V. WALKTHROUGH AND BATTLE STRATEGIES - SUBQUESTS 00sub ******************************************************************************** Final Fantasy Tactics boasts a number of optional subquests, all of which become available at various points in Chapter IV. In addition, some of the subquests require you to have completed other subquests first. Specific requirements for each quest are listed with the walkthroughs below, but I've also provided this cheesy ASCII chart to demonstrate how they flow together. Agrias's Birthday --------> Recruiting Cloud (beginning of Chapter IV) / / Gollund Colliery ----------> Nelveska Temple (beginning of Chapter IV) (after Fort \ Besselat) \ ------> Lionel's New Liege Lord Recruiting Balthier (after Mullonde) (after battle at Bervenia) Optional Battle at Dorter * (after clearing Limberry, before Eagrose) Disorder in the Order (after Mullonde) Midlight's Deep (after Mullonde) * The battle at Dorter that occurs after Limberry is technically optional, since you can walk around it. But since most players are likely to encounter it during the regular course of play, I've covered it up in the MAIN walkthrough (it's Battle 48), NOT here. Once a quest becomes available, it never goes away. There's no "time limit" on when you can complete these quests -- unless you dismiss one of the characters needed for the quest, of course. (The one exception is that optional Dorter battle mentioned above, but it's not a "real" subquest and you don't really get anything from it.) Walkthroughs for all the quests are below. %%%AGRIAS'S BIRTHDAY%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%agr QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: At beginning of Chapter IV REWARDS: Tynar Rouge The Agrias's Birthday event allows you to obtain the Tynar Rouge, a great accessory for female characters. It can occur on the date of 1 Cancer, which is Agrias's birthday. In order to start this event, you must meet these requirements: - Agrias, Mustadio, Alicia, and Lavian must still be on your team roster. - You must have at least 500,000 gil in your War Funds. Only 50,000 of this will be spent as part of the quest, but you must have 500,000 available. - You must be in Chapter IV. (This event can be completed at any point during Chapter IV, though.) Once you've met the above requirements, you must land on a town, city, or castle (i.e., any place with a store) on the world map on 1 Cancer. There are three towns that DO NOT work for this: Eagrose Castle, Merchant City of Dorter, and Zeltennia Castle. (These locations have their own new sidequests.) Any OTHER town or castle BESIDES those three is fine. Assuming you meet the above requirements, if you move onto one of the proper locations on 1 Cancer, you'll see a scene in which Mustadio buys Agrias the Tynar Rouge lip rouge for her birthday. (It's possible that on 1 Cancer, you might move onto a town that triggers another cutscene, like the opening of Midlight's Deep. You should still be able to trigger the Agrias's Birthday event by trying to move away from the town after the first cutscene has ended.) The 50,000 gil cost of the rouge will be subtracted from your War Funds. It's worth the expense, though, as the Tynar Rouge is a great accessory. It can be equipped by any female character (not just Agrias) and grants a permanent Shell, Protect, and Haste, as well as a bonus to your attack and magick strength. 1 Cancer follows after 32 Gemini. The easiest way to ensure that you land on a town on that date is to simply move back and forth between Gollund Coal City and Lesalia. Both of these cities work for activating the event, so you're guaranteed to be in the right place on 1 Cancer. If you somehow miss the date and don't end up on a town on 1 Cancer, don't worry; the event never "expires." You can just wait until all the months cycle through and try again the next time 1 Cancer comes up, as long as you still meet the requirements listed above. (Fortunately, the villains are more than happy to postpone their plans of world domination while you spend a year shopping for makeup.) Although this event never expires, it can only be completed ONCE, even if you cycle through the calendar to Agrias's birthday again. You can only get a single Tynar Rouge. %%%GOLLUND COLLIERY%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%col QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: At beginning of Chapter IV REWARDS: Beowulf, Reis [Holy Dragon], and Construct 8 join the party In the Gollund Colliery quest, you'll recruit three new characters: Beowulf, Reis (in dragon form), and Construct 8. It's the first in a series of three quests, as it leads into the Nelveska Temple and Cloud quests. To complete ANY of these quests, you must still have Mustadio, so don't dismiss him or let him get permanently killed! (It doesn't matter if he was KOed as long as he didn't permanently die.) ---STARTING THE QUEST--- To start the quest, once Chapter IV begins, go to the Clockwork City of Goug. Besrudio, Mustadio's father, will show you an iron sphere he's found. (If you've already seen this scene, you don't need to repeat it.) Now go to the Mining Town of Gollund, in the center of the map. At the Tavern in Gollund, listen to the rumor "The Haunted Mine." You will be asked to fight a monster in the coal mines. Leave the bar. Nothing will happen at first, but go north to Lesalia. As soon as you arrive here, Ramza will automatically go into the Tavern and learn more about the coal mine job. He agrees to take it. On the way out, Beowulf will stop you and ask you to take him with you. !!! CAUTION !!! When Beowulf asks you to take him with you, choose the SECOND option to sign him up. If you choose the first option and reject his assistance, he'll leave forever and you'll be permanently locked out of completing any more of the Cloud Subquest! Don't speed through the dialog so fast that you choose the first option by mistake. !!! CAUTION !!! GUEST: Beowulf [Libra] - Templar, lv. based on party's - Bravery 40, Faith 50 Equipment : Random Abilities : Spellblade, other abilities random You may want to equip Mystic Arts as Beowulf's second ability, since he starts with a bunch of Mystic Arts magicks learned. ---PREPARING FOR BATTLE--- You'll see that the Mining Town of Gollund has turned red, indicating that there will be battles when you return there. However, as with Lionel Castle in Chapter II, you can pass *through* Gollund to other locations as long as you don't click on Gollund itself. Before you leave Lesalia, check the Outfitter. Depending on how far you are through Chapter IV, you may be able to buy Beowulf some better equipment. Equipment that protects you against ice will be especially helpful in the upcoming battles, so you may also want to pick up some Ice Shields or White Robes if you don't have any in your inventory. You'll have to go to a non- castle town to buy the robes, but don't go to Gollund since it will trigger the battles! Ideally, try to load up with both some Icebrands and other swords. The ice damage from the Icebrands will be effective in some battles here, but there are also some monsters that absorb ice. Save your game--there's an extended series of battles coming up--and return to Gollund, where you'll be forced into entering the Gollund Colliery. You have to fight through three areas in the snow. ---Gollund Colliery Battle 1: Gollund Colliery Floor---------------------------- YOUR FORCES: 1st Squad - Ramza, 2 others 2nd Squad - Beowulf [guest], 2 others ENEMY FORCES: Chemist* (male) Chemist* (male) Chemist* (male) Chemist* (male) Chemist* (male) * The Chemists' levels depend on the highest level on your own roster. VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, recruit, or Vampirize all enemies LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 11 x 11 Snow Snowstorm 95% Soil Sinkhole 3% Wooden Floor Will-o'-the-Wisp 2% --STRATEGY-- For some reason, you are being attacked by a large band of Chemists. (Look out; there's one hidden under the staircase right next to where you start!) Since the Chemists exclusively fight with guns, there's no need for any type of magick defense. And since guns always have a 100% hit rate, boosting your evade rate is pointless; leave behind the cloaks and shields and go for dual- wielded or two-handed weapons. Close-range reaction abilities like Counter are also pointless; choose reaction abilities like Auto-Potion or Adrenaline Rush that are useful at any range. The key to this battle is to close the distance between you and the Chemists as quickly as possible. Fast characters or those with a high Move rate will be good for this. You can also use Arithmeticks, Summons, Jump, or your own guns to hit from a distance. Since the Chemists all have the Items ability, they can keep healing themselves and reviving their KOed comrades, which gets a little annoying. If you have Orlandeau and/or Meliadoul, using their Crush abilities to break the Chemists' armor will reduce their maximum HP and limit the amount they can heal themselves. (Rend and Steal abilities work for this, too, but they often miss and don't deal any direct damage!) You can also use Summons to strike a whole area and wipe all the critical-HP Chemists who have just been revived. Reviving any of your *own* KOed can also be difficult--because the Chemists have guns, they'll immediately shoot and KO any character with critical HP. You'll need Arise to effectively revive characters. Of course, if a KOed character's death counter is getting low, you may need to toss a Phoenix Down or Raise on them anyway--even if they just KOed again, you've at least reset their counter and saved them from permanent death. You do NOT need to keep Beowulf from getting KOed in this or the subsequent battles. Since this is a mining area, all the Battle Trophies and Treasure Hunter items around here are Mythril items. These are absolutely worthless at this point in the game, so there's no reason to go Treasure Hunting here. BATTLE TROPHIES: Mythril Bow, Mythril Shield --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 0, Snow POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 2, Up: 2 (height: 4, Wooden Fl.) Gold Needle Mythril Knife none Left: 5, Up: 3 (height: 0, Soil) Gold Needle Mythril Sword none Left: 6, Up: 9 (height: 7, Snow) Gold Needle Mythril Gun none Left: 1, Up: 10 (height: 14, Snow) Gold Needle Mythril Bow none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Between battles, equip any Icebrands and Glacial Guns you own. ---Gollund Colliery Battle 2: Gollund Colliery Slope---------------------------- YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Beowulf [guest], 4 others ENEMY FORCES: Behemoth King* Behemoth* Thief* (male) Thief* (male) Chemist* (male) * These enemies' levels depend on the highest level on your own roster. VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, recruit, or Vampirize all enemies LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone WEATHER: Snowstorm (ice damage + 25%) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 13 x 12 Snow Snowstorm 99% Obstructed -- 1% --STRATEGY-- This battle has a similar setting as the previous one, but there's only one Chemist and, instead, two Thieves and two behemoths. (The Behemoth King is hiding in the cubby-hole behind the Thief near your start position.) With a more conventional assortment of enemies, this should actually be a more straightforward battle. The Chemist here has a Glacial Gun that you may want to steal -- though if he happens to start with the Safeguard ability, you're out of luck. He can do quite a bit of damage using the gun and you can't reach him to attack right away, but equipping Ice Shields will protect you from the damage. The Thief on the top level has a tendency to just sit in the corner until you come very close, making him a sitting duck for magick or Jump attacks. The snowstorm here boosts the power of ice attacks, including ice-elemental weapons like Icebrands and Glacial Guns. Since the Behemoth King is a somewhat rare monster, you may also want to Entice or Tame it onto your team. Alternately, Poach it and you'll score either an Artemis Bow or a Cherche perfume. BATTLE TROPHIES: Mythril Knife, Mythril Spear --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 18.5, Snow POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 11, Up: 9 (height: 2, Snow) Gold Needle Mythril Shield none Left: 7, Up: 1 (height: 0, Snow) Gold Needle Mythril Armor none Left: 2, Up: 5 (height: 6, Snow) Gold Needle Mythril Helm none Left: 1, Up: 1 (height: 18.5, Snow) Gold Needle Mythril Vest none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before the next battle, de-equip any ice-based weapons you're using, as you'll face Blue Dragons that absorb ice damage! ---Gollund Colliery Battle 3: Gollund Colliery Ridge---------------------------- YOUR FORCES: 1st Squad - Ramza, Beowulf [guest], 2 others 2nd Squad - 2 others ENEMY FORCES: Blue Dragon* Blue Dragon* Pig* Chemist* (male) Chemist* (male) * These enemies' levels depend on the highest level on your own roster. VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, recruit, or Vampirize all enemies LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone WEATHER: Snowstorm (ice damage + 25%) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 13 x 11 Snow Snowstorm 94% Flagstone Contortion 3% Obstructed -- 3% --STRATEGY-- This time, you're fighting two Chemists, two Blue Dragons, and a dancing pig. The Pig is safe to leave 'til last; it can't do any harm. The Blue Dragons, however, can and WILL harm you. Equipping Ice Shields will defend against their Ice Breath attack, but even their physical attacks are strong. The Blue Dragons are weak against fire, so use fire attacks for extra damage. Do NOT use ice attacks (including Geomancy, the Icebrand, and the Glacial Gun), as the Blue Dragons will absorb the ice and gain HP! Special sword techniques are your best offense (as usual). If you Entice the Pig to your team, you can breed and Poach pigs for great items, so this is a great opportunity to recruit one! If you already have a Pig on the team, you can just axe this one. BATTLE TROPHIES: Mythril Sword, Mythril Armor --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 2, Snow POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 8, Up: 2 (height: 8, Snow) Gold Needle Mythril Gun none Left: 11, Up: 0 (height: 3, Snow) Gold Needle Mythril Knife none Left: 10, Up: 5 (height: 8, Snow) Gold Needle Mythril Sword none Left: 3, Up: 6 (height: 5, Snow) Gold Needle Mythril Bow none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the three battles, you'll reach the Coal Shaft. The monsters here are WEAK against ice, so it's also a good idea to re-equip any Icebrands or other ice weapons that you have. ---Gollund Colliery Battle 4: Gollund Coal Shaft-------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Beowulf [guest], Reis [guest], 3 others ENEMY FORCES: Syneugh* (Archaeodaemon) Plague Horror* Plague Horror* Plague Horror* Ochu* Ochu* * These enemies' levels depend on the highest level on your own roster. GUEST: Reis [Pisces] - Holy Dragon, lv. based on party's - Bravery 31, Faith 32 VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, or recruit all enemies LOSS CONDITION: Reis is KOed or Ramza dies WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 18 x 6 Wooden Floor Will-o'-the-Wisp 44% Obstructed -- 32% Soil Sinkhole 22% Flagstone Contortion 1% Stone Outcropping Tremor 1% --STRATEGY-- You need to keep Reis, the Holy Dragon, alive in this battle. Be sure to bring someone who can heal her. In order to get into Reis's area, you need to climb up onto the upper level and pass through the narrow doorway. If you use jobs or accessories that get your Jump score up to 4, you can jump directly up onto the ledge, which helps you close the distance quickly. Otherwise, you'll have to take the long route up by using the stairs behind where your party starts. The Plague Horrors will turn you to stone or cast Doom on you if given the chance, so kill them first -- both the Plague Horrors and Ochus are weak against ice, so use ice attacks! If the enemies get lined up in the narrow passage, use Shockwave (Monk) or Divine Ruination (Agrias/Orlandeau) to hit the whole line of them. Reis will probably also rip into them with her Ice Breath. You may also want to try poaching the Plague Horrors. They sometimes yield the Zwill Straightblade, the best knife in the game. After taking out the Plague Horrors, go after Syneugh. (Reis should be able to handle the two Ochus by herself.) Make sure to keep Reis healed. Syneugh uses Gigaflare a lot, which hits a wide area but isn't nearly as powerful as it looks (although it does do a number on the frame rate ^_^). It also hits his own teammates if they happen to be standing in your vicinity! Syneugh doesn't have very much HP; if you have Orlandeau, he might able to kill Syneugh in one shot. This battle isn't really