Here you go the next walkthrough in the current games. P.S. Make sure to bookmark where you left off.
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[A000] Walkthrough
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[A001] Nalbina Fortress
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The game's basic tutorial is designed in such a way that it will literally
hold your hand through even the most intuitive aspects of the game's
mechanics. Everything from how to speak to an NPC to how to fight your first
battle is spelled out in such a way that there's basically nothing I could
possibly add to it. Allow yourself to get familiarized with the controls as
you make your way up toward the first "boss."
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BOSS: Air Cutter Remora
-----------------------
Your only job is to balance standing next to the boss and attacking, with
monitoring your own hit points. Your party will almost certainly toss you a
heal if you're about to die, however if you still wish to take care of it
yourself, both the Item command and Magick allow you to use Potions and Cure
Magick respectively.
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Following the first boss fight you will have the chance to explore the
fortress. Use the minimap at the top right corner of your screen as a basis
for following all directions in this guide. You will find nothing down the
hall to the left, so proceed north a the first fork.
After a battle with a few Imperial Swordsmen, make a right just up from the
first fork in the path and you'll notice an odd-looking treasure chest. Open
it up to get a Potion. Continue up and make a left, then run all the way to
the furthest north corner of this area. Another chest is found here
containing another Potion.
Backtrack a little to the staircase leading up to the next floor. Make sure
to take advantage of the Save Crystal located here. Now ascend to the top
floor. Here you will be forced to take on three Imperial Soldiers alone. No
doubt you will at least have to cast Cure once during this battle. Follow the
linear hallways from here to reach your destination.
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[A002] Rabanastre
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As Vaan, you have a new mission: rid the waterways rats. You won't have any
difficulty taking them down, especially considering each of them is marked
with a red icon on your minimap. Following the completion of this task is a
rather lengthy cutscene.
Migelo's place (your destination) is relatively close to where you start. Of
course you're more than welcome to wander around at your own leisure, but
assuming you want to start getting your hands dirty right away, Migelo's is
the place to go. Head east and make a southward arc when you can until you
see an urn icon on your minimap. That's Migelo's.
Your task is to go find Kytes at the Sandsea. The Sandsea is located at the
north corner of the East End (where you are at the moment.) When you arrive
there a short cutscene occurs and you are introduced to the Notice Board
system.
In this case, the "Rogue Tomato" as it is known has been stopping couriers
from reaching their destination. If you would like to know more about the
Hunts, agree to Tomaj's offer to explain in more detail. He gives you a Clan
Primer which allows you to keep track of Hunts. In addition to this he also
offers an Orrachea Armlet. This leads to another detailed explanation of the
game's Licensing system.
Finally Vaan is awarded a Writ of Transit which will allow him to leave the
city. Make sure to open up the menu and equip the Orrachea Armlet you just
received, then exit the tavern and head to the southern end of this area.
Take the west exit and descend the large stairs leading east. Save your game
and continue east to the Dalmasca Estersand.
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[A003] Dalmasca Estersand
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Bear in mind that this is the first area in the game where you will have the
opportunity to casually fight enemies and built up your level and License
Points. Battles in Final Fantasy XII are not random, see feel free to engage
foes at your leisure.
Just a note about treasure chests in Final Fantasy XII: first of all, the
contents of treasure chests in this game are random unlike other Final Fantasy
games. Chests has a certainly probability of actually appearing or not, a
probability of having Gil or not, and a probability of having one item or
another (if not Gil). Most chests also respawn if you leave the area and run
far enough away before returning.
This makes it very difficult if not impossible to direct the player to chests
which may or may not even exist for them. For this reason I will make a
variety of comments regarding chests when appropriate, which ones should be
sought out (and which should even be avoided), but I will not direct the
player to every insignificant respawning chest.
So anyway, to get back on track, head toward the large rock on the southern
side and proceed northeast from there. Among the two trees with the pink
coloured leaves you will find your target, the Rogue Tomato.
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BOSS: Rogue Tomato - HP: 134 - LV: 2
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Use a Potion on Vaan (assuming he's hurt) before engaging the Tomato. After a
few strikes the Rogue Tomato will drop off the edge of the cliff and begin to
gradually regain its HP. Run around the side and follow the Rogue Tomato down
below where you can freely finish it off. For defeating the Tomato Vaan
receives some Galbana Lilies.
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If you're looking for somewhere to progress with the License system, I would
suggest starting with White Magick and Cure.
Make absolutely sure not to engage the T-Rex you see wandering around this
area. The colour of the HP bar above an enemy's head will indicate whether
the enemy will attack or not. Red is aggressive, green is neutral.
Feel free to explore the rest of this area to collect all the remaining items
of little to no consequence. With the Rogue Tomato taken down and your Hunt
complete, it's time to make your way back to the Sandsea. Be sure to save
your game along the way. Locate Kytes who is standing near the gate and speak
with him to trigger a cutscene.
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[A004] Rabanastre
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Run east and head south to reach the Sandsea again. Speak to Tomaj over by
the bar. Your reward for successful completion is 300 Gil, Potion x 2 &
Teleport Stone. He also suggest you go speak to a particular Bangaa in the
North End. The next Hunt which is available to you may be a little difficult
at this point, so let's put it off for the time being. All subsequent Hunts
from this point onward are entirely optional.
Assuming you followed my advice and spent your LPs on the White Magick skill,
it's time to go and actually learn the Cure spell. The wand icon on your
minimap just southwest of the Sandsea indicates where the Magick shop is
located. Speak to the person at the counter and learn the Cure spell.
Gil isn't exactly plentiful in this game, so you may want to hold off on
throwing it around on anything you are unsure you will actually use. Don't
forget to sell all the vendortrash you accumulated from all the mobs you
defeated in the Dalmasca Estersand. Anything you received as part of a quest
reward (Teleport Stone for example) I would suggest you hang onto.
