Candles of Life are an item in Final Fantasy X that customize Zombieproof onto your armors, and can customize Zombiestrike onto weapons. You’ll need 10 Candles for Zombieproof and 30 Candles for Zombiestrike.
Candle of Life Locations
The best way to farm Candles of Life is to steal them from Fallen Monks (both varieties). They appear pretty often if you wander around Zanarkand Ruins. They have two Candles as a common steal, so it’s pretty easy to stock up. But the Monster Arena monsters Don Tonberry and Pteryx have them as rare steals as well. You’re also given 99 Candles for unlocking Coeurlregina in the Monster Arena. Fallen Monks are found all over the Zanarkand Ruins. There’s the normal Fallen Monk, and ones with a Flamethrower. Both of them have two Candles of Life to steal. Don Tonberry can be unlocked at the Monster Arena after capturing one of every monster from the Cavern of Stolen Fayth. Pteryx is unlocked at the Arena after capturing five of every bird-type enemy. Coeurlregina is unlocked after capturing all the monsters on Mushroom Rock Road.
Candle of Life Uses
Candles of Life are used to prevent the Zombie status effect. Healing a Zombie character causes damage instead, and they can’t be revived if defeated. It’s an extremely annoying status effect, one of the worst in the game. But once you can customize items, 10 Candles puts Zombieproof onto a piece of armor, which prevents this terrible status effect 100% of the time. If you use 30 Candles on a weapon instead, you’ll get Zombiestrike. Attacking an enemy with a Zombiestrike weapon almost always inflicts them with the status. For as annoyingly bad as being a zombie is, having an enemy be a zombie is super cool. Turning a baddie into a zombo and then healing them to death is a ton of fun. Candles of Life can also be mixed with Rikku, and here’s a few great options: Ultra-Cure (Al Bhed Potion + Candle of Life): Restores the party’s HP to full and cleanses all negative statuses. Brimstone (Bomb Core + Candle of Life): Deals three bursts of medium amounts of fire damage, and applies sleep, silence, and darkness on enemies for three turns. Quartet of 9 (Dark Matter + Candle of Life): One character will deal 9999 damage with every attack for the rest of the battle.
Are Candles of Life Worth Farming?
Absolutely. Zombie, by itself, is a super-annoying status effect in Final Fantasy X. Not too many enemies inflict it, but those that do really like doing so. In fact, Zombie is a key part of many boss fights in the game (mostly in the late game). Luckily, you can easily farm Candles in the area leading up to these end-game fights – and it’s worth your time doing so. Also, since Candles are so easy to farm, you can use them freely in Rikku’s mixes and can get a ton of benefits from that. Even Zombiestrike is a lot of fun to use, even if it ultimately isn’t something to have on any endgame weapon.