as tough as it may look -- just make sure Reis stays healed! BATTLE TROPHIES: None --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 0, Soil POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 0, Up: 0 (height: 0, Soil) Remedy Mythril Vest none Left: 4, Up: 3 (height: 4, Flagstone) Remedy Mythril Shield none Left: 1, Up: 7 (height: 3, Stone Out.) Remedy Mythril Armor none Left: 3, Up: 15 (height: 0, Soil) Remedy Mythril Helm none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After this battle, you'll get the Aquarius Zodiac Stone, and Reis and Beowulf will offer to join you. Sign them up! Both are required for later quests, so be sure to keep them alive. Reis is not that great (at least for now), but Beowulf IS. In particular, shoot for learning his Vengeance and Chicken abilities. Chicken does a HUGE drop on enemy Bravery and frequently turns them into a helpless chicken, while Vengeance is a potent attack with a long range. ---CONSTRUCT 8--- Now that you've got the Aquarius Stone, return to Goug. You will put in the Aquarius stone in the iron sphere, which transforms into Construct 8. A comical scene will follow, and then another new character, Construct 8, joins you. Construct 8 is more like a monster in that it can't change jobs, but it's super-strong anyway. It has a long-range laser attack, an inherent Counter, and is impervious to Faith-based magicks, all status conditions except Confuse, and most elements. However, it IS weak to lightning attacks that do not involve Faith. ALLY: Construct 8 [Gemini] - Automaton, lv. based on party's - Bravery 70, Faith 0 Abilities : Tasks, Counter, Defense Boost Immune : All negative status except Confuse, all elements except Lightning and Water Weakness : Lightning ---NEXT QUEST BEGINS--- On the way out of Goug, if you've progressed sufficiently far in the game, you'll get another scene in which Besrudio puts together another device that requires the Cancer Zodiac Stone. If you've finished up Fort Besselat, you can now begin the Nelveska Temple quest, further below. %%%RECRUITING BALTHIER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%balt QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After completing battle at the Free City of Bervenia REWARDS: Balthier joins the party, Ras Algethi gun, Mirage Vest Balthier from Final Fantasy XII makes an appearance as an optional cameo character you can sign up for your team. Any time after completing the battle at the Free City of Bervenia in Chapter IV, visit either the Magick City of Gariland, the Mining Town of Gollund, or the Royal City of Lesalia. Read the "Rash of Thefts" rumor. (You only need to read this rumor at ONE of these three cities, not all three!) After you've read "Rash of Thefts," go to Dorter and visit the Tavern there. Read the new rumor here ("A Call for Guards") that will have appeared if you've read "Rash of Thefts." It seems like nothing has happened, but return to the map and try to leave Dorter. You'll get into kicked into a battle (though not without a lengthy FMV intro to Balthier first). ---Balthier Subquest Battle: Dorter Slums--------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Balthier [guest], 3 others ENEMY FORCES: Thief (lv 30, male) Monk (lv 28, male) Archer (lv 31, male) Archer (lv 29, male) Archer (lv 27, male) White Mage (lv 28, female) GUEST: Balthier [Leo] - lv 35 Sky Pirate - Bravery 78, Faith 60 Equipment : Ras Algethi, Thief's Cap, Mirage Vest, Germinas Boots Abilities : Piracy VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, recruit, or Vampirize all enemies LOSS CONDITION: Balthier is KOed or Ramza dies WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 16 x 10 Roof Wind Blast 39% Soil Sinkhole 36% Ocean Torrent 11% Grassland Tanglevine 9% Coffer Will-o'-the-Wisp 3% Flagstone Contortion 3% --STRATEGY-- Balthier will help you out here as a guest. The bulk of your team will start away from Ramza and Balthier, so it may be helpful to bring characters with a high Move range or guns, so that they can join the fray quickly. You'll need to make sure Ramza doesn't get separated and surrounded. Balthier won't fight on the frontlines, but he has a super- strong gun and will assist from the rooftops. Unless Ramza gets surrounded, this should be an easy battle. BATTLE TROPHIES: None --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 1.5, Soil POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 0, Up: 4 (height: 1, Soil) Antidote Leather Armor none Left: 6, Up: 1 (height: 9, Roof) Echo Herbs Mythril Knife none Left: 4, Up: 12 (height: 3.5, Grassl.) Eye Drops Clothing none Left: 7, Up: 14 (height: 1.5, Soil) Phoenix Down Longsword none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afterwards, you can sign Balthier up for your team. He's basically a combination of Mustadio (he has all of Mustadio's Aimed Shot abilities) and a Thief, but he has better stats and a wide range of usable equipment (including polearms, knight's swords, guns, heavy armor, and more). He also has one unique ability of his own: Barrage. Barrage allows him to attack four times in a row for 1/2 damage each time, essentially allowing you to do double damage. Barrage can't be evaded or blocked with Shirahadori, making it a very potent offensive ability. Balthier's "Plunder" abilities are also a little better than regular Stealing; when it comes to stealing equipment, a Plunder is 10 percentage points more likely to succeed than a Steal. (So, if a Steal would have, say, a 36% success rate, Plunder will have a 46% success rate, for instance.) Overall, Balthier is a great character and definitely worth a spot on your roster. Balthier also comes equipped with a Ras Algethi gun and Mirage Vest, two items you can't find anywhere else! Both are quite strong, so even if you don't plan on using Balthier, you should at least give his gear to someone else. %%%NELVESKA TEMPLE%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%nel QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After clearing Fort Besselat and completing Gollund Colliery quest. (Must also buy flower in Sal Ghidos, see below) REWARDS: Reis returns to human form, various items found with Treasure Hunter ---QUEST REQUIREMENTS--- In order to begin the Nelveska Temple quest, you must first have finished the battles at Fort Besselat in the main storyline, as well as having completed the Gollund Colliery quest above. Beowulf and Reis the Holy Dragon must also still be on your team. When you first reach the Trade City of Sal Ghidos during the main storyline, you'll be asked to buy a flower for 1 gil from Aerith. Make sure you choose the SECOND option to buy the flower. You'll need to buy this flower in order to continue with the quest. If you fail to buy the flower when asked, you do NOT have a second chance to get it and unfortunately can't continue with this quest :( ---BEGINNING THE QUEST--- Once you've got the flower, go down to Goug and you'll see a scene where Besrudio presents another device unearthed from the tunnels; this one requires the Cancer Zodiac Stone. (If you've already seen this scene, you don't need to go back to Goug.) Now go back up to Zeltennia Castle. Go to the tavern and listen to the "Cursed Isle of Nelveska" rumor. This will open up a new path on your map from Zeltennia to Nelveska Temple. Although you can open up the route to Nelveska as soon as you reach Zeltennia, in order to actually trigger the battle there, you must have seen the scene at Goug where Besrudio presents his weathervane-like device. ---MODIFYING YOUR BRAVERY--- Before you head up to Nelveska Temple, you'll want to prepare. The battle at Nelveska Temple contains a number of rare items that can be found using Treasure Hunter. These items include a super-powered Javelin and Escutcheon as well as the Sasuke's Blade ninja blade and the goofy Nagnarok sword. The Javelin II and Escutcheon II are especially worth picking up (and the Escutcheon II isn't available anywhere else!). You only have this ONE chance to get them, as there are no random battles at Nelveska Temple. Of course, you certainly don't NEED any of these items and they can be tricky to get, so it's up to you as to whether you want to try for them. If you do want to get the items, you'll need to have a LOW Bravery -- the higher your Treasure Hunter's Bravery, the higher the odds of getting a crummy item instead of the item you want. Rapha is great for this purpose since her Bravery already starts pretty low. For the best odds, though, you'll want to lower it even further. The best way to do this is probably with Beowulf's Chicken magick (up to a 12-point decrease in permanent Bravery) for big changes coupled with the Orator's Intimidate (4-point decrease in permanent Bravery) for small changes. Just be to sure to keep her permanent Bravery above 10, so that she doesn't start the battle as a Chicken. ---THE BIG BATTLE--- Whether you're planning on looking for the items or not, you'll probably want also to buy some Gold Needle or Remedies before you leave town for the coming battle, or equip Jade Armlets -- the Cockatrices at the temple can turn you to stone. Go to Nelveska. If you've seen the appropriate scene at Goug, a battle will trigger. ---Nelveska Temple Battle: Nelveska Temple-------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: Ramza, 4 others ENEMY FORCES: Construct 7 (lv 66 Automaton) Cockatrice* Cockatrice* Cockatrice* Hydra* Hydra* * These enemies' levels depend on the highest level on your own roster. BOSS: Construct 7 [random Zodiac] - lv 66 Automaton - Bravery 50, Faith 0 Abilities : Tasks, Counter, Defense Boost Immune : All negative status except Confuse, all elements except Lightning and Water VICTORY CONDITION: KO Construct 7 twice LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 12 x 8 Grassland Tanglevine 51% Flagstone Contortion 31% Sand Sandstorm 11% Stone Outcropping Tremor 4% Stairs Will-o'-the-Wisp 2% Soil Sinkhole 1% --STRATEGY-- The enemies here will hit you hard and fast. When deploying characters, put Orlandeau on either the far left or far right. If you have another character with an automatic Haste (e.g. from the Tynar Rouge), place her behind Orlandeau. Together, they can probably KO one of the Hydras on the pillars before it has a chance to move. The Hydras will attack you first. Watch out for their Tri-Attack, which hits the unit in front of them plus any units to either side. Try to kill off one of the Hydras before the Cockatrices reach you. The Cockatrices have relatively little HP, so you may be able to take them out with group attacks (e.g. Hallowed Bolt). Since all the enemies are fairly close by, you often don't need to move attack to them. Remember that not moving gives you your next turn faster, so don't move unless you need to. Since you're getting assaulted from all sides here, Orlandeau's Shadowblade attack is quite useful here -- it both deals damage AND restores a lot of his HP, keeping him healthy. Construct 7 will probably come out of its nook in the temple to attack you. Its attacks are brutal and can do 300+ damage to you. Try to thin out the other monsters a little bit first so you won't be swarmed while you're wearing Construct 7 down. Once you've taken out at least half the other monsters, rush Construct 7. It has NO Faith, so magicks are useless. It's also immune to all elements except Lightning and Water, so even non-Faith-based attacks that do elemental damage (like the Monk's Shockwave) don't work. Regular physical attacks and sword techniques will work. In addition, Construct 7 IS weak to non-Faith-based Lightning attacks, so Reis's Thunder Breath attack will do quite a bit of damage; it should take off more than half the Construct's HP! When you KO Construct 7 the first time, it will come back with 1 HP, so KO it again and the battle will end. However, if you want to get the hidden items here, you MUST get them before you defeat Construct 7, as you can't come back after this battle. There are four hidden items. On top of the two pillars where the Hydras start, you'll find the best polearm (the pillar on your right) and shield (the pillar on your left). They're called the Javelin and Escutcheon, but they're totally different items from the generic Javelin and Escutcheon. (I'll call the good ones the Javelin II and Escutcheon II.) The lower your Bravery, the better your odds of discovering the good items; otherwise, you'll end up with a regular Javelin and Escutcheon, the WORST polearm and shield. To get up on top of the pillars, move Construct 8 or Reis next to the pillar as a stepping-stone. You'll need at least a jump of 4 to get up using the stepping-stone method. (Ignore Elevation and Teleport are not usable because you need the movement ability slot for Treasure Hunter!) Because the "good" Javelin and Escutcheon have the same names as the crummy Javelin and the Escutcheon, it's hard to tell during the battle which one you've picked up. The Javelin II is gray instead of silver and has a fatter point, and the Escutcheon II has gold trim (instead of silver) and an extra vertical bar on its face. These details can be tough to spot in the few seconds the item is displayed, though. An easier method is to put Reequip on your Treasure Hunter, which will allow you to examine the items list during battle. As long as you have "Display Unequippable Items" set to "On" (under Options), you can see your entire list of equipment. Press Select on an item to check its stats. If the Javelin or Escutcheon has great stats, it's the one you want; if it has terrible stats, it's the "regular" version. (You can reset if you don't get what you're looking for.) You needn't even use up a turn to use Reequip in this way; just cancel out of the equipment menu without changing anything and you can take another action. The other two hidden items on this map are the Sasuke's Blade ninja blade, and the Nagnarok, a sword that turns enemies into Toads. The Nagnarok has only 1 attack power but a high evade rate when used with Parry. Both these items also require low Bravery, or you'll get Elixirs instead. Sasuke's Blade is hidden in the grassy area behind the temple. When you're facing the temple, on the right side, you'll see a staircase-like cliff that you can use to climb up on top of the temple. Once you're on top of the temple, continue moving away from your starting point into the green and brown grassy area at the back end of the map. The specific tile is near the very far back. Face the temple and move the cursor the upper-left corner of the map. Now, move the cursor one tile to the right and one tile down. You should be on a tile with a height of 4. This is the tile with Sasuke's Blade. (Another way of locating this tile is to use the coordinates at the bottom of this battle strategy.) The Nagnarok sword is much closer to where you start. When the battle starts, you'll see that Construct 7 is in the "doorway" of the temple just in front of where you start. It's a black area with pillars on either side. You'll have to first lure Construct 7 out of the way of the doorway. Once Construct 7 moves out of the way, move into that "doorway," as if you were walking inside the temple. This is a narrow passageway -- move the character as far back in the passage as the game will let you in. The tile deepest inside the temple has the Nagnarok. The battle at Nelveska can be tough in its own right, and trying to claim all these items will make it even harder. Bringing as any many women with Chantage as possible will help keep you alive, of course. Even Angel Rings (which only give you Reraise once per battle) are useful. If your Treasure Hunter is relatively weak, try equipping him/her with the Invisibility Cloak found on Mount Germinas. As long as the character doesn't take any actual action and just moves around picking up items, s/he should be left alone completely. KOing one or both Hydras at the very start of the battle will leave their bodies atop the pillars, preventing you from climbing up there until they crystallize ... but go ahead and KO them anyway. You're being attacked by so many enemies at the start that it's easier to take them out and then just wait for them to crystallize once things have settled down. The biggest concern when item-hunting is Construct 7 and its strong attacks. Unfortunately, it's immune to most of the status conditions you might want to inflict to halt it. Instead, use Rend Speed over and over to whittle down its speed and minimize the number of turns it gets. Once you've taken away all its speed, you can then use Rend Power on it to make it even weaker. (If you combine Arts of War with Dual Wield, you get two Rends per turn, which makes this process much easier.) If you're doing the Rends at close range, you will have to endure Construct 7's counterattacks, which is why Chantage will be helpful. Beware of accidentally killing Construct 7 with any counterattacks you might have; you don't want the battle to end prematurely! (And, keep in