When facing this Heartless, you’ll see it split into 5 clones. These clones will have a “real one” and four imposters. These guys will shuffle around quickly and you have to locate the real one and strike it. Hitting the real heartless between 1-3 times gives you a 10% drop chance at a Lightning Stone. And hitting the real one four times gives you a 100% drop chance. In KH1.5 these stones are used to synthesize the Moogle Badge, Gaia Bangle, and the Seven Elements shield for Goofy.
Lightning Stone Farming
The Black Ballade is a rare heartless that offers you a puzzle game, much like the various mushroom heartless. You’ll only find this Black Ballade found floating around the Bamboo Thicket in the Deep Jungle. It should spawn right when you enter, but if it doesn’t then you can hit the save spot in the campground tent, then leave the world and immediately re-enter. At first this Heartless will split into five clones of itself. Then the “real one” will jump a little in the air – and your job is to keep your eye on that one at all costs. They’ll shuffle themselves around the area & eventually fall into a line formation. Then it’s up to you to decipher which one is the real one, otherwise you’re in for an unavoidable attack. When you strike the real Black Ballade, he’ll instantly have a 10% chance to give you a stone. Or if you manage to hit the real heartless four times, then you’ll have a guaranteed drop. Note that your Lightning Stone odds do not improve by hitting the correct heartless 2 or 3 times. So the drop chances for hitting it 1/2/3 times correctly is always 10% – and you’ll need to hit the heartless 4 correct times to get the 100% drop. One strategy you can try here is continually pausing the game while the Ballades are moving. This way you can see each micro-movement and try to track them a little easier.
Lightning Stone Uses
Lightning Stones can be used in a bunch of synthesis recipes, all of them either on accessories or for custom weapons. Here’s a complete list of what you can synthesize with these stones: Moogle Badge: A hefty accessory that will boost lots of stats, including +6 HP, +1 MP, and +2 AP. You can craft this badge with List II and x1 Blazing Stone, x1 Frost Stone, x1 Lightning Stone, x5 Mythril, and x3 Orichalcum. Gaia Bangle: Buff out your defenses with a whopping +9 HP and +3 Defense (excellent for Goofy). This accessory can be made with List III and x5 Lucid Shards, x3 Lucid Gems, and x1 Lightning Stone. Seven Elements: A mighty shield for Goofy that’s only available in KH Final Mix/Remix. It’ll grant him +4 strength and +3 MP. You can synthesize this shield with List VI using x3 Blazing Stones, x3 Frost Stones, x3 Lightning Stones, and x5 Dazzling Stones.
Are Lightning Stones Worth Farming?
If any of the items above interest you, then it’ll be worth your time to go and gather a few stones. Once you manage to locate the Black Ballade and get its strategy down to a science, farming should be simple and easy. And you only need 5 stones to craft every item once, so it should only take a handful to tries if you know what you have to do.
