Ruler of the Sky

The Ruler of the Sky is an Emblem Heartless that is found in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. It is one of the bosses at Neverland.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
As Roxas arrives at Neverland, Pete shows up and brags about his plans for a Heartless army, and threatens to have his Heartless gobble Roxas up for interfering at Agrabah. Soon, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee finally dig up a treasure chest along with a giant bird skull and a golden sword. Just as Pete had been planning, the darkness of Hook's greed summons a Heartless in the form of that treasure, and the pirates flee. Roxas is forced to fight the risen Heartless, and eventually defeats it in an aerial battle. As the Heartless fades, it plummets into the Pirate Ship, destroying it, then releases its captive heart.

Design
The Ruler of the Sky resembles a large, skeletal parrot. Its body is covered in violet plumage and it has a jeweled, gold collar around its neck. Its tail is comprised of several skulls linked together, while its wings are comprised of four gold cutlasses with alternating violet and red gems set in their guards. The topmost cutlass in each wing ends in a hook, and none of the cutlasses are actually connected to each other. The Ruler of the Sky’s head sports yellow eyes and a jeweled, violet and gold crown. Its mouth is comprised by a brown treasure chest filled with gold coins with gold lining, and black spikes acting as teeth that the Heartless has clenched in its beak. Its Heartless emblem is on its chest. The Ruler of the Sky incorporates many traits that are homages to stereotypical pirates, such as parrots, skulls, cutlasses, and treasure.

The Ruler of the Sky's name reflects its unmatched power and flight.

Strategy
The important thing to remember when facing the Ruler of the Sky is to not underestimate the Boss's true power. At the start of the battle, immediately Lock-On to the Heartless Boss. You must chase it around while airborne, so attack whenever possible. The best time to strike is as the Ruler is turning. Equipping a leveled-up Glide ability and a good midair weapon will make it easier to keep up and land hits. Be careful if you find yourself behind the Ruler of the Sky, as it will cause pillars of ice to shoot up in its wake, and it will release homing balls of energy from the end of its tail. The energy spheres may drain your HP on impact.

After sustaining about half a bar of damage, a segment of the Ruler of the Sky's tail will break. At this point, the Ruler of the Sky will enter a berserk state and glow with a pink aura. It will also release a burst of energy as it begins its berserk attack. The Ruler of the Sky will begin swooping back and forth in an attempt to hit you. Occasionally it will release a homing ball of energy when it begins its rush. If you fly too close to the water, it will drop homing energy balls in rapid succession. Try to dodge downwards and to the side to avoid its rush without going too low. If you do go low, use the terrain to your advantage to avoid the energy spheres.

After rushing several times, the Ruler of the Sky will dive into the ocean. When this occurs, wait for it to resurface, and watch your map. Try to keep out of its range, as the Ruler of the Sky will begin firing coins from its treasure chest-like mouth. Interestingly enough, if you are hit by the boss's coin shot attack, you will collect the Munny that hit you. Staying low will allow you to avoid this attack. While it is firing, the Boss will move away from you if you try to approach it, so try not to push it outside the area boundary. When it stops firing, it will be stationary for a short time, so start swinging at the tail. Soon the Boss will begin flying like before, so repeat the previous strategy until all tail segments are destroyed.

When the tail has been destroyed, the Ruler of the Sky enters a new berserk state. It will begin flying around the area, circling you with iceberg towers and firing energy sphere after energy sphere. To best avoid its attacks, fly in the opposite direction as the Boss, taking care to avoid the icebergs.

After the berserk state ends, the Ruler of the Sky will stop circling and begin firing coins. During this assault, the Ruler of the Sky will stay stationary if you approach, so come up underneath it and target its core with your weapon and Fire attacks. If you end up above its body, you can still inflict damage to the core. When it's done firing, the Ruler of the Sky will transform its wings into claws and start swiping at you. Avoid this attack by flying directly away from it. The Ruler of the Sky pauses for a few seconds after it finishes this attack, giving you an extra opportunity to deal damage. After that it will return to its second berserk state, so repeat the second part of the strategy until the Heartless falls.

As always, equip plenty of healing spells and items, particularly Cura as it replenishes your HP while you move, as well as multiple casts of Fire magic. Equipping rings that protect against ice or water will help. Make use of your Limit Break, and equip a weapon with powerful strikes, as the Ruler does not stay still long enough for combo-based weapons to be effective.

A possible strategy to follow is to bring a large number of high-level Fire and Firaga casts, as well as Hi-Ethers and Elixirs to replenish your magic. During the first phase of the battle, use Fire to inflict damage on the tail segments, as its homing capability will make it easier to connect with the target. After the tail is destroyed, use Firaga at close range to inflict a great deal of damage to the Boss's core. So long as the player heals regularly, uses items as needed, and uses the Limit Break if needed, then the Ruler of the Sky should fall relatively soon.

Herrscher des Himmels