mind that all of Construct 7's special attacks decrease its own HP a little bit.) You'll probably need to stand by and keep healing Construct 7 with Chakra or items while you continue item-hunting. (White Magicks don't work for healing Construct 7 because it's immune to that.) The other enemies can (and should!) be killed, of course. If you're not shooting for ALL the items, the Escutcheon II is the best to pick up. It can be equipped by many jobs and cannot be found anywhere else in the game. The Javelin II is probably second-best, since it's the strongest polearm, whereas Sasuke's Blade is inferior to the Koga and Iga blades found in Midlight's Deep. Also, the Javelin II and Sasuke's Blade do not HAVE to be obtained here as they can eventually be caught with Sticky Fingers, and a Sasuke's Blade can be stolen in another subquest. The Nagnarok is the lowest priority, since it is of rather dubious value to begin with and can always be poached from Swines. BATTLE TROPHIES: None --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 4, Grassland POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 1, Up: 9 (height: 7, Flagstone) Javelin Javelin II none Left: 5, Up: 9 (height: 7, Flagstone) Escutcheon Escutcheon II none Left: 3, Up: 3 (height: 0, Flagstone) Elixir Nagnarok none Left: 1, Up: 1 (height: 4, Grassland) Elixir Sasuke's Blade none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Construct 7 explodes, you'll get its power source: the Cancer Zodiac Stone. Back on the map screen, try to leave Nelveska Island. Beowulf will use the Cancer stone to restore the dragon Reis to her normal human form. She will then re-join your party, keeping all her dragon abilities and adding many new ones she can learn. Even in human form, her Dragonkin job can use very little equipment -- just hair adornments, bags, and some accessories. But, she has killer stats and an inherent Dual Wield. The Dual Wield can only be used only with weapon types that can be Dual Wielded, of course, but that includes her fists. If you now return the Cancer Stone to Besrudio, he'll summon Cloud. You can now embark on the Recruiting Cloud quest (below) to add Cloud to your team as well. If you've cleared Mullonde in the main storyline, you can also tackle the Lionel's New Liege Lord quest as well. %%%RECRUITING CLOUD%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%cloud QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: Immediately after completing Nelveska Temple quest REWARDS: Cloud joins the party, Materia Blade You can get Cloud any time after you complete Ford Besselat. In order to get him, you must first complete the Gollund Colliery quest, followed by the Nelveska Temple quest, both described above. You'll also still need Mustadio around. Having completed both of these quests, hike all the way back to Goug. (If you've finished the battles at Mullonde, you'll have a handy shortcut.) Besrudio will power up the weathervane with the Cancer Stone and it will ... summon Cloud. Cloud, in typical Cloud fashion, will refuse to let you introduce yourselves and run off in pursuit of Sephiroth. Now you have to go all the way to the Trade City of Sal Ghidos. Remember when you met Aerith here earlier? Well, she's back, and this time she's being accosted by some thieves. Cloud comes to save her, but has another one of his schizophrenic breakdowns. You have to save him from the thieves. ---Cloud Subquest Battle 1: Sal Ghidos------------------------------------------ YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Cloud [guest], 3 others ENEMY FORCES: Thief (lv 47, male) Thief (lv 47, male) Thief (lv 33, male) Monk (lv 45, male) Squire (lv 48, male) Squire (lv 47, male) GUEST: Cloud [Aquarius] - lv 1 Soldier - Bravery 70, Faith 65 Equipment : Thief's Cap, Black Garb, Featherweave Cloak Abilities : Limit, other abilities random VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, recruit, or Vampirize all enemies LOSS CONDITION: Cloud is KOed or Ramza dies WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 16 x 10 Roof, Chimney Wind Blast 35% Flagstone, Earthen Wall Contortion 32% Wasteland Sinkhole 22% Coffer, Stairs Will-o'-the-Wisp 11% --STRATEGY-- At this point in the game, a bunch of generic enemies with underpowered jobs shouldn't pose much threat; if you can't win this battle, you probably shouldn't be playing the game ;). The main concern here is the three Thieves, who may try to steal your stuff. If you've got any rare gear, you'll probably want to equip Safeguard to make sure you don't lose it -- or just take the Thieves out ASAP. You also need to make sure Cloud stays healthy, since you lose the battle if he's KOed. He's usually not in any danger, though, since he often flees into the far side of the map and avoids the melee completely. BATTLE TROPHIES: None --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 0, Flagstone POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 9, Up: 2 (height: 9, Roof) Gold Needle Reflect Ring none Left: 9, Up: 9 (height: 3, Wasteland) Holy Water Protect Ring none Left: 9, Up: 10 (height: 3, Wasteland) Remedy Magick Ring none Left: 0, Up: 12 (height: 13, Roof) Phoenix Down Angel Ring none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afterwards, Clod... er, Cloud will join you. You're still not totally finished with this quest. In order for Cloud to be able to use his Limit attacks, you need to find his Materia Blade. The Blade is found using the Treasure Hunter ability during random battles at Mount Bervenia. The easiest way to get into a battle at Mount Bervenia is to go to Riovanes Castle and just move back and forth between Riovanes and Mount Bervenia until you get into a random battle. ---Cloud Subquest Battle 2: Mount Bervenia-------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: 1-5 characters ENEMY FORCES: Random (see Random Battles section) VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, recruit, or Vampirize all enemies LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone WEATHER: Random MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 12 x 10 Basalt Tremor 58% Lava Magma Surge 37% Obstructed -- 5% --STRATEGY-- Once you're in battle, move your Treasure Hunter to the very tippy-top of the volcano to discover the Materia Blade. You'll need a Jump at least of 4 to reach the volcano top -- equip Germinas Boots if you need a boost. Unlike the other rare items found with Treasure Hunter, this one doesn't depend on your Bravery. You'll always receive the Materia Blade on this tile, regardless of your Bravery; there's no chance of getting the wrong thing. Once you've secured the Materia Blade, finish off the rest of the enemies to end the battle. If you end the battle by mistake before getting the Blade, just start up another battle; the Blade never disappears until you find it. If you're having a hard time getting your Treasure Hunter up to the top during the battle, one strategy is to kill off all but one enemy, and then use Beowulf's Chicken ability to turn the last enemy into a chicken. This leaves you free to spend as much time as needed navigating the volcano. By the way, one of the other treasures here can never actually be obtained. In order to pick it up, your Treasure Hunter would have to stop on top of a lava-filled tile. But the only abilities that actually let you STOP on top of lava are Lavawalking and Levitate -- and neither of those can be equipped at the same time as Treasure Hunter! Float magick or equipment like the Winged Boots DO NOT allow you to get this treasure. That's because they only let you move through lava on the way to another tile, and never allow you to STOP on lava. --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 3, Basalt POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 1, Up: 9 (height: 18, Basalt) -Materia Blade- Death Trap Left: 4, Up: 1 (height: 3, Basalt) X-Potion Flameburst Bomb Sten Needle Left: 6, Up: 10 (height: 3, Basalt) X-Potion Flameburst Bomb Death Trap Left: 5, Up: 11 (height: 0, Lava) -CANNOT BE OBTAINED- Degenerator -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equipping Cloud with the Materia Blade allows him to use his Limit command, although you still have to learn all the Limit abilities individually. Most of Cloud's Limit attacks do powerful magic damage. The downsides are that they take a long time to charge, and they only target PANELS -- so if Cloud's target moves before the attack actviates, it will miss! Honestly, Cloud isn't really all that great a character, in my estimation. His Limits take so long to charge, and he requires a lot of time to level up since he starts back at level 1. If you want to use him, your best bet is probably to give him the Time Mage's Swiftness ability (which halves the charge time of his Limits), and give him gear to boost his Magick Attack (which will make his Limits more powerful). You can only get the Materia Blade at Mt. Bervenia once. But, if your Materia Blade is broken or lost, there ARE a couple ways to replace it. First, enemy ninjas of Lv. 96 or higher will sometimes throw Materia Blades, and you can use the Thief's Sticky Fingers to catch and keep them. (Good places to find enemy ninjas include The Interstice, the multiplayer "Littering" mission, and the special battle at the west entrance to Araguay Woods.) You can also win the Materia Blade as a prize in both of the multiplayer modes. %%%DISORDER IN THE ORDER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%dis QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After Mullonde battles REWARDS: Lots of stealable equipment The second of two Agrias-related quests, this quest becomes available late in Chapter IV, after you win the battles at Mullonde Cathedral. You do NOT have to have completed the other Agrias quest (Agrias's Birthday) to access it. First, after clearing the Cathedral, make tracks for Zeltennia Castle, in the upper right corner of the map. As long as Agrias is still with you, when you reach Zeltennia, you'll see a scene in which Agrias meets with Ovelia and sets up an important later plot point. If Alicia and Lavian are still around, they'll also participate in this scene, but they're not required. Nothing else happens here, but now head to the Magick City of Gariland or Eagrose Castle and hit up the Tavern. If you saw the scene at Zeltennia, there will be a new rumor, "Disorder in the Order." Listen to it. Hearing this rumor will activate a new battle at the Brigands' Den south of Mandalia Plain. The battle is a great chance to steal equipment, so before you go there, you'll want to make sure you've got someone with a full set of Steal abilities, preferably with good vertical movement capability (Jump of 5 or greater, or a Movement Ability that ignores elevation). Then, head back to the Brigands' Den and you'll get into a battle against some deserters from the Order of the Northern Sky. ---Disorder in the Order Battle: Brigands' Den---------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Agrias [guest], 3 others ENEMY FORCES: Ninja (lv 49, male) Monk (lv 40, female) Knight (lv 43, male) Knight (lv 42, male) Squire (lv 44, male) Squire (lv 41, male) VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, or recruit all enemies LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 12 x 10 Wooden Floor Will-o'-the-Wisp 37% Ocean Torrent 30% Flagstone Contortion 21% Grassland Tanglevine 12% --STRATEGY-- Agrias fights as a Guest in this battle, but it's not necessary to keep her from getting KOed. You won't lose if she does. In fact, if you want to steal from all the enemies here, it's probably a GOOD idea to KO Agrias yourself to keep her from finishing off the enemies before you do. Since she's a Guest here, you can leave her KOed as long as you want and she won't ever disappear. If you bring Orlandeau along as well, you can see a few extra lines of dialogue. This battle is a stealing extravaganza! Every enemy here has at least one rare item that you can't find in the Outfitter (although all these items are also available in at least one other place in the game as well). The Squires have Blaze and Glacial Guns respectively, the Ninja has a Sasuke's Blade, the Monk has Ninja Gear and a Barette, and the Knights have a Venetian Shield and a Kaiser Shield. If you get nothing else, the shields are probably your best bet. Since there's a LOT to steal here, equipping Concentration or Martial Arts to boost your success rate be helpful. Don't forget that raising your Speed also helps you steal items, so use Ramza and Luso's Tailwind (or the Bard's Rousing Melody) to crank up your Speed stat. Balthier's Plunder skills are also advantageous here--they're more likely to successfully steal than a regular Steal. Unfortunately, most of the enemies have equipment that makes them immune to Sleep status, but Sleep DOES work on the Ninja and the Knights. Chicken can also work, but then you'll have to chase after the chickenized enemies as they run away from you, so this can be more hassle than it's worth. The two Knights are actually trapped on top of the fort by their limited Jump rating. To steal from them, you'll need to go up there yourself. Getting on top of the fort requires a Jump rating of 5. No job naturally has a Jump rating that high, but Monk, Thief, Dragoon, Ninja, and Sky Pirate [Balthier] all have a Jump of 4, and you can enhance it even further with the Spiked Boots or Germinas Boots accessories or the Jump +1/+2/+3 Movement Abilities. Or, equip Movement Abilities that let you circumvent height completely: Ignore Elevation, Fly, or Teleport. A third alternative is to deploy Construct 8 or another large monster (a dragon, hydra, malboro, or behemoth), whom you can use as a stepping stone to climb up onto the fort. All the enemies in this battle act as "special" characters who will never crystallize or turn into chests. This can be kinda handy if you want to steal from them. You can knock out all but one enemy, then revive just the enemy you want to steal from, pilfer what you want, KO the enemy again, and repeat. You never have to worry about anyone disappearing completely. Just don't finish off the last enemy until you're done stealing! Don't bother with the Treasure Hunter items here. They're the same items from when you fought at the Den way back in Chapter I, so they're totally worthless now. In fact, if you already collected the items back then, they won't even be here now. The actual battle should be fairly easy since these are rather basic enemies with few special abilities. Several of the enemies start up on top of the fort, and the Knights remain up there for the duration of the battle. However, if you march up to the top of the ramp in front of the fort, you can still hit them with a lot of special attacks (e.g., sword techniques). Guns and Construct 8's Dispose are also good for attacking from a distance. BATTLE TROPHIES: None --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 2, Wooden Floor POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 0, Up: 0 (height: 2, Wooden Fl.) Phoenix Down Longbow none Left: 8, Up: 10 (height: 2, Grassland) Antidote Flame Rod none Left: 4, Up: 9 (height: 3, Wooden Fl.) Echo Herbs White Staff none *Left: 7,Up: 10 (height: 10, Wooden F.) Eye Drops Ice Rod none * Requires Jump of 4 or greater. