FINAL FANTASY TACTICS
T h e W a r o f t h e L i o n s
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: THE WAR OF THE LIONS FAQ
Version 2.27
by Fritz Fraundorf
qumarsh@gmail.com
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%%%%TABLE OF CONTENTS%%%%
To jump to any section of this FAQ, press Ctrl+F to Find and type in the code
(beginning with 00) next to the section title.
I. Revision History 00rev
II. Frequently Asked Questions 00faq
III. Walkthrough – Main Quest
Chapter I: The Meager 00walk1
Chapter II: The Manipulative & The Subservient 00walk2
Chapter III: The Valiant 00walk3
Chapter IV: In the Name of Love 00walk4
IV. Walkthrough – Subquests 00sub
Agrias’s Birthday 00agr
Gollund Colliery 00col
Recruiting Balthier 00balt
Nelveska Temple 00nel
Recruiting Cloud 00cloud
Disorder in the Order 00dis
Lionel’s New Liege Lord 00lio
Midlight’s Deep 00md
V. Battle Strategies
Chapter I: The Meager 00bs1
Chapter II: The Manipulative & The Subservient 00bs2
Chapter III: The Valiant 00bs3
Chapter IV: In the Name of Love 00bs4
Subquests 00bssub
Midlight’s Deep 00bsmd
VI. Multiplayer Modes
Melee Mode – General Information 00melee0
Melee Mode – Treasures 00melee1
Rendezvous Mode – General Information 00ren0
Rendezvous Mode – Treasures and Ranking 00ren1
Rendezvous Mission Strategies 00ren2
VII. Jobs and Abilities
Job Requirements (Quick Reference) 00req
General Information about Jobs 00job0
Standard Jobs 00job1
Special Jobs 00job2
Job Statistics Comparison 00jobstat
Monsters 00mon
Enemy-Only Jobs 00job3
VIII. Ability Strategies
Ability Combos 00abil
Character Strategies 00char
Party Strategies 00par
IX. Statistics and Leveling
Bravery and Faith 00brave
EXP, JP, and Gil 00exp
Quickly Raising EXP and JP 00quick
Automated Leveling 00auto
Level-Downs and Stat Grinding 00down
X. Equipment and Items 00equip
Weapons 00weap
Shields 00shield
Headgear 00head
Armor 00armor
Accessories 00acc
Items 00item
XI. Finding Items
Poached Items 00poach
Shop Chart 00shop
Rare Item Locations 00rare
Missable Items and Events 00miss
XII. Errands
General Information About Errands 00err0
Errand Types & Preferred Jobs 00err1
Errand List 00err2
XIII. Random Battles
Overworld Random Battles 00over
Midlight’s Deep Random Battles 00mdrb
Special Random Battles 00special
Guest Characters in Random Battles 00guest
XIV. Other Game Information
Basic Mechanics and Tactics 00basic
Advanced Tactics and Secrets 00adv
Ivalician Calendar 00calendar
Zodiac Compatibility 00zodiac
Party & Boss Zodiac Signs 00boss
Status Changes (Quick Reference) 00status1
Status Changes (Detail) 00status2
Elemental Affinities 00elem
Arithmeticks Chart 00arith
Traps & Treasure Hunter 00traps
XV. Miscellaneous Reference
Zodiac Stone Locations 00stones
FMV Movie List 00fmv
FF References 00ffr
XVI. PSone -> PSP Changes
Game Changes 00psone
Name Conversion Chart 00names
XVII. Credits / Disclaimer 00cred
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I. REVISION HISTORY 00rev
*******************************************************************************
—Version 2.27 (5/13/08)—
– More random battle-themed updates…
> Since the types of enemies you can encounter in random battles varies by
chapter, I’ve expanded the random battle list to include separate
sections by chapter.
> On a related note, the special random battles don’t appear until Chapter
IV, so I’ve made a note of this in the section too.
> Guest characters in random battles can’t be recruited to your team, with
the exception of the Swine at Dorvauldar Marsh. I’ve corrected this in
the Guest Characters section.
> I also updated the Rare Items Locations list with some places to find
some of the monsters earlier in the game, when the locations I’d
previously listed were only available in Chapter IV.
> Thanks to Geomancer8 for the heads-up on some of the changes between
chapters.
– Clarified the FAQ about Luso (he’s not missable, but you can’t get him before
his appropriate story event), since it was pretty unclear before.
– So far, I’ve gotten mixed feedback on whether to merge the walkthrough and
battle strategy sections. It would eliminate some scrolling back & forth, but
some people may prefer the sections separate. Let me know what you think as I
can go either way on this :). Thanks to all those who have provided feedback!
—Version 2.26 (5/4/08)—
– By popular request, I’ve added specific details on the enemy parties to the
Midlight’s Deep battle strategies. I hope this doesn’t take up too much extra
space, but people wanted it in there, so I added it š . Thanks, as always,
to Joe Davidson’s lioneditor (link below) for letting me pull this data from
the game and to Jason Corbett for formatting suggestions.
– Updated the Random Battles section to note another important difference
between story battles and random battles: in random battles, the enemies’
experience level is based on your own.
– Reader Don Jon suggests a tactic for learning the magicks that can be acquired
by being hit with them: if you equip something that absorbs the element in
question, you don’t have to worry about being killed the magick as you’re
trying to learn it.
– Made a few small tweaks / corrections to the Midlight’s Deep enemy frequency
charts (in the Random Battles section).
– The Catacombs is also a good place to find Greater Malboros; I’ve added this
to the Rare Item Locations list.
– I’m thinking about merging the Walkthrough and Battle Strategies sections.
This would reduce the amount of scrolling up & down needed, and also reduce
the FAQ file size by eliminating some redundant information. Anyone have any
comments for or against this change? Please drop me an e-mail if you do —
I’m definitely interested in feedback on this š
—Version 2.25 (4/27/08)—
– In the previous update, I forgot to give my usual link to Joe Davidson’s
lioneditor save editor, so here it is now!:
http://code.google.com/p/lioneditor/
It’s a great program and keeps getting better and better.
– Further revised the random battles section…
> Added estimates of how *frequently* the monsters occur at each location, in
addition to just listing which monsters can appear
> Fixed a goof in the list of guests in Random Battles — the guest Knight
at Zeklaus Desert comes when you enter from Dorter, not Gariland … there
isn’t even an entrance from Gariland! š
> Since the Random Battles section had gotten to be fairly large, I moved it
into its own division of the guide.
– Redid the Poaching List and Rare Items List with improved recommendations
about where to find most of the monsters for poaching.
– Updated the Zodiark sections with The Catacombs, The Switchback, and The
Interstice as suggested places to find enemy Summoners (for purposes of
teaching the spell additional party members). I also updated some old text
that referred to Terminus as being the *only* place to learn Zodiark, since
you can also learn it in one of the multiplayer missions.
– Finally got around to addressing the most important part of any FAQ: ASCII
art! I replaced the ASCII logo at the top with a new one that’s hopefully
less ugly š Thanks to Ascgen dotNET – http://ascgendotnet.jmsoftware.co.uk/
-
for the software used to produce the image.
-
– Added a FAQ for "How do I learn new abilities?" since I know this can be a
sticking point for people just starting the game.
– Fixed the date of the last update ;P
(Older updates not listed.)
*******************************************************************************
II. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 00faq
*******************************************************************************
Q. Is Cloud still in this version of the game, like he was in the PSone
release?
A. Yes. In fact, you can actually recruit him earlier than you could before.
Q. How do I get Cloud to join my party? And where do I find his sword?
A. See the "Walkthrough – Subquests" section of the FAQ. You need to complete
the Gollund Colliery, Nelveska Temple, and Recruiting Cloud quests in
sequence.
Q. I didn’t buy the flower when I had the chance. Can I still get Cloud?
A. Unfortunately, it seems that you have only one chance to buy the flower. If
you declined to buy it, you are not able to get Cloud, or complete the other
sidequests that depend on the flower. Sorry š
Q. What’s new in the PSP version of the game?
A. Check out the PSP Version Changes section – just hit Ctrl+F and type
in 00psone to jump to that section of the FAQ.
Q. How do I beat Wiegraf?
A. Equip the Auto-Potion ability on Ramza. Run from Wiegraf and keep using the
Tailwind ability to boost your speed. Repeat until you are getting seven or
eight turns in a row, then start using Focus to raise your attack power.
When you have high attack power, just attack and KO Wiegraf. Against
Belias, run up and attack him repeatedly. (If you don’t have these
abilities, check out the Chapter III Battle Strategies for a slew of
alternate strategies.)
Q. I just started the game; how do I learn new abilities?
A. New abilities are "purchased" using JP, which you earn from any succesful
action in battle. You earn JP separately for each job, so earning JP as an
Archer only lets you buy Archer abilities. (Gaining JP also eventually
unlocks new jobs for you to use.) To buy abilities, on the map screen, open
the menu (with Triangle) and enter the Formation screen. Then point to a
character, press Triangle to open the menu, and choose Abilities. The in-
game tutorial, available from the title screen, can walk you through this
step-by-step. If you check out the "EXP, JP, and Gil" section of this FAQ,
you’ll also find tips on maximizing your JP haul, though you don’t *need*
them at the start of the game.
Q. Where is Midlight’s Deep?
A. After you beat Mullonde Holy Place, go to the Port City of Warjilis. You
will see a scene at the bar, then the way to Midlight’s Deep will appear.
Q. How do I beat / find items in Midlight’s Deep?
A. See the cleverly-titled Midlight’s Deep section of the walkthrough š .
Just hit Ctrl+F and type in 00md to jump to that section of the FAQ.
Q. OK, I think I understand the idea of finding the items, but how do I rotate
the camera to get the correct perspective?
A. Use the analog stick (in the lower left of the PSP). Every time you tap it
left or right, the perspective changes.
Q. How do I use items like Potions or Phoenix Downs?
A. Items are used with the Items command, which belongs to the Chemist job, so
switch one of your characters to a Chemist — or assign Items as a secondary
Action Ability.
To learn how to use each type of item, the character must also learn the
ability that goes along with it. For instance, to use Phoenix Downs, you
must first learn the Chemist’s "Phoenix Down" ability. These abilities can
be bought on your status screen using JP (Job Points) earned by using the
Chemist job.
Q. How do I get the new equipment in the PSP version?
A. The Tynar Rouge comes from the Agrias’s Birthday quest, and the Mirage Vest
and Ras Algethi come with Balthier. All the other new items can only be
obtained as prizes in one of the multiplayer mods. Some items can only be
found in Melee Mode and some only in Rendezvous Mode; see the respective
sections or the Rare Items List for a complete list.
Q. How do I get good items / more items in multiplayer?
A. You’ll get better items the higher your character level and (in Rendezvous
Mode) the more difficult the mission you complete; most of the new items can
only be obtained at a pretty high level. Winning Melee Mode battles and
completing Rendezvous Mode missions with fewer characters deployed and more
enemies KOed increases the NUMBER of items you get, but doesn’t change their
quality.
Q. Are there items or events in this game that I can permanently miss? What do
I need to do to see them?
A. I’ve put together a Missable Items and Events list — just press Ctrl+F and
enter 00miss to jump to that section.
Q. How do I use the Samurai’s ability Iaido?
A. First learn the ability you want to use. Then buy several of the
corresponding Samurai sword. During battle, you can use the ability if you
have the appropriate type of sword in your inventory (NOT equipped). Note
that this may break the sword, so I’d buy several copies.
Q. How do I learn Ultima?
A. Only Ramza and Luso can learn Ultima. Ramza or Luso must be in their base
job; then, if someone casts the spell on him, he will learn it. (As long as
just one of the two characters learns it, you can have him cast it on the
other to learn it later.) The best time to learn the spell is from the
assassins outside Limberry Castle in Chapter IV, but you can also have Luso
learn it on the Riovanes Castle Roof in Chapter III or from another player
in the multiplayer mode. (There’s also a guest character who can learn
Ultima during the final battle if Ramza or Luso casts it on her.)
Q. How do I get the lipstick accessory?
A. First, you need to keep Agrias, Alicia, Lavian, and Mustadio on your roster
until Chapter IV. Once Chapter IV begins, travel back and forth between
Gollund and Lesalia until the calendar says 1 Cancer. If you have at least
500,000 gil and are standing on a town (NOT a castle) when the calendar
turns 1 Cancer, you should get the scene where you acquire the Tynar Rouge
accessory.
Q. How can I revive a dead character?
A. If the character is simply KOed (lying down with a red counter over his/her
head), you can use a Phoenix Down, the White Mage’s Raise/Arise spells, or
the Monk’s Revive. Or, finish the battle before the counter expires and the
character will also be restored.
If the counter counts down past 0, the character will turn into a treasure
chest or crystal. Once this happens, the character is gone for good and
there is unfortunately NO way to revive him or her, ever. (You can recruit
replacement generic characters from the Warriors’ Guild in any town; special
story characters are irreplaceable if killed.)
Q. Help! I beat the last boss and the game said it was saving afterwards, but
when I load up my last save, I’m just at the last boss fight again. Can I
go anywhere else?
A. Unfortunately, no :(. The game clear save is just to unlock some of the
multiplayer missions. If you want to continue roving the world map, you
need to keep a separate save from before you began the final sequence of
battles.
Q. How do I beat the Lionel Castle Gate?
A. There are two main methods: One is to give Ramza the Chakra ability and have
him use it every turn. The other is to use Teleport to warp outside the
gate. Either way, don’t open the gate until the fight outside is finished.
For more tips, see the Battle Strategies for Chapter II. Press Ctrl+F and
type in 00bs2 to jump there.
Q. How do I learn Zodiark?
A. You can only learn Zodiark from Elidibus, the boss of Midlight’s Deep, by
having him cast it on one of your Summoners. Equip the Mana Shield ability
to survive it. (You only have a random chance to learn the spell when
you’re hit with it, so you might not learn it the first time you’re hit with
it, but the odds are definitely in your favor!) If you don’t get the spell
in Midlight’s Deep, the only other place to find Elidibus is in the Brave
Story multiplayer mission.
Q. How do I recruit monsters?
A. Use the Orator’s Entice or Tame abilities on the monsters. If you switch to
another non-Orator job, you’ll need to also equip the Beast Tongue support
skill to use Entice on monsters. (For more information, see "Recruiting
Monsters" in the Monsters section.)
Q. How do I poach enemies?
A. Equip the Thief ability Poach and kill a monster with a regular attack.
Then go to a Poachers’ Den in a trade city and you can purchase what
you’ve poached. Note that Poachers’ Dens are NOT available in all cities;
only Dorter, Warjilis, and Sal Ghidos have them, and they don’t appear until
the start of Chapter III.
Q. How do I get the Genji equipment? Can I steal it from the boss who has it?
A. Unfortunately, you can never steal from that boss in the PSP version, so he
gets to keep his Genji gear to himself. Alas! However, you CAN get the
Genji Armor and Masamune from the new "Lionel’s New Liege Lord" subquest.
Press Ctrl+F and enter 00lio to jump to the guide for that quest.
Q. Aren’t there some new jobs added to the PSP version that weren’t in the
PSone version? How do I unlock them?
A. The PSP version of FF Tactics has two new jobs. To make a character into an
Onion Knight, simply get their Squire and Chemist jobs up to level 6. To
make a character into a Dark Knight, you first Master (learn all the
abilities for) Knight and Black Mage, have Dragoon, Geomancer, Samurai,
and Ninja at level 8, AND kill 20 enemies (not just KO–they must turn to
chests or crystals) with the character. Yikes! š
Q. How do I unlock the _______ job?
A. I’ve put together a Quick Reference chart with all the job requirements;
press Ctrl+F and enter 00req to get there.
Q. What are the new subquests in the PSP version? How do I access them?
A. There are three new subquests in Chapter IV, one revolving around Beowulf
and the others revolving around Agrias. Beowulf’s subquest is available
after returning Reis to human form at Nelveska Temple and after completing
Mullonde Cathedral in the main storyline. (Press Ctrl+F and enter 00lio to
jump to the section with all the details on the Lionel’s New Liege Lord
quest.)
Agrias has a couple of different subquests. First, if you still have Alicia
and Lavian, the Tynar Rouge event can be accessed on 1 Cancer. Second,
after Mullonde, travel to Zeltennia to open up another battle accessed via
the Tavern at Gariland. For details on these events, press Ctrl+F and
enter 00agr to jump to Agrias’s Birthday or 00dis for Disorder in the
Order, respectively.
Q. How do I recruit Luso and Balthier?
A. Luso is recruited automatically in Chapter III; you can’t miss him. You’ll
encounter him in a story event midway through the chapter, as you head
through the Zeklaus Desert after revisiting Orbonne Monastery. You won’t be
able to recruit him any earlier.
