Echele's final form, Lv. 74 Ice Demon. 6 Zodiac Braves defeated
Echele, the Ice Demon, is the final boss encountered in the Main Story during the quest Advent of Ice Age. He appears after Hashmalum is defeated as part of the quest End of Zodiac Age. Echele sits at the summit of the Icy Realm, in an area that is unreachable until you talk to Gafgarion, who is sitting at the base of the summit. Once engaged, Echele will begin to absorb the power of the Zodiac Braves and channel his spell to turn the world to ice as the adventurers engage him in combat.
Fight Mechanics[]
Echele absorbs the power of the Zodiac Braves before fighting; this means that for every defeated Zodiac Brave, Echele will have one additional life, during which he will utilize the spells and items of the respective Braves that were defeated. For every Zodiac Brave that is not defeated, he will be higher level, have additional stats, and more powerful spells during his final phase. This can make the fight very difficult to balance as the more Zodiac Braves are defeated, the more phases Echele will possess; conversely, the fewer Zodiac Braves are defeated, Echele will possess fewer phases, but will in turn become stronger during his final phase.
Fortunately, Gafgarion is there to help you fight Echele. He can be controlled by the player but also has his own AI to cast spells and use potions for himself; however, he is only there to aid the adventurer and will not withstand Echele's might on his own.
Furthemore, the fight is given a 10 minute timer during which Echele must be defeated. If the adventurer dies, Echele will remain in his current phase; however, if the timer expires, Echele will turn the world into ice and the adventurer will turn back time to try again from the beginning.
Tips[]
It is recommended to face the following Zodiac Braves before fighting Echele: Cuchulainn, Zalera, Mateus, Famfrit, Belias, and Hashmalum. This way, there will be a good balance between number of phases and the difficulty of the final phase (Famfrit can be excluded, but the rest must be fought to even challenge Echele anyway).
Depending on your gear, it might be important to switch out gear to deal with each of the phases; for example, during the Mateus phase you can use Frost Shield and Wildfire Spear to deal additional damage as well as survive more easily, then switch to Flame Shield and Icebrand during the Belias phase. However, you don't want to waste too much time switching gear, so if you're going to do it have it laid out on the ground near a waypoint before the fight.
Bringing Remedies and Dispel Tonics can prove very helpful, especially if you don't have many Tomes to buff yourself or debuff Echele.
Try to have a good amount of gold and Subscribe to Kesha so you can quickly get back to the fight should you die.
See Zodiac Braves for gear and level recommendations.
Obtaining True Ice Axe[]
In order to obtain True Ice Axe, the quest World Liberation must be completed before facing Echele. This will cause Echele to have a grand total of 13 forms: One per Zodiac Brave + his Final Form. This requires a much more powerful setup than the one listed in the Zodiac Braves page as you must be capable of defeating all the phases quickly. It is recommended to try this fight using a Dark Knight with Demiga Materia and Gravity Staff as the Greatsword upgrades greatly improve the damage of the Demi spell. Before attempting, it is recommended to have faced a few of the Secret Bosses to acquire more powerful gear.
Rewards[]
Drops - Hero's Badge, Spirit Potion x3, Blood Ether x3, Crystal Shard
Drops - True Ice Axe if World Liberation is completed beforehand
Chronicle - Lightbringer (Unlocks Dark Knight and Necromancer jobs)