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing special happens when you clear the battle--this quest is mostly just an avenue for stealing a lot of great items :) %%%LIONEL'S NEW LIEGE LORD%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%lio QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After Mullonde battles AND completing Nelveska Temple quest REWARDS: Genji Armor, Zeus Mace, Sortile'ge, stealable Masamune and Chantage, Hydrascale Bag, other equipment The main purpose of Beowulf's new subquest is to acquire the Masamune and Genji Armor, as well as a few other goodies. To begin the subquest, you must first complete the Nelveska Temple quest. At this point, you will have recruited Beowulf and Reis and returned Reis to human form. Beowulf and Reis must also still be alive and on your roster. You also have to completed the battle against Zalbaag at Mullonde in the main storyline. However, you do NOT need to have recruited Cloud or obtained his Materia Blade. In addition to meeting the above requirements, to activate the quest, you have to have read the "Lionel's New Liege Lord" rumor that appears in Taverns after you've completed the story battle at Bervenia Free City. This rumor can be read before or after you recruit Beowulf and Reis. This quest, of course, takes place at Lionel Castle. As soon as you visit Lionel Castle after reading the rumor and acquiring the needed characters, you're thrown into the quest, so you'll want to prepare first. Make sure you have a character able to steal, as this subquest gives you a chance to steal a Masamune and a Chantage. When you reach Lionel Castle, you'll see a story scene and Reis will be spirited away. You're given a chance to save and adjust your roster before being booted into battle against Beowulf's old pal Aliste. Since Reis is presently kidnapped, you won't be able to select her as part of your team for the battles in this quest. ---Lionel's New Liege Lord Battle 1: Lionel Castle Gate------------------------- YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Beowulf [guest], 3 others ENEMY FORCES: Aliste (lv 48 Templar) Ninja (lv 44, male) Ninja (lv 43, male) Archer (lv 45, male) Archer (lv 42, male) Time Mage (lv 45, female) BOSS: Aliste [Scorpio] - lv 48 Templar - Bravery 80, Faith 35 Equipment : Genji Shield, Save the Queen, Genji Helm, Genji Armor, Ribbon Abilities : Spellblade, Iaido, Shirahadori, Safeguard, Master Teleportation VICTORY CONDITION: KO Aliste twice LOSS CONDITION: Beowulf is KOed or Ramza dies WEATHER: Clear night (evade rate vs. bows x 1.33) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 15 x 9 Grassland Tanglevine 40% Flagstone Contortion 36% Swamp Quicksand 7% Obstructed -- 7% Stone Outcropping Tremor 5% Brick Wind Slash 4% --STRATEGY-- Beowulf fights on your team as a Guest in this battle, which means you only get to choose 3 other characters to deploy. And while it's not spelled out in the victory conditions, you have to keep Beowulf alive -- if he gets KOed, you immediately get a Game Over. Be sure to equip Beowulf with some good armor or a shield beforehand. It's probably a wise idea to deploy a decent healer as well so that you can keep his health up. Since your principal enemy here has Safeguard, Meliadoul's sword techniques are useless, so you probably won't want to deploy her. Aliste starts up on the roof, but since he has Elmdore's Master Teleportation ability, he'll probably warp down to fight you before you can climb up after him. He's a Templar just like Beowulf, so he has all of Beowulf's Spellblade skills. (He has a nice set of Genji gear as well, but, also like Elmdore, he has Safeguard, which means you unfortunately can't steal it from him.) Since Aliste's Spellblade can inflict a lot of status changes on you, be sure to have Remedy or Esuna ready. Alternately, try wiping out Aliste's MP using the Knight's Rend MP, Orlandeau's Duskblade, or the Dark Knight's Infernal Strike. Aliste has somehow equipped a Ribbon--normally female-only headgear--in his accessory slot, so he's immune to status attacks. You might want to send one or two of your less powerful characters to take out the Ninjas coming through the castle gate. The other enemies can probably be ignored. The Archers won't do too much damage, and they're hard to target since the castle wall blocks your ability to shoot at them. If you want to take them out, use Construct 8's Dispose, which can go through walls. Focus your attacks on Aliste. He uses Shirahadori to guard your physical attacks. You can try to weaken this by using Orator skills to lower his Bravery (since a lower Bravery means reaction abilities trigger less often); Beowulf may also help you in this regard. Otherwise, just sling magicks, sword techniques, Dispose, and Balthier's Barrage at him until he goes down. The first time you KO him, he'll revive with 1 HP, but just punch him out a second time and you win the battle for real. As with all of the "repeat" battlefields, the Treasure Hunter tiles here are the same crummy ones from the first time through, so you can safely ignore them. BATTLE TROPHIES: Genji Armor --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 5, Grassland POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 2, Up: 6 (height: 8, Grassland) Ether Wizard's Robe none Left: 7, Up: 5 (height: 4, Grassland) Echo Herbs Rubber Boots none Left: 7, Up: 7 (height: 4, Grassland) Potion Golden Armor none Left: 13, Up: 6 (height: 2, Grassland) Hi-Potion Wizard Clothing none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You'll have another chance to save and adjust your team, so equip the Genji Armor you just won. It's the second strongest suit of armor in the single- player game. ---Lionel's New Liege Lord Battle 2: Lionel Castle Oratory---------------------- YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Beowulf [guest], 3 others ENEMY FORCES: PHASE ONE: Bremondt (lv 51 Celebrant) Ninja (lv 49, female) Ninja (lv 48, female) Samurai (lv 48, female) Samurai (lv 47, female) Mystic (lv 46, female) Mystic (lv 45, female) PHASE TWO: Bremondt (lv 42 Dark Dragon) BOSS: Bremondt [Gemini] - lv 51 Celebrant - Bravery 10, Faith 80 Equipment : Zeus Mace, Celebrant's Miter, Lordly Robe, Ribbon Abilities : Priest Magicks, Fundaments, Counter Tackle, Safeguard, Lifefont Immune : All negative status except Blind, Confuse, Silence, Oil, Berserk, and Slow BOSS: Bremondt [Gemini] - lv 42 Dark Dragon - Bravery 80, Faith 10 HP: about 3150, MP: about 220 Abilities : Breath, Counter, Attack Boost, Arcane Strength, Arcane Defense Immune : All negative status except Blind, Slow, and Immobilize VICTORY CONDITION: Phase One - KO Bremondt Phase Two - KO Dark Dragon Bremondt LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 10 x 8 Flagstone Contortion 60% Carpet, Stairs Will-o'-the-Wisp 20% Obstructed -- 20% --STRATEGY-- Bremondt has a pretty powerful set of underlings here. Most importantly, the Samurai to Bremondt's right (the left side of the screen when the battle begins) has a stealable Masamune. This is by far the easiest place to get this weapon, so be sure to steal it! (The only other way to get a Masamune in the single-player game is to catch it with Sticky Fingers when enemy Ninjas throw it.) Some of Bremondt's other troops are pretty tough, too. The Mystic on his left (again, the right side of the screen initially) is equipped with Chantage. This means that there's no point in attacking her, as she'll just revive on her next turn. The only way to really take her out is to break the Chantage or steal it. Since Chantage is extremely useful, stealing it isn't a bad idea, although you CAN get them elsewhere. Watch out, both Mystics also have a pretty strong attack since they're equipped with bags. Other rare items available here are a Cachusha and Barette--stolen from the Mystics on Bremondt's right and left, respectively--and the Sortile'ge perfume, also stolen from the Mystic on his right. You'll be receiving a Sortile'ge and Hydrascale Bag for completing this quest anyway, though, so these are pretty skippable. Bremondt himself is equipped with a Lordly Robe, which gives him a fair amount of HP, and a Ribbon, which blocks any status attacks. Unfortunately, he has Safeguard, so you can't steal this stuff from him. He's not much of a threat in combat, though. As long as at least one of his underlings is KOed, Bremondt usually just wastes his turns casting Arise. (This can actually helpful be if you accidentally KO the Samurai with the Masamune before you're able to steal it.) Keep at least one of the generic enemies KOed while you go after Bremondt and he'll just keep using Arise. Since the Ribbon doesn't protect Bremondt from the Atheist status, you can also try using the Mystic's Disbelief (or Beowulf's Doubt) to prevent him from casting magicks. Alternately, attack his MP with Rend MP / Duskblade / Infernal Strike. When Bremondt is KOed, he will transform into the Dark Dragon, and all the other enemy troops will be wiped from the board. It's now time for the second phase of this battle. The Dark Dragon has some really strong physical attacks, and might occasionally use breath attacks as well. It can Counter you when you attack, so you're probably better off using sword techniques or other abilities that aren't standard melee attacks. Beowulf's Drain is good too, though here you have no control over whether he uses it! Magicks are pretty useless since the Dark Dragon has very low Faith AND Arcane Defense. Graviga and Lich can still do big damage if they connect, but will have a low hit rate. Attacks that don't depend on Faith are better. BATTLE TROPHIES: Zeus Mace --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 1, Flagstone - on Ramza's left at start POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 6, Up: 3 (height: 5, Carpet) Potion Guardian Bracelet none Left: 6, Up: 4 (height: 5, Carpet) Ether Mage's Cloak none Left: 8, Up: 3 (height: 7, Flagstone) Hi-Potion Protect Ring none Left: 8, Up: 4 (height: 7, Flagstone) Remedy Osafune none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Bremondt goes down, you'll receive a Zeus Mace, a very nice staff, for your efforts. (There's a second Zeus Mace in Midlight's Deep, but it doesn't hurt to have two!) Beowulf and Reis are reunited. In gratitude for all your help, Beowulf hands over all his treasure, including a Gold Hairpin, a Hydrascale Bag, a pair of Hermes Shoes, a Diamond Bracelet, and the Sortile'ge perfume. You're prompted to add Beowulf and Reis back into your roster, and this subquest is now complete! At this point, Beowulf and Reis are no longer required for any other quests, so you COULD delete them if you wanted, but you won't be able to get them back! %%%MIDLIGHT'S DEEP%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%md QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After Mullonde battles REWARDS: Numerous rare items, Zodiark summon, the Byblos joins the party Midlight's Deep is a bonus dungeon with ten floors (each a separate battle), each packed with really powerful equipment. It's completely optional, and in fact is more difficult than the actual end of the game. You can only access Midlight's Deep after you complete the three battles at Mullonde Cathedral. But, you don't need to have beaten the final boss. After completing Mullonde Cathedral, go to the Port City of Warjilis. When you arrive, you'll automatically see a scene in the tavern in which Ramza overhears a rumor about the Deep. (Fans of the original PSone version of FF Tactics may get a kick out of some of the dialogue here.) When you leave town, a route will automatically pop up on the tiny island to the east, which contains Midlight's Deep. To enter Midlight's Deep, move to the island. Then, click on Midlight's Deep a second time. Choose the floor you want to enter. At the beginning, only the first floor will be accessible, but you'll open up more as you progress. ---General Instructions--------------------------------------------------------- ---BATTLES IN THE DEEP--- Midlight's Deep battles are considered random battles, which means that the exact line-up of enemies changes each time. It also means that you don't have to deploy Ramza. The exception is the initial encounter on the last floor, which has a fixed set of enemies AND requires Ramza to be deployed. ---NAVIGATING THE DARKNESS--- To make things challenging, every floor of Midlight's Deep is completely dark. You can see your team and the enemies, but you can't see the terrain. Crystals left by dead enemies will light up much of the area, but there's an even easier way to see your way around. Select an attack with a really long range, like a gun attack, Beowulf's Vengeance, Construct 8's Dispose, or best of all, Teleport (which lights up the *whole* map). When the game then prompts you to choose a target, most of the panels on the battlefield will be highlighted, giving you a chance to study the terrain. You don't even have to USE the selected attack, just select it, look at the map, and then cancel back to the menu. Since you can do this every round, you shouldn't have too much trouble seeing what you're doing. Although Midlight's Deep *looks* dark, it does not have the penalties on bow and crossbow accuracies that nighttime battles do in the overworld. ---FINDING THE EXITS--- Not only do you have to beat the enemies on each level, you ALSO have to find the exit to open up the next level. If you kill all the enemies without finding the exit, you'll just be kicked back to the map screen and have to replay the level before you can advance. To find the exit, you simply have to move a character onto the tile that contains the exit, at which point you'll get a message telling you that you "found a passage leading deeper." Once you finish off the remaining enemies and return to the map, you'll be able to select the next floor. You do NOT need the Treasure Hunter ability to find the exits. To make things tricky, each time you enter the level, the exit is RANDOMLY placed on one of five possible tiles -- so you don't know where it is! In the floor-by-floor walkthrough below, I've listed the possible exit locations for each floor, in order from nearest to furthest. Bear in mind that the exit can only be found on ONE of these five tiles, not any of them. Remember, the battle ends when you KO the last enemy, and if you didn't find the exit, you'll have to replay the level. So, you need to find the exit BEFORE you KO that last enemy. The easiest way to do this is to KO all but one enemy, then use Beowulf's Chicken ability or the Black Mage's Toad magick on the last enemy to turn it into a chicken or toad. Once the last enemy is a harmless animal, it's easy to walk around the level and look for the exit. Toad is ideal -- it lasts *forever*, unless the enemy has Black Magicks and can cast Toad on itself to cure itself. Chicken lasts for quite a while, but each turn the enemy gets 1 point of Bravery back, and when it has 10 Bravery, the Chicken spell will wear off. But, if you always recast Chicken when it's close to wearing off, you can keep the enemy a chicken forever :). (You can also supplement Chicken with Sleep--the enemy won't begin regaining Bravery until it wakes up.) Of course, you don't HAVE to use the Chicken or Toad trick to find the exit -- it just makes it a lot easier. While you do need to find the exits to advance, there's no obligation to find the exit on your first visit. If the battle gets rough, it's fine to just finish off the enemies and forget about finding the exit. You can look for it on your next visit. Also, once you've found a floor's exit once, you never need to look for it again. So, if you return to a previous floor to hunt for items or poach monsters, you don't need to worry about looking for the exit. --ACQUIRING THE RARE ITEMS--- But wait! There's more! Each level contains a number of rare items that you can find using the Treasure Hunter ability. Simply move a character with Treasure Hunter onto the correct tile and a new item is yours. If a character without Treasure Hunter steps on the tile, you'll often spring a trap instead, but the item remains there, waiting for a character with Treasure Hunter. Even once the item is picked up, any trap on the tile remains there, and then even a Treasure Hunter can spring it. As with most rare Treasure Hunter finds, you need a LOW Bravery level to pick up the special item. The higher your Bravery, the higher your chance you'll get a crummy Phoenix Down instead. (The chance of getting the Phoenix Down is simply equal to the character's current Bravery -- so a lower Bravery decreases your chance of getting it.) If you DO pick up the Phoenix Down, the "good" item is gone FOREVER, even if you leave the map and come back later! So, if you want to get all the items, you may want to save pretty frequently and only try picking up one or two items at a time. That way, it's easy to reset and try again if you don't get the item you want. If you forget a treasure tile completely, it's fine to go back to the map and activate it later. The treasure won't disappear until someone activates the tile. Beware that enemy characters with Treasure Hunter can also pick up the rare items, which will prevent you from ever getting them! At the start of each battle, you may want to check all the enemy humans to see if they have Treasure Hunter. If they do, either KO or Immobilize those enemies quickly to prevent them from beating you to the loot! If you step on a tile and spring a trap instead of getting the treasure, you might be experiencing one of two problems. Either the character doesn't have Treasure Hunter, or someone (either one of your characters or an enemy) already picked up the treasure from that tile. Unfortunately, once one item is grabbed from a tile, the treasures are gone permanently. ---STRATEGIES FOR FINDING ITEMS AND EXITS--- Rapha is great for finding the items because her Bravery already starts pretty low. For the best odds, though, you'll want to lower it even further. The best way to do this is probably with Beowulf's Chicken magick (up to a 12-point decrease in permanent Bravery) for big changes coupled with the Orator's Intimidate (4-point decrease in permanent Bravery) for small changes. Just be to sure to keep her permanent Bravery above 10, so that she doesn't start the battle as a Chicken. To make Rapha (or whomever you're using as a Treasure Hunter) more mobile, give her Germinas Boots to increase her move and jump range. If she has them unlocked, you can also switch her to an agile job like Thief, Dragoon, or Monk. This is helpful both for picking up the treasures and for finding the