Culex is the hidden boss character in Super Mario Rpg. A Dark Knight from the alternate dimension of Valma, He is accompanied by 4 elemental crystals that deal magic damage according to the crystal type. Red for fire, blue for water, yellow for lightning, and green for earth.

Here is another guide on how to unlock Culex

Culex stats and attacks

What makes Culex a challenging opponent is his Shredder spell. This debuff attack removes all your attack and defense boosts that include accessory stat bonuses and buffs.

In a drawn-out battle, the constant debuff spell makes Culex’s damage higher so be prepared to have lots of pick-me-up items to resurrect your party mates when they get incapacitated.

The elemental crystals also deal damage on their turn. When all crystals focus their damage on one or two members of your party then they could be troublesome. It’s best to defeat them first before focusing on Culex. If you have many Rock candies in your inventory, this is the time to use them as they deal 200 damage to a group when used.

Although each crystal have different defense properties based on their element, the best course of attack will be AoE skills to damage them all. For instance, Geno’s flash Skill deals a good amount of damage being an earth/physical attack but the overall damage output is better than focusing on each crystal weakness.

Basic attacks especially timed attacks work really well and deal a good amount of damage against crystals regardless of their element type but it’s best to use physical attacks if there are only 2 or 1 crystal left in the fight since the damage they deal to your party can be devastating the more turns they have to act.

The recommended level for facing Culex is level 20. Even at this level or higher, you could still get wiped out easily by Culex so be sure to have your highest equipment set on your party for the extra defense and damage when facing him.

We also recommend having the Princess in your party since her healing spells will be useful in this battle. Aside from Mario and The Princess, Have either Mallow or Geno as the third-party member since both have AoE spells to deal with the crystals.

Boss Fight Culex

The fight starts after you accept Culex’s challenge. He will then spawn 4 elemental crystals with him which each has its turns and deals their damage.

Start by having Mario use a rock candy item on the enemy party. Focus on defeating the Crystal minions first since their attacks will become more painful once Culex starts spamming his debuff skill.

Here is an article on how to get all the Rock Candies in the game

Have Geno use his Geno Flash skill in his turn and let Peach use another rock candy to maximize your damage in this turn phase.

Have Peach be ready to cast healing spells when your health gets low. Let her also replenish the group Fp when needed while Mario and Geno focus on AoE attacks to wipe out the crystals.

On the third turn, Culex starts using his Shredder spell so be prepared to receive more damage from the enemies as well as deal less damage to them. Culex’s attack pattern at this point is usually a shredder debuff every 3rd turn and a basic attack and a spell damage skill in between.

Once you get hit by the shredder spell have Mario focus on basic attacks and target 1 crystal to destroy them faster. As for Geno, if his skill damage does not exceed 200 then switch to throwing rock candies in his turn and let the princess throw another rock candy whenever her healing spells are not needed on her turn.

Keep the princess’s health high especially after you get hit by the 2nd shredder attack at the 6th or 7th turn of the fight. This is where your defense gets debuffed to the point where you can get killed in 2 to 3 hits. Have Peach resurrect a party member when this happens and focus your turns on reviving your party and getting them back to full health before attacking.

When all the elemental crystals are defeated, Culex will start using His Dark Star Spell. This deals very high damage to a single opponent which can potentially kill you off in one hit. If any of your party gets killed by this, quickly revive them and get them back to full health.

Focus your attacks on Culex and don’t waste your turn replenishing your Fp. Use your turns to do special single damage or basic attacks on him until you defeat him. After the battle, Culex leaves the dimension and gives you the Quartz Charm as a prize as well as 600 experience points.