Penance & Dark Yojimbo help

[a nirvana fan]

Ok so i can't kill Dark Yojimbo without Zanmato and I hear you have to beat him like five times(geez) but Zanmato oftens fails so can someone please tell me a very good easy way of killing him, and also I hear that after all the Dark Aeons are defeated you can challenge Penance, could someone please give me a guide to kill that too, much appreciated thanks in advance.

[Tavrobel]

Begin to enjoy playing FFX and its battles, because if you are not going to use Zanmato (five times in a row), your stats need to be huge, and levels are the way to salvation. Essentially, having 255 stats in everything except Luck (unless it is easier to obtain Fortune Spheres in International, then go ahead for them), will help. To get 255, get the Purple Spheres that increase your stats, and fill up the empty nodes. If you want, get Break HP Limit for at least 3 characters, complete the grid with at least 3 characters, and get at least 3 of the Celestial Weapons (or customize for Break Damage Limit).

Break HP Limit: 30 Wings of Discovery
Kill Shinryu for 1, or 2 if Overkilled
Bribe Marlboro for 675(?)k gil to get 3, 4, or 5 Wings
Bribe Greater Marlboros (I don't know the amount), anywhere from 6-10

Break Damage Limit: 60 Dark Matters
Kill Arena Monsters (Area, Species, or Original). Randomly drops one DM, or 2 if Overkill. The easiest one to kill is Stratotavis, whose HP is less than four 99999 damage hits, and his attack stats are the smallest. (Area Creation)

Purple Spheres (unless they changed the monsters who drop it in International, these should be more or less, accurate; all of these are the Species Creations; drop patterns apply: 1 sphere is dropped, or 2 if overkill)
HP: Ironclad
MP (useless, you can max out 999 with the ones on the grid): Vidatu
Agility: Fenrir; Evasion: Pyterx; Accuracy: Hornet
Strength: Juggernaut; Defense: Tanket
Magic: Jumbo flan; MDef: One-Eye

[a nirvana fan]

Ok thanks so basically get GOOD stats especially LUCK.

[Tavrobel]

Ok thanks so basically get GOOD stats especially LUCK.

Luck is optional. In my experience, optional bosses tend to be more about perserverance, rather being able to pull off the "world's luckiest win". Consistency is pwnage.

[Little Blue]

I've always heard that a high luck stat can replace accuracy and evasion entirely...

I started maxing stats a few months ago, but gave up and started a new game, but I think you're drop list is correct for the PAL/international version.

Also, greater spheres and eath eaters give you luck related spheres (luck and fortune) but I can't remember which is which...

[Lost Number]

Luck for the node, fortune to activate.

[Little Blue]

I meant which fiend gives you which, but thinking abut it now, I wasn't sure on that either...

[Tavrobel]

Earth Eater can activate, Greater Sphere creates.

As far as I'm concerned, all Luck does is increase your chance to do a Critical Hit, but since you do 99999 all the time, it shouldn't matter, and "Celestial Armor", which most of the bosses late in the game have, reduces random amounts of damage, regardless or Critical hits.

For example, Nemesis has Celestial Armor. If I attacked with Tidus with any weapon that's NOT Caladbolg, then the Celestial armor would randomly reduce the attack down fro 99999 to a random number. It also creates a different clunk sound with most of the weapons, if it works, rather than a slash, or a bashing sound, which the Celestial Items make.

[TheSpoonyBard]

I've always heard that a high luck stat can replace accuracy and evasion entirely...

Not quite, but almost. Here's something I posted on another forum.

You may want to be aware that with a 255 Luck you can have remove all the Accuracy spheres (giving you base Accuracy) and Evasion need only be 35 (0 if you're playing the NA version).

So, to save time and space on the SG your final stats will look something like this.

Str - 255
Def - 255
Mag - 255
MDef - 255
Agi - 255
Eva - 35 (this can be base Eva if you're playing the NA version)
Acc - 0 (this will be whatever the character's base Acc is)
Luck - 255

Also, I advise against BHPL. There is nothing that requires it. Anything that cannot be reduced to under 9,999 or avoided altogether will kill you at max health.

[Tavrobel]

Most of Nemesis' attacks can't be reduced to below 9999, and many are unavoidable. I doubt the Dark Aeons are that much different.

[TheSpoonyBard]

That's what Auto-Life and aeons are for.

[Tavrobel]

Some of us don't use aeons because Characters are generally better when you have 50k HP. (Anima only has 30k HP, compared to Yuna's 50k), although I think it's because I've got +30%HP.

[TheSpoonyBard]

No, use aeons as shields to absorb the attacks. Here's why, in many people's opinion, BHPL is not necessary.