exits. Alternately (or in addition), you can have her ride a chocobo to increase her mobility. A Black Chocobo is particularly advantageous since it can fly right over enemies. Just deploy the chocobo next to her, and then move her onto the tile with the chocobo to have her ride it. You won't actually be able to claim items while on the chocobo, though, so park the chocobo NEXT to the tile with the treasure and have Rapha use the Dismount command to step down onto the treasure tile. It takes three turns just to move the chocobo, dismount, and remount, so chocobos are mostly helpful on maps with tricky terrain that would be even slower to navigate on foot. If you're having trouble with Rapha getting KOed quickly, you can protect her by equipping with her an item to make her Invisible. Items you can use include the Invisibility Cloak found on Mount Germinas (see Battle Strategy 42) or the Ninja Gear stealable in the Disorder in the Order sidequest. Both these items causes Rapha to start the battle with Invisible status. As long as she doesn't take any action and just moves around the battlefield looking for items and exits, she will stay invisible and will be virtually ignored by the enemies. (She's still vulnerable to area-effect spells.) The Ninja Gear is particularly advantageous; since it is body armor, it leaves Rapha's accessory slot free to equip Germinas Boots for enhanced mobility. Later, you can also get the Invisible status from the Septie`me perfume, poachable from the Greater Hydras found in the Deep, and from a second set of Ninja Gear found on the sixth floor of the dungeon (The Palings). You can also combine Invisibility with chocobo-riding; if you're Invisible when you board a chocobo, the chocobo becomes Invisible too (even though it doesn't look like it on the screen :P). Be careful, though; dismounting from the chocobo removes the chocobo's Invisibility and gives the enemies a chance to attack it. Note that you can also still pick up items as a Chicken, although you can't control the character. Since Chicken-ified characters usually run into a corner, you can use this tactic for picking up items in the corner of a map. Chickens have a Bravery below 10, which almost guarantee you'll get the rare item. ---LOCATING THE RARE ITEMS--- So WHERE are all these great items? Of course, on each floor, the items are in different locations. Since the tiles are not given any names or numbers in the game, I've had to assign my own numbers to them. Here's the scheme I've used: All of the coordinates are given relative to a particular corner. First, use the tile height and terrain type information to identify which of the 4 corners on the map is the reference corner. (You can view the terrain type information by highlighting a tile with the cursor and then pressing the Select button.) Now, tilt the analog stick left or right (on the PSP) or swipe the screen left or right (in iOS). When you do this, the screen will change perspective and you'll be looking at the battlefield from a different angle. Keep doing this until the reference corner is at the bottom of the screen. You're now all set to find the treasure tiles. Start at the reference corner. Then, use the LEFT and UP arrows on the D-pad to move the cursor the specified number of spaces. For example, Left: 3, Up: 2 means 3 tiles to the left and 2 tiles up. The height and terrain type information will help you confirm that you've found the right space. (This is the same system I use for all the Treasure Hunter tiles, so if you've already been collecting them, there's nothing new to learn :) ) For exact item locations, see each level's battle strategy, below. ---POACHING--- There are also a number of rare monsters in Midlight's Deep, and poaching them can get you some unique items you can't find anywhere else. (See the Poaching List for the complete list.) Fortunately, since Warjilis Trade City is a trade city, it has a Poachers' Den. So, after poaching some monsters, it's easy to head back to Warjilis and check on your haul. If you're serious about poaching (and have space on your roster), the best tactic for getting these rare items is to recruit a monster from the species using the Orator abilities Entice or Tame. (The Dragon's Charm ability possessed by Reis can also be used to recruit dragons and hydras, and works 100% of the time.) Once you've recruited the monster, just walk back and forth between Warjilis and the Deep. As the days pass, the monster will lay eggs and the eggs will hatch into new monsters. (You can actually preview exactly which monsters you'll be getting if you use the trick described in the Monsters section of Basic Mechanics and Tactics -- press Ctrl+F and 00mon to jump there.) Poach the HATCHED monsters, but leave the original in your roster. That way, you have a limitless supply of monsters to poach. This is a great way to poach rare monsters that don't appear in the wild very frequently. In fact, breeding monsters is the ONLY way to get a Wild Boar, which in turn is your only source in the single-player game for two super-rare items (the Ribbon and the Fallingstar Bag). ---ENEMY PARTIES--- On each floor, you'll encounter 1 of 4 different possible enemy parties, randomly determined each time you enter the floor. Within those parties, there is also some randomness in exactly what enemies you face. I've listed all the possibilities for each floor in the battle strategies below. Generally speaking, > Party Type A features 1-11 enemies, usually many copies of just a few fairly basic enemy types. > Party Types B and C always include 8 enemies and a more diverse group of enemy types. > Party Type D always includes 4 enemies and usually includes a mix of humans and more advanced monsters. ENEMY LEVELS: As in random battles in the overworld, enemy levels in Midlight's Deep are not pre-set. Instead, they are based on the highest experience level you have on your own roster -- even if that character is not deployed into the battle! Usually, enemies are a fixed number of levels higher than this Roster Highest level; e.g. a lv RH+6 Goblin is 6 levels than the highest level on your own roster. Some enemies have a random level that is about equal to your RH level; I've marked these enemies as lv ~RH. ---Floor-by-Floor Walkthrough--------------------------------------------------- Whew! I think that's all the instruction you need. Now head on in! ---Floor 1: The Crevasse-------------------------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: 1-5 characters POSSIBLE ENEMY FORCES: TYPE A - Goblin (lv RH+5) [1 - 11 Goblin (lv RH+6) OR Goblin (lv RH+5) OR nothing foes] Goblin (lv RH+6) OR Goblin (lv RH+4) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+6) OR Goblin (lv RH+3) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+6) OR Goblin (lv RH+2) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+6) OR Goblin (lv RH+1) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+5) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+4) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+3) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+2) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+1) OR nothing TYPE B - Knight (lv RH+6, male) OR Goblin (lv RH+4) [8 foes] Knight (lv RH+6, male) OR Red Panther (lv RH+5) Knight (lv RH+6, male) OR Red Panther (lv RH+1) Bomb (lv RH+6) OR Red Panther (lv RH+2) Bomb (lv RH+6) OR Coeurl (lv RH+4) Bomb (lv RH+6) OR Coeurl (lv RH+3) Bomb (lv RH+6) OR Goblin (lv RH+5) Bomb (lv RH+6) OR Goblin (lv RH+3) TYPE C - Monk (lv RH+6, female) OR Black Goblin (lv RH+4) [8 foes] Monk (lv RH+6, female) OR Black Goblin (lv RH+3) Chemist (lv RH+6, male) OR Black Goblin (lv RH+5) Chemist (lv RH+6, male) OR Black Goblin (lv RH+1) Wisenkin (lv RH+6) OR Black Goblin (lv RH+5) Wisenkin (lv RH+6) OR Black Goblin (lv RH+4) Wisenkin (lv RH+6) OR Black Goblin (lv RH+3) Wisenkin (lv RH+6) OR Black Goblin (lv RH+2) TYPE D - Knight (lv RH+3, m) OR Black Mage (lv RH+3, f) OR Time Mage (lv RH+7,m) [4 foes] Archer (lv RH+3, m) OR Summoner (lv RH+2, f) OR Thief (lv RH+7, f) Gobbledygook (lv RH+5) OR Exploder (lv RH+7) OR Wisenkin (lv RH+5) Squire (lv RH+7, m) OR Red Panther (lv RH+3) OR Piscodaemon (lv RH+4) WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 10 x 10 Stalactite Sandstorm 60% Moss Wind Slash 29% Stone Outcropping Tremor 11% --STRATEGY-- In this level, you start out at the top of a large cliff with a staircase-like path winding down it. The enemies are all at the bottom, which gives you a big height advantage. It's easy to rain ranged attacks down on them. If you do want to use melee attacks, Ignore Elevation, Teleport, or other jump boosts are helpful for navigating the cliff and descending quickly. The enemies here are all weak jobs and monsters (the Type A party is nothing but Goblins!), so they shouldn't be that difficult. It's a good warm-up for the tougher Midlight's Deep battles. Watch out for the Exploder monster, though; it's dark gray and is very difficult to see in the dark. If you face the Type D party, scan your cursor through the enemy forces to check for it. You can find two of the magickal guns here, although you may already have copies that you stole earlier. The Blaze Gun is a little stronger than the Glacial Gun, but both are worth picking up. These "magickal" guns do elemental attacks. Their damage varies; sometimes you get a -ra or a -ga spell visual effect and increased damage. The damage estimate you see when preparing to attack is the "low" estimate if you just get the regular spell. The Kiyomori hidden on this level is just a regular Kiyomori katana like you could buy in a store, making it the most useless pickup in the Deep. Remember to find the exit before you KO the last enemy. Otherwise, you won't be able to advance to the next level! --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 0, Moss POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 2, Up: 2 (height: 7, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Glacial Gun Death Trap Left: 9, Up: 0 (height: 22, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Blaze Gun Hypnogas Left: 4, Up: 9 (height: 17, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Kiyomori Death Trap Left: 6, Up: 0 (height: 20, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Elixir Sten Needle POTENTIAL EXIT LOCATIONS: Left: 6, Up: 9 (height: 17, Moss) Left: 3, Up: 8 (height: 7, Moss) Left: 0, Up: 9 (height: 2, Moss) Left: 1, Up: 3 (height: 1, Stalactite) Left: 1, Up: 1 (height: 1, Stalactite) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After you find the exit in The Crevasse, you'll open up The Stair. If you defeated all the enemies on The Crevasse before you found the exit, just go back to The Crevasse and keep trying until you find the exit. ---Floor 2: The Stair----------------------------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: 1-5 characters POSSIBLE ENEMY FORCES: TYPE A - Goblin (lv RH+7) [1 - 11 Black Goblin (lv RH+8) OR Goblin (lv RH+6) OR nothing foes] Black Goblin (lv RH+8) OR Goblin (lv RH+6) OR nothing Black Goblin (lv RH+8) OR Goblin (lv RH+4) OR nothing Black Goblin (lv RH+8) OR Goblin (lv RH+4) OR nothing Black Goblin (lv RH+8) OR Goblin (lv RH+2) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+7) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+5) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+5) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+3) OR nothing Goblin (lv RH+3) OR nothing TYPE B - Archer (lv RH+7, fem.) OR Skeleton (lv RH+8) [8 foes] Archer (lv RH+6, fem.) OR Skeleton (lv RH+8) Archer (lv RH+5, fem.) OR Bonesnatch (lv RH+8) Archer (lv RH+4, fem.) OR Bonesnatch (lv RH+8) Archer (lv RH+7, male) OR Ahriman (lv RH+8) Archer (lv RH+6, male) OR Ahriman (lv RH+8) Archer (lv RH+3, male) OR Floating Eye (lv RH+7) Archer (lv RH+2, male) OR Floating Eye (lv RH+8) TYPE C - Monk (lv RH+8, male) OR Black Mage (lv RH+7, male) [8 foes] Ninja (lv RH+8, female) OR Time Mage (lv RH+6, female) Skeleton (lv RH+7) OR Ghoul (lv RH+8) Skeleton (lv RH+6) OR Ghoul (lv RH+8) Skeleton (lv RH+5) OR Ghoul (lv RH+8) Bonesnatch (lv RH+4) OR Ghast (lv RH+8) Bonesnatch (lv RH+3) OR Ghast (lv RH+8) Bonesnatch (lv RH+2) OR Ghast (lv RH+8) TYPE D - Blue Dragon (lv RH+9) OR Knight (lv RH+4, m) OR Archer (lv RH+5, m) [4 foes] Dragon (lv RH+9) OR Knight (lv RH+5, m) OR Archer (lv RH+6, m) Dragon (lv RH+9) OR Summoner (lv RH+6, f) OR Archer (lv RH+7, m) Dragon (lv RH+9) OR Summoner (lv RH+7, f) OR Archer (lv RH+3, m) WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 12 x 9 Stalactite Sandstorm 82% Moss Wind Slash 11% Stone Outcropping Tremor 6% --STRATEGY-- Despite the name, this floor isn't quite a stair. Instead, it's a bumpy landscape full of variations in height. So, again, Ignore Elevation/Teleport and jump boosts are helpful. Your opponents start quite close to you this time, but you still have a bit of a height advantages. Common enemy types include Archers, ahrimans, and skeletons. Since there are often multiple Archers, the Archer's Bane and Shirahadori abilities are quite helpful. Having your own strong range attacks also lets you KO the Archers quickly. Take out the Archers first, then go after the skeletons (their Anima attacks can be pretty strong!), and finally the ahrimans. Since you're being attacked by the full enemy party at once, putting Disable or Chicken on some enemies or using Rend/Crush Weapon on humans will stop their attacks and give you some breathing room. Instead of skeletons and Archers, you may instead fight goblins (Type A party) or ghosts (some Type C parties). These are usually easier battles. All the groups of enemies are definitely tougher than those in The Crevasse, however. --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 2, Stalactite) POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 2, Up: 7 (height: 6, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Blood Sword Death Trap Left: 6, Up: 10 (height: 9, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Elixir Degenerator Left: 8, Up: 1 (height: 1, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Save the Queen Hypnogas Left: 4, Up: 0 (height: 0, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Elixir Sten Needle POTENTIAL EXIT LOCATIONS: Left: 8, Up: 9 (height: 8, Stalactite) Left: 7, Up: 4 (height: 5, Stalactite) Left: 2, Up: 1 (height: 1, Moss) Left: 8, Up: 0 (height: 1, Stalactite) Left: 0, Up: 0 (height: 2, Stalactite) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After The Stair comes The Hollow. ---Floor 3: The Hollow---------------------------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: 1-5 characters POSSIBLE ENEMY FORCES: TYPE A - Piscodaemon (lv RH+9) [1 - 11 Piscodaemon (lv RH+9) OR Cockatrice (lv RH+10) OR nothing foes] Piscodaemon (lv RH+8) OR Jura Aevis (lv RH+10) OR nothing Piscodaemon (lv RH+6) OR Steelhawk (lv RH+10) OR nothing Piscodaemon (lv RH+7) OR nothing Piscodaemon (lv RH+5) OR nothing Squidraken (lv RH+7) OR Thief (lv RH+10, male) OR nothing Squidraken (lv RH+5) OR Black Mage (lv RH+10,f.)OR nothing Squidraken (lv RH+8) OR nothing Squidraken (lv RH+6) OR nothing Squidraken (lv RH+4) OR nothing Jura Aevis (lv RH+10) OR nothing TYPE B - Mindflayer (lv RH+10) OR Squidraken (lv RH+9) [8 foes] Mindflayer (lv RH+10) OR Squidraken (lv RH+8) Coeurl (lv RH+10) OR Squidraken (lv RH+7) Coeurl (lv RH+10) OR Squidraken (lv RH+6) Black Mage (lv RH+10,f) OR Red Panther (lv RH+5) Black Mage (lv RH+10,f) OR Red Panther (lv RH+9) Black Mage (lv RH+10,f) OR Bomb (lv RH+8) Grenade (lv RH+10) OR Bomb (lv RH+7) TYPE C - Behemoth Kng (lv RH+10) OR Minotaur (lv RH+6) [8 foes] Behemoth (lv RH+10) OR Minotaur (lv RH+7) Behemoth (lv RH+10) OR Wisenkin (lv RH+9) Behemoth (lv RH+10) OR Wisenkin (lv RH+8) Knight (lv RH+10, male) OR Archer (lv RH+9, female) Knight (lv RH+10, male) OR Archer (lv RH+8, female) Knight (lv RH+10, male) OR Archer (lv RH+7, female) Knight (lv RH+10, male) OR Archer (lv RH+5, female) TYPE D - Dragoon (lv RH+6, f) OR Bl.Mage (lv RH+10,f)OR Elder Treant (lv RH+7) [4 foes] Geomancer (lv RH+7,m) OR Archer (lv RH+10,m) OR Skeletal Fiend (lvRH+8) Mystic (lv RH+8, f) OR Knight (lv RH+10,f) OR Squidraken (lv RH+9) Orator (lv RH+9, m) OR Squire (lv RH+10,m) OR Red Panther (lv RH+5) WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 16 x 10 Stone Outcropping Tremor 41% Darkness (chasm) -- 36% Stalactite Sandstorm 24% --STRATEGY-- The Hollow has a big chasm running through the center of it, dividing the map into three separate regions. Your party starts on a separate "island" from the enemy squad and you can only cross with a jump or Teleport. If you bring a lot of characters with long-range attacks (guns, Arithmeticks, Construct 8's Dispose), this should be fairly easy. From your starting point, guns and Dispose can hit almost all of the enemies. Since they have to navigate around the pits, you can just stand there and blast away. Just Wait instead of moving and you can get your next turn even faster. Still, the