Chaos Chimera


 * This article is about the final boss of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. For the common enemies also known as "Chimeras", see Chimera enemy line.

The Chaos Chimera (ドゥームトリアス Doom Trias) is the final boss of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn and is fought below the control station of the Apollo Lens, within Apollo Sanctum. It is, as of Dark Dawn, the final boss of the Golden Sun series.

As a Boss
The Chaos Chimera is distinct among bosses in the Golden Sun series for changing its behavior once its remaining HP descends past a particular threshold. This change in behavior is heralded by its 30 regenerated HP at the end of each turn becoming 100 at the end of each turn once it is below half of its HP remaining.

In both "phases" of the battle, the Chaos Chimera is especially likely to be affected by Resistance-lowering effects. Its statistics shared between the phases are as follows:

The Chaos Chimera acts three times per round and essentially pulls from a different "separate enemy's command set" with a given action, never pulling from the same command set twice in a given turn. Throughout the first half of the Chaos Chimera's HP meter, the three separate actions always pull from three separate "enemies" worth of commands: one deriving from its sword arm (representing a previous boss), one deriving from its red clawed arm (representing another previous boss), and one representing the Chaos Chimera itself. It appears for at least the first half of the battle that the Chaos Chimera-themed action always carries out as the third of the three commands in this phase, with the first and second commands switching the order of the sword arm and clawed arm's command set callings at random.

"Sword Arm" Command Set
Whenever the Chaos Chimera calls a Sword Arm command, it does so with and proceeds through the command list in sequential order with a random start point; this means that any one of the eight actions listed below can be the "starting point," and the next turn's Sword Arm command will be the one listed beneath what had been used, cycling back to the top of the list when the bottom of the list is reached.

Each calling of the above command set is treated as coming from a not-unintelligent enemy that carries stocked items; Move 4 in the sequence will instead cause the Chaos Chimera to use one of the following stocked items if any remain in stock, using the called ability as normal otherwise:
 * Firecracker DD.png 3 Firecrackers: An item that deals a Mars-aligned attack with 140 base damage that is spread out across 5 enemies with . As a consumable item, this assumes the Chaos Chimera uses this with a Mars Elemental Power rating of 100 instead of its normal rating, 175.

"Clawed Arm" Command Set
Whenever the Chaos Chimera calls a Clawed Arm command, it does so with and draws from the command list traditionally through the random number generator.

Each calling of the above command set is treated as coming from a not-unintelligent enemy that carries stocked items. In this case, one 12.5% "ability slot" each of this command list's three abilities' respective chances to be used with a given action will instead cause the Chaos Chimera to use one of its stocked items if it has any items remaining in stock and is able to use them applicably; if either it no longer has items in stock or the battlefield conditions do not allow its currently "individually available" item type to be used to a difference-making effect, it will use the called ability as normal. Its full inventory of items is structured in the following order, with each item's entire stock having to be used up before the next type of item can be available for use:
 * Psy Grenade DD.png 3 Psy Grenades: An item that damages the PP of the party using a base power of 30 and a range of 3.
 * Vial DD.png 2 Vials: Used only while a combatant on the user's side is not at maximum HP. An item that restores 500 HP to the user.
 * Psy Grenade DD.png 3 Psy Grenades: An item that damages the PP of the party using a base power of 30 and a range of 3.
 * Vial DD.png 5 Vials: Used only while a combatant on the user's side is not at maximum HP. An item that restores 500 HP to the user.

"Chaos Chimera" Command Set 1
Whenever the Chaos Chimera calls a command from this set, it does so with and proceeds through the command list in sequential order with a random start point; this means that any one of the eight actions listed below can be the "starting point," and the next turn's Chaos Chimera Set 1 command will be the one listed beneath what had been used, cycling back to the top of the list when the bottom of the list is reached.