Make your way to the North End of town (I don't believe specific directions
are necessary, just use your map). The building identified as ??? when you
select the North End is exactly where you want to go. Speak to the
Conspicuous Bangaa outside and tell him to let you in.
Speak to Montblanc at the top of the stairs in order to join the Centurio
Clan. Speak to him a second time and you will receive a special prize for
joining, three Potions. Leave the Clan Hall and head southwest to the Muthru
Bazaar. Continue from here to the Southern Plaza and take the southern exit
from there. You'll find the door to Lowtown (your destination) on the east
side of this area.
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[A005] Lowtown
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ZODIAC SPEAR ALERT - There is an interesting point to note here: a weapon
exists in this game which can only be obtained under very specific
circumstances. In order for this extremely powerful weapon to appear later in
the game, you must refrain from opening four specific treasure chests. The
first of these four chests is the one directly north of the entrance to
Lowtown. Its contents are totally inconsequential, don't touch it.
The facial portrait icon is Dalan's house, but you may want to leave it be for
the time being and explore Lowtown for the various treasure chests and item
vendors. Enter Dalan's house when you are ready.
Now, make your way south to where you originally entered Lowtown from. Exit
here and save your game. Before going to the Giza Plains it maybe in your
best interests to pick up a map. One can be purchased (among other maps) from
the Moogle at the northwest corner of the Southern Plaza. When ready, head
south from here to reach the Giza Plains.
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[A006] Giza Plains
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Keep in mind that while the majority of chests in this area are more "quantity
over quality," I still encourage you to seek them out yourself, if for no
other reason than to increase your item haul.
The first thing you should do is run straight south to reach the Nomad Camp.
Speak to the elder in front of the tent and then to Masyua, the lone nomad
behind the tent. Listen to the offer and it will trigger a scene with Penelo.
She joins Vaan which adds another member to your party.
Take the west exit out of the camp and Penelo will give you 3 Potions and 2
Tufts of Phoenix Down. Additionally this allows you to issue leader commands
and change the party leader. None of this is particularly complicated, no
doubt you will grow accustomed to it simply by experimenting with these
commands in the battles around the plains.
From here, make your way down past the enemies to the southern exit. Continue
south from here and open the chest below the bridge for a chance at obtaining
an Escutcheon. Be careful not to pull the Werewolf enemies a bit further
south of here. You can see by the bright red colour of their name when
targeted that you stand very little chance.
Your destination lies to the east. Speak with Jinn who is standing beside a
large stone. Explain the situation to him and he'll offer you a Shadestone
which can, in time, be transformed into a Sunstone. Save your game and begin
your trek toward the Dark Crystals.
Take the east exit and check the chest at the bottom right corner for a chance
at obtaining a Broadsword. Now make your way north. I would suggest you try
to avoid fighting too many of the neutral bunnies, they have a nasty tendency
to start fleeing and aggroing every other monster in the area. They also Cure
you from time to time which is nice.
Examine the Dark Crystal in this area to start filling up your Shadestone.
You will likely need to find two more after this one. There is a treasure
chest on the bridge directly to the east, however I suggest you avoid picking
it up for the time being. It will not respawn if you do, and there's a chance
it will have much better contents if you return later in the game.
Make your way north to the next section where you will find yet another Dark
Crystal. Assuming the Shadestone isn't entirely full, head west through the
Nomad Camp and then south to find the third Dark Crystal. Your Shadestone
should be full at this point (and be a Sunstone), however if you do need the
fourth one, you can find it in the far northwest section.
Your reward for completing this is 50 Gil, 2 Potions and 2 Teleport Stones.
Now it's time to head back to town and locate old Dalan again. Speak to him
to get the Crescent Stone. Leave Dalan's house and head all the way to the
north end of Lowtown. Head a little west and north again to find Storehouse 5
(it's just to the right of the Traveling Merchant).
Before going down into the Garamsythe Waterway, Kytes hands you 2 Potions and
4 Phials of Eye Drops which will undoubtedly come in handy. Open the door and
proceed down into the waterway.
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[A007] Garamsythe Waterway
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Use the Save Crystal to save the game, then climb the stairs and follow the
path north. The way to go here is relatively straightforward. There is a
basic chest on the western side, with a bridge crossing over to the east.
Continue east and cross a series of shallow water trenches. Keep an eye out
for any chests which may appear along here. Follow the path toward the
northeast where you'll find an exit to the next section.
Examine all the northern alleys for treasure chests as you make your way left.
Cross the makeshift metal bridge and ignore the stairs for the time being.
There is a staircase to the south leading up to a chest, which if it appears,
has a chance of containing an Oak Staff.
Ascend the stairs to the west and go down the opposite side. Go down the
stairs and turn around, this path also leads around to a corner on the western
side with a chest that has a very high probability of containing a Mage
Masher. Make your way back around and head for the northwest corner. It's
now or never, so if you're ready to enter the palace, then do it.
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[A008] Royal Palace
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ZODIAC SPEAR ALERT - Do not open the treasure chest in the furthest southeast
corner of the Cellars, the room just above the one where you start. You will
notice that two treasure chests are located in the southeast corner, and while
you should technically be able to open the one on the right (right when FACING
THE CAMERA SOUTH) without consequence, it has nothing special so I would
suggest you not touch either one to be on the safe side. Note that if you
open one and receive an Elixir, it means you blew it. Reset the game.
Save your game and take the map from the urn. Feel free to collect the rest
of the chests in the Cellars room for some half decent items. As you approach
the north end it will trigger a short scene. Attempt to climb the stairs
(which you are forbidden from doing) then speak to the Palace Servant nearest
the stairs. He'll help you get past.
Press the square button while standing where you are to call the guard.
Fortunately for you, the guard seems to be lacking in both intelligence and
peripheral vision, so "sneak" by him by running in an extremely conspicuous
circle along the wall and up the stairs.
There is a relatively simple puzzle here which gives you the ability to press
square and call the guards, gradually moving them from place to place so that
you don't actually have to come into contact with them. Make a right at the
first fork, run to the east side and call the guards to the north down toward
where you are standing. Now run back west toward where you entered.