enemies will catch up with you eventually, so you'll want to bring along a good close-range fighter or two (like Orlandeau) as well. Probably the most dangerous enemy that can appear here is the Mindflayer. The Mindflayer's Mind Blast ability can Berserk or Confuse you, and has enough range that it can reach across the chasm. Try to KO the Mindflayers first. If they do Confuse you, you can cure a Confused character by whacking them with a physical attack. This doesn't cure Berserk, though. Also common here are enemy Black Mages, who can of course hit you with magick from a distance. Stealing away their MP is one good way of dealing with them. A gun paired with Rend MP can do this from a long distance, and Orlandeau's Duskblade has a decent range too. The Hollow also contains two good pieces of equipment: the Yoichi Bow and the Zeus Mace. Be sure to pick them up! In general, collecting all the Elixirs is not necessary as there are quite a few available and you can do fine without getting them all (or even any of them). One of the exit locations here is a bit tricky. It's up atop a height 6 pillar. There's a "step" (of height 2.5) on one side of the pillar you can use to climb up. Or, just use Teleport or Ignore Elevation to hop up directly. (Finding the exits doesn't require Treasure Hunter so you can use your movement ability slot for Teleport.) --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 0, Stone Outcropping - the one where cursor is blue POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 4, Up: 3 (height: 1.5, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Elixir Death Trap Left: 8, Up: 6 (height: 0.5, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Zeus Mace Death Trap Left: 7, Up: 15 (height: 1.5, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Elixir Sten Needle Left: 2, Up: 9 (height: 4.5, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Yoichi Bow Hypnogas POTENTIAL EXIT LOCATIONS: Left: 6, Up: 11 (height: 1, Stalactite) Left: 1, Up: 8 (height: 0, Stone Outcropping) Left: 2, Up: 8 (height: 6, Stalactite) Left: 8, Up: 1 (height: 0, Stone Outcropping) Left: 1, Up: 2 (height: 0, Stone Outcropping) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get ready for the fourth floor, The Catacombs, which is fairly challenging. ---Floor 4: The Catacombs------------------------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: 1-5 characters POSSIBLE ENEMY FORCES: TYPE A - Malboro (lv RH+12) OR Greater Malboro (lv RH+10) [1 - 11 Malboro (lv RH+12) OR Malboro (lv RH+10) OR nothing foes] Malboro (lv RH+12) OR Malboro (lv RH+9) OR nothing Malboro (lv RH+12) OR Malboro (lv RH+8) OR nothing Malboro (lv RH+12) OR Malboro (lv RH+7) OR nothing Malboro (lv RH+11) OR nothing Malboro (lv RH+11) OR nothing Malboro (lv RH+10) OR nothing Malboro (lv RH+9) OR nothing Malboro (lv RH+8) OR nothing Malboro (lv RH+7) OR nothing TYPE B - Ochu (lv RH+12) OR Malboro (lv RH+11) [8 foes] Ochu (lv RH+12) OR Malboro (lv RH+10) Archer (lv RH+12, m) OR Malboro (lv RH+9) Archer (lv RH+12, m) OR Malboro (lv RH+8) Steelhawk (lv RH+12) OR Jura Aevis (lv RH+7) Steelhawk (lv RH+12) OR Jura Aevis (lv RH+11) Summoner (lv RH+12, f) OR Jura Aevis (lv RH+10) Summoner (lv RH+12, f) OR Jura Aevis (lv RH+9) TYPE C - Mystic (lv RH+12, m) OR Archer (lv RH+11, f) [8 foes] Mystic (lv RH+12, m) OR Archer (lv RH+10, f) Mystic (lv RH+12, m) OR Archer (lv RH+9, f) Mystic (lv RH+12, m) OR Archer (lv RH+8, f) Black Mage (lv RH+7, f) OR Jura Aevis (lv RH+12) Black Mage (lv RH+11,f) OR Steelhawk (lv RH+12) Black Mage (lv RH+10,f) OR Cockatrice (lv RH+12) Black Mage (lv RH+9, f) OR Cockatrice (lv RH+12) TYPE D - Hydra (lv RH+13) OR Archer (lv RH+12, m) OR Floating Eye (lv RH+8) [4 foes] Sekhret (lv RH+12) OR Monk (lv RH+11, m) OR Steelhawk (lv RH+13) Sekhret (lv RH+11) OR Summoner (lv RH+10,f) OR Gobbledygook (lv RH+13) Minotaur (lv RH+10) OR Monk (lv RH+9, f) OR Mindflayer (lv RH+13) WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 16 x 11 Darkness (chasm) -- 45% Stalactite Sandstorm 34% Stone Outcropping Tremor 14% Obstructed -- 5% Moss Wind Slash 2% --STRATEGY-- The Catacombs are actually just a big staircase that winds back and forth, similar to The Crevasse (the first floor). However, the staircase is longer and each tier is separated by a chasm, so you can't jump straight down. Depending on the enemies you face, this level can either be easy or pretty challenging. The Type A party pits you against Malboros only, which is easy. The Malboros are slow, don't have ranged attacks, and tend to bunch up in groups. You can take your time advancing against them and attack them with wide-range attacks (e.g. Hallowed Bolt). More difficult are the Type B and Type C parties, which include aevises; the Type C party also usually includes Mystics, Black Mages, and Archers. These battles are tougher. The aevises will quickly fly up the stairs to attack you and can fly over your front line to attack the magick-/item-users in the back. The Mystics can also be a pain since they will put lots of status conditions on you and often start near your team. If you have any Hair Adornments to equip on your female characters, these are good to bring here since they will protect against lots of potential status ailments. Attack the Mystics first since they have less HP and you can probably KO them the fastest. Attack the Aevises second and save any Malboros/Ochus for last. The exit is almost always towards the end of path, as are most of the items. This can make them difficult to reach if the enemy squad confronts you head-on. You'll probably have the best luck finding everything when you're fighting the Type A party (the Malboros) and have plenty of room and time for navigation. It may take you a few tries to collect everything here. But, the equipment available here is also quite good. The Rod of Faith is available here only and especially valuable (see below), and the Kaiser Shield is good too. The Faerie Harp is skippable if you don't use Bards, although it IS the strongest harp available. --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 9, Stone Outcropping POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 3, Up: 8 (height: 7, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Elixir Death Trap Left: 11, Up: 2 (height: 4, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Rod of Faith Sten Needle Left: 10, Up: 0 (height: 4, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Kaiser Shield Hypnogas Left: 10, Up: 1 (height: 4, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Faerie Harp Death Trap POTENTIAL EXIT LOCATIONS: Left: 8, Up: 0 (height: 3, Stalactite) Left: 11, Up: 7 (height: 3, Stalactite) Left: 13, Up: 8 (height: 2, Stalactite) Left: 14, Up: 6 (height: 1, Stone Outcropping) Left: 15, Up: 4 (height: 1, Stone Outcropping) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Make sure to pick up the Rod of Faith before you move on from the Catacombs. The Rod of Faith maximizes its wielder's Faith while equipped, increasing their magick power (but also the magick damage they receive). You can also whack other characters with it to give *them* Faith status as well. The Rod of Faith is ONLY available on The Catacombs, so don't miss it! If you pick up the Phoenix Down from the tile, or if you claim the Rod and it gets broken, the Rod is gone forever. Don't let this happen! The Rod of Faith can be especially useful for Marach, if you're using him. The Faith status maximizes the damage from *both* his Nether Mantra abilities (which normally do more damage when his Faith is low) and regular magicks (which do more damage when Faith is high). Also, since the Rod maximizes your Faith regardless of its normal value, you can reduce a character's Faith to make them strong against enemy magick and then only give them the Rod when you want them using magick. (See the related entry under Tricks Related To Specific Items -- Ctrl+F plus 00tricks -- for more on strategies using the Rod.) It's also worth noting that the Faerie Harp from The Catacombs is the only attack or ability that can Charm all targets regardless of gender or human/monster status. ---Floor 5: The Oubliette------------------------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: 1-5 characters POSSIBLE ENEMY FORCES: TYPE A - Elder Treant (lv RH+14) OR Dryad (lv RH+13) [1 - 11 Elder Treant (lv RH+14) OR Dryad (lv RH+12) OR nothing foes] Elder Treant (lv RH+14) OR Dryad (lv RH+11) OR nothing Treant (lv RH+14) OR Dryad (lv RH+10) OR nothing Treant (lv RH+14) OR Dryad (lv RH+9) OR nothing Dryad (lv RH+13) OR nothing Dryad (lv RH+13) OR nothing Dryad (lv RH+12) OR nothing Dryad (lv RH+11) OR nothing Dryad (lv RH+10) OR nothing Dryad (lv RH+9) OR nothing TYPE B - Black Mage (lv RH+14, f) OR Elder Treant (lv RH+9) [8 foes] Black Mage (lv RH+14, f) OR Treant (lv RH+12) Black Mage (lv RH+14, f) OR Treant (lv RH+11) Black Mage (lv RH+14, f) OR Dryad (lv RH+13) White Mage (lv RH+14, m) OR Gobbledygook (lv RH+13) White Mage (lv RH+14, m) OR Gobbledygook (lv RH+12) White Mage (lv RH+14, m) OR Gobbledygook (lv RH+11) White Mage (lv RH+14, m) OR Gobbledygook (lv RH+10) TYPE C - Elder Treant (lv RH+14) OR Dryad (lv RH+10) [8 foes] Elder Treant (lv RH+14) OR Dryad (lv RH+9) Treant (lv RH+14) OR Dryad (lv RH+13) Treant (lv RH+14) OR Dryad (lv RH+12) Treant (lv RH+14) OR Dryad (lv RH+11) Monk (lv RH+14, f) OR Knight (lv RH+13, m) Summoner (lv RH+12, f) OR Time Mage (lv RH+14, m) Ahriman (lv RH+14) OR Red Panther (lv RH+11) TYPE D - Summoner (lv RH+15,f) OR Monk (lv RH+10, f) OR Squire (lv RH+14, f) [4 foes] Thief (lv RH+15, m) OR W. Mage (lv RH+14, m) OR Chemist (lv RH+13, m) Orator (lv RH+15, f) OR Bl.Mage (lv RH+13, f) OR Knight (lv RH+12, f) Mystic (lv RH+15, m) OR T. Mage (lv RH+12, m) OR Archer (lv RH+11, m) WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 12 x 7 Stalactite Sandstorm 57% River Torrent 43% --STRATEGY-- The Oubliette is basically a "king of the hill" scenario. You're up on top of a hill which is surrounded by loads of enemies. There's only one path up (or down) the hill, which loops counterclockwise around the cliff. Although many of the tiles here are River tiles, the water is so shallow that it doesn't affect your movement in any way. No need to worry about that. A second Excalibur sword is hidden right on the top of the hill where you start. Although you should already have the one Orlandeau comes with, a second never hurts ... the automatic Haste effect is incredibly useful! If you have Reequip, you can even arm yourself it with it right away. You can give this second Excalibur to another character who uses knight's swords, like Agrias, Beowulf, Meliadoul, or Ramza -- or any character in the Knight or Dark Knight job. You can also find the Iga Blade ninja blade on this floor. It's possible to launch attacks down at the enemies from atop the the cliff, but it's trickier than it looks. The angle is so steep that guns probably won't work. You can use magicks, but your best bet is probably just to wind your way down the trail. For the most part, you'll be on the opposite side of the hill as the enemies and they can't hit you anyways. Do be careful when you're descending the initial ramp, though. If you stand close to the edge of the cliff, any enemy Archers or Summoners CAN hit you from below. Because the trail is pretty narrow, it can get hard to see where your characters are, or how far your moving/targeting range extends. Don't forget that you can rotate the "camera" to get a better view: On the PSP, tap the analog stick in the lower-left of the PSP left or right; in iOS, swipe the screen left or right. This will often help you get a better view. Pressing the R button on top of the PSP will also tilt the camera angle. After you've made a couple turns around the hill and end up facing the direction you did when you started the level, you'll come to a pass that's only two tiles wide. This is the best place to fight. You can just send Divine Ruinations or Shockwaves down this corridor and rip the enemies. If you have both Agrias and Orlandeau, you can cover the entire pass with Divine Ruinations. Another tactic is the to block the full width of the pass with Invisible characters. (Ninja Gear, Septie`me perfume, the Invisibility Cloak, and the Ninja's Vanish ability can all make characters Invisible.) The enemies can't walk past your Invisible characters, and because you're Invisible, they won't be able to attack you either. Then, you can just have the rest of your team launch magicks or sword techniques at the enemies from behind your "invisible wall." If you're battling the Type B party, there will likely be some White Mages here. These are actually the most dangerous enemies here, as they will keep healing and Raising the other enemies. Kill them first. Otherwise, you mainly fight treants and Gobbledygooks here, and they are both pretty easy to defeat. Finding the exit on this floor can be tough. One of the possible locations is on a "ledge" directly below where you start. You can jump down there from the height 13 area, or use Teleport/Ignore Elevation to leap directly. The other exit locations are on the bottom of the path, with the enemies. It can be tricky to squeeze past the enemies to reach them. An alternative is to Teleport directly down at the start of the battle. This works best if the character is Invisible or has some other good defensive abilities/gear, as s/he is otherwise likely to get surrounded and KOed. --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 7, Stalactite POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 2, Up: 3 (height: 18, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Excalibur Death Trap Left: 6, Up: 0 (height: 11, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Elixir Death Trap Left: 0, Up: 0 (height: 7, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Iga Blade Hypnogas Left: 0, Up: 11 (height: 1, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Elixir Sten Needle POTENTIAL EXIT LOCATIONS: Left: 3, Up: 7 (height: 10, Stalactite) Left: 1, Up: 9 (height: 0, River) Left: 4, Up: 9 (height: 0, River) Left: 6, Up: 7 (height: 0, Stalactite) Left: 6, Up: 11 (height: 1, Stalactite) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You're now halfway through the Deep! Continue on to The Palings. ---Floor 6: The Palings--------------------------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: 1-5 characters POSSIBLE ENEMY FORCES: TYPE A - Vampire Cat (lv ~RH) OR Behemoth (lv RH+16) [1 - 11 Vampire Cat (lv ~RH) OR Behemoth (lv RH+15) OR nothing foes] Vampire Cat (lv ~RH) OR Behemoth (lv RH+14) OR nothing Vampire Cat (lv ~RH) OR Behemoth (lv RH+16) OR nothing Red Panther (lv ~RH) OR Behemoth King (lv RH+15) OR nothing Vampire Cat (lv ~RH) OR nothing Vampire Cat (lv ~RH) OR nothing Vampire Cat (lv ~RH) OR nothing Vampire Cat (lv ~RH) OR nothing Vampire Cat (lv ~RH) OR nothing Coeurl (lv ~RH) OR nothing TYPE B - Dark Behemoth (lv ~RH) OR Black Mage (lv RH+14, f) [8 foes] Plague Horror (lv RH+16) OR Piscodaemon (lv ~RH) Floating Eye (lv RH+15) OR Squidraken (lv ~RH) Mindflayer (lv RH+16) OR Squidraken (lv ~RH) Mindflayer (lv RH+14) OR Squidraken (lv ~RH) Archer (lv RH+15, m) OR Ahriman (lv ~RH) Archer (lv RH+15, m) OR Ahriman (lv ~RH) Archer (lv RH+16, m) OR Ahriman (lv ~RH) TYPE C - Sekhret (lv RH+16) OR Black Goblin (lv ~RH) [8 foes] Minotaur (lv RH+14) OR Black Goblin (lv ~RH) Wisenkin (lv RH+15) OR Black Goblin (lv ~RH) Wisenkin (lv RH+16) OR Goblin (lv ~RH) Ninja (lv ~RH, m) OR Archer (lv RH+15, f) Ninja (lv ~RH, m) OR Archer (lv RH+14, f) Ninja (lv ~RH, m) OR Archer (lv RH+16, f) Ninja (lv ~RH, m) OR Archer (lv RH+14, f) TYPE D - Dark Behem. (lv ~RH) OR Samurai (lv RH+17, m) OR Chocobo (lv ~RH) [4 foes] Plague Horr.