_____ _____ _   _   ___   _       _____ ___   _   _ _____ ___   _______   __
 |  ___|_   _| \ | | / _ \ | |     |  ___/ _ \ | \ | |_   _/ _ \ /  ___\ \ / /
 | |_    | | |  \| |/ /_\ \| |     | |_ / /_\ \|  \| | | |/ /_\ \\ `--. \ V / 
 |  _|   | | | . ` ||  _  || |     |  _||  _  || . ` | | ||  _  | `--. \ \ /  
 | |    _| |_| |\  || | | || |____ | |  | | | || |\  | | || | | |/\__/ / | |  
 \_|    \___/\_| \_/\_| |_/\_____/ \_|  \_| |_/\_| \_/ \_/\_| |_/\____/  \_/  
                            ____  __________ ______ 
                            \   \/   /__  __|__  __|
                             \      /  |  |   |  | 
                              Discover the Secret
                          That Will Unravel an Empire
                             /      \ _|  |_ _|  |_ 
                            /___/\___\______|______|

                                FAQ/Walkthrough

                                  Version 2.5
                          Last updated: June 27, 2008

                             Authored by: Berserker
                        Email: berserker_kev @ yahoo.com
                Homepage: http://www.berserkersblog.blogspot.com

            This document Copyright 2006 - 2009 Kevin Hall (Berserker)
                  Final Fantasy XII Copyright 2006 Square-Enix.

*******************************************************************************
* In order to better navigate through this guide, press Ctrl + F then type in *
* the search code in brackets to the side of each section as shown in the     *
* Table of Contents.                                                          *
*******************************************************************************

===============================================================================
                            >> TABLE OF CONTENTS <<
===============================================================================

   Section I:  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [IN00]

  Section II:  Basics  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [BS00]

      - Gambits  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [BS01]
      - Quickenings  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [BS02]
      - Status Effects/Enhancements/Nihopalaoa Effects . . . . . . . . . [BS03]
      - Espers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [BS04]
      - Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [BS05]

 Section III:  Walkthrough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [WT00]

      - Part I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [WT01]
           -- Rabanastre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PI1]
           -- Dalmasca Estersand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PI2]
           -- Lowtown  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PI3]
           -- Giza Plains  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PI4]
      - Part II  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [WT02]
           -- Garamsythe Waterway  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PII1]
           -- Royal Palace of Rabanastre . . . . . . . . . . . . [PII2]
           -- Garamsythe Waterway  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PII3]
      - Part III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [WT03]
           -- Nalbina Dungeons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PIII1]
           -- Barheim Passage  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PIII2]
           -- Rabanastre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PIII3]
           -- Bhujerba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PIII4]
           -- Lhusu Mines  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PIII5]
      - Part IV  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [WT04]
           -- Dreadnought Leviathan  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PIV1]
           -- Ogir-Yensa Sandsea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PIV2]
           -- Nam-Yensa Sandsea  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PIV3]
           -- Tomb of Raithwall  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PIV4]
      - Part V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [WT05]
           -- Giza Plains  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV1]
           -- Ozmone Plains  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV2]
           -- Jahara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV3]
           -- Golmore Jungle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV4]
           -- Eruyt Village  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV5]
           -- Henne Mines  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV6]
           -- Golmore Jungle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV7]
           -- Mount Bur-Omisace  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV8]
           -- Paramina Rift  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV9]
           -- Stilshine of Miriam  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV10]
           -- Mount Bur-Omisace  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PV11]
       - Part VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [WT06]
           -- Nalbina Fortress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVI1]
           -- Mosphoran Highwaste  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVI2]
           -- The Salikawood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVI3]
           -- The Phon Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVI4]
           -- Tchita Uplands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVI5]
           -- Sochen Cave Palace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVI6]
           -- Old Archades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVI7]
           -- The Imperial City of Archades  . . . . . . . . . . [PVI8]
           -- Draklor Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVI9]
       - Part VII  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [WT07]
           -- Balfonheim Port  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVII1]
           -- Golmore Jungle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVII2]
           -- The Feywood  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVII3]
           -- The Ancient City of Giruvegan  . . . . . . . . . . [PVII4]
           -- The Great Crystal  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVII5]
           -- The Ancient City of Giruvegan  . . . . . . . . . . [PVII6]
           -- Balfonheim Port  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVII7]
           -- Ridorana Cataract  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVII8]
           -- The Pharos at Ridorana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVII9]
           -- Pharos / First Ascent - Horizon of First Light . . [PVII10]
           -- Pharos / Second Ascent - Reach of Diamond Law  . . [PVII11]
           -- Pharos / Third Ascent - Mete of Dynasty  . . . . . [PVII12]
       - Part VIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [WT08]
           -- Balfonheim Port  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVIII1]
           -- Sky Fortress Bahamut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [PVIII2]

  Section IV:  Side Quests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ00]

       - The Zodiac Spear  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ01]
       - Ktjn the Viera  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ02]
       - Pilika's Diary  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ03]
       - Sunstone Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ04]
       - The Lost Cactoid  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ05]
       - Bottles of Spirits  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ06]
       - Patient in the Estersand  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ07]
       - July, the Archades Spy  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ08]
       - Terror in the Westersand  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ09]
       - Dating Service  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ10]
       - Necrohol of Nabudis & Nabreus Deadlands . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ11]
       - Ann's Letter  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ12]
       - Cockatrice Quest  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ13]
       - To Hell and Back Again  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ14]
       - Jovy's Story  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ15]
       - The Hunt Club/Rare Monster List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ16]
       - Fishing at South Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ17]
       - The Omega Mark  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ18]
       - Urutan Eater  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ19]
       - Secret Hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ20]
       - Mysterious Package  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SQ21]
       - Secret Espers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SE00]
           -- Adrammelech, the Wroth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SE01]
           -- Zalera, the Death Seraph . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SE02]
           -- Cúchulainn, the Impure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SE03]
           -- Exodus, the Judge-Sal  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SE04]
           -- Zeromus, the Condemner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SE05]
           -- Chaos, Walker of the Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . [SE06]
           -- Ultima, the High Seraph  . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SE07]
           -- Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts  . . . . . . . . . . . [SE08]
       - Hunts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT00]
           -- Red & Rotten In the Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT01]
           -- Wolf in the Waste  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT02]
           -- Dalmasca's Desert Bloom  . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT03]
           -- Waterway Haunting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT04]
           -- Marauder in the Mines  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT05]
           -- Lost in the Pudding  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT06]
           -- For Whom the Wyrm Tolls  . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT07]
           -- A Scream from the Sky  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT08]
           -- A Tingling Toast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT09]
           -- The Defense of Ozmone Plain  . . . . . . . . . . . [HT10]
           -- A Ring in the Rain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT11]
           -- The Dead Ought Sleep Forever . . . . . . . . . . . [HT12]
           -- Befoulment of the Beast  . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT13]
           -- A Chase Through the Woods  . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT14]
           -- The Mind Flayer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT15]
           -- The Deserter's Revenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT16]
           -- Trouble in the Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT17]
           -- Adding Insult to Injury  . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT18]
           -- Rodeo to the Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT19]
           -- Shelled Obstruction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT20]
           -- Get My Stuff Back! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT21]
           -- Old Legend, Decaying Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT22]
           -- The Things We Do...  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT23]
           -- The Creature Collector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT24]
           -- Dead City Watch  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT25]
           -- Visitor on Deck  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT26]
           -- The Child Snatcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT27]
           -- The Black Sorceror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT28]
           -- A Wild Stench  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT29]
           -- Paying For the Past  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT30]
           -- Wyrm Wrath's Renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT31]
           -- Who's the Strongest!?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT32]
       - Elite Hunts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [EH00]
           -- Little Love on the Big Plains  . . . . . . . . . . [HT33]
           -- The Cry of Its Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT34]
           -- Crime and Punishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT35]
           -- Paradise Risen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT36]
           -- Paramina Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT37]
           -- Antlion Infestation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT38]
           -- A Carrot Stalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT39]
           -- Battle on the Big Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT40]
           -- A Dark Rumor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT41]
           -- Truth Shrouded in Mist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT42]
           -- Fishy Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT43]
           -- God or Devil?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT44]
           -- Farewell to a Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HT45]

  Section  V:  Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [LS00]

       - Bestiary  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [BE00]
           -- In-game Bestiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [IB00]
           -- Normal Enemy Bestiary  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [NE00]
       - Sky Pirate's Den  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SK00]
       - Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [WE00]
       - Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [SH00]
UPDATE - Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [AR00]
       - Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [AC00]
       - Magicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [MA00]
       - Tecknicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [TE00]
       - Bazaar Items  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [BI00]

  Section VI:  Everything Else . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [EE00]

__  _____ ___                                                   __  _____ ___
\ \/ /_ _|_ _| /==============================================\ \ \/ /_ _|_ _|
 \  / | | | | |                  INTRODUCTION                  | \  / | | | |
 /  \ | | | | |                     [IN00]                     | /  \ | | | |
/_/\_\___|___| \==============================================/ /_/\_\___|___|

The land of Ivalice.  The city of Rabanastre.  In the midst of the happy 
occasion of Lady Ashe of the Kingdom of Dalmasca and Lord Rasler of the Kindgom 
of Nabradia's wedding, Nabudis, the capital of Nabradia, falls to the Archadian 
empire in their quest for dominance.  Out of fear that Dalmasca is next, King 
Raminas sends Basch and Lord Rasler to lead a defense force at the fortress of 
Nalbina.  Lord Rasler falls in combat and is mortally wounded.  Rasler is 
carried back to Dalmasca and laid to rest along with the hope of the 
surrounding region.  King Raminas gives in to the demands of the Archadian army 
and travels to Nalbina to sign a treaty.

And so a brand new chapter of Final Fantasy opens as you take control of a 
young soldier named Reks, and move onward to a group of freedom fighters that 
will help to decide the fate of Dalmasca and of the Archadian empire itself.  A 
story full of power-hungry betrayal, tragedy, honor, and revenge is about to 
revolve around a princess that has lost her kingdom but is still trying to find 
the means to restore it.  What aid will she seek to satisfy her goals?  Does 
she only fight for revenge?  What drives her?  Will she be content with her 
decision?  All those questions will be answered as she journies the world of 
Ivalice with her newfound companions.

Hello and welcome to my Final Fantasy XII guide.  This guide provides a full 
walkthrough of the main story along with every side quest pointed out to the 
reader during the main walkthrough for your convenience.  The guide is still 
lacking in some areas and I'll get to those sections in future updates 
sometimes down the road.  Oh, and those updates will come in due time.  There 
is one major reason why I do not consider this guide complete and probably 
never will - that reason being:

I am never satisfied.

This is my first time writing a guide for an RPG, so please let me know what 
you think.  I would love to have some feedback on how I am doing!  Feel free to 
email me about any question that you may have but be sure to look over the 
guide before you email me - remember that Ctrl + F is your friend.

*******************************************************************************
* I still continue to receive a bunch of emails about this guide daily, so    *
* don't take any offense if I don't manage to get back to you.  I try to      *
* reply to all emails, but I do let some creep down into my inbox at times    *
* while taking slight breaks.                                                 *
*                                                                             *
* Thanks for understanding,                                                   *
*                                                                             *
* - B                                                                         *
*******************************************************************************

__  _____ ___                                                   __  _____ ___
\ \/ /_ _|_ _| /==============================================\ \ \/ /_ _|_ _|
 \  / | | | | |                     BASICS                     | \  / | | | |
 /  \ | | | | |                     [BS00]                     | /  \ | | | |
/_/\_\___|___| \==============================================/ /_/\_\___|___|

* Most of the basic information is in the walkthrough for the time being, 
except for Quickenings.  All of the basic information will be listed here on a 
later date with plenty of detail.

                                 -----------                             [BS01]
                                 - Gambits -
                                 -----------

Gambits are sets of commands that can be bought from gambit sellers in the 
game.  These will allow you to configure the way your party members will react 
in certain situations or while fighting enemies.  Below is a small list of 
gambits that I find useful for each particular situation.

Support Gambits

HP Healing

[a] Ally: any                  (>) Phoenix Down, Raise, Arise, 
[b] Ally < 50%                 (>) Cure, Cura, Curaga, Curaja, Hi-Potion
[c] Ally: status = HP Critical (>) X-Potion

[a] A revive spell or item should be first on your list of Healing gambits.  A 
Phoenix Down is nearly instant but the spells will restore an ally with more 
health than an item usually.  A Phoenix Down is really good to use when you 
have Larsa with you since he will cure the newly restored member.  In some 
fights it pays to have a backup Phoenix Down gambit even if you already have an 
Arise gambit just in case a party member run out of HP.

[b] 50% is the best range to have for setting a curing gambit since some 
enemies tend to chain attacks and take off more HP while your caster is still 
charging.  Cura and Curaja can turn into a mess when put on multiple characters 
but it will ensure that your characters are healed to the max, though multiple 
healers may each target a different ally in need and spam the spell resulting 
in two castings.

[c] This is exactly what Larsa is set to the first time he joins your party.  
It works well, but you might want to set it to "< 20%"  or even "< 50%" as the 
enemies get more aggressive later in the game, just in case.

Status Effect Healing

[a] Ally: status = Slow        (>) Haste/Dispel/Remedy
[b] Ally: status = Sap         (>) Regen
[c] Ally: any                  (>) Esuna/Remedy
[d] Ally: status = Confuse     (>) Attack
[e] Ally: status = Stop        (>) Chronos Tear/Remedy/Dispel
[f] Ally: status = Disease     (>) Vaccine/Remedy/Cleanse
[g] Ally: status = Reverse     (>) Attack
[e] Ally: status = Berserk     (>) Dispel

[a] Along with a Remedy, Haste and Dispel is the only way to cure Slow.  Haste 
will help to serve as extra support for the affected character aside from just 
curing the negative status.  The only bad thing about setting a Haste gambit 
like this is if the caster is inflicted with Slow.

[b] Esuna can cure Sap as well, but Regen takes less MP and it will also serve 
as support for the affected character.  Be sure to have this gambit BEFORE the 
Esuna gambit or Esuna will automatically be cast on the affected member.

[c] This is the best of all status effect cures since it will basically cure 
everything, with the exception of Slow, Death, Stop, and Disease.  A Remedy can 
cure just about anything once you have all of the augments to enhance them.

[d] You will not want this later in the game, but before Esuna is gained, this 
is the only way to cure this status effect along with a Remedy and Smelling 
Salts.  You will not want to have Basch or Vaan set with this, but a person 
equipped with a Dagger, Bow, or Staff, among others, shouldn't take that much.

[e] This is one of the worst spells in the game and it's hard to cure.  You 
will either have to use a Chronos Tear, a Remedy with the correct Augment from 
the License Board, or Dispel.  Remember that Dispel will take away any helpful 
status enhancements while removing Stop if any are active.

[f] Most of the time, you will want to cure Disease instantly since it can stay 
with a character even after death, and that is something you do not want, 
especially during a boss fight.  The spell Cleanse takes too long and I would 
not recommend using it unless you are out on the field and not in a boss fight.

[g] Attacking a Reversed party member will give that party member HP.  Put this 
above a curing gambit to ensure that your characters do not heal a Reversed 
ally.  This is mainly helpful for the Ultima Esper fight.

[e] This is good to have when your party enters a battle in which the enemy 
will constantly cast Berserk.

Technick Gambits

[a] Self                       (>) Libra
[b] Foe: HP = 100%             (>) Steal
[c] Foe: HP Critical           (>) Poach
[d] Self: MP < 10%             (>) Charge

[a] Using Libra on any of your characters is one of the most important gambits 
to have set up in the entire game.  Not only will this let you see the 
information about any normal enemy, but most importantly, it will reveal any 
traps that are in the area.  Traps can take out your party instantly sometimes 
if you're not careful.

[b] With this gambit, you're character will only steal from enemies with 100% 
of their life.  This is perfect for when your party runs into a group of 
enemies since the stealer will run around to the different enemies and steal 
from them.  The only negative aspects are when a character misses a steal, you 
will need to steal manually, or when one of the other characters in your party 
miss with their attack after your stealing character has performed a successful 
steal; in that case, you will need to cancel the steal manually.

[c] I would recommend setting this to your quickest character (a character with 
a dagger) or set it to multiple characters to ensure the Poach.

[d] This should be set to your caster for sure.  Keep it at the top and it will 
ensure that your caster is never without MP.  Even if it misses that character 
will try again.

Status Enhancements

[a] Self                       (>) Protect
[b] Self                       (>) Haste
[c] Self                       (>) Bubble
[d] Self                       (>) Decoy + Reverse

[a] This is a good gambit to have for the later dungeons, especially the 
Pharos.  It's good to have all party members learn the Protect spell.  It lasts 
a good little while and your party members will most likely gain the HP back 
through fighting or running.

[b] A Haste gambit will help out extremely well in any boss fight.

[c] This gambit is priceless for the harder boss battle found later in the 
game, and beats having to equip a Bubble Belt all the time.

[d] Having a "Self (>) Decoy" and "Self (>) Reverse" gambit set up on a party 
member will ensure that the enemies attack that one character and give him or 
her life in the process.  While this method can be deemed cheap, the Reverse 
effects doesn't last that long at all, so this isn't always helpful.  Lower a 
party member's magick resist by unequipping helmets to make the spells hit more 
often.

Attacking

[a] Foe: any                   (>) Attack
[b] Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack
[c] Foe: flying                (>) Telekinesis, Strong elemental spell

[a] As long as you have this gambit set, or a "Foe: nearest visible", you will 
not need to issue out any attack commands with your leader.

[b] This is one of the best gambits to set for a boss fight or any target that 
you want to cast constant pressure on.  Be sure to set this to your other 2 
party members and not your leader.  The only bad aspect of this gambit is if 
the party leader is performing any other action beside readying an attack or 
attacking then the party members will not act - this is why you should always 
have a backup attack gambit listed up under it.

[c] In the later stages, you will want to always have a gambit set for flying 
enemies on your short range attackers since a flying enemy can only be hit with 
long distance weapons, such as guns or bows, or magick.  Obviously, you would 
want to use whatever element the flying enemy is weak against.

                               ---------------                           [BS02]
                               - Quickenings -
                               ---------------

Quickenings are FFXII's version of limit breaks.  Quickenings are found 
throughout the License Board, usually around the edges.  Only one character can 
buy a Quickening per block.  The block will disappear from the board on all 
other character boards once a Quickening is purchased, though the icon will 
remain on the board of the character that gained that particular Quickening.  
Each character has three levels of Quickenings that are always purchased in the 
same order exclusive to that character.  The character board will always 
display the Quickening exclusive to a particular character no matter which 
Quickening block is highlighted.

Quickenings should be bought as soon as possible, and you should buy three for 
each character in your main party instead of buying for your secondary party.  
There are enough Quickening blocks on the License Board for each character in 
your party to gain all three Quickening levels each.  Quickenings will start to 
double your MP once the Level 2 Quickening has been bought and they will triple 
your MP when the Level 3 Quickening is bought per character.

When a Quickening is bought, that character's MP gauge will be displayed as an 
orange bar instead of the normal blue bar when it is full.  Once Level 2 and 
Level 3 Quickenings have been purchased the MP gauge will display three 
separate orange bars.  Each bar will remain full until a certain amount of MP 
has been used.  The orange bars represent "Mist Charges" that are used to 
perform a Quickening.  A character with 3 bars at full magic can perform a 
Level 3 Quickening or that same character can perform a Level 2 Quickening if 
he/she is not at full MP.

Here is a minor tutorial of how to use a Quickening:

Once a Quickening has been bought from the License Grid for a character, choose 
"Mist" from the on-screen command menu and choose "Quickening" for whichever 
particular character you wish to start the Quickening Chain with.  Now, pretend 
that you have a party of Balthier, Basch, and Vaan and that you are starting 
the Quickening with Balthier.  Once the Quickening has started Balthier will 
perform the beginning animation then pause and the following will be displayed 
on the screen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        /\ - Vaan's Quickening

                                        [] -

                                        X  - Basch's Quickening

 _______________________________________________________________________
|_______________________________________________________________________| TIMER
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While the screen is paused and the timer starts to deplete, you must either 
start another Quickening by pressing the corresponding button for an available 
Quickening, or press the R2 button and wait for the Mist Charge command to 
show.  When the R2 button is pressed the button commands for the character that 
just performed a Quickening will sometimes display the Mist Charge option.  For 
instance, you will be waiting until it displays this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        /\ - Vaan's Quickening

                                        [] - Mist Charge

                                        X  - Basch's Quickening

 _______________________________________________________________________
|_______________________________________________________________________| TIMER
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this case, once you have pressed the R2 button enough times to where it 
displays Mist Charge next to the [] button you will want to press [] at that 
moment.  This will give Balthier one level of Mist Charge and will allow him to 
perform another Quickening once it randomly displays again after pressing R2.  
Now, once you have pressed the button for the Mist Charge, press one of the 
other buttons immediately afterward to perform another character's Quickening 
to keep the chain going.  This must be done before the timer depletes once 
again.  Just to go a little further, suppose you Mist Charged with the [] 
button then chose to perform Vaan's Quickening next, the screen would display 
the following as the screen pauses for Vaan's Quickening.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        /\ - 

                                        [] - Balthier's Quickening

                                        X  - Basch's Quickening

 _______________________________________________________________________
|_______________________________________________________________________| TIMER
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again, you would need to press the R2 button to display the Mist Charge 
option, only this time it would show up next to /\ since you have used Vaan's 
Quickening.  Quickenings are vital to finishing off bosses once you delve 
deeper into the game, especially when the bosses start to get super aggressive 
or perform some type of extremely damaging attack on their last 25% of HP.

-- Quickening Concurrences (Bonus Attacks)

Chain a certain amount of certain level (lvl 1, 2, 3) Quickenings in order to 
have a Concurrence added to the end of the Quickening chain.  Here is a chart 
showing the different Concurrences and how to achieve each.

/-------------------------------------------------\
| Concurrence       | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
|=================================================|
| Inferno           |    3    |    -    |    -    |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| Cataclysm         |    8    |    -    |    -    |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| Torrent           |    -    |    3    |    -    |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| Wind Burst        |    -    |    6    |    -    |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| Whiteout          |    -    |    -    |    5    |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| Ark Blast         |    2    |    2    |    2    |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| Luminescence      |    3    |    3    |    3    |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| Black Hole        |    4    |    4    |    4    |
\-------------------------------------------------/

             --------------------------------------------------          [BS03]
             - Status Effects/Enhancements/Nihopalaoa Effects -
             --------------------------------------------------

-- Status Effects

Below is a list of all the various status effects along with a description, a 
way to cure the effect (whether it be action, magick, or item), and an 
accessory that will make the wearer immune to the status effect.  Keep in mind 
that a Remedy has three levels of lore that can be bought on the augment 
section of the license grid for each character that will add more curing 
effects when the users uses a Remedy.

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| STATUS  | DESCRIPTION            | CURE (actions, items,   | IMMUNE         |
| EFFECT  |                        | magicks)                | ACCESSORY      |
|=============================================================================|
| Blind   | drastically reduces    | Blindna, Esuna(ga), Eye | Argyle Armlet, |
|         | accuracy               | Drops, Remedy (No Lore) | Ribbon         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Death   | instant death          | Arise, Raise, Phoenix   | N/A            |
|         |                        | Down                    |                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Disease | max HP = 1             | Bubble, Cleanse, Remedy | Ribbon         |
|         |                        | (Lv.3 Lore), Vaccine    |                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Doom    | death after 10 second  | Death, Remedy (Lv.3     | Ribbon         |
|         | countdown              | Lore)                   |                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Confuse | ally randomly attacks  | Attack, Death,          | Bowline Sash,  |
|         | other allies           | Esuna(ga), Remedy (Lv.2 | Ribbon         |
|         |                        | Lore), Smelling Salts   |                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Disable | disables all actions   | Death, Esuna(ga),       | Black Belt,    |
|         |                        | Remedy (Lv.1 Lore)      | Ribbon         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Immobi- | cannot move from       | Death, Esuna(ga),       | Jackboots,     |
| lize    | current spot           | Remedy (Lv.1 Lore)      | Ribbon         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Oil     | more susceptible to    | Handkerchief, Remedy    | Gillie Boots,  |
|         | fire magick            | (Lv.2 Lore)             | Ribbon         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Petrify | stone status after 10  | Death, Esuna(ga), Gold  | Fuzzy Miter,   |
|         | second countdown       | Needle, Remedy (Lv.2    | Ribbon         |
|         |                        | Lore), Stona            |                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Poison  | HP lowers periodically | Antidote, Death,        | Ribbon,        |
|         |                        | Esuna(ga), Poisona,     | Tourmaline     |
|         |                        | Remedy (No Lore)        | Ring           |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sap     | HP gradually decreases | Death, Esuna(ga), Regen,| Quasimodo      |
|         |                        | Remedy (Lv.1 Lore)      | Boots, Ribbon  |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Silence | cannot use magick      | Echo Herbs, Esuna(ga),  | Ribbon, Rose   |
|         |                        | Remedy (No Lore), Vox   | Corsage        |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sleep   | falls asleep (cannot   | Alarm Clock, Attack,    | Nishijin Belt, |
|         | act)                   | Death, Esuna(ga),       | Ribbon         |
|         |                        | Remedy (Lv.1 Lore)      |                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Slow    | drastically reduces    | Death, Esuna(ga), Haste,| Ribbon, Sash   |
|         | speed                  | Remedy (No Lore)        |                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Stop    | all actions cease/     | Death, Chronos Tear,    | Power Armlet,  |
|         | character frozen       | Dispel, Remedy (Lv.3    | Ribbon         |
|         |                        | Lore)                   |                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Stone   | * turns to stone/      | Gold Needle, Remedy     | Fuzzy Miter,   |
|         | removed from field     | (Lv.2 Lore), Stona      | Ribbon         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Reverse | curing damages and     | Death, Esuna(ga)        | Ribbon         |
|         | attacking heals        |                         |                |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
* Select the character's name that has been turned to stone to cure them since 
that party memeber is taken off the field once the Stone status is active.

-- Status Enhancements

Below is a list of all the various status enhancements along with a description 
and a way to nullify the enhancement.

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| STATUS      | DESCRIPTION                     | NULLIFY                     |
| ENHANCEMENT |                                 |                             |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Berserk     | rages character and increases   | Death, Dispel(ga)           |
|             | attack power and accuracy       |                             |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Bravery     | increases physical attack power | Death, Dispel(ga)           |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Bubble      | doubles max HP                  | Death, Disease, Dispel(ga)  |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Decoy       | causes enemy to target          | Death, Dispel(ga), Stop     |
|             | inflicted character             |                             |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Faith       | increases magic power           | Death, Dispel(ga)           |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Float       | hovers in air slightly avoiding | Death, Dispel(ga)           |
|             | earth magick and traps          |                             |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Haste       | drastically increases speed     | Death, Dispel(ga), Slow     |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Protect     | reduces physical damage         | Death, Dispel(ga)           |
|             | received                        |                             |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Reflect     | reflects most magick            | Death, Dispel(ga)           |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Regen       | restores HP over time           | Death, Dispel(ga), Sap      |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Shell       | reduces magick damage received  | Death, Dispel(ga)           |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Vanish      | invisible to certain enemy      | Death, Dispel(ga)           |
|             | types (human)                   |                             |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

-- Nihopalaoa Effects

The Nihopalaoa accessory can be bought from the Clan Provisioner in Rabanastre 
for 30,000 gil once the "Headhunter" hunting rank is reached.  Equipping this 
item will reverse any status curing item's effect when the equipped character 
uses any status curing item.  Using a Remedy on an enemy or boss is a perfect 
way to see what the foe is weak to statuswise.  See the list below for a 
breakdown of each item and its new effect when the Nihopalaoa accessory is 
equipped.

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| ITEM               | EFFECT                                                 |
|=============================================================================|
| Alarm Clock        | causes the status effect "Sleep" onto target           |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Antidote           | causes the status effect "Poison" onto target          |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Chrono's Tear      | causes the status effect "Stop" onto target            |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Echo Herbs         | causes the status effect "Silence" onto target         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Eye Drops          | causes the status effect "Blind" onto target           |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Gold Needle        | causes the status effect "Petrify" onto target         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Handkerchief       | causes the status effect "Oil" onto target             |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Smelling Salts     | causes the status effect "Confuse" onto target         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Vaccine            | causes the status effect "Disease" onto target         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Remedy (No Lore)   | causes the status effects "Blind", "Poison",           |
|                    | "Silence", and "Slow" onto target                      |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Remedy (Lv.1 Lore) | causes the status effects "Blind", "Poison",           |
|                    | "Silence", "Slow", "Sleep", "Disable", "Immobilize",   |
|                    | and "Sap" onto target                                  |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Remedy (Lv.2 Lore) | causes the status effects  "Blind", "Poison",          |
|                    | "Silence", "Slow", "Sleep", "Disable", "Immobilize",   |
|                    | "Sap", "Oil", "Confuse", and "Petrify" onto target     |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Remedy (Lv.3 Lore) | causes the status effects "Blind", "Poison",           |
|                    | "Silence", "Slow", "Sleep", "Disable", "Immobilize",   |
|                    | "Sap", "Oil", "Confuse", "Petrify", "Disease", "Doom", |
|                    | and "Stop" onto target                                 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Phoenix Down       | causes the target to be instantly dead or near dead,   |
|                    | unless the target is an Undead type enemy, such as     |
|                    | skeletons or  zombies. If the target is an Undead type |
|                    | enemy, the Phoenix Down will fully heal the target     |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

                                  ----------                             [BS04]
                                  - Espers -
                                  ----------

The following is a list of all Espers that are found in the game along with the 
stats and gambits for each.  This section is full of spoilers if you consider 
Esper names spoilers so tread carefull.  For Gambits, please note that "Self" 
refers to the Esper and "Ally" refers to the summoner.  Some of the Espers 
require two situations to activate an attack.

