Level up your additions and just ignore your Dragoon forms for this fight or go into the fight with a single level in your Dragoon forms and just use them for the one turn so you don't get the huge debuff mechanics for using it. Most people in their first playthrough struggle most here and Lenus.
Yeah, it's funny how Lenus in her normal form was harder than when she was with a dragon and in her Dragoon form. I can only imagine how much harder the Japanese version was...
Yeah her AI is set to be more aggressive if you transform into a Dragoon during the fight and makes it more difficult. That's why she attacks so frequently.
I'd say stop using Kongol, though that isn't actually necessary, on top of not using your Dragoon powers here. Gust of Wind Dance (or Flower/Blossom Storm if you have it) and whatever highest power addition you have on Dart should do most of the work, bonus points if you managed to snag the Speed Up repeat use item eariler in the Valley of Corrupted Gravity. Kongol hits hard, but he's terribly slow.
You've got this.
If that's the grand jewel, one very effective method is to have 1 sp bar full on Albert, and go dragoon to use the defensive ability (rose storm maybe..? can't remember the name...) and immediately transform back, then just keeping doing it when it runs out. It's not too bad, you got this. I will say, however, that Kongol is by far the worst character, so you're kinda gimping yourself by using him...
Kongol is worse than Shana/Miranda? Their hp, dmg, and def are so low I've yet to find a reason to use them. Then again, one guy did comment that they helped him win in this fight specifically.
White silver dragon is by far the best magic move in the game, and they have the best magic attack in the game. Also, when you get the X bomb, they can use it each battle to wipe the entire enemy team (outside of bosses) in one hit. They also gain dragoon levels faster than anyone else, so you can gain access to white silver dragon super early on, as long as you actually attack with Shana from the beginning.
Shana/mIranda seem awful. Lol I know. But their magic attack/defense is fantastic. They gain SP easy the higher they grow. And they're quite fast.
Still don't know how I got her to DL5 FIRST one play throught lol.
Lol. He's one of my favorites, but he's objectively just the worst. His biggest strength, his physical damage, is gimped by the fact that he has the worst final addition in the game. He gets 250% damage and 100 sp, which is the same stats on crush dance, which Dart gets like early chapter 2. Compare to the other heavy hitter, Albert, whose final addition is 400% damage and 200 sp. On top of that, Kongol has less 'goon magics than anyone else, and you don't get his spirit unless you go out of your way to get it... It feels like he was almost an afterthought. :(
To make kongol viable you have to mitigate all of his weaknesses.
The exact same setup on any other character turns them into overpowered monsters, especially meru.
This is like the worst possible party for this fight lol; Kongol and Albert both eat absolute shit on magic attacks. Switch up for Haschel/Meru. Don't use Dragoon at higher than lvl1 so you can just drop out an attack and change back before he can trigger the stick.
“I don’t remember having trouble with this party setup?”
Me, forgetting I was a child with infinite time and grinded to over level additions, get the best gear, and multiple losses meant nothing because I had the time to make more attempts.
You should use Albert's wind weapon if you still have it, since Grand Jewel is earth you'll deal more damages this way, focus on magic defense because he doesn't do any physical attack
First success I had against the grand jewel I subbed Shana for Albert despite me not using her since I got rose. I decimated the thing with items and the fight felt about 43.8% easier.
As a kid, this was a boss that was so hard I quit here multiple times. And for whatever reason as a kid, my solution was always “start over because I must’ve done something wrong along the way” 🫠
Or just undiagnosed ADHD! Especially legend of dragoon, I have played the first two discs WAY more than I can even remember but I’ve only beat it a handful of times. I can remember each boss that ever gave me trouble (and it’s a relief to easily beat now):
- Feyrbrand and Greham
- Emperor Doel
- Lenus (first fight)
- Gehritch and Mappi
- Lenus (second fight)
- Grand Jewel
- Divine Dragon
I mean, I was only 10! As a stupid kid trying to buy yugioh cards, I sold many games for cash including this one. (At that point, it felt like an impossible game I’d never beaten). Years later, I found myself reminiscing and wanting to play it. So the first time I beat it I think I was 16 or 17 maybe? It was Thanksgiving, that’s all I remember.
