| Sazantos |
Sazantos EX |
Dark Knight |
Or'sazantos |
|---|
- "My flame will never be extinguished, no matter how many times it is engulfed in darkness. Not until all greed is banished from this world!" —Sazantos
Sazantos is a character in Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent and Octopath Traveler 0. The Flameguard, he first "appeared" in the Master of All prologue as an ally to seal away the Divine Rings before being revealed to be a cover for Gonska. The ending of the same route reveals that he was real, and he would go on to serve as one of the protagonists of the Bestower of Fame.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Sazantos is a young man with azure eyes, long silver hair, wearing red robes and a white cape. His sword, Fisteralda, is a holy sword passed down from generation to generation within the Church.
Personality[]
Sazantos is initially shown to be a kind, dilligent and faithful man who served the Order of the Sacred Flame by searching for the Divine Rings and seal them away before they could fall in the wrong hands. However, deep down he harbored serious doubts about humanity being worth saving, feeling his good actions didn't have any lasting effect and that human greed always brought new conflict regardless of the Church's actions. After reading the forbidden tome Defenders of Ash and learning the true circumstances of his birth and her mother's fate, his doubts extended to the order itself, although he kept them to himself and stayed loyal to them.
However, his confrontation with Ceraphina was the straw that broke the camel's back for Sazantos, leading him to believe humanity was beyond salvation as long as they were capable of being greedy and ambitious. He betrayed the Church as revenge for what they did to his mother, and became hell-bent on using Orsa's power to remake the world into one without any human desire, even if it meant becoming an enemy of all of Orsterra.
Story[]
Sazantos was born with the innate ability to wield the Sacred Flame after the Sonzon, the previous Flameguard, died without an heir, and was appointed as the new Flameguard of the Divine Rings. His mission was finding the scattered rings that hold the power of eight of the thirteen gods of Orsterra, and sealing them away so that they wouldn't be used for evil. Graham Crossford was his partner in the search, until Sazantos used the Sacred Flame to erase his memories of the mission so that he could focus on finding a cure for his wife's illness.
At some point of his life, Sazantos read Defenders of Ash, a tome forbidden by the Church that showed him the truth about his birth: his mother Pharamea, after refusing to succeed Sonzon as the Flameguard, was imprisoned by the Church and forced to conceive a child who could also wield the Sacred Flame. Her imprisonment laster 13 years, during which he had three other children before Sazantos that were deemed as failures, and once Sazantos was born with the ability, he was snatched away from her. This was the start of Sazantos' doubts about the Church, but he remained in their service believing their actions were for a greater good.
Master of All[]
Following the deaths of Herminia, Tytos and Auguste, the owners of the Huntress, Thunderblade, and Prince of Thieves rings respectively, Sazantos was impersonated by Gonska in order to steal them from the Ringbearer Chosen. All three rings were recuperated, alongside the Ring of the Scholarking, when the Chosen One defeated Pardis III. Sazantos met the Chosen One shortly afterwards, and guided them to the Isle of Orsa, where they sealed off the rings.
Bestower of Fame[]
Some time after that, Sazantos and his new partner Rondo were sent by the Pope to request the Chosen One's assistance in uncovering a conspiracy led by cult leader Ceraphina, who planned to use the Sacred Flame to ascend to godhood and destroy humanity. During this mission, Sazantos learnt about how the Gate of Finis was opened for the first time by a power hungry monarch using Ceraphina's grandfather's research. When that led to an army of demons crossing the gate from the other side and massacring the entire kingdom, Ceraphina's grandfather was blamed for the whole ordeal and executed, which led to Ceraphina's current actions. During the final confrontation with the true mastermind behind Ceraphina's cult, Sazantos assisted the Chosen One while defending his faith against the cult leader's accusations.
Bestower of All[]
After his clash with Ceraphina's Accurst Flame, Sazantos lost what little remained of his faith in humanity and, once Oskha and Tatloch were defeated as well, and all eight rings had been taken to the Isle of Orsa, he conspired with Signa to assassinate the Ring Maidens, killed Finis and took the rings for himself, but was unable to acquire the Ring of the Flamebringer, who returned to the Chosen One. He then refined his holy blade with Finis' ashes and imbued it to the Accurst Flame, turning it into a demonic sword. He would summon a black armor before entering the Gate of Finis, becoming the Dark Knight.
Postscript[]
In the Flamesgrace Cathedral, when Rondo is promoted to Flameguard, Sazantos' spirit can be briefly seen in the lower right corner of the hall. Interacting with the spot where he appeared unlocks the final journal in the Altar of the Heavens.