Also, please visit aldoteng's Esper guide on GameFAQs for even more info on 
Espers:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/459841/46306

-- Belias, the Gigas

Belias is the first Esper that your party will control and is one of the more 
useful Espers since you get him early in the game when Espers are still 
considered powerful.  He works well for a few boss fights and some hunts.

Mist Charge: 1
Status Enhancement(s): Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Absorb     Water:   Weak
Ice:   Half       Thunder: Half
Earth: Half       Wind:    Half
Light: Half       Dark:    Half

+------------------------------------------+
| Belias' Gambits                          |
|==========================================|
| Summon time < 10 seconds   (>) Hellfire  |
| Self: status = HP Critical (>) Hellfire  |
| Foe: fire-absorb           (>) Attack    |
| Foe: fire-weak             (>) Painflare |
| Foe: any                   (>) Painflare |
+------------------------------------------+

-- Mateus, the Corrupt

Mateus is most effective against enemies that are weak against ice.  Other than 
ice-weak enemies, his Frostwave attack still takes off a good amount.  He will 
cast Cura to heal himself and the summoner if the summoner's HP falls below 
50%.

Mist Charge: 1
Status Enhancement(s): Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Half       Water:   Half
Ice:   Absorb     Thunder: Weak
Earth: Half       Wind:    Half
Light: Half       Dark:    Half

+---------------------------------------------+
| Mateus' Gambits                             |
|=============================================|
| Summon time < 10 seconds   (>) Frostwave    |
| Self: status = HP Critical (>) Frostwave    |
| Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Cura         |
| Foe: ice-absorb            (>) Attack       |
| Foe: ice-weak              (>) Flash-Freeze |
| Foe: any                   (>) Flash-Freeze |
+---------------------------------------------+

-- Shemhazai, the Whisperer

Shemhazai is received a bit too late in the game to be really effective and her 
Mist Charge really asks for too much considering that she doesn't really damage 
an enemy that much with her normal attack, though her big attack is still 
fairly damaging.

Mist Charge: 2
Status Enhancement(s): Haste, Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Weak       Water:   Normal
Ice:   Normal     Thunder: Normal
Earth: Normal     Wind:    Normal
Light: Normal     Dark:    Normal

+--------------------------------------------+
| Shemhazai's Gambits                        |
|============================================|
| Summon time < 10 seconds   (>) Soul Purge  |
| Self: status = HP Critical (>) Soul Purge  |
| Foe: any                   (>) Devour Soul |
+--------------------------------------------+

-- Hashmal, Bringer of Order

Hashmal will rip the floor with any enemy that is weak against earth.  He will 
automatically perform his big attack once the summoner falls into HP Critical 
status.  Summon Hashmal with an HP Critical status and he will automatically 
perform Gaia's Wrath.

Mist Charge: 2
Status Enhancement(s): Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Immune     Water:   Immune
Ice:   Immune     Thunder: Immune
Earth: Absorb     Wind:    Weak
Light: Immune     Dark:    Immune

+---------------------------------------------+
| Hashmal's Gambits                           |
|=============================================|
| Ally: status = HP Critical (>) Gaia's Wrath |
| Foe: earth-absorb          (>) Attack       |
| Foe: earth-weak            (>) Roxxor       |
| Foe: any                   (>) Roxxor       |
+---------------------------------------------|

-- Famfrit, the Darkening Cloud

Famfrit is good against fire elemental enemies and any normal enemies.  His 
mist charge ask a bit much for his lack of extreme damage but he is an all 
around good esper.

Mist Charge: 3
Status Enhancement(s): Protect, Shell, Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Weak       Water:   Absorb
Ice:   Immune     Thunder: Immune
Earth: Immune     Wind:    Immune
Light: Immune     Dark:    Immune

+------------------------------------------------+
| Famfrit's Gambits                              |
|================================================|
| Summon time < 10 seconds   (>) Tsunami         |
| Self: status = HP Critical (>) Tsunami         |
| Foe: water-absorb          (>) Attack          |
| Foe: water-weak            (>) Briny Cannonade |
| Foe: any                   (>) Briny Cannonade |
+------------------------------------------------+

-- Adrammelech, the Wroth

Adrammelech is one of the best Espers that you can get early in the game.  He 
really shines against any magick user, as long as they do not cast ice.  His 
Flash Arc deals some good damage even against non-ice elemental enemies.  He is 
also the first Esper that will change his plan of attack based on how many 
enemies are grouped together - for multiple enemies, he will use Thundara.  
Couple all of this with the fact that he only requires one mist charge and 
you've got yourself a good all-around Esper.

Mist Charge: 1
Status Enhancement(s): Faith, Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Immune     Water:   Immune
Ice:   Weak       Thunder: Absorb
Earth: Immune     Wind:    Immnue
Light: Immune     Dark:    Immune

+-----------------------------------------------+
| Adrammelech's Gambits                         |
|===============================================|
| Summon time < 10 seconds   (>) Judgement Bolt |
| Self: status = HP Critical (>) Judgement Bolt |
| Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaga         |
| Foe: thunder-absorb        (>) Bio            |
| Foe: total amount > 1      (>) Thundara       |
| Foe: thunder-weak          (>) Flash Arc      |
| Foe: any                   (>) Flash Arc      |
+-----------------------------------------------+

-- Zalera, the Death Seraph

Zalera is an excellent Esper to use in an area with powerful normal enemies 
since he will kill whatever enemy is in his path.  If you despise the Shield 
Wyrm out in the Cerobi Steppe then summon Zalera and have him destroy it with 
one hit.  You can literally race through an area and have Zalera kill all 
enemies in your path.  No experience is gained from a Kill however.

Zalera will change his attack based on if he is damaged or not.  Hit him with a 
non-elemental weapon to have him cast Shock on nearby enemies instead of Kill.  
Zalera will automatically heal himself with Holy when no enemies are present.  
His big attack will only activate when an enemy is in HP Critical status.

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Immune     Water:   Immune
Ice:   Immune     Thunder: Immune
Earth: Immune     Wind:    Immune
Light: Absorb     Dark:    Immune

Mist Charge: 1
Status Enhancement(s): Libra

+-------------------------------------------------+
| Zalera's Gambits                                |
|=================================================|
| Foe: status = HP Critical (>) Condemnation      |
| Self: HP < 100%           (>) Shock (on enemy)  |
| Foe: any                  (>) Kill              |
| Self: HP < 100%           (>) Holy (heals self) |
+-------------------------------------------------+

-- Cúchulainn, the Impure

Cúchulainn will only attack with Malaise unless the enemy is undead then 
Cúchulainn will switch to a physical attack.  Malaise will drain life from 
enemies and give it to Cúchulainn.  His attacks are non-elemental and he will 
only take half damage from each element no matter which.  One interesting 
aspect of Cúchulainn is that he will actually attack the summoner with a 
physical attack if you try to hit him for whatever reason.

Mist Charge: 2
Status Enhancement(s): Protect, Shell, Reflect, Brave, Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Half       Water:   Half
Ice:   Half       Thunder: Half
Earth: Half       Wind:    Half
Light: Half       Dark:    Half

+--------------------------------------+
| Cúchulainn's Gambits                 |
|======================================|
| Summon time < 10 seconds (>) Blight  |
| Foe: undead              (>) Attack  |
| Foe: any                 (>) Malaise |
| Self: HP < 100%          (>) Curaja  |
+--------------------------------------+

-- Zeromus, the Condemner

Zeromus attacks enemies with a constant Gravity attack.  The attack is most 
effective against enemies with a large amount of HP.  Even his big attack is a 
gravity attack.

Mist Charge: 2
Status enhancement(s): Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Half       Water:   Half
Ice:   Half       Thunder: Half
Earth: Half       Wind:    Half
Light: Half       Dark:    Half

+-------------------------------------------+
| Zeromus' Gambits                          |
|===========================================|
| Summon time < 10 seconds (>) Big Bang     |
| Foe: any                 (>) Gravity Well |
+-------------------------------------------+

-- Exodus, the Judge-Sal

Exodus is a very simple Esper that will only cast Comet on enemies.  His big 
attack requires that the summoner cast Immobilize on Exodus before he is 
dismissed - it damages rather well.

Mist Charge: 2
Status Enhancement(s): Faith, Haste, Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Half       Water:   Half
Ice:   Half       Thunder: Half
Earth: Half       Wind:    Half
Light: Half       Dark:    Half

+-------------------------------------+
| Exodus' Gambits                     |
|=====================================|
| Summon time < 10 seconds            |
|           AND            (>) Meteor |
| Self: Immobilize                    |
| Foe: any                 (>) Comet  |
+-------------------------------------+

-- Chaos, Walker of the Wheel

If an enemy has a weakness then Chaos is bound to find it since he will change 
his plans of attack based on what element the enemy is weak against.  The only 
element that he does not use is earth since he shares in that weakness.  He 
will always use Whirlwind on any enemy that is weak against earth.  Since he 
has reflect casted at all times, equip an Opal ring or cast Reflect on the 
summoner and have the summoner reflect the Heal spell off of the reflect shield 
on his or herself if Chaos needs healing.

Mist Charge: 3
Status Enhancement(s): Faith, Haste, Reflect, Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Immune     Water:   Immune
Ice:   Immune     Thunder: Immune
Earth: Weak       Wind:    Absorb
Light: Immune     Dark:    Immune

+------------------------------------------+
| Chaos' Gambits                           |
|==========================================|
| Summon time < 10 seconds   (>) Tornado   |
| Self: status = HP Critical (>) Tornado   |
| Foe: light-weak            (>) Holy      |
| Foe: dark-weak             (>) Darkga    |
| Foe: thunder-weak          (>) Thundaga  |
| Foe: ice-weak              (>) Blizzaga  |
| Foe: fire-weak             (>) Firaga    |
| Foe: wind-weak             (>) Aeroga    |
| Foe: wind-absorb           (>) Scourge   |
| Foe: any                   (>) Whirlwind |
+------------------------------------------+

-- Ultima, the High Seraph

Ultima attacks much like a normal Esper and will change her attack only if the 
enemy is able to absorb light.  Her big attack requires that the summoner be at 
HP Critical status along with herself.  The best way to do this is through 
Gravity or by already having the summoner at HP Critical status and then 
attacking Ultima so that she falls to HP Critical status herself.  Ultima is 
another esper with the Reflect status so use Reflect on the summoner and 
reflect any heal spells needed.

Mist Charge: 3
Status Enhancement(s): Protect, Shell, Haste, Reflect, Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Immune     Water:   Immune
Ice:   Immune     Thunder: Immune
Earth: Immune     Wind:    Immune
Light: Absorb     Dark:    Weak

+-------------------------------------------+
| Ultima's Gambits                          |
|===========================================|
| Ally: status = HP Critical                |
|            AND             (>) Eschaton   |
| Self: status = HP Critical                |
| Foe: light-absorb          (>) Flare      |
| Foe: light-weak            (>) Redemption |
| Foe: any                   (>) Redemption |
+-------------------------------------------+

-- Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts

Zodiark is the only other Esper besides Adrammelech that will change his plan 
of attack based on the number of enemies present.  His Banish Ray almost always 
hits for 9999 damage and his Final Eclipse is the first attack to break the 
9999 damage rate.  Cast Break on the summoner at any time to have Zodiark 
instantly perform his Final Eclipse attack to take a whopping 50000 damage from 
all enemies on the field.  Zodiark performs this move with no charge time 
whatsoever!  Have a summoner in Petrify status summon Zodiark and Final Eclipse 
will be his first attack.  Zodiark is an excellent Esper for later boss fights 
since his summon can equal an instant 50000 damage to a boss.

Mist Charge: 3
Status Enhancement(s): Faith, Protect, Shell, Haste, Libra

Elemental Properties:
Fire:  Immune     Water:   Immune
Ice:   Immune     Thunder: Immune
Earth: Immune     Wind:    Immune
Light: Weak       Dark:    Absorb

+--------------------------------------------+
| Zodiark's Gambits                          |
|============================================|
| Ally: status = petrify   (>) Final Eclipse |
| Foe: total amount < 1    (>) Scathe        |
| Foe: dark-absorb         (>) Flare         |
| Foe: dark-weak           (>) Banish Ray    |
| Foe: any                 (>) Banish Ray    |
+--------------------------------------------+

                                   ---------                             [BS05]
                                   - Tips -
                                   ---------

Here are a few tips that may help out:

- To use a status enhancement on an enemy or a status ailment on a party member 
press R1 or L1 after selecting the command.  This also how to attack party 
members among other options.

- Many bosses are weak to certain status effects and this should be taken 
adavantage of.  Status effects such as Blind, Slow, Silence, and Disable will 
severly handicap a boss.

- On the flip side, status enhancements such as Haste, Shell, Protect, Bravery, 
and Faith will come in handy for boss fights as well.  Haste is one of the best 
status enhancements that can be used on a party member in a boss fight.

- Dispel.  Buy Dispel the moment you can get your hands on it and always look 
for status enhancements on enemies or bosses and Dispel them quickly.  Choose 
the attack option or some other form of attack then highlight an enemy to see 
if it has status enhancements on it.  Don't forget that Dispel can remove Stop 
and status enhancements such as Reflect from party members as well.

- When a save crystal is directly in front of a boss room, cast every status 
enhancement that you can think of on your party then retouch the save crystal 
and save your game.  Your party will gain all of their MP back and all the 
current status enhancements will remain on the party the next time you load up 
that game.  Enter the boss area to get a major advantage on the boss.  This 
will often turn the tides greatly.

- Status enhancements will stay on your reserve party as long they are not in 
battle, so you could cast tons of status enhancements on them and bring them 
into battle with a major advantage.

- Equip a Main Gauche dagger along with a Demon Shield or greater for some 
extremely impressive evasion stats.  Use Decoy on that character during a boss 
fight and that character will evade a big chunk of the boss' attack.  It's also 
good to equip both items to a low level ally when trying to level them up - 
like when you want to take a level 12 character into the Necrohol of Nabudis or 
deeper into the Henne Mines on the way to Zodiark.

- Match elemental weapons with elemental weaknesses in enemies and your party 
will have a great advantage!

- When an enemy has a particular elemental spell that takes off extreme damage, 
equip an armor that will half the elemental damage or possibly absorb the 
elemental damage.  (Adamant armor, Rubber Suit, Black Mask, White Mask, Demon 
Shield, Ice Shield, Fire Shield, etc.)

- Equip Accessories that will make a party member immune to a certain status 
effect if a particular enemy continues to cast it.  Power Armlets (Immune: 
Stop), Bowline Sashes (Immune: Confuse), Nishijin Belts (Immune: Sleep), Black 
Belts (Immune: Disable), and Rose Corsages (Immune: Silence) guard against some 
of the worst status effects.

- Items are a near instant heal for status effects while spells take charge 
time.  Some status effects are extremely dangerous and should be cured quickly 
with the proper item cure instead of magick (Disease, Confuse, Sleep, Disable).

- Equip a Nihopalaoa to reverse the effects of restoring or healing items and 
use the items on enemies.  Remedies will hit every weak status in an enemy and 
inflict whichever status effects that boss is not immune to.  Phoenix Downs 
will kill.  Potions will take life.  Surely you get the picture.  Thanks again 
Lucifer!

- Using Reverse on a party member will allow them to absorb damage for a short 
time.  Combine Reverse with Lure and this will force the enemy to hit that 
particular character thus giving that character HP.  Reverse will cause curing 
spells to take HP from an ally however.

- If you ever find an enemy that is weak to Reverse, cast Regen on them 
followed by the Reverse spell then cast Renew to kill them quickly.  Renew will 
take all but 1 HP and Regen will act as a Sap that will drain the rest.

- When trying to get a specific item from an enemy drop, try chaining that 
particular enemy and it will start to drop more rare items faster in greater 
amounts.

- Move two zones away to respawn enemies in a specific area and move three 
zones away to respawn chests in a specific area.  Some chests will not respawn 
though.

- Many chest will give you greater items if a member of your party has the 
Diamond Armlet equipped (sold in Estersand [Unlucky Merchant] after Giruvegan). 
Sometimes the Diamond Armlet will make you miss out on a valuable treasure 
however.  Check the other maps on GameFAQs for information about the contents 
of certain chests in hidden areas, namely Sephirosuy's area maps for the Great 
Crystal, Henne Mines, and Subterra in the Pharos.

- Since I receive TONS of emails asking where to find a Ribbon accessory, I 
will go ahead and mention it since I haven't covered accessories at this 
moment, but I will in later update.  You can find one in either the Henne Mines 
secret area or the Pharos Subterra.  Check sephirosuy's map for each of those 
areas on GameFAQs to find the chests that hold them.  The Henne Mines secret 
area is your best bet at finding one.

__  _____ ___                                                   __  _____ ___
\ \/ /_ _|_ _| /==============================================\ \ \/ /_ _|_ _|
 \  / | | | | |                   WALKTHROUGH                  | \  / | | | |
 /  \ | | | | |                     [WT00]                     | /  \ | | | |
/_/\_\___|___| \==============================================/ /_/\_\___|___|

Please use your in-game map (press Select) to find the name of each area 
surrounded by "~"'s.
                          ____  __________ ______
   /\      /\             \   \/   /__  __|__  __|               /\      /\
  /  \    /  \             \      /  |  |   |  |                /  \    /  \
 |    |  |    |       Prologue - The Fall of a Kingdom         |    |  |    |
  \  /    \  /             /      \ _|  |_ _|  |_               \  /    \  /
   \/      \/             /___/\___\______|______|               \/      \/


 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              Nalbina Fortress                               |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Aerial Gardens ~~

Imperial Swordsman / Weak: N/A
Imperial Magus     / Weak: N/A

Destination Quote: I must reach the King before he signs the treaty!

You will take on the role of a young soldier by name of Reks from the game's 
starting point.  A tutorial will display at the beginning to familiarize you 
with the control setup.  Rotate the camera with the right analog and move with 
the left analog toward Basch to finish the first part.  The tutorial for the 
talk icon will appear above Basch's head then an explanation for the icon will 
commence.  Any character that has the talk icon (the smiley face) above their 
head may be interacted with by pressing the X button near that person.  
Approach the Dalmascan (actually labeled so) near the gate and talk with him.

Open the gate to continue, but before doing so, you may want to walk around a 
bit to get adjusted to feel of this Final Fantasy.  Battle will be presented in 
this same 3-D view as well so it's good to get familiar with it while all is 
calm.  Walk toward the gate when you're ready.  An explanation of the action 
icon (!) will appear.  This icon will let you know when you're near an object 
that can be interacted with by pressing the X button.  Walk toward the gate and 
open it when the command appears above Reks' head.

~~ Inner Ward ~~

An explanation of the party menu followed by a mentioning of equipment and your 
inventory will appear then Reks will be thrown into battle with an Imperial.  
The red line that appears between Reks and the enemy will let you know that an 
enemy has targeted you and is about to attack.  A blue line will appear 
whenever your character targets an enemy.  Pull up the usual command menu by 
pressing X then select attack one time to make Reks attack the Imperial.  As 
the game says, there is no need to keep issuing the order to attack since Reks 
will automatically perform it again after the first command until the target 
falls.  Follow Basch's squad down the path ahead for a cutscene.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Air Cutter Remora

Lv.??
HP: ????
Weakness: Thunder

Open the command menu and select Thunder from "Black Magic" to take off some 
heavy damage from this foe.  Basch and his squad will do most of the work for 
you however since they will gang up underneath it and hack away.  The boss' 
Remora Strike is the only major concern and it will usually hit Basch or his 
men with that.  Use the Cure spell found under "White Magic" if too much damage 
is suffered.  Don't worry about your MP - you can regain it by walking and 
running.  Once 25% of the Air Cutter's HP has been taken a cutscene will 
commence where Basch will finish it off.  Basch is actually performing his 
Quickening attack, which will be explained later.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Follow the path ahead once the battle is over and fight through the wave of 
Imperial Swordsmen as they run down the stairs to confront you.  You'll have to 
reissue the order to attack each time one of them falls.  Notice that the 
enemies are displayed by red dots on the mini map in the top right of your 
screen.  This will help you to see what enemies lie ahead.  At the top of the 
stairs, enter the area with the blue dots - this will always signify a new 
area.  Before you enter, an explanation of the mini map and map will commence. 
Press the Select button to examine the full map of an area at any time.  Your 
location will be shown as an orange marker and your destination (if any) will 
be shown by the circled X displayed on the map.

~~ Lower Apartments ~~

The cutscene will leave you at the beginning of the new area.  The first few 
side areas are empty of items so head north.  A few Imperial Swordsmen and 
Magus' will rush toward you from the hall ahead.  Basch will most likely take 
care of them if you don't attack quick enough.  The Magus' like to move away 
from you while in the middle of casting their spells.  An explanation of 
running from enemies will be shown as you head down the hall.  Hold R2 to 
escape from enemies - hold it the 
entire time while running.  Check the  +-----------------------------------+
halls to the sides to find some        | There is a secret weapon that one |
treasure chests.  The treasure chests  | can obtain by NOT opening certain |
in the game will be displayed          | chests.  Check the Side           |
differently depending on your current  | Quest/Secrets section and look    |
area.  Most of the time they carry     | for the "Zodiac Spear" for more   |
random items.  Your destination is     | details.                          |
the stairs leading up in the north     |              [SQ01-0]             |
but continue around the corner past    +-----------------------------------+
the area with the stairs to find
another chest.

~~ Upper Apartments ~~

On the next floor, Basch will explain the save crystal to you as you walk 
toward it.  Like Final Fantasy X, touch the save point to have all your HP, MP, 
and status restored and of course save your game.  Run up the stairs to the 
side after saving.

~~ The Highhall ~~

The cutscene that plays will leave you with fighting three Imperial Swordsmen. 
They will only take two hits to kill depending on if they block or not.  Use 
the Cure spell if you start to take too much damage.  Enter the hall ahead and 
open the passage door on the left side (the action icon will appear as you near 
it).  Walk toward the current destination as noted on the map and a cutscene 
will take place that will end the prologue.

                          ____  __________ ______
   /\      /\             \   \/   /__  __|__  __|               /\      /\
  /  \    /  \             \      /  |  |   |  |                /  \    /  \
 |    |  |    |  Part I - A Boy Who Sees Freedom In the Skies  |    |  |    |
  \  /    \  /             /      \ _|  |_ _|  |_               \  /    \  /
   \/      \/             /___/\___\______|______|               \/      \/

[WT01]

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                            Garamsythe Waterway                              |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Overflow Cloaca ~~

Dire Rat / Weak: Water

You will be given control of Vaan and must fight three Dire Rats.  Try to steal 
from each of them to get a few Rat Pelts, Fire Stones, or Potions before you 
defeat them.  Use the mini map on the top right hand side of the screen to keep 
up with them.  ++EQUIP++ will be added to your party menu during this fight.  
Press /\ to select it.  You only have basic equipment equipped at the moment.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                 Rabanastre                          | [PI1] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ East End ~~

Destination Quote: What could Migelo want?  Better go see him at his shop.

The cutscene will introduce you to Penelo and will set up your next 
destination.  Use the map as your guide and head to Migelo's shop - look for 
the X with the circle and his shop is the one labeled with the pot icon. The 
++WORLD MAP++ will be added to your party menu as well.  Select it from the 
party menu by pressing /\.  After the cutscene in front of Migelo's shop, run 
over to the Sandsea (as labeled on the map) and find Kytes.

~~ The Sandsea ~~

Tomaj will explain the Hunting quests to you after Kytes leaves.  Basically, 
you need to examine the notice board and select one of the hunts or what is 
referred to as your "mark".  After selecting the mark, find the petitioner that 
posted the bill - the game will automatically show you where the petitioner is 
located.  Accept the petitioner's hunt and he/she will tell you about the hunt 
and where the mark is located.  Hunt the mark in the location pointed out then 
go back to the petitioner and claim your bounty once the mark is defeated.

This first hunt, regarding the Rogue Tomato, is the only required hunt in the 
game.  You do not have to seek out a petitioner this time since the petitioner 
is the one giving the explanation.  Tomaj will hand over the key item ++CLAN 
PRIMER++.  This can be viewed in the party menu.  The clan primer is a 
collection of information regarding current and past hunts.  Tomaj will also 
hand over an ++ORRACHEA ARMLET++.  This accessory will raise a character's 
current HP.  You can't equip it just yet though since you don't have the 
license for it at the moment.

The game will talk you through how the License system at this point.  In order 
to use anything in this game (weapons, armors, accessories, magicks, teknicks, 
etc.) you must first have the license to use them.  Choose "License" from the 
party menu followed by whichever character you wish to obtain a license for.  
On the license board, choose whichever block with a number you wish to activate 
then press X to obtain the license for it if you have enough points.  The 
number represents how many license points you will need.  The license points 
(LP) is displayed in the upper left hand corner next to the character picture. 
Each character will have his or her own amount of LP.  LP is gained, along with 
experience (EXP), from defeating monsters.  After acquiring a license for a 
certain square, the squares around the current square will light up allowing 
you to purchase them for a certain amount of LP.

Users of the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X should catch on to this fairly 
well.  The top board consists of magicks, accessories, technicks, and 
attributes, while the bottom consist of weapons and armors.  Remember that you 
must buy and equip all the items and techniques before you can use them.  On 
the flip side, you must have the license for each of them to be able to equip 
them.  A new sword or magick is no good without the proper license for it.  The 
game will talk you through the process of obtaining "Accessories 1" on the 
License Board.  You can also press [ ] to view all the current actions for your 
current character while on the License Board.  ++LICENSES++ will be added to 
the party menu after the explanation.  Tomaj's final gift will be the key item 
++WRIT OF TRANSIT++ that will allow you to leave the city to pursue your hunts. 
Be sure to equip the Orrachea Armlet after talking with Tomaj!

Destination Quote: That mark should be somewhere in the Dalmasca Estersand.

Leave The Sandsea and head out the east   +-----------------------------------+
gate of Rabanastre.  A cutscene will      | Talk to the Desert Merchant once  |
activate once you reach the entrance of   | you reach the Southern Plaza to   |
the East Gate.  Be sure to use the save   | engage in a very minor delivery   |
crystal on your way out to the Estersand  | side quest.  This can only be     |
in order to restore your current status   | done at this time!                |
and save your game.  All three exits      |             [SQ21-1]              |
(west, east, and south) of Rabanastre     +-----------------------------------+
have a save crystal near them.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              Dalmasca Estersand                     | [PI2] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ The Stepping ~~

Cactite      / Weak: Wind
Wolf         / Weak: Earth
Cockatrice   / Weak: Water
Wild Saurian / Weak: Wind

You might as well go ahead and fight off some Cactites for some experience.  
Steal from the sleeping Cactites to get some Earth Stones.  Notice how some of 
the enemies have a green bar and red bar below them.  These bars are their life 
bars.  Green represents a neutral enemy that will not attack unless you attack 
them first and red represents a hostile enemy that will attack if you get near 
it.  I wouldn't advise fighting too many wolves at the moment - get the Cure 
spell before you start fighting them in order to save some potions.

Walk down into the Estersand and look for the cliff in the middle that 
overlooks the valley below.  The Rogue Tomato will be near the two trees with 
pink blossoms. He'll take off about 10 HP per hit so use one of Vaan's potions 
if needed.  Once half of his life is taken he will jump down to the valley 
below.  Follow him and defeat him while trying to stay away from the wolves.  
He gets all of his life back once he jumps.  A cutscene will activate once the 
Rogue Tomato is defeated and you will receive the key item ++A HANDFUL OF 
GALBANA LILIES++ afterwards.  Whatever you do, DO NOT mess with the Wild 
Saurian (T-rex) in this area since he can kill you with one hit.  He is 
neutral, but can easily be aggravated by attacking too many wolves near him.  
Return to Rabanastre.

~~ East Gate ~~

Save your game near the East Gate and talk to Kytes for a cutscene.  He's 
standing in front of the gate.

~~ North End ~~

Destination Quote: Old Dalan in Lowtown must know a way into the palace...

As the game states after the cutscenes, you can now enter the Lowtown area.  
The entrance to the Lowtown is on the Northeast side of the North End of 
Rabanastre.  Look for the stairs icon on the map.  Before you go down to 
Lowtown, you need to go back to The Sandsea and talk to Tomaj to get your 
bounty for defeating the Rogue Tomato.  He is standing at the counter.  He will 
give you ++300 GIL, 2 POTIONS, and 1 TELEPORT STONE++.  Tomaj will also let you 
in on some information about another hunter clan in the North End.  The 
building has a Bangaa standing watch near the front.  The Bangaa will let you 
in as long as you show him the Clan Primer that Tomaj handed over.  Find the 
"Conspicuous Bangaa" on the west part of the North End and talk to him to 
enter.