Theoden's list:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BASICS
========================================
• You can't heal more than 9999HP to everyone at once, except with Rikku's
Overdrive. Items are capped at 9999. Trio of 9999 and Pray will fully heal a
party that doesn't use BHPL.

• Stoic/Comrade will give slower Overdrive gain with higher max HP.

• Proportional damage attacks (e.g. Hydraulic Press, Demi, Mega Graviton, Fangs
of Chaos, etc) will do more damage with higher max HP. With 9999 HP, you can
fully heal in one shot. A BHPL character would have to waste more turns
healing.

• Celestial Weapons for four of the characters will be weakened if they don't
keep HP topped up.

• You never need BHPL. There are no attacks in the game that hit the whole
party for more than 9999 damage that cannot be predicted, blocked, reduced
below 9999 with Defensive measures or avoided altogether. Auto-Phoenix takes
care of attacks that hit a single character.

• Break HP Limit is useless if you haven't activated enough nodes to go over
9999 HP yet. Auto-Phoenix is useful throughout the whole game. Having two
characters with Auto-Phoenix in the active party makes you almost invincible
against attacks that hit just one character, no matter how powerful.

• Auto-Phoenix restores 9999HP max, so BHPL characters revived by it will be
near . Using Full Life to revive means wasting more turns, for both the
KO'ed character, and the character casting Full Life.

• BHPL won't make any difference if you get hit for 99,999 damage or instant
Auto-Phoenix will. Powerful attacks will hit low Defence for 99,999
damage, so you need to raise Defence/Magic Def for BHPL to be useful. But if
you do raise them, you won't need BHPL, and they are easier to raise than HP.
Tanket and One Eye can be killed more easily and quickly than Ironclad.

• Getting Break HP Limit is tedious and time consuming.

• Collecting HP spheres from Ironclad is tedious and time consuming.

• Auto-Potion is good for maintaining full HP in some tough battles, but if you
have BHPL, it'll only keep you just above 50% HP.

ATTACKS THAT PENETRATE 9999HP
========================================
Just to make things seems a little clearer, here's a nice little list showing
you what attacks will penetrate 9999 HP, even with max Defence or Magic
Defence. Use the legend at the bottom to understand what the number's beside
each attack mean.

• Karma used by Tonberries (1,~3,5)
• 10,000 Needles used by Cactuars and Cactuar King (1,5)
• 99,999 Needles used by Cactuar King (1,3,5)
• Regurgitate used by Geosgaeono, only used if character kills him while
swallowed. (5)
• Zanmato used by Yojimbo/Dark Yojimbo (2,3,5)
• Convergence used by Th'uban (1,2,~3,5)
• Ethereal Cannon used by Nemesis (1,4)
• Ultra Spark used by Nemesis. The one attack that requires Auto-Life. Although
technically not predictable, (2) applies, since you can kill him before he
gets 8 turns.
• Armageddon used by Nemesis (3,5)
• Energy Blast used by Dark Valefor (2,5) *
• Meteor Strike used by Dark Ifrit (1,2,5) *
• Hellfire used by Dark Ifrit (2,5) *
• Thor's Hammer used by Dark Ixion (2,5) *
• Diamond Dust used by Dark Shiva (2,5) *
• Mega Flare used by Dark Bahamut (2) *
• Wakizashi used by Dark Yojimbo (4) *
• Oblivion used by Dark Anima (2) *
• Delta Attack used by the Dark Magus Sisters (2,3,5) *
• Camisade used by Dark Cindy (1) *
• Passado used by Dark Mindy - requires proof even with BHPL (1) *
• Razzia used by Dark Sandy (1) *
• Obliteration used by Penance (4) *
• Immolation used by Penance (1,4) *
• Judgement Day used by Penance (2,3,5) *

1: Hits only one character, so Auto-Phoenix can take care of it.
2: Attack used predictably, so can be blocked with an aeon.
3: Does 99,999 damage, so BHPL makes no difference.
4: Can be reduced below 9999 with additional support (e.g. Defence/Magic Def
+20%, Cheer, Focus, Shell, or Sentinel).
5: Preventable (enemy can be killed before using it, or conditions for attack
can be avoided).
*: PAL/International version exclusive.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Carl the Llama]

you obviously havent fought the Dark Aeon's, with maxed out Def and Rikku's Hyper Mighty G (Haste Protect Shell Regen and Auto-Life all players) dark Bahamut did in the region of 25k a hit, fortunately for me i have about 80k life although if he does Impulse that gives you full break he will (without a doubt) hit for 99999, considering the only reason you would max out your stats is to fight the Ultimate bosses i would consider haveing as much life as possible is very important

[Tavrobel]

I never said BHPL was necessary, but it is useful.