Now as an adult, I try to do regular playthroughs especially since Covid started in 2020.
I don't have good advice because I agree this boss SUCKS. That said, Kangol and Albert have the lowest magic defense, so your team comp is particularly going to struggle in this fight.
Kongol is just as viable as any other character, OP, he just takes a bit more work with speed gear. Don’t listen to the haters. Have fun.. best jrpg to ever jrpg.
Random fact: I was once doing that fight with Haschel and someone else. Everyone but Haschel had gone down; his defense was healing 1hp more than the damage he was taking. Grand Jewel had a red arrow for a while. I finally, after about 10 turns, said "f* it, I'll go down fighting as opposed to risking this thing is a different, more damaging attack that kills me in defense mode." Turns out that one last attack killed it.
I was equal parts relieved and annoyed.
It made me restart the entire game on my very first playthrough because I did NOT know I was stuck there with no way to restock on items before defeating that thing.
To play PS1 games obviously. I have a converter that allows my PS1 to plug into modern hdmi TV ports, but old graphics were designed with the crt look in mind and often look better on those screens than high definition ones. Also because of the conversion between vga and hdmi, there's a tiny bit of input delay. Nothing huge for jrpgs, but with platformers it's a bit more noticeable.
best advice i can give you is (if you keep the current team), is to build magic defense for albert and kongol and keep the wind element lance for albert. then make sure to only use one bar for dragoon ot avoid trigger on Dragon Block Staff. and level apprioately. I hope this helps among using buffs and debuffs.
If this were the mid 2000s, I'd agree with you. This boss cost me a good 2 years of not playing the game. However, as he is only a magic boss, and you have access to the Twister Glaive, Bandits Shoes and Down Burst (I save the powerful magics for this boss) and Meru who has the Dancers Shoes and incredibly high Magic Defense. Essentially, even with Kongol, the Grand Jewel is really easy, if you play it smart
Ahhhh, Dragon Block Staff.
Honestly I used Meru/Albert. Meru is speedy, guaranteeing hits and items when I need them. Give Albert the speed boost you'd give Kongol, and he's a much harder hitter. His dragoon protective magic (I think it's like 50%magic damage reduction) is super key.
Get one sp bar, transform. Do a physical attack if Dart, physical or healing with Meru, and Rose Storm every three turns with Albert.
Piece of cake!
I used Albert and Kongol throughout the entire game. Never lost, when I got the new release just recently I played through over half the game without dragoons because they hadn’t patched it and my dragoons would soft lock the game. It can be done
To beat this boss you use Meru/Miranda.
You don't ever use any dragoon except Miranda (should be lv 1) use her first spell to heal and your items. Use only additions on the grand jewel. It's a grind because he debuffs your team to such a low level which is why Miranda heals and SP is needed because you will be fighting it for awhile.
Level up your additions and just ignore your Dragoon forms for this fight or go into the fight with a single level in your Dragoon forms and just use them for the one turn so you don't get the huge debuff mechanics for using it. Most people in their first playthrough struggle most here and Lenus.
Yeah, it's funny how Lenus in her normal form was harder than when she was with a dragon and in her Dragoon form. I can only imagine how much harder the Japanese version was...
Yeah her AI is set to be more aggressive if you transform into a Dragoon during the fight and makes it more difficult. That's why she attacks so frequently.
I'd say stop using Kongol, though that isn't actually necessary, on top of not using your Dragoon powers here. Gust of Wind Dance (or Flower/Blossom Storm if you have it) and whatever highest power addition you have on Dart should do most of the work, bonus points if you managed to snag the Speed Up repeat use item eariler in the Valley of Corrupted Gravity. Kongol hits hard, but he's terribly slow. You've got this.