Walk to the top of the stairs inside the building and speak to the moogle, 
Montblanc. It turns out that Montblanc is the founder of this clan, Clan 
Centurio.  You will automatically become a member of Clan Centurio during the 
conversation.  He will tell you of many high mark hunts that are exclusive to 
his clan and he will mention the clan shop in the Muthru Bazaar.  This shop 
will allow you to make special purchases depending on your current clan rank.  
Talk to Montblanc again after the first conversation to receive a reward of ++3 
POTIONS++.  He will have a special reward for you each time you reach a new 
clan rank so be sure to come back and visit him at Clan Centurio often.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                   Lowtown                           | [PI3] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ North Sprawl ~~

Old Dalan's place is in the far south  +-----------------------------------+
area of South Sprawl.  It is labeled   | The treasure chest directly       |
with an X on your map.  There are      | across from Old Dalan's front     |
plenty of treasure chests found around | door is the first of the treasure |
North and South Sprawl so it may pay   | chests that you must NOT open in  |
you to do a little exploring before    | order to obtain the Zodiac Spear  |
meeting up with Dalan.                 | later in the game.                |
                                       |             [SQ01-1]              |
                                       +-----------------------------------+

Destination Quote: Better head down to the village on Giza Plains.

Leave Old Dalan's Place.  Giza Plains is on the south side of Rabanastre and 
you can get to it through the door to the right of where you exit from Old 
Dalan's Place.  Walk over to the large circular door and open it to exit out to 
the Southgate of Rabanastre.  You'll likely notice the orange save crystal.  
These save crystals will allow you to teleport to other orange save crystals by 
the use of a teleport stone.  These will come in much handy later.  You already 
have one teleport stone if you got your bounty from Tomaj.  Make sure to not 
sell it with the rest of your loot since it is displayed at the top of that 
list.  Before you venture out into Giza Plains, I would suggest buying a Cure 
spell and licensing it to Vaan.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                  Giza Plains                        | [PI4] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Throne Road ~~

Hyena       / Weak: Water
Giza Rabbit / Weak: Fire
Urstrix     / Weak: Wind
Slaven      / Weak: Wind

Head to the south portion of Throne Road to reach the village.  The enemies 
here are much like the Estersand enemies, consisting mainly of four-legged 
fiends.

~~ Nomad Village ~~

There is a save crystal in the southwest.  Talk to the Nomad Elder in front of 
the middle tent.  Walk over to Masyua who is standing next to the large Dark 
Crystal and talk to her.  Agree to her offer.  In order to get a Sunstone, you 
will need to seek out Jinn.

Destination Quote: So, Jinn's...south of the village, right?

Penelo will join you after the cutscene at the end of the conversation.  Penelo 
has quite a few LP so buy her a few licenses.  Buy a map of Giza Plains from 
the moogle in red before you leave.  Penelo will hand over ++3 POTIONS and 2 
PHOENIX DOWNS++ as you leave the village.  ++GAMBITS++ will be added to the 
command menu (not party menu) as well when you try to leave.  You can only turn 
the Gambits on or off at the moment.  Penelo will act according to a list of 
preset gambits that you can't see at the moment.  Gambits are a list of 
commands that the character(s) will choose to perform based on the setup order. 
Right now, you cannot program any gambits, but later you can.

Penelo will attack as Vaan attacks but you can still control what she does by 
switching over to her command menu - press to the right or left once you pull 
up Vaan's command menu.  Jinn is in the southern middle area, but you will need 
to head east or west from your current location (the village), then south, and 
finally walk toward the middle area of Giza Plains.  Hold R2 and run from the 
enemies if they start to give your party too much trouble.  This will 
automatically stop any attacking party member once the "Flee" command appears. 
Remember this for future use.  You might run across some enemies that you can't 
handle at the moment.

~~ Crystal Glade ~~

A save crystal will be waiting for you here.  Jinn will be leaning against the 
Dark Crystal.  Walk over to him and talk to him.  Explain everything to him and 
he will give you a ++SHADESTONE++.  You will need to make your own Sunstone.  
Take the Shadestone and travel to the different areas of the Giza Plains and 
look for shining dark stones.  Walk over to each shining dark stone and hold up 
the shadestone to drain the light from the dark stone.  You will have a 
percentage up in the upper right hand corner along with an energy meter and 
will need to fill it all the way up by visiting enough dark stones until you 
make a sunstone.  It may take all four shining dark stones to fully charge the 
shadestone.  The shining dark crystals are conveniently marked on your map with 
"!".  Run around the four different areas and charge the shadestone to receive 
a ++SUNSTONE++.  The party will automatically wind up back at the area where 
Jinn is located once the stone is fully charged.

~~ Nomad Village ~~

Back in the village, Masyua will hand over ++50 GIL, 2 POTIONS, and 2 TELEPORT 
STONES++ as a reward for bringing Jinn back.  Now it's time to head back to Old 
Dalan's Place in Rabanastre.  Go back to the Southgate and open the circular 
door to the side to quickly get back to the Lowtown area near Old Dalan's 
Place.

~~ Lowtown ~~

A cutscene will begin as you get near Old Dalan's front door and Penelo will 
leave the party.  Walk up and talk to Dalan for yet another cutscene.  The 
++CRESCENT STONE++ will be given to you after the cutscene.

Destination Quote: Storehouse 5's my way down to the sewers.  I'll start there.

Storehouse 5's entrance is in the northwest corner of the North Sprawl area of 
Lowtown.  Make sure that you equip yourself with any last minute items that you 
want to have available and have a Cure spell for sure!  Vaan will be by himself 
for the upcoming area so I wouldn't rely on a limited supply of potions since 
the area is rather long.  Kytes will be behind the door of Storehouse 5 and 
will give you ++2 POTIONS and 4 EYEDROPS++.  Enter through the left gate after 
talking with Kytes.

                          ____  __________ ______
     /\                   \   \/   /__  __|__  __|                   /\
    /  \                   \      /  |  |   |  |                    /  \
   |    |  Part II - A Dashing Sky Pirate and a Master of Weapons  |    |
    \  /                   /      \ _|  |_ _|  |_                   \  /
     \/                   /___/\___\______|______|                   \/

[WT02]

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                            Garamsythe Waterway                     | [PII1] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Central Spur Stairs ~~

Dire Rat / Weak: Water
Steeling / Weak: Earth
Ichthon  / Weak: Thunder

A save crystal is off to the left.  The right path doesn't hold anything except 
for some extra Dire Rat battles.  Run around the left side and continue down 
the waterway.  Head north and fight off the Dire Rats then go east.  Keep 
heading northeast while fighting off the vermin of the sewers.  Go down the 
stairway to the north and head down the waterway ahead.

~~ North Spur Sluiceway ~~

Neutral Ichthons will be floating around above the waterway.  Go up the stairs 
on the left and across the bridge then down the next set of stairs.  Keep 
moving west then go north to find some more stairs.  Head up the second set of 
stairs to exit the waterway.  The game will give you choice as to whether to go 
ahead or not once you reach the stairs to the far north.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                         Royal Palace of Rabanastre                 | [PII2] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Cellar Stores ~~

Save your game.  You might want to choose another block since you can't leave 
from this area without doing a lot of backtracking.  Check the Urn to the side 
to obtain a ++MAP OF THE ROYAL PALACE OF RABANASTRE++.  Always be sure to scope 
out these urns when you enter a new area since they will always contain the 
area's map.

~~ Cellars ~~

Run to the north end of the Cellars to   +-----------------------------------+
activate a scene with two Imperials.     | The two treasure chests in the    |
Try to go up the stairs and the imperial | southeast portion of this room    |
will stop you.  A Seeq will notice that  | should NOT be opened if you want  |
you are trying to get upstairs.  Talk to | to gain the Zodiac Spear later in |
the red "Palace Servant" Seeq standing   | the game.                         |
next to the stairs.  Press [ ] to call   |             [SQ01-2]              |
the Imperial guard afterwards and run    +-----------------------------------+
around his right side (your left) while
making your way to the stairs then enter the door at the top.

~~ Lower Halls ~~

Imperials are grouped throughout these halls and you will need to lure them out 
in order to find the lion signet.  From the starting point, head down the hall 
to the right (south).  Two guards will be standing near the left of the single 
guard at the end of the hall.  Press the [ ] button to call to the two guards 
from the entrance to the hall then run back down the hall.  The guards will 
stop at the front of the hall where you yelled.

Now we need to distract the two guards near the entrance.  Call to the group of 
three guards near the entrance.  When they come after you, run down the hall 
directly in front of the door that you came through to enter this area (ignore 
the hawk signet) and walk by the standing guard to the north.  The group of 
three guards will stay near the entrance.  Enter the other side of the hall 
where the three guards were standing patrol.

Use the Crescent Stone on the Lion Signet in the middle of the hall.  This will 
cause a green light to appear behind some latticework in the north.  This is 
the same hall that the single guard is standing near.  Head to the west 
intersection of the hall with the Lion Signet and yell at the single guard 
standing patrol at the north hall.  Run back down the hall with the Lion Signet 
and enter the other side of the hall where the single guard was.  The green 
light behind the latticework is on the northwest side of this hall.  Walk up to 
latticework and examine the "Faint Light" and "Approach the Wall".  The wall 
will slide down to reveal a secret passage.

~~ Secret Passage ~~

Vaan will automatically walk inside and will be sealed in.  Walk further down 
the secret passage hall to see a door-like structure off to the right.  The 
door will not open but there is a hidden switch on the left wall.  Standing 
away from the door-like structure walk toward the wall ahead then turn right 
and move against the wall until you see an Action Icon pop up followed by a 
"Switch" message.  Press the switch and examine the door (or "wall").  After 
the cutscene that follows, you will obtain the ++GODDESS'S MAGICITE++.

~~ The Garden Stairs ~~

Walk up all the stairs to trigger a group of cutscenes.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                             Garamsythe Waterway                    | [PII3] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ East Spur Stairs ~~

Destination Quote: I've got to find my way out of these sewers...

Balthier and Fran will join up with Vaan as the cutscenes end.  Walk over to 
the save crystal and save your game then prepare for an explanation of the 
Gambit system as you walk down the stairs.  Unlike later, you are now given the 
option to set up your gambits per characters as you see fit.  Gambits will 
allow you to combine one action with a target for that action whether it be an 
ally, foe, self or either of the three with a specific status.  A more detailed 
description will ensue as Balthier treads a little more deeply into the Gambit 
system.  Gambits will be displayed in the list of menus on the party menu.

When the gambit menu is pulled up under a character, the right column is the 
action to be performed and left column is the target for that action.  The 
Gambit at the top will be performed as the first priority then the other 
Gambits will be performed.  Use the cursor to select two Gambits in order to 
switch their positioning and double tap the X button to turn off a Gambit.  Use 
the Select button to remove a gambit from a space.  More Gambit spaces can be 
purchased through the License board and more Gambits can be purchased from 
Gambit shops found throughout the world of Ivalice.  Gambits are always very 
cheap and you should buy them before just about anything else before entering a 
new city.  It's a little hard to set some good Gambits at the moment since you 
have very few.  ++GAMBITS++ and ++PARTY++ will be added to the party menu after 
the conversation with Balthier.

Use the party menu to take a character in and out of your party.  Press the X 
button to slide their pic back and remove them from your party.  Also, it 
should be noted that if you want to change the leader of your party, you can do 
so by using the D-pad to select a leader from your three main characters.  In 
the party menu, the character pic that the orange flag appears on is the leader 
of the current party.

Now back to the situation at hand.  Examine the "Fallen Soldiers" to the side 
for an extra cutscene.  Walk down the waterway up ahead to enter the next area.

~~ East Waterway Control ~~

Dire Rat  / Weak: Water
Steeling  / Weak: Earth
Gigantoad / Weak: Fire

The left path has an urn that contains the ++MAP OF THE GARAMSYTHE WATERWAY++. 
Run up the stairs to find a treasure chest then follow the waterway and the 
paths afterward heading south.  Try to keep your party cured with the cure 
spell along the way - don't just rely on gambits for now since you have little 
life.  There is no reason to conserve magic since you can replenish it with 
each character by moving.  Try to get a License that will allow Balthier to use 
Cure, that way everyone can heal.

~~ No. 11 Channel ~~

The path across the metal piece has a chest.  Keep heading south along the 
waterway.  Use Fran's Fire spell on any Gigantoads that stand in your way.  
Toward the end of this area two Gigantoads and two bats will be near a 
waterway.  Do not get stuck in the middle of these enemies.  Take them out from 
a distance.

~~ East Sluice Control ~~

No enemies will step out just yet.  Use the save crystal in the south and run 
down the stairs for a cutscene.  The cutscene will give way to a battle with 
four Imperials.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Recommended Level: 5 - 6

Lv. 5 / Imperial Swordsman A / HP 210
Lv. 5 / Imperial Swordsman B / HP 170 / Status: Protect
Lv. 5 / Imperial Swordsman C / HP 180
Lv. 5 / Imperial Swordsman D / HP 190

Steal: Potion, Phoenix Down
Exp: 0
LP: 2 LP each (if YOUR party defeats one)

Have a Cure gambit for curing an ally < 70% and this battle shouldn't be much 
of a problem.  All they do is attack normally without any sort of magic or 
exclusive attacks so they won't take too much damage.  Fran's Fire spell takes 
off a larger amount of damage than normally attacking an Imperial, but it is 
not necessary.  With the extra support from the mysterious woman this will be a 
fair match of four against four.  Be sure to steal for some extra items.  If a 
member of your party defeats an Imperial you will gain 2 LP, but if the woman 
kills one then you will gain nothing.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Walk up to Amalia and she will join   +---------------------------------------+
your party as a guest after the       | Amalia's Gambits                      |
cutscene.  Guests cannot be           |=======================================|
controlled at all and will act on     | Ally: < 80%          (>) Potion       |
their own in battle.  You are         | Ally: any            (>) Phoenix Down |
responsible for curing and keeping    | Foe: nearest visible (>) Attack       |
your guest alive however.  A guest    +---------------------------------------+
will also leave the party once a
certain point of the story has been reached.

Amalia has gambits set to where she will revive any fallen party member with a 
Phoenix Down and issue out a potion to a weak party member free of charge - 
this does not take away from your current inventory!  NEVER EVER get spoiled by 
a party guest with special actions whether it be uber strength or constant 
healing - this can happen very easily later in the game with one guest in 
particular.  Take advantage of your guest and get into a bunch of battles to 
raise your levels since you have a fourth helper that slightly takes away from 
your experience gaining.  Run back to the save crystal and save your game then 
continue to the east of the waterway.

~~ Southern Sluiceway ~~

Walk into the middle of the open space ahead for a cutscene.  Four Lv. 4 Flans 
will ambush your party.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Recommended Level: 5 - 6

Lv. 5 / Flan A / HP 420 / Weak: Fire
Lv. 5 / Flan B / HP 360 / Weak: Fire
Lv. 5 / Flan C / HP 390 / Weak: Fire
Lv. 5 / Flan D / HP 420 / Weak: Fire

Steal: Caramel, Potion
LP: 2 LP each

All the flans in this group are weak against Fire, so use the Fire spell for 
any character that has it at the moment.  Normal attacks won't do that much 
damage to a Flan, but it's better than nothing for non-magic characters.  The 
most important rule about this battle is to NOT let them surround you.  They're 
spiral attack hits very fast and sometimes they will chain it with another 
attack for heavy damage.  They will use Blind on your characters, so having a 
Gambit set up for Eyedrops on an ally is suggested for at least one character.  
Cure should be set up as a Gambit as usual, though set it to someone that isn't 
casting Fire if possible.  Sit back and enjoy the classic Final Fantasy victory 
posing after the battle.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You may want to run back and save your game in the previous area after the 
battle.  Collect the items in the treasure chests on the east and west side.

~~ West Sluice Control ~~

Gigantoad    / Weak: Fire
Garchimacera / Weak: Water
Ghost        / Weak: Light

The coast appears clear once again, and there is even a treasure chest waiting 
in the middle of the water.  Move toward the stairs and a Gigantoad will hop 
out of the water.  A Ghost and a group of Garchimaceras will be lurking about 
up ahead.

~~ No. 10 Channel ~~

The stairs on the west side have been damaged, so you will need to head east in 
the middle area to get out of the waterway.

~~ Central Waterway Control ~~

A save crystal is in the middle of this area.  There are four pedestals that 
are surrounding the sides of the floor near the waterway that cannot be used 
just yet.  These pedestals are used in one of the side quests and they reqrire 
the Sluice Gate Key which is obtainable in the "Lost in the Pudding" hunt.  
Open the gate to trigger a cutscene.

~~ Overflow Cloaca ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv. 7    | Firemane                                     |
|=========================================================|
| HP: 3571 | Weak: Water        | Absorb: Fire            |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Potion, Phoenix Down, Grimoire Togail |
| LP: 3    |                                              |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 6 - 7                                |
+---------------------------------------------------------+

This is the first true boss battle of   +------------------------------------+
the game.  Firemane will absorb Fire    | Recommended Gambits                |
obviously, and you most likely don't    |====================================|
have water yet, so his weakness cannot  | Ally: HP < 70%       (>) Potion    |
be taken advantage of.  He teleports    | Ally: any            (>) Antidote  |
around the area much like a ghost so    | Foe: nearest visible (>) Attack    |
your attack may miss at times.  Make    +------------------------------------+
sure that you have a Cure or Potion
gambit on one of your party members since Firemane will take off about 50 - 100 
HP with his kick attack and his Fire spell will take nearly 100 HP.  Potions 
may work better since it is basically an instant heal instead of having to wait 
for a spell, though if any character falls or gets majorly low then Amalia will 
start passing out some Potions and Phoenix Downs in that order.

Firemane's big attack is called "Bushfire".  He will send out fire all around 
him and take off nearly 100 HP from all party members and possibly inflict 
Poison on some of them.  He seems to always start this after 25% of his life 
has been taken.  Do not set up your Gambits so that one person does all the 
healing - you need to mix and match so that each character performs a certain 
cure.  Amalia is very helpful in this fight thanks to her Potions and Phoenix 
Downs.  If two or more of your characters ever die and one of them is Amalia 
then bring her back to life first so she can resurrect the others.  Bushfire is 
the only major attack that you have to watch out for in this battle because of 
the heavy damage and possible status effect.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A few cutscenes will take place after the battle then your party will start in 
the Nalbina Dungeons.

                         ____  __________ ______
  /\      /\             \   \/   /__  __|__  __|               /\      /\
 /  \    /  \             \      /  |  |   |  |                /  \    /  \
|    |  |    | Part III - A Loyal Knight Branded as a Traitor |    |  |    |
 \  /    \  /             /      \ _|  |_ _|  |_               \  /    \  /
  \/      \/             /___/\___\______|______|               \/      \/

[WT03]

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              Nalbina Dungeons                     | [PIII1] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Stockade ~~

Check around the area for a few chests containing Knots of Rust.  Use the save 
crystal at the north end then walk through the opening near it.

~~ Arena ~~

The cutscene that plays will give way to another boss fight.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lv. 6 / Galeedo / HP 158 / Weak: Fire
Lv. 7 / Gwitch  / HP 142 / Weak: Fire
Lv. 8 / Daguzo  / HP 232 / Weak: Fire / Status: Protect

Steal: 5 gil (Galeedo), Potion (Gwitch), 200 gil (Daguzo)
LP: 2 LP from each

You'll be barehanded for this fight, but you still have access to your 
technicks and magicks.  Only Balthier and Vaan will be in your control for the 
fight.  All three of the Seeqs are weak so it really doesn't matter which one 
you go after first.  Daguzo has Protect on him but it doesn't do him much good. 
Cast Fire on any of them to speed up the battle and likely kill them with one 
hit, otherwise, attack until they are defeated.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~~ The Confiscatory ~~

Walk toward the save crystal. A cutscene +-----------------------------------+
will play in which Fran will notice the  | Do not open any of the chests in  |
party's supplies in the side room.  The  | The Confiscatory if you want the  |
party will recover all lost items and    | Zodiac Spear later in the game.   |
equipment after the cutscene and obtain  |             [SQ01-3]              |
the ++MAP OF THE NALBINA DUNGEONS++.     +-----------------------------------+
Save your game then continue to the 
east.

~~ The Black Watch ~~

Imperial Hoplite   / Weak: N/A
Imperial Magus     / Weak: N/A
Imperial Marksman  / Weak: N/A
Imperial Swordsman / Weak: N/A

The cutscene will leave your party on the southwest side of the area.  You can 
sneak around this area and avoid most battle as Balthier suggests in the prior 
cutscene or you can fight all the Imperials.  The bad part about alerting some 
Imperials is that you will cause a whole group of them to surround you at once. 
I would suggest having a Potion gambit on someone through this part since you 
can get overwhelmed at times leading to quick deaths.  Make sure to defeat the 
Imperial Magus's and Imperial Hoplites first since they will only stand back 
and use support magick mixed with Blind or Potions respectively on the other 
Imperials.  The Hoplites are the most aggressive with their constant rams.  
Markmen can also heal others with Potions as well.

It's easy to build up a good chain at this part since all of the enemies are 
considered the same type. Make sure to check for the chests around the area - 
they are rather dark and hard to see while near a wall.  The objective here is 
to head toward the middle portion of the north area.  A cutscene will play once 
you get to the door at that part.  Follow Judge Gabranth and the Imperials down 
the stairs after the cutscene.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                               Barheim Passage                     | [PIII2] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ The Lightworks ~~

Basch will automatically join the    +---------------------------------------+
party as a guest after freeing him.  | Basch's Gambits                       |
Check in the area off to the right   |=======================================|
as you venture down the stairs to    | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack |
find three chests full of gold.  A   | Foe: nearest visible       (>) Attack |
save point will be to the side as    +---------------------------------------+
you continue further down.  The
first thing to do here is to examine the "Timeworn Device" in the middle of the 
room.  A short conversation will commence in which Balthier will mention that 
the fuse is blown.  The object will now be labeled "Power Relay".  Walk down 
the stairs and talk to the merchant, Burrogh.  He will give your party a ++TUBE 
FUSE++.  Go back upstairs and "Install the Tube Fuse" on the "Power Relay".  
The lights will come on and the meter in the upper right hand corner will 
display the charge as 100%.  Press the Gate Switchboard to the left of the 
merchant downstairs to open the gate to the side of him.

The Charge will drop by 30% and the merchant will explain to your party that 
fierce beasts come out in the dark.  Make sure to buy both of his gambits 
before leaving and stock up on any useful armor or magick that you would like. 
You need to have the Blizzard spell for sure.  Try to have about 10 antidotes 
and eyedrops since they will cure status afflictions much quicker than magick. 
About 5 Phoenix Downs wouldn't be a bad idea either.  If a person with a one-
handed weapon can equip a shield then buy at least one.  Sell your current Loot 
if you have any for some extra gil - don't sell the Teleport Stones though.

~~ Op Sector 29 ~~

Destination Quote: Gotta stop those mimics from feeding on the conduits.

Battery Mimic  / Weak: Ice
Flan           / Weak: Fire
Mimic          / Weak: Ice
Skull Defender / Weak: Light
Specter        / Weak: Light
Steeling       / Weak: Earth
Suriander      / Weak: Ice
Tiny Mimic     / Weak: Wind
Zombie         / Weak: Light

The Mimics up ahead will drain the power supply from the power cord to the 
side.  You must stop them from draining all the power or you will have to deal 
with plenty of undead fiends as the lights go out.  Remember that a mimic is 
weak against ice, so use the Blizzard spell to heavily damage him.  If all your 
controllable party members have Blizzard then have everybody cast Blizzard to 
really put the hurt on a mimic.  It will use Discharge quite often to hit all 
of your party members with electrical damage taking around 50 HP per hit.  
While fighting the mimic it will sometimes feed some more off of the conduit 
(Charge) to replenish its HP by 200.

Basch will help out a good bit even while barehanded.  He will do combo attacks 
often.  Any time that you see the power charge dropping in the upper right hand 
portion of the screen then that means there is a mimic up ahead feeding on one 
of the electric cords.  You will sometimes have to stop midfight and deal with 
a mimic up ahead or face the dark fiends.  "Mimic X is feeding on the energy 
conduit" will appear in the upper left hand corner often when entering a new 
area.  Check your map and look for the "!" in places to find the power cords 
that the mimics are feeding off of.

Another mimic will be feeding on the electric cord down the stairs in the next 
room.  Fight through the Tiny Mimics quickly or just rush right past them and 
start using Blizzard on the Battery Mimic.  You'll have a bit of a break until 
you reach the next area.

~~ Great Eastern Passage ~~

One Battery Mimic will start feeding on the cord against the wall as soon as 
you enter the area and the other will run deeper into the tunnel - we'll get 
that one later.  Deal with the Battery Mimic in site first then run into the 
tunnel and find the other one on the west side.  You'll likely see the urn for 
the map of this area below, but you need to go around to get it.  Move down the 
east tunnel.

The next power cord is down the tunnel to the left once the path splits, but a 
Battery Mimic will not show up until you run down the tunnel to the right.  He 
will run right past you and head for the power cord.  Fight through the enemies 
down the tunnel and hunt him down as he feeds off the electricity.  Run back 
out of the tunnel and head down the tunnel that the mimic ran out of.  At the 
intersection, turn around and run down the tunnel to the west to find the urn 
with the ++MAP OF THE BARHEIM PASSAGE++.

Walk deeper into the tunnel to the south and be prepared to hunt down the mimic 
at the far end as you reach some stairs.  There is a cord at the top of the 
stairs and the Battery Mimic will rush down the tunnel up ahead and run over to 
it.  Enter the opening to the west side above the stairs.

~~ Op Sector 36 ~~

Defeat both of the Battery Mimics first as they feed on the power cords 
upstairs and downstairs then leave.  Enter the next area to the south in the 
Great Eastern Passage.

~~ Special Op Sector 3 ~~

A mimic will start to creep toward the power cord at the far end of the tunnel 
so scare him with a Blizzard spell and watch him take off.  The massive gate 
(actually labeled as such) will be blocking the way to the southern end of the 
tunnel.  Go back up the tunnel a little bit and walk into the west section.  
Some Flans will drop down from the entrance so have some Fire spells ready 
because they are severely weak to Fire.

The Flans are basically highly strong against any type of physical attack this 
time.  Have some eyedrops or a Blindna spell ready for their Blind spell.  A 
Battery Mimic will start to feed on the power cord as you walk through the next 
entrance but a Flan will drop in front of the party so Fire him then get to the 
mimic quickly.

~~ Op Sector 37 ~~

A mimic to the side will be feeding on a power cord and another one will creep 
down the stairs and venture toward the cord in the hall below.  Defeat the one 
to the side then fight through the Flans that drop on your way down the stairs 
and into the hall.  Flip the Gate Switchboard up the stairs in the next room to 
open the massive gate that was blocking your way further into the tunnel a few 
moments ago.

On your way back, be sure to heal your party members fully and stay away from 
the Bombs that will by floating around the Special Op Sector 3 west area.  They 
are neutral, but if they get after your party and manage to self-destruct, they 
can nearly take your entire party with them, so do not aggravate them.  They 
will attack if you fight a Flan near them.  If they do self destruct and one of 
your party members survives, go ahead and run past the gate in the south and 
you will find a save crystal - no need to use Phoenix Downs, just turn off the 
gambits via the command menu and run.

~~ North-South Junction ~~

Basch will gain some armor and a sword after the cutscene.  Save your game then 
enter the room to the south for a big battle.

~~ Great Central Passage ~~

The second treasure chest in this area is actually a Mimic.  He will jump up 
and attack if you examine it.  Another Mimic will start to feed on the power 
cord to the left.  All the chests in this area that have a slight blueish glow 
to them are Mimics.  These Mimics will do a new attack known as "Leech" in this 
area in which they will drain a party member of HP to restore their own.

~~ The Zeviah Subterrane ~~

Battery Mimics and Tiny Mimics will be spread out up ahead along with a new 
Suriander enemy, much like the Gigantoad.  Walk up the northeastern path to 
find a sealed gate.  Keep moving further up the path while fighting off 
Skeletons and the feeding Battery Mimic then enter the next area to the east.

~~ Terminus No. 4 Adjunct ~~

Walk down the stairs to find a save point that sort of foreshadows something 
wicked up ahead.

~~ Terminus No. 4 ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 10    | Mimic Queen                                       |
|==============================================================|
| HP: 4073 | Weak: Ice            | Absorb: Thunder            |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Knot of Rust, Rose Corsage, Storm Magicite |
| LP: 5    |                                                   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 9 - 10                                    |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+

Tiny Battery / HP 120 / Weak: Ice

The best way to approach this    +------------------------------------------+
battle is to go straight for     | Recommended Gambits                      |
the Tiny Batteries right at the  |==========================================|
beginning.  There will be four   | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Potion    |
of them and they will all        | Foe: party leader's target (>) Blizzard  |
scatter at the beginning to suck | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack    |
the energy from the power cords  +------------------------------------------+
to the sides.  You will have to 
worry about the charge gauge even during this boss fight.

