FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE has 60 optional bosses outside the main story, and they are where the endgame actually lives. They fall into six groups, none of them is required to finish the game, and every one of them has its own weakness and its own stagger gauge.
FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE optional bosses, grouped
| Group | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Endgame bosses | 8 | Gilgamesh at levels 11, 40 and 45, Sephiroth at 45, Intangir at 52, Rogue Magitek Weapon at 63, Ultima Weapon at 70, Beast of Ruin at 90, Shinryu at 95, Omega at 99 |
| Legendary Arms guardians | 12 | One per altar in the Chamber of Arms on Dirnado, level 50 for the trial and 75 for the ultimate |
| Esper trials | 8 | Fought at the esper dwellings |
| Cave masters | 15 | Level 15 to 60, one per cave, each paying one piece of magicite |
| Colosseum bosses | 15 | From the Brawler League onward, level 40 to 90 |
| Quest bosses | 2 | The Phantom Train True Form at level 32 and Typhon at level 35 |
The story ends on its own at Chaotic Darkness in the Crystal Tower. None of the 60 needs to be cleared to see the ending.
Two rules that make them manageable
Every cave master is a one-shot fight with no save point inside, but Escape always works and each master pays out its magicite even if you lose the race. The Colosseum fights can be run and re-entered at any time once their league is open. That means the whole optional list can be worked through on a cleared save, at your own pace.
The 15 cave masters
There are 15 caves around the world, each holding one cave master, from the Marauder at level 15 to two level 60 monsters on Pharm. Every one is a single room with one fight, no chest and no save point.
| Cave master | Level | HP | Gauge | Weakness | Cave | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marauder | 15 | 30,000 | 600 | Wind | Marauder Cave, Grandport | Magicite Shard, Turbo Ether |
| Shoggoth | 25 | 45,500 | 800 | Earth, Water | Shoggoth Cave, Dirnado | Magicite Shard, Turbo Ether |
| Rukh | 26 | 46,800 | 600 | Wind, immune Earth | Rukh Cave, Olderion | Magicite Shard, X-Ether |
| Mindflayer | 28 | 52,000 | 600 | Earth | Mindflayer Cave, Olderion | Magicite, Mist Turbo Ether |
| Gogmagog | 34 | 78,000 | 700 | Wind, Light | Gogmagog Cave, Zoldaad | Magicite, Mist Turbo Ether |
| Pyroviper | 37 | 89,700 | 700 | Water, immune Fire | Pyroviper Cave, Zoldaad | Magicite, Mist Turbo Ether |
| Salome | 39 | 200,000 | 1,050 | Wind, resisted Earth | Salome Cave, Mysidia | Magicite, Mist X-Ether |
| Jotunn | 42 | 240,000 | 1,150 | Fire, Dark, immune Ice | Jotunn Cave, Mysidia | Magicite, Mist X-Ether |
| Malboro Varietas | 45 | 270,000 | 1,250 | Fire | Malboro Varietas Cave, Olderion | Magicite, Mist X-Ether |
| Tartarosaurus | 50 | 350,000 | 1,500 | Ice, resisted Earth | Tartarosaurus Cave, Pharm | Magicite Cryst, Elixir |
| Catacumba | 54 | 380,000 | 1,650 | Fire, Light | Catacumba Cave, Gronoa | Magicite Cryst, Elixir |
| Necromonarch | 55 | 444,444 | 1,800 | Fire, Light, resisted Earth | Necromonarch Cave, Gronoa | Magicite Cryst, Elixir |
| Humbaba | 55 | 450,000 | 1,875 | Wind | Humbaba Cave, Gronoa | Magicite Cryst, Elixir |
| Malboro Menace | 60 | 700,000 | 2,025 | Fire | Malboro Menace Cave, Pharm | Magicite Cryst, Megalixir |
| Titanoraidos | 60 | 800,000 | 2,025 | Ice, resisted Wind and Lightning | Titanoraidos Cave, Pharm | Magicite Cryst, Megalixir |
Three of them need something extra. The Shoggoth's trait reads "Immune to physical attacks", so bring magic. The Mindflayer is fought together with two Mind Elementals at level 27, so deal with those first. The Pyroviper is the first master that acts twice a turn.
Three trophies come from this list: Magicite Hunter for one master, The Bigger They Are... for five, and The Harder They Fall for all fifteen. The two you meet early are the Marauder in the Marauder Cave on Grandport, and the Antlion at level 20, which ambushes you on the road only while you are on foot, so riding the chocobo avoids it.
The 12 arms have their own guardians
Each of the 12 Legendary Arms has a guardian waiting at its altar in the Chamber of Arms on Dirnado, and those guardians are a separate group of 12 optional bosses from the endgame list above. Each altar runs twice: a level 50 trial and a level 75 ultimate trial. The trial rules are on the chamber of arms page.
The esper trials
Eight of the nine espers can be fought as trials at their dwellings, and each one has its own weakness, its own gauge and its own devastating attack. Their locations and the exact steps to reach each dwelling are on the espers page.