Kefka Guide

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John-Carlo Vijuan

John-Carlo has been a gaming writer for quite some time, and this expertise shines through when covering his favorite JRPG series, Final Fantasy. When Carlo isn't busting out insane Limit Breaks, he often swaps Mana for madness and plays some GTA for a more casual gaming experience.

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Kefka is one of the most iconic villains in the Final Fantasy franchise, apart from Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII) and Yu Yevon (Final Fantasy X). Kefka Palazzo is an intimidating figure, which prominently introduces a Joker-like character in the series. Manipulative and ruthless as a villain can be, Kefka separates himself from other villains by completely disregarding life of others.

Kefka strikes down even his allies without hesitation, as long as it benefits him. Lastly, Kefka caused a cataclysm that killed countless lives to become a God on his terms.

Our Kefka guide will get to know Kefka through his backstory and a share few guides that can surely help you defeat this psychopath of a villain!

Kefka Palazzo: A Clown of Pure Evil

Plot Summary

Kefka is the very first experimental knight of the Gestahlian Empire. The experiment had lapses that affected and damaged Kefka’s thought process, causing him to take on a Joker-Esque psychopath who has no remorse for life.

Kefka became very unpredictable and eventually betrayed the Emperor of Gestahl, the same person who hired him as a court mage. He finally manipulated the Warring Triad to become the God of Magic and use the power to destroy the world and turn it into ruins.

Appearance

Kefka has long hair, blonde, and tied into a ponytail. Kefka is also slender, with a height of 5 Ft and 5 Inches (167 cm) and a weight of 48 Kg (105lbs). Kefka wears a robe to match his jester-Esque look with multiple colors.

Upon achieving the power of a God, Kefka has an all purple hue to his skin and even his wings but still has his signature blonde hair and his headdress. Kefka has three sets of wings, with the middle pair being much longer than the top and bottom set of wings.

Game Appearances

While Kefka debuted in Final Fantasy VI, he also appeared in various spinoffs of Final Fantasy games. Here are other appearances of Kefka in other Final Fantasy games and even non-Final Fantasy guest appearances.

Final Fantasy Games

• Final Fantasy XIV (Final Boss of Sigmascape V4.0)
• Final Fantasy Tactics (Playable Character)
• Final Fantasy Dimensions II (Summon)
• Dissidia Final Fantasy (Playable Character)
• Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (Playable Character)
• Dissidia Final Fantasy NT (Playable Character)
• Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia (Playable Character and Boss Fight)
• Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (Boss Fight)
• Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call (Boss Fight)
• Theatrhythm Final Fantasy All-Star Carnival (Playable Character and Boss Fight)
• Pictlogica Final Fantasy (Playable Character)
• Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade (Summonable Legend)
• Final Fantasy Artniks (Cards)
• Final Fantasy All the Bravest (Playable Character)
• Final Fantasy Record Keeper (Playable Character)
• Final Fantasy World Wide Words
• Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (Summonable Vision and Boss Fight)
• War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (Boss Fight)
• Final Fantasy Trading Card Game (Cards)

Non-Final Fantasy Games

• Itadaki Street series (Playable Character)
• Lord of Vermilion series
• Puzzle & Dragons (Playable Character and Boss Fight)
• Monster Strike(Playable Character)
• Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ (Boss Fight: Mysterious Sir)
• Yo-kai Watch: Wibble Wobble (Playable Character)

Kefka Palazzo: Final Fantasy VI Boss Fights

Narshe Fight

Players will meet Kefka at the southern end of the maze-like pathways in the Narshe snowfields. After defeating the soldiers, they must fight and defeat Kefka to push through.

Stats and Affinities

General Strategy

For the Narshe fight, Kefka uses potent magic like Blizzara, which can instantly kill one of your Final Fantasy characters at this point of the game. However, if Blizzara is cast amongst the entire party, it’s not as lethal, but still, it can set you back a couple of turns to fill up your party’s HP. Kefka also has access to moves such as Poison, Drain, Thunder, and Blizzard, which are not that powerful but can manage to kill your party if you’re not mindful of the constant damage done throughout the battle.

The best way to fight Kefka is by bringing Celes into the party, as she can completely nullify Kefka’s magic spells with her special command called Runic. Runic absorbs a magic spell with her sword and replenishes her MP after absorbing the spell. Kefka is vulnerable to the Stop status, which is accessible through the Acrophioes Rage (Gau’s Rage), and it pretty much makes the fight much easier and more manageable.

Here are some other viable party members that you can take with you on this fight:

• Sabin, with his Blitz attack
• Edgar, with his Auto Crossbow
• Cyan with his Fang
• Terra to use Cure to help sustain the party’s HP or, if healing is not needed, have her cast Fire or Blizzard instead.

Thamasa Fight With General Leo

In this fight with Kefka, you’ll be using General Leo as he defies Kefka’s schemes once and for all.

Stats and Affinities

General Strategy

You’ll begin fighting Kefka as General Leo alone, in which the fight ends in a cinematic scene. Kefka uses potent magic here as well, like Firaga; however, General Leo will come equipped with an Aegis Shield, which has a chance of blocking Kefka’s spells. Equipped with the Master’s Scroll, General Leo can attack over four times in a turn, making him inflict over a thousand damage per round, and after a few rounds, he finally defeats Kefka, or does he?

A cutscene plays, and Kefka reveals that General Leo was only fighting an illusion, and then Kefka proceeds to kill General Leo.