(lv ~RH) OR Samurai (lv RH+15, f) OR Black Chocobo (lv ~RH) Dragon (lv ~RH) OR Knight (lv RH+16, m) OR Exploder (lv ~RH) Behemoth (lv ~RH) OR Knight (lv RH+14, f) OR Red Panther (lv ~RH) WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 11 x 10 Stalactite Sandstorm 43% Stone Outcropping Tremor 30% Obstructed -- 19% Moss Wind Slash 8% --STRATEGY--- The Palings is a flat level with three big rock ridges. Select a range attack to get a feel for where they are. Normally, you'd have to wind your way around them, which means that slower characters can easily get stranded behind the rest of your team. If you equip the Teleport move ability, though, you can warp right through the ridges. (Ignore Elevation, however, doesn't work.) Using Teleport can be helpful for keeping your team together. It also makes it easier to reach the exit locations, many of which are towards the far end of the path. An even better strategy, though, is to just cast magick *through* the walls, while the enemies are still trying to navigate around them. Sword techniques, Arithmeticks, and summon spells work great for this purpose. You can even use Jump to attack over the walls. Using Invisible characters to block the passage (see The Oubliette, above) works here, too. As in The Oubliette, it can often get pretty hard to see where you're going, so rotate the camera to keep track of where the enemies are and where you can move. The Type A party here features a slew of Vampire Cats. They like to use Blaster to turn you to stone, so you may want to equip Jade Armlets for protection just in case you run into this enemy group. Or, at least bring a supply of Gold Needle or Remedies. As on the first floor, the Exploder that may appear in the Type D party is tricky to see in the dark. Check the enemy party with your cursor to see if it's hiding out. All the hidden items are right in the starting corner, so there's no reason not to pick them up! (If you start on top of one the item tiles, you have to first move to another tile and then move to the item tile before you can get the item to appear.) The items include the Blaster (the lightning-elemental magickal gun and the strongest gun overall), the invisibility-granting Ninja Gear, the Cursed Ring, and an Elixir. If you plan on tackling all the co-op Rendezvous Mode missions, the Cursed Ring is quite important to one of the missions. This is the only one you can get in the game, so don't miss it or lose it later! The Ring has the effect of making a character Undead as long as it's equipped. In other words, the effect of most healing and draining magicks are reversed. The Undead status also gives you a 50% chance of reviving when your death counter reaches 0 -- but be aware that there's still a 50% chance you'll die permanently! --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 5, Stalactite POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 0, Up: 9 (height: 5, Stone Out.) Phoenix Down Elixir Death Trap Left: 0, Up: 8 (height: 5, Stone Out.) Phoenix Down Blaster Death Trap Left: 1, Up: 8 (height: 5, Stone Out.) Phoenix Down Cursed Ring Sten Needle Left: 1, Up: 9 (height: 5, Stone Out.) Phoenix Down Ninja Gear Hypnogas POTENTIAL EXIT LOCATIONS: Left: 5, Up: 7 (height: 2, Stalactite) Left: 8, Up: 2 (height: 0, Stone Outcropping) Left: 10, Up: 0 (height: 0, Stone Outcropping) Left: 9, Up: 7 (height: 0, Stone Outcropping) Left: 10, Up: 9 (height: 0, Stone Outcropping) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next stop is The Crossing. ---Floor 7: The Crossing-------------------------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: 1-5 characters POSSIBLE ENEMY FORCES: TYPE A - Skeleton (lv ~RH) [1 - 11 Revenant (lv RH+19) OR Skeleton (lv ~RH) OR nothing foes] Revenant (lv RH+18) OR Skeleton (lv ~RH) OR nothing Revenant (lv RH+17) OR Skeleton (lv ~RH) OR nothing Bonesnatch (lv RH+19) OR Ghast (lv ~RH) OR nothing Bonesnatch (lv RH+18) OR Ghast (lv ~RH) OR nothing Skeleton (lv ~RH) OR nothing Skeleton (lv ~RH) OR nothing Ghast (lv ~RH) OR nothing Ghast (lv ~RH) OR nothing Ghast (lv ~RH) OR nothing TYPE B - Mystic (lv RH+19, m) OR Skeleton (lv ~RH) [8 foes] Mystic (lv RH+19, m) OR Skeleton (lv ~RH) Mystic (lv RH+18, m) OR Bonesnatch (lv ~RH) Mystic (lv RH+17, m) OR Behemoth (lv ~RH) Archer (lv RH+19, f) OR Behemoth King (lv ~RH) Archer (lv RH+18, f) OR Skeleton (lv ~RH) Archer (lv RH+18, f) OR Bonesnatch (lv ~RH) Archer (lv RH+17, f) OR Skeletal Fiend (lv ~RH) TYPE C - Sekhret (lv RH+19) OR Black Mage (lv ~RH, m) [8 foes] Sekhret (lv RH+18) OR Black Mage (lv ~RH, m) Sekhret (lv RH+17) OR Monk (lv ~RH, m) Minotaur (lv RH+19) OR Monk (lv ~RH, m) Minotaur (lv RH+18) OR Monk (lv ~RH, m) Minotaur (lv RH+17) OR Thief (lv ~RH, f) Wisenkin (lv RH+19) OR Thief (lv ~RH, f) Wisenkin (lv RH+18) OR Thief (lv ~RH, f) TYPE D - Hydra (lv RH+18) OR Archer (lv RH+19, m) OR Archer (lv ~RH, f) [4 foes] Summoner (lv RH+17, f) OR Piscodaemon (lv RH+19) OR Wisenkin (lv ~RH) Wh. Mage (lv RH+18, f) OR Mindflayer (lv RH+17) OR Dragon (lv ~RH) Dragoon (lv ~RH, f) OR Squidraken (lv RH+19) OR Archer (lv ~RH, m) WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 15 x 9 Stalactite Sandstorm 75% Stone Outcropping Tremor 20% Obstructed -- 5% --STRATEGY-- The Crossing is a mostly flat level with a big rock ridge running through the middle. There's a small gap running through the ridge (the Crossing, I suppose) that separates it into two smaller cliffs. You start off next to one of the ends of the ridge. Most of the time, the enemies will all be clustered around the other cliff. Advance forwards and start fighting them, using height to your advantage where you can. Again, because you're often fighting a large group at once, abilities that quickly put an enemy out of commission (e.g. Chicken or Arm Shot) are helpful. If you encounter the Type D party, however, the enemies will be more spread out across the level. Advance forward just the same and cross the level on the level ground. Trying to climb over the ridge is just liable to get your characters separated and surrounded. There's actually not much need to climb up onto the top of the ridge except to find the items stashed up there. Most of the items (including the two rare weapons) are atop the cliff that you start beside. To get up there, from the starting point, move forward a little bit, then move sideways into the gap through the ridge. From here, you can jump on top of the ridge, but you'll need a Jump of 5. If you need a boost, use Construct 8 or another large monster as a stepping stool. (Remember, of course, that Treasure Hunter cannot be combined with Teleport or Ignore Elevation.) Actually, most of the items here aren't all that great. The Staff of the Magi isn't very good; it has a higher *physical* attack power than the Zeus Mace, but no benefit to your magick attack -- and how often do your magick-users hit people with their staves? But, do grab the Koga Blade if you have any ninjas. If you're looking for the exits, you can take the "crossing" through the ridge to get to the far side (i.e., the other side of the ridge from where you start). One of the possible locations is *inside* the crossing gap, and three of the others are on the far side of the ridge. --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 2, Stone Outcropping POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 4, Up: 4 (height: 12, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Elixir Sten Needle Left: 4, Up: 10 (height: 13, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Staff of Magi Hypnogas Left: 4, Up: 12 (height: 12, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Koga Blade Death Trap Left: 4, Up: 14 (height: 10, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Elixir Death Trap POTENTIAL EXIT LOCATIONS: Left: 3, Up: 6 (height: 7, Stalactite) Left: 4, Up: 2 (height: 5, Stalactite) Left: 6, Up: 8 (height: 2, Stalactite) Left: 6, Up: 13 (height: 0, Stalactite) Left: 8, Up: 14 (height: 0, Stone Outcropping) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By now, you're getting near the bottom, and the difficulty level is rising again. The next two floors will be quite tough, but they also contain some very strong items. ---Floor 8: The Switchback------------------------------------------------------ YOUR FORCES: 1-5 characters POSSIBLE ENEMY FORCES: TYPE A - Archer (lv RH+20, f) * OR Archer (lv ~RH, m) [5 - 11 Archer (lv RH+19, m) # OR Archer (lv ~RH, m) foes] Archer (lv RH+18, m) OR Archer (lv ~RH, m) Archer (lv RH+17, m) OR Archer (lv ~RH, f) Archer (lv RH+16, f) OR Archer (lv ~RH, m) Archer (lv ~RH, m) OR nothing Archer (lv ~RH, m) OR nothing Archer (lv ~RH, f) OR nothing Archer (lv ~RH, m) OR nothing Archer (lv ~RH, m) OR nothing Archer (lv ~RH, m) OR nothing * The RH+20 Archer always carries the rare Artemis Bow if she appears. # The RH+19 Archer always carries the rare Yoichi Bow if he appears. TYPE B - Summoner (lv RH+20, f) OR Bomb (lv ~RH) [8 foes] Summoner (lv RH+19, f) OR Bomb (lv ~RH) Elder Treant (lv RH+20) OR Bomb (lv ~RH) Treant (lv RH+18) OR Bomb (lv ~RH) Dryad (lv RH+19) OR Coeurl (lv ~RH) Dryad (lv RH+18) OR Red Panther (lv ~RH) Exploder (lv RH+19) OR Coeurl (lv ~RH) Grenade (lv RH+20) OR Red Panther (lv ~RH) TYPE C - Greater Hydra (lv RH+18) OR Greater Malboro (lv ~RH) [8 foes] Hydra (lv RH+19) OR Ochu (lv ~RH) Red Dragon (lv RH+20) OR Malboro (lv ~RH) Red Dragon (lv RH+19) OR Behemoth King (lv ~RH) Dragon (lv RH+19) OR Blue Dragon (lv ~RH) Behemoth (lv RH+20) OR Dragon (lv ~RH) Ochu (lv RH+20) OR Behemoth (lv ~RH) Malboro (lv RH+18) OR Dark Behemoth (lv ~RH) TYPE D - Arithm. (lv RH+21, m) OR Blk Mage (lv ~RH, m) OR Summoner (lv ~RH, m) [4 foes] Arithm. (lv RH+21, f) OR Blk Mage (lv ~RH, f) OR Summoner (lv ~RH, f) Arithm. (lv RH+20, f) OR Blk Mage (lv ~RH, f) OR Summoner (lv ~RH, f) Arithm. (lv RH+19, f) OR Blk Mage (lv ~RH, f) OR Summoner (lv ~RH, f) WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 14 x 13 Stalactite Sandstorm 39% Darkness (chasm) -- 38% Stone Outcropping Tremor 16% Obstructed -- 7% --STRATEGY-- This level has two tiers. You start on the high one and have to cross it, descend a stair, and fight back across the lower tier -- hence the name "The Switchback." As in other levels like The Oubliette, the decline is so steep that it's pretty hard to shoot downwards, so you're better off heading for the stairs. Arithmeticks is extremely effective, however; the lower tier is almost completely height 3, so you can hit most of the enemy forces with a Height 3 calculation. (Any bomb-type enemies are floating, though, which raises them up 1 height unit -- you need to use Height 4 to hit them.) The Type A party here is nothing but a swarm of Archers, so readying Shirahadori or Archer's Bane beforehand is a good strategy. This fight isn't too tough since the Archers can't do all THAT much damage, and often waste time charging up Aim. When the Archers appear, one of the male Archers may be carrying an additional Yoichi Bow you can steal. The Type B party is mostly monsters panthers, bombs, and treants. Be cautious of any panther enemies in the Type B party. They have an innate Ignore Elevation, which means they can jump right up the cliff and attack you. You might want to attack them first. The Type B party may also contain an Exploder -- again, these guys are pretty hard to see in the dark, so check with your cursor. The Type C party features some of the game's toughest monsters -- malboros, behemoths, dragons, and hydras (oh my!). When you see these guys, you may want to forestall hunting for items or the exit and just focus on surviving. On the other hand, if you're tough enough, this is a great opportunity to go Poaching or monster recruiting. Both of the Greater Hydra's poached items (the common Septie`me perfume and the rare Rubber Suit) and the common poach from the Behemoth King (the Cherche perfume) are items that can be obtained in the single-player game only from poaching. And, poaching the Greater Malboros is the main way to get an unlimited supply of Elixirs. Depending on which jobs you're using, you might even want to try to poach the Omnilex, the strongest book weapon (rare poach from Greater Malboro), or the Scorpion Tail, the strongest flail (rare poach from Hydra), but both of these are pretty specialized weapons you're not likely to get much use out of. The Treasure Hunter items are all found on the bottom tier. These include the Ragnarok knight's sword (not actually as good as Excalibur as it doesn't have an auto-Haste), the Lordly Robe (a GREAT robe), and the Perseus Bow (the best bow in the single-player game). --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 5, Stalactite POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 4, Up: 6 (height: 3, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Perseus Bow Death Trap Left: 6, Up: 7 (height: 3, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Lordly Robe Death Trap Left: 9, Up: 8 (height: 3, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Ragnarok Hypnogas Left: 10,Up: 10 (height: 3, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Elixir Sten Needle POTENTIAL EXIT LOCATIONS: Left: 2, Up: 10 (height: 9, Stone Outcropping) Left: 4, Up: 5 (height: 3, Stalactite) Left: 11,Up: 10 (height: 3, Stalactite) Left: 11,Up: 13 (height: 3, Stalactite) Left: 12,Up: 13 (height: 3, Stalactite) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The final normal floor is The Interstice. ---Floor 9: The Interstice------------------------------------------------------ YOUR FORCES: 1-5 characters POSSIBLE ENEMY FORCES: TYPE A - Black Mage (lv RH+22, f) [6 - 11 Black Mage (lv RH+21, f) OR Archer (lv RH+22, m) foes] Black Mage (lv RH+20, f) OR Red Chocobo (lv RH+21) Knight (lv ~RH, m) OR Black Chocobo (lv RH+22) Archer (lv ~RH, m) OR Black Chocobo (lv RH+21) Knight (lv RH+21, m) OR Chocobo (lv RH+20) Knight (lv RH+22, m) OR nothing Knight (lv RH+20, m) OR nothing Black Mage (lv RH+19, f) OR nothing Archer (lv ~RH, m) OR nothing Archer (lv ~RH, m) OR nothing TYPE B - Elder Treant (lv RH+20) OR Bomb (lv ~RH) [8 foes] Treant (lv RH+18) OR Bomb (lv ~RH) Dryad (lv RH+19) OR Coeurl (lv ~RH) Dryad (lv RH+18) OR Red Panther (lv ~RH) Summoner (lv RH+20, f) OR Bomb (lv ~RH) Summoner (lv RH+19, f) OR Bomb (lv ~RH) Exploder (lv RH+19) OR Coeurl (lv ~RH) Grenade (lv RH+20) OR Red Panther (lv ~RH) TYPE C - Samurai (lv RH+22, f) OR Ninja (lv ~RH, f) [8 foes] Samurai (lv RH+22, f) OR Ninja (lv ~RH, f) Samurai (lv RH+21, m) OR Ninja (lv ~RH, m) Samurai (lv RH+21, m) OR Ninja (lv ~RH, m) Samurai (lv RH+20, f) OR Ninja (lv ~RH, f) Samurai (lv RH+20, f) OR Ninja (lv ~RH, f) Samurai (lv RH+19, m) OR Ninja (lv ~RH, m) Samurai (lv RH+19, m) OR Ninja (lv ~RH, m) TYPE D - Summoner (lv RH+24,f) OR T. Mage (lv RH+25,m) OR Red Panther (lv RH+25) [4 foes] Summoner (lv RH+23,f) OR T. Mage (lv RH+24,m) OR Hydra (lv RH+24) Summoner (lv RH+23,m) OR Mystic (lv RH+22,m) OR Sekhret (lv RH+23) Summoner (lv RH+22,m) OR Mystic (lv RH+21,m) OR Behemoth (lv RH+22) WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 12 x 10 Stalactite Sandstorm 50% Moss Wind Slash 28% Darkness (chasm) -- 20% Stone Outcropping Tremor 3% --STRATEGY-- The Interstice has a tricky layout. You start on one of two pillars, with a tiny mini-pillar in between the two pillars. Parallel to the pillars is a flat plateau area where the enemies often start. The terrain in between and on the other side of the pillars is flat. The enemies often start on top of the flat plateau. From their position here, they will launch magicks and arrows up at you. If you stand on the side of the pillar closest to them, you can hit them back with some ranged attacks. To really attack them (and to use any close-range abilities), though, you'll need to take down the long route down to their plateau. Jump across the mini-pillar to the other pillar. From here, there's a staircase down to the plateau. You should probably hurry for the staircase as quickly as you can. While you CAN attack from the top of the pillars, it's too crowded to move around, making it difficult to target the enemies you want. Start moving across the pillars as fast as you can. You *could* also use Teleport or Ignore Elevation to jump down to the plateau, but this is pretty tricky because: (a) there's a hole in the corner of the map closest to where you start; the only route you can take is directly down off the front of the pillar where you start and (b) the character is liable to get surrounded and KOed quickly. Only try this if you have a pretty sturdy character with a lot of HP or a good reaction ability (e.g. Shirahadori). You'll also need to take the plateau route if you want to claim all the items -- the Maximillian armor is located on the far end of the plateau, and the Venetian Shield is down on the flat floor. (The Grand Helm is up on the pillars.) All of these are definitely worth grabbing. If you have Arithmeticks, height-based calculations work great here. The entire top area has a height of 9 and 8 only. So, if you use Height Prime and Height 5 magicks, you can hit a lot of the enemies without hurting yourself. The specific enemies you face here, of course, vary. The Type A party features an assortment of Black Mages, Archers, Knights, and Chocobos. Don't forget that you can stop the Black Mages pretty quickly by stealing their MP -- Orlandeau's Duskblade works well for that. The Type D party is fairly similar. The Type C party is a Ninja and Samurai convention. This is fairly easy. If you're just looking to clear the battle, kill the Ninjas first, since they can throw from a distance. But, if the Ninjas are at a high level (90+) they will throw rare weapons at you that you can catch using the Thief reaction ability Sticky Fingers. Kill off the Samurais first and then just sit around and let them throw weapons at you. (It's also a good idea to have a character sit on the tile with the Death Trap, so the enemy Ninjas won't accidentally kill themselves with it.) The toughest enemy group here is the Type B party, which includes dragons, Cockatrices, and human Dragoons. Try to stay in a tight group on the pillars and use your best attacks. Attack the Cockatrices first, then go for the dragons closest to you. Don't forget