Set your party members so they will cast Blizzard on whatever enemy that you 
target BUT turn off their gambits at the beginning.  Use the command menu to 
assign each party member a Tiny Battery to cast Blizzard on along with your 
character and they will kill all of them right at the beginning.  Turn back on 
the gambits once all the Tiny Batteries are gone and target the Queen then 
start casting Blizzard on her and your controllable comrades will follow with a 
Blizzard attack totally hammering away at her life gauge.  Basch will help out 
by attacking whichever enemy you target for this battle.  I would recommend 
using Potions instead of Cure spells to save your magic for Blizzard attacks.  
Run around a bunch during this battle with your leader to gain back some MP and 
your allies will run with you.

The Queen will always perform a "Breath of Life" shortly before the "Spawn" of 
a new Tiny Mimic.  Take out any new Tiny Batteries that she spawns by having 
one of your party members cast Blizzard on it as soon as it spawns.  She will 
attack with one of her legs or cast Thunder occasionally.  One of her big 
attacks is the Ground Shaker where she will jump into the air and land on the 
ground causing a tremor that will take off around 80 HP from the entire party. 

On her last 25% of life she will start performing her Shockstorm attack that 
will take off nearly 170 HP from each party member near her.  She will be way 
too busy performing a Breath of Life followed by a Spawn most of the time if 
you take out all the Tiny Batteries however.  If all of your party members can 
cast Blizzard for this battle then she will not stand a chance whatsoever if 
all of her Tiny Batteries are dead and will suffer a very cold and quick death!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                               Dalmasca Estersand                            |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Passage Entrance ~~

Destination Quote: Penelo must be worried sick. Better head back to Rabanastre.

A save crystal is lying to the side as the cutscene ends.  Make your way back 
to Rabanastre to the south.

~~ Sand-swept Naze ~~

o-----------------------------------o
| Available Enemies                 |
|-----------------------------------|
| Alpha Wolf   / Weak: Earth        |
| Cactite      / Weak: Wind         |
| Cactoid      / Weak: Wind         |
| Cockatrice   / Weak: Water        |
| Nekhbet      / Weak: Water (rare) |
| Wild Saurian / Weak: Wind         |
| Wolf         / Weak: Earth        |
o-----------------------------------o

While moving through the sand dunes, if you come upon a cockatrice that takes 
off quite a bit more than the others then you have just run into a rare fiend 
known as the Nekhbet.  He will start to cast Slow on your party once his HP 
starts to drop.  The only way to cure Slow at the moment is with a Remedy.  
Don't fool with the Wild Saurian on the way back - not yet!  Instead of 
treading through all the sand to the south, you could go to South Bank Village 
to the north and teleport to Rabanastre via the orange save crystal.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                 Rabanastre                        | [PIII3] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Destination Quote: Can't wait to show Old Dalan and Penelo...wherever she is.

The party will go there separate ways     +-----------------------------------+
upon entering Rabanastre and Vaan will    | A Viera is now sitting on the     |
mention that he would like to meet with   | railing of the stairs leading up  |
Penelo.  He mentions that she would most  | to the Clan Hall of the Muthru    |
likely be at Migelo's Place.  Talk to the | Bazaar.  She will ask a question  |
moogle, Hurdy, and teleport to the        | each time you approach her in     |
Sandsea, which is right near Migelo's.    | between major events of the main  |
These moogles are now positioned          | story.  It's a good idea to start |
throughout Rabanastre and will provide a  | this side quest now.              |
very fast means of travel via             |             [SQ02-1]              |
teleportation throughout the city.  Vaan  +-----------------------------------+
will meet up with Kytes and will decide 
to meet up with Old Dalan once again.

Head to Old Dalan's Place in the Lowtown area - use the shortcut at the 
Southgate.  Talk to him for a cutscene.  Dalan will hand over the ++SWORD OF 
ORDER++ and ask you to deliver it to a man by the name of Azelas.  Dalan will 
mark the destination on the map.  Run over to the west portion of the North 
Sprawl of Lowton as indicated on the map and talk to Balzac.  When all the 
cutscenes end, Basch will officially join the party.  He has quite a bit of LP 
so spend it wisely.

Destination Quote: Now, if I were a tired, thirsty sky pirate, where would I 
be?

The quote pretty much speaks for itself - go to the Sandsea in Rabanastre to 
find Balthier and Fran.  A cutscene will play on the way to the Sandsea and 
another will trigger once you walk to the second floor of the Sandsea.  
Balthier and Fran will join the party once again and your next destination is 
the Lhusu Mines in Bhujerba.  Meet up with Balthier in the Aerodrome at the 
Westgate when you're ready to leave.  He's in the very back standing next to 
the railing.

I would recommend buying all the Gambits from the Gambit shop in Rabanastre and 
stocking up on magick that you do not have yet.  Eventually all magic will be 
useful, so it's best to get it early.  Stay behind in Rabanstre and perform 
some of the Hunts at the Sandsea.  This is the perfect time to start with the 
hunts since you are able to have a party of three now.  You can also sell all 
the loot that you probably have a lot of by now - especially after the journey 
through Barheim Passage.  All the newer items will be available in Bhujerba 
along with two new magicks.  MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE LIBRA WITH YOU BEFORE 
LEAVING RABANASTRE!  You will not be able to get Libra in Bhujerba and you will 
need it for the Lhusu Mines, unless you want to risk stepping in a trap.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                 Bhujerba                          | [PIII4] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Destination Quote: Time to find that magicite mine... I'm coming, Penelo!

Save your game at the save crystal.  You can't teleport back to Rabanastre at 
the moment even if you have a teleport stone.  Upon leaving the Aerodrome 
Lamont will join your party as a guest after the cutscene that takes place.  
Stop by the Magicks store and pick up Vox if you have the extra 300 gil.  The 
way to the Lhusu Mines is straightforward since all other paths in the city are 
sealed off.

~~ Lhusu Square ~~

A save crystal is nearby and this will be your only save crystal for the Lhusu 
Mines.  Walk down the stairs to trigger a cutscene.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                Lhusu Mines                        | [PIII5] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Shaft Entry ~~

Yet another cutscene will trigger while walking down the stairs.  The Marquis 
in the cutscene is the same Marquis that narrates the journal entries in 
between story sequences of FFXII, just in case you didn't know.

Aerieel        / Weak: Light (rare)
Skeleton       / Weak: Light
Skull Defender / Weak: Light
Slaven         / Weak: Wind
Steeling       / Weak: Earth

Make sure to have a "Self (>) Libra" gambit set to one of your party members so 
you will be able to see traps in the Lhusu Mines.  Traps can possibly kill your 
whole party with one triggering.  Head to the north.  The Steelings throughout 
the Lhusu Mines may carry Teleport Stones, so you can get quite a bit of them 
through stealing and I would advise you to get a few for later, unless you want 
to buy them in the airship
cabins.  One excellent feature    +------------------------------------------+
you will find out about Lamont    | Lamont's Gambits                         |
is that this fine lad comes       |==========================================|
equipped with Potions and         | Ally: HP < 20%             (>) Hi-Potion |
Hi-Potions that he will gladly    | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Potion    |
give out if one of your party     | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack    |
members is running low on health. | Foe: nearest visible       (>) Attack    |
Lamont is one of the best guests  +------------------------------------------+
that you will get in your party
thanks to his generous nature of unlimited Potions and Hi-Potions.  To the 
south, Skeletons, Steelings, and Skull Defenders will be lurking in the 
corridors.  The entrance to the next area is in the southwest end of the 
corridors.  You can use the Gate Switchboard on the raised area (up the steps) 
of the southeast side to raise the gate in the middle.

~~ Oltam Span ~~

Be on the lookout for traps in this area.  The main enemies will pop up in the 
middle of the bridge.  Don't fight an enemy near a trap since your allies may 
wind up walking right into it during a battle - this will happen often if you 
are not careful.

~~ Transitway 1 ~~

Go north.  Walk down the actual tunnel with the railing and not the Skeleton-
filled side tunnel since you will find several traps inside that your party 
might accidentally trigger during battles.

~~ Shunia Twinspan ~~

This is a wonderful area to level up, but it is also a deadly area if you are 
low level.  Many Skeletons and Skull Defenders will pop up from the ground as 
you venture toward the middle.  These fiends are about 3 levels ahead of the 
ones that you have been fighting so you cannot afford to have too many gang up 
at once.  Try not to move too far down the bridge or you will be dealing with 
about five of them at a time.  Stand back while holding the R2 button and let 
them come to you.  You can build up a chain extremely easy in this area since 
all you fight is Skeletons and Skull Defenders!  Building up a chain will cause 
the enemies to drop more items at a time.

~~ Site 2 ~~

Enter the tunnel to the right (east) to continue to your destination.  The 
tunnel to the left has a chest but you must go past a trap that one of your 
allies will likely set off since it's in the middle of the path.  Use cure 
magic and make sure all of your party memebers are fully healed before you step 
into the big cave to the north while going up the stairs on the east side.  A 
cutscene will trigger once you step inside the middle open area.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
| Lv 12    | Ba'Gamnan              |   | Lv 11    | Bwagi                  |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 3983 | Weak: Water            |   | HP: 1593 | Weak: Water            |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Potion, Hi-     |   | Exp: 0   | Steal: 30 gil, Potion  |
| LP: 5    | Potion, Round Shield   |   | LP: 5    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
| Lv 11    | Gijuk                  |   | Lv 11    | Rinok                  |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 1650 | Weak: Water            |   | HP: 1745 | Weak: Water            |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: 30 gil, Potion  |   | Exp: 0   | Steal: 30 gil, Potion  |
| LP: 5    |                        |   | LP: 5    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
|           Recommended Level: Determination and a bunch of items           |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

These four are not meant to be fought.  Your party will start the battle a 
little ways from them as the cutscene ends.  You need to turn off all gambits, 
hold R2, and run all the way back to the beginning of the mines.  If you decide 
to fight them, then you will not have Lamont's help since he has basically said 
"The hell with you!" and has already started running.  Several enemies will pop 
up along the way, but you will need to run right by them.  A cutscene in each 
area will show Lamont just up ahead of your party as you continue to flee.  Be 
sure to keep that R2 button held down while running.

If you decide to fight them, then keep in mind that they can be beaten, though 
not easily.  All you will get is just a cutscene of Ba'Gamnan running away 
after defeating them and no other reward.  They all have Haste cast on them and 
Ba'Gamnan has Protect and Shell.  Sadly, you don't have Dispel yet, so this is 
going to be one hell of a battle.  Everybody except Ba'Gamnan can be blinded 
easily.  You really need to have Protect up at all time on all three party 
members.  Knots of Rust work very well for draining their HP along with a Water 
Mote since they're weak against water.  Have a Potion gambit set up to cure 
your party members quickly.  You will really have to pull out everything for 
this battle, but it can be won depending on how determined you are!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~~ Shaft Entry ~~

By the time this area is reached Ba'Gamnan and his gang will have lost your 
party.  Go ahead and heal since there are still enemies in the area then exit 
the mines through the entrance.  Don't forget to turn your gambits back on 
while going through the tunnels on the way out.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                  Bhujerba                                   |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Lhusu Square ~~

Two cutscenes will play.  Once you run    +-----------------------------------+
toward the save crystal, the game will    | The moogle Pilika has a side      |
prompt you to press the [ ] button with   | quest for your party at this time |
Vaan.  This will make Vaan announce that  | if you have done the "The Cry of  |
he is Captain Basch to all the            | Its Power" Elite Mark Hunt.       |
surrounding citizens.  The notoriety      |             [SQ03-1]              |
gauge in the upper right hand corner will +-----------------------------------+
rise as people turn to look at him in 
shock.  You must run around the town of Bhujerba and press the [ ] button to 
testify to a large group of citizens - look for the people with talk icons 
above their head since these are the only people that will listen.

The notoriety gauge will start to drop if you don't testify to enough people in 
a certain amount of time.  A message will pop up to let you know how many 
people are listening each time you testify.  Some citizen will respond and the 
notoriety gauge will go up even quicker for their type - this is usually the 
people that carry books with them.  Don't testify near a helmeted guard or they 
may stop you and the notoriety gauge will fall.  Once the notoriety bar has 
reached 100% Vaan will be stopped and the cutscenes will pick up again.

Here's an alternate way to raise the notoriety gauge:

There is an area where there are a few people labeled as "Staras Residents" 
outside the Staras Residence.  Walk over to them and inform them (press [ ]), 
then go inside the house and there should be three people inside the house 
(press [ ] again).  Leave the house and go back to the same "residents" again 
and tell them the whole thing over again and then go back into the house and 
repeat.  Your notoriety should rise within three to five minutes.

(thanks to nemesys_syndrome)

~~ The Cloudebourne ~~

There is a bulletin board to the side that should have at least one hunt on it 
by now if you are interested.  This will offer the same hunts that are in the 
Sandsea back in Rabanastre.  Speaking of Rabanstre, you can now go back there 
if you wish.  To continue the story, run over to the area marked on your map 
and speak to the Bhujerban Sainikah in order to talk to the Marquis.  Be sure 
to have the Blind spell with you before talking to the Marquis.

                         ____  __________ ______
  /\      /\             \   \/   /__  __|__  __|               /\      /\
 /  \    /  \             \      /  |  |   |  |                /  \    /  \
|    |  |    |  Part IV - A Princess Who Had Lost Everything  |    |  |    |
 \  /    \  /             /      \ _|  |_ _|  |_               \  /    \  /
  \/      \/             /___/\___\______|______|               \/      \/

[WT04]

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                           Dreadnought Leviathan                    | [PIV1] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Port Launch ~~

Destination Quote: I can't believe she's Princess Ashe.  Better help her out, I 
guess.

Vossler will join your party as a guest as the group of cutscenes come to an 
end.  The ++MAP OF LEVIATHAN++ will also be handed over.  A save crystal will 
be nearby as your party starts out in the Leviathan.  Be sure to make a 
separate save file since you cannot leave the Leviathan for any extra gear.  
Vossler is another really good guest to have in your party.  He is a total 
powerhouse and will help you greatly for the battles ahead.

~~ Port Section ~~

Imperial Gunner    / Weak: N/A
Imperial Hoplite   / Weak: N/A
Imperial Marksman  / Weak: N/A
Imperial Magus     / Weak: N/A
Imperial Swordsman / Weak: N/A
Mastiff            / Weak: N/A

Vossler will warn your     +-----------------------------------------------+
party of the security      | Vossler's Gambits                             |
lasers found around the    |===============================================|
Dreadnought.  Anytime they | Foe: flying                (>) Telekinesis    |
are touched, an alarm will | Self: status = HP critical (>) Special Attack |
go off and Imperial guards | Foe: nearest visible       (>) Attack         |
will attack.  Move through +-----------------------------------------------+
the middle path up ahead
and make a right.  Turn left to find a patrolling Imperial.  These Imperials 
that are found throughout the Dreadnought will provide some gil at times after 
being defeated and you should try to steal from them to boost your Potion 
supply.

Enter the open area up ahead and you will notice a chest in a dead end hall.  
If you try to open the chest security lasers will prevent your party from 
leaving and stepping through them will set off an alarm, though a quick gamer 
can make it in and out before the alarms go off, so you may want to try for it. 
The alarm will not call an overwhelming group of Imperials, but be sure to move 
your whole party away from a group of lasers so an ally will not constantly 
activate it while fighting.  Work your way toward the middle storage area on 
the map.

~~ Large Freight Stores ~~

There are two ways to get to the destination in the middle of the Dreadnought. 
There is the long way to the second floor to the west that will provide an 
easier journey since it's fairly straightforward with fewer Imperials, or the 
short way downstairs to the north where many Imperials will lie in ambush and 
security lasers will literally force your party to step into them.  Going the 
long way will net your party three chests full of gil on the bottom floor of 
this area.  Many Imperials will ambush your party as you go down the stairs to 
the first floor though.  The security stations along the side cannot be used at 
this time.  Enter the door in the middle at the bottom if you want to go the 
short way.  Both ways are described below.

~~ Starboard Section (long way) ~~

Get to the first big room to the north then run down the hall to the left in 
that room and continue to the north past the second big room.  Turn right at 
the dead end in the hall.  Go down the first hall off to the left then make 
another left followed by a right then take the second left.  Security lasers 
will appear along the entrance to the right so take a left and go the long way 
around the corridor to arrive at the entrance at the north middle portion.  
Along the way, there will be a switch off to the side labeled "Bulkhead 
Release".  Activate BULKHEAD RELEASE 1 then run ahead and enter the Sub-control 
Room.

~~ Sub-control Room (long way) ~~

The party will drop in on two Imperial Hoplites, an Imperial Magus, and an 
Imperial Swordsman.  This is as bad as the fights get while coming the long 
way.  Defeat the Magus first as always then concentrate on the others.  Some 
stragglers may be pacing around downstairs.  The security controls cannot be 
activated just yet.  Walk into the dark area downstairs to find two treasure 
chests, though a group of security lasers will catch your party on the way out. 
Look near one of the pillars in the middle of the back wall to find BULKHEAD 
RELEASE 2.  Pressing this switch will open the door in the middle of the room.

~~ Airship Berth Access (long way) ~~

On the way to the south one Imperial will be standing guard.  Do not venture 
off to the left or right hall or you may get caught in a laser sensor.  Enter 
the door to the south to continue to the Central Block.  Skip to the "Central 
Block" area below.

~~ Airship Berth Access (short way) ~~

The door in the middle of the first floor of the storage area will lead your 
party to a corridor with two ways to choose from.  Both ways are just as bad 
and just as deadly if your party is at a low level.  The east path is slightly 
easier since your party will not trigger an alarm along the way.  While moving 
down the corridor of the east side, try to lure some Imperials out of the 
middle area and take them on.

DO NOT stand in the entrance to the middle area for very long since some sensor 
lasers will appear as your party enters the middle room.  Run to the center of 
the middle room to keep your party from stepping into the lasers again and 
again while fighting.  Your party will eventually have to purposely step 
through some security lasers since they will be blocking the hall ahead.  Fight 
off the Imperials that come as your party heads to the door in the middle 
portion of the area or just run to the door immediately to reach the Central 
Block.

If you take the west route, the alarm caused from stepping through the security 
lasers will call all the Imperial guards from the west middle room into the 
hall.  When the middle room is reached there will only be a few stragglers left 
behind, but once again, your party will have to step through some lasers to 
exit the room, calling even more guards.

~~ Central Block ~~

No matter which way is taken, you will arrive at the Central Block and a 
cutscene will trigger after the door is opened.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
| Lv 11    | Judge (A)              |   | Lv 11    | Judge (B)              |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 2245 | Weak: N/A              |   | HP: 2245 | Weak: N/A              |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: 300 gil,        |   | Exp: 0   | Steal: 300 gil,        |
| LP: 7    |        Hi-Potion       |   | LP: 7    |        Hi-Potion       |
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
| Lv 10    | Imperial Swordsman (A) |   | Lv 10    | Imperial Swordsman (B) |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 430  | Weak: N/A              |   | HP: 430  | Weak: N/A              |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 34  | Steal: see Enemy List  |   | Exp: 34  | Steal: see Enemy List  |
| LP: 1    |                        |   | LP: 1    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
| Lv 10    | Imperial Swordsman (C) |   | Lv 9     | Imperial Magus         |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 430  | Weak: N/A              |   | HP: 384  | Weak: N/A              |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 34  | Steal: see Enemy List  |   | Exp: 34  | Steal: See Enemy List  |
| LP: 1    |                        |   | LP: 1    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
|                         Recommended Level: 12 - 14                        |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

This battle can get quite evil   +------------------------------------------+
depending on how you approach    | Recommended Gambits                      |
it.  If you are strong enough,   |==========================================|
you can do as Vossler says and   | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Potion    |
take out the Judges to end the   | Ally: any                  (>) Eye Drops |
battle immediately, but dear     | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack    |
lord, look at the Judges' HP     +------------------------------------------+
gauge compared to the others!
I recommend manually Blinding both of the Judges at the very beginning of the 
battle since their attacks are the most damaging.  Have two characters cast 
blind on both of them.  Blind may miss them a few times, but keep pouring on 
the Blind spell until it blinds both of them!  The Judges have a Tri Attack 
that will take off about 150+ damage, but if they are blinded, they will likely 
miss.

Once both Judges have been blinded get really aggressive and target the Magus 
followed by the Swordsmen and defeat them all quickly.  Have a gambit set to 
cure Blind on any of your allies.  After the Swordsmen and Magus have been 
taken care of, it is all a matter of wearing down the blind Judges.  A blind 
Judge is a severely handicapped Judge - keep that in mind.  You may also want 
to try Disable if you have it, but it will not last that long at all.  Vossler 
will be a godsend for this battle especially if your party is low level.

The ++NO.1 BRIG KEY++ will be handed over after the fight.  Use the Brig Key to 
open the door to Brig No. 1.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~~ Brig No. 1 ~~

Open C-201 to find the ++SYSTEMS ACCESS KEY++ inside of the urn and a blue save 
crystal to the side.  C-203 has two captive moogles inside.  One of them is a 
merchant by the name of Tetran.  He has a few new armors and some new items.  
You don't really need any Alarm Clocks or Handkerchiefs yet, but be sure to buy 
a few once you have the extra gil, especially the Handkerchiefs.

Cell C-202 will trigger a cutscene once it is opened and Ashe will officially 
join your party.  Ashe has tons of LP, so be sure to deck her out with some 
spells, augments, and equipment.  Cell C-204 has nothing inside.  You need to 
prepare for an upcoming boss battle, so be sure to buy all the equipment your 
party needs from the moogle merchant.  Be sure to have the Disable spell as 
well as Blind.  Save your game and leave once you have Ashe.

~~ Central Block ~~

Destination Quote: If we can get to a launch bay, we can escape on an airship.

Walking back into this area will trigger a cutscene.  The alarm will go off and 
continue to go off as your party tries to escape.  For this portion, you need 
to run or fight.  The Imperial guards can really gang up on your party, 
depending on what area you are in.  The goal here is to make it back to the 
Port Launch area in the hope of hijacking an airship.

There is a Security Station in both the Sub-control Room and storage area 
(Large Freight Stores) of the Dreadnought that can be used to reset the alarm 
for 60 seconds after you use the System Access Key on either of them.  There is 
one on the right side of the main controls in the Sub-control Room and two on 
both sides of the first floor in the storage area.  The only bad thing is that 
you have to stop and let go of R2 in order to use either one.

Resetting the alarm will keep guards from chasing you all the around the 
Dreadnought however.  The short way back through the Airship Berth Access is 
recommended since you will be able to get back much quicker and it really 
doesn't matter about avoiding fights anymore since your party is the center of 
attention anyway.

~~ Port Section ~~

Upon leaving the storage area, when you enter the first big room along the way, 
a cutscene will play and Vossler will leave the party then Penelo will join.  
Much like Ashe, Penelo has tons of LP so build her up a bit.  After gaining 
Penelo, your main party will be complete - the leftover space will be for any 
guest that decides to join from now on.

The party will also gain the piece of ++MANUFACTURED NETHICITE++ that was given 
to Penelo by Larsa.  The Manufactured Nethicite can be equipped to reduce the 
damage from all elemental attacks but it will put a permanent Silence on that 
character while it remains equipped.  Continue onward to the Port Launch.  Feel 
free to heal your party members on the way since the Imperial guards will stop 
attacking after the cutscene.

~~ Port Launch ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
| Lv 14    | Judge Ghis             |   | Lv 11    | Imperial Swordsman     |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 4120 | Weak: N/A              |   | HP: 615  | Weak: N/A              |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Potion, Dark    |   | Exp: 95  | Steal: See enemy list  |
| LP: 22   |        Mote, Jackboots |   | LP: 1    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
| Lv 12    | Imperial Swordsman     |   | Lv 12    | Imperial Swordsman     |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 615  | Weak: N/A              |   | HP: 615  | Weak: N/A              |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 95  | Steal: See enemy list  |   | Exp: 95  | Steal: See enemy list  |
| LP: 1    |                        |   | LP: 1    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
|                        Recommended Level: 12 - 15                         |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

There are three Imperial Swordsmen +------------------------------------------+
behind your party and of course    | Recommended Gambits                      |
Judge Ghis up ahead.  Judge Ghis   |==========================================|
will start the battle by casting   | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Potion    |
Protect on himself.  Once Protect  | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack    |
is cast, he will run toward one of | Foe: nearest visible       (>) Attack    |
your party members and start to    +------------------------------------------+
attack.  Judge Ghis can chain his
attacks fairly well at times and each attack will take around 50 HP so be sure 
to have some healing gambits set.  You can severely limit this whole crowd of 
enemies by simply casting Blind on Judge Ghis and by casting Disable on all 
three Imperial Swordsmen.  Slow can also be cast on Judge Ghis.  The Blind and 
Slow spells may miss a few times, but keep drowning him with the same spell and 
it will eventually take effect.

The Swordsmen will not be able to attack and Judge Ghis will not hit your party 
near as much with both spells triggered.  Disable wears off quick so use that 
time to quickly defeat the three Swordsmen then go for Judge Ghis.  He has one 
powerful magic attack that he can still get off even if Blind is cast on him 
however.  His Aero spell will take nearly 150 HP from all party members.  Once 
enough HP has been taken he will use Great Barrier to give himself Shell and 
Protect.

If you have problems with this battle then set a "Self (>) Shell" and "Self (>) 
Protect" gambit on each party member or set it up so one party member will cast 
both spells on another.  You can actually stand outside the door to the Port 
Launch and cast both spells on all party members before going inside to start 
the battle with both of them activated.  Judge Ghis will fall shortly before 
his entire life bar has been drained.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                  Bhujerba                                   |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Aerodrome ~~

Like Vossler suggests, the party needs to meet with Marquis Ondore once again. 
Pull up the map to see that you need to speak with his guards just outside of 
the Aerodrome once again.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                             Dalmasca Westersand                             |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ The Western Divide ~~

Destination Quote: West of the sandsea.  Sounds...far.

There's an orange save crystal nearby and +-----------------------------------+
a merchant to the side.  He has Rose      | At this time, you may return to   |
Corsage's for sale - be sure to pick up   | the Nomad Village in Giza Plains  |
one for each magic user in your party     | for an optional side quest.  Find |
since you will need them later, though    | Masyua and speak with her.        |
not at the moment.  Stock up on some      |             [SQ04-1]              |
Handkerchiefs as well.                    +-----------------------------------+

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                             Ogir-Yensa Sandsea                     | [PIV2] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Platform 1 - East Tanks ~~

Alraune      / Weak: Wind
Pineapple    / Weak: Water
Urutan-Yensa / Weak: Wind

You really need to have a "Self (>) Libra" gambit set up for this area since 
there are plenty of traps lying around.  Climb to the top of the first tank off 
to the south.  Plenty of Alraunes will by walking around on the tops of the 
tanks.  Walk across them to enter the next area.

~~ Platform 1 - Refinery ~~

A cutscene will trigger in the next area and Vossler will once again join your 
party as a guest!  Keep heading to the west and go down the catwalks that lead 
to the desert below.  Urutan-Yensa will be waiting in the desert portion.  
These enemies are not too bad when there are two or less, but they will 
sometimes come at you with Haste on them making then some bad HP chippers, so 
take them out quickly and try not to let them group up on your party too much. 
They also have a deadly attack known as Tri Attack that they will use.  This 
will take off about 150 HP from one person.  It's best to have multiple curing 
gambits set up for this part.

Be sure to climb the tank to the west to find the map for this area.  You will 
find the ++MAP OF THE OGIR-YENSA SANDSEA++ on a broken catwalk.  Run back down 
the catwalk and climb the one in the northwest.  You may notice a bomb off to 
the side of the tank to the west or somewhere else in this area - this is 
another rare enemy that I would not advise messing with.  Bombs in general are 
tough enemies, but this Pineapple bomb with tons of HP so he should definitely 
not be picked on at the moment.  He may not even appear at all.

The path will split up in three different sections once you reach the middle 
tank on the map.  The southwest route will lead your party to an orange save 
crystal and a merchant, the west route will lead your party to a moogle with a 
special side quest offering and a blue save crystal, and the north path will 
lead your party to several chests.  Stay away from the Wyvern that flies around 
next to the catwalks to avoid a tough fight.  If any of your party members are 
ever put to Sleep and you don't have an Alarm Clock then attack that character 
with your weakest ally (Select Attack then press R1 to choose from allies).

~~ Yensa Border Tunnel ~~

This is where you will wind up if you took the southwest route.  Buy a Rose 
Corsage for all of your magic users if you haven't already.  The merchant has 
four new spells as well (Cura, Raise, Sleep, Oil).  Oil will definitely come in 
use later - this is a new status effect that will cause any Fire magic to take 
off more damage.  You need to buy Cura and Raise for sure.  This would be an 
excellent time to teleport back to Rabanastre and perform the first of 
Montblanc's hunts if you haven't started with them yet since you have a fourth 
party member with you.  Vossler will make the hunt much easier than with just 
three party members.  Continue further to the west to enter the next Sandsea.