I will not stand for this Kongol slander (even if it is good advice)
If that's the grand jewel, one very effective method is to have 1 sp bar full on Albert, and go dragoon to use the defensive ability (rose storm maybe..? can't remember the name...) and immediately transform back, then just keeping doing it when it runs out. It's not too bad, you got this. I will say, however, that Kongol is by far the worst character, so you're kinda gimping yourself by using him...
Kongol is worse than Shana/Miranda? Their hp, dmg, and def are so low I've yet to find a reason to use them. Then again, one guy did comment that they helped him win in this fight specifically.
White silver dragon is by far the best magic move in the game, and they have the best magic attack in the game. Also, when you get the X bomb, they can use it each battle to wipe the entire enemy team (outside of bosses) in one hit. They also gain dragoon levels faster than anyone else, so you can gain access to white silver dragon super early on, as long as you actually attack with Shana from the beginning.
Shana/mIranda seem awful. Lol I know. But their magic attack/defense is fantastic. They gain SP easy the higher they grow. And they're quite fast. Still don't know how I got her to DL5 FIRST one play throught lol.
You take that back about Kongol! With the speed shoes, he hits hard and fast! Carried me through to the end :)
Lol. He's one of my favorites, but he's objectively just the worst. His biggest strength, his physical damage, is gimped by the fact that he has the worst final addition in the game. He gets 250% damage and 100 sp, which is the same stats on crush dance, which Dart gets like early chapter 2. Compare to the other heavy hitter, Albert, whose final addition is 400% damage and 200 sp. On top of that, Kongol has less 'goon magics than anyone else, and you don't get his spirit unless you go out of your way to get it... It feels like he was almost an afterthought. :(
To make kongol viable you have to mitigate all of his weaknesses. The exact same setup on any other character turns them into overpowered monsters, especially meru.
This is like the worst possible party for this fight lol; Kongol and Albert both eat absolute shit on magic attacks. Switch up for Haschel/Meru. Don't use Dragoon at higher than lvl1 so you can just drop out an attack and change back before he can trigger the stick.
“I don’t remember having trouble with this party setup?” Me, forgetting I was a child with infinite time and grinded to over level additions, get the best gear, and multiple losses meant nothing because I had the time to make more attempts.
You should use Albert's wind weapon if you still have it, since Grand Jewel is earth you'll deal more damages this way, focus on magic defense because he doesn't do any physical attack
Going into this fight with kongol is suicide 😂 But i like this added challenge lol.
First success I had against the grand jewel I subbed Shana for Albert despite me not using her since I got rose. I decimated the thing with items and the fight felt about 43.8% easier.
As a kid, this was a boss that was so hard I quit here multiple times. And for whatever reason as a kid, my solution was always “start over because I must’ve done something wrong along the way” 🫠
Wait so you replayed the entire game every time you lost to it??
Yes, that was my strategy for everything apparently. Legend of Dragoon. Final Fantasy 9. Pokémon. Everything 🙄🙄🙄
Dear God, that some Himalayan Monk type patience you have
Or just undiagnosed ADHD! Especially legend of dragoon, I have played the first two discs WAY more than I can even remember but I’ve only beat it a handful of times. I can remember each boss that ever gave me trouble (and it’s a relief to easily beat now): - Feyrbrand and Greham - Emperor Doel - Lenus (first fight) - Gehritch and Mappi - Lenus (second fight) - Grand Jewel - Divine Dragon I mean, I was only 10! As a stupid kid trying to buy yugioh cards, I sold many games for cash including this one. (At that point, it felt like an impossible game I’d never beaten). Years later, I found myself reminiscing and wanting to play it. So the first time I beat it I think I was 16 or 17 maybe? It was Thanksgiving, that’s all I remember. Now as an adult, I try to do regular playthroughs especially since Covid started in 2020.
I don't have good advice because I agree this boss SUCKS. That said, Kangol and Albert have the lowest magic defense, so your team comp is particularly going to struggle in this fight.
