Master Synthesist (Hades)

The Master Synthesist is mentioned several times throughout the game, but it is pretty challenging to locate him without the help of a walkthrough. To access the Synthesis Shop, you must defeat an optional boss located in Memoria, which you can only reach during Disc 4.

Travel to the second colored orb, which allows you to Save or use a Tent (shown in the screenshot below). Prepare the team by equipping any equipment that absorbs or resists Water-based magical attacks.

Equipping a Ribbon accessory works wonderfully here, while a Protect Ring will also suffice to reduce the amount of damage done greatly.

Ensure that each of your party members is equipped with the Clear Headed, Antibody and Body Temp Abilities (if they have them).

Travel one more screen into the ocean area and search behind the rock on the right side of the screen. There is no field icon that appears in the original PlayStation 1 version of the game, so just keep pressing the or button.

In the updated PlayStation 4 version of the game, the developers added an icon to help you find it. Eventually, a “Mysterious Voice” will ask, “Who dares disturb my sleep? Leave at once, or you will die.” Choose “Don’t Leave” to initiate the battle.

Speaking to the Master Synthesist / Hades in Memoria choosing not to leave

Hades
Boss Battle

Initiating the battle against Hades in Memoria

Level: 92
HP: 55,535

Preparation is the key to this fight. Hades will hit the party with a bombardment of negative status effects that will absolutely destroy you if you are not prepared. Hades’ moves include:

“Judgement Sword,” which will automatically drop a party member down to 1 HP
“Cleave,” which does physical damage to all party members
“Freeze,” which inflicts the Freeze status effect, causing that party member to be instantly killed if struck with a physical attack
“Mustard Bomb,” which inflicts the Heat status effect, causing the party member to instantly KO themselves when they attempt any action (their turn should be skipped until the status can be removed)
“Reflect,” which casts a reflective magical shield on itself (which you can remove using Dispel)
“Powering Sword,” which uses Curse/Doomsday after 3 turns
“Doomsday,” which deals Shadow-elemental damage to all party members
“Curse,” which deals physical damage and has the chance to inflict the Slow, Darkness, Confuse, Poison, and Mini status effects

Hades is susceptible to the Slow status effect, and having the Clear Headed, Antibody, and Body Temp abilities will help to greatly reduce the amount of damage done to your party members. Try to Steal all four items from Hades before the battle concludes.

Steal:

Reflect Ring (common)
Running Shoes (uncommon)
Battle Boots (rare)
Robe of Lords (very rare)

Drops:

Hades will offer you access to his Synthesis Shop after the battle, and he will suggest to you that the best item he can create requires two Pumice Pieces (which you should already have if you have been following this walkthrough).

Bring 2 Pumice Pieces here and I will synthesize them for you. The end product is something only I can create

Be cautious, though, as you will require the Pumice Piece to defeat the most difficult optional boss. The Pumice (which can be synthesized from two Pumice Pieces) can be used to teach Dagger the most powerful Eidolon, Ark. It’s up to you how you wish to proceed.

Synthesizing the Tin Armor using the Hammer at the Master Synthesist

Hades can also Synthesize the following:

Make sure that you purchase the Tin Armor if you obtained the Hammer by completing the Stellazzio side quest in Treno. The Tin Armor is the most powerful armor in the game stat-wise by a significant margin. It does not teach any abilities, but the stats on it are fantastic. The other items are entirely optional.

Return to the Memoria Walkthrough page when you’re done.

Final Fantasy IX

Master Synthesist (Hades)