Core


 * "Strike through an enemies defense."



Location
Core is a Djinni that is randomly encountered in a specific area of the overworld that otherwise appears to be pointless scenery. Thus, it is very often missed by players playing the game the first time without any outside information. The battle with Core may ensue in place of a random battle in the pictured area in the center of the continent of Atteka, geographically west of Contigo and south of Jupiter Lighthouse but only reachable by docking on the west beach. It then must be defeated to be acquired.

As an opponent
Statistically, Core has 840 HP, 79 PP, 264 Attack, 80 Defense, 226 Agility, and 26 Luck. Like all other Mars Djinn that are fought, in terms of resistance, it has a Mars Resistance rating of 193, Venus and Jupiter Resistance ratings of 100 each, and a Mercury Resistance rating of 25, and in regards to its abilities it uses its available Mars-based attacks with a Mars power rating of 125.

Core can use the following battle commands:
 * Searing Beam: Used 53 out of 256 times, this is a Psynergy spell where the user shoots out a large laser-like beam of fire, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 170 and a range of 7. It consumes 36 of its user's PP.
 * Pyroclasm: Used 47 out of 256 times, this is a Psynergy spell that causes four fiery pillars explode through the party, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 180 and a range of 5. It consumes 29 of its user's PP
 * Serpent Fume: Used 41 out of 256 times, this is a Psynergy spell that shoots out a large serpentine entity of flame that arcs over and crashes into the targeted Adept, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 130. This ability consumes 14 of its user's PP.
 * Supernova: Used 35 out of 256 times, this is a Psynergy spell that generates a huge, extended explosion of fiery energy at the entire party, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 150 and a range of 7. It consumes 31 of its user's PP.
 * Inferno: Used 29 out of 256 times, this is a Psynergy spell that causes a large group of fire balls to spread out from the user and strike the party, dealing a Mars-based attack with a power rating of 140 and a range of 5. It consumes 23 of its user's PP.
 * Attack: Used 28 out of 256 times, this is this monster's standard physical attack, but for this monster it is counted as a Mars-based attack rather than a non-elemental attack.
 * Flee: Used 23 out of 256 times, this enemy has the ability to attempt to Flee the battle, thereby ending the battle if successful without rewarding you with the associated EXP, Coins, and the Djinni itself. Since this is a randomly battled overworld Djinni, however, it can be very quickly fought again just by running around in the same area you first fought it in.

When defeated, Core yields 946 EXP and 642 Coins, and the Core Djinni is added to your party's Djinn collection. If you fell it with an offensive Mercury Djinni like Sour, its rewards increase to 1229 EXP and 834 Coins.

Being a Djinni accessible as soon as the Great Western Sea opens up, you really should have the Djinn necessary to defeat it with summonings in one turn, while having more left over to contribute to your classes.

Description
When Set, it increases base HP by 8, base Attack by 4, and base Defense by 2.

When Core's battle effect is used, a holographic image of a Mars Djinni surrounds itself with a fully-3D special effect resembling a fiery sphere, and it pilots itself into the targeted enemy. The target is hit by a Mars-based attack equal in power to the user's normal physical attack with an additional 40 damage points added to the result. There is a chance that when the attack hits, only 50% of the target's current Defense rating is applied, sharply increasing Core's damage. It is just like the previous game's Mars Djinni Torch, but with an additional 10 bonus damage.

Ability analysis
Core's effect is valuable at times, dealing an attack that may bypass half the target's defense rating; it can become more useful to the endgame of The Lost Age than Torch was to the endgame of Golden Sun because of late-game enemies being stronger statistically in areas including physical defense, causing more of a noticeable damage difference. When Isaac's party joins late in The Lost Age bringing Torch along with them, Torch is pretty much obsoleted by Core, which has a little more damage output in comparison. Nevertheless, Core's defense-piercing applies based on a chance, meaning it cannot be relied on for consistently higher damage output than certain other Djinn. Whether it is as valuable as the stunning Mars Djinn Scorch and Char is up to the player.

Name Origin
Core's name most likely refers to the Earth's core, which is easily the hottest place on (or in this case "in") Earth.