You need to take the west route in the Platform 1 - Refinery area, or just go 
to the northeast of the Nam Yensa Sandsea and perform the moogle's sidequest 
since you will get a somewhat helpful item.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                             Nam-Yensa Sandsea                      | [PIV3] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ The Sandscale Bank ~~

Destination: We must be about halway across the sandsea.  Gotta keep heading 
west.

This is the area to the west of the Platform 1 - Refinery area.  Save your game 
then approach the Sandsea moogle off to the side.  The Urutan-Yensa will run 
off as your party approaches the moogle.  Have the moogle tell you about the 
situation.  Enter the Nam-Yensa Sandsea and head for the Augur Hill area to 
find this Urutan Eater that the moggle describes.

+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 16    | Urutan Eater                                      |
|==============================================================|
| HP: 8015 | Weak: Wind           | Absorb: Thunder            |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Turtle Shell                               |
| LP: 8    |                                                   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+

The Urutan Eater will ONLY appear if you talked to the Sandsea Moogle at the 
Sanscale Bank area.  This is not really a boss, but he does have quite a bit of 
HP.  The Urutan-Yensa in the area will start to attack him at the beginning.  
Make sure to set a gambit so that your party members attack your leader's 
target then keep attacking the Urutan Eater.  Cast Blind on him at the 
beginning to limit his attack precision.

Hammer away on the Urutan Eater with attacks while he is blinded and the fight 
should go rather smoothly.  He will occasionally cast weak elemental spells, 
but he shouldn't be able to hit your party well with physical attacks if you 
Blind him.  As his HP falls, his armor will get tougher - this is usually the 
case for a turtle-type enemy.  He seems to attack the Urutan-Yensa first, so 
keep them alive while fighting him.

Run back to the Sandscale Bank and talk to the Sandsea moogle once again.  Head 
over to the Platform 2 - Refinery area of the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea.  Run up the 
catwalk to the tanker and a cutscene will play where the Urutan-Yensa will run 
toward the moogle and talk to him.  Head back to the Sandscale Bank for another 
scene.  Talk to the moogle afterward then approach the Rogue Urutan Flower and 
pick the berries to receive some ++EKSIR BERRIES++.

~~ Augur Hill ~~

Axebeak      / Weak: Water
Bagoly       / Weak: Earth
Danbania     / Weak: Thunder
Urutan-Yensa / Weak: Wind
Yensa        / Weak: Wind

The urn with the ++MAP OF THE NAM-YENSA SANDSEA++ is in between two bridges 
near the middle of this area next to where the Yensa Border Tunnel is.  Be sure 
to keep your eye on your HP while fighting Bagolies in this area.  They hit 
multiple times and will try to crowd around one character.  Yensa will pop up 
out of the sandsea a bunch, but they're not really too much of a threat.  Keep 
heading to the west.  Whichever way your party takes, you'll need to climb a 
tower to proceed further to the west.

~~ Demesne of the Sandqueen ~~

Tons of Urutan-Yensa are spread around this area along with an occasional 
Yensa.  Look out for traps!

~~ Trail of Fading Warmth ~~

There is an alternate area through the tunnel to the north of this area with a 
few treasure pickups.  I would advise you to save your game to the west in the 
next map area before going to the north however since there are tons of 
Bogalies and five of them will ambush your party at one part.  Our merchant 
friend will be waiting at the end of this area while on a Chocobo.  He mentions 
that the avion up ahead is said to have a weakness.  Did you get those Eksir 
Berries earlier?  Good!  The merchant now sells Hi-Potions if you have enough 
gil for them.  Make sure that you have the Dark spell before going up ahead.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                            The Tomb of Raithwall                   | [PIV4] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Valley of the Dead ~~

The game will give you the option to save upon entering this area.  The save 
will restore all of your HP, MP, and status just like a save crystal.  There is 
a big fight coming up.  Run toward the tomb up ahead to see what I mean.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 16    | Garuda                                            |
|==============================================================|
| HP: 6754 | Weak: Dark            | Absorb: Light             |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Giant Feather, Gold Needle, White Fang     |
| LP: 11   |                                                   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 15 - 18                                   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+

First of all, Blind him!  This   +------------------------------------------+
boss relies on physical attacks  | Recommended Gambits                      |
a bunch and will attack several  |==========================================|
times in a row, so limit his hit | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Potion    |
ratio with a Blind.  Throw the   | Foe: flying                (>) Blind     |
Eksir Berries at the beginning   | Foe: flying                (>) Dark      |
of this battle to take some      +------------------------------------------+
decent damage with their Dark attack.  Being a light fiend, the Garuda is weak 
against Dark, so set a gambit to cast Dark on him constantly.

You cannot hit him physically without a long range weapon such as a gun or 
without Telekinesis - the attack will always miss with a short range weapon.  
Vossler will stand back and use Telekinesis to put a constant hurt on the 
Garuda.  All you really have to do is blind the Garuda then spam this boss with 
Dark and he will go down quickly.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The "ancient device" at the top of the stairs will "stir" after defeating the 
Garuda and another cutscene will start.  The merchant from before will be 
standing at the bottom of the stairs and there is an orange save crystal at the 
top of the stairs.  Sell the following items to get the Aqua Shot for Balthier 
at the Bazaar: Green Liquid (x3), Water Stone (x4), Yensa Scale (x1).  An Aqua 
Shot will help out quite a bunch later in the Tomb of Raithwall.  Touch the 
ancient device to be teleported inside of Raithwall's Tomb.

~~ Hall of the Destroyer ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You either have to fight or run as the demon wall starts to move toward your 
party after the cutscene.  Hold R2 to escape from it then enter the door to 
your back.  If you fight him and win then you will have the chance to get a 
powerful sword from a chest.

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 16     | Demon Wall                                        |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 22187 | Weak: Holy            | Absorb: N/A               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Gold Needle, Quality Stone, Solid Stone    |
| LP: 30    |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 17 - 20 (with Quickenings)                 |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

Make sure all of your characters +--------------------------------------------+
in your main party, or at least  | Recommended Gambits                        |
two, have a Quickening.  A       |============================================|
Quickening chain is the main key | Ally: any                  (>) Alarm Clock |
to beating this battle.  Before  | Ally: any                  (>) Eye Drops   |
the battle starts, cast Berserk  | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack      |
on Vossler.  Have all three of   +--------------------------------------------+
your party members equipped with 
a Argyle Armlet to avoid the Demon Wall's Blindga spell.  You also need the 
best weapons you can get your hands on for your three main party members.  Have 
your most powerful character equipped with a handaxe.

At the beginning of the battle, perform a Quickening with whatever characters 
you have one available for.  Switch in a magic user after the Quickening and 
cast Berserk on the most powerful member of your party (probably Basch).  DO 
NOT cast Berserk on everyone and remember that a Berserk party member cannot 
perform a Quickening, so don't start a powerful character out with Berserk 
unless he doesn't have a Quickening chain.  Don't have any cure gambits set up 
for this battle.  Manually use a Hi-Potion if you need some curing.  You need 
to have gambits set on a character that is not berserk to cure blind and sleep.

The Demon Wall may use his teleport attack (Telega) to automatically kill one 
of your party members or another attack to zap away all their magic.  Switch in 
another party member immediately when he kills one since you can't bring them 
back to life with the way he kills them.  The Demon Wall may start this battle 
with Haste or Reflect cast on itself.  This is a hard battle, but not 
impossible.  A little luck with the Quickening chains will go a long way!  Use 
some Ethers for a last minute Quickening chain if you must.

** One extremely major aspect that can help your party win this battle is to 
turn the battle speed all the way up.  The Demon Wall and your party will hit 
each other quicker, but the Demon Wall will still move at the same speed 
allowing your party to kill him faster. **

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After the battle, use the ancient device to teleport back outside and SAVE YOUR 
GAME!  The hidden jewel on the wall cannot be manipulated at this time - you 
must destroy the second Demon Wall first.

~~ Hall of the Setinel ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 16     | Demon Wall                                        |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 10332 | Weak: Holy            | Absorb: N/A               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Gold Needle, Quality Stone, Solid Stone    |
| LP: 9     |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 17 - 20                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

A cutscene will play and another Demon Wall will attack in the next area.  This 
wall is not near as bad as the last one - he's lower leveled and less 
aggressive.  You can touch the braziers (torches) on the side to possibly slow 
the wall down (if the torch goes out) or speed it up (if the flame turns blue). 
The effect is random.  Run toward the Demon Wall at the beginning of the battle 
and attack it constantly like with the first Demon Wall.  Berserk your most 
powerful characters and only cure when necessary.  Have the Argyle Armlet 
equipped for everybody to stop his Blindga spell.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~~ Royal Passage ~~

A cutscene will trigger upon entering the new area.  Run down the stairs and 
open the urn to get the ++MAP OF THE TOMB OF RAITHWALL++.  The middle Way Stone 
can be used to teleport back to the beginning of this tomb.  I suggest 
teleporting back there and saving your game.  Also, you can touch the hidden 
jewel in the wall behind where the first demon wall was at if your party 
defeated him to make stairs form near the two side areas.  The Demon Wall will 
still be in the area ahead and will chase after your party again if you haven't 
defeated him.

~~ Royal Passage (Hidden Area) ~~

Seeker / Weak: Earth
Tallow / Weak: Water

This is back in the area with the first Demon Wall.  Both hidden doors will 
lead your party to the same area after you remove the hidden jewel.  Fight 
through the Seekers and Tallows on your way down the stairs.  Tallows are weak 
to water so spray them with a few Water spells.  Have some handkerchiefs ready 
since their hits will Oil your party members sometimes making them more 
vulnerable to the Tallow's fire spells.

There should be a chest in the middle of the bottom floor.  There is a 50% 
chance that it will contain the Demonsbane Sword; other times it will contain 
gil.  If it doesn't have the Demonsbane Sword, reload your game from the 
outside save point then venture back down here and try to open it again.  
Sometimes the chest will not appear at all.  Reload and try again if don't get 
it.  It's possible to get more than one Demonsbane.  The chest continually 
respawns after moving three zones (areas) away.

~~ Royal Passage (continued) ~~

Lesser Chimera / Weak: Water
Lich           / Weak: Light
Lost Soul      / Weak: Light
Ragohs         / Weak: Wind
Seeker         / Weak: Earth
Skull Warrior  / Weak: Light
Tallow         / Weak: Water
Zombie         / Weak: Light
Zombie Mage    / Weak: Light

Now that everything is saved and all side quests explanations for this area are 
out of the way, you will have a choice of going down two sets of stairs to the 
floor below.  It doesn't matter which way you go right now, but your party will 
eventually have to go both ways.  I'll explain the south path first.

A few Seekers will attack on both sides as your party moves down the stairs.  
It doesn't really matter which door you choose, but the longest way on each 
side will give you some treasure chest.  On the South, pick the door on top, on 
the North, pick the door on the bottom.  Both of these doors will allow your 
party to run across a set of three chests on your way toward the middle.

~~ Southfall Passage ~~

Lesser Chimeras, Lost Souls, Skull Warriors, and Ragohs will be lurking to the 
west.  Douse the Lesser Chimeras with Water and be sure to cast Aero on the 
Ragohs - they tend to cast magic a bunch.  The Lost Souls can be just as deadly 
with their Dark magic.  Use Cura often to heal your party along the way.  The 
halls are pretty straightforward and your destination is in the middle of this 
area.  Touch the green jewel on the Southfall Pedestal once you get in the 
middle room.  This will cause the statue head on the side to lower into the 
floor a bit and 3 Lichs will appear to challenge your party.

The Lichs will Oil your party members then cast Fire magic on everyone.  Make 
sure to have some Handkerchiefs ready and try to take them out as quick as 
possible.  Touch the Way Stone to be teleported back to the area with the three 
Way Stones at the top of the stairs.  You may want to go back outside of the 
tomb and save your game.  Run down the stairs on the other side and open either 
door - the door on the bottom is the long way, but you'll run across three 
chests.

~~ Northfall Passage ~~

This area mainly consists of Zombies, Zombie Mages, and Ragohs.  Touch the red 
jewel on the Northfall pedestal in the middle room to lower the mystic altar to 
the side all the way.  This will lower it in the Southfall section as well.  
Three Zombie mages will rise up from the floor.  This battle is not near as bad 
as the Liches were.

I would advise you to save before going past the altar on whichever side you 
choose.  There is a boss down there and no save point in sight.  You need to 
make sure to have plenty of Handkerchiefs!  Buy them from the merchant outside 
the tomb.  Aqua Shot is a good ammo to have for the upcoming fight as well.  
Remember to use the Way Stone to teleport your party back to the middle of 
whichever passage.  Both passages will lead you to a door.

~~ Cloister of Flame ~~

A cutscene will trigger upon stepping into this area.  Find one of the 
staircases on the side and go down.  There is a treasure chest next to each 
staircase on both sides.  The treasure chest on the north side will contain an 
Elixir ever time!  A red figure will be standing in the middle of the back area 
downstairs.  Approach it and it will attack.

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 20     | Belias                                            |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 15943 | Weak: Water           | Absorb: Fire              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Aries Gem, Ether, High Arcana              |
| LP: 15    |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 17 - 20                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

Belias is very weak against    +---------------------------------------------+
water so set your gambits to   | Recommended Gambits                         |
where your magic users will    |=============================================|
cast Water on him the entire   | Ally: any                  (>) Handkerchief |
battle.  If you have the Aqua  | Foe: party leader's target (>) Water        |
Shot with Balthier then his    | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack       |
gun will take off quite a bit. +---------------------------------------------+
Belias will cast Fire the 
entire battle and will soon cast his big Firaja attack that will hit your whole 
party.  Not only does this attack take off around 250 HP per character, but it 
will also randomly inflicts Oil on your party members.  Have some Handkerchiefs 
set up on the gambit menu to quickly get rid of the Oil status.  An Oiled party 
member in the middle of Firaja is instant death most of the time.

Belias' normal attacks take off about 150 HP, but he will usually stick with 
Fire magick.  You can half the damage from Firaja by casting Shell on each 
party member.  Don't set a curing gambit for this fight.  It is best to 
manually use Cura once he casts his Firaja magick since all of your party 
members will need it then.  Make sure that one character keeps some MP saved up 
for a Cura - don't spend it all on Water, unless you are annihilating him.

A Quickening will help out in this battle, but it is really not needed if you 
can hose him down with some Water magick.  Remember that if he kills a party 
member with Firaja, that member may have Oil inflicted on them as well, so you 
will need to cure that after bringing them back to life with a Phoenix Down or 
Raise.  Check the two treasure chests in this area during the fight or 
afterward.  One of them may contain a Water Mote, which you can throw at 
Belias, or an Elixir.

++BELIAS, THE GIGAS++, will be the first of many Espers that your party will 
gain throughout the game.  To summon an Esper, buy the Esper on the Licence 
board.  Belias will be added to the License board the next time you open it up 
from the main menu.  Only one character can use an Esper and after it is bought 
with that one character it will disappear from the board.  Make sure you give 
the Esper to a character that can support them very well - a person that can 
cure the esper and survive on their own.  Espers will attack according to 
preset gambits much like the guests that occasionally join your party.

It will take one full mist charge to summon Belias, so a character with no 
Quickenings will lose their full MP gauge in summoning him.  If you have more 
than one Quickening then that character will keep one mist charge or two mist 
charges (half of their MP or two thirds of their MP).  Make sure to give Belias 
to one of your characters since he will really be able to help you out along 
the way and in just a few minutes actually.  A few words of advice: Don't give 
Belias to Fran if you want to make the next boss fight easier.  Anybody but her 
would be a good choice - Basch is, arguably, a bad choice, but not completely 
wrong.  The next boss fight is a major spoiler, so don't skip down if this is 
your first time through.  That is all.

A cutscene will play after your party receives Belias.  Open the door after the 
cutscene to continue.

~~ Chamber of First Light ~~

The Way Stone at the bottom of the stairs has not been activated yet.  Run up 
the next set of stairs for another cutscene.  Your party will obtain the ++DAWN 
SHARD++ after the cutscene.  This can actually be equipped to a party member to 
boost their MP magic resist, but in turn it will take all of their MP and keep 
them from gaining any more while it remains equipped.  The Way Stone at the 
bottom of the stairs is now active.  Use it to teleport back to the very 
beginning of the tomb.  Use the other Way Stone to teleport back outside of the 
tomb.  Save your game.

Notice that your party can't teleport away.  The game won't let you.  I would 
advise you to save this file separate from your last because you can't go back 
for supplies at the moment and there is a battle coming that can be quite 
challenging if you don't know the secret to beating it - that is why I'm here 
though.

At the bottom of the steps of the Valley of the Dead, a cutscene will trigger 
that will lead to a whole group of cutscenes and, ultimately, a boss fight!  
Close your eyes right now and don't scroll down if you haven't seen the 
cutscenes yet.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                   Shiva                                     |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
| Lv 20    | Vossler                |   | Lv 18    | Imperial Swordsman     |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 9318 | Weak: N/A              |   | HP: 845  | Weak: N/A              |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Potion, Hi-     |   | Exp: 112 | Steal: See enemy list  |
| LP: 30   | Potion, Black Belt     |   | LP: 1    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
| Lv 18    | Imperial Swordsman     |   | Lv 18    | Imperial Swordsman     |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 845  | Weak: N/A              |   | HP: 845  | Weak: N/A              |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 95  | Steal: See enemy list  |   | Exp: 95  | Steal: See enemy list  |
| LP: 1    |                        |   | LP: 1    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
|                        Recommended Level: 17 - 20                         |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Oh, Vossler, why!?  My favorite guest!  Cast Protect on everybody or at least 
on Basch (if he is in your party) since Vossler likes to go straight after him. 
Vossler will take off a bunch because he can string together a bunch of attacks 
most of the time.  Try to defeat the Swordsmen as quick as you can.  Vossler 
will start with Haste and Protect on himself and will add a Reflect status to 
that at the very beginning of the battle.  He will keep that Reflect shield on 
him the entire battle and will even recast it immediately when it wears off so 
he can't be hit with magick.  Casting Berserk on Basch will really help you out 
in this battle if he is on a high enough level.  Use Hi-Potions to heal 
yourself since Vossler will usually not give you time to cast a cure spell.  He 
likes to pick on one character at a time.

He will do his special Enrage move during his last 35% of life.  This will 
cause him to basically go Berserk.  His attacks will chain up to four times 
usually and he will take off more.  You really need to perform a Quickening 
chain at the end of the battle to put an end to him quickly.  Your party will 
have a very hard time of taking him out while he is Enraged.  It's a good idea 
to save a person with a Quickening the entire battle in your reserve party, 
then switch party members and pull that character out during Vossler's Enrage 
phase and Quicken him.  Please note that Fran will automatically start out in a 
Berserk phase caused from the prior cutscene, so she isn't much use during this 
battle, unless you have built her up extremely well.

Of course all of this can be avoided by simply summoning Belias.  Belias will 
strike through the Swordsmen and Vossler with such means of ownage that the 
battle will be over in less than a minute!  If you are low level, you NEED to 
summon Belias.  Make sure to run from Vossler if he starts to chase after you 
while Belias is summoned and use Potions.  Provide support for Belias or 
yourself (cast Protect) to help out if you have the extra MP.  If Basch is the 
summoner for Belias then keep in mind that Vossler will always attack Basch and 
never Belias.

++ Here's an alternate method for fighting Vossler:

Right at the start cast slow on Vossler.  You get one chance before his reflect 
shield is up and most of the time it will hit.

First, take out the three (3) Imperial Swordsman.  Then, turn off their attack 
gambits.
Second, have your extra two characters set up to heal themselves and you to 
stay alive.
Third, cast reflect on yourself.
Fourth, cast sleep with all three characters on your guy with reflect until 
Vossler is asleep.
Fifth, cast reflect on the other two characters in your party.
Sixth, cast aero on any party member with all three characters to hit Vossler 
with an easy 4500 HP (1500 each character, 500 each reflected attack).

He will go down way before the sleep spell wears off and will never be able to 
chain more than 2 or 3 attacks.  His 'Enrage' move will not even come to pass.  
He'll be dead too fast.

You could possibly do this without even putting him to sleep.  The shear amount 
of life you take away is daunting.  2-3 rounds of aero with each character and 
down he goes.

(thanks to Ryan for the info)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

                           ____  __________ ______
    /\      /\             \   \/   /__  __|__  __|             /\      /\
   /  \    /  \             \      /  |  |   |  |              /  \    /  \
  |    |  |    |    Part V - The Keenest Blade of Them All    |    |  |    |
   \  /    \  /             /      \ _|  |_ _|  |_             \  /    \  /
    \/      \/             /___/\___\______|______|             \/      \/

[WT05]

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                Rabanastre                                   |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Destination Quote: The Garif village should be south of Giza Plains.

Head for Giza Plains to continue the main storyline journey.  The party must go 
south and find Jahara.  Many side quests have now opened so check the Side 
Quest section for them.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                           Giza Plains (The Rain)                    | [PV1] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gigantoad        / Weak: Fire
Hyena            / Weak: Water
Great Tortoise   / Weak: Fire
Ichthon          / Weak: Thunder
Rain Dancer      / Weak: Thunder
Silicon Tortoise / Weak: Fire
Storm Elemental  / Weak: Ice
Wooly Gator      / Weak: Earth

Giza Plains has now entered "The Rain"    +-----------------------------------+
phase, where the plains basically turn    | Need some Wymfire Shot with fire  |
into a whole new area thanks to the lakes | elemental properties?  Want 14000 |
that are now formed throughout it.  There | extra gil?  Want to start a quest |
are plenty of higher-level enemies        | for a secret Esper?  Three new    |
stalking the area now, though you         | side quests are now available.    |
shouldn't have too many problems with     |    [SQ05-1] [SQ06-1] [SQ07-1]     |
them.  Gigantoads and Hyenas will be the  +-----------------------------------+
main enemies now.  There are six small 
withered trees around many of the areas   +-----------------------------------+
of the Giza Plains now that will help you | There is one more side quest that |
get to a new area if you happen to knock  | can be started now but not        |
down all of them.  Approach each of the   | finished. This must be started    |
six trees and attack them to make them    | before long though, or it will be |
float down the river.  They will all meet | unavailable later.                |
at the Gizas South Bank and form a bridge |              [SQ08-1]             |
to an optional area.                      +-----------------------------------+

Here's a list of the tree locations:

Throne Road: Check near the path along the south that leads to the Nomad 
Village.

Nomad Village: In the southeast portion, to the right of the fenced area.

Toam Hills: In the southeast corner.  Some Ichthons should be near it.

Starfall Field: In the northeast corner.  Ichthons will be near this one too.

Gizas North Bank:  To the north, look along the east banks.

Crystal Glade: Directly across from the dark stone.

Once all six withered trees have been knocked down, they will form a bridge 
leading to the area on the east side of the Gizas South Bank.  The tree bridge 
will be on the east side right before you cross the middle bridge heading 
north.  There are no enemies here accept for Lv. 35 Silicon Tortoises.  Check 
the urn in the southeast portion to find a ++FEATHER OF THE FLOCK++.  This will 
be used for a side quest.

Make sure to stay away from any elementals if you see one.  A magic attack near 
them will cause them to get aggressive and they will take off tons with their 
spells.  Keep your distance from them at all times.  Your destination is to the 
south.  When you reach the Starfall Field, take the south path.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                Ozmone Plain                         | [PV2] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Black Chocobo / Weak: Thunder, Water, Light
Mesmenir      / Weak: Ice
Ozmone Hair   / Weak: Fire
Viper         / Weak: Light
Zaghnal       / Weak: Fire
Zu            / Weak: Earth

~~ Field of Fallen Wings ~~

All the enemies around this area look     +-----------------------------------+
fearsome, but they're not that bad.  They | Three optional Espers are now     |
can gang up quickly though, so be ready   | available if your party can best  |
to take them down fast.  Make sure to set | them in battle:                   |
some magick gambits up so that your       | Adrammelech, the Wroth   [SE01-1] |
short-range party members can attack the  | Zalera, the Death Seraph [SE02-1] |
flying Zus.  The Zus have a very deadly   | Cúchulainn, the Impure   [SE03-1] |
Kamikaze attack that they will perform at +-----------------------------------+
times when their HP is almost gone -
these attacks will take nearly 400 HP from an individual.

Also, don't fight too many Zaghnals at one time.  These are much like the 
Werewolf enemies in the Giza Plains in that they can take your party down quick 
with their severe attacks.  You may also notice Vipers seem to pop up from the 
ground when you least expect it all over the Ozmone Plain.  Your destination is 
still to the south.

~~ The Switchback ~~

In the Switchback area, you will likely notice a cave in the middle of the 
area.  This cave actually belongs to a secret Esper.  Don't even try to go in 
that cave yet or you will likely get murdered!  The Esper is around Lv 40 so 
you don't stand a chance at the moment unless you are good at Quickening 
chains.  Head south again.

~~ Haulo Green ~~

A lone Garif will help you fight off monsters in this area.  He's far from 
reliable at helping your party though.  Plenty of Chocobo fiends wander the 
fields.  Run down the path to the west to reach the Jahara.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                        Jahara - Land of the Garif                   | [PV3] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Banks of the Sogoht ~~

An orange save crystal is floating off to the right.  Talk to the Garif warrior 
in front of the bridge.  The Garif that you met out in the Ozmone Plains will 
walk up and allow your party to pass into Jahara.

~~ Lull of the Land ~~

After talking with the Garif, run into the village and talk to High-chief 
Zayula on the hill off to the right.  He will tell you to see the Great Chief, 
but first you need to meet with War-chief Supinelu.  He will hand over a ++JAYA 
STICK++ and ask your party to give it to War-chief Supinelu.

Make sure to visit the item merchant to the left and stock up on supplies.  
Some Smelling Salts are now available that will cure Confuse, so be sure to get 
some since Confuse can be a very deadly status effect depending on your party 
members.

War-chief Supinelu is to the northwest talking with the guards at the bridge.  
Give him the Jaya Stick and choose to meet with the Great-chief.

~~ The Elderknoll ~~

Walk up to the warriors and meet with the Great-chief.  Plenty of cutscenes 
will play and at the end of them Larsa will join the party once again as a 
guest.  High-chief Zayula will give Vaan a ++BOWGUN and ONION BOLTS++ as he 
leaves in the cutscene that follows.  He will also mention that you can ride 
the chocobo to the side for free by talking to the moogle.  Speak to Gurdy (the 
moogle) and she will allow you to ride one for free.  Now the party must travel 
to Mt. Bur-Omisace.

Destination Quote: Mt. Bur-Omisace should be in eastern Kerwon.

You should stock up on the    +-----------------------------------------------+
latest armor and weapons to   | Larsa's Gambits                               |
make this journey a bit       |===============================================|
easier.  Ride a Chocobo out   | Ally: HP Critical          (>) X-Potion       |
into the Ozmone Plains or     | Ally: HP < 40%             (>) Hi-Potion      |
head out on foot.  Your party | Foe: flying                (>) Telekinesis    |
can use Larsa's company as an | Foe: nearest visible       (>) Attack         |
advantage to gain some easy   +-----------------------------------------------+
levels in the Ozmone Plains.

Larsa will still heal your party as he did before, but this time the items will 
be all Hi-Potions unless a party member slips to HP Critical status then he 
will throw an X-Potion to completely restore that ally.  This is the best guest 
in the game and he will spoil you beyond belief.  He'll stay with you for quite 
a while so be sure take advantage of him and level up.  Perform some Hunts with 
Larsa in your party and they will be much easier!

Leave Jahara and head to the north of the first area.  When you reach the 
Switchback, head to the east over to The Greensnake.  There is a shortcut you 
can take in the Haulo Green area that     +-----------------------------------+
will lead your party straight to the      | Want to help some love birds in   |
next destination basically.  You need a   | Rabanastre and get a new bow in   |
chocobo to take this path.  Look along    | the process?  A new side quest    |
the southwest side of the Haulo Green     | has just opened.                  |
area for several chocobo tracks that can  |              [SQ10-1]             |
be found next to some tall grass and      +-----------------------------------+
bushes near the side of the wall.  These paths are only accessible to Chocobos. 
Run through it to get to The Shred area.  Go through the next tall grass area 
to the northwest to emerge in the Field of Light winds area and skip to that 
part below.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                 Ozmone Plain                                |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hybrid Gator / Weak: Water
Red Chocobo  / Weak: Thunder, Water, Light
Wu           / Weak: Wind
Zaghnol      / Weak: Wind

~~ The Greensnake ~~

Much like the Bagolies from earlier in the Nam-Yensa Sandsea, you don't want to 
take on too many Wu's at a time.  Lure some away by running as they rush to 
attack then stop and confront a few when your party runs across a crowd of 
three or more.  With Larsa along, the battles shouldn't be that bad.  Head up 
north to the Field of Light Winds.

~~ Field of Light Winds ~~

Several Zaghnols will be lurking about to the left as your party walks up the 
path.  The path to the east will trigger a cutscene once your party reaches the 
new area.

