How to Beat Tiamat (Past)
Introduction
Tiamat (Past) is the final Fiend rematch in the Chaos Shrine, blocking the descent on B4 below the Kraken (Past) fight. The original Tiamat at the Flying Fortress ran on a 5-move rotation: Fight, four elemental breaths (Blaze, Icestorm, Thunderbolt, Scourge). The rematch keeps all of those and adds Fira, Thundara, and Blizzara on top, so single-target elemental damage now layers on her party-wide breath casts. Eight different attack patterns, no breaks, and a 5,500 HP pool to chew through.
The two scariest stat changes are Defense 90 (the new highest physical absorption on any non-final boss, ahead of every other Past Fiend at 80) and HP 5,500 (the highest single-boss HP in FF1 outside Chaos). This is a long fight, and the rotation density means breaths and chip damage layer on top of each other every round. NulAll mitigation matters more here than it did in the original because the breath cycle is twice as dense.
A few numbers worth flagging. HP 5,500 is more than double the original Tiamat and the highest non-final-boss HP in FF1. Defense 90 sets a new ceiling, ahead of every other Past Fiend at 80. Magic Defense 0 combined with Magic Evasion 200 keeps connecting spells full-damage but most casts miss; only Flare and Holy land for meaningful damage. 4 hits per turn at 75 Attack is heavy chip into a single member per Fight turn, lower per-turn than Kraken Past’s 8-hit pattern but still substantial. No elemental weakness plus resists Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Stone, Time, and Mind is unchanged from the original. Status immunities: only Stone, so Sleep, Hold, Slow, and Silence can theoretically land if your party stalls. NulAll covers Fire, Ice, and Lightning combined at roughly 63% of her rotation mitigated (3×14% single-target + 3×7% breath = 63%); Scourge at ~10% still bypasses it. Drop rate: 4% but no actual drops listed, so the bucket is wasted. Total: 2,000 EXP, 1 Gil.
Strategy
Quick Tips
- NulAll covers ~63% of her rotation
Single-target Fira/Thundara/Blizzara plus the breath versions all become half-damage. Cast NulAll first turn and reapply mid-fight.
- Scourge slips through NulAll
Her Poison casts (~10% combined) bypass NulAll. Just heal through them when they land.
- Flare and Holy for damage
Both bypass her resist sheet. Black Wizard casts Flare every turn; White Wizard casts Holy between heals.
- Haste plus Saber for melee
Defense 90 is the new ceiling. A Hasted, Saber-buffed Knight with Excalibur or Masamune is what closes the kill on her 5,500 HP.
- Sleep is a long-shot rescue
Only Stone is on her immunity list. Magic Evasion 200 whiffs the cast often, but a connecting Sleep skips a turn.
To beat Tiamat (Past) in FF1, the play is NulAll on turn one to flatten roughly 63% of her rotation, Haste plus Saber on your Knight or Ninja to close the kill on 5,500 HP, and Flare every turn from your Black Wizard for non-elemental damage that bypasses her resist sheet. With Defense 90 walling off unbuffed swings, this fight runs longer than any other non-final encounter; budget your MP for an 8-10 round grind.
The rotation density is the headline change from the original. Story Tiamat cycled through one Fight and one of four breaths each turn. The Past version retains all of that AND adds Fira, Thundara, and Blizzara as single-target casts at 14% each. That’s three elemental “chip” spells layered on top of the existing breath rotation, so even though only 26% of her turns are the 4-hit physical, the other 74% is some flavor of damage casting. NulAll covers the Fire/Ice/Lightning breaths and the matching single-target casts together, mitigating about 63% of her rotation. Reapply it every few turns since the buff wears down with each absorbed hit.
The Scourge poison casts (combined ~10% per turn from two distinct Scourge variants in her rotation) bypass NulAll entirely. Don’t try to mitigate them; just keep HP topped off so a Scourge plus a Fight turn into the same character can’t wipe them. Sleep is a valid stalled-fight rescue play given her thin Stone-only immunity list, but with 200 Magic Evasion most casts whiff. If your Black Wizard has nothing useful to do, attempting Sleep is a low-cost gamble; just don’t lead the fight with it.
Move Set
Tiamat (Past) cycles through 8 distinct attacks. Two of those slots are different Scourge variants that produce the same poison effect, so they’re combined into a single row below for clarity:
| Action | Effect | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Fight | Four 75-Attack hits in one turn | 26% |
| Fira | Single-target fire damage | 14% |
| Thundara | Single-target lightning damage | 14% |
| Blizzara | Single-target ice damage | 14% |
| Scourge | Party-wide poison damage | 10% |
| Icestorm | Party-wide ice breath | 7% |
| Blaze | Party-wide fire breath | 7% |
| Thunderbolt | Party-wide lightning breath | 7% |
Each element appears twice in her rotation (single-target Fira at 14% plus party-wide Blaze at 7%, etc.), so total elemental coverage is 21% Fire, 21% Ice, 21% Lightning, 10% Poison. NulAll halves Fire, Ice, and Lightning across both single and party-wide variants, which is why it’s such a strong defensive prep here. Scourge is the only damaging cast that NulAll can’t touch; plan for it as occasional party chip rather than a mitigatable threat.
Battle Plan
- White Wizard: NulAll turn one, Curaja whenever anyone drops below half HP, Holy in spare turns. Reapply NulAll every 3-4 rounds.
- Black Wizard: Haste on your Knight turn one, Temper turn two, then Flare every turn from there. Skip every elemental spell.
- 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 you’ve located it.
After the Battle
Tiamat falls and the stairway down opens. The chapter walkthrough picks up the route from here.
Save and rest before pushing on. Refill MP, Phoenix Downs, and any consumables you burned through in the Fiend gauntlet; the final fight ahead expects full resources.