Battle[]
- Physical Counter Stance - Can be used at start of battle and after recovering from a break. Imparts self with permanent
Repel Phys. (The target will counter physical damage). Effect is replaced after using Magic Counter Stance at the end of the turn. Counters with Fiery Retort. - Magic Counter Stance - Can be used at start of battle and after recovering from a break. Imparts self with permanent Repel Elem. (The target will counter elemental damage). Effect is replaced after using Physical Counter Stance at the end of the turn. Counters with Fiery Retort.
- Fiery Retort - Deal damage to single target and inflict Fire Res. Down for 3 turns.
- Fiery Retort - Deal
- Attack - Deal standard physical damage to single target.
- Armor Break - Deal physical damage to single target. Impart Phys. Def. Down for 3 turns.
- Scald - Deal damage to single target.
- Kindling Flame - Deal damage to single target. Inflict Fire Res. Down for 3 turns.
- Repeated Slash - Deal damage to single target 2 time(s).
- Chain Scald - Deal damage to random target 2 time(s).
- Fireline Slash - Deal damage to Front.
Skills (NPC)[]
In the final battle of Bestower of Fame, Sazantos will join the fight as an NPC ally after a scripted event at the end of the third turn, acting with an effective speed stat of 0 starting at the end of turn 4, when he gets his first action. His actions vary between the following:
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
 Blue Flame
|
Restore HP (amount: 9999) and SP (amount: 999) of Front and Back and cure the permanent status ailments. Triggers at the beginning of the third turn of the battle. |
 Sacred Blaze Slash
|
Deal Phys. Sword damage to Single Foe (potency: ???). |
| Armor Break
|
Deal Phys. Sword damage to Single Foe (potency: 120) and impart Phys. Def. Down 10% (turns: 2). |
| Chain Lightburst
|
Deal Phys. Sword damage to Single Foe 2 time(s) (potency: ??). |
| Trifold Slash
|
Deal Phys. Sword damage to Single Foe 3 time(s) (potency: 65). |
| Sacred Blaze Saber
|
Deal Phys. Sword damage (potency: ???) and Elem. Light damage (potency: ???) to Single Foe. |
 Kindling Light
|
Deal Elem. Light damage to Single Foe (potency: ???) and lower Light Res. by ??% (turns: 4). |
| Sacred Flame's Blessing
|
Restore HP of Front (potency: ???). |
 Oracle of Order III
|
Impart Single Foe Phys. Atk. Down 20% and Elem. Atk. Down 20% (turns: 4). |
| Sazantos's attack pierces Lyblac's shield! | Sets enemy shield points down to 3. Triggers at the end of the turn after cutscene when enemy is below 25% HP. |
| Walk with the Flame
|
Revive fallen allies and restore HP (amount: 9999), SP (amount: 999) and BP (amount: 5) of Front and Back. Raise BP Recovery amount of Front by 5 (turns: permanent). Triggers at the end of the turn after cutscene when enemy is below 25% HP. Sazantos stops acting for the remainder of the battle. |
Skills (Playable)[]
"The Flameguard—wielder of the sacred flame and protector of the divine rings.
An honest man who has an unrivaled passion for justice. He shows no mercy for those who harbor evil in their hearts."
Battle Skills[]
| Skill | SP | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sacred Blaze Multi-slash
|
32 | Deal Phys. Sword damage to Single Foe 2 time(s) (potency: 90). Exploits fire and light weaknesses (damage calculation based on Phys. Sword attack). |
 Dauntless Spirit
|
24 | Impart self with Phys. Atk. of Self 20% and grant Damage Limit Up (effect: 50000) (turns: 3). |
| Heal Wounds (All)
|
28 | Restore HP of Entire Front Row (potency: 65). |
| Sacred Flame of Shroud
|
49 | Deal Elem. Light damage to All Foes 2 time(s) (potency: 80) and lower Fire and Light Res. by 10% (turns: 2). |
| Sacred Blaze Shield
|
73 | Raise Phys. Def and Elem. Def of Entire Front Row by 15% (turns: 2) and Dark Res. (turns: 2).
|
| Sacred Blaze Might
|
56→45 | Raise Phys. Atk. and Elem. Atk. of Entire Front Row by 15% (turns: 2).
|
| Heavy Sacred Blaze Saber
|
76→61 | Deal Phys. Sword damage to Single Foe 2 time(s) (potency: 135) and restore BP of self by 1. Exploits fire and light weaknesses (damage calculation based on Phys. Sword attack).
|
| Great Sacred Blaze Saber
|
58→46 | Deal Phys. Sword damage to Single Foe 3 time(s) (potency: 85). Exploits fire and light weaknesses (damage calculation based on Phys. Sword attack).