Balthier isn’t available until you’ve completed the battle at the Free City
of Bervenia in Chapter IV. Any time after that, read the "Rash of Thefts"
rumor at the Gariland tavern, then go to the Dorter tavern and read the
"Call for Guards" rumor. Win the battle that ensues when you try to leave
town and Balthier joins.
Q. What do the Bravery and Faith statistics mean? Do I want high or low
Bravery and Faith?
A. A high Bravery is almost always good. It increases your chance of using
Reaction Abilities, and makes certain weapon types (fists, knight’s swords,
and katanas) stronger. The only advantage of low Bravery is that helps you
find rare items with the Treasure Hunter ability, but you can just keep a
single low-Bravery character for that purpose.
Faith makes a character’s magick more effective, but also makes enemy magick
more effective when used against that character. So, generally, you’ll want
your magick users to have high Faith (to make their magick stronger) and
characters not using magick to have low Faith (to defend them from enemy
magick).
See the Bravery and Faith section for more specific details, as well as tips
on raising/lowering Bravery and Faith.
Q. What job should I use for the best HP? The best attack power?
A. I’ve added a Job Statistics Comparison chart to the FAQ to quickly compare
each job’s stats. Ctrl+F and 00jobstat will get you there.
Q. Is there a way I can quickly gain levels?
A. Sure, see the Quickly Raising EXP & JP (00quick) for strategies for this.
With the right magicks, it’s even possible to make this process completely
automatic! But keep in mind you never *need* to do this to finish the game.
Usually, a change of strategy should be enough to get you past the next
battle and you don’t need to spend time leveling if you don’t want to.
Q. Why don’t my Reaction Abilities always work?
A. For almost all Reaction Abilities, the chance of using the ability is equal
to your Bravery stat. Use Ramza’s skills or an Orator to raise the
character’s Bravery and your Reaction Abilities will activate more.
Q. How do I ride a Chocobo?
A. Move the character onto the same square as the Chocobo.
Q. What’s the deal with Onion Knights? They seem horrible. Is there any way
to make them stronger?
A. Actually, yes. The Onion Knight’s job level goes up as you master other
jobs, and if you can get the Onion Knight up to job level 8, they’ll become
more powerful. Also, if you play the game’s multiplayer missions, you can
earn some powerful "Onion" equipment that only Onion Knights can equip.
Q. One of my characters is threatening to leave the team. What do I do?
A. This is happening because your character has either a very low Bravery or
a very high Faith. Use Orator skills to increase his/her Bravery or lower
his/her Faith a little.
Q. Is there any kind of New Game+ mode, so that I can start from the beginning
but keep all my levels and items?
A. Unfortunately, no. FF Tactics dates back to a time before this feature
started becoming common in RPGs. Whenever you start a new game, you always
have to start from scratch.
Q. I got into a random battle and was facing a weird set of enemies. Is this
some special event? What’s going on?
A. Each wilderness location has a "special" random battle that you can randomly
encounter at low odds in Chapter IV. These special battles pit you against
unusual enemy parties — mostly collections of human enemies. You don’t get
anything special for winning these battles and they have no relation to the
story, but they can be an interesting extra challenge! For a list of all
these special battles, see the Random Battles section.
Q. Where do I get all the Zodiac Stones?
A. Look in the Zodiac Stones list near the end of the file. Be warned that
this list contains some spoilers.
Q. Why don’t any of the characters have noses?
A. Your guess is as good as mine. Some genetic defect or something, I suppose.
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III. WALKTHROUGH – MAIN QUEST
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You’ll begin by entering your name and birthdate. If you want Ramza (the
protagonist) to end up with a certain Zodiac sign, see the Ivalician Calendar
section to match up the sign you want with what birthdate you should enter. In
a regular game, it’s not *too* important to give him a particular Zodiac sign,
so you can enter your own birthday or whatever else you want if you’d like.
But, if you want to maximize the damage he can do to enemy bosses, Capricorn is
probably your best bet; you’ll get this sign if you enter a birthdate between
December 23rd and January 19th. (Or, if you want as wide a range of Zodiac
signs as possible, you could make him a Taurus, Virgo, or Sagittarius, as no
other story characters have these signs.)
The game starts at Orbonne Monastery. A band of enemy knights shows up, and
you have to fight. This battle is pretty much automatic, as everyone except
Ramza is controlled by the computer. Gaffgarion and Agrias will take care of
most of the enemies without any trouble, so you can have Ramza just do pretty
much whatever you want. It’s possible that one or more of your weaker
teammates–Alicia, Lavian, and Ladd–will get KOed. Don’t worry; none of them
can die permanently in this battle. After Gaffgarion and Agrias finish wiping
out the enemies, there will be some story scenes, and Ramza will enter into an
extended flashback.
%%%CHAPTER I: THE MEAGER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00walk1
All of Chapter I is a flashback to Ramza’s days as a knight-in-training with
the Order of the Northern Sky. You (Ramza) and Delita will be at the academy
in Gariland, where you receive the assignment to defeat some thieves entering
the town. You are automatically joined by four squires and two chemists, then
the first battle begins. See "Battle Strategies" for tips on this and other
specific battles.
I’ve also added some general gameplay information to the "Basic Mechanics and
Tactics" section, which you might want to check out to help you get started if
this is your first Final Fantasy Tactics experience. (Some of this information
is in the tutorial, but you’ll also find some additional tactics.) Press
Ctrl+ F and enter 00begin to jump down there.
After you win the battle against the thieves, you will go to the map screen.
You can click on Gariland to visit its shops. The Tavern is used to hear
information about the game’s story and world, and later to run Errands for
extra JP and money and to enter the multiplayer mode. The Outfitter is used to
buy items. Finally, the Warriors’ Guild allows you to recruit new human
characters to your roster.
You may want to stop at the Warriors’ Guild recruit some new characters. In
particular, look for characters with reasonably high Bravery, especially if
your current characters don’t have very good Bravery. Bravery affects the
your chance of using Reaction Abilities and the strength of some attacks —
higher is better, of course! (Although there are abilities to raise everyone’s
Bravery later, you probably won’t get them right away.) You may also want a
character or two with high Faith to turn into a magick-user. A second thing to
look at is the character’s Zodiac sign. Taurus and Capricorn characters will
be particularly effective against the bosses in this chapter and the next, so
getting some of those signs on your roster will give you a bit of a leg up.
If you want to spend the time, you can mine the Guild until you get just the
character you want. If you don’t like the character that appears; simply
select "Don’t Hire." You won’t be charged anything and you can select Male
Soldier or Female Soldier to roll another character. You can keep doing this
until you get some high Bravery characters — though it’s certainly not
necessary to spend the time here if you don’t want. Note that female recruits
are 100 gil cheaper and probably more useful in the long run since some of the
game’s most powerful items can only be used by female characters.
This is probably the only time in the game that you’ll want to use the
Warriors’ Guild. If you lose any of your main team members later in the game,
you’re probably better off resetting. It’s tough to replace characters who
have already been built up with a lot of abilities!
Stop by the Outfitter’s in Gariland to buy some Potions. If one or both of
your Chemists has enough JP to learn the Phoenix Down ability, learn that
ability and then buy a few (1-2) Phoenix Downs at the store. Phoenix Downs are
great to have as they allow you to revive a KOed character. You’ll also want
to equip one of your Chemists with the Mythril Knife you picked up as a Battle
Trophy in the first battle; it’s stronger than the Daggers they already have.
Save the game by pressing Triangle and choosing Data, then head west to
Mandalia Plain. As soon as you leave the city, you’ll have a flashback (yes, a
flashback within a flashback) to the death of Ramza’s father Barbaneth. After
that sequence has ended, you’ll be back in Gariland. Click on Mandalia Plain
once again and this time you’ll actually get there.
At Mandalia Plain, you’ll meet Argath, under attack by the Corpse Brigade. You
can choose whether or not to help him (bottom option) or just go after the
Corpse Brigade (to option). This has no long-term impact on the storyline;
it only affects the victory conditions for the upcoming battle:
– If you choose not to help Argath (top choice), your goal is just to defeat
all the enemies. It doesn’t matter if Argath is KOed during the battle
or not. Choosing this option also adds 10 points to the Bravery score of
every character in your current squad, including Delita. 2 points of this
change will remain even after the battle.
– Choosing to help Argath (bottom choice) adds an additional requirement to
the battle: you’ll have to keep Argath from getting KOed during the battle.
This option has no effect on your team’s Bravery.
The first option both makes the battle easier AND gives you a boost in Bravery.
High Bravery is pretty useful since it increases some weapons’ attack strength
and your chance of using Reaction Abilities. There’s no benefit at all from
choosing the second option, so choose the first!
When the fight concludes, Argath will join as a guest regardless of which
option you choose before the battle. Back on the map, go on up to Eagrose
Castle. You’ll have a brief chat with Dycedarg, then Zalbaag will send you to
rendezvous with his spy at Dorter.
At this point, you might want to consider changing some of your characters to
new jobs. Chemists are really more useful than either White Mages or Black
Mages, so keep your Chemists as-is. But you might want to change some of your
Squires to Knights, since Knights have more HP and damage potential than
Squires. (Archers are also available at this time. They’re good in
general, but I’d skip them for the next few battles as melee combat is best
for them.) I made Ramza into a Knight at this point. It’s probably a good
idea to keep at least one Squire, though. Why is that? As long as you have at
least one Squire active in battle, everyone will earn some JP towards that job,
and that will help you buy useful Squire abilities like Counter Tackle, Move
+1, and JP Boost. Move +1 and JP Boost are particulary useful — JP Boost
increases the amount of JP you earn, and will help you learn all the other
abilities faster–it’s a good investment! At any rate, if you do change
jobs, be sure to buy (and equip) new gear for those characters.
Before you leave Eagrose, stop by the Outfitter. There’s new equipment for
sale here. Stock up on Potions, then arm your characters with the new gear.
Make sure all your Squires and Knights have Longswords, the best weapon
available to them right now. In particular, if you changed any of your
characters’ jobs, be sure they have equipment that goes with the new jobs. You
can safely skip the Mythril Knife, though–it’ll just increase a Chemist’s
attack power by 1 point, and they don’t do much fighting, anyway. The shop
also sells Battle Boots, which increase your movement range by 1 tile. As
handy is this, they’re pricey, so you won’t be able to afford them for your
whole team. If you buy them for anyone, give them to your Chemist, so he/she
can get around the battlefield quickly enough to heal people.
Also stop by the shop at Gariland, which sells different items than the one at
Eagrose. The Eagrose has equipment for Knights and Archers, but the shop
offers Plumed Hats and Leather Clothing, which is better armor for your Squires
and Chemists. Pick up these upgrades as well; you want to make sure your
Chemists stay alive so they can heal people! (Unlike in a lot of games,
armor in FF Tactics doesn’t actually reduce the damage you take; it gives you
more HP or MP. Still, it helps you stay alive longer!) Don’t forget that
you change Delita’s and Argath’s equipment, too, despite the fact that they’re
guest characters. You can (and should!) have them learn new abilities, too!
You may want to gain some levels before proceeding. You can do this by
strolling back and forth across the Mandalia Plain until you get into a random
battle. Note that while Ramza is required in story battles, you do NOT have to
deploy Ramza during the random battles. (Also, since Delita and Argath are
Guest characters, they won’t participate in random battles, only story ones.)
By the way, it’ll help you out in some of the future battles if you’re able to
teach Argath a simple Black Magick spell. This is pretty tricky, though, since
he doesn’t participate in any of the random battles and can only earn JP in the
story battles. So, the only way to do this is to have your Chemists take
enough actions during the story battles that Argath gains some JP in the
Chemist job and is able to unlock the Black Mage job. It’s cool if you can do
this, but don’t worry too much about it if you can’t; it’s not *necessary*.
Your next story destination is the Siedge Weald, to the east of Gariland. Head
down that direction.
When you get to Gariland, you’ll see a scene at the Tavern about the game’s
multiplayer modes. Both of these modes are now unlocked, and you can play them
by visiting a Tavern in any town. Melee Mode is a "versus" mode that pits your
party against another player’s. Rendezvous Mode is a co-op mode in which you
team up with another player to challenge various missions that will become
unlocked as you play through the game. Right now, there’s only one mission
available, "Chocobo Defense." Both modes allow you to earn and keep JP and
items; when you get to a high enough experience level, you can even obtain
items that you can’t get anywhere else. Another nice thing about these modes
is that you can’t permanently lose any items or characters, so they’re risk-
free. (Melee Mode does cost gil to play, though.) You can check them out now
if you want, although at this point, the Rendezvous Mode mission may still be
pretty challenging. Check out the Multiplayer Modes section below for more
information on the modes’ rules and for strategies for the Rendezvous Mode
missions. (Note that both modes are playable only over a local, "ad hoc"
connection.)
If you don’t have a chance to play the multiplayer modes, don’t worry, you
definitely don’t need to play multiplayer in order to complete the single-
player game.
Continue on to the Weald and complete the battle there. Before proceeding on
to Dorter, make sure your Chemists have learned both Potion and Phoenix Down.
You can skip the abilities for all the individual condition-curing items,
though; most of the conditions aren’t that bad and when you get Remedies, those
will cure *any* status change. Other good abilities to learn are Stone and
Rush. When you get the JP, pick up Move +1, Focus, and Counter Tackle. Ramza
can also use the Tailwind ability, which you’ll want to get as well. Chemists
should have Potion and Phoenix Down.
When you enter Dorter, there will be a cutscene, and then you’ll be tossed into
a battle at the Dorter Slums. This is a pretty tough battle. If you don’t win
at first, try again, or build up your levels first. Upon your victory, you’ll
be able to visit the town. There’s no new equipment to buy, but stock up on
items. You’ll want at least 10 Potions and 4 Phoenix Downs. Potions are cheap
(50 gil each), so there’s no reason not to carry plenty. Also, winning the
battle at Dorter Slums netted you an Iron Sword, which is a better weapon than
anything you can find in stores. Equip it one of your characters.
Again, you may want to build levels before proceeding to the next battle.
When you’re ready, go on up to the Zeklaus Desert, where you’ll have a battle
at the Sand Rat’s Sieve. This is a difficult fight–the toughest in Chapter
I–so it may take you a couple tries. After you win, you’ll rescue the
Marquis. You’ll also pick up a Blind Knife. It’s not stronger than the other
knives you already have, but it does inflict Blind status on enemies (lowering
their hit rate), so give it to a Chemist.
Return to Eagrose Castle. You’ll meet Duke Larg, and then Dycedarg will let
Ramza and friends in on the next mission against the Corpse Brigade. The
shops at all three towns will now be stocked with new items. At Eagrose, you
can buy Iron Swords for both your Squires and Knights, as well as
Escutcheons, Iron Helms, and Bronze Armor for any Knights you have. Gariland
has better light armor, used by jobs other than Knights. If you’re using
mages, you can buy new magick weapons at Gariland and Dorter, as well as Hempen
Robes, which will raise their MP max. All towns also carry a new accessory–
the Shoulder Cape, which will boost both your physical and magick evade rates
by a little bit (10%). It’s not really as useful as the Battle Boots, though.
The most important new item isn’t actually an equipment–it’s the Hi-Potion,
which is now for sale under Items! Hi-Potions restore 70 HP instead of the 30
you get from a regular Potion, and since you should have a lot more than
30 HP now, you’ll need the healing boost. You can’t use Hi-Potions unless
you’ve learned the Hi-Potion ability (under Chemist), so be sure to have your
Chemist(s) learn this ability.
Buy as much of the new gear as you can. There’s a lot to buy, so you might not
be able to afford it all. Aside from restocking your item supply, the
priorities are probably the Iron Swords and Bronze Armor at Eagrose, and the
Leather Plate at Gariland, as well as restocking your item supply.
After you’re done shopping, your new destination is the Brigands’ Den, south of
the Mandalia Plain. You may want to bring more male characters than female
ones here, as there’s a chance that one of the enemies can charm a female
character–but it’s pretty unlikely, so don’t go out of your way to adjust your
roster. Also, if you happen to have any characters on your roster who are
Tauruses, Capricorns, or male Pisces, they’re good to deploy here. You’ll be
facing your first boss character here, and she’s a female Virgo. The three
Zodiac signs listed above will do the most damage to her. Again, it’s
definitely not essential to have them, but it’ll help you out if you do.
The Brigands’ Den is easier than the Sand Rat’s Sieve, so if you won
there, you should be able to attain victory here. Victory here nets you a
Bronze Shield, which is a more effective shield than anything else you’ve got
at this point. Following the battle, there will be a cutscene at Eagrose as
the Corpse Brigade strikes back.
Strip Argath of all his equipment, as he’ll be leaving your party shortly. Go
back up to Eagrose. A series of scenes will follow in which Ramza and Delita
decide to rescue Tietra, and Argath leaves.