God Kefka Boss Fight

Stats and Affinities

Phases

First Phase

This battle consists of several phases, fitting as the game’s final battle. Keep in mind that Kefka always uses Heartless Angel on his first turn. Heartless Angel is Kefka’s iconic attack, reducing the entire party’s HP to 1. Kefka often uses Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga, but sometimes he also uses a powerful physical spell named Havoc Wing. Be careful about the Havoc Wing since this can quickly kill one of your characters, be prepared to use phoenix downs whenever your character gets downed from a spell. Also, make sure to stock up on Echo Herbs, Remedy, and a character in your party who has Esuna; this is primarily because of Kefka’s spell called Trine, which inflicts Blind and Silence on the entire party.

Second Phase

Once you’ve inched your way towards half his health, Kefka signals the start of his second phase by using his ultimate attack called Forsaken. Forsaken is a two-turn attack that begins with Kefka stating, “The end draws near…” in the first turn, and then following that, the background starts to shake. Kefka then unleashes this attack on the next turn, which does lots of non-elemental and unblockable magic damage to the entire party. Although the Forsaken has devastating damage, it still doesn’t compare to his last triumph card. After Kefka casts Forsaken for the first time, the succeeding turns will likely be Trine or Vengeance. Once you whittle down his health a bit more, Kefka will begin to counter every attack thrown at him with a powerful magic spell that ignores defense; the attack is called Hyperdrive.

Third Phase

Kefka begins his third phase when he has about 12% of his HP left. You can recognize this if he starts alternating between casting Forsaken and Meteor. Also, he changes his counter to Ultima at this point. Be very careful at this stage, as Ultima can easily one-shot your character. The only opening in this phase to attack is when he casts Forsaken, and while he is charging the said attack.

Strategies

• You should invest your strongest attacks and spells at the very start.
• Use Curaga once Kefka casts Heartless Angel.
• Sustaining the HP of your entire party and not triggering the Ultima counterattack is the key to this fight.
• Only attack Kefka in his third phase when he is casting Forsaken, don’t ever attack him otherwise, as this will trigger him to cast Ultima.
• If you can get two Ultima weapons (One from Cave of the Sealed Gate and one stolen from the boss called Rest), equip the Ultima weapon to two of your characters and a Master Scroll. Ultima Weapons ignore defenses altogether, and in conjunction with the Master Scroll, you’ll have your characters eight times in a row, trivializing the fight altogether.
• Setzer (at least level 50) can also solo Kefka with his Fixed Dice. If he rolls triple fives or sixes, he will do 9,999 damage. With enough rolls, Setzer can kill Kefka in a matter of a few turns.

Kefka on Final Fantasy Dissidia 1 (PSP)

Kefka is one of those characters in the game that plays a lot differently from others. Players should treat Kefka as a character set out to trap opponents with a barrage of spells. He is highly excellent in dealing with Bravery damage, and with the proper setup and a good knowledge of him, you’ll be able to fill his Bravery meter very fast. Square Enix built Kefka to stand out as his skills are slow yet deceiving. Many players don’t know how to use them properly, but he is all about deception, trapping enemies with a decoy attack (which forces them to dodge), and landing a solid attack afterward.

Here are some pros and cons when using Kefka on Dissidia:

Pros

• One of the best EX modes in the game.
• You can quickly max out your Bravery meter.
• Very fun to use
• Enemies can hardly read attacks if players decide to mix their spells properly.
• Usually underestimated by the community

Cons

• Kefka is very hard to master; he has one of the highest skill caps in Dissidia.
• Enemies can easily deflect your attacks.
• Trying to dodge cancel your own attacks are difficult.
• Kefka heavily relies on Wobbly-Firaga.
• Kefka also heavily relies on an EX build.

Bravery Attacks

Bravery Attack Setup

This setup is only a general recommendation, but you can switch it up as you please.

Bravery Attack Combo

• 2x Waggle-Wobbly Firaga + Scatter-Spray Blizzaga- Set a trap using the two homing firaga, then bait the enemy into dodging towards your blizzaga attack.
• 2x Waggle-Wobbly Firaga + Zap-Trap Thundaga- Same concept as the first one; this combo is better for long-range.
• [EX Mode] Waggle-Wobbly Firaga + Ultima + Scatter Spray Blizzaga
• 2x Waggle-Wobbly Firaga + Havoc Wing- This combo lets you score an easy and quick HP damage.

HP Attacks

Ground

Aerial

Equipment

Meanwhile, here are the recommended accessories for Kefka:

• DragonFly  Orb
• Gold Hourglass
• Victory Pendant
• HP=100% [you]
• Summon unused/used [you]
• Ex Mode [you]
• Pre-HP Attack [you]
• HP = 100% [opponent]
• First to Victory
• Center of The World

Abilities

A Few More Tips When Using Kefka in Final Fantasy Dissidia (PSP)

• Setting up traps is the key to utilizing Kefka to the fullest; although his spells are weird and slow, you can eventually overcome that weakness with the proper trap setup.
• Learn to fight from the high ground or, at the very least, stay away from the enemy as much as possible. Kefka doesn’t excel in close-quarters.
• Surprise enemies with your setups, and don’t be too predictable as the fight progresses.
• Be very careful when fighting against the Cloud of Darkness as she counters most of Kefka’s kit.
• Against Squall, you’ll have a difficult time as well since his Rough Divide makes it nearly impossible to cast spells. Keep him out of EX mode, and always stay away from him.
• Going up against Ultimecia, if you can position yourself beneath her, then cast spells from there to avoid getting hit by her spells.
• Against Kuja, you now have to do the opposite of the tactic with Ultimecia, stay above him at all times.
• If you’re going up against Gabranth, keep him from using his EX mode, as this makes the fight more difficult for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Kefka is one of the top-tier villains in Final Fantasy and has won over several critics due to his devious antics and disregard for human life. These are everything that we know so far from Kefka. Is there anything else that we missed? If so, leave them in the comments below and let us know!

Here are some other great reads as well!

• Onion Knight Guide
• Garland Final Fantasy Guide
• Aranea Highwind Guide