Uploaded February 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Final Fantasy IV: Ultima is a hack by 8-bit fan that aims to present a more expansive version of the classic. New weapons, spells, bosses, and a modified overworld are just a few of the changes on tap.
The latest version of the patch can always be found here:
romhacking.net/hacks/4134
Version being played: 21.5
Time to knock out another boss. This one's hiding in the Volcano area underground and it ain't going to be happy when you try to take its prized sword located due north of the save point.
This is boss is known as the Fire Dragon. It has a rather simplistic attack script compared to other optional bosses, but all that means is that it'll loop around to its strongest attack MUCH quicker.
That attack script? A normal attack on its first turn which can sting, but shouldn't be hard to withstand for a team that's beaten Goddess to unlock this fight.
The other attack though is another chapter in the long line of "dragons are jerks!" moments. This attack is its signature nuke Dragon Breath. Despite the animation, it's a non-elemental attack that hits everyone and does massive damage. Edward & Porom for sure go down in one use, Rosa might hit the floor likewise depending on damage variance, and Cecil & Kain tend to go down to triple digit health.
Dragon Breath is the sole reason I brought Porom because, mercifully, stacking multiple casts of Shell will greatly curb its damage. With a salve'd Elf Cloak, two MT Shells, and P.Cecil's Big Guard, Dragon Breath won't go all murder hobo on everyone. It might still one shot Edward & Porom, hence why I did another salve'd Elf Cloak & two MT Shells.
Once all that's setup, heavy damage can be dealt. Be wary about having multiple people attacking at once because the Fire Dragon is quite counter happy. At first, the counters are just physical strikes, but that quickly gets upgraded to Burst. Even with all my defensive buffing, Burst is quite capable of one shotting some people as Edward demonstrates a couple times.
When the Fire Dragon decides to shake all night long, that's when it goes into the second half of its attack script. It's like the first, counters and all...until you get to the part where Burst should be the counterattack. That gets replaced by Dragon Breath. If attacking with multiple characters wasn't a bad idea before, it is now.
Thankfully, the fight's almost over once the Dragon Breath counters come into play. Persist and the boss forks over two items upon its defeat.
The first item is another piece of Adamant gear, a ring. Very similar to the Crystal Ring with high defensive stats, immunity to charm/sleep/paralysis, defense vs dragon type attackers, and can be used by everyone. The Adamant Ring tacks on a 15 point boost to agility & vitality (compared to the Crystal Ring's 5 point agility boost) along with resistance to fire/ice/thunder.
The real prize though is the Fire Dragon's sword it was guarding, the Caladbolg. Boosts all stats except vitality by 15, dark elemental, can inflict four ailments (mute/instant death/paralysis/curse), effective on three enemy types (giants/slimes/mages), and can be used by DK Cecil & Edward.
While Edward can get some good mileage out of the Caladbolg, DK Cecil gets FAR more use for one reason...with the weapon equipped and using his Bane command, he doesn't do just one salvo of auto crits...he does TWO. Yes, that means he could potentially do nearly 30k damage in one command if the enemy is extremely frail. The downside? Two uses of Bane means double the hp drain so someone oughta be ready with a big heal to toss Cecil's direction after the carnage ends.
More next time!
Final Fantasy IV: Ultima is a hack by 8-bit fan that aims to present a more expansive version of the classic. New weapons, spells, bosses, and a modified overworld are just a few of the changes on tap.
The latest version of the patch can always be found here:
romhacking.net/hacks/4134
Version being played: 21.5
Time to knock out another boss. This one's hiding in the Volcano area underground and it ain't going to be happy when you try to take its prized sword located due north of the save point.
This is boss is known as the Fire Dragon. It has a rather simplistic attack script compared to other optional bosses, but all that means is that it'll loop around to its strongest attack MUCH quicker.
That attack script? A normal attack on its first turn which can sting, but shouldn't be hard to withstand for a team that's beaten Goddess to unlock this fight.
The other attack though is another chapter in the long line of "dragons are jerks!" moments. This attack is its signature nuke Dragon Breath. Despite the animation, it's a non-elemental attack that hits everyone and does massive damage. Edward & Porom for sure go down in one use, Rosa might hit the floor likewise depending on damage variance, and Cecil & Kain tend to go down to triple digit health.
Dragon Breath is the sole reason I brought Porom because, mercifully, stacking multiple casts of Shell will greatly curb its damage. With a salve'd Elf Cloak, two MT Shells, and P.Cecil's Big Guard, Dragon Breath won't go all murder hobo on everyone. It might still one shot Edward & Porom, hence why I did another salve'd Elf Cloak & two MT Shells.
Once all that's setup, heavy damage can be dealt. Be wary about having multiple people attacking at once because the Fire Dragon is quite counter happy. At first, the counters are just physical strikes, but that quickly gets upgraded to Burst. Even with all my defensive buffing, Burst is quite capable of one shotting some people as Edward demonstrates a couple times.
When the Fire Dragon decides to shake all night long, that's when it goes into the second half of its attack script. It's like the first, counters and all...until you get to the part where Burst should be the counterattack. That gets replaced by Dragon Breath. If attacking with multiple characters wasn't a bad idea before, it is now.
Thankfully, the fight's almost over once the Dragon Breath counters come into play. Persist and the boss forks over two items upon its defeat.
The first item is another piece of Adamant gear, a ring. Very similar to the Crystal Ring with high defensive stats, immunity to charm/sleep/paralysis, defense vs dragon type attackers, and can be used by everyone. The Adamant Ring tacks on a 15 point boost to agility & vitality (compared to the Crystal Ring's 5 point agility boost) along with resistance to fire/ice/thunder.
The real prize though is the Fire Dragon's sword it was guarding, the Caladbolg. Boosts all stats except vitality by 15, dark elemental, can inflict four ailments (mute/instant death/paralysis/curse), effective on three enemy types (giants/slimes/mages), and can be used by DK Cecil & Edward.
While Edward can get some good mileage out of the Caladbolg, DK Cecil gets FAR more use for one reason...with the weapon equipped and using his Bane command, he doesn't do just one salvo of auto crits...he does TWO. Yes, that means he could potentially do nearly 30k damage in one command if the enemy is extremely frail. The downside? Two uses of Bane means double the hp drain so someone oughta be ready with a big heal to toss Cecil's direction after the carnage ends.
More next time!