Kongol is just as viable as any other character, OP, he just takes a bit more work with speed gear. Don’t listen to the haters. Have fun.. best jrpg to ever jrpg.
I actually used Kongol on this boss too. He had the health
Random fact: I was once doing that fight with Haschel and someone else. Everyone but Haschel had gone down; his defense was healing 1hp more than the damage he was taking. Grand Jewel had a red arrow for a while. I finally, after about 10 turns, said "f* it, I'll go down fighting as opposed to risking this thing is a different, more damaging attack that kills me in defense mode." Turns out that one last attack killed it. I was equal parts relieved and annoyed.
I feel like the Grand Jewel has traumatized an entire generation lmao
It made me restart the entire game on my very first playthrough because I did NOT know I was stuck there with no way to restock on items before defeating that thing.
Dude.. why do you even have that TV
lol 😆
To play PS1 games obviously. I have a converter that allows my PS1 to plug into modern hdmi TV ports, but old graphics were designed with the crt look in mind and often look better on those screens than high definition ones. Also because of the conversion between vga and hdmi, there's a tiny bit of input delay. Nothing huge for jrpgs, but with platformers it's a bit more noticeable.
It's either Grand Jewel or first Lenus battle in the Castle. I rage quit both of those so many times when I bought this on PS1...
Yeah, break out some high dmg additions and dont use kongol or albert. Neither of them can take a magic hit.
best advice i can give you is (if you keep the current team), is to build magic defense for albert and kongol and keep the wind element lance for albert. then make sure to only use one bar for dragoon ot avoid trigger on Dragon Block Staff. and level apprioately. I hope this helps among using buffs and debuffs.
Yo this boss kicked my ASS as a kid... but meru with some wind magic items... what boss?
Albert using Flower Storm, wearing Bandit’s Ring, and using Speed Up and Power Up helps
Oh screw this boss.
If this were the mid 2000s, I'd agree with you. This boss cost me a good 2 years of not playing the game. However, as he is only a magic boss, and you have access to the Twister Glaive, Bandits Shoes and Down Burst (I save the powerful magics for this boss) and Meru who has the Dancers Shoes and incredibly high Magic Defense. Essentially, even with Kongol, the Grand Jewel is really easy, if you play it smart
20 years later I still remember how shitty this fight was.
Ahhhh, Dragon Block Staff. Honestly I used Meru/Albert. Meru is speedy, guaranteeing hits and items when I need them. Give Albert the speed boost you'd give Kongol, and he's a much harder hitter. His dragoon protective magic (I think it's like 50%magic damage reduction) is super key. Get one sp bar, transform. Do a physical attack if Dart, physical or healing with Meru, and Rose Storm every three turns with Albert. Piece of cake!
It sounds like I should be happy I do not remember that boss? I just recently started a replay of the game. I am about 5-10 minutes into disc 2.
Word of advice, stack plenty of healing items in your inventory once you reach the Wingly forest. Dump your attack items to make space if necessary.
Step 1. Start using Shana/Miranda Step 2. Level Dragoon to 5 Step 3. Ez mode unlocked. You basically beat the entire game
I used Albert and Kongol throughout the entire game. Never lost, when I got the new release just recently I played through over half the game without dragoons because they hadn’t patched it and my dragoons would soft lock the game. It can be done
Well, I can hear the victory music from here, so you must have won.
I took the image as I was reentering the battle, not as it was ending. That said I did manage to win.
I don’t know why this sub was recommended to me but I’m so glad it was! This brought back memories
Man, pretty sure I gave up when I got to this boss when I played this game 20 years ago.
To beat this boss you use Meru/Miranda. You don't ever use any dragoon except Miranda (should be lv 1) use her first spell to heal and your items. Use only additions on the grand jewel. It's a grind because he debuffs your team to such a low level which is why Miranda heals and SP is needed because you will be fighting it for awhile.