Full Monster & Summon Guide – Final Fantasy Tactics Ivalice Chronicles Bestiary

Categories: Final Fantasy Tactics

Find out what monster treasures or how summons work this guide and bestiary is made for Final Fantasy Tactics Ivalice Chronicles Bestiary!

In Final Fantasy Tactics, players can encounter, kill, and loot monsters to obtain valuable loot. In additional, monsters can Poach them as well, which gives you the ability to gain extra equipment and treasure. This is one of the best ways to obtain loot in the game. In this guide we show you how it’s done and give you details on each monster type in Final Fantasy Tactics Ivalice Chronicles Bestiary.

Table of Contents

• Chocobo Family
• Goblin Family
• Bomb Family
• Panther Family
• Ghost Family
• Ahriman Family
• Mindflayer
• Skeleton & Bombshell
• Dragon Family
• Hydra Family
• Pig Family
• Treant Family
• Reaver & Archdaemon
• Classic Summons

How Poaching Works

The Poaching mechanic is acquired by the Thief Job, after leveling Squire to level 2. After this, you can learn the Secret Hunt support ability and equip for 200 JP. From this point, when you register a killing blow with physical attacks (just attack), you can trigger a message monster was poached. From here, visit a poacher’s den in the major trade cities after Chapter 3 starts.

Poaching is a great way to acquire powerful and rare equipment that can’t be bought in regular shops, making it a valuable mechanic for optimizing your party in Final Fantasy Tactics. How Monsters & Summons Work:

• Common/Rare Poachables: Listed in that order per monster.
• Summons: Highlighted with unique art and distinct from wild monsters.
• Categories: Monsters are grouped into families like Bomb, Dragon, Ahriman, and more.
• Useful for: Beastmaster strategies, rare item hunting, and grinding support abilities like Poach.

Monster Families Breakdown

Here’s a quick summary of some of the key monster families and what you can expect:

Chocobo Family

• Chocobo, Black Chocobo, Red Chocobo
• Drops: Phoenix Down, X-Potion, Eye Drop, Antidote

Chocobos are iconic Final Fantasy creatures and some of the first monsters you’ll encounter. The basic yellow Chocobo can heal itself and allies with Choco Cure, making it a surprisingly good support monster early game. Black Chocobos can fly and attack from awkward positions, while Red Chocobos are outright dangerous with Choco Meteor—an unblockable magic attack. These birds are mobile, hard to pin down, and best dealt with at range or with area-of-effect attacks. Be cautious about letting them group up or outmaneuver slower units.

Goblin Family

• Goblin, Black Goblin, Goblin Leader
• Drops: Hi-Potion, Ether, Antidote, Mage Masher

The Goblin line is a straightforward melee family that becomes progressively more dangerous. Standard Goblins are weak but can gang up quickly with strong physical attacks. Black Goblins gain some elemental strength, while Goblin Leaders hit hard and are surprisingly durable. They’re vulnerable to magic and ranged attacks, and their lack of status infliction or support abilities makes them easy to kite and pick off one at a time. Poaching Goblins can reward common consumables and early weapons.

Bomb Family

• Bomb, Grenade, Exploder
• Drops: Flame Rod, Flame Shield, Spark Bomb
• Beware: Self-destructs can KO unprepared units.

Bombs are self-destructing fireballs of doom. They can use ranged fire attacks, but what makes them dangerous is their tendency to cast “Self-Destruct” when critically wounded. This can wipe out multiple party members if you’re clustered together. Grenade and Exploder variants have higher HP and nastier firepower. Keep your party spread out, and prioritize ranged attacks to trigger detonation safely or kill them before they can act. Fire-resistant gear helps, and poaching can yield rare bomb items like Flame Rods and Shields.

Panther Family

• Red Panther, Coeurl, Vampire Cat
• Drops: Antidote, Gold Needle, Germinas Boots

Panthers are fast, status-inflicting beasts that favor hit-and-run tactics. Red Panthers can poison, Coeurls can paralyze, and Vampire Cats can inflict Charm. Their high speed and mobility make them annoying to deal with, especially if your formation is spread thin. They aren’t particularly durable, so focus fire works well. Equipping status-resistant gear or using units with Auto-Potion can mitigate their harassment. Useful poachables include boots and antidotes.

Ghost Family

• Ghoul, Ghost, Revenant
• Drops: Ether, Hi-Ether, Blood Suck status a huge nuisance

Ghosts are undead creatures that absorb Dark and are immune to some status effects. Ghouls and Ghosts use melee and drain HP from targets, while Revenants are more dangerous with ranged dark magic. All of them revive a few turns after death unless banished with Holy or Phoenix Down. Use healing spells offensively to destroy them quickly, or bring Exorcism (Banish) skills to remove them permanently. Their poach rewards aren’t great, but they’re good XP fodder.

