Battle in the Opera House

Dirt Drgn

Sprite
HP 28,500 MP 16,500 LV 53
Bat.Pwr 23 (773) Hit Rate 100
Special Honed Tusk Effect Battle ×5 (3,865)
Defense 110 Evade % 0 (not used)
Mag.Def 150 MBlock% 0
Vulnerability: Physical 113% Magic 82%
Vigor 56–63 Speed 55 Stamina 40 Mag.Pwr 12
Auto Status Float
Elemental Vulnerability
Water
Wind
Steal X-Potion (1/8)
Win Magus Rod (100%)
Can't Control
Counter Attacks
Attack: Honed Tusk (1/3)
Run Difficulty Can't Run
Encountered In Opera House
Invulnerability to Earth, whether via Cherub Down or Gaia Gear, is vital when fighting the Dirt Drgn. Even then, its Honed Tusk counter is a major threat to your Characters.

One of the legendary dragons is terrorizing the Opera House. The Dirt Drgn is a fiend that uses mostly powerful Earth attacks. The whole party should have Earth immunity, whether from Cherub Down or Gaia Gear. Cherub Down is for sale in Jidoor, while Gaia Gear can be bought in South Figaro or Nikeah.

The receptionist at the Opera House is in a panic and asks you to speak to the Impresario on the Balcony. He mentions that there is a dragon sitting on the stage. Take the northeast door to the Opera House Switch Room, then hit the rightmost switch out of the three on the left. This will open a pit that deposits you onto the stage and into combat.

The Dirt Drgn's Quake Spell will deal over 1,500 damage and ignores Mag.Def, so you'll be hard-pressed to win this fight without adequate protection from it. You can use Float, but the Dirt Drgn will periodically cast 50 Gs to remove the Float Status from the entire party. The permanent effect of the Cherub Down is unaffected by 50 Gs. Likewise, Gaia Gear absorbs Earth damage, turning the Dirt Drgn's Abilities into sources of healing. The Dirt Drgn itself is Floating, so it will not affect itself with Quake. (This is too bad because, oddly enough, the Dirt Drgn does not absorb Earth damage.)

With Earth negated, the challenge of defeating the Dirt Drgn comes from his Honed Tusk counter. This is a devastating physical attack, so prioritize Defense when choosing Armor. For this reason, Gaia Gear can be a liability in this fight despite its ability to absorb Earth damage. Healing doesn't help if you were killed in one shot.

Due to the powerful counters, you'll want to limit yourself to your strongest attacks. The Dirt Drgn will sometimes make normal attacks as well, so you're not invincible if you stop attacking. Make sure you have Characters keeping the party's HP up. The Dirt Drgn does not have a weakness to any of the basic Elements, though he has weaknesses to Water and Wind that you can take advantage of with certain Weapons, Lores, Rages, and so on.

When the Dirt Drgn is vanquished, you'll earn the Magus Rod, a fantastic rod that grants +7 to the wielder's Mag.Pwr and provides 30 MBlock%.