At this point, you’ll probably want to start changing jobs, if you haven’t
already. If you change any of your characters to Monks, do so; they’re very
strong fighters. If any of your characters have enough JP to buy the Knight
abiity Equip Heavy Armor, a good strategy is to learn that ability and then
make the character into a Monk–the heavy armor will make up for the Monk’s
otherwise poor HP count. It would also help to have a Black Mage and Archer.
However, you will still want to have a healer, so give one of your characters
the Items ability. Before switching out of the Chemist job, you need to learn
(and equip) the Throw Item ability … otherwise, your items will have a range
of 1, and, as Sonic would say, that’s NO GOOD!
After you’ve finished changing jobs, be sure to buy matching equipment for
them. If you’re just now switching to Archers, I’ll explain the difference
between bowguns and regular bows: bowguns only require one hand, allowing you
to equip a shield, but bows deal more damage. Since Archers are usually in the
back line and don’t get attacked too much, a shield isn’t too important, so I
almost always use regular bows.
Note, also, that the Flame, Ice, and Thunder Rods (for Black Mages) boost the
damage dealt by your Fire-family, Blizzard-family, and Thunder-family magicks,
respectively. A good trick, then, is to buy a particular Rod and then learn
some of the spells that go along with it (e.g., buy the Ice Rod and then try
to learn Blizzard and Blizzara). This will increase the damage you can do with
your magick. These rods also sometimes cast Fire, Blizzard, or Thunder when
executing a physical attack, if your Black Mage happens to get caught in a
melee.
Return to Gariland. As you cross Mandalia Plain, an animated cutscene will
play. Once you get to Gariland, buy plenty of Hi-Potions (12 or so) and
Phoenix Down (6 should be sufficient). If you weren’t able to purchase all
the equipment upgrades you wanted before the Brigands’ Den, you could do so now
as well, but you’re probably better off saving your money–there are even
better items coming soon. But if any of your equipment was stolen by the
Thieves in the last battle, be sure to replace it.
Go north from Gariland to the Lenalian Plateau. You’ll have another battle
against Milleuda (Wiegraf’s sister). She is of course still a female Virgo,
so any Taurus, Capricorn, and male Pisces characters you have will be the most
effective against her.
After you win the battle at the Plateau, the shops will again update their
shelves with new equipment. As before, you’ll find heavy armor and most
kinds of weapons in Eagrose, and lighter armor in Gariland and Dorter. Buy
what you can and replace any items that Milleuda may have broken.
Also, at this point you should be in great shape to win the Chocobo Defense
mission in Rendezvous Mode, so if you’d like to check that out, you can earn
some extra items and JP. Strategies for these missions are available in the
Rendezvous Mode section.
Forge on from the Lenalian Plateau to Fovoham Windflats. At Fovoham Windflats,
you’ll square off against Wiegraf and his Chocobo Boco (a reference to Final
Fantasy V). This battle isn’t too difficult if you have good jobs. If you
want to exploit your Zodiac signs to maximize damage against him, he’s a male
Virgo, so Taurus, Capricorn, and female Pisces will be the most effective.
Nothing is added to the shops after the battle at Fovoham, so if your item
supply is okay, you can continue directly on to Ziekden Fortress, the final
battle of the chapter. You’ll probably want non-basic Jobs (particularly a
Monk or an Archer) for this battle. A Black Mage with Blizzard family magicks
will be quite useful, especially if paired with an Ice Rod. And, again,
Taurus, Capricorn, and female Pisces characters will be good against the boss.
If you need JP, you can always go to the Siedge Weald or the Mandalia Plain to
fight some random battles.
At Ziekden Fortress, you’ll find Tietra being held captive by a Gragoroth, a
Corpse Brigade knight. Argath arrive with some troops, and you’ll find
yourself battling an unexpected enemy. After you kill him, there are a couple
FMV scenes, the fort blows up, and the chapter ends. The game will give you a
chance to save, and then you’ll move on to Chapter II.
%%%CHAPTER II: THE MANIPULATIVE & THE SUBSERVIENT%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00walk2
You now return to the present, at Orbonne Monastery. Your current mission is
to rescue Princess Ovelia.
After a brief chat, you’ll be given a chance to add Ramza’s fellow mercenary
Ladd and both of Agrias’s Knights (Alicia and Lavian) to the party. There’s no
real reason not to take them along, so sign them up! They start with a bare
minimum of abilities, though, so they probably won’t see much use compared to
the characters you’re carrying over from Chapter I.
Note that to do one of Agrias’s Subquests in Chapter IV, you MUST keep Alicia
and Lavian (as well as Agrias, of course) on your roster until the subquest,
even if you never use them in battle. Don’t dismiss them or let them get
killed if you want to complete all the sidequests.
Agrias and Gaffgarion will also join as Guests. You still have all your
characters from Chapter I (except Delita) as well.
You’ll see that Ramza’s appearance has changed at the start of the chapter.
His Squire job is now able to equip heavy armor and shields, plus he has a new
ability to learn, Steel. Steel gives a character a +5 Bravery boost during a
battle, and some of this increase will remain even after the battle. Raising
your Bravery makes your Reaction Abilities and some attacks stronger, so this
is a good ability to learn. If Ramza has some spare turns near the end of a
battle, you can spend them using Steel to boost up characters’ Bravery.
If you have any abilities to learn, get them. Since the Guest AI can be
somewhat poor at targeting spells, you may want to de-equip any spellcasting
abilities (Black Magick or Mystic Arts) that Agrias may have equipped. When
you’ve got your team organized, go north to the only location available to you:
Dorter, where a battle awaits you. Win it (well, obviously) and you’ll have
access to all of the map again.
At this point, you should have had all your characters upgraded from the
beginning Jobs (Squire or Chemist) to more advanced ones. In particular,
you’ll want to have a Monk, Archer, Black Mage, and White Mage somewhere in the
party. I like making Ramza into a Monk; you’ll want to have him learn either
the Monk’s Chakra ability or the Time Mage’s Teleport for use in a battle near
the end of the chapter. An Orator can also be useful to have on the team, but
might take some time to get, as you have to get the Mystic job up to job level
3, and Mystic itself requires job level 3 of White Mage. If you want to take
the time to get it, you can also get the Thief Job, which is unlocked by
getting Archer to job level 3.
You now have the ability to take Errands at taverns. You can earn a lot of gil
and some JP from these jobs, so take them up (never more than one at a time,
though). Always choose to spend the maxinum number of days possible. While
the characters are away, you can continue on without them, or you have the main
group build up job levels with random battles. Or, if you just want to pass
time, you can walk back and forth between two blue dots on the map, which will
never trigger any random battles. (You can use Eagrose & Ziekden Fortress, or
Dorter & the Monastery.)
Also, two new Rendezvous Mode missions are now available in Taverns: Chicken
Race and Treasure Hunt, which offer better items than the Chocobo Defense
mission from chapter I. Chicken Race can be completed quite easily by a small
party of Chemists and is great for collecting items at this stage. Treasure
Hunt is a bit harder, but if you pick up the chest on the map, you’ll get a
good piece of equipment.
All the stores have new equipment, so pay them a visit to gear up your
characters. Remember that you’ll have to hike back to Eagrose to purchase
heavy armor and most weapons. Conversely, you’ll only find lighter armor at
the other two cities. Don’t buy any equipment for Gaffgarion. (It’s OK
to get stuff for Agrias, but her equipment is already really good.) Stock up
on Hi-Potions and Phoenix Downs.
Note you can have random battles at the Fovoham Windflats and the Zeklaus
Desert that occur on entirely different maps from the story battles there.
They also feature some advanced monsters, so try recruiting them with a Orator.
Just make sure to keep an eye on the number of eggs they produce; wipe out the
majority of eggs before they clog your roster.
This is a good chance to build up your characters if you want. As long as you
have the Jobs I recommended above and new equipment for your main squad of
characters, you should be fine. When you feel confident that you’re done
preparing, go to Araguay Woods, east of Dorter. Here you have to save Boco
the chocobo from goblins. As when you met Argath, you’re given two options,
which will affect your victory conditions:
– If you choose not to help Boco (top choice), your goal is just to defeat
all the enemies, and you don’t have to keep Boco from being KOed. However,
you’ll also suffer a 10 point PENALTY to everyone’s Bravery; 2 points of
which will remain even after the battle.
– Choosing to help Boco (bottom choice) means you must keep Boco from getting
KOed during the battle, but does not penalize your Bravery.
This time, the top choice still gives you an easier battle, but you’ll take a
hit to your Bravery for selecting it. Since protecting Boco during the battle
isn’t hard at all, choose the second option to keep from losing Bravery. After
the battle, Boco will join.
Back on the map, go into your roster screen and change Gaffgarion into a Time
Mage or another crummy job. If you have the auto-equip feature on, be sure to
also strip off all his gear. Equip it on one of your other characters. He has
good armor, and the Power Gauntlet will give you an attack boost. (It’s great
for an Archer, or another character who doesn’t need the movement bonus of the
Battle Boots.) Then continue on to Zeirchele Falls. It’s pretty here, but
there’s still a battle awaiting you. Be sure to deploy an Archer for it.
After the battle, Delita will leave you with Ovelia. Ramza sets a new course
for Lionel Castle, so Fort Besselat disappears from your map, not to return
until much later in the game. Back on the map, help yourself to Gaffgarion’s
equipment if you didn’t earlier. If you need items, go back to Dorter.
There’s also some new equipment for sale at Dorter and at Eagrose, so it’s
probably worth making the trip as you’ll want the new gear for the next battle.
However, you may want to pass on the Poison Rod for your Black Mages. While
it does a little more damage physically (and sometimes poisons its target), it
doesn’t boost the power of any of your Black Magicks like the Flame, Ice, and
Thunder Rods do. Since your Black Mages usually attack with magick most of the
time (I assume š ), you’re probably better off sticking your existing rod.
While Ovelia is listed on your roster as a Guest, she won’t actually
participate in any more battles. So, you’re safe de-equipping her Wizard’s
Hat and Wizard’s Robe and giving them to another character. The Wizard’s Robe
is an especially nice pick-up since you can’t buy them stores yet. It raises
your magick attack, so give it to one of your mages. However, she WILL be able
to use some of her abilities later. So, go into Ovelia’s ability screen and
teach her as many abilities under Princess as you can, then equip them.
They’ll come in handy in a few battles later down the road.
The next battle is a tough one, so be prepared. You’ll want Archers and Black
Mages, and, if you don’t include a White Mage in the party, one of the
characters should have White Magick as a secondary ability. A Black Chocobo
also be helpful, if you can get one. (Boco will randomly lay eggs and they may
hatch into Black Chocobos, but there’s obviously an element of luck/randomness
to this.) I ended up using Ramza, two Archers, and a Black Mage. If you don’t
have the abilities you want, you can move back and forth across any green dot on
the map to fight random battles and earn more JP. When you’re ready, go south
past the falls to the Castled City of Zaland.
You’ll meet Mustadio, who is being chased by some bad guys. Once again,
you’re given two options for the upcoming battle:
– Choosing the first option means that you DO NOT have to keep Mustadio from
getting KOed during the battle. This option raises the Bravery of each
character on your current squad (including Agrias) by 5, 1 point of which is
permanent.
– Choosing the second option means that you DO have to keep from getting
Mustadio from getting KOed. However, this option raises all the characters’
Bravery by 10, 2 points of which are permanent.
In other words, you’ll get a Bravery increase either way, but you’ll get a
BIGGER increase for helping Mustadio. Of course, this also makes the battle
harder. So, there’s no clear "best option" here. It’s up to you which you
choose. Since this battle can be pretty challenging, you might want to just
pick the first option; it makes the fight quite a bit easier and you’re only
missing out on 1 extra point of Bravery. Again, no matter what you pick,
Mustadio joins you afterwards as a Guest.
When all the talking is finished, you’re now able to visit the stores in
Zaland. There’s not very much in the way of selection, but if you didn’t
upgrade your equipment after Zeirchele Falls, the Adamant Vest, Wizard’s Hat,
and Serpent Staff are all for sale here. (There’s nothing brand new.) There
are also a pair of new Errands available at the Tavern, and a new Rendezvous
Mode mission.
Your next stop is Balias Tor. When you first try to leave Zaland, there will
be a cutscene. Afterwards, you’ll be back on the map, but Balias Tor is still
red. Travel there for real this time, and you’ll get into a fight. Following
the fight, a cut scene will pop up back at Eagrose Castle with Dycedarg and
Gaffgarion scheming.
You can now finally get to Lionel Castle–don’t worry; there’s no fight!
You’ll chat with Delacroix and learn about the Zodiac Stones. Agrias and
Ovelia will then leave the party. Then you get to go shopping! There is a lot
of really powerful equipment you can get here, so load up on it (you should
have a lot of money by now). The Lightning Bow is a great weapon for any
Archers you have; it has a fairly high attack power and sometimes casts the
Thundaga spell. The stores also have a lot of new accessories — you might
want to pick up a Mage’s Cloak or two for your magick users. Finally, you can
now buy the Remedy item in all stores. It can cure any status ailment, so now
there’s really no point for your Chemists to learn the abilities for any of the
other status-restoring items.
Buy any stuff you want in Lionel now, as you won’t be able to do so later.
Since your access to the shops will be blocked off later, it might be a wise
idea to buy some spare pieces of heavy armor and helms. That way, if any of
your gear gets stolen or broken, you have a replacement.
Now that you’ve reached Lionel Castle, you’ll be able to deploy 5 characters
in both story and random battles, instead of just 4. If you’ve been using a
core team of just four characters, be sure to get a fifth equipped.
Also, you may want to send some of your characters out on a errand if you
haven’t been doing them — you can earn a lot of money from some. Again,
walking between Dorter and Orbonne Monastery is an easy way to pass time and
complete the errands while avoiding random battles. Be sure to complete all
the errands before heading on to Goug, though. Once you get to Goug, it will
be a while before you can go back to the other towns to retrieve your
characters.
If you go back up to Zaland, you can also buy some new light armor: Green
Berets and Wizard Clothing. Keep your magick users equipped with Wizard’s
Hats, though, as those raise their magick power.
If Mustadio has enough JP, pick up the Seal Evil ability for him if you haven’t
already–it’ll be handy in the next battle, as it turns undead to stone.
On to the fenlands. This should be a pretty easy battle as you fight your way
through here on to Goug. However, there’s a small chance that you may
encounter a Pig monster here in the initial story battle. (It does not appear
during random battles.) If you have an Orator, deploy him/her so that you can
recruit the Pig if you see it. You can use that Pig to breed monsters from the
pig family and then use the Thief ability Poach to kill them, which will yield
great rare items. (Unfortunately, you won’t actually be able to pick up the
items until the Poachers’ Dens open in Chapter III.) The next opportunity to
get a Pig won’t be until Chapter IV, so if you’re particularly intent on
getting a leg up on the enemy, you could keep entering the battle over and over
and resetting until the Pig appears and you can recruit it. But, that’s
definitely NOT necessary; you can skip the Pig entirely and do just fine!
Upon arriving in Goug, there will be a brief scene and then you’re back on the
map. The store doesn’t have much of anything, but if you’ve got a Orator or
Chemist, be sure to buy them a Romandan Pistol. The Romandan Pistol has a
great rangeoverall, and is especially useful if you have a chance to pair it
with the Knight’s Arts of War abilities — you can use it rend enemies’
equipments or stats at a distance! Goug also has a number of accessories
Make sure you’re stocked up on Hi-Potions and Phoenix Downs; you’ll need them.
You may also want to equip the Archer’s Bane ability on any characters who have
it.
Try to leave the city and you’ll be immediately thrust into a battle. Deploy
your Orator (if you have one), somebody with a bow, and somebody with Black
Magick. Ludovich, the leader of the Baert Company, will appear with Mustadio
and Besrudio (Mustadio’s father) captive. Mustadio reveals the location of the
Zodiac Stone. Ramza forks it over and you find out that Delacroix was in on
the plot. It’s fight time.
After a fairly tough battle, you check on Besrudio. Mustadio reveals that the
Zodiac Stone that Ludovich got was really a fake. Mustadio will now join as
you a normal party member — now you can control him! The only downside to
this is that he can now be permanently killed. Be sure to keep him alive;
you’ll need him to complete most of the subquests in Chapter IV. Musty’s
equipment is all gone, so be sure to re-equip him. Also, if he learned any
skills while he was a Guest, they’re gone for some reason.
The route back through the fenlands disappears. Take the ship (well, just walk
across the ocean) over to the Port City of Warjilis. Upon getting off the
ship, you’ll see a FMV sequence with Delita. After that scene’s ended, you can
explore the town. There’s no new equipment available, but to make some easy
money, go to the bar and accept the errand (to find the Highwind!), then go
back to Goug and get the job there as well. (There will be a cutscene with
Delacroix’s scheming when you leave Warjilis the first time). Just go back and
forth between the two cities until both jobs are complete. If you weren’t able
to afford all the equipment you wanted in Goug or elsewhere, you should be able
to get it now.
