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The Ancient Devil is an optional boss monster located and fought at the end of the optional Otka Island dungeon in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. The Ancient Devil awaits players willing for a battling challenge and guards the summon tablet containing the Catastrophe summon sequence, basically fulfilling the same role the Sentinel did in Golden Sun: The Lost Age.
Background and story[]
The Ancient Devil, resembling a winged goat-like demon armed with a grimoire, does not have any bearing on the game's actual story, nor is any background information provided. It is a powerful entity standing guard within the deepest depths of Otka Island, in the unmapped dungeon section that can be accessed after the player has obtained the Sol Blade.
In the event any group of intrepid and capable Adepts discovers the secret dungeon and successfully traverse a long skull-shaped maze, the Ancient Devil and the summon tablet await in a dark torch-lit chamber at the end. The Ancient Devil will descend and introduce himself to the party before going on the offensive:
- "I am the guardian of wind. Ye who desires more power must first reveal thine own."
As a boss[]
The Ancient Devil is a level 46 enemy. Its statistics are as follows:
| Name | HP | PP | Attack | Defense | Agility | Luck |
| Ancient Devil | 11,783 | 400 | 482 | 239 | 330 | 50 |
| Elemental Resistances | Turns | Exp | Coins | Item Dropped | Drop Rate | |
| 127 100 100 72 | 2 | 55,216 | 3,438 | N/A | N/A | |
The Ancient Devil uses the following battle commands:
| Command | Chance to use |
Elem. Stats used with * |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demon Sign | 2/8 (25%) |
-- | Enemy ability that allows the Ancient Devil to take control of one actively battling member of the player's party. The Adept will not rejoin the party until either the Adept or the Ancient Devil itself is felled. The Adept will rejoin the party in a downed state. Only one Adept, usually the one with the highest base Agility, will be possessed at a time. |
| Attack | 1/8 (12.5%) |
-- | Standard physical attack. |
| Curse | 1/8 (12.5%) |
Level ?? | Psynergy costing 6 PP that may inflict the Death Curse condition on one target. |
| Dire Inferno | 1/8 (12.5%) |
85 Power | Psynergy costing 32 PP that conjures a massive ornate shape to drop a big fireball, resulting in a huge explosion. Deals a Mars-aligned attack with a power rating of 200 and a range of 5. |
| Psy Drain | 1/8 (12.5%) |
85 Power | Psynergy costing no PP that that attempts to steal one target's PP. Deals a Jupiter-aligned attack with a power rating of 20 and a range of 1. |
| Undead Might | 1/8 (12.5%) |
100 Power | Psynergy costing 30 PP that summons an armored skeleton to attack the target. Deals a Venus-aligned attack with a power rating of 250 and a range of 1. |
| Haures | 1/8 (12.5%) |
100 Power Level ?? |
Summon sequence that calls the blue-skinned demon with red nails and fangs to wreak havoc upon the party. This deals a Venus-aligned attack with a Venus base power of 270 with additional damage equal to 15% of the victim's maximum HP meter. All targets also have a chance to get inflicted with the Deadly Poison condition. |
Defeating the Ancient Devil allows the player to access the Catastrophe summon.
Strategy[]
The Ancient Devil is one of the more challenging of the bonus bosses. A key aspect of this challenge lies in the Ancient Devil's unique ability to possess one of the player's Adepts. Possessed Adepts have access to any command they would normally access. Possessed Adepts seem to use a standard attack more than other options, but can also cast Psynergy and use any healing items in their inventory. More dangerously, they can use the player's standby Djinn to fuel summons against the player, even if the summon is an incompatible element.
When preparing to face the Ancient Devil, it is wise to assume that at least one Adept will be fighting against you for the entire battle. Thus, one option is to place more expendable Adepts in the front party, and to switch in key assets after Demon Sign has been used. By doing this, you can avoid the Ancient Devil possessing lethal characters such as Savage Fiend Sveta (which you just put into Beastform), or Master Matthew with mastered Sol Blade and 99% unleash chance; or highly useful characters like Pure Mage Rief. After a party member has been possessed, it is best to stick to single target offenses as much as possible, to focus damage on the Ancient Devil. If the possessed party member is felled, they rejoin the reserve team in their KO'ed state, making them difficult to heal. In addition, the Ancient Devil can then possess another party member. The main exception is in cases where the Ancient Devil possesses a potentially lethal Adept.
Both Sveta and Matthew are excellent options for inflicting damage, due to both having access to powerful single target options in Beastform and the Sol Blade, respectively. If choosing to perform summons, plan on unleashing no more than a couple Djinn at a time, and summon that summon in the very same turn as the second Djinni being unleashed, otherwise you run the risk of the summon being used against you. Keep in mind however, that while Summons will do proportionally less damage to the possessed Adept, they still may do enough damage to fell the Adept, triggering another Demon Sign. If you want to open with a powerful volley of summons, place your fastest characters in the front line and put enough Djinn on stand by in such a way that they can all be used in a single turn.
Barring Demon Sign, the Ancient Devil's other options are not truly devastating. Boosting Resistance should mitigate the damage done by Undead Might and Dire Inferno, while its Attack is not that damaging. Haures will be the most dangerous offense, due to the power and chance to inflict Deadly Venom. However, having a healer on hand should be enough to keep the party alive. The fight can be a long one (as it might be difficult to pull off powerful summons), but isn't overtly difficult. It goes without saying that if a character is possessed when the boss is defeated, that character will receive no experience.
Trivia[]
- The Ancient Devil bears a striking resemblance to Baphomet.
- Coincidentally, all Psynergies cast by the Ancient Devil are accessible to Himi in her Curse Mage class. In fact, other than the Ancient Devil itself, she is the only person in Dark Dawn capable of casting Undead Might and Dire Inferno.