that Shirahadori lets you block the Dragoon's Jump attacks. With any of the enemy groups, some of the enemies can sometimes be very hard to see if they slip in between the pillars or in between the pillar and plateau. Try to track where they're moving so you don't forget about them even if you can't see them on the screen. Finding the exit in this level can be tricky. It's always on the flat "floor" below the pillars and plateau. Your best best is to put Teleport or Ignore Elevation on an Invisible character and immediately jump from the starting pillar down to the flat ground. If you don't have the items/abilities for that, you'll have to take the very long route: hop across the pillars, descend to the plateau, cross the plateau, and THEN reach the set of stairs down the floor. This floor also holds the game's best heavy armor -- the Maximillian and Grand Helm -- as well as the Venetian Shield, second only to the Escutcheon (II) as a shield in the single-player game. You'll definitely want to grab this stuff! --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 0, Darkness - rotate camera so party is facing down & to the left at battle start POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 3, Up: 4 (height: 8, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Grand Helm Death Trap Left: 3, Up: 5 (height: 2, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Venetian Shld. Hypnogas Left: 9, Up: 0 (height: 4, Stalactite) Phoenix Down Maximillian Hypnogas Left: 10, Up: 3 (height: 2, Moss) Phoenix Down Elixir Sten Needle POTENTIAL EXIT LOCATIONS: Left: 9, Up: 1 (height: 4, Stalactite) Left: 11, Up: 3 (height: 2, Stalactite) Left: 9, Up: 5 (height: 2, Moss) Left: 11, Up: 8 (height: 1, Moss) Left: 1, Up: 7 (height: 2, Moss) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There's only one level left after this, appropriately named Terminus. There's a boss encounter the first time you enter here, and it's your one chance in the single-player game to learn the game's best Summon, Zodiark. If you want to learn it, deploy your best Summoner (with Summoner as his/her current job) and arm him/her with the Time Mage ability Mana Shield for protection. To help survive Zodiark, Construct 8 and one or more characters with Reraise may also be helpful. When you enter Terminus for the first time, you'll meet the former war hero Elidibus, who will turn himself into a Lucavi. ---Floor 10: Terminus----------------------------------------------------------- YOUR FORCES: Ramza, the Byblos [guest], 4 others ENEMY FORCES: Elidibus (lv 75 Serpentarius) Reaver* x6 * The Reavers' levels depend on the highest level on your own roster. GUEST: Byblos - level based on party's; Zodiac sign, name, Bravery, Faith are all random BOSS: Elidibus [Serpentarius] - lv 75 Serpentarius - Bravery 70, Faith 70 HP: about 2730, MP: about 1135 Abilities : The Dark, Counter, Swiftness Immune : Ice; all negative status except Blind, Oil, Toad, Slow, and Stop VICTORY CONDITION: KO Elidibus LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone WEATHER: Indoors (no special effects) MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA 13 x 13 Darkness (chasm) -- 46% Stalactite Sandstorm 35% Stone Outcropping Tremor 15% Obstructed -- 5% --STRATEGY-- The battle with Elidibus is considered a story battle, so you'll have to deploy Ramza. If you want to learn the Zodiark summon (and this is your only opportunity in the single-player game to do so), you'll also need to deploy someone who is a Summoner. This can be Ramza or someone else. There's no exit to find here, just a confrontation with Elidibus and a whole pile of Reavers. Elidibus is at the top of a spiral staircase; you'll have to fight your way up past the Reavers to reach him. The enemy Reavers are gray. The purple monster behind you, the Byblos, is NOT an enemy; its a Guest fighting on your side. Don't kill it; it's your friend! (The personal name of the Byblos is random, but it can be identified by its "Byblos" monster type and purple color.) The Byblos is pretty slow-moving, but it can heal you from afar. Keep it alive and it will join you afterwards. (By contrast, there's no way to ever recruit the enemy Reavers.) Begin fighting your way up the stairs. The Reavers aren't hard to kill; sword techniques or Dual Wielded physical attacks work wonders. They're weak to Fire- elemental attacks, but pretty much any strong attack is good for KOing them. Since their Bio spells take time to charge, you can often KO them before they can even cast the spell. The Bio spells don't do all that much HP damage, but do inflict a variety of status ailments, so bring an ability like Esuna or Purification to remove these. Purification is especially helpful since it doesn't need time to charge. You can probably reach Elidibus quickly. Elidibus's main attack is the extremely powerful Zodiark summon (700+ damage). It's obvious when he's going to cast it from the humongous damage estimates -- plus it takes a long time to charge. You'll need to make sure Zodiark doesn't wipe out all your whole team at once and give you a game over. Split your characters up so Zodiark can't take out too many of your characters at one time. Another easy way to survive Zodiark is to pair Construct 8 with one or more characters with Reraise (e.g. from the Chantage). Construct 8's Atheist status means it can't take any damage from Zodiark, and as long as it's still standing, all your characters with Reraise can revive. Unfortunately, since Construct 8 is slow and takes a long time to get across the battlefield, it may not be all that much help with the actual fighting. Alternately, you could use the Mystic or Beowulf's Doubt to give other characters the Atheist status. Atheist status also renders your own magick useless, though, so you WON'T want to put it on any magick-users in your team. Mana Shield and Manafont is another good way to survive Zodiark (and, unlike Atheist status, Mana Shield allows you to learn Zodiark). Attacking Elidibus with the Jump ability can also be useful; it deals damage to him and also protects you from damage while in the air. Once you've gotten past the Reavers, healing is pretty much pointless because Zodiark will basically kill you no matter how much HP you have. This makes Beowulf good here because keeping his HP low will make his Vengeance attack very strong! You should, however, revive KOed characters. Angel Rings and Chantage will be quite useful in this battle as they let you recover from the inevitable KO. (Angel Rings work only once; Chantage works multiple times.) While Zodiark is Elidibus's main attack, you'll also need to watch out for his Poisonous Frog magick, which turns characters into toads (and poisons them), rendering them useless. For female characters, equipping any Cachushas or Ribbons you have may be a good idea as they will protect you from both Poison and Toad status. Alternately, you can just use Esuna or Purification to remove the status. If your characters do get hit with Poisonous Frog, don't just have them wait out their turns; this gets them more turns and means the poison will drain their HP faster. Instead, have them move and attack (even if you're just attacking empty air) on each of their turns until you can heal them. This will slow their CT gauge refill and reduce the damage they suffer from the poison. Elidibus's two other attacks are Midgardsormr, a fairly strong summon magick, and Snakecharm, a close-range physical attack. He tends not to use these unless both (A) you have a low-HP character within range that he could finish off with the attack, and (B) Zodiark would not allow him to strike more targets. When you reach Elidibus, attack him with your strongest abilities -- preferably ones that hit from a distance so that he can't counterattack you. Sword techniques, as always, are great. Like all characters, Elidibus takes more damage while charging magick, so pummel him whenever he starts charging Zodiark. Attack Boost will also help you do more damage quickly. Elidibus happens to be immune to Ice (but no other elements), so avoid any ice magicks or weapons. Elidibus is actually vulnerable to a few status ailments. You can use Slow or Stop to slow him down, or Atheist to disable his magick. (Just beware if you use Atheist, that will keep you from learning Zodiark.) If you have an Arithmetician, you can hit Elidibus with these ailments or with offensive magicks by using a Level 3 or Level 5 calculation. If he hasn't moved off his top platform yet, Height 3 or Height 5 will work too. An advantage of Arithmeticks is that it will let you strike Elidibus at the very beginning of the battle, even before you've closed the distance between you and him. The key to this battle is mostly just surviving Zodiark; if you can keep one or two heavy hitters alive, you can fell him fairly quickly. An alternate way of trying to avoid multiple Zodiarks is to send a character who is low on HP towards Elidibus. He may target that character with Midgardsormr or Snakecharm, and spare the rest of your team. You can learn Zodiark for yourself if Elidibus casts it on a Summoner and the Summoner takes at least 1 HP damage but survives the spell. (Coming back to life with Reraise doesn't count; the Summoner must NOT be KOed by Zodiark.) When this happens, there's a random probability (90%) that the Summoner will learn Zodiark. spell. The easiest way to do this is to equip the Time Mage ability Mana Shield and make sure your Bravery is reasonably high. As long as you have at least 1 MP, this ability (when activated) causes all attacks to damage only your MP instead of HP. So, being hit with Zodiark will empty out your MP, but leave the character standing. If you don't learn the spell on your first attempt, use an Ether or Chakra to get back at least 1 MP and try again. If you don't have Mana Shield, an alternate method is to put Equip Heavy Armor on the Summoner to get his or her HP as high as possible, then start hitting Elidibus with Rend Magick as many times as you can (preferably using a gun, bow, or polearm to attack from a distance). This will lower Elidibus's magick power and decrease the amount of damage Zodiark can do, potentially allowing your Summoner to withstand the spell without Mana Shield. (Mana Shield is only 400 JP, though, so it's not too tough to grab beforehand.) Using the Atheist status to temporarily reduce your Faith to 0 will NOT work; your Summoner must take at least 1 HP damage from Zodiark in order to learn it. Of course, it's fine to cast Atheist on all your other characters if you want. If you turn on the Battle Prompts option under Options, a text box will tell you when you've learned Zodiark. If Battle Prompts isn't on, the cover will just hover briefly over your Summoner when s/he learns it. Elidibus has about 2730 HP. If you are trying to learn Zodiark, keep track of how much damage you're doing and don't hurt him too much until you learn the magick. You don't want to kill him on accident. Remember, this battle is your only chance to learn Zodiark outside of one multiplayer mission! The four hidden items are all located on the platform where Elidibus starts. You'll have a much easier time finding them if you come back AFTER you beat him, instead of trying to get them during the battle with Elidibus. Since this is the final floor of Midlight's Deep, there are no exits to find here. --TREASURE HUNTER ITEMS-- Put this corner at screen bottom: Height 0, Darkness - rotate camera so party is facing down & to the left at battle start POOR ITEM GOOD ITEM TRAP Left: 7, Up: 10 (height: 15, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Elixir none Left: 5, Up: 12 (height: 15, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Chirijiraden none Left: 7, Up: 12 (height: 15, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Elixir none Left: 5, Up: 10 (height: 15, Stalact.) Phoenix Down Chaos Blade none --POSSIBLE ENEMY FORCES (IN LATER RANDOM BATTLES)-- ---Floor 10: Terminus--- TYPE A - Greater Hydra (lv ~RH) OR Hydra (lv ~RH) [6 - 11 Greater Hydra (lv ~RH) OR Hydra (lv ~RH) foes] Greater Hydra (lv ~RH) OR Hydra (lv ~RH) Greater Hydra (lv ~RH) OR Hydra (lv ~RH) Greater Hydra (lv ~RH) OR Red Dragon (lv ~RH) Hydra (lv ~RH) Hydra (lv ~RH) OR nothing Hydra (lv ~RH) OR nothing Hydra (lv ~RH) OR nothing Red Dragon (lv ~RH) OR nothing Red Dragon (lv ~RH) OR nothing TYPE B - Swine (lv ~RH) OR Pig (lv ~RH) [8 foes] Swine (lv ~RH) OR Pig (lv ~RH) Black Mage (lv ~RH, m) OR Pig (lv ~RH) Black Mage (lv ~RH, m) OR Pig (lv ~RH) Mystic (lv ~RH, f) OR Pig (lv ~RH) Mystic (lv ~RH, f) OR Pig (lv ~RH) Archer (lv ~RH, m) OR Pig (lv ~RH) Archer (lv ~RH, m) OR Pig (lv ~RH) TYPE C - Black Chocobo (lv ~RH) OR Chocobo (lv ~RH) [8 foes] Black Chocobo (lv ~RH) OR Chocobo (lv ~RH) Black Chocobo (lv ~RH) OR Chocobo (lv ~RH) Black Chocobo (lv ~RH) OR Chocobo (lv ~RH) Black Chocobo (lv ~RH) OR Chocobo (lv ~RH) White Mage (lv ~RH, f) OR Chocobo (lv ~RH) White Mage (lv ~RH, f) OR Chocobo (lv ~RH) White Mage (lv ~RH, f) OR Chocobo (lv ~RH) TYPE D - Tiamat (lv RH+27) OR Mystic (lv ~RH, m) OR Mystic (lv ~RH, f) [4 foes] Tiamat (lv RH+26) OR Summoner (lv ~RH, m) OR Summoner (lv ~RH f) Tiamat (lv RH+25) OR Black Mage (lv ~RH, m) OR Black Mage (lv ~RH, f) Tiamat (lv RH+24) OR Time Mage (lv ~RH, m) OR Time Mage (lv ~RH, f) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After defeating Elidibus (and hopefully learning Zodiark from him), you'll get the 13th (!) Zodiac Stone, Serpentarius. Assuming you kept the Byblos from being killed, it will also offer to join your party. This is your one opportunity to get this character, so sign it up. The Byblos isn't really that great, though. It has an automatic Poach (like Luso) but only a handful of abilities. Congratulations! You've now beaten Midlight's Deep! You may notice that the Deep stays a red dot on the map screen even after you've finished off Elidibus. Don't worry; you haven't missed anything. It just stays red forever. But, there's still a few more things to do. Go back into Terminus after you defeat Elidibus, and bring a Treasure Hunter. On the top level (where Elidibus was), there are four items: two Elixirs, the Chirijiraden, and the Chaos Blade. The Chaos Blade is one of the best weapons in the game; it has a whopping 40 attack points, automatically Regens you, and petrifies enemies! The Chirijiraden is the strongest katana and also allows you to use the corresponding Iaido. If you're into poaching, you can find Pigs and Swines on Terminus, as well as all the members of the hydra family. All of these monsters yield rare items when poached. (And if you want REALLY rare items, recruit a Pig or Swine and wait until you breed a Wild Boar, then poach that!) You can also use Reis's Dragon's Charm to recruit a Tiamat. They're THE best monster in the game, and they're almost as strong as Orlandeau! If you're at least level 90, you can obtain other rare weapons from enemy Ninjas. Equip all your characters with Sticky Fingers and go back to The Interstice. If you can run into some Ninjas here, they'll throw a variety of nice weapons at you, which -- assuming you have Sticky Fingers -- you'll catch and claim for your own. If you're at a high enough level, you can even get Chaos Blades! Masamunes, Chirijiradens, Javelin IIs, and most other rare weapons can also be obtained here. (The exceptions are the weapons that can't be thrown, like staves.) See the "Throws from Enemy Ninjas" section for more details and the specific experience levels at which the Ninjas throw these items. What else is there left to do? If you leave Midlight's Deep and head back around the overworld, each wilderness locations has a "special" random battle that you can occasionally run into. Some of these, like the infamous all-Monk melee on Grogh Heights, can be pretty challenging. The special battle at Mount Germinas also pits you against some gun-wielding Chemists and Orators, where you can steal additional copies of the magick guns and sometimes the Stoneshooter. The Araguay Woods special battle is another place to encounter Ninjas and catch weapons from them. (For a complete list of these special battles, see the Random Battles section.) You can also continue poaching monsters if you're looking to complete your collection of items -- see the Rare Item Locations for where you can find everything. And, if you haven't finished the other subquests, those are still out there to complete! Finally, if you're playing the PSP version, you can team up a friend who owns a copy of the game to complete the game's multiplayer team missions in Rendezvous Mode or battle against each other in the Melee mode. (You'll need to complete the main quest first to unlock the last four Rendezvous Mode missions.) These missions are some of the biggest challenges in the game, but you can also win a lot of super-powered equipment not available in the single-player game.
miércoles, 18 de mayo de 2016
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