There’s also a new Rendezvous Mode mission, Lost Heirloom, that will have
appeared after you completed the story battle at Goug. This new mission is
pretty difficult if you don’t have a good defense, and the enemy Thieves can
charm female characters. If you have a female-heavy party, you may want to
wait until you get to Chapter III and can buy equipment that protects you from
Charm.
Now that you have Mustadio, a good general trick for leveling up quickly is to
use Arm Shot or Leg Shot to debilitate the last enemy in a battle. Then,
you’re free to let the other enemies turn into crystals/chests. Crystals from
human enemies are often a good source of new abilities. Also, while the last
enemy is Disabled or Immobilized, you can have your characters attack each
other to raise JP. If you use the right strategy, you shouldn’t really need to
grind in this fashion, but it’s an efficient way to raise levels if you decide
to do so.
Now go up to Balias Swale, where you’ll find another fight. You’ll deploy
two squads here to save Agrias from Delacroix’s Gryphon Knights. This is a
really easy fight, so you might want to deploy some weaker characters to
give them a boost. Agrias will rejoin, this time as a controllabe, non-guest
character. Again, if you want to complete all the sidequests in the game,
don’t dismiss her or let her get killed.
After getting Agrias, if you head back down to Warjilis, you’ll find the shops
have a few new items available. Most notably, you can replace your Power
Gauntlets with the Diamond Bracelets, which gives you the Power Gauntlet’s +1
Physical Attack but also +1 Magick Attack and immunity to Slow. The latter
ability is pretty handy in the upcoming battle, so buy some for your main
squad. You can also upgrade your Wizard Clothing to the Brigandine, which
gives you a few more HP. (You’ll probably want to keep magick-oriented
characters on the Wizard Clothing or robes, though, for the magick bonus.)
There’s also the Mage’s Staff, and, in the unlikely event you have a Samurai,
the Osafune katana.
Your next stop is Golgollada Gallows. Make sure you’re ready; this is a tough
battle. The execution turns out to be a trap, and you have to fight
Gaffgarion. Bring your Diamond Bracelets!
After you attain victory at the Gallows (it may take a few tries!), you’ll see
a scene back at Lionel Castle in which you find out more about Ovelia’s past
and Delacroix’s plans. Then you’re back on the map. When you move back up to
Balias Swale, you’ll see a cutscene with Wiegraf.
Now, you can now wander around the map again. Next up is the final battles of
the chapter, which occur at Lionel Castle. However, if you want to travel
elsewhere, you can do so. If you click on any of the destinations PAST
Lionel Castle, you can walk right through the castle without getting into a
fight. Just don’t click on the castle ITSELF until you’re ready to fight.
To prepare for the upcoming fight, you’ll want to make sure that Ramza has
either the Teleport movement ability (Time Mage) or Chakra (Monk). If you’re
using Chakra, you can either make Ramza into a Monk or by assigning Martial
Arts as a secondary action ability. It’s also probably a good idea to equip
the Archer’s Bane rection ability on any characters that have it. When you’ve
done all that, it’s time for the final battles of the chapter.
When you click on Lionel Castle, you’ll have no choice but to attack the
gate. As Ramza tries to open the gate, Gaffgarion shows up yet again and
surrounds the castle. If you thought the Gallows was bad, here’s more fun.
Actually, the gate isn’t as bad if you play your cards right (see the battle
strategies). The save game screen will pop up at the conclusion of the battle
— there’s another couple battles right after this one. It’s your call as to
whether you should save. I’d recommend saving in a separate slot in case you
need to go back to get more JP.
After saving, you cut back to Delita at Zeirchele Falls with Ovelia. There’s
an easy battle here against the Order of the Northern Sky, but you get to
control Delita during it š
Afterwards, you’re given another chance to save (again, don’t save in your
main slot). Then your roster screen shows up, allowing Ramza’s crew to learn
new abilities or change equipment (which might be necessary if the Knights at
the gate used Rend on you.) When you leave the formation screen, you’ll
immediately go to the next battle and start deploying your characters. This
time you’re up against Delacroix, who uses his Zodiac Stone to turn (with some
pyrotechnics) into Cuchulainn. Beat him and he’ll blow up (with more nifty
effects) and drop another Zodiac Stone.
Delita delivers Ovelia to Duke Goltanna, while Duke Larg maintains Orinus as
the heir to the throne. As the War of the Lions begins over these claims to
the throne, Chapter II draws to a close, and you’re again given a chance to
save.
%%%CHAPTER III: THE VALIANT%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00walk3
Three months into the War of the Lions, things are looking bad for both Larg
and Goltanna. After a scene of Goltanna’s council of war, we cut back to
Ramza, whose new mission is to convince Zalbaag that someone is manipulating
Ivalice into the war.
You’ll start the chapter positioned at Dorter. The shops have a lot of new
stuff–as weird as it seems, those Croakadile Bags are *really* powerful,
although expensive. The Headbands are also a great buy; not only do they
increase your HP over the previous hats, they also give you a physical attack
boost. (You may want to keep your magick users with the Wizard’s Hats, though,
as those boost their *magick* power.) Now that you’re in Chapter III, you can
also buy X-Potions, so you’ll want to learn the corresponding ability with any
item-users you have.
The Poachers’ Dens are also now open. You can now use the Thief’s "Poach"
ability to poach enemies and get items from them at the Poachers’ Den. Poached
items are cheap; you can buy them for half their usual price! You can also get
some rare items from poaching that you can’t get anywhere else! Note, though,
that Poachers’ Dens are only found in Dorter and Warjilis, not other cities.
(Sal Ghidos, which you’ll reach in Chapter IV, also has a Poachers’ Den.)
For additional shopping opportunities, visit one of the castles, Lionel or
Eagrose. There you can pick up the Ancient Sword, a strong sword that can also
Immobilize enemies, the Mythril Bow, and some other stuff. The Fire Shield and
Ice Shield absorb fire and ice, respectively, which lets you do a handy trick:
Cast a fire or ice spell that targets both enemies and an ally with the shield
— you’ll damage the enemies, AND heal your character! Not only does this let
you get around the "friendly fire" effects when fighting in close quarters, it
even replenishes your HP!
All this new equipment is expensive, so luckily there’s a whole slew of new
errands, at least one in every town. If you’re short on cash, I recommend
spending a while completing them, buying stuff, and building up your
characters. If you’re offered any "contest" errand, take it right away,
because you won’t have the chance for very long.
A new Rendezvous mission, The Fete, is available. This one can be a little
difficult if you haven’t yet learned Shirahadori (see below), but with a
Summoner you should be able to win. There’s also the Lost Heirloom mission
from last chapter if you haven’t done that yet; the Nu Khai Armbands that you
can now buy will make this battle easier by protecting you from Charm.
There are some abilities you’ll need at the end of Chapter III that it’s a good
idea to start learning now. You don’t need these abilities just yet, but
if you build your characters towards those abilities now, you won’t have to
spend time grinding for them later. Specifically, you’ll really want Ramza
toi have Focus and Tailwind (both Squire), and Auto-Potion (Chemist). If you
have the chance to unlock the Ninja job for him, that’ll also help out a lot,
although it’s not strictly necessary. (It can be a bit of pain to unlock,
though, as it requires Ramza to at least have Archer at level 4, Thief at level
5, and Geomancer at level 2.) For your other characters, acquiring the Dragoon
or Ninja job on as many as characters as possible is helpful, but also not a
must-have. Combining the Ninja’s inherent speed and double attack with the
Monk’s Brawler ability makes for an incredibly strong and quick fighter.
You may also want to start developing a stealing specialist, if you haven’t
already. You’ll be encountering more and more enemies with rare equipment
that you can’t buy in stores, so you may want to swipe it :). It’ll be a big
help if you can learn the Thief’s Steal abilities, and either Concentration
(Archer) or Brawler (Monk), either of which will improve your stealing success
rate. If you don’t get to this until Chapter IV, though, it’s not a big deal.
Some other abilities that you want to work towards over the course of the
chapter are the Samurai’s Shirahadori reaction ability, the Ninja’s Dual Wield
support ability, and the Time Mage’s Teleport movement ability. Shirahadori
blocks physical attacks outright and, if combined with a high Bravery stat
(which you can boost with Ramza’s Steel ability), can render you virtually
impervious to physical attacks. It’s one of the best abilities in the game.
If you haven’t already unlocked the Samurai job, though, you’ll need to get a
character with Knight level 4, Monk level 5, and Dragoon level 2 to become a
Samurai. The Ninja’s Dual Wield ability is also great as it allows you equip
two weapons at once and effectively double (or come close to doubling) your
attack power. Finally, the Time Mage’s Teleport is helpful both for navigating
battlefields with tall walls (as it allows you to essentially warp right up
them), for teleporting through enemy forces blocking your path, and for
extending your move range in a pinch. If you try to teleport long distances,
it’ll probably fail, but this ability is still extremely helpful for navigating
heights and crowded maps. If you have a Summoner, the Golem summon will also
help out in a battle near the end of the chapter.
Lastly, if you haven’t been using Ramza’s Steel to work on building up your
Bravery, try to do so when you get a chance — having a high Bravery will make
your Reaction Abilities a lot more useful (such as the aforementioned
Shirahadori).
When you’re ready to get on with the game, equip your team with gear that
boosts their Move or Jump ranges. Safeguard may also be helpful. Then go up
from Dorter, across the Zeklaus Desert, to the Mining Town of Gollund. There’s
a fight here where you have to rescue Orran (although I can’t imagine he’d need
much rescuing). Black Magick and Thieves are handy here. After you save
Orran, you’ll chat briefly, and then he’ll head off to the south, sadly
depriving you of his super-powerful Celestial Stasis spell.
There’s no new equipment in the Gollund shops, so just head straight on to
Lesalia. There’s no fight when you first get here, just a short chat with
Zalbaag. However, as soon as you leave, you’ll have to fight Zalmour. It’s a
pretty easy battle. Alma then joins up as a guest. When you have a chance,
de-equip her Healing Staff, Barette, and Red Shoes. The Healing Staff and
Barette are items you can’t ever buy in shops, and the Red Shoes won’t be
available to purchase until much later. (It’s safe to de-equip all her gear
since, despite being a guest, she won’t actually participate in any more
battles.) The Healing Staff is an interesting "weapon" in that it actually
restores HP to the character hit by it. Equipping it on a magick-oriented
character can be quite useful since they probably won’t be doing much fighting
anyway and it gives you a free source of healing.
If you want to complete some errands easily, you can take the ones at Gollund
and Lesalia and then just walk back and forth until they’re done. Before
leaving this region, you can also stop at the store in Lesalia to buy new
heavy armor. Then go down to Dorter; there’s some new equipment here as well.
In particular, the Jujitsu Gi is a great set of clothes for fighting-oriented
characters as it also boots your physical atack power, and the Celebrant’s
Miter is a hat that boosts your MP. (You’ll probably want to keep your
fighters using the Headband for the attack boost.) Depending on what jobs
you’re using, there may be weapon upgrades as well.
A more powerful gun, the Mythril Gun, is now available for sale. Since Goug is
the only city that sells guns, though, you’ll have to walk all the way down
there if you want to buy it. (Note that the sea route between Goug and
Warjilis has vanished as of Chapter III.) It’s 2 points stronger and a
stronger guns never appears in stores, so it’s worth the trip if you didn’t
get the chance to steal them during the Gollund battle.
Purchase anything you want, then head to Orbonne Monastery. Note that
once you enter, you’ll be locked into a series of three battles, so make sure
that you’re well stocked with supplies. You could also pick up a few of the
Jade Armlet accessory, since they’ll be helpful in an upcoming battle, but
they’re fairly expensive and not really necessary.
At Orbonne Monastery, enter the Monastery Vaults (it’s the only option
available), where you’ll find Simon wounded. He tells you about Funebris’s
plot, and Ramza chases after the troops looking for the Virgo Stone. You’ll
have a chance to save your game. All you’d have to repeat if you died is that
short scene with Simon, but if you want to save, save in a separate slot
since you’re locked into a series of battle. The roster screen will come up,
then you will go down to the second floor and have a fight.
After beating the second floor, you have another save opportunity. Again,
save in a slot separate from your main file. For the next battle, you may want
to equip any accessories you have that boost your Jump statistic. After you
leave the roster screen, you’ll go to the third floor for another battle
against Isilud. Upon winning it, there’s yet another save point, and then the
last of the three battles, this time with Wiegraf. This time, equip any Jade
Armlets you have to protect yourself from his sword attacks. Afterwards,
Isilud escapes with a friend and your Zodiac Stones captive. Outside, Wiegraf
transforms in a rather frightening scene and Simon then shows up to give you
the Scriptures of Germonique.
Back on the map, go to the Chronicle option and check out your Artefacts.
Examine the Scriptures of Germonique and press Triangle to read it. After you
read it (which takes a while), go to Dorter. A mage will demand the Scriptures
and ask if you’ve read them. It doesn’t seem to matter what you say. When he
leaves, the route to Riovanes Castle will open. Try to leave Dorter (just
click anywhere on the map) and you’ll see an FMV scene with Delita and Ovelia.
After the scene concludes, go into Dorter and check out the shops, which once
again have some new equipment. The Power Garbs are a great buy; they’re good
new clothes that also raise your attack power. And don’t miss the White Robe
for your magick-users; you’ll have to scroll down through all the clothes to
find it. However, you may want to keep your Headbands and Celebrant’s Miters
instead of buying Black Cowls, since the Cowls don’t have any special stat
boost. Similarly, the Diamond Shields are not an especially great shield since
they don’t have any elemental properties, nor the magick block rate of the
Aegis Shield.
There are also a few new errands available down at Lionel Castle and the
Castled City of Zaland, as well as at Eagrose Castle. Taverns also offer a
new Rendezvous Mode mission, Desert Minefield. This one is relatively easy,
although tough to clear with just a few characters.
It’s now time to head north to Riovanes. As you head up through the Zeklaus
Desert, you’ll run into a fixed battle. Deploy your characters; if you have
anyone who can Poach or Entice/Tame monsters, they’re good to bring here.
There will be a CG scene, as Ramza jumps in to help Luso, and then the battle
starts. Defeat or recruit the enemy Behemoths and Luso will join up. (Luso is
the lead character from the Nintendo DS game Final Fantasy Tactics A2, not
coming to North America until later this year … he’s just moonlighting here
š .) He’s basically a clone of Ramza, but he has an intrinsic Poach ability
(no ability needs to be equipped for it). This makes him very handy for
treasure hunting, especially during the monster-laden random battles. (Story
battles, of course, contain mostly humans and Poach doesn’t work on them.)
On the other hand, you may want to de-equip Luso’s Icebrand sword and give it
to Agrias — it will make her Holy Sword techniques extremely powerful!
If you poached any of the behemoths, you may want to go back to the Poachers’
Den in Dorter to see what you got, since a lot of these items can be quite
useful. If you recruited any of the behemoths, you’re even better off; you can
keep one behemoth on your team, have it breed other behemoths, and poach
*those*.
After helping out Luso, continue on up to Lesalia, where there is more new
stuff (bows, daggers, and swords). Then continue to the Grogh Heights. Equip
some accessories to boost your Jump and smash your way through here (I actually
felt kind of bad killing those guys off) and you’ll meet up with Orran again.
You’ll receive a Mythril Gun in spoils from the battle, so if you didn’t
bother to go to Goug to buy any Mythril Guns, equip this one now.
Your next stop is the Walled City of Yardrow. Here you’ll encounter Marach
(the guy you met in Dorter) and Rapha. You have to save Rapha from Marach and
the Riovanes soldiers. Deploy lots of healers and magick-users; skip the
archers. After the fight, Rapha discusses her past. (Why the Grand Duke wants
Rapha and Marach’s powers so badly is one of FF Tactics’s great unsolved
mysteries š .) Marach, meanwhile, delivers a amphibian ultimatum.
Rapha joins up as a guest for the next couple battles. She probably won’t be
all that helpful, though, since her Sky Mantra abilities only strike random
tiles in their effect radius and can’t be targeted too precisely.
Before you leave Yardrow, stop at the Outfitter and pick up some better
equipment for Rapha. But do NOT equip her with any "rare," non-buyable items
like the Barette or Healing Staff; if you do, you’ll lose them when Rapha goes
from being a Guest into a regular character.
There’s also good gear for your magick users: the Gold Hairpins, which raise
both your HP and MP a lot, and the Black Robe, which strengthens the power of
any of your fire-, ice-, or lighting-elemental spells. (You may want to keep
healers on the White Robe, since it’s got elemental defenses and they don’t
need the offensive capability.) There are also some new accessories; pick up a
pair of the speed-boosting Hermes Shoes for later use. The Bracer is also
available. It’s really expensive (50,000 gil), but it gives you a huge +3
attack boost, so buy one or two if you can afford them.