~~ Sunlit Path ~~

Save your game at the crystal.  To the east lies the Golmore Jungle.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                               Golmore Jungle                        | [PV4] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gargolye      / Weak: Ice
Great Malboro / Weak: Wind
Hellhounds    / Weak: Water
Malboro       / Weak: Wind
Panther       / Weak: Ice
Treant        / Weak: Wind

~~ Path of Chained Light ~~

Panthers will be grouped around the entrance to this area.  They have special 
attacks that will inflict Stone, Silence, and Sleep so have the appropriate 
healing potions or spells handy to counter the effect.  You need to head to the 
northwest.  If you ever run into some blue flaming dog enemies (Lv. 39 
Hellhounds) in the southeast then turn around and run.  These enemies are 
guarding that area for now and will kill off your party members in just a few 
hits - those paths will be explored later in the game.

Update: Belias can be used to defeat Hellhounds for low level part since he 
will absorb their fire attacks.  Basically, they will heal him with each 
attack.

Malboros will be roaming around the middle path along with more Panthers and 
some Gargoyles in the northwest.  While moving along the northwest side, take 
the first right path down the stairs to run across an urn with the ++MAP OF 
GOLMORE JUNGLE++ inside.  Your destination is to the east - once you get the 
map the way will become clear.

~~ The Needlebrake ~~

Stay along the north path here.  Some barriers will prevent your party from 
moving too far south anyway.  A cutscene will trigger when your party reaches 
the barrier along the east side of this area.  Fran will show your party the 
way to the Viera village in the cutscene.  Walk down the path that forms in the 
north portion of this area after the cutscene.  Just as a reminder, you will 
need to walk up to the side of this area and "Speak to the Wood" to reveal a 
pathway after this visiting when your party returns to this area later.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                               Eruyt Village                         | [PV5] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Road of Verdant Praise ~~

Fran will tell Vaan to find Mjrn and bring her back to Fran to speak.  Fran 
will stay behind as your party walks into the village.  An orange save crystal 
is lying to the side and you should take advantage of the moogle merchant to 
the right after the cutscene.  He will now have Float, Decoy, Drain, and 
Curaga.  Get Float and Curaga as soon as you can.  Float will help your party 
to move over traps without setting them off and it is also really, REALLY 
needed for a boss fight much later in the game.  Buy three Black Belt 
accessories and make sure that your three main party members can equip them 
before leaving this village for the next area.

Destination Quote: So, where is this Mjrn?

Run all the way to the northwest of the Spiritwood area and a cutscene will 
trigger as you walk across the bridge in the Fane of the Path area.  There is 
nothing left to do now except leave Eruyt Village.  On the way out of the 
village a cutscene will play.  Return all the way to the Sunlit Path of the 
Ozmone Plain.  A chocobo will be pacing back and forth near the save crystal 
and two Imperials will be lying down to the left.  Talk to the Imperial leaning 
against the wall and give him one of your potions.  Talk to him again after the 
conversation to use his chocobo.

In the Field of Light Winds area of the Ozmone Plain, look to the right as your 
party exits from the Sunlit Path to see several chocobo tracks near some tall 
grass and bushes.  Walk through the area while on the chocobo.  This will take 
your party to The Shred.  The entrance to the Henne Mines is to the southeast. 
A few Imperial bodies will by lying next to the entrance and a cutscene will 
trigger as you try to go inside.  You must dismount (O) the chocobo and go on 
foot into the Mines.  There will always be a Wayward Chocobo outside of the 
mines so your party can go back through the shortcut.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                 Henne Mines                         | [PV6] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jelly       / Weak: Fire
Nightmare   / Weak: Light
Redmaw      / Weak: Earth
Seeker      / Weak: Earth
Thunderbugs / Weak: Ice
Tyranorox   / Weak: Wind

~~ North Entrance ~~

Seekers and Redmaws will be flying about in this entrance area.  Press the Gate 
Switchboard halfway down this area on the left side to open the big gate to the 
south.  You'll likely notice an advisory posted off to the side while moving 
down the tunnel - basically, all the gates in the mines are one of two colors, 
either blue or red, and all gates of the corresponding color will open once a 
switch is pressed and the colored light glows.

~~ Pithead Junction A ~~

You can talk to the wounded Imperial and read the other advisory posted on the 
west wall.  There is another Gate Switchboard to the side, and you need to 
press it in order to open the door leading to the map of this area if you want 
it.

Once the Gate Switchboard is pressed to blue, several Jellies will fall from 
the ceiling above.  Three will drop at first, but more will drop later (I got a 
10 kill combo chain here).  You can either fight them or run.  They will 
provide your party with some very good experience, so I would suggest fighting 
them.  Do not get stuck in between them, or they will tear your party up with 
physical attacks.  Fire magic and fire elemental weapons work well for them - 
even physical attack weapons work pretty good.  They actually have a move where 
they will multiply.  A summoned Belias should be enough to kill them quickly 
also.

If they murder your party, then you most likely need to level up some more 
before going further into the mines.  Try to have your characters around level 
25 for this area and you won't have many problems.  Walk down the tunnel to the 
east after the battle or while running.

~~ Phase 1 Shaft (East End) ~~

A few Seekers and Redmaws will attack on the way down the tunnel then a whole 
crowd will ambush your party at the end.  While they are just bats, they can be 
overwhelming in large numbers so break out Cura if things get ugly.  Grab the 
++MAP OF THE HENNE MINES++ from the urn in the middle area and go back the way 
you came or head west since they both lead back to the Pithead Junction.

~~ Pithead Junction A ~~

The Jellies will still be in the area if your party hasn't killed them yet.  
Press the Gate Switchboard once again to change the color back to red then head 
west through the open path.  No more Jellies will fall if your party defeated 
them all in this area.

~~ Phase 1 Shaft (West End) ~~

Seekers and Redmaws will litter the path ahead.  They will try to ambush your 
party like they did on the east end.  Walk up the stairs and continue to the 
west.

~~ Phase 1 Dig ~~

This area has bunch of extra corridors but the path that leads to the next area 
is down a tunnel to the southeast.  Several more Seekers and Redmaws will be 
lurking about down the mine tunnel along with Nightmares.  Float may help out 
in this area since traps will be set up in the middle of the paths at times - 
you don't want a party member to accidentally trigger one.  There is a tunnel 
off to the west that isn't labeled on the map so be sure to check this area 
thoroughly if you want all of its treasures.

~~ Crossover A ~~

Check the map and you will notice another Junction up ahead to the east.  
Pressing the switch on the wall of that Junction will open the door in the 
north that will lead your party to the next area.  You must enter the Junction 
from the north side.

While moving down the tunnel you'll probably want to head back once you see a 
Tyranorox down the sides of both pathways.  They are not near as bad as Wild 
Saurians since they are much weaker.  Try to get rid of the bat swarming around 
them first so it won't heal it with a Joyous Soundwave move.  Cast Protect if 
your party is low level.  Aero works very well against them thanks to their 
weakness to Wind and you can always blind one of them if they start to get too 
aggressive.  Enter the path to the right at the north end.

~~ Crossover B ~~

The treasure chests in this area are actually Thunderbugs.  Much like the 
Mimics from earlier they are weak to Ice, but physical attacks may work better 
at the moment.  Go around the left side since a red gate seals off the right 
side.  A red gate also seals off the path to the north - that is your 
destination, but we will have to get to the south junction first.  To the east 
several Redmaws and Seekers will be scattered around the tunnel while moving to 
the south.

~~ Pithead Junction B ~~

Alright, we've made it to the final junction.  Now, an overwhelming amount of 
Jellies are going to fall from the ceiling as soon as you press the Gateboard 
Switch.  I would suggest turning off all of your party's gambits before 
pressing the switch so no ally will attack them.  When the switch is pressed, 
hold R2 and run out of the area to the west.  Don't stand and fight - you are 
too close to a save point to die now!

These Jellies will be so numerous that it is hard to get by them if you stand 
and wait for them all to drop and they will take your party down incredibly 
fast while standing in between them.  These things will even murder Belias!  
Press the switch and run, run, run!  Head all the way back to the Crossover B 
tunnel and enter the area to the north where the path was previously blocked.  
Don't forget to turn the party's gambits back on if you turned them off.

~~ Staging Shaft ~~

A cutscene will play upon entering this area.  Be sure to save your game at the 
orange save crystal.  If you didn't heed my warning from earlier then you 
should teleport back to the Eruyt Village and buy some Black Belts to help make 
the upcoming battle easier.  Another advisory is off to the side if you care to 
take a gander.  Enter the area down the tunnel to the north for a big battle.

~~ Ore Separation ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 25     | Tiamat                                            |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 49993 | Weak: Earth           | Absorb: Wind              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Hi-Potion, Ring Wyrm Scale, Leo Gem        |
| LP: 15    |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 24 - 27                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

This battle will be the toughest you have faced so far and may be a little 
overwhelming if your level is low.  Make sure to have Black Belts equipped and 
Tiamat will not be able to Disable most of your party members with Disablaga.  
He will sometimes Disable Larsa, so you need an Esuna gambit set to cure Larsa 
quickly since Larsa will be a huge help for this battle.  Depend on Larsa for a 
lot of your curing, but be sure to set another curing gambit just in case.  
Have a Raise gambit set up to revive any fallen party member since you will 
most likely have a fallen person eventually thanks to Tiamat's sheer 
aggression.  Tiamat will mainly attack physically, but will sometimes cast Aero 
on the whole party.

It is a good idea to cast Decoy on +------------------------------------------+
your strongest party member and    | Recommended Gambits                      |
give him a shield to boost his     |==========================================|
evasion.  Have a gambit set to     | Ally: any                  (>) Raise     |
cast Decoy on your most powerful   | Ally: HP < 30%             (>) Curaga    |
character since Decoy wears off    | Ally: any                  (>) Esuna     |
rather fast.  Also, it's good to   | Ally: status = Lure        (>) Protect   |
have Protect set up on that        | Ally: powerful character   (>) Lure      |
decoyed character.  Decoy will     | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack    |
keep Tiamat from picking on your   +------------------------------------------+
defenseless party members since he 
tends to attack one at a time until he kills one off.  Have someone equipped 
with a Katana and that person will be able to string together many hits while 
hitting Tiamat.  The best way to attack Tiamat is through the use of physical 
attacks.

When his life is low, Tiamat will start to hit the party with his Breath attack 
that will take off about 500 HP per hit and will randomly inflict Sap on a 
party member.  Cure Sap by casting Regen on the afflicted party member or by 
using Esuna.  You'll have to cast Regen manually since you don't have an "Ally: 
status = Sap" gambit yet.

He will inflict Petrify very rarely on a party member, so have an Esuna (or 
Stona for Petrify) gambit set for both this and Disable (Ally: any).  His 
defense will rise tremendously once his HP is low so try to finish him off with 
a Quickening if at all possible to bring him to a quick death - this way you 
won't have to deal with his Breath attack either.  Don't cast any spells with 
your main attacker and have him start off the Quickening so the other party 
members can hopefully gain a Mist Charge during his Quickening animation.  
Keeping a reserve party member with full MP and a Quickening can help as well.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Destination Quote: Larsa and Ashe both need to get to Bur-Omisace.  Better 
hurry.

After all the cutscenes that follow, your party will gain ++LENTE'S TEAR++.  
This will allow your party to pass beyond the barriers in the Golmore Jungle. 
Some more magicks and accessories are available from Tetran (the moogle 
merchant).  Buy all the upgraded elemental spells (Thundara, Blizzara, and 
Fira) and grab yourself some Golden Amulets (double LP earned).  Grab Haste 
also - oh, how you will need Haste in the upcoming battles!

You also need to get a Rose Corsage for each member of your or at least your 
magick users - teleport back to the Dalmasca Westersand and buy some from the 
merchant there. This is some very important stuff, so go out and steal and 
defeat enemies in the jungle if you must to afford it.  Leave the Eruyt Village 
and go north through the barrier.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                               Golmore Jungle                        | [PV7] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gargolye      / Weak: Ice
Great Malboro / Weak: Wind
Hellhounds    / Weak: Water
Malboro       / Weak: Wind
Panther       / Weak: Ice
Treant        / Weak: Wind

~~ The Parting Glade ~~

Be sure to take advantage of the save crystal since there is another big battle 
up ahead.

~~ Dell of the Dreamer ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 27     | Elder Wyrm                                                    |
|===========================================================================|
| HP: 71692 | Weak: Wind           | Absorb: N/A                            |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Succulent Fruit, Feystone, Emperor Scale               |
| LP: 14    |                                                               |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------+   +------------------------------------+
| Lv 26    | Treant                |   | Lv 25    | Treant                  |
|==================================|   |====================================|
| HP: 4874 | Weak: Wind            |   | HP: 4764 | Weak: Wind              |
|----------------------------------|   |------------------------------------|
| Exp: 120 | Steal: See enemy list |   | Exp: 120 | Steal: See enemy list   |
| LP: 1    |                       |   | LP: 1    |                         |
+----------------------------------+---+------------------------------------+
|                       Recommended Level: 25 - 28                          |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

There is no reason not to start this fight without a bunch of helpful status 
effects cast on all party members.  There is a save point right outside of this 
area so cast Protect, Haste, and Regen on everyone in your party then use the 
Save Crystal to get the MP back.  You can actually save your game with all 
these status effects on each party member so do so then enter the boss area.

This boss will have two Treants with him at the start of the battle.  All 
enemies are weak against Wind so cast some Aero on all of them.  Wait until 
they are grouped together then spam them with Aero.  You can also use a 
Quickening to defeat them both quickly, but you really need to save your magic 
for this battle as much as you can.

Elder Wyrm is a highly status   +---------------------------------------------+
effecting boss.  He will spend  | Recommended Gambits                         |
much of the battle attacking    |=============================================|
and casting status effects such | Ally: any                  (>) Raise        |
as Blind, Silence, Sleep, and   | Ally: any                  (>) Esuna        |
Confuse.  Have Rose Corsages    | Ally: any                  (>) Handkerchief |
equipped so you don't have to   | Ally: status = Slow        (>) Haste        |
worry about curing Silence.  Be | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack       |
sure to have an Esuna gambit    +---------------------------------------------+
set to at least two people to 
counter these status effects.

Elder Wyrm's big attack is a close range attack known as Sporefall.  This 
attack will throw the whole book of status effects on all party members that 
are right next to him - Sap, Silence, Poison, Confuse, Blind, Slow, and Oil!  
Make sure to have someone set up to pass out handkerchiefs for the Oil status. 
Elder Wyrm will perform his special fireball attack that will instantly kill an 
Oiled member of your party if you don't cure the Oil quick or he will take off 
about 600 HP from a non-oiled member.  Have Esuna set up to wipe out the other 
status effects.  Use Haste to counter Slow.

Right when you see the words "Elder Wyrm readies Sporefall" IMMEDIATELY run 
away from him and you might escape the move.  I would highly recommend having 
Charge for this battle since your party will be running out of MP toward the 
end most likely.  At least you can get some MP back to continue giving support 
to your party members.  With the way this battle is set up you should let Larsa 
handle all of the healing this time.  Elder Wyrm has no tricks up his sleeves 
for his last bit of HP so there is really no need for a Quickening at the end 
of this battle unless you want to go out with a bang.

** This boss is actually an optional boss!  He can be avoided by entering the 
Feywood in the south portion of the Golmore Jungle past the barrier.  You'll 
fight some level 35+ enemies on the way.  In The Feywood, Walk of Flitting 
Rifts, take the first exit to the east and go to the Paramina Rift.  From the 
Icebound Flow of the Paramina Rift, go northeast to find the entrance to Mount 
Bur-Omisace.

(thanks to Seph/Sephirosuy for this method of skipping the Elder Wyrm fight)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~~ The Branchway ~~

The usual enemies will be down either path at this portion of the jungle.  Keep 
moving to the east through the Greenswathe to reach the Paramina Rift.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                 Paramina Rift                               |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Fading Vale ~~

Save your game at the save crystal as usual and make your way to the north.  
Mount Bur-Omisace is very close now.

~~ Head of the Silverflow ~~

Dark Skeleton / Weak: Light
Ice Elemental / Weak: Thunder
Lizard        / Weak: Water
Skull Knight  / Weak: Light
Slaven Warder / Weak: Water
White Wolf    / Weak: Thunder
Wild Onion    / Weak: Earth
Yeti          / Weak: Thunder

I would advise you to level up a bit in this area, especially if you have 
problems fighting the enemies.  Walk up the path that leads to the east and 
eventually northeast.

~~ Freezing Gorge ~~

A cutscene will play upon stepping into this area.  Down the path to the east, 
go north to reach Bur-Omisace.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              Mount Bur-Omisace                      | [PV8] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Sand-strewn Pass ~~

The merchants on each of the sides have   +-----------------------------------+
some very good items that you will need   | An optional boss has been lurking |
to get soon.  I would suggest buying the  | in the Dalmasca Westersand ever   |
Thief's Cuffs right now so you can begin  | since you picked up the Dawn      |
stealing more rare and plain out MORE     | Shard. You should be on a good    |
items!  Stock up on new equipment,        | level to challenge him by now.    |
especially Ice Shields.  You will need an | Bring along some Shielded Armors, |
Ice Shield for each character where       | the Decoy spell, and Larsa.       |
you're going, not this moment though.     |             [SQ09-1]              |
Make sure to buy three Nishijin Belts for +-----------------------------------+
your main party and some Light Armor for 
each person as well - you will need all of this along with those Ice Shields 
later on.  So the checklist goes: Ice Shields x 3, Light Armor x 3, Nishijin 
Belt x 3 - the Ice Shields and Nishijin Belts are the most important.

This is also a great time to finish up any side quests or hunts that you think 
you can handle - your guest will not be offering his help to your party for 
that much longer.  Walk to the north on the Temple Approach just up ahead.  A 
cutscene will trigger when your party enters the Temple Grounds.  Your 
destination is the Gate of the Holy Circle temple in the west.  Head up the 
stairs and open the doors.  Approach the Gran Kilteas Anastasis in the back of 
the Hall of Light for a group of cutscenes.

~~ Hall of Light ~~

Destination Quote: We can get the Sword of Kings in the Stilshrine of Miriam.

Larsa will leave the party after the group of cutscenes.  You must now journey 
to the Stilshrine of Miriam.  The actual way to this place is a little tricky 
so I will serve as your guide.  First of all, you need to leave Mount Bur-
Omisace and travel back to the Paramina Rift.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              Paramina Rift                          | [PV9] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You may need to get a little adjusted to battles without Larsa's help.  Set up 
some cure gambits if you don't have any already activated.  Head south into the 
Freezing Gorge and go to the southeast.  Be wary of the Ice Elemental if it 
appears in this area.  Run past him and all the other enemies to keep him from 
getting aggressive - any type of magick aggravates him.

There is a path to the southwest that you need to enter.  It's very easily 
passed so makes sure you check the area well.  You'll reach a hill off to the 
right next to a frozen lake in the middle of the ice - this is the path that 
you want to take.

~~ Path of the Firstfall ~~

At the top of the twisting path there will be a blue save crystal.  Continue to 
the south.

~~ Spine of the Icewyrm ~~

Emperor Aevis / Weak: Thunder
Garud-Egi     / Weak: Dark
Twintania     / Weak: Thunder

The enemies in this area are much harder than the ones you've been facing in 
the other sections of the Paramina Rift.  Have some Thundara gambits set to 
cast Thundara on the Twintanias in this area and some Dark spells set for the 
flying Garuda-Egis along the narrow strip leading to the south.  Watch out for 
the traps while fighting the Garudas - it is actually best to lure them away 
from the narrow strip.

~~ Silverflow's End ~~

Run too fast in this area and your party will be dealing with quite a few Dark 
Skeletons since they like to pop up from the ground in certain areas.  A Yeti 
guards the path leading to the Stilshrine.  Zap him a bit with Thundara and 
continue south.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                           Stilshine of Miriam                      | [PV10] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

No vicious guardians will impede your path, in fact, you'll have an orange save 
crystal waiting when your party enters the Walk of Mind outside the Stilshrine. 
I would suggest that your party members be on about level 30 before stepping 
foot inside since there are some vicious enemies awaiting.  Open the ancient 
door up ahead to begin.

~~ Ward of Measure ~~

Balloon         / Weak: Water
Blood Gigas     / Weak: Wind
Crystalbug      / Weak: N/A
Darkmare        / Weak: Light
Dragon Aevis    / Weak: Ice
Facer           / Weak: Wind
Ghast           / Weak: Light
Ghoul           / Weak: Light
Miriam Facer    / Weak: Wind
Miriam Guardian / Weak: Wind
Redmaw          / Weak: Earth
Zombie          / Weak: Light
Zombie Warrior  / Weak: Light

Redmaws will be flying about freely throughout this area.  The Way Stone in the 
back is inactive for the moment.  Approach the Pedestal of Dawn in the middle 
of the front area.  You need to equip the Dawn Shard to one of your party 
members as an accessory then take control of that character and touch the 
Pedestal of Dawn to teleport to a different area.

I would suggest equipping the Dawn Shard to a party member outside of your main 
party since the equipped character will lose of all of his/her MP while it 
remains equipped.  Please note that you must take control of that character 
(that person must be the party leader) and touch the pedestal.  If you touch 
the pedestal without the Dawn Shard, zombies will attack.

~~ Ward of Velitation ~~

Right off the bat, a Miriam Guardian will attack as your party teleports into 
this area.  You might want to set up some Protect shields while fighting him if 
your party doesn't have Shielded Armor.  The chest to the left is definitely 
worth grabbing even if you have to step through the trap since it will contain 
either an Elixer or a Megalixer.  Use float to avoid the trap if you have it.

Now, for the area ahead, you will find three Dragon Aevis' pacing around in a 
circle.  This area is a little cheap for so early in the game.  They are all 
weak against ice, so you can set up some Blizzara gambits and cast it on them 
repetitively.  I've also gotten through this part by summoning Belias on them, 
and through the use of Quickenings, so whatever floats your boat.

It's a very hard battle, even if you're on their level.  If you run, be 
forewarned that two statue heads (Miriam Facers) will pop out of the wall in 
the area ahead and attempt to block you.  They are not too bad, but be sure to 
have a Protect shield up.

~~ Walk of Torn Illusion ~~

Miriam Facers and Miriam Guardians are sitting and waiting for your party to 
walk by them in this area.  All enemies provide some very good experience so 
hunt them all down!  Equip the Dawn Shard once again to your party leader and 
touch the Pedestal of Dawn at the top of this area to lower the statue heads 
along the side of the room below.

Go back down the stairs and enter the Ward of Velitation again.  Dragon Aevis's 
and the Miriam Facers may have respawned by now, so you either need to make a 
break for the doors down the stairs along either of the sides to the east or 
stand and fight again.  I would run since there is a save point past the side 
doors below either of the stairs... with a catch.

~~ Walk of Revelation ~~

A green save crystal!?  Remember that catch that I mentioned?  Well, the save 
crystal in this room is an actual enemy (Crystalbug) and will attack with 
magick as soon as you examine it.  Stand around it with your party and attack 
it physically until it turns blue.  Bad save crystal!  Use Cura often since the 
Crystalbug's magick will hit all party members.

~~ Ward of the Sword-King ~~

The Blood Gigas' to each of the sides are not as bad as they seem.  They're 
very slow.  Turn left at the intersection since the door on the right is sealed 
for the moment.  Be sure to keep the Cura spell handy as you fight the Darkmare 
since he will take off a good chunk of HP with his Dark spells.

There is a secret room that is not on the map on the right wall as you approach 
the Darkmare.  Run against that wall and a staircase should appear eventually. 
Make sure that you cast Float on all party member BEFORE entering since your 
party will start right in a trap that will inflict Berserk and Confuse on 
everybody - the perfect recipe for instant death.  The stairs will take you to 
the Cold Distance room that has Oilings and a Bomb along with a chest 
containing either a ++DARK MATTER or a ++SHELL SHIELD++.  The trap below the 
chest will inflict Berserk and Confuse as well, so cast Float.

Back in the Ward of the Sword-King, examine the Sword of Judgement to unlock 
the door at the north end.  Open the door down the other corridor to continue. 
Use the Way Stone inside to teleport back to the room at the beginning of the 
shrine.  The door on the west side of the Ward of Measure is now open.  Fight 
off the Miriam Guardians in the Cold Distance area and enter the west path.

~~ Walk of Prescience ~~

This area is filled with Balloons that will easily kill your party members with 
their exposions.  Make sure to have a gambit set for the Raise spell and 
Curaga.  The left and middle path will only lead your party to a fight with 
Balloons and Facers.  Go down the right path.  Try to stick with physical 
attacks for the Balloons since magick attacks will only make them explode 
faster.

At the end, you will find a Stone Brave statue surrounded by Facers and Zombie 
Warriors.  Defeat the enemies then examine the statue.

** Rotate the statue so that it faces to the east.

Check your map to confirm its direction.  There are altogether three of these 
statues and they must all face each other - the middle.  Run down the stairs to 
the south and enter the next area.

~~ Walk of Reason ~~

The rooms ahead will contain a bunch of Zombies and Ghouls.  Watch your party 
HP and the traps.  Turn right after opening the second door and there will be 
some treasure chests at the end of the path.  Your party will fight tons of 
Zombie Warriors, Ghasts, and Ghouls along the way.  Head back and go up the 
stairs.  It is best to turn right and go up the next staircase since the other 
path is just basically a longer way around with more Balloon fights.

Turn to the left after going up the stairs to find two more treasure chests 
along the back railings.  You'll have to fight some Facers and Balloons to get 
to them.  The other path will lead your party to the next Stone Brave statue.

** Turn the statue so that it faces to the north.

Run over to the right path and head north.  This will lead you to the east path 
with the last statue.  Check around the area for treasure chests while 
defeating the Balloons and Facers.

~~ Cold Distance ~~

Go through the door in the north and head back to the orange save crystal 
outside of the shrine before you open the door in the east section.  That door 
will lead you to a boss fight.

~~ Ward of Steel ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 27     | Vinuskar                                          |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 15138 | Weak: N/A             | Absorb: N/A               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Knot of Rust, Damascus Steel, Thief's      |
| LP: 19    |        Cuffs                                      |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 27 - 30                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

A magnetic field will be laid over  +-----------------------------------------+
your entire party and anyone        | Recommended Gambits                     |
equipped with a heavy armor will    |=========================================|
act as if they have been hit with a | Ally: any                  (>) Esuna    |
Slow spell.  For this battle, you   | Ally: status = Slow        (>) Haste    |
need to equip only light armor to   | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaga   |
all members of your party.  He will | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack   |
cast Break to pertrify party        +-----------------------------------------+
members along with a rare Slow and 
Confuse spell.

The boss looks ferocious, but looks are extremely deceiving for this battle.  
The only attack that you will really have to watch out for is his Sword Dance, 
which takes off around 500 HP for all characters.  Use Cura after his Sword 
Dance move.

Your party will take this boss out in a matter of seconds with normal attacks 
if you equip light armor!  He is very slow so your party can get in about two 
turns before he makes a move.  I literally had to turn off all party gambits to 
see his attacks in order to recommend gambits to you readers - my party owned 
him that well.  Try casting Haste on all your party members to see if you can 
beat him in less than a minute!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Open the door after the battle and you will find the urn for this area with the 
++MAP OF THE STILSHRINE OF MIRIAM++.

** Rotate the Stone Brave statue so that it faces to the west.

"The Colossus has undergone some change" should flash across the screen since 
all three statues have been placed in the correct position.  Go back the way 
you came and a cutscene will show the statue in the middle as it lifts up its 
gigantic sword revealing a path behind it.

Open the door to the north and save your game outside the shrine or you can 
save at the blue save crystal after using the Way Stone.  Use the Way Stone in 
the middle to teleport to the area below the statue then take the path to the 
left in the room ahead.  Fight through the Blood Gigas and Darkmare once again 
then enter the area past the statue's lifted sword.  Open the door for another 
boss battle.

~~ Hall of Worth ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 30     | Mateus                                             |
|================================================================|
| HP: 34259 | Weak: Thunder             | Absorb: Ice            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Ether, Pisces Gem, High Arcana              |
| LP: 27    |                                                    |
|-----------+----------------------------------------+-----------|
|- - - - - -| Lv 26    | Ice Azer (x5)               |- - - - - -|
|- - - - - -|========================================|- - - - - -|
|- - - - - -| HP: 2708 | Weak: Thunder | Absorb: Ice |- - - - - -|
|- - - - - -|----------------------------------------|- - - - - -|
|- - - - - -| Exp: 558 | Steal: Ice Magicite, Ice    |- - - - - -|
|- - - - - -| LP: 1    |        Crystal, Feystone    |- - - - - -|
|-----------+----------------------------------------+-----------|
|                 Recommended Level: 29 - 32                     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

This battle will really challenge   +-----------------------------------------+
you compared to the last boss       | Recommended Gambits                     |
battle you just had mainly because  |=========================================|
of the sheer aggression that your   | Ally: any                  (>) Raise    |
party will have to put up with at   | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaga   |
the beginning.  Mateus will start   | Self                       (>) Shell    |
the battle by casting Reflect on    | Ally: status = Slow        (>) Haste    |
himself and summoning five Ice      | Foe: party leader's target (>) Thundara |
Azers.  First of all, make sure     | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack   |
that everybody in your party is     +-----------------------------------------+
equipped with a Nishijin Belt to 
avoid the Ice Azers' Sleep spell.  The Ice Azers will be constantly casting 
Sleep and Blizzard.  Blizzard isn't that bad at all when one Ice Azer hits a 
party member with it, but the problem here is that all five Ice Azers will pick 
one party member from the whole group to cast five Blizzards on.  Mateus will 
be hitting your party members physically while his minions cast magic.  Equip 
Ice Shields to all characters to half the damage of the Ice magic.