At the first fork, press square to call the guards down, then run right. The
Hawk Signet here will not react with your Crescent Stone, so you need to keep
looking. Head east, make a left, then another left to find the Lion Signet.
Use your Crescent Stone here to lit the path to the secret chamber.
Proceed west to the fork and call the guard to the north down to where you
are. Run back east to the opposite side, then up, and finally left to safely
reach the hidden chamber. Approach the wall and press X to reveal the room.
There is a hidden switch on the wall at the far west end. After pressing it,
examine the suspicious wall to reveal yet another passageway. After a quick
scene Vaan receives the GODDESS'S MAGICITE. From this point all that is
necessary of you is to climb an additional set of stairs to trigger quite a
magnificent cutscene.
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[A009] Garamsythe Waterway
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A somewhat detailed explanation of the game's Gambit system awaits you at the
bottom of the stairs. Examine the corpses of the fallen soldiers and then
proceed south. Turn left, and inside the urn you will find the map to the
Garamsythe Waterway.
Head west, but ignore the stairs (unless you want a chest with no chance of a
decent item). Follow this path around and up the stairs. Continue around and
make your way south until you reach the next area. Oh the way down keep an
eye out for a chest which may appear in the eastern alley and contain a Hi-
Potion.
Keep moving south in this area and make a left at the bottom. You'll soon
reach a section of walkway which forces you to run around a sort of
rectangular shape (in addition to encountering your first large toad enemy).
Keep an eye out for any chests that spawn along this path, there's a chance
they could contain a Long Sword and Escutcheon.
There's a set of stairs at the end of this walkway. Climb up them and ignore
the next stairs going down as you proceed south to a dead end with a possible
chest. If it appears, it may contain Leather Armor.
Descend the stairs leading south and once again, up another set. The north
path here takes you down a walkway parallel to the one with the previous
chest, though this chest contains nothing special. Your destination lies
still further south from here. Proceed into the next area.
We are now in the East Sluice Control (as determinable by pressing the select
button and looking at the map). Follow this relatively linear path until it
leads you to a Save Crystal (which you should use). If you think you are
prepared for a battle, then simply descend the nearby stairs.
Four Imperial Soldiers drop down to do battle with both you and the mysterious
woman. While this is by no means a boss battle, there are a few important
points to keep in mind if you wish to stay alive:
I would suggest making Vaan the primary healer of this battle assuming you
have already had him learn Cure. While it will still be your responsibility
to target and attack enemies, make sure to keep an eye on the health bars (or
values) of the rest of your party.
Both Balthier and Fran should already have gambits which tell them to attack
the leaders' target (your target). The girl will attack whomever she pleases,
though the battle will be easier if everyone focuses on one target at a time,
so try to focus your attacks on any soldier the mystery girl is fighting.
After the battle, she (Amalia) joins the party as a guest character (similar
to a Final Fantasy Tactics guest in that you cannot control their actions).
With the battle complete it would probably be in your best interests to save
your game again (thus healing your party entirely).
Take the west exit and note the wide open battlefield-esque area, along with
the ensuing fight you saw coming from a mile away. The Flans serve as the
hardest battle you have faced thus far, but you should be prepared for it
regardless of how your party is setup.
The most important point to note is that the Flans have an extreme weakness to
Fire. Vaan may not yet have Fire Magick, but Fran comes with it by default.
Open the menu and change Fran's Gambit from attacking the leader's target, to
casting Fire on it.
Now do your best to target everyone on a single Flan and start attacking.
They will inevitably cast Blind on your party which can be dispelled using Eye
Drops. Make sure that you or some member of your party is configured to heal
when the HP of others gets low. The Flans too will heal each other, but you
should be able to rack up enough damage to easily offset this advantage.
With the Flans dead, I would once again suggest going back to the Save
Crystal. It saves you from having to use items to heal or cure the Blind
ailment.
Check both the east and west sides of the battlefield for chests that have
good probabilities of dropping a Leather Shield and Dagger. Take the west
exit and keep an eye out for a chest here which will inevitably contain a Tuft
of Phoenix Down.
Take the stairs to the south up to the higher level. Do not forget to change
Fran's Gambit back to a regular attack before pulling any enemies here. Now
proceed north to the next area.
Check the western paths for chances at finding a Cotton Shirt in one of the
chests. I find that it's very dangerous to take on some of the enemies in
this area, especially the ghosts, as they will teleport away and pull huge
groups of mobs to pound your party into submission. Just my experience. It's
always good to exercise caution.
Continue up and take the east path. Notice you will come to a section of
walkway that makes the shape of a "D" on your minimap. On the southeast side
of this "D" there is a chance of a treasure chest appearing with interesting
contents: the new Gambit "Foe: Targeting Self." If you consider the chance of
the chest appearing, the chance of it having an item, and the chance of the
item being the Gambit, it's only roughly 25%.
Keep in mind if you don't get it here, you can get it very easily later.
There is no point in this game where you have to worry about resetting over
and over until a chest drops a particular item, everything you can find in
this manner can still be found elsewhere.
Head east and use the Save Crystal in the middle of the Central Waterway
Control. When you're ready to fight the boss, examine the Overflow Cloaca on
the north wall of this room.
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BOSS: Firemane - HP: 3571 - LV: 7
---------------------------------
You'll find a surprising challenge awaiting with the game's first boss. A
hefty stock of healing items will be necessary to maintain your characters' HP
totals throughout the entirety of this battle.
Firemane attacks primarily with a couple of basic melee strikes that will
typically necessitate at least one Potion or Cure from some member of the
party. I would suggest placing Vaan on almost exclusive healing duties here.
When Firemane teleports around the field you may have to target the boss again
in order to keep people attacking. The most impressive (and most dangerous)
attack the boss will unleash is called Bushfire, and it hits each member of
your party for a substantial amount of damage while also having a chance to
inflict Poison. Be ready to use Antidotes, and remember to cycle between
party members while doing so, Vaan does not have to administer every item
himself.