|
| Mass Sacred Blaze Slash
|
74→59 | Deal Phys. Sword damage to All Foes 3 time(s) (potency: 80). Exploits fire and light weaknesses (damage calculation based on Phys. Sword attack).
|
| Sacred Blaze Saber
|
74 | (Blessing ot the Lantern) Deal Phys. Sword damage to Random Foe 4 time(s) (potency: 45). Exploits fire and light weakness (damage calculation based on Phys. Sword attack).
|
EX Skill[]
| Skill | Description | Conditions | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
 Sacred Blaze Verse
|
Grant All Allies HP barrier (potency: 20% of user's max HP).
|
After turn 4. | 1 |
Passive Skills[]
Support Skills[]
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
 Blademasters of Eld
|
Raise sword damage of Self by 15% and Boost Lv. to Lv.2, Lv.4 and Lv.6 (Max). *BP cost is 1, 3, and 5, respectively. |
 Blazing Spirit
|
When using a battle skill, restore BP of self by 5 when breaking an enemy or a broken enemy is present. |
| Mission of the Guard Captain | (Blessing ot the Lantern) Start of battle: Recover 2 BP. |
 Dmg. Limit +10,000
|
Raise Self's Dmg. Limit by 10000. |
| Dmg. Limit +20,000
|
Raise Self's Dmg. Limit by 20000. |
Resilience Skills[]
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
 Dark Resilience
|
Raise own Dark Res. by 10%. |
| Dark Resilience
|
Raise own Dark Res. by 10%. |
 Light Resilience
|
Raise own Light Res. by 10%. |
Ultimate[]
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Sacred Blaze Legacy
|
Deal Phys. Sword damage to All Foes 3 time(s) (potency: 130→150). Exploits fire and light weaknesses (damage calculation based on Phys. Sword attack). Grant Great Flame's Blessing to Entire Front Row (turns: 1).
Great Flame's Blessing: Raise BP recovery amount by 5. |
Awakening[]
| Item | 
|
|
|
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Flameguard's Cloak
|
60 | 400 | 40 | Start of battle: Raise pwn BP recovery amount by 1 (turns: 3). (Does not stack with support skills and equipment effects.)
Limit from support skills and equipment effects: 30%. |
Quotes[]
- "Chosen One... It seems you caught on to me. Even way back then... You noticed the darkness inside me. But I must commend you for gathering the rings for me anyway." —Alternative dialogue after slaying Finis, if Sazantos is chosen as the mastermind in certain event in Bestower of Fame Prologue
- "Hear me, covetous humans. Abandon your worthless lives and join the rapacious dead! Becoming my puppets..." —Summoning fallen against the Guardians of Light
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
"Sazantos" is likely derived from the Spanish and Portuguese name "Santos," meaning "saint," "saintly," or "holy." His name also contains the Hebrew or Arabic "aza" (עזה in Hebrew, meaning "strong" or "powerful"; عزة in Arabic, linked to power, prestige, and consolation). Thus, Sazantos's name reflects his venerated status as a devoted knight of the Church and a mighty warrior.
Trivia[]
- Sazantos's sprite design is one of Shizuka Morimoto's favorites, along with the Ring Maidens,[1] which was the reason their sprites and scenarios were quickly finished.[2]
- In the battle against Lyblac, the witch refers to Sazantos as "false blood." This could be due to Sazantos being, in her terms, the inheritor of the Flamebringer's blood because his innate gift to summon the blue flame. As the story hadn't explained Sazantos' birth until Bestower of All, her apparent out of place comment could be taken as a foreshadowing of his origins.
- In the Bestower of All, he mocks his own origins through a resurrected Auguste, who tells the Guardians of Light the script of Sazantos being the offspring of a maiden Pharamea and Aelfric, the Flamebringer himself.
- Sazantos is the only character fought as a living enemy, hellfiend and hallowfoe.
- While the antagonist ringbearers have four themes in total (main, dungeon, battle extend, and boss), Sazantos has a total of eight, divided into his two versions.
- Futsuzawa Kanoshin and Suzuki Hiroto note that Sazantos is a particularly memorable character, as his reputation among players has fluctuated with the most intense ups and downs in the game. Hiroto feels a bit responsible, on account of Sazantos's bonus buff effect in the fight against Lyblac; it was originally set to +1 BP every turn, but Hiroto said, "This doesn't leave much of an impression, so we want to make it really strong," and they changed it to full BP recovery at all times.[3]
References[]
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 183.
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2020-2023, page 150.
- ↑ 『オクトラ大陸の覇者』闇落ちしたあの男との戦い…全授編のラスボスはいったい誰？【ネタバレインタビュー：全てを授けし者編】