The main problem with this battle is that, unless you use a Quickening on the 
Ice Azers, your party members will have to suffer some damage most likely in 
order to dish out some damage on the Ice Azers.  Every enemy is weak against 
Thunder, but Mateus has a reflect shield on himself, so if you cast a Thundara 
spell that hits an Ice Azer, you will more than likely hit Mateus 
unintentionally and get Thundara reflected back on that caster.  The good news 
is that the Thundara spell will take much more off an Ice Azer then it will 
when reflected back on a party member.

Make sure NOT to target Mateus however, or the reflected Thundara spell will 
take off heavy damage from the caster!  Belias is powerless against the Ice 
Azers.  Either use Quickenings or use Thundara to get rid of the Ice Azers.  I 
would recommend using Thundara. Set two of your party members with the gambit 
"Foe: party leader's target (>) Thundara" and manually cast Thundara on the Ice 
Azers.  This will kill all of the Ice Azers within a few castings, but make 
sure to turn off the Thundara gambit when you go to challenge Mateus alone.

Another way to approach this battle from the beginning is to equip an Ice 
Shield to one ally and cast Decoy and Shell on that character.  The Ice Azers 
will all target the Decoyed character along with Mateus.  Cast Thundara on the 
Ice Azers while they attack the Decoy.  You could also equip the Decoyed 
character with the Dawn Shard to boost his magic defense, but that will take 
all that character's MP - your choice.  There's no need to leave the Decoy 
gambit on while Mateus fights alone.

UPDATE: Physical attacks will work on the Ice Azers, but you must equip non-
elemental weapons.  This can really help out for when an Ice Azer only has just 
a bit of life left.

When fighting Mateus alone, use constant physical attacks and set up a Shell on 
each of your party members.  Most of the time he will attack physically and use 
his Flash Freeze attack.  He will cast his Blizzaja spell when his HP reaches 
the halfway mark and will continue to cast it throughout the rest of the battle 
(look for the "Mateus readies Chain Magic" message).  As long as your party has 
up Shell magick or if they have Ice Shields to reduce damage it won't be much 
of a problem.  His Blizzaja attack will sometimes inflict Sap, so be ready to 
heal it with Regen or Esuna.  Be sure to set some healing gambits to heal party 
members and cast Cura manually to heal the whole group when needed.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After the battle, the Esper, ++MATEUS, THE CORRUPT++ will be yours!  Open the 
door and run up the stairs to trigger a cutscene.  Your party will obtain the 
++SWORD OF KINGS++ after the cutscenes.  Leave the Stilshrine and another 
cutscene will play on the outside.  Either use the orange save crystal to 
teleport to Mount Bur-Omisace or go back on foot.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                             Mount Bur-Omisace                      | [PV11] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

No new items are available from the merchants in case you were wondering.  The 
rain in the village serves as a nice foreshadowing of what to expect as you 
walk further up the path.  Be sure to save your game at the Sand-strewn Path. 
Run all the way to the Gate of Holy Circle and open the doors to trigger a 
cutscene.

~~ Hall of Light ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
| Lv 20    | Judge Bergan           |   | Lv 29    | Judge                  |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 17200| Weak: N/A              |   | HP: 3179 | Weak: N/A              |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Hi-Potion, Ruby |   | Exp: 91  | Steal: See enemy list  |
| LP: 19   |        Ring, Ether     |   | LP: 1    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
| Lv 28    | Judge                  |   | Lv 28    | Judge                  |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 3179 | Weak: N/A              |   | HP: 3179 | Weak: N/A              |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 91  | Steal: See enemy list  |   | Exp: 91  | Steal: See enemy list  |
| LP: 1    |                        |   | LP: 1    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
|                        Recommended Level: 30 - 32                         |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The battle will start your party    +-----------------------------------------+
out in the middle of the Hall of    | Recommended Gambits                     |
Light with three Judges behind them |=========================================|
and Judge Bergan all the way in the | Ally: any                  (>) Raise    |
back of the main walkway.  This     | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaga   |
setup should be taken to your       | Ally: any                  (>) Blindna  |
advantage and you should            | Self                       (>) Haste    |
immediately cast Haste on all party | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack   |
members then go after the Judges in +-----------------------------------------+
the back.  All of the Judges will 
try to cut through your party's defenses with their Water Spout attacks.  Fight 
them off as quick as possible while Judge Bergan approaches.  Be sure to have 
some Curaga gambits along with some Raise gambits.

All three Judges can be easily defeated with a Quickening chain as well, but 
keep in mind that you will need some magick while facing Bergan.  At lower 
levels you may want to use Quickenings for the Judges since they can make the 
beginning of the battle a bit overwhelming.  If Judge Bergan joins in and 
starts dealing too much damage attempt to Blind him.  Cast Blind on him with 
all three party members in a row if you have to.  It will always eventually 
hit, but it takes a few tries.

Once the Judges have been defeated, Judge Bergan shouldn't be too much of a 
problem to take on by himself.  His hits will blind at times so a Blindna 
gambit will be helpful for this battle. He will perform his Battle Cry move 
once his HP has been taken down halfway.  This will make him counter a bunch 
and he can sometimes chain together enough hits to totally kill one party 
member at full life while Battle Cry is activated - this is why I recommend 
blinding him early.

I have received a few emails that mention that a party can launch Quickenings 
to defeat Judge Bergan right at the beginning of the battle and end the battle 
then and there.  It just depends on how well you are at performing Quickening 
chains.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A few cutscenes will play after the       +-----------------------------------+
battle then your party will decide on the | A new optional Espers is now      |
next destination.  Onward to Archades!    | available in the Stilshrine of    |
You need to go back to Rabanastre and use | Miriam:                           |
an airship at the Aerodrome to take your  | Zeromus, the Condemner   [SE05-1] |
party to Nalbina.  Walk up and talk to    +-----------------------------------+
the woman behind the desk with the 
"Flights to Nalbina" talk icon over her.  Travel buy Leisure Craft and buy the 
Syphon spell (you'll need this later) and some Teleport Stones from the 
Assistant Storekeeper at the top of the stairs in the Airship.

Talk to the Chief Steward through the door down the stairs in order to exit to 
Nalbina.  There is a side quest you can start buy choosing "Who's 
this...Rande?" from the list of answers after talking with her, but it cannot 
be finished until you make it to Archades.

                           ____  __________ ______
    /\      /\             \   \/   /__  __|__  __|             /\      /\
   /  \    /  \             \      /  |  |   |  |              /  \    /  \
  |    |  |    |        Part VI - A War in the Making         |    |  |    |
   \  /    \  /             /      \ _|  |_ _|  |_             \  /    \  /
    \/      \/             /___/\___\______|______|             \/      \/
[WT06]

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              Nalbina Fortress                      | [PVI1] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Destination Quote: Need to head north of Nalbina, through the Mosphoran 
Highwaste and the Salikawood.

Talk to the Imperial and allow him to escort you in order to enter Nalbina.  
There are some new items available from all merchants.  Buy Dispel from the 
Magick merchant.  You will really need Dispel for the rest of the game mainly 
for bosses!  Vanishga would be another good spell to get.  At the intersection 
outside the city turn right to enter the Mosphoran Highwaste

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                             Mosphoran Highwaste                    | [PVI2] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Clay Golem     / Weak: Wind
Fire Elemental / Weak: Fire
Humbaba        / Weak: Ice
Python         / Weak: Earth
Seeq Cateran   / Weak: Fire
Slaven Wilder  / Weak: Wind
Wary Wolf      / Weak: Earth
Worgen         / Weak: Water

~~ Southern Skirts ~~

Make sure you set up some Curaga gambits along with some Esuna gambits.  The 
Worgens will Screech to Confuse party members sometimes.  They will also rush 
at you with Berserk activated.

~~ Summit Path ~~

The Humbabas here can be difficult when fighting more than one so make sure to 
have an active Protect shield up.  Don't use magic near the Fire Elemental if 
one appears.  Keep heading to the north and you'll eventually reach the 
Babbling Vale area.

~~ Babbling Vale ~~

Take a break and save your game at the orange save crystal or buy a few items 
from the merchant.  He has the 1000 Needles Technick, which could prove useful. 
Be sure to stock up on some Chronos Tears since Stop is a very nasty status 
effect that can only be cured by a Chronos Tear, immunity with a Power Armlet, 
or Dispel.  This single area has many paths leading out, but you want to take 
the northwest path if you want the quickest way to your destination.

~~ Trail of Sky-flung Stone ~~

Beware the Seeq Caterans in this area.  They will run up to your party members 
and throw an item to cause instant Berserk, which could be a good thing or a 
bad thing depending on the individual.  Stay away from the Fire Elemental as 
usual and have some magick gambits set for the flying Vulture so your short 
distance members can hit him.  Beward the Vulture's Kamikaze attack when their 
life is low - defeat them quickly if they ready the attack.

~~ Northern Skirts ~~

Three Humbabas are lurking in the front of this area.  Try to lead one away 
from the others or cast Blizzara on them all from a distance.  Many more flying 
Vultures will be hovering around the end of this area.  Run across the bridge 
in the Halny Crossing to reach the Salikawood.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                The Salikawood                        | PVI3 |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Malboro King / Weak: Light
Pumpkin Head / Weak: Ice
Sprinter     / Weak: Water
Wyrdhard     / Weak: Fire

~~ The Omen-Spur ~~

Don't take the Pumpkin Heads for granted; they take quite a bit of HP per 
attack based on what you would think while just looking at them.  They will use 
Silence and Sleep so have some Esuna gambits set up.

~~ Path of Hours ~~

A blue save crystal is to the side.  Notice the moogles off to the right 
(Forest Bungalow); you'll be coming back to speak with them later.

~~ Truckwall Road ~~

Make a right when the path splits followed by another right to find the map urn 
with the ++MAP OF THE SALIKAWOOD++ inside.  Make sure to set some "Ally: status 
= Slow (>) Haste" gambits up for the Malboros that you will find later and, of 
course, an Esuna gambit along with Curaga.  There is an orange save crystal in 
the Quietened Trace in the northwest along with an optional boss fight.  The 
moogle at the entrance to the path will warn you of the great fiend.  Your 
destination is to the northeast.

~~ Living Chasm ~~

In the far northwest walk up to the Moogle Boss by the gate and speak with him. 
It seems he needs to get his moogle workers back to complete the gate so access 
to the Phon Coast can be granted and that just so happens to be where your 
party's headed.  A moogle counter will appear on the right hand side of the 
screen letting you know how many moogles need to be found.  Open your map to 
find several exclamation points highlited on your map - these are the locations 
of the moogle in the bungalows throughout the Salikawood.  Go to each of those 
areas and talk to the moogles to get them to head back to the Moogle Boss.  
This is very straightforward so I'm not going into too much detail.

Trunkwall Road  (middle) - 2 moogles
Garden of Decay (west)   - 4 moogles
Path of Hours   (north)  - 3 moogles

The last set of moogles will give you an option to follow them to the gate.  
The gate will open up and your party will be free to go to the Phon Coast.  Be 
sure to talk to the Boss Moogle along the way to get a free pair of ++QUASIMODO 
BOOTS++.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                Phon Coast                          | [PVI4] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Kaukula Pass ~~

Destination Quote: So this is the Empire.  Archades should be to the northeast.

A cutscene will play upon entering the Phon Coast.  A blue save crystal will be 
off to the right as the cutscene ends.

~~ The Reseta Strand ~~

Archesaur   / Weak: Ice
Bagoly      / Weak: Earth
Iguion      / Weak: Thunder
Mandrogora  / Weak: Fire
Piranha     / Weak: Thunder
Pyrolisk    / Weak: Ice
Silver Lobo / Weak: Earth

Be sure to set some "Foe: flying (>)      +-----------------------------------+
Blizzara" gambits for your short range    | A new optional Espers is now      |
characters.  You need to go southwest.    | available in the Mospharan        |
Stay away from the Piranhas if your party | Highwaste:                        |
is at a low level since they will dish    | Exodus, the Judge-Sal    [SE04-1] |
out some very damaging attacks when their +-----------------------------------+
life gets low.  The Bagoly's and Pyrolisk 
are very aggressive and will actually gang up, so run if you have to.  It 
doesn't really matter which way you take since both of them will eventually 
lead to the Hunter's Camp.

~~ Hunter's Camp ~~

A cutscene will play upon walking into the camp...a most interesting cutscene. 
There is an orange save crystal in the middle of the camp and plenty of items 
available from the merchant of this area.

~~ The Vaddu Strand ~~

There is really nothing here but chests   +-----------------------------------+
and a whole bunch of them along the beach | Don't open any of the chests on   |
by the east side!  The chests are a trick | the east side of the beach in     |
however, since opening one of them will   | this area or you won't get the    |
guarantee that you will not receive the   | Zodiac Spear!  This is the fourth |
Zodiac Spear in the Necrohol of Nabudis.  | and last set of chests that must  |
This is the last set of chests that you   | not be opened in order to obtain  |
must not open in to get the Zodiac Spear. | the Zodiac Spear.                 |
Don't screw it up now!  Take out your     |             [SQ01-4]              |
anger on loosing so much gil on the       +-----------------------------------+
defenseless little Mandragora.

~~ Caima Hills ~~

There is a Wayward Chocobo in the southwest section of this area that will off 
your party a life if you feed it some Gysahl Greens.  Buy Gysahl Greens from 
any airship ride between cities or from the Clan Provisioner back in Rabanastre 
after your party reaches Rear Guard rank.  Keep heading northeast.  Be careful 
while fighting a group of Bagolies on the way; they will gang up very quickly! 
You'll come upon a blue save crystal in Rava's Pass.  To the north of Rava's 
Pass lies the Tchita Uplands.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                               Tchita Uplands                       | [PVI5] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Bellwyvern       / Weak: Water
Coeurl           / Weak: Ice
Feral Croc       / Weak: Earth
Lizard           / Weak: Water
Malboro Overking / Weak: Light
Serpent          / Weak: Earth

~~ Realm of Elder Dream ~~

There are quite a number of new enemies here and they can easily get mixed into 
a group with the Serpents rise up from the ground.  You may want to equip your 
magick user with a Rose Corsage to stop the Coeurl's silencing.  Head to the 
east.  Any type of building structure will have Malboro Overkings lurking 
around it and they can get extremely numerous at times - combine that with 
their Bad Breath attacks and things can get ugly quickly.

~~ The Chosen Path ~~

To the east of The Skytrail, you will come upon an area with an orange save 
crystal and an Archadian Wayfarer standing next to a fallen Bangaa.  Talk with 
the Wayfarer and he will ask to hire your party to dispose of a group of fiends 
in the Sochen Cave Palace.  He will hand over the bill with a picture he drew 
on it, which is actually very close to what the group of fiends look like - oh, 
how the appearances are so deceiving!  As it says, this will not be listed in 
the Clan Primer, but this hunt must be accepted to advance in the main story!  
Head east to the Fields of Eternity and there you will find the entrance to the 
Sochen Cave Palace.  He will hand over the ++SOUL WARD KEY++ when the 
conversation ends.

This hunt can also be accepted from the boy's father in The Nameless Spring to 
the south.  Even though this isn't an official hunt, there is still a bounty to 
be earned upon defeating the mark.  Now, let see what horrors await in the 
Sochen Cave!  In the northwest of the next area (The Highlands) lies the Fields 
of Eternity.  The cave entrance is in the northwest part of the Fields of 
Eternity.  You'll probably fight or run from tons of more Coeurls and Serpents 
along the way.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              Sochen Cave Palace                    | [PVI6] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Focalor       / Weak: Ice
Gorgimera     / Weak: Water
Iguion        / Weak: Thunder
Imp           / Weak: Ice
Pit Fiend     / Weak: Earth
Striker       / Weak: Wind
Wendigo       / Weak: Ice
Zombie Knight / Weak: Light

~~ Doubt Abandoned ~~

Destination Quote: We'll use the Sochen Cave Palace to sneak into Archades.

A cutscene will play as your party enters the cave.  Make sure that you have a 
"Self (>) Libra" gambit set in here or else your party will might step on some 
of the traps near the beginning.  There are several traps in the area where the 
stalagmites and Zombie Knights are.  Try to lead the Zombie Knights out of that 
area so your party members won't accidentally trigger a trap during the fight, 
or you could always cast Float on everybody during the battle.  The Imps in 
this cave can be very dangerous as well with their damaging group attack that 
they will perform while their HP is low.  In the north, you will find the Gate 
of the Soul Ward where you must use the Soul Ward Key that you got from the 
petitioner earlier.  Let's see what awaits inside shall we?

~~ Hall of Lambent Darkness ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-----------------------------------+---+------------------------------------+
| Lv 37    | Alraune King           |   | Lv 37    | Mandragora Prince       |
|===================================|   |====================================|
| HP: 9069 | Weak: Wind             |   | HP: 9069 | Weak: Fire              |
|-----------------------------------|   |------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Gimble Stalk    |   | Exp: 0   | Steal: Four-leaf Clover |
| LP: 5    |                        |   | LP: 5    |                         |
+-----------------------------------+   +------------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------+   +------------------------------------+
| Lv 37    | Onion Queen            |   | Lv 37    | Pumpkin Star            |
|===================================|   |====================================|
| HP: 9069 | Weak: Earth            |   | HP: 9069 | Weak: Ice               |
|-----------------------------------|   |------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Onion           |   | Exp: 0   | Steal: Jack-o'-Lantern  |
| LP: 5    |                        |   | LP: 5    |                         |
+-----------------------------------+   +------------------------------------+
|                    +-----------------------------------+                   |
|                    | Lv 37    | Topstalk               |                   |
|                    |===================================|                   |
|                    | HP: 9069 | Weak: Water            |                   |
|                    |-----------------------------------|                   |
|                    | Exp: 0   | Steal: Tomato Stalk    |                   |
|                    | LP: 5    |                        |                   |
+--------------------+-----------------------------------+-------------------+
|                         Recommended Level: 36 - 39                         |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Oh, my sweet Nightmare Before       +-----------------------------------------+
Christmas!  So, these little        | Recommended Gambits                     |
Mandragoras are the marks!?  They   |=========================================|
most definetly are, and this is one | Ally: any                  (>) Raise    |
battle where appearances are        | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaga   |
deceiving.  If you try to rush all  | Ally: any                  (>) Remedy   |
of these little munchkins with your | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack   |
whole party then they will bathe    +-----------------------------------------+
your whole group in status effects 
similar to a Bad Breath Malboro attack - there is a slight difference though, 
they will not miss like a Bad Breath!  They will cast Blind, Disable, Slow, 
Poison, Sleep, Sap, and Silence.  If you plan to take them on physically, you 
need to equip some Nishijin Belts to all party members to avoid Sleep.  An 
"Ally: any (>) Remedy" gambit is priceless for this battle if you can avoid 
Sleep through the Nishijin Belts.

Focus on each one's elemental weakness, whether you have a weapon with that 
element or the magick.  They fall fast if you focus on one and pound his 
weakness into the ground.  They can take off quite a chunk of HP with their 
physical attacks while in groups, so have some cure gambits ready.  It is 
possible to Dispel their Haste, but it doesn't really matter that much.  You 
can set up a "Foe: status = Haste (>) Dispel" gambit on your magick users to 
quickly get rid of it.  They have a pattern where they will rush into your 
party to cast status effects and attack then run away and cure themselves, but 
they will always move in a group.

The best way to defeat them is to wait until they are all grouped together then 
chain a Quickening on them.  Stay on one side of the room and wait until they 
run toward you while all grouped.  This will totally pulverize a whole group of 
them and defeat them quickly if you get the bonus attack at the end of the 
Quickening.  Be sure to have each character target a specific Mandragora.  You 
really need to have multiple characters outside of your main party with 
Quickenings to take them all out if you can't chain them that well.  Summoning 
Belias seems to work well if he can get one by himself, but they will soon kill 
him if the whole groups gangs up around him.  Belias will immediately Painflare 
Mandragora Prince because of his weakness to fire.  If you plan on stealing 
from all of them, you will need quite a bit of Remedies.  They are very hard to 
steal from.  I would recommend setting a "Foe: party leader's target (>) Steal" 
gambit for your party members if you are willing to try since it will take 
several attempts most of the time.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Be sure to fully cure your people; you still have another minor battle left up 
ahead.  Open either of the doors to the side after the battle.  They both lead 
the same way.  Go back to the petitioner to receive ++1000 GIL and 3 
REMEDIES++.

~~ The Acolyte's Burden ~~

You'll find a save crystal, well, actually a Crystalbug in the next big room.  
Be careful about keeping your group together since it will use elemental magick 
that will hit everyone in a group.  Defeat the Crystalbug and it will turn into 
an actual blue save crystal.  You can check the dead Bangaa corpse on your way 
through the doors of the next area.

~~ Mirror of the Soul ~~

This cave will soon split into many different paths.  Take the far east path to 
find an urn containing the ++MAP OF THE SOCHEN CAVE PALACE++.  Don't let all 
the Imps and Pit Fiends gang up on you in this cave or they will surely make 
quick work of your party.  It's a good idea to keep some Nishijin Belts on 
since the Pit Fiends like to cast Sleep.  If you take the west set of paths, 
you'll like notice the Pilgrim's Door along the way.  You'll need to solve a 
puzzle in order to open it.  We'll get to that in just a moment.  Use the far 
east path to enter the next area.

~~ Falls of Time ~~

The Strikers are the only aggressive enemies in this area.  Look around and 
you'll notice several waterfalls blocking the paths to the different areas in 
this cave.  Now, about the puzzle in this area, if you look around in this area 
(near the second door from the west), the next area (on the wall), and in the 
previous area (The Pilgrim's Door), you will be able to read an inscription 
that provides hints to the different routes you should take in order to change 
the flow of the waterfalls.

** WATERFALL PUZZLE **

To start things off, you need to go back the way you came by enter the path on 
the southeast side.  I have drawn up some maps with the correct path outlined 
that should be taken in order to stop the waterfalls.

Copy and paste the url into your browser to see the maps.

Waterfall Puzzle Path 1 - http://tinyurl.com/y7rkwy

Waterfall Puzzle Path 2 - http://tinyurl.com/t4xqt

Each time you enter a new area the message "The course of the waterfall seems 
to have changed" should be displayed across the screen to let you know that you 
took the correct path.  The paths that you make do not need to be precise, but 
you MUST enter and exit from the correct pathways when entering the bottom 
(Mirror of the Soul), middle (Falls of Time), and top (Destiny's March) areas. 
You can think of both maps as one long path, but I thought it would be best to 
have two to avoid confusion.  You'll get that previous mentioned message three 
times as you enter the different areas, then on the final time you'll receive a 
message that says "You hear a door open in the distance".  This means the 
middle path in the Falls of Time area is no longer blocked by a waterfall and 
that the Pilgrim's Door is now unlocked.  Walk toward the middle area and open 
the treasure chest on the other side of the small bridge around the stone 
structure for a chance at either an ++ELIXER++ or a ++DARK MATTER++.  There is 
also another chest off to the east that contains either an ++ELIXER++ or a 
++KIKU-ICHIMONJI++ Katana.  To the south, open the first Pilgrim's Door to find 
a chest containing either the ++KOGA BLADE++ or the ++IGA BLADE++ Ninja Swords. 

The only other way to get an Iga Blade is through a drop by Bogey's in the 
Zertinan Caverns, so you may want to save your game after solving the puzzle 
and open the chest until you get that weapon if getting every weapon in the 
game is important to you since none of these chests will respawn.  The Koga 
Blade can be achieved through a side quest.  Keep in mind that the chests are 
random, so if they don't all three appear then reload your game from the 
previous save point (after saving when the puzzle is solved of course).  As 
long as you haven't opened one, then they will appear eventually.

~~ Destiny's March ~~

No matter which way you go to the north you will fight mainly Strikers and 
Wendigos.  The Wendigos will deliver a heavy ice attack to all members of your 
party and the Strikers will do the same with an Earth attack when they are low 
in HP so a manual Cura might save the day after they fall.  Do not fight more 
than two of these enemies at a time; lead some away from the others if you find 
a group greater than two.  Step through the Doors of Time and make your way to 
the central north section.  If you want to avoid most fights take the center 
path.  The door in the far north leads to a big room where you will enounter 
another boss, so I would suggest backtracking and saving if you gained quite a 
few levels and want to make sure you keep them.

~~ Hall of Shadowlight ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-------------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
| Lv 38     | Ahriman                 |   | Lv 37   | Ahriman (Image)         |
|=====================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 62149 | Weak: Light | Abs: Dark |   | HP: 700 | Weak: Light | Abs: Dark |
|-------------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Death Powder,    |   | Exp: 0  | Steal: same as Ahriman  |
| LP: 28    | Maduin Gear, Sky Jewel  |   | LP: 0   |                         |
+-------------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
|                         Recommended Level: 37 - 40                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

This boss isn't really too bad, but +-----------------------------------------+
that's not to say that he can't get | Recommended Gambits                     |
the best of you later into the      |=========================================|
battle.  He will start out by       | Ally: any                  (>) Raise    |
mainly casting Doom and elemental   | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaga   |
magicks on your party.  Have a      | Ally: any                  (>) Poisona  |
gambit set up to throw a Remedy (if | Ally: any                  (>) Esuna    |
you have unlocked Remedy Lore 3 on  | Ally: any                  (>) Remedy   |
the License Board) and it will cure | Foe: HP < 1,000            (>) Bio      |
Doom.  Otherwise, you will have to  | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack   |
let Doom run its course and revive  +-----------------------------------------+
the character after the countdown.
Make sure to have Remedy set up below Poisona and Esuna if you use both of the 
gambits on one character so you won't be curing a simple poison with a Rememdy. 
Speaking of Poison, I would set an extra gambit to cure poison by itself since 
he will inflict your party members with it a bunch - make sure to set it above 
Esuna on the gambit list.  It would be a good idea to have your party members 
equipped with Jackboots for when he starts to cast Immobilizega.  Normal 
attacks should work fine throughout the battle while attacking him, just don't 
equip a weapon that has the element of dark of you will only give him life.  
Keep in mind that you can actually attack him with Cure spells in this fight 
since he is undead.  Have one of your magick users toss Curaga or Potions at 
him to damamge him even more at the beginning of the battle.

He will eventually teleport away from your party and make a separate image of 
himself.  Try to get rid of the image if at all possible since it will act on 
its on just like a separate Ahriman, and just like a separate Ahriman, you can 
also steal from the images!  He can make up to six images so you may be 
fighting up to seven Ahrimans by the end of the battle.  Have a gambit set to 
where a party member will cast Bio on an image and this will likely kill them 
all with one casting.  Since all of their HP is less than 1,000 set up a "Foe: 
HP < 1,000 (>) Bio" gambit to quickly kill them off.  The main annoyance of 
this fight is his use of Confuse (Phantasmal Gaze) toward the end since it 
tends to hit every party member that is close to him.  Make sure to have one 
character equipped with a long distance weapon so they will not be affected by 
the Confuse spell and have them set with an Esuna gambit.  He will also start 
to attack with Maser Eye shortly before falling - this attack will take off 
about 1500 HP per hit.  Try to finish him off with a Quickening when his life 
is down to about 25% HP and you won't have to worry about Maser Eye.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Open the three treasure chests found around the room after the battle then exit 
through the east door.  One of the chests will have an Elixer for sure!

~~ Temptation Eluded ~~

Some programmer has been very dirty!  There is a trap right at your feet as you 
come through the entrance door of this area.  Make sure to have Libra setup 
then carfully move agains the east wall.  There's plenty more traps up the path 
as well.  More Strikers and Imps will be lurking up ahead.  In the big room, 
open the chest to the side for some possible extra gambits then go down the 
tunnel to the west for an extra chest.

~~ Chosen Path ~~

Climb up the hill to find a lift at the top.  Activate the lift with the 
Disused Pedestal.  You'll arrive in the Skybent Chamber after the cutscene.  
Turn around to find a much needed orange save point!  Exit via the door to the 
north to enter Old Archades.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                Old Archades                        | [PVI7] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Alley of Low Whispers ~~

The merchant off to the side has plenty of new accessories.  It would be a good 
idea to buy some Bowline Sashes and Winged Boots.  The Embroidered Tippet will 
double experience so it's a worthy purchase as well.  Make sure to save at 
least 4000 gil.  Cross the bridge to the west.

~~ Alley of Muted Sighs ~~

There's a blue save crystal in the southwest.  Talk to the Imperials in the 
southwest and a conversation will begin with Jules after they refuse to let 
your party through to Archades.  Jules will ask your party to pay him 1500 gil 
in order for him to help out.  You must pay him.  He will ask if you've heard 
any good rumors and will want your party to ask around for the latest gossip 
around town.