Amalia is automatically configured to use a Phoenix Down if anyone dies, so
the only time you have to worry is if she herself dies (or if you run out of
Phoenix Down). She will also administer Potions frequently to injured party
members, but it's not enough to balance the damage, so Vaan will still have
his hands full doing the same thing. Let Fran and Balthier be your primary
sources of damage and you should do fine.
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[A010] Nalbina Dungeons
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Vaan finds himself along with Fran and Balthier down in the Nalbina Dungeons
Stockade. Let's begin by finding us a few Knots of Rust shall we? The first
is in a chest located down at the southwest corner. The second can be found
against a pillar on the northwest side of the raised area in the middle.
The final two Knots of Rust can be found in chests down in the southeast
corner. Once you have all four, use the Save Crystal on the north side, speak
to anyone you wish to talk to, and then take the north exit.
The battle you are dropped into is not a difficult one by any means. You
should have no trouble taking them down solely using firsts, however even so,
both Magick and those Knots of Rust are options for more powerful hits from a
distance. Cure if necessary, but you really shouldn't have any trouble.
ZODIAC SPEAR ALERT - Following the next scene you will come across all your
equipment and gear. After recovering them, make absolutely sure not to open a
single one of the chests here in the Confiscatory. Doing so will blow your
chances to find the Zodiac Spear later in the game.
Save your game and proceed east. Make tracks for the stairs at the southeast
corner, then follow the walkway to the west end where you'll find a chest that
may contain Chromed Leathers. Return to the previous floor and check the
various corners of the room for a number of treasure chests.
Follow the hall leading west up at the northwest corner. Make a left turn and
stay close to the southern wall to find a chest which may contain the Gambit,
Ally: HP < 60%. Another chest can be found directly north of this one.
Head for the centre of the north wall to find the floor Fran was speaking of.
A scene will interrupt you at this point. Proceed through the now-open door
to further the story.
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[A011] Barheim Passage
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Use the Save Crystal in the corner and save your game. Examine the Timeworn
Device in the centre of the room, then descend the stairs near the crystal and
speak with the creature below to get a Tube Fuse. Return to the previous
level and check the room at the far east to find three chests, each containing
a fair bit of Gil.
Use the Tube Fuse on the power relay in the middle to activate the lights.
Now pres the switch on the wall beside Burrogh while will deplete the charge
down to 70%. He explains that you need to maintain a good level of charge in
order to actually make it through this area.
Take the southern exit and prepare for another quick tutorial. Your primary
goal should be to eliminate the Battery Mimics as soon as possible so that not
only do you stop them from draining charge, you actually replenish some that
was already lost.
Assuming you have the Libra effect equipped you can see that the Battery
Mimics have a substantial weakness to ice magic. For this reason one of the
first things you will want to do whenever you see one is target it with
Blizzard magic.
Take down this first Mimic and continue around the path. As you progress down
the stairs, you may wish to ignore the small Mimics in favour of going after
the Battery Mimic at the bottom first. Defeat the enemies and proceed east.
There are at least two Battery Mimics in this next room, and not necessarily
close together. Quickly eliminate the first and then ignore all other enemies
as you run south to locate the second. Afterwards you are more than welcome
to run back and look for any chests you may have passed.
Ignore the first fork leading southwest (after disposing of the Battery Mimic)
and head straight south to another fork. The more eastern fork leads to
another battery Mimic and potential treasure chest. The other fork will take
you a little further south. When the opportunity presents itself, take the
other path back north to find an with the map to this area inside.
A pointless room with a couple more Battery Mimics awaits you to the west, you
are under no obligation to clear it. Your real destination lies to the south.
When you enter this area, quickly dispose of the first Battery Mimic you see.
The second hides in a room at the end of the east hall, though you will have
to circumnavigate a couple of Flan enemies in order to catch him quickly.
From this room you can climb the stairs and take sort of a northern exit off
to the side. This whole room is filled with Flans and battery Mimics. Your
goal is to make your way toward the far northwest corner where a gate switch
can be found at the top of the stairs. It require 30% charge to activate.
When you're ready to proceed further, what you need to do is return to Special
Op Sector 3 (the previous area) and head south.
Save your game and continue south. Keep an eye out for Mimics disguised as
chests. You will also watch to keep hunting down Battery Mimics whenever
possible. Use the slowly depleting charge to determine whether one is nearby,
and the red icons on your minimap to find them.
There are quite a few Battery Mimics in the area south of this one, three to
me exact. The best course of action to take is to begin by targeting both
that start near the entrance with a Blizzard spell and proceeding to wipe them
out for there. The third is located in a rather inconvenient place, you must
run south to the bottom of the ramp and then northeast to the top where the
final one is found.
Make sure to go back down and open all of the many chests found in this area,
including the possibilities of some equipment and new Gambits. Travel up the
slope to the northeast corner where you will find the exit. Save your game
and prepare for another boss battle.
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BOSS: Mimic Queen - HP: 4073 - LV: 10
-------------------------------------
Configuring your Gambits well is important for this fight. I would suggest
setting up Balthier and Fran in the following way: both should have the
primary duty of casting Cure when Ally HP < 50%. Balthier's secondary duty
should be to attack the leader's target while Fran's should be to cast
Blizzard on the leader's target, and her tertiary to attack normally.
The boss has a weakness to ice, but the purpose of only setting one of your
two party members to cast it is so that the Balthier still has the Mp to heal
when Fran's is depleted. Vaan can act to sort of balance it since ideally you
will be controlling him.
If you find that you do not have much charge to last you through this battle,
you may need to focus a little more energy on eliminating the small minions
that deplete it. For the majority however, the charge bar will only act as a
timer for you to defeat the boss herself.
