Final Fantasy 13: How To Find And Defeat Every Undying Mark

Final Fantasy 13’s most expansive side quest is its 64 Hunt Missions. While many of them are challenging and offer potent rewards, few are as dangerous — or worthwhile — as the Undying. These ancient Cie’th not only failed their Focus, but actively defied the fal’Cie and now wander Gran Pulse as some of the game’s most powerful enemies.

Only the strongest of parties can bring down all of the Undying. Bituitus, Geiseric, Mithridates,and possibly Syphax and Zenobia, can conceivably be beaten during your first visit to Gran Pulse in Chapter 11, but you should wait until Chapter 13 or even the postgame before attempting to slay Attacus or Vercingetorix. Read on for details on each one, including where to find them and battle strategies for defeating these monstrous foes.

While this guide provides the elemental resistances and weaknesses of each Undying, remember to use Libra on each one at the start of the battle. That way, your AI party members will be aware of these stats and plan their moves accordingly.

Bituitus, The Pillager

Location

After completing Mission 03, “Massif Contamination,” return to the fork in the road near the beginning of Yaschas Massif. Take the left-hand path and follow it all the way to the end, where you’ll find an area of ruins called the Paddraean Archaeopolis. Inside, on the right-hand side, you’ll find a Cie’th Stone that offers you a Mission to kill Bituitus. Once you accept the mission, Bituitus will spawn nearby and will remain until he is defeated or the Mission is abandoned.

Stats

Strategy

Since Bituitus has many resistances, your workhorse attack should be the non-elemental spell Ruin and its derivatives. This Undying uses lightning-based attacks, so equipping your party with Accessories like the Spark Ring will mitigate some of the damage you take. Be ready to cure status ailments that Bituitus inflicts with his Miasma ability. Don’t be discouraged if Bituitus dodges many of your attacks — just keep the pressure on and hits will eventually land.

Reward

Defeating Bituitus unlocks the R&D Depot shop, which will be important for synthesizing high-tier equipment. For this reason, you should try to complete this Mission as early as you can.

Geiseric, The Profane

Location

Once you’ve both defeated Bituitus and completed Mission 05, “Joyless Reunion,” return to the Archylte Steppe. Look for a pass along the middle of the southern edge of the map and follow it until you come to a barrier. Talk to the Cie’th Stone there to receive the Mission to slay Geiseric. Once you’ve done so, return to the main area of the Steppe and head west. Geiseric will be wandering around in the region called the Western Benchlands – the southwestern portion of the map. If you’re having trouble finding him, look for a pink star on your minimap.

Stats

Strategy

Cast Protect straight away and keep it active throughout the battle. Have one or more Ravagers in your party at all times to bombard Geiseric with elemental damage and push his Stagger Gauge up. Geiseric’s fist can be attacked and Staggered separately – it has 26,000 HP and Staggers when its Gauge hits 150. Disabling the fist will reduce the boss’s overall damage output, potentially freeing up your Medics to do other things.

Reward

Defeating Geiseric will earn you a Royal Armlet as a Mission Reward, and remove the barrier near the Cie’th Stone. This opens the way to the Font of Namva.

Mithridates, The Lone

Location

As part of the main quest, you’ll face a boss called Dahaka at the top of Taejin’s Tower. Once Dahaka is defeated, a Cie’th Stone will activate just northwest of the platform on which you fought him. Activate the Cie’th Stone to receive the Mission to defeat Mithridates. Talk to the Menhirrim in the same area to activate a lift to the seventh floor. From the seventh floor, take the central elevator all the way back to the bottom. After a cutscene, you’ll be thrust into battle with Mithridates.

Stats

Strategy

Mithridates is essentially a more powerful version of Bituitus, so protect yourself from lightning damage and be ready to deal with status ailments. Where Mithridates differs, however, is his wide array of elemental weaknesses. Hammer away at him with magic like Fire, Blizzard, Water or Aero and their derivatives, making up for his high evasion with an overwhelming volume of spells. Mithridates is more powerful than Dahaka, so if you try to fight him as soon as he’s available and fail, cancel the Mission and come back later.

Reward

Defeating Mithridates will earn you a Blaze Ring, which grants additional protection against fire damage.

Syphax, The Insidious

Location

Anytime after you’ve visited Sulyya Springs for the first time, return to Archylte Steppe. If you haven’t already done so, complete Hunt Mission 14, “Defender of the Flock” to unlock the ability to ride chocobos. Mount up and head to the Eastern Tors region in the northeast corner of the map. On the northern central edge, you’ll find an area that is newly accessible thanks to your chocobo. Follow the main path and you’ll find a Cie’th Stone just before the road opens up into the ruins of Haerii Archaeopolis. Talk to the Cie’th Stone and accept its mission, then head back to Mah’Habara — Waystones can make this process faster if you’ve activated them through various Hunt Missions.

Once in Mah’Habara, return to the area where you rode Atomos to Sulyya Springs. If you took a Waystone, it will drop you off there. Atomos is now sitting in a chasm and can be walked over to access a previously closed area. Follow the path until you reach a fork, and go right. Continue all the way to the end to find Syphax.