When you leave town, there will be another Delita battle. It’s a piece of
cake.
Back with Ramza’s squad, if you want to do further shopping, you can go back
down to Lesalia to buy new helmets, the Platinum Sword, and the Assassin’s
Dagger. If you have Ninjas, Samurais, or Dancers in the party, you may even
want to trek all the way back to Dorter, as you will find new weapons for those
three jobs there.
Clearing the battle at Yardrow also opens up another Rendezvous Mode mission,
Littering, which pits you against ten enemy Ninjas. If you bring characters
with the Sticky Fingers reaction ability, you can catch the weapons that the
Ninjas throw, which is a great way to build up your stock of weapons! You can
also start winning rare equipment from this mission, although your experience
level probably isn’t high enough yet for these items to appear.
When you’ve completed your shopping and catching spree, fight through the
Yuguewood and its undead inhabitants. Deploy Mustadio and his Seal Evil
ability will make quick work of them.
Don’t go on to Riovanes Castle just yet. It contains some very powerful
bosses, so you need to make sure you’re prepared. For Ramza, you’ll want the
Focus and Tailwind Squire abilities, as well as Auto-Potion from Chemist. Buy
a healthy stock (30+) of X-Potions. You’ll also want at least one pair of
Hermes Shoes and a Green Beret. (If you sold all your Green Berets, you can
buy another one at Yardrow.) Also helpful are Jujitsu Gis and Chameleon Robes
(both of which protect against instant KO) and Jade Armlets (protection against
Stop), particularly if you want to try to learn Ultima at Riovanes as opposed
to later. Since the Jade Armlets are pretty expensive, you may not want to
bother buying them unless you’re set on going for Ultima. (If you don’t get
Ultima now, you can also get it in Chapter IV.) Finally, if any characters are
close to reaching the Dragoon or Ninja jobs, you may want to bring them up to
those jobs, as they are quite helpful. Zeklaus Desert is a good place to level
up if you need to earn more JP.
When you think you’re ready, save your game, then pay a visit to Riovanes
Castle. You’ll see a scene with Barrington and the Templars, then have a
chance to save. Be SURE to save in a separate slot from your main game, so
that you can get out of the castle if you need to go back and level more/buy
stuff. If you save in your main slot, you may wind up STUCK and have to start
again from scratch!
You then go to the first of a series of three battles. Strip Rafa of all her
equipment; if she gets taken out quickly in the upcoming battle, Marach will
also disappear. Equip the Archer’s Bane or (preferably) Shirahadori ability on
any characters you can, as well as the Ignore Elevation or Teleport movement
abilities. If you have someone with the Golem summon, it’s also helpful.
Finally, equipping shields or capes for evasion may also be helpful. After you
defeat everyone outside the gate, a wounded Knight will crawl out, warning of
the Lucavi’s rampage.
Now, make sure you’re prepared. You’re about face a two-part battle against a
Zodiac-charged Wiegraf, and he is rather powerful. However, if you’re reading
this walkthrough and coming prepared ;), he isn’t that hard to beat. Before
the battle starts, set Ramza with the Mettle action ability and Auto-Potion
reaction ability. Next, you need to drop all your Potions and Hi-Potions. On
the roster screen, click on any character and go to Equipment. Choose View
List, find your Potions and Hi-Potions and select Discard. Throw away ALL of
them, so that you can only use X-Potions when Auto-Potion activates. As for
your othercharacters, make them into Dragoons or give them range weapons. Keep
Agrias as a Holy Knight if she has the Hallowed Bolt ability. (If your Ramza
is quite strong, you may not need such preparation–just give him Dual Wield or
Jump.) When you think you’re set, close the party roster screen and you’ll be
thrust into the battle against Wiegraf. (If you find yourself stuck in the
castle without these recommended abilities, I’ve listed some other alternate
tactics in the battle strategies below.)
If you win both rounds of the battle, you’ll go on to the last of this sequence
of battles, on the roof. Be sure to save again. For this battle, make Ramza
into a job with a high Speed stat (Ninja if available, otherwise Geomancer,
Thief, or Monk), and equip him with a Green Beret and Hermes Shoes to boost his
Speed as high as possible. Equipping the rest of the team with accessories
boosting Speed or Move is helpful as well.
You can also try to learn the Ultima spell during the rooftop battle. To do
so, you’ll need to deploy Luso (in his Game Hunter job), and equip the whole
team with Jade Armlets and either Chameleon Robes or Jujitsu Gis. (Keep Ramza
with the Hermes Shoes, though.) Or, if you took Alma’s Barette, you can also
equip that to protect a female character against both Stop AND KO. It’s pretty
challenging to learn Ultima here. There are other opportunities to learn the
spell in Chapter IV where you don’t have to contend with a suicidal Rapha and
will have a much easier time. So, unless you really like a challenge, I would
recommend waiting until Chapter IV.
Anyway, after you (eventually) ward off Elmdore and his assassins, Rapha will
use the Zodiac Stone to restore her family to a happy ending. You’ll get your
Zodiac Stones back, along with Wiegraf’s Aries stone and Isilud’s Pisces
stone.
Finally, Rapha and Marach will offer to join. You’ll probably want to take
Rapha, as her low Bravery makes her ideal for using Treasure Hunter. Marach
basically sucks, but if you don’t have a full roster already, there’s no harm
in signing him up. He’s pretty similar to Rapha in that his abilities strike
random tiles. What’s interesting is that they do more damage to enemies with
LOW Faith and get stronger when Marach has LOW Faith, the reverse of most
magick abilities. (Rapha’s abilities simply ignore Faith entirely.) If you
have an Orator lower Marach’s Faith, you can use Marach to attack the enemies
with magick while being resistant to magick himself, but the randomness of his
abilities still makes him not too useful.
%%%CHAPTER IV: IN THE NAME OF LOVE%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00walk4
Chapter IV picks up right where Chapter III left off. After a brief scene
in Zeltennia Castle with Orlandeau and Orran, you’ll be plopped back on the
world map — haven’t seen that for a while, huh? — outside Riovanes.
Ramza’s appearance has changed again, giving him the ability to equip knight’s
swords, powerful weapons that you’ll start acquiring soon. He has also has a
new ability available (Shout), so be sure to learn that. You’ll note that
Squire does not appear as a Mastered job even if you learn all the abilities —
that’s because Ramza is missing the Ultima spell. If you managed to have Luso
learn it back on the roof, you can now have him cast it on Ramza in any battle
to teach it to Ramza. Otherwise, you’ll have a chance to learn Ultima for both
characters later on.
Be sure to change back to your normal jobs if you’re still altered from the
fights in Riovanes Castle. While you’re still at Riovanes, you can do a bit of
equipment upgrading. There are new swords, shields, and armor available. If
you visit Dorter, you can also buy new a ninja blade, katana, clothes (Gaia
Gear), the Yagyu Darkroods shuriken, and the Angel Ring accessory. Pick up
weapons you might need for you current jobs (and if you’re using Throw, stock
up on Darkroods). There are also a number of errands you can take in the
various towns, but many of them aren’t worth the time they take (and you
sometimes LOSE money on them), so it’s probably not worth the bother.
Now that you’re in Chapter IV, you can start accessing the game’s side quests.
First, assuming you still have Mustadio, you can head down to Goug to start the
Gollund Colliery quest, which will net you two great new characters (Beowulf
and Construct 8) as well as one OK one (Reis the Holy Dragon). This quest is
covered in the Gollund Colliery section below — press Ctrl+F and enter 00col
to jump there.
Second, you can also access the event to earn the Tynar Rouge accessory …
that is, IF you still have Mustadio, Agrias, Alicia, and Lavian on your team.
It occurs on 1 Cancer, which follows the month of Gemini, which follows Taurus.
So, if you’re in Gemini or Taurus, keep your head up about that. See the
Agrias’s Birthday section below for the full scoop on how to complete that
mission.
Finally, there’s a new Rendezvous Mode mission available, Shades of the Past.
This one is pretty easy if you have a good physical defense. If your level is
sufficiently high, you may start winning rare items from Rendezvous Mode!
If you don’t complete these sidequests now, don’t worry–they all have no
expiration date and you can always complete them later.
You’ll notice that a couple new routes have opened up from Riovanes: a shortcut
back towards Eagrose Castle, and another down towards Dorter leading through
the new Mount Bervenia location. You’ll need to visit Mount Bervenia later if
you’re doing the Cloud Subquest, but there’s not much to see there now.
Instead, you’ll want to head towards Zeltennia, where Ramza hopes to meet up
with Delita to discuss the Church’s plot. Go up to the pass near Lesalia.
This is a routine battle against the Order of the Southern Sky. Whip through
here and continue on towards the Free City of Bervenia.
Before you enter the town, equip the Safeguard ability on everybody who has it.
Archer’s Bane or Shirahadori, Jump, and Ignore Elevation or Teleport are also
helpful. In Bervenia, you’ll encounter — and fight — Isilud’s sister
Meliadoul, accompanied by some Summoners and Archers. She has some very useful
pieces of equipment (the Defender knight’s sword and the Chantage perfume), so
you may want to deploy someone with Steal and try to snag them, especially the
Chantage. (See the battle strategies for more tips on stealing.) If you don’t
get them here, there *are* other ways to get them, but it’s certainly worth
taking a shot at acquiring them here.
When you win the battle against Meliadoul, she’ll teleport away and you’ll be
able to visit the shops in town. The Outfitter doesn’t have anything new, but
if you were able to steal Meliadoul’s Defender and/or Chantage, equip them.
The Defender is the first knight’s sword you will have come across, which can
only be used a select few jobs (Knight, Dark Knight, plus Ramza’s Squire job
and Agrias’s Holy Knight job are the only ones who can use it now.)
Also, now that you’ve completed the battle at Bervenia, you can begin the
subquest to recruit Balthier. It requires trekking back down to Gollund and
later to Dorter, so you can either do it now or just wait until you pass
through that way a few battles later. For the full scoop on the Balthier
quest, see the Recruiting Balthier section — press Ctrl+F and enter 00balt to
jump down there.
When you first leave Bervenia, there will be another intermission with Delita
and Ovelia. Move on to Finnath Creek for another battle. You may want to
bring an Orator or someone else with Speechcraft and Beast Tongue as you may
able to recruit a Pig here. Instant-KO attacks (e.g. the Black Mage’s Death)
or petrification attacks (the Mystic’s Induration or Beowulf’s Break) will also
be helpful here.
After crossing the creek, you can finally get to Zeltennia Castle. Ramza will
go to the church, where he’ll meet Delita again. In an FMV scene, Delita
explains more of the church’s plan. Zalmour then shows up, and it’s fight time
(did you really think you could go somewhere without one?). With Delita’s
help, it’s quite easy. After the battle, you’ll meet with Valmafra, then
Delita will leave (bummer).
Strangely, the shops *still* don’t have anything new. But restock your items;
you’ll need lots of X-Potions. You may also want to grab a couple Aegis
Shields for any shield-using characters, if you don’t already have some in your
inventory. Then go to the Beddha Sandwaste, south of Bervenia. Here you’ll
encounter another Knight Templar, Barich, in a tough battle. To prepare
yourself, you may want to equip White Robes and Aegis Shields to protect
against enemy magic; deploying someone with the Esuna White Magick spell may
also be helpful. This is one the last difficult encounters of the game, as
pretty soon you… well, you’ll see.
After beating Barich (it may well take you a few tries), go to Fort Besselat.
You’ll have a choice as to whether to attack the south or north wall. Each is
a different battle. I find that the south wall is easier, especially if you
don’t have characters with a good Jump rating. Still, a good Jump stat is
useful for either battle, as are Shirahadori and Archer’s Bane.
Whichever way you go, you’ll end up at the floodgate. Save your game in a
different slot, then continue. There’s a second battle at the sluice. After
Ramza blows up the sluice, he, Orran, and Valmafra will rescue Orlandeau.
Orran goes back to Zeltennia to guard Ovelia, but Orlandeau THEN JOINS YOU!
YAHOO!! If you just heard a giant sucking sound, it was all the challenge
going down to Mexico (er, unless you live in Mexico, then it all went to
Zimbabwe). Orlandeau is ridiculously powerful, and once you have him, hardly
anyone in the game has a chance against you. He has all of Agrias’s,
Gaffgarion’s, and Meliadoul’s sword techniques, plus a full set of Crystal
equipment and the Excalibur, the latter of which gives him a permanent Haste.
He can also use every type of sword (katana, knight’s sword, etc.). To put it
simply, he is hell on wheels.
Meanwhile, Delita advances his power. A cutscene pops up instructing you to go
to Limberry. A handy new path now opens up between Fort Besselat and Zeirchele
Falls. If you didn’t already recruit Balthier, now is a great time to trek back
to either Gollund or Gariland to begin that quest. (Again, see the Recruiting
Balthier section below for the full scoop.) A new Rendezvous Mode mission also
becomes available, The Knights Templar.
Your next stop is the Trade City of Sal Ghidos. On the way, stop in at
Zeltennia. Finally, there’s new equipment for sale! Aside from one hat that
becomes available after Limberry, the gear here and at Sal Ghidos is the last
round of equipment upgrades you can find in stores. There’s better equipment
out there, of course, but you have to steal or find it; you can’t buy it.
There’s no point in holding back on upgrading, but save 50,000 – 75,000 gil or
so for some accessories you’ll need for the next arc.
At Zeltennia, you’ll find a new knife, sword, crossbow, polearm, shield, helm,
armor, and the Featherweave Cloak accessory. Note that there are two new sets
of armor available: the Crystal Mirror, which is a "regular" set of armor, and
the Mirror Mail, which gives the character a permanent Reflect (basically the
same as a Reflect Ring, but it doesn’t take up your accessory slot š ). This
reflects enemy spells, but it also reflects your own cure spells or buffs. If
you only use items to heal, though, the Reflect effect can be useful.
At your next stop, the Trade City of Sal Ghidos, you’ll run into what is
probably a familiar face … it’s Aerith! Choose the SECOND option to buy a
flower from her; you’ll need to do so if you want to complete all the
subquests. Be careful not to speed through the text and choose the first
option by mistake!
Once you have the flower, you can complete the Nelveska Temple quest (again,
covered below in the subquests section), though this also requires you to have
finished the Gollund Colliery quest first. The Nelveska Temple nets you one
character upgrade, as well as the chance to acquire some rare items via the
Treasure Hunter ability. Completing the Nelveska Temple in turn opens the
Recruiting Cloud quest, which lets you recruit Cloud from Final Fantasy VII
into your party. If you accidentally do NOT buy the flower, however, you’ll
miss out on your chance on complete these quests.
After meeting with Aerith at Sal Ghidos, head into town (yup, there’s no
fight). There’s yet more new equipment! Will the wonders never cease? Be
sure to stop in for an upgrade. You can get new knives, katanas, polearms,
poles, clothes, and hats. There’s also the new Luminous Robe, although it
doesn’t have any special bonuses, so if you’re using Black Magick, you may
prefer to keep the Black Robe for its offensive bonuses.
Before you leave, you’ll want to have a good selection of equipment to protect
yourself against the status conditions you’ll face at Limberry. Jujitsu Gis
and Jade Armlets are especially helpful, as they protect against the KO and
Stop conditions that Celia and Lettie throw at you, and Protect Rings will
defend against Sleep and Doom. You may also want to pick up a Nu Khai Armband
or two for male characters; these protect against Charm.
There are also a couple of new errands. Since Zeltennia and Sal Ghidos are
right next to each other, you can easily clear the errands in either town (as
well as in Bervenia) just by walking back and forth between them. They may
help you out if you need to earn a little cash to buy stuff, though, in many
cases, they’re just as likely to lose you money as to earn you it. If you
still need more money, you could complete the next two story battles (en route
to Limberry), then come back to Sal Ghidos to shop with the bonus gil you
received.
Pop on down to Mount Germinas, where you’ll have a run-in with some bandits.
With Orlandeau in your party, this battle is a breeze. There is one special
item here, which you can obtain either during the story battle or a random
battle. It’s the Invisibility Cloak, a cloak that (as you might expect)
automatically makes you invisible. To get the cloak, first save the game;
then equip someone with Treasure Hunter ability and move him/her to the top of
the mountain. You’ll receive either an Ether or the cloak; the LOWER your
Bravery, the HIGHER your chances of getting the cloak. (Rapha is good for this
because she has a pretty low Bravery.) If you get the Ether, you lose your
shot at getting the cloak, so you’ll have to reset and try again. There’s no
time limit on attempting to get the cloak (as long as you don’t search and get
an Ether), so if you don’t have a good Move/Jump range or if your Bravery is
too low, you can skip it for now and come back later. This is the only
Invisibility Cloak available in the single-player quest, though you can easily
win more in Rendezvous Mode.