Since it is difficult to find a decent camera angle, your best bet is simply
not to worry about it and just slash the abdomen repeatedly. The occasional
Blizzard spell from Vaan certainly won't hurt either. Keep the heals up and
watch out for the ground-smashing attack, and everything should work out fine.
Another suggestion (submitted by Richard) is to cast Slow on the boss which
cuts down her attack speed significantly.
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[A012] Dalmasca Estersand
==============================================================================
Take the west exit and explore this area for various treasures. You will find
that the enemies here are laughable easy. I would suggest that it is well
worth it to kill each one you see, if not for the pathetic amounts of
experience, then at least for the quick LPs and vendortrash items.
Don't let your guard down too quickly, around behind the rocky wall of the
northwest corner you will find a cockatrice named Nekhbet. Despite looking
almost no different from any other enemy you have faced, this creature is more
difficult than some bosses!
The damage from its attacks start at around 80 and just go up from there. It
has nearly 4000 HP and the ability to cast slow on your party. Be ready with
plenty of Phoenix Downs and make sure to give it your all because this
creature nets you more than 200 XP when killed.
Your destination is Rabanastre to the south, so that's the direction you
should be heading. Continue pounding the life out of defenseless wolves as
you make your way southwest toward the X on your map.
Bear in mind that you still don't stand a chance against the T-Rez roaming the
area, however if you're feeling exceptionally brave and happen to enjoy the
pleasant ambience of the game over screen, then by all means give it a try.
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[A013] Rabanastre
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It's time to catch up on everything you have missed. I would suggest the
first thing you do is take a trip to the East End and visit both the weapons
and equipment ships. Magicks couldn't hurt either. Once you're done
upgrading your equipment then it's time to move on to other tasks.
Since you only have Vaan in your party at the moment, I would suggest putting
off any new Hunts for the time being. One thing you will definitely want to
do is visit Montblanc in the Clan Hall. Montblanc has a nice little habit of
offering you a reward for every boss you take down.
In your case this includes not only the Firemane and Mimic Queen, but even the
Flan ambush from back in the waterway. You'll be awarded 150, 200 and 300 Gil
for each of these three bosses.
Now make your way down to Migelo's Sundries. There's a quick scene, but you
won't find Penelo there. Pick up some of the new items available here and
then head for the Southgate and the entrance to Lowtown. Enter Dalan's place
and speak with him.
Dalan gives you the Sword of the Order and instructs you to deliver it to a
man named Azelas. Locating him should not prove difficult (especially give
that it is marked on your map). Head for the northwest area and speak to the
Rabanastran sitting on the crate.
When Basch joins the party it's time to distribute the many License Points
that he comes with. Leave Lowtown, save your game, and make tracks for the
Sandsea tavern. A short scene occurs on your way there. Climb the stairs
inside the Sandsea to trigger another scene with Balthier.
Use the party menu to choose the three members you wish to fight with, then
prepare them accordingly. Before doing as Balthier says, I think this would
be a fine time to catch up on some Hunts. I imagine you could likely finish
the first four Hunts at this point.
Head for the Westgate of Rabanastre and then go north from there into the
Aerodrome. You will find Balthier near the top end standing on a set of
stairs leading down into a little viewing area. Tell him you're ready to go,
and that's that.
______________________________________________________________________________
==============================================================================
[A014] Bhujerba
==============================================================================
Feel free to poke your nose around the majestic sky city at your leisure,
there is no hurry to get to the mines. You'll find mostly the same shops here
as you would in Rabanastre. One thing you will certainly need is a map of the
place. That can be acquired easily from the Cartographers' Guild Moogle
standing right in the crossroads of Travica Way. Pick up a map of the mine
while you're at it.
You can see on that map that the entrance to the Lhusu Mines is found at the
northeast corner of the city. Make sure that's where you head once you're
done wandering around. Use the Save Crystal and proceed north into the mines.
______________________________________________________________________________
==============================================================================
[A015] The Lhusu Mines
==============================================================================
Enter the mines and watch the initial scene. Proceed west along the tracks
until the fist opportunity to head south presents itself. Continue south
along the road until it turns west. At this point you may go south again
(leads to two potential treasures, and a gated dead end) or continue west to
the end. Going south from this point will take you to the exit leading to the
next area.
Do note also that if you see a pillar of light erupting from the ground, avoid
it at all costs. This is a trap and it means you have the Libra effect on at
least one character. Those who do not have the Libra effect will not see
traps, but are still perfectly capable of tripping them if encountered.
Keep an eye out for a chance spawn of a miniboss enemy similar to the
cockatrice you fought earlier. There is a bat named Aerieel that spawns on
this bridge which can prove quite difficult for your party.
Continue west to reach the Transitway 1. There is a gate blocking the western
path, so take the northeastern route (follow the tracks, as opposed to the
other path, for a chest that by chance may containing a Killer Bow).
You need to be very careful with your pulls in the Shunia Twinspan. Up to
five or six skeletons can spawn right at the entrance to the bridge section
alone. Make sure to take them out little by little as they appear, and wait
until they are defeated before progressing further.
Enter the next area and follow the linear road around and up the stairs.
You'll find a number of chests in this next room. Head north through this
hallway to trigger another scene.
Balthier offers some sound advice here, and that is to run. You are not meant
to strike down these foes, so hold down the R2 button and get those legs
moving. You'll need to run through at least three or four areas before they
finally stop cashing you, at which point you can slowly grind your way back to
the beginning and exit in Bhujerba.
______________________________________________________________________________
==============================================================================
[A016] Bhujerba
==============================================================================
Climb the stairs and watch the scene. A little "minigame" in which your duty
is to increase Basch's notoriety through running around town shouting that he
lives.
No doubt you will find this task relatively easy. Simply run around town
standing amongst as many people as possible pressing the square button. The
one thing you do need to keep an eye out for are the NPCs titled "Informed
Sainikah." You can easily identify them from the helm they wear. Shouting
about Basch in their presence will drastically reduce your Notoriety meter.
