Unpacking the Ultimate Behemoth King Strategy Guide

The Behemoth King stands tall as one of gaming‘s most iconic supersized monsters. Crisis Core cranks its challenge factor up to 11 with enhanced stats and deadly new tricks. This exhaustive guide distills hard-won knowledge from countless showdowns into the definitive playbook for emerging victorious.

Origin Story: Banora Underground‘s Fierce Guardian

Legends speak of a gargantuan beast slumbering in Banora Underground‘s deepest recesses, but no previous intruder has lived to share confirmation. This horrific mystery dissuades all but the boldest adventurers from probing the glowing Portal of Severance. Those daring souls discover the myths understate the formidable fiend barricading passage.

This subterranean variant of the dreaded Behemoth exceeds any surface counterpart. It carries itself with an amplified imposing aura befitting a king of its titanic kind. While most evidence of human civilization has degraded away in the Underground‘s shadows, the Behemoth King‘s lair shows signs of visitors offering ritualistic sacrifices that perhaps enable its supreme mutation over eons.

Preserved accounts across eras share chilling consistency regarding this impossibly colossal being’s physical attributes and destructiveness. Banora‘s inhabitants steer clear, but corporate researchers remain fixated on harnessing the Portal of Severance‘s secrets. To progress beyond the mythic Behemoth King though, one must topple a living engine of destruction centuries in the making.

Sizing Up the Behemoth King’s Stats and Abilities

Before strategizing this epic confrontation, appreciating the Behemoth King’s capabilities clarifies the monumental challenge at hand:

Vital Statistics

Resistances

• Immune to Fire, Ice, Lightning, Gravity damage
• Susceptible to Physical & Non-Elemental Magic attacks

Attacks & Techniques

• Comet: Shoots 3 comet projectiles that fragment into meteor showers
• Heave: Produces a linear shockwave along the ground
• Double Claw: Two sweeping claw swipes
• Quake: Summons eruptive spikes in an area
• Gyro Tail: Violently spins its tail in a circular radius
• Regen: Gradually restores HP over time

Lootable Resources

These breathtaking stats and planet-shaking abilities fuel the Behemoth King’s fitting reputation. We must respect this apex adversary in all its glory before strategizing a winning plan of attack.

Optimal Party Composition & Loadout Recommendations

While only one super soldier plunges into the Underground alone, assessing the ideal Crisis Core party provides useful perspective on eliminating weak spots.

Zack – Operation lead. Prioritize Physical ATK boosts, HP/MP restoration rate, Critical Hit chance/damage for max DPS.

Aerith – White mage keeping Zack battle-ready with Curaga, Esuna, Wall, and Magic ATK buffs.

Angeal – Defense-oriented tank absorbing and blocking massive attacks so Zack stays aggressive.

Genesis – Black mage hammering weaknesses with highest-tier Elemental strikes from afar.

This optimized setup outlines the tactics and capabilities essential to winning. Now let‘s translate general RPG fundamentals into tailored Crisis Core recommendations:

Weapons

Zack should wield Buster-class swords offering the best damage, range, and speed. My personal favorites include:

• Mythril Saber – Balanced Critical Hit boosts
• Durandal – Excellent base ATK plus Bleed chance
• Enhancer – High ATK and 23% Crit Rate at max level

Accessories

Prioritize stats boosting ATK, Max HP, MP recovery rate, and resistance to flinching attacks:

• Celestial Gloves – +25 ATK after 250 kills
• Regal Crown – +50% MP recovery rate
• Champion Belt – +12.5% HP & +10 ATK
• Tetra Elemental – Immunity to Poison/Paralyze/Burn

Materia

Load out with damage-multiplying spell combinations while handling nasty debuffs:

• Magic Up + Magnify – Empower spells to greater potency
• MP Turbo + MP Absorb – Endless MP sustainability
• Attack Power Up + Berserk – Devastating physical combos
• Shield Materia + Magic Barrier – Powerful layered defense
• Added Cut + Sneak Attack – Automatic critical damage boosts

Cover all the bases and the Behemoth King won‘t know what hit him!

Mapping Out the Battlefield

Familiarizing yourself with the Behemoth King‘s lair prevents nasty surprises. Expect a spacious underground arena allowing wide-ranging skirmishes. See the map below:

The muted grey cave walls limit potential for environmental attacks or concealment so the action stays focused on the Behemoth King itself. Torches emit a consistent ominous glow throughout. The area occupies a nearly perfect circle shape apart from the Gateway to Severance tucked into one edge, blocked by a mystic blue seal.

While the bare surroundings offer few variables to manage, terrain Dynamics still impact certain strategies:

High ceiling – No concern for aerial attacks clipping needed headroom
Small ledges – Could enable items/projectiles to hit at extra angles
Flat wide floor – Easy to sprint & evade lateral claw swipes and tail spins
Portal bottleneck – Risk getting trapped if positioning poorly

Internalize this spatial context before diving into combat dynamics.

The Behemoth King‘s Attack Patterns & Phases

Many bosses cycle through phases altering their movesets. But the ancient Behemoth King eschews gimmicks and theatrics for pure aggression. It enters battle in peak form and sustains that relentless pace until you or it collapses.

Its non-phase move roster provides plentiful threats to handle regardless:

Gyro Tail – This move makes keeping distance dangerous. Position yourself to avoid getting slammed by the 360-degree spinning. Bait it out then exploit the recovery opening.

Double Claw Combo – Alternate dodging left and right to avoid side swipes. Stay calm under the pressure to recognize attack startup frames.

Heave – The visual shockwave cue allows ample reaction time. Quickstep the instant before it reaches you while facing the Behemoth King to capitalize on its cooldown.

