How to Beat Chaos
Introduction
Chaos is the final boss of Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster, sitting on B5 of the past Chaos Shrine, one floor below Tiamat (Past). The fight is a different kind of beast from the four Fiend rematches above: 20,000 HP (ten times any other Fiend), 170 Attack, Defense 100, and a 13-action rotation that mixes physical pressure with single-target spells, party-wide breaths, and even self-Haste and self-Curaga to extend the encounter.
Two specific quirks separate this from every other FF1 fight. He casts Curaga on himself at 2% per turn, which restores a chunk of his HP and stretches the kill clock when it triggers. He casts Haste on himself at 6% per turn, which doubles his physical hits for the rest of the fight. Combined with full status immunity (Sleep, Hold, Slow, Silence, Stun, Stone, Darkness, Poison all blocked), the long-shot rescue plays that worked on the Past Fiends are dead here. Bring full MP, a stack of Phoenix Downs, and at least 5-6 Elixirs.
A few numbers worth flagging. HP 20,000 is ten times any other boss in the game. Attack 170 is the highest single-hit physical in FF1, up from Warmech’s 128. Defense 100 is also a new ceiling, ahead of Past Tiamat’s 90. 2 hits per turn at 170 Attack pours massive damage into one party member per Fight turn, and Fight is 40% of his rotation. Magic Defense 0 with Magic Evasion 200 keeps connecting spells full-damage but most casts whiff. No elemental weakness plus resists Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Death, Stone, Time, and Mind means Flare and Holy are the only spells that land for meaningful damage, and even those whiff often. Full status immunity removes the Sleep gamble that worked on every Past Fiend except Lich. NulAll covers roughly 30% of his rotation (Firaga + Blizzara/Blizzaga + Thundaga + Blaze); the non-elemental party-wide casts (Tsunami, Cyclone) and Earth (Earthquake) all bypass it. Beating him completes the game: 0 EXP, 0 Gil, no drops, just the credits and a trophy.
Strategy
Quick Tips
- NulAll covers ~30% of his rotation
Halves Firaga, Blizzara, Blizzaga, Thundaga, and Blaze. Cast it turn one and reapply every few rounds.
- 170 Attack two-hits
Massive incoming damage into one member per Fight turn. Protera and Invisira plus Curaja keep the math in your favor.
- Skip every status spell
Full immunity to Sleep, Hold, Slow, Silence, Stun, Poison, Stone, Darkness. Save the MP for buffs.
- Watch his self-Haste and self-Curaga
6% Haste doubles his physical pressure for the rest of the fight; 2% Curaga restores a chunk of his HP. Race the kill before either compounds.
- Curaja and Phoenix Downs constant
Long fight; budget MP for sustained healing and revives. Elixirs in reserve for when your White Wizard runs dry.
To beat Chaos in FF1, the play is NulAll, Protera, and Invisira on turns one through three, Haste plus Saber on your Knight or Ninja, and physical attacks every turn from there. With Defense 100 and 20,000 HP, plan for a 12-15 round grind even with a fully-buffed party. Your Black Wizard’s offensive contribution is minimal; Magic Evasion 200 plus the resist sheet means only Flare lands for meaningful damage on rare hits. Their MP is best spent on Haste, Temper, and backup support.
The 40% Fight is the dominant chip threat. Two 170-Attack hits per turn into a single member can drop a soft party slot in one turn without buffs, and even Hasted Master HP doesn’t survive a focused Fight turn at low HP. Protera + Invisira are non-negotiable. Reapply both whenever Chaos rolls his self-Haste at 6%; once he Hastes himself, his physicals come twice as fast and cleave through underprotected fighters quickly. NulAll halves Firaga, Blizzara, Blizzaga, Thundaga, and Blaze (about 30% of his rotation), so reapplying it every 3-4 rounds is part of the steady defensive maintenance.
The two genuinely surprising slots in his rotation are Curaga at 2% and Earthquake at 2%. Curaga is Chaos casting on himself, restoring a chunk of his own HP and effectively undoing a round of your damage. It’s rare but demoralizing when it lands; just keep swinging and trust the kill clock. Earthquake is party-wide Earth damage that NulAll doesn’t cover (NulAll is Fire/Ice/Lightning only). Same answer: heal through it. The other party-wide non-elemental casts (Tsunami, Cyclone) at 5% each combine for another 10% of unmitigated chip damage; this is why Curaja from your White Wizard is the steady-state action between buffs.
Move Set
Chaos cycles through 13 actions, the largest rotation in FF1:
| Action | Effect | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Fight | Two 170-Attack hits in one turn | 40% |
| Blizzara | Single-target ice damage | 10% |
| Haste | Self-buff, doubles his physical hits | 6% |
| Firaga | Single-target fire damage | 5% |
| Slowra | Party-wide Slow | 5% |
| Thundaga | Single-target lightning damage | 5% |
| Blizzaga | Single-target ice damage (high tier) | 5% |
| Flare | Single-target non-elemental damage | 5% |
| Blaze | Party-wide fire breath | 5% |
| Tsunami | Party-wide non-elemental damage | 5% |
| Cyclone | Party-wide non-elemental damage | 5% |
| Curaga | Self-heal | 2% |
| Earthquake | Party-wide Earth damage | 2% |
The headline split: 40% Fight, ~30% single-target offense (mostly elemental), ~17% party-wide damage, 8% self-buff or self-heal, 5% Slowra. NulAll covers the elemental block (Firaga / Blizzara / Blizzaga / Thundaga / Blaze) for about 30% mitigation; Tsunami, Cyclone, Earthquake, and Flare bypass it. The most fight-warping picks are the 6% self-Haste (compounds his physical pressure) and the 2% Curaga (undoes one round of your damage).
Battle Plan
- White Wizard: NulAll turn one, Protera turn two, Invisira turn three, then Curaja non-stop. Reapply NulAll every 3-4 rounds.
- Black Wizard: Haste on your Knight turn one, Temper from there. Skip elemental spells; only Flare connects through the resist sheet, and 200 Mag Evasion still whiffs most casts.
- Knight: Equip the Aegis Shield and use the Giant Glove (Saber) turn one. Attack every round with Excalibur (or Masamune if you’ve found it).
- Ninja / Master: Attack every turn after Haste. The Masamune is the single biggest damage upgrade if your Ninja can equip it.
- Resources: Phoenix Downs in the bag for revives, Elixirs in reserve for when your White Wizard runs out of MP. Don’t conserve; nothing carries past the credits.
After the Battle
Beating Chaos breaks the 2,000-year time loop and rolls the credits. The Prophecy Foretold trophy unlocks automatically through the ending sequence. Save on the cleared file when prompted.
For Platinum hunters, load the post-clear save and clean up any remaining bestiary entries; Warmech on Flying Fortress 5F is the usual last hold-out. Crank 4× EXP and auto-battle to grind out the level-50 trophy if you need it.
That’s the end of FF1 Pixel Remaster. Nice run.