Certain NPCs like "Parijanah" will increase the meter far faster than some
random nobody leaning against a wall. In fact I would go so far as to say
these are the only people worth speaking to. Note also that only NPCs with
the talkie icon above their heads will count.
The fifth Hunt is available on the Cloudborne Notice Board, though defeating
the monster is quite difficult at this point in the game. I would suggest
waiting at least until after the next area. You will return to this city
immediately after.
When you are ready to proceed, check your map for the destination marker and
make your way there. A lengthy scene will follow before you are transported
to the next area.
______________________________________________________________________________
==============================================================================
[A017] The Leviathan
==============================================================================
Vossler joins your party as a guest wielding an extremely powerful two-handed
sword. Save your game and exit the Port Launch. Throughout most of the rest
of the ship you will encounter various hallways blocked by a laser grid alarm.
Stepping through this grid will prompt a number of guards to appear and ambush
you. Do your best to avoid them whenever possible.
The Dreadnought Leviathan is a maze of hallways and dead ends. Fortunately
for you, a map is automatically given right at the beginning so it is never
very difficult to reach your destination. Rather than turning this section of
the guide into a mess of wests, norths, lefts and rights, I will instead allow
you to traverse the long (but relatively linear maze) yourself simply by using
the map. You will find it ends up being quite easy.
Navigate to the middle of the Airship Berith Access. Upon arriving you will
encounter a number of enemies, including a couple of more powerful Judge type
enemies. While you may be fighting six at once, the battle will end
immediately when the two Judges are killed, so I would recommend you focus all
of your attacks on them and just weather the beating you'll take from the
remaining foes.
For completing this challenge you are awarded the No. 1 Brig Key which works
on the door only a few feet away. Inside the brig you will find a Save
Crystal, an urn containing the System Access Key, and across from that a nice
Moogle willing to restock your inventory (for a price, of course).
Ashe is in one of the remaining two cells. Once you free her she will
automatically join the party. Now your goal is to get back to the Port
Launch, but once again your progress will be impeded by dead ends and alarms.
So many alarms in fact that enemies will seemingly come continuously. There
is a point where I would recommend just holding down R2 and fleeing the whole
way back. How much you want to fight depends entirely on how much extra
experience and LP you want to gather.
The one important thing to keep in mind is that before reaching the Port
Launch, make sure to heal your party and cure any lingering status ailments.
What follows is one of the first boss battles that doesn't come directly after
the use of a Save Crystal.
------------------------------------
BOSS: Judge Ghis - HP: 4120 - LV: 14
------------------------------------
Unlike the previous battle, I would suggest you take down his lackeys first
before focusing on Ghis himself. Ghis is one nasty son' bitch, pounding
anyone in his field of vision with a variety of attacks, all of them lethal.
You'll need someone on permanent healing duty this fight, but given how
quickly MP depletes, you might have to cycle who that person is.
If you do happen to have the MP to spare, I find that the Dark spell is very
effective, especially at the beginning for helping to quickly eliminate the
guards.
Ghis doesn't seem to have any discernable weakness, so I would suggest just
focusing on physical attacks and perhaps Quickenings if you've learned any by
this point. One positive aspect of this battle is that you don't actually
have to kill him, the battle should automatically end if you can manage to get
him down to about 25% HP. It's still difficult of course, but at least this
gives you some advantage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back in Bhujerba, this would probably be a fine time to undertake that fifth
hunt (though it will still be very difficult). Your main destination at this
point is Marquis Ondore's place, the same place you headed to before being
brought aboard the Leviathan.
______________________________________________________________________________
==============================================================================
[A018] Ogir-Yensa Sandsea
==============================================================================
You will find the sandsea just west of the encampment where you start. It is
made up of a series of large metal connecting structures, and of course, lots
of sand. Head south and climb up the first tower, then begin your
southwestward trek.
You will encounter a familiar face as you travel west between the towers here.
Climb down this tower to the ground below and eliminate any of the... "sand
people" there. While it may lead to a dead end, you will nevertheless want to
climb the west tower in order to find the map of the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea inside
of an urn.
Back on the ground again, proceed up the north ramp to the top of that tower.
Head west from here until you reach a point where (if you look at your map)
you will see that there are three possible branches you can take. The fastest
way to go is to head southwest and make tracks for the Yensa Border Tunnel,
but you'll find many battles and treasure among the towers in each of the
other directions as well. While you may not find anything described as "one-
of-a-kind", there is still appeal in taking the longer route, and thus it
remains your decision.
If possible I would suggest avoiding the middle path leading west. You're
liable to run into the level 45 elemental fire enemy. This enemy shouldn't
aggro, but I believe it automatically will if any Magick is cast. Regardless
of WHY it attacks you, the point is that should it choose to, you'll be
looking at 3000 damage a hit. That's game over right there. Steer clear.
Avoid the Zertinan Caverns for the time being. It is unlikely you will be
able to survive in there and it's not somewhere you need to be anyway. If
you're wondering, that's the name for the ??? location in the centre of this
area.
Assuming you made it to the southwestern Yensa Border Tunnel, you'll have a
chance to stock up and save your game before heading west again to the Nam-
Yensa Sandsea.
______________________________________________________________________________
==============================================================================
[A019] Nam-Yensa Sandsea
==============================================================================
There should be a fair number of chests in this area with some half-decent
loot, so I suggest you wander the border keeping an eye out for any of those
which happened to spawn. Over on the northwest side of this area you will
find a couple of bridges. Take the more southern of the two to find the map
of this area inside of an urn.
The more northern of the two leads ahead. You will now find yourself in an
area called the Withering Shores. There's a little out of the way trip you
can make now, but I highly recommend you do so. All you need to do is run
north from here, through the Urutan-Yensa Sea area to reach the other Save
Crystal encampment (called the Sandscale Bank on your map).
Arriving there you will find a Moogle who asks if you are interested in
offering assistance. He tells you about a giant tortoise he'd like you to
take care of. No problem. Backtrack west through the Urutan-Yensa Sea to
reach the Withering Shores again.