Ahriman Family

• Ahriman, Uribo, Plague Eye
• Drops: Shuriken, Platinum Dagger, Air Knife

These floating eyeballs specialize in ranged magic and debilitating status effects. The base Ahriman can cause Blind and Sleep, while Plague Eyes and Uribos introduce more exotic status ailments like Confuse or Death Sentence. They’re fragile, but dangerous if left unchecked. Use fast characters or ranged magic to eliminate them early. Equipping Ribbons or gear that prevents status effects is critical when facing them in groups. Their rare poaches can yield daggers or magic items.

Mindflayer

• Drops: Echo Grass, Vampire Cape
• Abilities: Confuse, Silence, and other nasty status effects

Mindflayers (also known as Squidlarkians) are terrifying for magic-heavy parties. They come equipped with a suite of debilitating abilities, including Silence, Confuse, and Drain effects. They often attack in groups and can completely shut down your casters if not addressed quickly. They’re relatively fragile, so rushing them with physical attackers is a viable strategy. Their rare poach, the Vampire Cape, is worth hunting for due to its evasive bonuses and style points.

Skeleton & Bombshell

• Drops: Holy Water, Flame Shield, etc.
• Undead creatures often revive after 3 turns if not exorcised.

Skeletons are classic undead enemies that rely on raw damage and durability. Standard Skeletons hit hard and come back to life if not banished, while Bone Snatches and Bombshells can use elemental or support magic. They’re weak to Holy and vulnerable to status effects like Stop or Immobilize. Always bring a Priest or a caster with Holy to deal with them efficiently. Their poaches include useful mid-game weapons and accessories like Phoenix Downs and Hi-Potions.

Dragon Family

• Blue Dragon, Red Dragon, Serpentig
• Drops: Dragon Rod, Dragon Whisker
• Danger: Elemental breath attacks

Dragons are elemental beasts with breath attacks that cover wide areas. Blue Dragons use Ice Breath, Red Dragons use Fire, and Tiamats have access to all three. Their versatility and resistance to magic make them serious endgame threats. Deploy units with elemental resistance or absorb equipment, and keep squishies far away. Poaching yields powerful items like Dragon Rods and Whiskers—must-haves for certain job builds.

Hydra Family

• Hydra, Greater Hydra, Tiamat
• Drops: Rubber Suit, Whale Whisker
• Strategy Tip: Use ranged attacks to avoid counter assaults.

Hydras are rare three-headed monsters with triple attack patterns. Greater Hydra and Tiamat are especially threatening, hitting three times with different elements. Their triple-targeting nature makes them dangerous even to tanks. Use buffs like Protect and Shell, and keep healers ready. Poaching can get you Rubber Suits or Whale Whiskers, which are strong rare items.

Pig Family

• Swine, Porky, Wild Boar
• Rare Drops: Ribbon, Defender
• Fun Fact: These are rare and hard to find—worth farming.

Pig monsters are hidden gems. Swine, Porky, and Wild Boars appear rarely and drop some of the best accessories in the game via poach—like Ribbon and Defender. They’re not strong offensively, but are elusive and hard to trigger. Bring a Beastmaster or find them through special conditions. If you encounter them, save scum if needed—they’re worth it.

Treant Family

• Dryad, Trent, Elder Treant
• Drops: Healing Staff, Gold Staff, Protect Ring

These living trees act as spellcasting supports and tanks. Dryads and Treants use healing spells or crowd control like Slow and Silence, while Elder Treants can use Protect and Reflect to support allies. They’re tough to kill due to high HP and resistance to magic. Use Dispel or Break skills to bypass buffs and rely on heavy physical damage. They’re great for farming rods and support accessories like Protect Rings.

Reaver & Archdaemon

• Reaver, Byblos, Archdaemon, Ultima Demon
• These enemies show up in later stages and story dungeons.

These monsters often appear in story battles or special encounters. Reavers and Byblos have unique spell sets and above-average stats, especially in endgame fights. They tend to inflict a lot of debuffs or use crowd control. Their presence typically signals a tougher-than-normal battle. Always check their status resistances and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Classic Summons

These are not random encounters but powerful magic you can use with Summoner Job:

• Shiva – Ice-based AoE damage
• Ifrit – Fire-based summon
• Ramuh – Lightning-based spellcaster
• Titan – Earth-based AoE
• Carbuncle – Reflect buff to all allies
• Golem – Absorbs physical damage
• Bahamut – Ultimate summon with no vertical restriction
• Zalera, Lich, Cyclops, Odin, Leviathan, Salamander – Other powerful story or job-related summons
• Moogle – Healing support summon from Time Mage line

Tips for Using the Bestiary

• Poaching requires a Poach-equipped unit and a monster to be killed by them.
• Rare drops only come from poaching monster breeds in monster cities like Bariaus or Bervenia.
• Monsters can’t equip gear, so farming rare items is a huge part of late-game prep.
• Summons are obtained through the Summoner job line and story progression.

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