How to defeat Marilith in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

One of the Four Fiends you will face during your journey throughout Cornelia, Marilith is a fiery assaulter that is able to rain multiple hefty damaging blows in an instant. Marilith does come with a key weakness though — her snake-like body. Due to its length, players are able to swipe at it in relative safety, as long as they are mindful of her counter-attack range. She has a few other tricks though, so let’s dive deep and figure out how to defeat Marilith in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

Marilith is fast and hits hard, but thankfully is easier to stagger than the other Fiends. Her first phase introduces you to a variety of combos in her arsenal — combined with her odd hitboxes and constantly shifting posture, this can be a little scary. Here are all of her attacks in Phase 1:

• Basic Attacks: Her combos can range from three hits to a frightening five hit wombo combo. Her body is somewhat disjointed as well, as she can reach far across the arena or delay her attacks by rearing back on her snake body. It’s highly recommended that you stay away from party members so that her aggro can jump around, giving players breathing room — if she is allowed to focus in on someone, she can easily murder them.
• Rakshasa Slash: A huge AoE slash centered around her. This attack has moderate wind-up and is parryable.
• Asura: A series of ranged sword swipes targeted at a single individual. This attack is parryable and Stealable as an instant command.
• Lunging Slash: A long range melee attack that allows Marilith to literally cross the arena in a single attack. This attack is parryable, but it comes out pretty quickly, so always be on the lookout for this.
• Tail Smash: This attack isn’t named, but she will use her massive tail to try and pick off a player at range — this attack is parryable, but it also comes out pretty quickly.
• Raining Swords: This attack is a series of focused blows on a single target — if attempting to block this, unless you are invested in defensive stats, you will likely get Guard Broken. It is easier to parry or dodge away from this to keep your buffs and MP bar intact.
• Tail Swipe: This attack isn’t named, but she will swipe her tail in a wide circle in front of her to push off aggressors. This attack is parryable, but the telegraph is very quick, so be wary — she tends to use this attack after recovering from a stagger. This attack does heavy break gauge damage, so blocking it is not advised.

Just looking at that attack list goes to show that Marilith is not an enemy you typically want to try and block or parry repeatedly against — her attacks are designed to pressure even the tankiest of Jobs. Thankfully, her lengthy hitbox does allow her to be struck from some form of safety, as even a slight swipe on the tip of her tail still counts for full damage. Again, her stagger resistance is quite low, so repeated heavy weapon strikes will eventually put her down for the count. However, she kicks it up a notch for Phase 2.

Phase 2 has her ignite her blades in flame, adding a new layer to the problem of defending — flame attacks stack Elemental Vulnerability and somewhat pierce through blocks, which means that getting hit at all will increase future damage down the line. She only gains one new attack in Phase 2, however, with Inferno. Inferno causes huge spouts of lava to appear in a small area around Marilith — while it’s possible to avoid it by sticking close to her, she can take that moment to counter attack while you’re scrambling around. If you’re unsure, it can be best to simply back off and wait for Inferno to end. Before long, Marilith will be in the dirt and you’ll be on your way.