The difference between this visitor and your last one is that now a giant
tortoise named the Urutan-Eater occupies the area. Fortunately you have about
five or six "guests" assisting you with this battle, the same mobs you've been
beating down the whole time you've been out here.
Your real guest, Vossler, has a nasty tendency to focus his attacks on the
Urutan rather than the Eater. Hopefully you can get to him take aim for the
tortoise before too many of your allies have fallen. The tortoise will focus
primarily on them so there's a good chance if you can hit hard enough, you
really won't see any damage to your party until the thing is almost dead.
The sheer amount of defensive armour on this thing makes exploiting its
magical weakness (Wind) very appealing indeed. If you happen to have the Aero
spell at your disposal then use it like crazy. If not, you'll need to rely on
weak physical attacks (or Quickenings) to slowly deplete its health.
With the Urutan-Eater dead, it's time to make yet another trip north to the
Sandscale Bank. Speak to the Moogle there and then continue east back to the
Ogir-Yensa Sandsea. Climb the first ramp and a scene will occur. Afterwards,
head back west (again) and watch another scene.
Examine the flower that remains where the gathering took place to receive a
bunch of Eksir Berries. Speak to the Moogle twice to learn that a monster,
Garuda, is particularly un-fond of this flower. We'll keep that information
in mind and be able to put it to practical use soon enough.
Time to finally get back to the mission. Make tracks for the Withering Shores
where you fought the Urutan-Eater, and head west from there up the ramp.
Continue west to the next area, then climb down and cross one of the bridge
leading south.
As you head west from here, you will once again have two possible paths you
can take. The north path (blocked by a number of traps) leads to an ambush of
sand fish and also a dead end. There's a chest there with a chance of holding
the Gambit Foe: HP < 1000.
When you reach the Trail of Fading Warmth, there is an optional area full of
treasures and enemies you can explore if you wish. To reach the Simoon Bluff,
simply take the northeast path at the fork (as opposed to northwest.) Be very
careful of all the traps you encounter immediately upon entering the area.
This area is full of feathered fiends you may find a little more difficult
than what is typical of this area. Irregardless, it is doubtful you will have
any difficulty against them (assuming you don't aggro more than two or three
at a time.)
The one enemy of note in this area is a flying creature that you won't be able
to damage without the use of guns, bows or magic. It has a weakness to water
magic, and so the Water spell should do between 400 - 500 damage when used by
any proficient caster. Take this creature down for a whopping 2 LP! The
remainder of the area is populated by the same enemies as before and offers
quite a few chests to find. Be sure to look around.
Once finished in the Simoon Bluff, head back down and take the northwest oath
from the Trail of Fading Warmth. You'll find a Chocobo-mounted merchant just
before you reach the entrance to the tomb. While no Save Crystal is found
here, the game will automatically prompt you to save when you progress to the
next zone.
______________________________________________________________________________
==============================================================================
[A020] The Tomb of Raithwall
==============================================================================
--------------------------------
BOSS: Garuda - HP: 6754 - LV: 14
--------------------------------
Begin the battle by immediately using the Eksir Berries that you got for
finishing the Urutan-Eater miniquest. As the Moogle described, the Garuda
does not like them and the berries should deal a fair amount of damage to the
boss.
Once those are out of the way it's time to move on to ranged attacks (since
this boss flies you won't be able to hit it with melee weapon swings). It has
no elemental weaknesses so all Magick is equally effective here. Whoever is
wielding a gun (Balthier?) should be attacking normally and ideally with the
Silence Shot equipped so that you have a good chance of hindering the boss'
ability to basically do any damage to you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Climb the stairs ahead of you and use the Save Crystal. Touching the Ancient
Device will teleport your party to the inner section of the Tomb of Raithwall.
Head west, past the second device and down the small set of stairs. A scene
will trigger here and a giant Demon Wall will begin advancing on your party.
This wall is an optional boss, you are not expected to beat it, you are
expected to run. There is no shame in running like a coward to the end of the
hall, sweat dripping as you panic-strickenly try to mash the X button and
squeeze through the door, permanently etching your pathetic defeat in stone
for the rest of eternity.
For those dying to know if pitting themselves against such a powerful creature
yields any worthwhile rewards, let me just say now that it does. It does.
--------------------------------------------------
BOSS: (Optional) Demon Wall - HP: Too Much - LV: ?
--------------------------------------------------
It's going to be a hell of a task trying to take this guy down, but I know one
method (aside from hours of powerleveling) that should help you get through
the battle. That is of course, the biggest chain of back-to-back Quickenings
you can possibly muster.
You're going to need one of two things: either a lot of Ethers, or a
Quickening on each of your characters. This won't be difficult assuming you
(like myself) allow LP to pile up on the characters you don't use. Make sure
as many members of your (six person) party have Quickenings before the battle
begins.
The first thing to do (go figure) is to use a Mist Quickening. You're looking
at ideally trying to chain eight hits or more (though sometimes that's just
impossible). Actually I've seen six hit chains do more damage than 8 hits on
occasion, so there is a random element there as well.
4000 damage (or less) is bad. 8000 damage (or more) is great. 6000 damage is
acceptable. Use that as a gauge for how you are doing. I would estimate the
boss' total HP at around 20,000.
After the first Quickening, wait. Wait until someone is hit with the X-Zone
effect and removed from the battle. This will inevitably happen every time.
After that, start replacing that X-Zone'd person with whoever is on reserve.
Now use their Quickening, then sub them with another, use their Quickening,
etc. This should ideally yield four Quickenings without using any Ethers.
Boss still isn't dead? Resort to Ethers. Use them on anyone with low MP (so
it fills it to the max) and then use another Quickening. Given the randomness
of Quickening chains and damage, if you fail the first, second or even third
time, there's no reason you won't win on the fourth. Keep trying.
