Template:Sideicon Template:Enemy Mateus is a boss in Final Fantasy XII found guarding the Sword of Kings within the Stilshrine of Miriam. He is the second Esper to be obtained in the storyline. He is also fought in the Zodiac versions' Trial Mode at Stage 16 along with five Ice Azers. In the Trial Mode battle, Ice Shield (common) and Icebrand (rare) can be stolen from him.
Bestiary entry
Page 1: Observations
Scion of darkness ruling and protecting those who live in the underworld, in opposition to Lahabrea, Abyssal Celebrant and scion of light. In the course of his rule, he submitted to avarice, and the darkness took his heart, transforming him until he was both evil and corrupt. Then in his cowardice did he bind a Goddess of the Demesne of Ice, and using her as a living shield, he challenged the gods. Defeated before their might, he fell screaming into the depths of hell, there to be imprisoned for eternity.
Stats
Template:FFXII Enemy Stats
Battle
When the party finds Mateus at the heart of the Stilshrine of Miriam, numerous Ice Azers spawn around him. They are similar to Ice Elementals, but weaker. Mateus is protected by Reflect. His Blizzaja is difficult to counter and can inflict Sap.
Strategy
Eliminating the Ice Azers before working on Mateus is a good way to start, although at level 30–33 they will only do about 10–30 damage, so it is not necessary to destroy them. Equipping the Dawn Shard on a character comes in handy, as it will yield a wall of 0 damage from the Azers. One should be wary of using area-of-effect magick to eliminate the Ice Azers, as Mateus has Reflect, and hitting him by accident could KO the caster.
Ice Shields and good weaponry (Lightning-elemental) will be useful. Using magick against Mateus is ill-advised, as he is constantly protected by the Reflect.
Another effective strategy is to cast Reflect on the three party members and have them cast Thundara on themselves. Since Thundara is an area-of-effect spell, it will target all three party members and be reflected to hit Mateus and score nine hits on Mateus each time. With the party's levels being in the low 30s, about three rounds of this will be enough to finish the battle.
Another simple strategy is to chain Quickenings (if available). If the party is around level 25–30, this will do about 3000–4000 damage to Mateus.
Other appearances
Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Template:Sideicon
Mateus appears as a boss in the Record of the Stilshrine of Miriam, Part 2, as well as in several Final Fantasy XII-based events in which the Stilshrine of Miriam is playable.
Strategy
Mateus is surrounded by Ice Azers, which either pelt the party with Blizzard magic or buff Mateus, even as he will throw up a Reflect to ward off offensive magic. Fortunately, he and his minions are all weak against Lightning damage, and the Azers can be put to sleep, so abilities like Sleep Buster and Thundaga Strike will be very useful here. However,should the Azers fall first, Mateus will pound the party with Blizzaja.
The party should immediately deploy Shellga and focus on reducing the Ice Azers' numbers to one, putting the last Azer to sleep. With this done, the party will have at least a couple of turns to whack at Mateus before the Azer recovers. Put it to sleep again, then focus on Mateus and repeat as needed.
Gallery