After Mount Germinas, you’ll go to Lake Poescas. This is another undead
scenario, but it’s really easy. As always, Mustadio and (if you have him)
Balthier are good for petrifying the undead. You then see a scene with
Dycedarg, after which you can go to Limberry Castle.
There’s a sequence of four battles at Limberry Castle; as usual, you’ll want to
save in a different slot between them, so that you don’t lock yourself in. The
first battle is at the gate (isn’t it always?). You’ll be fighting Celia and
Lettie again, so equipping your anti-Stop/KO/Charm gear is essential. The
battle is pretty easy, but it’s your best chance to learn Ultima. To do so,
just make Ramza into a Squire before the battle and he’ll learn the spell when
Celia or Lettie casts it on him. (Luso can also learn the spell, but it’s
probably easiest to just have Ramza learn it here and then later teach it to
Luso by having Ramza cast it on him.)
After winning the gate battle, you’ll see a story scene with Elmdore and
Folmarv. Keep your status protection gear equipped for the next battle. If
Ramza already learned Ultima, you can switch him back to his regular job now;
otherwise, you’ll have additional chances in the next two battles.
The second battle is against Elmdore, Celia, and Lettie in the keep. If you’re
looking for revenge from the Riovanes Castle Roof, now’s your chance — but
look out, Elmdore is still pretty darn tough, and nearly impossible to hit.
Check the battle strategies if you need help beating him.
After defeating Elmdore in the keep, you can return your equipment to normal as
you won’t have to fight Celia and Lettie any more. Next up is the courtyard,
you’ll have to square off against an old "friend." Deploying someone who can
inflict Disable status (e.g. Mustadio, Balthier, Beowulf, or a Mystic) is
particularly important for this battle.
Finally, you’ll proceed down to the basement for the last battle in this
sequence and your last encounter with Elmdore — now in Lucavi form. Equipping
Protect Rings beforehand will help guard against some of the status attacks he
uses on you. Meliadoul will also help you out here.
After you defeat Elmdore for the last time, you’ll collect two more Zodiac
Stones–Elmdore’s Gemini stone and Meliadoul’s Sagittarius stone–and Meliadoul
will offer to join you. Although she’s not quite as powerful as Orlandeau
(Orlandeau has all her sword techniques, plus more!), her sword techniques are
still pretty good … and, unlike in the PSone version, they work on monsters!
She also has a pretty high Faith, so she can be good with magick too if you
change her to a magick-using job. She comes equipped with the Save the Queen
knight’s sword; if you don’t plan on using her, give this sword to someone else
as it’s probably stronger than anything else you have save the Excalibur.
Limberry Castle is now a normal town, so you can go to the Tavern and Outfitter
(although there’s nothing new at the shop). When you try to leave, you’ll see
a long set of story scenes with Ovelia and then with Zalbaag. Now take a look
at map. You’ll note Eagrose Castle has turned red. It’s time to hike all the
way back there.
A new wilderness location has opened up west of Limberry: Dorvauldar Marsh.
Although nothing story-related happens here and you never *have* to visit, it
provides a handy shortcut between Limberry and Fort Besselat. Additionally,
there’s a small chance of encountering Pigs in random battles here — though
only when you’re entering from the Fort Besselat side. If you haven’t snagged
one yet for poaching purposes, you can look for one here. One of the later
sidequests also offers an opportunity to find Pigs at higher odds, if you’d
prefer not to wait for one to show up here.
Now that you’ve defeated Elmdore, many towns around the map also have new
errands to complete.
As you make your way back to Eagrose, stop in at a non-castle town. You can
now buy Thief’s Caps, the last piece of new equipment that the shops will
carry. If you don’t have any Nu Khai Armbands, you’ll also want to acquire
a set of those for an upcoming battle.
If you step into Dorter on the way back to Eagrose, you’ll have an extra battle
against Cletienne, another of Folmarv’s henchmen. Meliadoul automatically
participates as a guest in this battle, so be sure to equip her accordingly.
Alternately, you can avoid this battle entirely if you go to Bervenia and head
west along the northern coast … but this is such a long and circuitous route
that you’re likely to have more random battles than you save by avoiding
Cletienne. (Note that the Cletienne battle will also not trigger if you never
admitted into Meliadoul into your party or if she has already been killed or
fired.)
When you finally do reach Eagrose, Ramza will open the gate (no gate battle,
yay!), and then you’ll line up for a fight. For an easy victory, equip Nu
Khai Armbands and deploy Agrias, Orlandeau, and Meliadoul. You’ll fight a two-
stage battle against another Lucavi, Adrammelech. When killed, he will yield
the Capricorn Zodiac Stone. (You can also pick up an extra Blood Sword and
Healing Staff in this battle if you bring someone with Treasure Hunter and low
Bravery, but it’s not too important to get and the Healing Staff is quite
difficult to reach.)
After defeating Adrammelech, head to Gariland. Stock up on Holy Water and take
the new route south to Mullonde. At Mullonde, you’ll be treated to a series of
battles, beginning outside the church (not that hard), and progressing inside,
where you’ll face off against Folmarv, Loffrey, and Cletienne. Equip Safeguard
here since Loffrey likes to break your equipment. The three Knights Templar
will teleport away after you beat on them for a while. If any of your
equipment got broken in this battle, you’ll need to replace it; strip the gear
from somebody you’re not going to be using in the next battle.
You’ll then go to the sanctuary, where Ramza will have to fight a possessed
former ally. If you’re still missing Ultima, this is your last chance to learn
it and save it to your save file. The sanctuary battle is the last of the
sequence of the battles at Mullonde; afterwards, Ramza will meet up with a
dying Funebris, who tells him that Folmarv is going to Orbonne Monastery.
Back on the map, a handy route has opened up between Mullonde and the Clockwork
City of Goug. Another set of subquests becomes available: Midlight’s Deep in
Warjilis Trade City, Disorder in the Order (in Zeltennia and Dorter), and (if
you’ve already completed the Nelveska Temple quest) Lionel’s New Liege Lord.
The All-Star Melee mission is also unlocked in Rendezvous Mode. And if you’re
still working on the earlier subquests, the new route between Mullonde and Goug
makes them a lot easier.
If you’re going to do these quests or anything else on the map, take care of it
now! Once you go to Orbonne Monastery, you’re locked into the game’s final
series of battles.
Before you go to Orbonne, make sure you’re ready. Your main team of characters
should be at least level 40. Equip yourself with all your best abilities, and
change to your best jobs. Earning JP doesn’t matter now. In truth, the last
sequence of battles isn’t all that difficult, just long. You may also want to
buy a couple pairs of Winged Boots since they’ll be helpful in one of the
upcoming battles. Definitely purchase some Thief’s Caps if you haven’t
already.
!!!CAUTION!!!
Once you enter Orbonne, there is NO way to return to the world map. If you
want to be able to continue playing the game on the world map, you must keep a
save from before you entered the Monastery. Once you enter the Monastery,
save in a DIFFERENT slot.
!!!CAUTION!!!
The first battle at Orbonne is against some generic enemies — an easy battle.
Afterwards, you’ll move on to the fifth for the next battle. Beforehand,
ready your Safeguard abilities to protect yourself from Crush attacks.
Equipping Winged Boots or the Jump +x and Fly abilities will also help you
navigate the pit-laden terrain.
On the fifth level, you’ll face the first of a series of four battles against
the Zodiac Braves. First up is Loffrey. After you defeat him, he’ll suck you
through a portal to the Necrohol of Mullonde (of no apparent relation to
Mullonde Cathedral), then destroy the way back. Return your abilities and
equipment to normal.
Your next opponent is Cletienne. After that, you’ll face Barich, brought back
to life by the Zodiac Stones. This can be a pretty tough fight; deploying
long-range attackers is a good idea and you’ll probably want to equip Thief’s
Caps to keep Barich from Immobilizing or Disabling you.
Finally, you’ll head to the Airship Graveyard, which is really just a single
airship, and a rather odd location for a final battle. Folmarv will use the
Leo Stone to transform him into a giant lion, Hashmal. You may want to equip
your Jade Armlets again for this battle since he likes to cast Stop on you.
Defeat him and you’ll get the Ragnarok sword. St. Ajora will then appear.
You now have one last chance to save your game and adjust your characters.
Equip the Ragnarok sword. It’s strong but not quite as useful as the
Excalibur, since it doesn’t give you an automatic Haste. But if you have two
characters who can use knight’s swords (Knights, Dark Knights, and many of the
special jobs), you can give the Ragnarok to the second one
Another Alma will somehow appear. Ajora then summons four Ultima Demons in
response, then transforms into Ultima. Alma will join you as a guest for the
final battle, against the Generic Angel Boss (TM). After pounding on Ultima
for a while, Ultima will (of course) reveal his/her/its (?) true form, a
skeletony-type of angel. Thankfully, the Ultima Demons disappear for this
phase of the battle.
When you defeat Ultima’s second form, it will blow up (nice special effects).
The Battle Is Won! Leave the game on after the credits for an additional
scene.
Note that when the game says it’s saving afterwards, it’s just doing so to
unlock the last set of Rendezvous Mode missions. If you saved at any point
during the final sequence of battles (i.e., any time after you entered Orbonne
Monastery), loading this save will only put you back into the last set of
battles and doesn’t allow you back to the world map. So, again, if you want to
do anything outside of the Necrohol, hang on to a separate save from before you
entered Orbonne Monastery!
If you haven’t beaten Midlight’s Deep and all the other subquests, you’re not
done yet! Keep on reading for information on those quests.
*******************************************************************************
IV. WALKTHROUGH – 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 Free City of Bervenia battle)
Disorder in the Order
(after Mullonde)
Midlight’s Deep
(after Mullonde)
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).
Walkthroughs for the quests are below. Battle strategies for the battles
encountered within these quests can be found in the Subquest Battle Strategies
section — press Ctrl+F and enter 00bssub to jump there.
%%%AGRIAS’S BIRTHDAY%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00agr
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: At beginning of Chapter IV
REWARDS: Tynar Rouge
A pair of Agrias-related subquests become available in Chapter IV. The first
one allows you to obtain the Tynar Rouge, a good accessory for female
characters (if not *quite* as abusive as the Chantage). To trigger the scene
in which you acquire the Tynar Rouge, you must move onto a TOWN or CITY (NOT a
castle) on the world map on the date of 1 Cancer, which is Agrias’s birthday.
In addition, you must also meet these other requirements:
– Agrias, Mustadio, Alicia, and Lavian must still be alive and on your 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.)
Assuming you meet the above requirements, if you move onto a town (again, a
castle will NOT work), on 1 Cancer, you’ll see a scene in which Mustadio buys
Agrias the Tynar Rouge lip rouge for her birthday. 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
city or town on that date is to simply move back and forth between Gollund Coal
City and Lesalia. Both of these count as towns, so you’re guaranteed to land
on a town 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%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00col
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, also leading into the Nelveska Temple and Cloud quests. To complete
ANY of these quests, you must have Mustadio still around, so don’t dismiss him
or let him get killed!
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. 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. Choose the second option to
sign him up and he joins you as a Guest. (If you choose the first option and
reject his assistance, the quest will end and you’ll be permanently locked out
of it!)
You’ll note that the Mining Town of Gollund has turned red. First, equip
Mystic Arts as Beowulf’s second ability, since he already has a bunch of Mystic
Arts spells learned. Go back into Lesalia and check at the Outfitter’s;
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 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.) Ideally, try to buy 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. Equipping your anti-ice gear will
protect you well against the ice attacks you’ll face. Since the snowy weather
boosts the power of ice attacks, you’ll also want to equip any Icebrands and
Glacial Guns you own for the first two battles. For the third battle, however,
switch them to other weapons; you’ll face Blue Dragons that absorb ice!
After the three battles, you’ll reach the Coal Shaft. The monsters here are
WEAK against ice, so strip off your anti-ice gear and re-equip any Icebrands
you have. In the Coal Shaft, the Holy Dragon Reis is being attacked by an
Archaeodaemon. You have to save her.
After this battle, you’ll get the Aquarius Zodiac Stone, and Reis and Beowulf
will offer to join you. Sign them both up as you need them for later quests.
(Be sure to keep them alive, too!) Reis, particularly while she’s still stuck
in dragon form, is not that great, but Beowulf IS. In particular, shoot for
learning his Vengeance and Chicken abilities. Chicken does a HUGE drop on
enemy Bravery and frequently turnes them into a helpless chicken, while
Vengeance is a potent attack with a long range.
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 basically impervious to magick and most (though not all) status
conditions. Sign it up for sure!
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, below.
%%%RECRUITING BALTHIER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00balt
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 will help you out here as a guest.
You can check the Other Subquests section of the battle strategies if you need
help, but it should be really be pretty easy.
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, with 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, and can’t be blocked. His "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.)
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 if you don’t plan on
using Balthier, you should at least give his gear to someone else.
%%%NELVESKA TEMPLE%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00nel
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
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, it seems
that you do NOT have a second chance to get it, which means that you
unfortunately can’t continue with this quest š
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.
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. 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 the Orator ability Intimidate; for
every use of this ability, she’ll lose 20 points of Bravery during the battle
but 5 points permanently. Be careful not to reduce her permanent Bravery TOO
low, though, or she will quit the party (so using Beowulf’s Chicken may not be
a good idea). 15 to 20 is probably a safe number.
Whether you’re planning on looking for the items or not, you’ll probably want
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 and you’ll be attacked by Construct 7. This is the one battle
here, so search for the hidden items if you want, or just take down Construct
7. (See the battle strategies for tips both on the fight and on successfully
retrieving the items.) When Construct 7 explodes, you’ll get its power source:
the Cancer Zodiac Stone.
When you 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 … but you
won’t be able to go any further to recruit him onto the team unless you’ve
already defeated Adrammelech in the main storylie. (See Recruiting Cloud,
below.) If you’ve gone even further and cleared Mullonde in the main
storyline, you can also embark on the Lionel’s New Liege Lord quest.
%%%RECRUITING CLOUD%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00cloud
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: Immediately after completing Nelveska Temple quest
REWARDS: Cloud joins the party
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. This is
quite an easy battle, although you may want to equip Safeguard beforehand so
the Thieves can’t steal any of your gear. 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 on Mount Bervenia. The easiest
method is to go to Riovanes Castle and just move back and forth between
Riovanes and Mount Bervenia until you get into a random battle.
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.
Equipping Cloud with the Materia Blade allows him to use his Limit command,
although you still have to learn all the Limit abilities individually.
Honestly, Cloud isn’t really all that great a character, in my estimation —
his Limits take a long time to charge (you’ll probably want to give him the
Time Mage’s Swiftness ability), and he starts back at level 1.
%%%DISORDER IN THE ORDER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00dis
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 above, there will be a
new rumor, "Disorder in the Order." Listen to it.
Now, if you head back to the Brigands’ Den south of Mandalia Plain, you’ll
get into a battle against some deserters from the Order of the Northern Sky.
Agrias functions as a Guest in this battle. Be SURE to bring a character who
can steal, as there are a lot of great rare items you can get here. (Balthier
may be particularly useful, since his Plunder skills a little bit more likely
to succeed than regular Steals.) While none of the stealable items are
available ONLY in this battle, it’s a chance to grab second copies of some
items you can’t buy in stores. The extra Venetian Shield and Kaiser Shield you
can get here are particularly handy, and you can also get more magick guns, a
Sasuke’s Blade, and Ninja Gear and a Barette. If you bring Orlandeau along,
you can also see a few extra lines of dialogue.
The actual battle should be fairly easy. Nothing special happens when you
clear it–it’s mostly just an avenue for stealing a lot of great items š
%%%LIONEL’S NEW LIEGE LORD%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00lio
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
To begin the new Beowulf 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. (It’s not necessary to do to the quest to recruit Cloud or get his
Materia Blade.) You also have to completed the battle against Zalbaag at
Mullonde in the main storyline.
Finally, 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 battle at
Bervenia Free City during Chapter IV. This rumor can be read before or after
you recruit Beowulf and Reis.
The main purpose of this quest is to acquire the Masamune and Genji Armor, as
well as a few other goodies.
This quest, of course, takes place at Lionel Castle. As soon as you visit
Lionel Castle after meeting the requirements above, 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. (Since Reis is presently kidnapped, you won’t be
able to select her as part of your team for this battle.) Note that Beowulf
functions as a guest in this subquest. If he’s KOed in the first battle, you
lose, so be sure to equip with some decent armor and/or a shield and deploy a
healer. (In thesecond battle, it doesn’t matter if he’s KOed.) The bosses
here have Safeguard, which renders them immune to Meliadoul’s Unyielding Blade
attacks, so you probably won’t want to deploy her unless she has some good
other abilities.