** An interesting point to note is that the boss' speed seems unaffected by
battle speed, thus increasing the battle speed to maximum should give you a
serious advantage (it won't make any difference while you are spamming
Quickenings.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the battle is over, don't worry about your reward just yet. Warp back
to the beginning and save your game, then proceed through the door at the end
of the hall where you fought the boss. Assuming you merely ran, it'll be the
same door.
-------------------------------------------------
BOSS: (Necessary) Demon Wall - HP: 10332 - LV: 16
-------------------------------------------------
The difficulty of the Demon Wall brings back memories of a similarly difficult
boss in Final Fantasy VII, however this time around we have a few more tools
at our disposal to ease the plight. Your goal is to stop the boss (by killing
it) before it is able to either cut your party down, or smear them into a thin
paste against the wall.
First and foremost are the Gambits you will need to set up. This boss will
constantly inflict negative status ailments on your party, the most
debilitating of which is Sleep. A sleeping party member is one more party
member not mowing this boss down before the inevitable paste-ing.
Create a Gambit to automatically use an Alarm Clock on the sleeping character,
or (if you find yourself in my shoes) and have none, create a Gambit for your
weakest character to attack any sleeping party members. Just remember you may
need to manually do it yourself should the character with the Gambit succumb
to Sleep.
An interesting aspect to this battle are the torches on the side of the path.
When you examine and touch them, they will either speed up or slow the boss'
movements. Obviously this can be either good or bad. I'm not sure whether
the effect is random, but I will just say that in my case (starting from the
door and toward the boss) the THIRD set of two both slowed the boss down. You
can experiment with them as you see fit, just remember you can still easily
take him out without the help of torches.
Offense-wise, just stick with the usual tricks. MP should be saved for
powerful Cure spells like Cura. Avoid Cure like the Plague in this battle.
If you want a quick heal, use Potions, if you're going to die, use Cura. You
don't have the time to sit around charging weak spells like that.
Additionally, since the boss' defense is relatively average, your best bet for
the most damage in the least amount of time is simply normal physical attacks.
Finally, I would note that this is a perfect battle to let loose some insane
chained Quickenings right at the beginning. They may deplete your MP, but
with any luck you'll be looking at between 5000 - 10000 damage (assuming you
chain at least a few of them.) With that much of a punch from the start, you
won't even need the lost MP to heal.
** As I mentioned above from those who did not fight the previous boss, an
interesting point to note is that the boss' speed seems unaffected by battle
speed, thus increasing the battle speed to maximum should give you a serious
advantage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, for those of you who managed to defeat the first boss, it's time to claim
your reward. For those who didn't, skip ahead a few paragraphs to the dashed
line. One would think that defeating a powerful enemy would suffice on its
own, but no, there is one final obnoxious obstacle you must overcome (that
obstacle being your own impatience).
Head back to where the first wall was originally located and examine the jewel
in the wall. Doing so will raise the platforms on both the north and south
sides of this room, connecting the staircases which previously led to dead
ends. Now return to the entrance and save your game. This step is important.
Regardless of which path you choose, either the north or the south path, they
both lead to the same place eventually. I am of course talking about the
paths you just connected by touching the jewel. Follow one of them west,
through the next room and down the stairs.
At the bottom here you will encounter a number of fire blob monsters. Hold
the R2 button and ignore them. Make your way to the exact middle of the path
where the blobs spawn (between the two staircases.) In this location, there
is a 70% chance a treasure chest will spawn.
If you don't see a chest here, press start, return to the title screen and try
again. If you DO see a chest, open it. You have a 45% chance of receiving
Gil from the chest. If you get Gil, press start, return to the title screen
and try again. If it's not Gil, you have a 50% chance of receiving a Holy
Mote. The Holy Mote is completely useless. If you get it, press start,
return to the title screen and try again.
Now you understand the patience factor.
The remaining 50% of the time the chest will contain a Demonsbane. The
Demonsbane is a one-handed sword with 59 attack power. To give that value
context, keep in mind that the average weapon at this point in the game has an
attack power in the mid 20's. That means more than double damage. That means
you'll go from doing roughly 150 per strike, to more than 400. That is your
reward.
Not only that, but the chest actually respawns. Once you get the Demonsbane,
why not run back, save the game and try for another. For the mathematically
challenged, that is a 15.75% chance of getting the Demonsbane every time you
reset, or 1 in every 6.34 tries. Good luck.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From where you fought the second Demon Wall, climb the stairs and go through
the west door. Watch the scene then descend the stairs and take the map of
the Tomb of Raithwall out of the urn.
There are three Way Stones here, one blue, one red, and one green. The blue
one takes you back near the entrance, so use that one if you wish to heal and
save. Neither the green nor the red Way Stones work at the moment, so you
will have to wait. Head down the stairs to the south.
Before long you will have a choice of two paths. Ignore the stairs leading
down and continue to follow the path you are on all the way around to a door
leading south. Make a right (west) in this new area and follow the path from
here. The path remains entirely linear and should lead you to a row of three
chests containing variety of items (or Gambits).
Just a few rooms further you will find a green jewel in the wall which
activates the green Way Stone and (partially) lowers the Mystic Altar. It
also triggers a battle with some Lich enemies. After dispatching them, use
the green Way Stone to return to the central platform.
This time take the north route, and again, ignore the first staircase leading
down assuming you want to get the treasures. If not, the staircase route is a
little shorter. Make a right (east) and just follow this linear path, past
the chests, to reach the middle room.
Again, touch the jewel and battle your way through some Zombies. After the
battle is over, it is of the utmost importance that you use this Way Stone,
followed by the blue Way Stone to reach the entrance and save again. There is
a boss coming up and you're going to be shit out of luck if any of your
characters still have some of that Oil lingering on them.
Head back and take either the green or the red Way Stone to the large door
that you opened. There is a quick scene in the next room and all that remains
is a simple path with no enemies to the boss. Keep an eye out at the bottom
of each staircase for chests (that don't respawn) that c