Comet Projectiles – Comets explode at staggered intervals with tricky timing. Keep strafing and only commit to attacks between explosions.

Quake Spikes – Painful if caught mid-combo. Respond immediately when you see the ground glow then time a dodge roll to bypass all spikes.

While the Behemoth King has no explicit enrage phase, its aggression dynamically increases proportional to missing HP. Be ready to guard more frequently and for shorter openings at low health thresholds. Employ paralyze items if things get too intense to create space for healing.

Dissecting the Ideal Attack Strategy

Now that we‘ve broken down the Behemoth King‘s moveset and environment mechanics, we can outline the winning game plan:

1. Enter the arena and summon protective enchantments

Cast Regen, Wall, Barrier, Magic Barrier, and similar enchantments. Top off MP with an Ether if needed. Buff physical ATK as well. These temporary effects don‘t directly damage the boss but provide insurance for mistakes.

2. Bait out the Gyro Tail attack then punish

Running straight at the Behemoth King triggers this sweeping retalitation. After dodging the spin, you have a 4-5 second opening for unloading a full ATB ability like Quake or blasting magic spells.

3. Chip away at its health with targeting hind legs

Circling its backside allows safe damage through physical combos, saves MP for emergency spells. Watch for spin or stomp counters. Focus the hind legs once front legs sustain major damage for bonus multipliers.

4. Prevent HP regen with Dispel abilities

Make sure to slot in Dispel Materia or have Dispel Blade abilities ready. Catching the boss in a Dispel quickly can inhibit its Regen entirely, shortening the overall fight.

5. Slow its movement with periodic Paralyze effects

Paralyze stops mid-fight regen ticks and creates opportunities to drink potions or cast spells safely. Toss Tetra Elemental accessories to inflict AoE Paralyze conveniently.

6. Unload Limit Breaks once the Behemoth King hits 25% health

Below the 25% mark, sip an Elixir for instant full restoration then pummel it with Limit Breaks while it‘s vulnerable. Build up the gauge during the fight by taking and dealing damage.

7. Claim victory & enjoy the spoils!

Once its last sliver of health empties, celebrate your conquest! Loot the Goddess Wing Key to unlock the Portal of Severance and explore the treasures beyond.Crafting the perfect Behemoth King strategy requires carefully orchestrating equipment, abilities, positioning, reactions, and timing. But executing the plan patiently leads to glorious victory.

Sidebar Tips from a Behemoth King Slayer

I’ve felled the Behemoth King over 50 times across difficulty settings. Here are super useful tips from all that experience:

• Activating a Mana Zone lets you rapid-fire spells without MP cost. Use them strategically when needing big damage.
• The boss is immune to Gravity damage but regular gravity manipulation like floating it up still interrupts attacks.
• You can steal a Rare X-Potion off it but the Iron Bangle steal is pointless. Just kill it.
• Elixirs that restore all HP/MP prove more useful than stockpiling 100 Megalixirs. Prioritize having 10+ Elixirs.
• If pushing for a low-level challenge run, poison abilities help counteract regen ticks.

Learning these little lessons make overcoming Crisis Core’s toughest foe very achievable with practice!

Common Behemoth King Battle Blunders

While mastering this iconic confrontation takes most players many attempts, avoiding these mistakes accelerates success:

• Attacking too aggressively too early – The openings seem generous at first but drain your HP quickly if you get greedy. Exercise patience.
• Not dispelling its Regen – Neutralizing its healing over time early minimizes how much health it recovers.
• Depleting MP too fast – Spamming spells if unnecessary and leaves you without magic later when it could turn the tide.
• Using up items then needing them later – Be judicious in using Elixirs and ethers so you’re not stuck helpless.
• Letting HP get too low before healing – Don’t risk getting one-shotted. Heal after big hits, don’t wait until you’re critical.

Internalizing these pitfalls allows adjusting your strategy to avoid frustration. We all slip up sometimes when the blood starts pumping though!

Tweaking Tactics for Hard Mode Difficulty

Cranking Crisis Core difficulty above Normal to Hard makes the Behemoth King deadlier than ever. Its amplified HP pool spans over half a million. All attacks deal increased damage in bigger areas of effect. These changes force adjustments from winning Normal strategies:

• heavier dependence on magic – The melee approach won’t cut it alone. Manipulate Gravity, spam high-level spells, trigger Mana Zones.
• preventing damage is king – Wall and Barrier help avoid losing 75% HP in one tail swipe combo.
• mix up offense and defense – Going all-in with attacking nonstop leads to carting. Weave in Protect, Shell, and healing at tighter intervals.
• elixirs become even more critical – Having 30+ elixirs provides the burst healing and mana restoration to endure.

Don‘t expect beastly Hard Mode Behemoth victories right away. But learning from each failure refines the formula until you tame the king itself!

Conclusion: Key Takeaways for Victory

The Crisis Core Behemoth King stands out as an exceptional yardstick for player mastery and build effectiveness. Toppling this savage icon cements your reputation. Engrave these combat commandments in your mind:

• Enter buffed with protective enhancements and topped off MP
• Bait then punish high cooldown attacks for openings
• Prioritize elevation and back attacks for added damage
• Shut down its regeneration early
• Paralyze when things escalate out of control
• Unload ultimate attacks under 25% HP
• Dodge effectively and guard when emergency hits

Few gaming accomplishments satisfy more than tackling controller-throwing bosses. We hope these tips help you overcome Crisis Core’s sensational benchmark challenge on your next underground excursion!

Now go channel your inner Zack Fair to send this magnificent tyrant into eternal slumber. Share your own Behemoth King wisdom in the comments below!