You’ll fight a sequence of two battles at Lionel. The first is against
Beowulf’s old pal Aliste. When you win here, you’ll get the Genji Armor, the
second strongest suit of armor in the game. You’ll have another chance to
save and adjust your team — so equip that Genji Armor — before moving on to
the second battle, against Bremondt himself. Be sure to deploy your stealing
character here, as one of the enemy samurai has the Masamune and this is the
by far the best place to get it. (See the battle strategies for more info.)
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, and 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
now prompted to add Beowulf and Reis back into your roster, and this subquest
is now complete!
%%%MIDLIGHT’S DEEP%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00md
QUEST BECOMES AVAILABLE: After Mullonde battles
REWARDS: Numerous rare items, Zodiark summon, the Byblos joins the party
Midlight’s Deep is a 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 beat Mullonde Holy Place. Then
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 to the
tiny island to the east, which contains Midlight’s Deep, a ten-floor bonus
dungeon.
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 basically 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 another way to
see. 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 you’re choosing 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.
FINDING THE EXITS
But 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, the exit is RANDOMLY placed on one of several possible
tiles — so you don’t know where it is! But, the exit is usually on the
enemy’s side of the battlefield, and often on a tile that’s in a corner and/or
has a low "height" value. Not always, though.
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 spell on the last one to turn it into a
chicken. (If the enemy has 60 or more Bravery, you’ll have to use Chicken
twice before it actually turns into a chicken.) Once the last enemy is a
harmless chicken, it’s easy to walk around the level and look for the exit.
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 :). Of course, you don’t HAVE to use the Chicken
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.
(Note that 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.
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 the Orator ability Intimidate; for every
use of this ability, she’ll lose 20 points of Bravery during the battle but
5 points permanently. Be careful not to reduce her permanent Bravery TOO low,
though, or she will quit the party–so using Beowulf’s Chicken may not be a
good idea. 15 to 20 is probably a safe number and will give you some margin of
error in case she gets with a Bravery-lowering ability during a battle.
STRATEGIES FOR FINDING ITEMS AND EXITS
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 available, 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, try equipping her
with the Invisibility Cloak found on Mount Germinas (see Advanced Tactics and
Secrets). This cloak causes her to start the battle invisible. 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 Septie`me
perfume, poachable from the Greater Hydras found in the Deep, and the Ninja
Gear found on the sixth floor of the dungeon (The Palings) also have the same
invisibility effect. And since the Ninja Gear is body armor instead of an
accessory, it allows you to also equip Germinas Boots at the same time.
You can also combine this 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.
Having a Bravery below 10 almost guarantees you’ll get the rare item.
As a caution, note that enemy characters with Treasure Hunter can also pick up
the rare items, which will prevent you from 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 them quickly to prevent them from
beating you to the loot!
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:
When the battle starts, tilt the analog stick on the PSP left or right. 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 your characters are
facing down and to the left on the screen.
Now, move the cursor to the lower left corner. This tile is (X: 0, Y: 0). If
you move the cursor to the left (using the left arrow on the D-pad), you’ll
be at (X: 1, Y: 0), then (X: 2, Y: 0), (X: 3, Y: 0), and so on. If you start
at (X: 0, Y: 0) and move upwards (up arrow on the D-pad), you’ll be at (X: 0,
Y: 1). So a tile like (X: 4, Y: 3) would be four tiles to the right and three
tiles up from the lower-left corner (again, this is when your team is facing
DOWN and to the LEFT at the start of the battle). I’ve given the locations of
all the items using this coordinate system.
For exact item locations, see each level’s battle strategy.
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 use the Preview Monster Eggs
trick from the Advanced Tactics section to see what monsters you’re getting and
delete any that aren’t the exact type you want.) Poach THESE 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 you
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 for two super-rare items (the Ribbon and the Fallingstar
Bag).
—Floor-by-Floor Walkthrough————————————————–
Whew! I think that’s all the instruction you need. Now head on in! The first
floor, The Crevasse, is just kind of practice; the monsters here are very weak.
You can find two of the magickal guns here, although you may already have a
Glacial Gun if you stole one earlier. The Blaze Gun is a little stronger than
the Glacial Gun, though, and 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.
Note that 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.
After you find the exit in The Crevasse, you’ll open up The Stair. It’s
similar in layout to The Crevasse, but is a lot more challenging. Bringing
Archer’s Bane or Shirahadori is a good idea as there are a lot of enemy
Archers. After that comes The Hollow. Here, you’ll want to deploy range
attackers as the enemies start at a distance and can easily be picked off. 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 of them and you can do fine without getting
them all (or even any).
The fourth floor, The Catacombs, is also quite challenging. It may take you a
few tries to collect everything here, especially if you get a tough group of
monsters. But, the equipment available here is also quite good: the Kaiser
Shield as well as the Rod of Faith. The Rod of Faith is particularly valuable
and available here only. It’s a rod that 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. This is particularly 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). Since the Rod maximizes your Faith
regardless of its normal value, you can also 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 item under Advanced Tactics for more on
strategies using the Rod.)
The Catacombs also holds the Faerie Harp. If you don’t use Bards, you can skip
it. It’s worth noting, though, that the Faerie Harp is the only attack or
ability that can Charm all targets regardless of gender or human/monster status
— plus it’s the strongest harp, so it’s a good pickup if you DO have a Bard
around.
Level 5 is The Oubliette. Here, you can get a second Excalibur sword, which is
definitely worth picking up (especially since it’s right next to where you
start!). Although you should already have one since Orlandeau comes with one,
two never hurts … the automatic Haste effect is incredibly useful! You can
give the second to another character who uses knight’s swords, like Agrias,
Beowulf, Meliadoul, or Ramza — or any character in the Knight job. You can
also find the Iga Blade ninja blade here.
Next stop is The Palings. All four items are right at the starting point, so
they’re easy to grab. These include the Blaster (the lightning-elemental
magickal gun and the strongest gun overall), the invisibility-granting Ninja
Gear, the Cursed Ring, and the Elixir. If you plan on tackling all the co-op
Rendezvous Mode missions, the Cursed Ring is quite important to one of the
missions and this is the only one you can get in the game, so don’t miss it or
lose it later!
Floor seven is The Crossing. The items here aren’t all that great. There’s
the Koga Blade ninja blade, and a Staff of the Magi. The Staff of the Magi
isn’t very good; it has a higher *attack power* than the Zeus Mace, but no
benefit to your magick strength — and how often do your magick-users hit
people with their staves? But, you want to bring Luso or somebody else with
the Poach skill, as there’s a chance of running into the stronger minotaur
monster here. Either of the items you get from poaching it cannot be found
anywhere else.
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. The Switchback holds the Ragnarok sword (not actually as
good as Excalibur as it doesn’t cast Haste), Robe of Lords (a GREAT robe), and
the best bow, the Perseus Bow. (You can also steal additional Yoichi Bows
from the Archers that sometimes appear here.) The final normal floor is The
Interstice. It 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. You want this stuff.
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.
When you enter Terminus, you’ll meet some weird old guy named Elidibus, who
will turn himself into a Lucavi. You’ll be accompanied in this battle by a
purple Byblos monster (its personal name varies). After defeating Elidibus
(and hopefully learning Zodiark from him), you’ll get the 13th (!) Zodiac
Stone, Serpentarius. The Byblos will offer to join your party. This is your
one opportunity to get this character, so sign it up. He’s only OK, though.
Congratulations! You’ve 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 (the best samurai
sword), 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!
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 (if not stronger than) Orlandeau!
For other rare weapons, equip all your characters with Sticky Fingers and go
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.)
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. (For a complete list of these special battles, see the Random
Battles section under Other Game Information.) 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, 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. (Note that you need to complete the main quest first
in order 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.
*******************************************************************************
V. BATTLE STRATEGIES
*******************************************************************************
%%%CHAPTER I: THE MEAGER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00bs1
—Battle 1: Gariland———————————————————-
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Squire (male) x3, Squire (female) x1, Chemist (male) x1
–STRATEGY–
The key in this battle is advance slowly and not to let your characters get
spread out. Stay on the left side, away from the bulk of the houses.
The enemy Chemist has the ability to heal the other enemies, which can be a
pain. If you have the chance to take him out, do so; otherwise, he’ll heal the
enemy soldiers you’ve been attacking. Actually, you can stop him from doing
this even if you attack him just once. He’ll use up his turn healing himself
instead of healing any of the other enemies.
Attack from the enemy from behind or from the side whenever possible, as you’re
more likely to land a hit that way. (In general, rear attacks are best as they
also cancel out enemy shields — but no enemies have shields yet, so side and
rear attacks will be equally effective.) At the end of each character’s turn,
you choose which direction they facing. Make sure you end your turns facing
the enemies, which will make it harder for them to hit you from behind! (When
possible, you can even put your back to the side of a building to protect it
completely!)
Make good use of your Chemists for healing–you start out with 5 Potions and
you can use them to heal a character who gets injured. If you don’t have
teammates who need healing, the Chemists can also attack. (Note that Chemists
have an inherent Throw Item ability, so they don’t have to be next to a
character to use an item on him/her. This is NOT true for other characters
using the Item ability, however.)
Don’t worry about Delita; the Guest AI is pretty reckless and it’s likely he’ll
get himself KOed. Since he’s a Guest character, though, he can’t die
permanently and will be revived at the end of the battle.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 2000 gil, Mythril Knife, Phoenix Down, Potion
—Battle 2: Mandalia Plain—————————————————-
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], Argath [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Squire (male) x4, Thief (male) x1, Red Panther x1
–STRATEGY–
Your choice before the battle affects your victory conditions here. If you
chose just to fight the Corpse Brigade, you only have to KO all the enemies.
If you chose the second option, then there’s an additional requirement: You
must also keep Argath from being KOed, as you will lose the battle if he gets
KOed. The first option is better, of course, since it makes the battle easier
and
If you DID choose to help Argath, though, you need to protect him. Start
moving a Chemist towards Argath right away. Fortunately, Argath will probably
flee away from the enemies and into one corner. Heal him just to be on the
safe side, and then you’re free to concentrate on the enemies.
Attack from above if you can, and guard your back with the rocks scattered
about the battlefield or with other ally units. Remember that if you act
without moving, or move without acting, your next turn will come sooner than if
you both act AND move. So if there’s no real need for a character to move or
to take action, don’t do it just for the heck of it. Your next turn will come
sooner if you don’t.
You’ll encounter your first monster here in the form of a Red Panther. It’s
the toughest unit in the enemy forces, but it’s not too bad. Be warned that,
like all monsters, it will counterattack you whenever you attack it. Don’t
attack the Red Panther using a character who’s low on HP, or the counterattack
is liable to KO you! (You CAN avoid the counterattack by using the Squire
ability Stone to attack from a distance, but this ability is really too weak to
be worth using.) The Red Panther can also poison you, which causes you to
lose a little HP after each turn you take. You can cure this with an Antidote
if you want, but it’s probably not necessary–the poison wears off after a few
turns, anyway.
This may be your first chance to pick up crystals or chests. When the counter
over a KOed enemy unit goes down past 0, the unit vanishes and is replaced with
a crystal or treasure chest. Pick these up by moving onto the same tile.
Picking up a chest will get you an item. Picking up a crystal will either heal
the unit, or in some cases give you the option of learning many of the defeated
enemy’s abilities. (Note that although you point the cursor at an individual
ability, you actually learn ALL of the abilities offered, regardless of what
you pick!) Crystals from monsters will only heal you since monsters don’t have
any abilities you can learn, and crystals from humans won’t always offer you an
ability either. (Unless the units is in desperate need of healing, you should
generally choose to learn the ability, as this permanently adds abilities to
the character!) Crystals from humans are great to pick up as they can teach
you new abilities, so grab them when you see them. Monster crystals are only
necessary to pick up if you need healing — or to prevent the enemies from
getting to them first, as they can heal themselves with crystals too! Chests
typically just offer items you can buy in stores anyway and so are not as
important to collect, but early on they can still be useful as money is
tighter.
If one of your OWN units gets KOed, you must act to revive the character before
the countdown runs down and the character is lost permanently. Right now,
you’ve got two ways to revive a character. If one of your Chemists learned the
Phoenix Down and you have Phoenix Downs in stock, you can use the Phoenix Down
to revive the character. Or, you can hurry and clear the battle before the
countdown runs out — when you win a battle, any characters who have been KOed
but not completely erased will be brought back to life.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Potion x2
—Battle 3: The Siedge Weald————————————————–
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], Argath [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Goblin x2, Black Goblin x2, Bomb x2, Red Panther x1
–STRATEGY–
This battle is nothing but monsters; watch out for their counterattacks! For
the most part, though, they’re not too tough. Take out on the enemies on the
higher ground first before you start crossing the water. Otherwise, you’ll
expose yourself to attack from above.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
—Battle 4: Dorter Slums——————————————————
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], Argath [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x1, Archer (male) x3, Black Mage (male) x 2
–STRATEGY–
The enemy has Archers and Black Mages, who both have ranged attacks and can
hit you from a distance. This means that you’ll need to be more aggressive; if
you hang back at a distance, the enemy can keep hitting you from afar!
Note that when one of your characters gets hit with a Black Magick spell, the
characters in adjacent tiles also take damage. There are two ways to avoid
this. While the spell is still charging, you can move the other characters out
of the way, or you can kill the Black Mage charging the spell and stop the
attack entirely! Since the spells do quite a bit of damage, it’s great to
take out the Black Mages as soon as you have the chance. They don’t have much
HP so you can finish them off easily. (Note that spells can also have a
"friendly fire" effect — if another enemy is in range of the spell when it
goes off, they get hurt too! You can possibly use this to your advantage by
positioning targeted characters next to enemy units.) To check when the spell
is going to be fired, press the Circle button when it’s your turn, then use the
Triangle button to bring up the menu and choose Turn List.
If you have Black Mages of your own, you can also use these area damage effects
to extend the effective range of your magicks. If the range of your magick is
one tile too short to hit an enemy, you can target the tile directly in front
of the enemy and the magick will still hit the enemy thanks to the area effect.
This is a good tactic for hitting more distant enemies, like you see in this
battle. Just make sure the enemy won’t be able to move out of the way before
the magick activates!
There are two enemy Archers on the tall building beside where you start. At
the beginning of the battle, Delita and Argath will begin climbing up the
building to attack them. Let Delita and Argath handle the two Archers, and
send at most one other character up the building. The rest of your team
should advance down the street. Take out the Black Mages first since they can
do so much damage.
It’s likely that one or more of your characters will get KOed during the
battle. Remember that if the counter over their head goes below 0, you lose
the character permanently. To avoid this, when a character’s counter gets low
(0 or 1), use a Phoenix Down on him or her. Even if another attack takes the
character out right away, the counter will be reset and you’ve bought yourself
a few more turns to finish the battle.
Since you start on the street and the enemy has the high ground, Archers are
not particularly useful here. On the other hand, Move +1 is a great ability to
have as it helps you quickly close the distance between you and the enemy’s
ranged attackers.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 500 gil, Iron Sword, Hempen Robe, Ether
—Battle 5: The Sand Rat’s Sietch———————————————
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad – Ramza, Delita [guest], 1 other
2nd Squad – Argath [guest], 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x 3, Archer (male) x1, Monk (male) x2
–STRATEGY–
You’ll deploy your characters in two squads for this battle. Be sure to deploy
somebody with the Items command (either a Chemist, or another character who’s
learned the ability) in the second group.
There are two entrances to the fort. When the battle begins, send most of
your characters towards the entrance that’s closer to Argath. This is where
the bulk of the fighting will take place. Argath will probably make a suicide
mission into the building, but keep healing him anyway — if you were able to
give him a Black Magick spell (as recommended in the walkthrough), he’ll be
very helpful. Don’t crowd the doorway or you’ll get in trouble. Let
the enemies come outside to you.
Meanwhile, Delita will head towards the other entrance. You might want to
send one other character with him. Hopefully, Delita’s squad have the chance
to sneak up on the enemy Archer from the rear and take him out so he can’t keep
shooting at the main squad.
Remember that if a character doesn’t move on a particular turn, his or her next
turn will come quicker. If you don’t need to move to land an attack, stay put
and you’ll get more turns. This is especially helpful for your Chemist; by
having him/her remain stationary and throw items to the characters who need
healing, you’ll get more turns and more chances to heal.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 500 gil, Hi-Potion, Blind Knife
—Battle 6: Brigands’ Den—————————————————–
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], Argath [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Milleuda, Thief (male) x2, White Mage (female) x2
BOSS: Milleuda [Virgo] – lv 7 Knight – Bravery 68, Faith 58
Equipment : Iron Shield, Bronze Shield, Iron Helm, Chainmail, Power Gauntlet
Abilities : Arts of War, random action ability, Parry, random Squire support
ability, Move +1
–STRATEGY–
If you happen to have any male Pisces characters or Taurus and Capricorns of
either gender, deploying them here can be useful. Milleuda, the boss here, is
always a female Virgo, and the three Zodiac signs listed above will do extra
damage to her. (You can only prepare your Zodiac signs in this way when
fighting bosses; non-boss enemies have randomized Zodiac signs.)
