BOSS - Absent Silhouette Zexion¶

The battle starts off with Zexion showing off his ability to trap one of your teammates in his book, the Book of Retribution. You can free your friend by breaking the book but it’s best to just try and lock Zexion down with combos. He will eventually get both your teammates and at 75% health he will get Sora. This is when the battle becomes interesting.

During this phase you need to free yourself from Zexion’s Book of Retribution. To do this you must target the Lexicon that is hiding Zexion and drain its HP (it has 60) then use the Reaction Command “Dispel” to be returned to the island. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The other books will be flying around dealing damage to you and Zexion can trap Sora limiting his commands. This is both a blessing and a burden because you cannot attack but the commands will let you Heal, reap Treasure, Recover your drive meter, and Erase the other books allowing you to target the true one. Release will set the commands free and let you pummel Zexion. Once you are free the battle continues until 50% health to which you repeat the cycle once more. At 25% health you are taken to the Book of Retribution area but then are taken into a new room.

In this new room are three spots that light up; two will be red, one blue. They will alternate rapidly then a ring will appear around the blue one to indicate it is locked in. You need to get to that circle very quickly or be hit with meteors that will likely kill Sora, though Once More or Second Chance certainly helps. If you can’t make it, use a Limit to withstand the attack or cast Reflect. Defeat the Lexicon then “Dispel” the illusion to return to the island once more where you may finally defeat Zexion.

Rewards : Item Slot (Sora), HP +4 (Donald), Critical Half (Goofy), Book of Shadows Recipe, Lost Illusion

BOSS - Absent Silhouette Larxene¶

At the start of the battle Larxene will charge up and surround herself with lightning, using her Lightning Dash attack where you’ll need to leap over or Guard against her copies. When the copies vanish you’ll have the chance to unload on Larxene a little bit but just refrain from Aerial Combos since Larxene can counter with a Sky Dive. When clones are active you’ll get the chance to use “Other Break” which will toss the clone into Larxene dealing damage and stunning her, thus allowing for easy damage.

At 66% HP Larxene will begin to use Teleport Rush with her copies where they race at Sora repeatedly. This attack is devastating and the best way to avoid damage is to cast Reflect. Larxene often follows this up with her Angry Rush where the screen goes dark and her clones surround Sora before rushing in to damage him then ending with a leaping lightning strike. Use Reflect or a perfectly timed Guard to avoid damage; Dodge Roll is also an option if you’re fighting her later in the game. At 33% HP Larxen will use her ultimate attack, Lightning Barrage , where she hovers in the center of the ring and fires lightning in a circle as she spins around.

Larxene normally follows up this deadly attack with Teleport Rush so you must be ready to cast Reflect. She will go into her normal attacks after this and usually cast Lightning Barrage again. A Thunder Trinket, Petit Ribbon or Highest Ribbon is recommended for this battle.

Rewards : MP +10 (Sora), Item Slot (Donald), HP +5 (Goofy), Secret Thunder Recipe, Lost Illusion

BOSS - Absent Silhouette Lexaeus¶

Lexaeus deals a lot of damage quickly so you need to learn to parry his attacks and when to use Reflect. It is imperative to Shortcut the Reflect spell in order to avoid the heaviest damage that Lexaeus can deal out. At the start of the battle he will use Power Up to increase his Power Level. The higher this number, the more damage Lexaeus deals. The trick to the battle is to get close to Lexaeus and wait for him to perform a very slow uppercut slash to which you can Guard. This opens Lexaeus up for the “Mega Counter” Reaction Command which deals moderate damage and stuns Lexaeus.

That part is easy, but dodging attacks can be hard. When he uses Quake try to avoid the rocks with Quick Run or Dodge Roll then get close to Lexaeus. As the battle continues, he will start using Tomahawk Shot where he will grab Sora if you are too close. Nearing the end of the battle you will be subject to Impact Quake, a move where Lexaeus leaps then shatters the ground like Quake. It’s best to use Reflect on this attack since it’s hard to dodge. Finally, after Lexaeus reaches 25% health he’ll begin to use his ultimate attack, Ground Impact . This move has Lexaeus zoom way out then launch himself directly at Sora causing a large Quake across the entire arena – use Reflect to avoid this damage completely by casting it quickly several times.

Rewards : Accessory Slot (Sora), HP +4 (Donald), Item Slot (Goofy), Exceeding Power Recipe, Lost Illusion

BOSS - Absent Silhouette Marluxia¶

The battle with Marluxia is a bit different in that you have a counter above your head and any time you get hit the counter goes down by 1. Throughout the battle you can dodge the attacks of Marluxia and use the Reaction Command “Restore Count” to steal some back or use “Air Trample” to damage him. You’ll need to be quick and able to avoid his attacks or you’ll never win this fight.

Marluxia uses a vicious combo with his scythe but if you dodge it you’ll get the aforementioned Reaction Command, Reflect works well here. His normal attacks can be parried to leave him vulnerable, just time your Guard as the scythe comes around. Marluxia also uses an attack where he flips toward Sora like a wheel; Guard or Reflect this to get him open for an attack. As the battle goes on, Marluxia can use Deathscythe from the middle of the arena. This attacks summons black circles that will kill anyone who touches them, so be sure to stay at the edges and block the Scythe Wheel.

Altogether, Marluxia is quite a formidable opponent because of his speed and the mechanics by which you must survive. Just remember that after you combo you’ll need to use Reflect or perfectly time your Guard. Fighting this Absent Silhouette after you obtain Glide makes the most sense since it is easiest to keep up your speed and avoid numerous attacks.

Rewards : Drive Gauge +1 (Sora), HP +4 (Donald), HP +5 (Goofy), Full Bloom Recipe, Lost Illusion

BOSS - Absent Silhouette Vexen¶

This battle is one of the easier ones out of the Absent Silhouettes. At the start of the battle Sora will be frozen, so mash Triangle to break free. From here you’ll have to break Vexen’s shield in order to hurt him, so short combos work best since Finishers break the shield. You’ll have some time to hurt him now before the shield returns to let him have it.

Vexen will use his data circle to collect data then make an Anti-Sora . Stay out of the circle as best you can, but when Anti-Sora is created be sure to take it out immediately and doing so releases MP bubbles. Vexen does not have too many attacks; he uses normal slashes and Snowflake to toss a few ice attacks across the ground. He also uses Ice Storm but you can use Reflect to avoid that. A simple way to get in a lot of damage for this battle is to use Limit Form then Sonic Blade to break Vexen’s shield almost instantly. Then you can get a few more Sonic Blades in to deal a ton of damage.

Rewards : Armor Slot (Sora), HP +4 (Donald), HP +5 (Goofy), Guide to Experimentation, Lost Illusion