"Chaos Chimera" Command Set 2
The first of two command sets that are added to the Chaos Chimera's available repertoire once its HP is less than half full. It seems that throughout the second half of the boss' health, it calls any three out of the five total command lists at random without a particular logic to the ordering. Whenever the Chaos Chimera calls a command from this set, it does so with and draws from the command list traditionally through the random number generator.

"Chaos Chimera" Command Set 3
The second of two command sets that are added to the Chaos Chimera's available repertoire once its HP is less than half full. Whenever the Chaos Chimera calls a command from this set, it does so with and proceeds through the command list in sequential order with a random start point; this means that any one of the eight actions listed below can be the "starting point," and the next turn's Chaos Chimera Set 3 command will be the one listed beneath what had been used, cycling back to the top of the list when the bottom of the list is reached.

Strategies
The final boss battle can be fairly tricky if the player does not plan ahead. The Chaos Chimera has a wide range of powerful abilities that possess various destructive effects. Before the Chaos Chimera can be fought, the player must first complete the boss battle against Blados, Chalis, and the Chaos Hound. Thankfully, the player is given an opportunity to prepare before battling the Chaos Chimera, by healing and/or rearranging their party, or by preparing Djinn for summons.

As for the battle itself, the party should be leveled up to at least Level 46, as this is the level where Adepts in healing classes like the Wizard or Pure Mage gain access to the healing move Pure Wish, which greatly increases survivability. Having at least one Adept dedicated to healing is especially necessary in the final portion of the battle, when the Chimera is likely to use Chaos Upheaval and Shadow Clash regularly. Shielding Djinn like Chasm are a great way to reduce damage. The player should also have access to Revive or have Water of Life ready to use on multiple Adepts, should one or more be downed. The Chaos Chimera is weak against Jupiter. Thus, the summons Thor and Eclipse are potent attacks. Additionally, Sveta's Beastform is another choice, due to the form's high offensive and defensive capabilities. If Matthew is place in an equipment setup to guarantee Unleashes from the Sol Blade, then the player can unleash high powered attacks without worrying about PP or Djinn, though the nature of the Unleash system means that this method cannot guarantee a high-power hit, unlike other tactics. In order to take full advantage of these tactics, the player should have at least one or two Adepts capable of increasing Attack, via Impact, Djinn, or comparable tactics. Luckily, the Chaos Chimera lacks Break, and thus the attack increase can only wear off when the Adept is downed or when a certain amount of time has passed without a boost.

The player should watch out for the Chaos Chimera's Djinn Blast ability, as this will significantly weaken one Adept by placing their Djinn on standby. In this situation, it is recommended that the player switch the weakened Adept with a reserve party member. Retribution is another dangerous tactic, as it can instantly fell an unlucky Adept.

Story
When Matthew's party begins the necessary preparations for firing the Apollo Lens, they are confronted by Blados and Chalis. However, after a series of revelations, Arcanus fights the two as a distraction to allow Matthew's party to activate the Apollo Lens. The Adepts take this opportunity to travel to the central control station. Before they can climb the ladder to fire the Lens, their way to the control station is blocked by a monstrous being known as the Chaos Hound. The Hound nearly attacks the party, but it restrains itself when seeing Sveta by their side. The Chaos Hound appears to fight whatever is influencing it, until Chalis and Blados (who were supposed to be distracted by Arcanus) re-appear and corrupt the hound, forcing it to fight the party alongside the two Dark Adepts.

Their assault fails, with either both Adepts or the Chaos Hound defeated. In either case, Blados and Chalis are not ready to give in, and choose to make one last effort. In an attempt to finally defeat the heroes no matter what the cost, they put all their strength into a power known as Dark Binding. This power causes evil spirits to bolster the Chaos Hound, which goes berserk as a result. However, the Tuaparang Duo find that they are being pulled in themselves, though they accept this as a way to defeat Matthew's party. Together, the three fuse into a horrible monstrosity of darkness. Matthew's party is faced with an epic battle, where their abilities are tested to their fullest extent. In the end, Matthew's party emerges victorious, and the Chaos Chimera splits back into its three components.

Extended Gallery