Stats

Strategy

Unlike the other Undying, Syphax has minions to do his dirty work. You’ll need to defeat a swarm of Numidia before Syphax joins the fray. The Numidia have 17,600 HP each and, like their leader, are weak against wind damage. Turn this to your advantage by using area-of-effect wind spells like Aeroga. Once Syphax enters the fight, focus your attacks on him – he will periodically summon more Numidia to replace the ones you kill, so you won’t be rid of them until the main target is defeated. That said, if you’re in a powerful enough position to do so without dying you can farm CP by repeatedly killing Numidia throughout the fight.

Reward

Defeating Syphax will earn you a chunk of Uraninite, which can be used for equipment synthesis, and open the way to Haerii Archaeopolis. This unlocks the next Undying Mark, Zenobia.

Zenobia, The Butcher

Location

Once you’ve defeated Syphax, return to the spot where you first received the Mission to hunt him. Continue into Haerii Archaeopolis and turn left. Look for a narrow path leading north — a Cie’th Stone will be waiting at the entrance. Accept the Cie’th Stone’s mission and check the minimap of the surrounding area for a pink star. Your Mark will be wandering the Haerii Archaeopolis. Once you engage Zenobia, however, she will be immediately destroyed by a third party and you’ll have to fight the new challenger instead.

Stats

Strategy

Longime fans of Final Fantasy know to fear a Tonberry, and this one is no different. The little green monster grows much stronger the longer the fight goes on — each use of Grudge nearly doubles its physical and magical attack, and can stack up to four times. As such, your focus should be on destroying your foe as quickly as possible. Don’t heal unless you absolutely need to — if allowed to power up, it’s likely the Tonberry will one-shot your heroes regardless of how much HP they have left.

Reward

Although it was technically the Tonberry that slew Zenobia, you’ll still be rewarded with Hermes Sandals for completing the Hunt Mission. If you’re disappointed you didn’t get a chance to fight the Undying, don’t worry — she makes an appearance as a boss in Final Fantasy XIII-2.

Attacus, The Soulless

Location

North of the Haerii Archaeopolis you’ll find an area called the Faultwarrens. Here, you can take on multiple Hunt Missions as part of Titan’s Trials. The bosses here are tough, so bring your A-game and plenty of Phoenix Downs when you begin the challenge.

You’ll need to complete every unique battle in Titan’s Trials at least once to unlock Attacus; this requires lots of repeat battles, since you’ll need to effectively succeed on each possible path. Once you’ve completed all sixteen (Missions 35-50), begin the Trials one more time, taking the battles in any order you like. After completing your fourth battle, be sure to talk to the appropriate Cie’th Stone based on whom you fought last, as follows:

Assuming you have indeed completed all the requisite battles and chosen the correct Cie’th Stone, you’ll be sent to fight Attacus as your final challenge in the Trials.

Stats

Strategy

As his stats suggest, Attacus is extremely resilient. Even though he can’t be Staggered, Chain Bonuses still increase the damage Attacus takes so combo your Commandos and Ravagers to keep his Chain high. As he takes damage, Attacus will draw his swords which unlock powerful new attacks. When he uses Concentrate or Meditate, have your toughest Sentinel use Provoke right away — a big attack is coming, and only an extremely defensive character will be able to take it and survive.

Reward

Defeating Attacus earns you the Genji Glove, a powerful Accessory that allows its wearer to ignore the usual damage cap of 99,999 and instead influct up to 999,999 damage with a single attack.

Vercingetorix, The Doomherald

Location

After you’ve defeated both Mithridates and Attacus, the game’s ultimate challenge becomes available. You also need to have defeated Barthandelus at the end of Chapter 11, but chances are if you’ve slain Attacus you’ve already done that. When all three conditions are met, return to the spot where you fought Barthandelus, at the end of the Rust-Eaten Bridge in Oerba. Talk to the Cie’th Stone there and you’ll be given the final Hunt Mission. Take a Waystone back to the Paddraean Archaeopolis, where you fought Bituitus, use a Fortisol and an Aegisol to start the fight with buffs, and engage Vercingetorix

Stats

Strategy

Notice how there is no CP reward for defeating Vercingetorix. That’s because your characters’ Crystarium should be completely maxxed out, along with all their equipment, before you attempt to fight him. Ideally, each of your party members will have a Genji Glove equipped to maximize your damage output. Vercingetorix grows more powerful as his HP drops, so even if the fight is manageable in the beginning it will be very, very difficult by the end. This is the single hardest battle in Final Fantasy 13, so even a fully-levelled party may not succeed.

The most important thing to know is that Vercingetorix has a pattern. At the beginning of each cycle, he attacks repeatedly – treat this like any other fight, hitting back and driving up his Chain Gauge. After he’s made a few attacks, Vercingetorix will activate Impenetrable Aura. He will be completely immune to all damage while the aura is active, so use the time to heal and restore your buffs. The Aura also reduces his Chain back to zero, so you’ll be back at square one when the time comes to attack him again. When the Aura is about to fall, switch all of your heroes to Sentinels and prepare for his WIcked Whirl. Vercingetorix’s ultimate attack, it’s all-but guaranteed to kill characters who aren’t in full defense mode. After (hopefully) surviving the worst, heal up and start the process over again.

Reward

Defeating Vercingetorix earns you the Gold Watch, which extends the time limit to earn a five-star rating in a given battle when equipped. Ironically, it’s most useful when going back to fight Vercingetorix again to earn those five stars for bragging rights.