: 100]
- [MDEF: 100]
- [HEAL: 0]
- Damage Resistances: None
- Elemental Resistances: 80% Fire, -200% Wind
- Immunities: Poison, Silence, Darkness, Stun, Fatigue, Fog
The game describes it as follows:
Uses many magic attacks. Grants self greater Physical Resistance and Magic Resistance with Fortification. Fortification can be removed by interrupting the enemy or depleting the HP of its summoned allies. Wind-element abilities are effective against its allies.
Inferno Lantern uses the following attacks:
- Evil Cutter [Phys. Non-elem.]
50% Phys. Non-elem. Damage [Range: Single Enemy] - Firaga [Mag. Fire]
150% Mag. Fire Damage [Range: Single Enemy] - Firaga A [Mag. Fire]
150% Mag. Fire Damage [Range: All Enemies] - Maleficent Surge [Mag. Non-elem.]
400% Mag. Non-elem. Damage [Range: All Enemies] - Maleficent Surge [Mag. Non-elem.]
550% Mag. Non-elem. Damage [Range: All Enemies] - Blazing Breath [Mag. Fire]
400% Mag. Fire Damage [Range: All Enemies] - Maleficent Surge [Mag. Non-elem.]
3000% Mag. Non-elem. Damage [Range: All Enemies] - Fortification [Mag. Non-elem.]
Change Resistances: 95% Phys., 95% Mag. [Range: Self] - Reinforcements: 1st Wave [Mag. Non-elem.]
Call Reinforcements: 2x Deenglow - Reinforcements: 2nd Wave [Mag. Non-elem.]
Call Reinforcements: 2x Blugu - Reinforcements: 3rd Wave [Mag. Non-elem.]
Call Reinforcements: 2x Domahdora - Reinforcements: 4th Wave [Mag. Non-elem.]
Call Reinforcements: 2x Tenowatt
Spite Siphon [Mag. Non-elem.]
Permanent Buff Effect: +15% MATK [Range: Self] - Spite Siphon [Mag. Non-elem.]
Permanent Buff Effect: +30% MATK [Range: Self] - Spite Siphon [Mag. Non-elem.]
Permanent Buff Effect: +100% MATK [Range: Self] - Spite Siphon [Mag. Non-elem.]
Permanent Buff Effect: +200% MATK [Range: Self] - The fortification has crumbled! [Mag. Non-elem.]
7s Stun (+7s) Ignores Resists [Range: Self]
Reset Resistances [Range: Self]
Permanent Buff Effect: -50% PDEF, -50% MDEF [Range: Self] - The fortification has crumbled! [Mag. Non-elem.]
7s Stun (+7s) Ignores Resists [Range: Self]
Reset Resistances [Range: Self]
Permanent Buff Effect: +15% MATK, -50% PDEF, -50% MDEF [Range: Self] - The fortification has crumbled! [Mag. Non-elem.]
7s Stun (+7s) Ignores Resists [Range: Self]
Reset Resistances [Range: Self]
Permanent Buff Effect: +30% MATK, -50% PDEF, -50% MDEF [Range: Self] - The fortification has crumbled! [Mag. Non-elem.]
7s Stun (+7s) Ignores Resists [Range: Self]
Reset Resistances [Range: Self]
Permanent Buff Effect: +100% MATK, -50% PDEF, -50% MDEF [Range: Self] - The fortification has crumbled! [Mag. Non-elem.]
7s Stun (+7s) Ignores Resists [Range: Self]
Reset Resistances [Range: Self]
Permanent Buff Effect: +200% MATK, -50% PDEF, -50% MDEF [Range: Self] - Evil Cackle [Mag. Non-elem.]
Begin 10s Phase -> Blazing Breath - Dreadful Cackle [Mag. Non-elem.]
Begin 15s Phase -> Maleficent Surge - Dreadful Cackle [Mag. Non-elem.]
Begin 10s Phase -> Maleficent Surge
To prepare for this battle, you'll need at least two damage dealers. Since the boss is weak to wind, Sephiroth with his Dark Heavens weapon comes to mind. Check out our Sephiroth Wind Physical DPS build guide to see what it looks like. Sephiroth will deal most of the damage to the adds and the boss. Next, you'll need a secondary damage dealer, preferably one that can debuff physical defense like Tifa (Somersault), Barrett (W Machine), or Zack (Cutlass). Equip them for physical damage and add an Aerora Blow materia. In Tifa's case, she can wield her Motor Drive weapon, one of the best wind weapons in the game. Check out her wind physical dps build here.
When it comes to limit breaks, consider bringing your AoE summon limits to clear the mobs quickly, especially the ones in the 4th wave. You can use Hellfire and Diamond Dust. You could also use them before the 4th wave if they're already charged up. Don't worry if they don't deal damage to the boss; our goal is to defeat the adds quickly.
You'll also need at least one healer to keep the party alive. You can bring Aerith or Tifa, Cloud, and Red, who can also heal. Choose your favorite healer. I'd lean towards Aerith with her AoE limit break. This way, you can build her as a wind magic DPS if you have the Prism Rod and Prism Dress. This ensures she won't be dead weight when it comes to dealing damage. The key is to bring as much damage as possible to this fight. You can check out here wind magical dps build here.
Don't worry too much about the boss's attacks; they don't deal too much damage. Aerith can handle the healing, especially if she has the Fairy Tale staff. You can also rely on her limit break to heal after the boss uses Blazing Breath.
The main objective of this fight is to defeat the adds as fast as you can. The boss will summon four waves of reinforcements. Before the 4th wave is defeated, the boss gains defense and magic defense buffs or fortification. This makes it difficult to damage the boss, so focus on taking down the mobs. There will be a slight pause between reinforcements, so save your ATB for when they arrive and avoid wasting your attacks on the boss.
Once the 4th wave goes down, the boss is stunned and debuffs its own physical and magical defense. Hit it with all you've got. It helps to control each character manually to ensure they don't use anything other than wind attacks. Use the attack, then quickly switch to another character and tap the attack while the previous character is performing its animation.
If you don't manage to kill the boss in time, it will unleash a maleficent surge that is almost impossible to survive. It deals around 8k damage unbuffed. With a mid-potency magic attack debuff from Tifa, it deals around 7k damage to my team. You could theoretically survive it if you increase the party's HP to over 7k and buff the party with an AoE magic defense buff. However, I think it would be harder to accomplish that than simply dealing enough damage in a reasonable amount of time.
Once the EX1 boss is vanquished, you should become the owners of a copy of Pumpkin Blaster and 200 blue crystals. As for EX2, you will receive the 'Pumpkin Fest' icon, 200 blue crystals, and the pride of having conquered the hardest stage in the event.
This concludes the guide on EX1 and EX2 Inferno Lantern fights. I hope you found it useful!