I recommend standing up on cliffs on the left side of the fort when possible;
you have a height advantage there. Since you should have Hi-Potions now, use
them for all your healing needs–the 30 HP from a regular Potion just doesn’t
cut it now.
There are two White Mages here. Check their status; they may have Black
Magicks or Items as a secondary ability. A Black Magick-wielding mage is the
most dangerous, so if either or both have Black Magick, try to take any of
these out first. (You can use the same tricks you used in Dorter to avoid
their magick.) However, if an Item-using Mage comes out of the fort and starts
using Hi-Potions, you may need to take her out first or she’ll just heal all
the enemies. If either mage starts casting Cure, note that you can stop it
more or less same way you can stop a Black Magick spell — either take out the
enemy they’re trying to heal, or KO the Mage herself.
After you’ve taken out the White Mages, concentrate on Milleuda. Her attacks
are quite strong, If you have the Rend Weapon or Rend Armor abilities (both
from the Knight job), you may want to try them on her. Breaking her weapon
will greatly reduce her attack power, and breaking her armor will reduce her
HP total. If you already have a Thief, you could try stealing her equipment
too, as she’s got a nice set of gear, but you’ll be able to buy all her stuff
eventually.
The Thieves here may swipe some of your armor, or at least your headgear.
Although this might be annoying, it’s not really too bad; you can just re-buy
the items after the battle. What’s much more deadly, though, is the Steal
Heart attack they may use on your female characters, which will turn them to
the enemy side. If you have a choice, try to deploy male characters for this
battle as they can’t be affected by a Steal Hart from a male Thief.
Milleuda is the game’s first boss character, which means that as soon as you
KO her, the battle ends, even if there are other enemies left standing. If
you’re in danger, take her out quickly to end the fight. But if you’ve got
Milleuda cornered or otherwise have the upper hand, you may want to finish
off the other enemies for more Exp & JP, then let them die completely so they
turn into a chest or crystal.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 700 gil, Iron Sword, Bronze Shield
—Battle 7: Lenalian Plateau————————————————–
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Milleuda, Knight (female) x2, Black Mage (male) x2,
Time Mage (female) x1
BOSS: Milleuda [Virgo] – lv 8 Knight – Bravery 68, Faith 58
Equipment : Mythril Sword, Bronze Shield, Barbut, Chainmail, Shoulder Cape
Abilities : Arts of War, random action ability, Counter,
random Squire support ability, Jump +1
–STRATEGY–
Again, Taurus, Capricorn, and male Pisces characters will do extra damage
against Milleuda since she’s a female Virgo.
Play the first few rounds defensively to prevent any early casualties, and use
the high ground to your advantage. Send one or two characters after the Black
Mages, and possibly the Time Mage as well. If you have an Archer, send
him/her up onto the tall ridge and shoot down on the enemies.
After knocking out the Black Mages, concentrate on Milleuda. This time, she
has the Counter ability, which means that whenever you hit her with a close-
range attack, she has a chance of striking back. So, be sure not to use any
close-range attacks against her unless your HP is high. A good strategy is to
attack her with long-distance attacks like bows and Black Magick, which won’t
allow her to counterattack. Milleuda might also use her Rend abilities to
break your gear. Again, as soon as Milleuda goes down, the battle ends, even
if other enemies are still standing.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 1000 gil, Silken Robe, Battle Boots
—Battle 8: Windflat Mill—————————————————–
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Wiegraf, Boco, Knight (female), Monk (female) x2
BOSS: Wiegraf [Virgo] – lv 9 White Knight – Bravery 71, Faith 64
Equipment : Mythril Sword, Round Shield, Barbut, Chainmail, Shoulder Cape
Abilities : Holy Sword, random action ability, Counter,
random Squire support ability, Jump +1
ENEMY: Boco [Aries] – lv 7 Chocobo – Bravery 68, Faith 48
–STRATEGY–
Like his sister, Wiegraf is a Virgo. He’s male, though, so this time Taurus,
Capricorn, and FEMALE Pisces characters are the ones to deploy (if you happen
to have them — if not, don’t sweat it).
Wiegraf is the only real threat here; most of his companions are pretty weak.
Start moving along the bottom of the cliff and quickly take out the Chocobo
(Boco) and the Monk. Wiegraf and the other enemies will soon move down to
fight you. Finish off any enemies that are low on HP, then go after Wiegraf.
Wiegraf uses a couple different special sword techniques that allow him to
attack from a distance and (unlike magick) don’t require any charge time.
Most of the time, he’ll use Northswain’s Strike, which strikes a single
character (usually for about 35 HP or so), but if your characters are close
together, he may also use Judgment Blade to attack a "plus-shaped" group of
tiles. These attacks are pretty strong, but Wiegraf doesn’t have a great
defense, so if you hit him with a few strong attacks (Mythril Swords, black
magick), he’ll go down quickly. Just stay healed!
Because you’re fighting in such close quarters, watch out for the "friendly
fire" effects of your own spells! In general, if one of your allies is
standing right next to an enemy, a useful trick is to target the tile right
BEHIND the enemy to avoid hitting your ally when the spell goes off. For
instance, if your characters are positioned like below, target the space marked
with a *:
*EA (A = ally, E = enemy)
This way, you’ll still hit the enemy, but the spell is positioned so as not to
harm your ally.
As soon as Wiegraf’s HP drops to critical status, he’ll teleport away and the
battle will end.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Hi-Potion
—Battle 9: Ziekden Fortress————————————————–
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad – Ramza, Delita [guest], 1 other
2nd Squad – 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Argath, Knight (male) x3, Black Mage (female) x3
BOSS: Argath [Virgo] – lv 10 Knight – Bravery 32, Faith 67
Equipment : Knightslayer, Round Shield, Barbut, Chainmail, Power Gauntlet
Abilities : Arts of War, random action ability, Auto-Potion, Equip Crossbows,
Move +1
–STRATEGY–
You’ll deploy in two squads again for this battle. Deploy your best damage-
dealer along with Ramza in the first squad. The character in the second squad
are going to be largely useless as they start far away from the action. If you
want to pick and choose Zodiac signs, Argath is again a Virgo and susceptible
to Taurus, Capricorn, and female Pisces attacks.
Luckily, you can almost beat the whole fight just using Ramza. Just go after
Argath and completely ignore the other guys. He’s only got a crossbow, so he
can’t do much damage to you, and he’s useless at close ranges. Just chase
him down and hit him with your strongest attacks, like Knight and Monk attacks
and Black Magick. Because it’s snowing, the Blizzard families of spells will
be particularly effective — and even more so if the caster has an Ice Rod
equipped. You’ll want to block Argath from climbing up the stairs to the roof
of the fort, as he has a good sniping point if he gets up there and it’s slow
climbing up after him. Just position your characters between him and the
stairs and he shouldn’t be able to climb up there.
Argath does have the Auto-Potion ability, which gives him a random chance to
heal himself with a Potion when you hit him, so you may want to avoid using
very weak attacks against him–the gain from the Auto-Potion may heal him more
than you hurt him for! (The ability isn’t always activated, though. And Auto-
Potion also can’t protect him whenever you land the killing blow. Again, as
you soon as you knock down Argath, the fight–and the chapter–ends.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
%%%CHAPTER II: THE MANIPULATIVE & THE SUBSERVIENT%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00bs2
—Battle 10: Dorter———————————————————–
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Gaffgarion [guest], Agrias [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Black Mage (male) x2, Archer (female) x2, Thief (male) x2
–STRATEGY–
There’s no boss here, so you’ll have to wipe out every enemy on the map to win.
If you’ve got good jobs, though, this battle should be no problem. Just move
up the path and take out the enemies as you go. The Black Mages and Archers
do the most damage, so when you’ve got a choice, go after them before the
Thieves.
Agrias has a nasty habit of casting spells indiscriminatly on your own people,
thanks to the goofy Guest AI. You can either de-equip her spells from the menu
beforehand, or pay attention to which she enemy she is targeting and stay
clear.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 1000 gil, Flame Rod, Mage Masher, Phoenix Down
—Battle 11: Araguay Woods—————————————————-
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Gaffgarion [guest], Agrias [guest], Boco [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Goblin x5, Black Goblin x1
–STRATEGY–
If you choose the second option before the battle, you must keep Boco from
being KOed. Fortunately, this isn’t hard. Boco will usually retreat into a
corner, where will be chased by the lone Black Goblin. Boco can take care of
himself just fine, so don’t bother going after the Black Goblin unless you’ve
mopped up all the other enemies.
The Goblins aren’t very strong, especially with Agrias’s and Gaffgarion’s help,
so I recommend just rushing them. Stay out of the ditches.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Hi-Potion
—Battle 12: Zeirchele Falls————————————————–
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Agrias [guest], Delita [guest], Ovelia [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Gaffgarion [Fell Knight; Virgo], Knight (male) x5
–STRATEGY–
First, take out Gafgarion. If you turned him into a crummy job before the
battle and stripped off his armor (heh heh), you should be able to KO him in
one hit.
The mission here is to protect Ovelia, which means you can’t let her get KOed.
She isn’t in too much danger, though, since she can cast Aegis, which puts a
whole lot of good defensive buffs on her. She only has enough MP to cast this
once, though, and it wears off after a few turns. Just to be on the safe side,
keep a healer reasonably close to her.
Start off by taking out the Knights on your side of the falls. One of the
Knights from the far side will probably try to cross over, so position an
Archer (assuming you have one) on the corner of the cliff and shoot down at the
guy. Agrias tends to loiter in the water and may finish him off; if not, send
a character or two down after him.
A great trick here is to KO one of the enemy Knights while he’s standing on the
bridge. Until he decomposes into a chest/crystal, his body will completely
block the other Knights from crossing the bridge. Since the Knights have NO
ranged attacks, you can use this as a chance to shoot at them from afar.
If any of the Knights drops to critical HP, he may try to flee up the cliffs on
the side of the falls. You’ll have to chase after him, so it may be useful to
bring a character with a good Move range to this battle. (Battle Shoes and
Move+1 or +2 will increase your Move range.)
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
—Battle 13: Zaland———————————————————–
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Agrias [guest], Mustadio [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x2, Black Mage (male) x2, Archer (female) x2
–STRATEGY–
This is a toughie. If you chose the second option before the battle, you’ll
have to keep Mustadio alive; otherwise, you can let him get KOed without
losing the battle. (Of course, choosing the second option also gives you a
greater boost to your Bravery.)
When deploying your character, deploy them in the "front" row (i.e., the row
where Ramza is already standing). This starts them closer to the gate and
allows them to get into the city faster.
The enemy is holed up inside Zaland and launches arrows and powerful Black
Magick at you through (and over) the wall. Any melee characters you have will
need to rush for the gates. In the mean time, your Archers and mages can fire
back with their own ranged attacks. Equip the Archer’s Bane reaction ability
on any character who has it, as it will help protect you against the enemy
arrows.
Mustadio will initially do one of our things. Most likely, he’ll run up on the
top of the gate and attack with his gun from them. This is the "good" outcome
since it keeps relatively him out of harm’s way. But sometimes he’ll stay on
the ground inside the city, which is bad news, as all the enemies will pick on
him and it’s hard to reach for him healing. In this case, your best option is
to cast Shell on him to reduce the magick damage he takes. Note that you
can’t throw items through the wall, but you CAN cast White Magick through it,
so you’re probably better off with a White Mage for healing here.
If you’ve been using Ramza mostly for close-range attacks, he may not be much
help here. On his first turn, have him use Tailwind on one of your Archers or
Black Mages to boost their speed and get them more turns. Then start him
running towards the gate so he can get into the city and use melee attacks.
Make the Mages your first target, since their magick attacks are so strong.
Use Black Magick, bows, and the Black Chocobo (if you brought one) to take them
out as quickly as possible. Until the Mages go down, keep your characters
spread out so enemy magicks can’t hit more than one of your characters at a
time. After the Mages go down, go after the Archers, then the Knights.
Mustadio’s initial abilities seem to be randomly determined, but if he happens
to start with Beastmaster, land the Black Chocobo next to him. Mustadio’s
Beastmaster skill will allow the Black Chocobo to cast Choco Meteor, a really
strong attack. (You can tell what abilities Mustadio has equipped by clicking
on his tile.)
Mustadio also uses his Aimed Shot abilities to put status conditions on the
enemies. Immobilize (from Leg Shot) will keep an enemy from moving for a few
turns, and Disable (from Arm Shot) will keep an enemy from taking action. If
a bad guy gets hit with Disable, don’t bother targeting them any further,
since they can’t do anything to hurt you for a few turns. A Knight that’s been
Immobilized is also a low-priority target since he can’t move to attack you as
long as you stay out of the tiles directly next to him. (The Black Mages and
Archers can still shoot even if they’re Immobilized, though!)
As for the Knights, they’ll probably try to climb over the wall on the side of
the map opposite the gate into the city. Agrias will attack them, but she
can’t take them out her own, so help her out with your ranged attacks.
The Knights may also use Phoenix Downs to revive any Mages and Archers you KO.
Characters revived with Phoenix Down comes back with only a little HP, though,
so you should be able to knock them back out again with just a single attack.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 2000 gil, Mythril Sword, Hi-Potion
—Battle 14: Balias Tor——————————————————-
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Agrias [guest], Mustadio [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x2, Archer (female) x2, Summoner (female) x2
–STRATEGY–
This battle can be harder than it looks. The enemy squad has Summoners for
the first time (one positioned on each side of the hill), and their summon
spells can do big damage to your team.
On the first turn, Mustadio will probably chase after one of the Summoners.
Send a fast and/or magic-using character around the opposite side of the hill
to take out the other Summoner. The Summoners don’t have much HP, so you
should be able to finish them off in a couple turns. Meanwhile, have the rest
of your squad attack the center of the hill. If you can attack the enemies
quickly, the Summoners may squander their turns casting Moogle for healing
instead of using damaging summons on you.
You’re not *required* to keep Mustadio alive in this battle — if he gets KOed,
you won’t lose the battle — but it’s a good idea to keep him standing, as his
gun is quite helpful. As in Zaland, don’t waste your turns attacking enemies
that Mustadio has Immobilized or Disabled.
A cool trick here is to use the Squire ability Rush to knock the Knights and
Archers off the hill. They’ll take damage if they fall too far, and you’ll put
them out of range of attacking you.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 1000 gil, Holy Water
—Battle 15: Tchigolith Fenlands———————————————-
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Mustadio [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Skeleton x2, Bonesnatch x1, Ghoul x2,
Floating Eye or Malboro or Pig x1
–STRATEGY–
The last member of the enemy forces is randomly determined; it’s usually a
Floating Eye, but sometimes you’ll get a Malboro or Pig instead.
Randomness aside, this is a fairly normal battle with a few quirks. First, if
you end your turn in the swamp, you get poisoned. (Simply passing through the
swamp as part of a move won’t poison you as long as you end the move on dry
land.) This isn’t that bad, but if you have a choice, stand on land. And be
sure not to end your turn in any water where the Depth is displayed as 2 — if
you stop here, you won’t be able to take any actions, as you’re up to your head
in water. (The Ninja ability Waterwalking would prevent this, in the unlikely
event you have it already.)
Second, almost all the enemies (everyone except the Malboro, Pig, or Floating
Eye) are undead — that means you can use heal spells and items to damage them.
It’s quite effective. If you’ve had a chance to learn Mustadio’s Seal Evil
ability, he may also use that to turn the undead monsters to turn them to
stone. Other than those two exceptions, there’s nothing here you haven’t seen
before.
The Pig shows up pretty infrequently, but if you DO see it, it’s definitely
worth trying to recruit it using the Orator’s Entice or Tame abilities. You
can use the Pig to breed pig-family monsters, all of which yield great rare
items when poached. Or, if you can’t recruit it but DO have Poach, you could
at least poach it, though you won’t actually be able to collect your poached
item until Chapter III. Note the Pig can only appear during the initial story
battle, not later random battles.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
—Battle 16: Goug Lowtown—————————————————–
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Mustadio [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Archer (female) x2, Thief (male) x2, Summoner (male) x2
–STRATEGY–
The enemy Archers in this battle have a huge range and it’s hard to stay
out of range completely. So, don’t deploy any character who has really low HP
as you probably won’t be able to protect him/her/it completely. Equipping the
Archer’s Bane reaction ability will help you a lot, if you have it available.
Mustadio will be almost invariably killed at the start of the battle — he has
no equipment and starts right next to the enemies. Don’t worry about him.
He’s still a Guest so he can’t die permanently yet.
Move your guys up onto the roof. Use ranged attacks to take out the Summoners.
Note that both Summoners are one side of the enemy roof and both Archers on