There are three ways to do this part, depending on the person you talk to:

a) Talk to the Ex-Broker on the northeast side of the Alley of Low Whispers.  
Return to Jules and talk to him.  Return to the Alley of Low Whispers and talk 
to the Fresh Ardent on the steps in the middle portion on the map.

b) Talk to the Lucky Man speaking with the red Seeq on the west east side of 
the Ally of Muted Sighs - he's at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the 
bridge. Return and talk to Jules.  Talk to Beasley; he sits against the wall 
almost directly across from the red Seeq's back from earlier.

c) Talk to the Shady Seeq in the southeast of the Moogles Eight in the Alley of 
Low Whispers.  Return and talk to Jules.  Talk to the Moogles Eight after 
speaking with Jules.

Whichever group of people you talk to run back and talk to Jules to trigger a 
commotion on the town streets.  Jules will have moved from his current spot and 
will be sitting on the boxes before you get to the blue save crystal when you 
speak to him the final time.  The Imperial guards will rush forth to stop the 
fight and your party will automatically enter Archades during the cutscene that 
follows.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                        The Imperial City of Archades               | [PVI8] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Trant ~~

Destination Quote: Gotta find some way to sneak inside the Drakor Laboratory.

Walk a little way to the west and Balthier will mention he has some business to 
attend to and will leave the party.  Well, he's still actually in the party, 
but you know... Anyway, check around the shops to find plenty of new items, 
equipment, and magicks.  Be sure to get the Aeroga spell!  Also, the item shop 
now stocks X-Potions.

Talk to the Cap Guide in the southwest  +-------------------------------------+
portion of the city.  He will mention   | A new optional Esper is now         |
that only those with 9 chops may ride   | available in the Necrohol of        |
the cab.  Jules will break up the       | Nabudis, but you must first gain    |
conversation and mention that Balthier  | some items before you can fight     |
is waiting in Central.  You must once   | him.  Check out the side quests     |
again pay Jules to find out             | section for the item locations      |
information.  Pay him 2500 gil and he   | [SQ11-2] and the hidden Esper:      |
will tell your party about chops.       | Chaos, Walker of the Wheel [SE06-1] |
Basically, you must walk around town    +-------------------------------------+
and perform good deeds by matching 
townspeople up with other townspeople to help them out.  They will repay you 
with a chop each time you find a matching pair where one helps the other.  Most 
people will be labeled the same next to the talk icon as you approach them.  
You need to talk to them to have them labeled more specifically.  Each time you 
talk to a person they will mention a certain phrase that will be highlighted 
and you will have a choice to memorize the phrase.  After setting a person's 
words to memory, you must seek down a person with a matching phrase and they 
will give you a ++PINEWOOD CHOP++ for helping them.  All matching people can 
always be found in the same district.  You can only memorize one phrase at a 
time and you can override one phrase with another.  Below is a list of everyone 
that can be matched up per district.  There are altogether 28 chops to be 
earned, but remember that you only have to earn 9 chops to use the cab.

Nilbasse

[ ] "Working up a Sweat"       ~ Gentleman Onlooker     --> Eager Crier
[ ] "Words of Encouragement    ~ Senior Reseacher       --> Failed Researcher
[ ] "Wages Halved"             ~ Worried Husband        --> Materialistic Woman
[ ] "A Grand Line of Gamesmen" ~ Athletic Woman         --> Avid Reader
[ ] "The Path to Stardom"      ~ Aspiring Starlet       --> Faded Star
[ ] "Time To Leave             ~ Determined Researcher  --> Ex-Researcher

Rienna

[ ] "A Revolutionary Dish"     ~ Philosopher of Cuisine --> Dangerous Chef
[ ] "A Gambit for the Market"  ~ Lazy Profiteer         --> Reseacher's Wife
[ ] "Out of Ears"              ~ Greenseller            --> Vegetable Seller
[ ] "What She Wants"           ~ Good Brother           --> Waiting Woman
[ ] "The Misfortune Teller "   ~ * Tarot Reader         --> Happy Novelist
[ ] "An Epistle to Love"       ~ Lucky Man              --> Romantic Lady
[ ] "The Aerial Gardens"       ~ Tour Leader            --> Bhujerban Lady

Trant

[ ] "The Boutique"             ~ Boutiquere             --> Moneyed Gentleman
[ ] "A Ticket to the Farce"    ~ Farce-Goer             --> Girl on an Errand
[ ] "The Lutenist"             ~ Music Appreciator      --> Lutenist
[ ] "A History of Empire"      ~ Historian              --> Perceptive Man 
[ ] "The Artisan Architect"    ~ Builder                --> Artistan Architect
[ ] "The Client's Daughter"    ~ Smitten Man            --> Smitten Woman 

Molberry

[ ] "The Mummer"               ~ Reminiscing Lady       --> Family-minded Girl
[ ] "A Trinket From Giza"      ~ Daugher-in-Law         --> Man from Giza
[ ] "The Master of Disguises"  ~ Look-Alike             --> Look-Alike
[ ] "To be a Judge"            ~ Would-be Judge         --> Judge's Wife
[ ] "A Knack for Magick"       ~ Talented Woman         --> Akademician
[ ] "The Eight & Twenty Chops" ~ Ardent Woman           --> Ardent Man
[ ] "The Tutor"                ~ Proud Mother           --> Tutor
[ ] "The Anniversary"          ~ Poor Husband           --> Poor Wife
[ ] "The Traveler"             ~ Avid Traveler          --> Traveling Gentleman

* Talk to the Tarot Reader after the Misfortune Teller chop is earned.  He will 
ask you if you want your fortune told to you.  If you say yes, he will tell you 
how many more good deeds are unfinished in each of the boroughs (e.g. 'I see 4 
in Nilbasse' = there are four more unfinished good deeds/tales left).

(thanks to Shaun for the Tarot Reader info)

To finish up each area quicker, I suggest that you run up to each person and 
talk to them so that their talk icon will show their proper name, then go 
through and match them up.  A total of 28 chops can be gathered from helping 
all the townsfolk in Archades.  Trade all 28 chops into the chopmaster in any 
shop to gain a ++SANDALWOOD CHOP++.  This will allow you to go to the more 
high-class residence of Archades and is needed for a cetain side quest.  Don't 
sweat if you traded in your chops for a Sandalwood Chop and won't to go to 
where Balthier is; a Sandalwood Chop is just as acceptable as 9 chops only you 
just overdid it a little.

Return and talk to the Cab Guide and the cab will take your party to Tsenoble 
after 9 chops are collected.  Balthier will meet Vaan as he steps out of the 
cab.  There's an orange save crystal on the south side (to the left).  Go north 
to activate a cutscene.  Approach the Imperial in the north and he will not let 
you through to Central.  Run back the way you came to trigger a conversation.  
It seems Jules has arranged a destination for when a certain message is given 
to the cab driver.  Talk to the Cab Guide after the conversation and choose 
"You know where to go" and will take your party to the Draklor Laboratory.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                             Draklor Laboratory                     | [PVI9] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ 66th Floor ~~

Start by moving through the west doorway. +-----------------------------------+
The camera will show many Imperials lying | Talk to the Huntmaster back at    |
around the hall ahead as Balthier         | the Phon Coast to participate in  |
comments.  A few of the Imperials can be  | the Hunt Club side quest at this  |
spoken to along the way through the       | time or any time afterward.  This |
building.  The Direct Lift in the middle  | side quest cannot be completed    |
of the building cannot be used so go to   | until later in the game however.  |
the North Lift and use the control panel  |             [SQ16-1]              |
to select 67F.  68F is merely a dead end  +-----------------------------------+
at the moment.

~~ 67th Floor ~~

Your destination is to the northeast.  Enter the C.D.B. room.  Your party will 
gain the ++LAB ACCESS KEY++ that Balthier found along with a ++MAP OF DRAKLOR 
LABORATORIES++ after the cutscene inside.  The minimap in the upper left hand 
corner of the screen will scramble so use the main map (Select) for the time 
being.  Enter Room 6704 East to find a blue save point along with some 
laboratory workers.  This is another one of those areas that you can't leave, 
so a backup save is advisable.  Go ahead and run to Room 6711 East right if you 
want to learn Cid's current location.  He's on the 70th floor.  Enter Room 6703 
East to the left of the 6704 East.  Inside you will find the Bulkhead Controls. 
These controls will open and close the various doors throughout the laboratory 
depending on what color the device is set to.  The control is set to blue right 
now letting you know that the blue doors are all closed.  Press the button to 
change the controls to red and open the blue doors.

Imperial Hoplite   / Weak: N/A
Imperial Pilot     / Weak: N/A
Imperial Swordsman / Weak: N/A
Judge              / Weak: N/A
Mastiff            / Weak: N/A

When your party turns at the west corridor, low and behold, Imperials will rush 
your party from the back of hall.  These Imperials now come at you with status 
enhancements already on them and they will now inflict status effects while 
hitting your party members at times.  The Imperial Swordsman can inflict Slow 
with their physical attacks, so I would suggest activating an "Ally: status = 
Slow (>) Haste" gambit.  They can chain together many more hits than the other 
Imperials that you fought earlier and will block your hits more often.  I would 
suggest equipping the Sledgehammer with its nice Disable status effect to 
handicap the attackers and equip a gun with Silent Shot to shut up the pilots 
that try to Silence your party when they appear later.  Make sure to have a 
Raise gambit ready along with a Cure gambit and DO NOT run down the halls too 
fast or you might be dealing with 7 Imperials at once sometimes!  Use Blindga 
if you run into a large group.  You can either take the North Lift to floor 68 
right now or wander over to the west hall and open the red doors to gain access 
to the additional room to the southwest.  Room 6711 West contains two chests - 
one of them possibly containing a Doom Mace (50% chance; save and reopen if you 
want it).  You'll need to close the red gates once again to get back to the 
elevator.

There is no need to go back to 66F except for a treasure chest in Room 6613 
East.  A whole group of Imperials will run at your party when you move down the 
east hall.  Take the second right and enter Room 6613 East to find the treasure 
chest.

~~ 68th Floor ~~

Your destination is the South Life in the middle southern corridor; you'll have 
to enter that middle room from the west side.  Imperials will swarm your party 
from both sides as you move down the east corridor.  This is the floor where 
the Imperials can overwhelm your party with sheer numbers.  Make sure to take 
them down fast and do not run through the halls too fast or you'll have a whole 
group following you!  Enter Room 6803 East and change the controls to blue.  
Room 6814 East in the northeast is a room of tons of confused Lv 37 Dire Rats, 
so don't enter.

Room 6801 East in the southeast is where you'll find the next Bulkhead 
controls.  Imperials will run out from the room right beside it before you 
enter.  Change the controls to red.  There is nothing in Room 6811 East except 
a few Hecteyes.  Be sure to change the control back to blue.

With controls switched back to blue so that all red doors are open, you can 
ride back down to the 66th Floor and enter the rooms on the west side that were 
previously locked, though you won't find anything inside of them except more 
Bulkhead Controls.

The main room you want to enter is Room 6804 West on the current floor.  Get to 
this by going down the northern corridor over to the west side.  Change the 
controls to red to open the blue doors.  Enter Room 6813 West to find a Judge 
inside.  Make sure to dispel his Bravery if you fight him.  Room 6801 West has 
a damaged Bulkhead console inside so run down the western corridor and enter 
the Room 6811 West in the southwest.  Change the console to blue to opne the 
red doors.  Run toward the southern middle area and use Blindga on the group of 
Judges and Hoplites that will swarm your party from the South Lift area.  Use 
Blindga until at least three of the enemies are blinded.  The Judges can get 
very dangerous with their ice attacks as they get low in life and all enemies 
will sometimes pick on one party member all at once.  It would be a good idea 
to use some area magicks such as Aeroga or Bio that will hit all four at once. 
The South Lift is just up ahead so run and hit the control if things get too 
bad.  You don't want to die now!  The elevator will only go to the 70th floor.

~~ 70th Floor ~~

A cutscene will play upon stepping out of the lift.  Use the blue save crystal 
after the cutscene and walk around the east side of the corridor ahead.  Enter 
Room 7002 East to find a treasure chest containing either a Pheasant Netsuke 
(improves potency of restorative items) or a Hastaga Mote.  Another cutscene 
will play when you reach the middle portion of the stairs.

~~ Energy Transitarium ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-------------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
| Lv 40     | Doctor Cid              |   | Lv 38    | Rook                   |
|=====================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 72989 | Weak: Light | Abs: Dark |   | HP: 9859 | Weak: N/A  | Abs: N/A  |
|-------------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Hi-Potion, Knot  |   | Exp: 261 | Steal: Hi-Potion, Knot |
| LP: 29    |        of Rust, Potion  |   | LP: 5    |        or Rust, Potion |
+-------------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
|                         Recommended Level: 40 - 42                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Set up some gambits to cast Haste   +-----------------------------------------+
on each member of your party since  | Recommended Gambits                     |
there are actually 5 foes for this  |=========================================|
battle.  The four Rooks that hover  | Ally: any                  (>) Raise    |
around Cid will cast Protect,       | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaga   |
Regen, Shell, and Curaga, upon him, | Self                       (>) Haste    |
so you need to get rid of them as   | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack   |
soon as possible.  They will cast   +-----------------------------------------+
Reflect on each other so don't use 
magick attacks on them.  Focus all of your physical attacks on them at the 
beginning of the battle after Haste is cast on everybody.  Don't worry about 
Cid at the moment.  The Rooks only take half damage from elemental attacks so 
use a weapon without any type of element.  When one Rook falls, a small 
cutscene will commence.  Eventually a "Paling" will rise around Doctor Cid and 
he will become immune to physical damage.  You'll just have to wait this out 
and use magick IF the Rooks are gone.  The main hard part about this battle is 
keeping your MP up since the Rooks will sometimes use Syphon on you.  They 
won't take too much MP, but still it's not very welcoming.  If you have three 
Quickenings per character then you shouldn't need to worry about running out of 
MP; if not, you may want to use Charge if you have it.  Don't use Syphon on 
either of the enemies since Cid is immune and Rooks will have up a Reflect 
shield.  You may want to set up a Hi-Potion or X-Potion gambit at the end of 
the battle.  The Rooks are the main bosses of this fight, as you will quickly 
find out when they fall.

When all the Rooks fall, Cid will cast Haste on himself.  Dispel him of all his 
status enhancements immediately and pound on him with your main attackers.  He 
will walk toward the back of the area, totally ignoring your attacks, and will 
unleash his S-27 Tokamak attack that will hit for about 1000 HP per character.  
He only hits party members in front of him though.  Your party members will 
make quick work of him while he is by himself.  You can even Silence him.  The 
battle will stop once 75% of his health bar has been taken.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A new set of cutscenes will begin after the battle as the story continues into 
another chapter.

                           ____  __________ ______
    /\      /\             \   \/   /__  __|__  __|             /\      /\
   /  \    /  \             \      /  |  |   |  |              /  \    /  \
  |    |  |    |      Part VII - Desire for the Nethicite     |    |  |    |
   \  /    \  /             /      \ _|  |_ _|  |_             \  /    \  /
    \/      \/             /___/\___\______|______|             \/      \/
[WT07]

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              Balfonheim Port                      | [PVII1] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Destination Quote: Hmm, Giruvegan... Better start by exploring the Feywood.

Elza, Rikken, and Raz will talk with Vaan +-----------------------------------+
afterwards about the Feywood.  Do not     | A few side quests can now be      |
leave this area without the latest        | finished at this time.  The       |
magicks: Curaja, Blizzaga, Firaga, and    | Cockatrice Quest will reward the  |
Thundaga especially.  Quite a few new     | party with some really good       |
gambits are available as well - buy them  | weapons for their current level   |
and you will almost have all the          | and the Ring of Renewal is good   |
remaining gambits.  Buy some Teleport     | for those that like Regen.        |
Stones from the merchant on the chocobo   |    [SQ12-1] [SQ13-1] [SQ14-1]     |
at the northeast entrance.  There is also |             [SQ17-1]              |
a chest near him with quite a bit of gil  +-----------------------------------+
inside.  Once you're satisfied with your 
equipment go back to the Golmore Jungle and head to the south.  It's quicker to 
teleport to Eruyt Village instead of directly to Golmore Jungle.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                               Golmore Jungle                      | [PVII2] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ The Rustling Chapel ~~

Coeurl     / Weak: Ice
Hellhounds / Weak: Water

The Hellhounds shouldn't be much of a problem now like they were before.  The 
Coeurl are basically on the same level as they were at the Tchita Uplands.  
Keep heading south and eventually you'll find the path that leads to the 
Feywood.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                                The Feywood                        | [PVII3] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Destination Quote: Cross the Mist and head south through the Feywood.  Easier 
said than done.

~~ Walk of Flitting Rifts ~~

Cerberus          / Weak: Water
Deadly Nightshade / Weak: Water
Golem             / Weak: Wind
Mirrorknight      / Weak: Earth
Mu                / Weak: Water
Tartarus          / Weak: Light

There is a trap directly in front of your party as you start - use Float!  
Float may be handy for some other traps in this area as well.  When you get in 
a fight with any of the small fiends, make sure to end the battle quick since 
all you will find in this area are enemies ready to inflict all kinds of status 
effects to screw up your party.  Try to equip something that will avoid Stop, 
Sleep, and Confuse to members of the party.  The Mu's in The Feywood actually 
have a spell that will hit the whole party with Stop.  The west path will lead 
you back to the Paramina Rift.  Go through the southeast path.

~~ Walk of Stolen Truths ~~

The Mist has jammed the small map to the side of the screen for this area.  
Move down the east side of this area to find an urn with the ++MAP OF THE 
FEYWOOD++ inside.  Enter the path to the far south.

~~ Antiquity's End ~~

A blue save crystal will be floating in the north portion of this area. 
Approach the thick Mist to the south for a cutscene.  If you need to level up 
any be sure to run over to the Walk of Dancing Shadow's area to the west and 
defeat some Mirrorknights.  Don't enter the Henne Mines path to the northwest 
unless you want your ass handed to you by some Lv. 64 - 65 Abysteel bats.  
Didn't think so.  Otherwise, continue through the path with the thick mist to 
the south of this area.

~~ Redolent Glade ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-------------------------------------+--+------------------------------------+
| Lv 43     | Rafflesia               |  | Lv 40-41  | Malboro                |
|=====================================|  |====================================|
| HP: 73393 | Weak: Wind | Abs: Earth |  | HP: 4902+ | Weak: Wind             |
|-------------------------------------|  |------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Purtrid Liquid,  |  | Exp: 242+ | Steal: See enemy list  |
| LP: 31    | Screamroot, X-Potion    |  | LP: 1     |                        |
+-------------------------------------+  +------------------------------------+
|                         Recommended Level: 42 - 45                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

There is no reason not to       +---------------------------------------------+
arrive to this battle without   | Recommended Gambits                         |
Haste, Protect, Shell, Regen,   |=============================================|
Reflect, and Bubble (if you     | Ally: any                  (>) Phoenix Down |
have it) cast on the party      | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) X-Potion     |
since there was a save point in | Ally: any                  (>) Remedy       |
the prior area where you could  | Foe: HP < 10000            (>) Attack       |
have gotten your MP back.  A    | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack       |
Mirror Mail will really help    +---------------------------------------------+
out for this battle since it 
will deflect the bad status magick that Rafflesia will throw at you, though not 
the status attacks.  It's good to arrive at this battle with some Nishijin 
Belts and Bowline Sashes equipped to avoid Sleep and Confuse respectively - 
equip them to different members so the whole party doesn't fall victim to one 
status effect.  Don't hold MP back for this battle since at the beginning the 
combat log will inform you that a magick field has fallen over the party and it 
will slowly drain MP.  Right at the beginning, cast Dispel on Rafflesia then 
immediately launch the biggest Quickening chain you can get with your current 
party.  Start with a level 1 Quickening since the field will most likely drain 
enough magick to where you can't get a level 2 starter.  His Nectar Volley will 
inflict Sap, his Toxify will Poison, he will cast Sleep, he will cast 
Disabliga, he will Curse you with Sap, Poison, and Disease, his Pollen Dance 
will Confuse, the Malboros that he calls on will use Bad Breath...got the point 
yet?  Exactly.  You need some item gambits for each specific status effect or 
you need a Remedy gambit (with all Rememdy Lores) that can cure all status 
effects.  He will use his "Call for help" to call a total of three Malboros to 
his aid and he will start to use Drain later in the battle.

You can SEVERLY limit this bosses attacks by silencing him, but you need to 
either do this at the beginning with magick or through a status-effecting 
weapon (Silence Shot).  While silenced, all he can do is Nectar Volley and 
Pollen Dance.  He cannot "Call for help" or perform any type of magick attack 
and will completely be at your mercy as long as you can cure Sap and Confuse. 
Equip Bowline Sashes if he is silenced and you will only have to cure Sap.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~~ White Magick's Embrace ~~

Basilisk       / Weak: Thunder
Behemoth       / Weak: Ice
Giruveganus    / Weak: Light
Mirrorknight   / Weak: Earth
Preying Mantis / Weak: Light

This area is even more dangerous than the northern part of the Feywood.  The 
Preying Mantis's and other enemies can crowd up very fast in this are so be 
ready to deal with a group at times.  Use Warp on the Mantis's or Mirrorknights 
if they group up and you might just banish a few of them to the X-zone.  Stay 
against the east wall of this area and you'll find an urn with the ++FEYWOOD 
CANDLE++ inside in the southern portion.  Keep heading south.

~~ Ice Field of Clearsight ~~

Visibility is not too great here, so you'll see a bunch of silhouettes of 
enemies before you actually run into them.  Just like the last area, the 
Preying Mantis will be lurking about quite numerously.  Enter the northern 
shrine and examine the pattern of the "Feywood Glyph" in the middle.

"In this sanctum shall the pilgrim find truth and illusion both.  Illusion 
betokens the true way"

In other words, you must stand in the middle of the glyph then move the camera 
around to look at the different openings in the shrine.  One of the openings 
will have an image of a forest scene while the rest will only show the snow 
outside.  The opening with the illusion will lead you to the next shrine.  Walk 
through the opening and run toward the next shrine across from the current one. 
Try not to let the enemies impede your path - run from them if necessary.  You 
can check your map to see which shrine to head to next or which shrine you have 
already been to.  The shrines with the glyphs will be marked with exclamation 
points.  Stand on the "Feywood Glyph" in the second shrine and find the 
illusion path once again to get to the third shrine.  You don't need to examine 
it again.

Plan your attacks against the Behemoth enemies carefully since they will use 
Bacchu's Wind to Berserk themselves when the reach HP critical status.  Spam 
them with Blizzaga and they will fall fast, but don't let them gang up too 
much!

~~ The Edge of Reason ~~

If you exited the area from the correct path up above your party will wind up 
in this new area of shrines.  The same shrine puzzle is here, but this time 
there are a few more shrines.  The starting shrine for this portion should be 
in the middle.  One of these shrines has three Behemoths guarding it so watch 
your HP and Blizzaga them to death.  In the middle of this area (to the west a 
bit) there is a chest lying inside of a trap that may contain a Deathbringer 
sword, an Ensanguined Shield, or something else, so you may want to give a try 
- cast Float and walk over to it.  There are actually three chests that spawn 
in that one chest at times, so it may look like you're opening the same chest 
three times.  Find the correct path and journey to the other shrines to find a 
door at the end.  The door is labeled "Gate Gigas".

"Gigas summoner, gate's power is yours to claim.  Beyond the one gate lies 
sacred Giruvegan.  Over the one gate the Gigas holds sway."

In a nutshell, you need to summon Belias near the gate then touch the gate 
after examining it.  Belias will do the rest.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                       The Ancient City of Giruvegan               | [PVII4] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Gate of Earth ~~

A cutscene will play upon entering the city.  Walk to the middle of pathway and 
an orange save crystal will be waiting on the left (south) side side.  If you 
do not have the -aga elemental spells, then you need to teleport back to 
Balfonheim and get them now!  It is good to have three mist charges per main 
party member to extend your MP gauge since you will be using a bunch of magick 
up ahead.  Make sure you have an item cure for every possible status effect or 
the Rememdy Lore on the License grid that will allow you to cure everything 
with a Rememdy - have plenty of Remedies in this case.  You're about to enter 
one of the hardest areas in the game.  Try to have the Martyr (gain MP after 
attacking) and Inquisitor (gain MP after suffering damage) augements from the 
license board for each member of your party by the time you reach the next save 
crystal since they will help in the next upcoming boss fights.  Travel further 
to the west and touch the Way Stone.

~~ Gate of Water ~~

The camera will show off a statue up ahead.  Walk toward the status to trigger 
a cutscene.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 42     | Daedalus                                          |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 65644 | Weak: Light            | Absorb: Dark             |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Damascus Steel, Dark Crystal, Forbidden    |
| LP: 33    |        Flesh                                      |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 43 - 46                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

Daedalus is a mixture of a Striker, a +---------------------------------------+
Wendigo, and a Behemoth.  He has all  | Recommended Gambits                   |
of their critical attacks and will    |=======================================|
use them eventually - Tremor and Ice  | Ally: any                  (>) Raise  |
Break.  Shell can help to lessen the  | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaja |
damage from them along with the       | Ally: status = Slow        (>) Haste  |
appropriate elemental shield.  Use    | Foe: status = Haste        (>) Dispel |
Dispel on him whenever he cast Haste  | Self                       (>) Haste  |
on himself at the beginning then try  | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack |
to Silence him so he can't cast       +---------------------------------------+
anything else.  He mainly sticks with 
physical attacks and can chain them very well at times.  His Tri-Attack will 
randomly cause Slow, so have a Haste gambit ready to turn the tides.  Use Decoy 
on your main attacker and equip him with your best shield and that should keep 
Daedalus busy while you whittle his HP down.  Cast Haste on all of your party 
members to take him down quicker along with Protect to guard against his strong 
attacks.  His Smite of Rage move will take off around 700+ HP of a party 
member's life if the hit connects.  If you don't Silence him, he will cast 
Darkra on the party.  Keep your weaker characters away from him since he will 
perform his Rage attack when his life is low that will hit the immediate area 
around him and take quite a chunk of HP (around 1500 HP).  His strength and 
defense will both increase when he has reached HP critical status so a 
Quickening will help out a bunch at the end of this battle.  He will chain so 
many damaging hits while he is in HP critical that he will likely kill a party 
member in one turn.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A new Way Stone will appear after the boss' defeat.  Go back and save your game 
at the blue save crystal and use the new Way Stone to travel deeper into 
Giruvegan.

~~ The Trimahla Water-Steps ~~

Behemoth       / Weak: Ice
Diakon Entite  / Weak: Dark
Gargoyle Baron / Weak: Light
Mythril Golem  / Weak: Water
Vivian         / Weak: Light

This place has some steep ramps, so you'll probably have to tilt the camera at 
times to see them from your current platform.  Walk down the ramp to the south 
and use Blizzaga on the Behemoths as you work your way down.  Set up a "Foe: 
ice-weak (>) Blizzaga" gambit if you have it, otherwise just cast Blizzaga 
normally on the Behemoths.  The Behemoths can really gang up on you quick in 
this area.  Approach the "Avrio Gate Stone" down the ramp to the left and touch 
it to release the barrier to the south, "Gate Avrio", on the current platform. 
Keep moving further to the south.  Grab the ++MAP OF GIRUVEGAN++ from the urn 
before going down the ramp on the south side (NOTE: this map will only appear 
after Giruvegan is finished). You will find another gate stone guarded by two 
Mythril Golems at the bottom of the ramp.  This is the "Chthes Gate Stone" that 
will open Gate Chthes to the northwest.

Run back up the ramp, then run down the ramp to the northwest.  You'll fight 
some more Behemoths when you reach the bottom.  Go down the ramp to the north 
then turn left and run down the next ramp.  Vivian's will be guarding a 
treasure orb at the bottom.  Be VERY cautious while fighting the Vivians since 
they can inflict all status effects in the game on your party members in one 
breath attack.  Go back the way you came, up both ramps and go down the ramp on 
the south side.  Behemoths will be lurking about.  Blizzaga them to death then 
run down the next ramp (heading north) and you'll run across some Vivians.  
Keep heading north, through the Gargoyle Barons, then run down the ramp to the 
south and you'll see what appears to be a dead end with two Mythril Golems 
standing to each of the sides.  Defeat the Mythril Golems and step out into the 
empty space to the south to make a hidden glowing green pathway appear in front 
of your party.  Move further to the south along the pathway to exit this area.

~~ The Aadha Water-Steps ~~

The Behemoths on the first platform will likely not even let your party off the 
glowing path before they start their assault.  Go ahead and touch the "Paron 
Gate Stone" but know that the gate is further down below.  The Parelthon Gate 
to the side is opened from below.  Beware the Diakon Entite below.  This is an 
elemental that will unleash powerful magick if you fight anything near it or 
use magick near it.  If this happens, run to an area where you can fight it by 
itself.  Physical attacks will work the best for it.  Be sure to heal often if 
you choose to fight it.  Continue down the zigzagging ramps.  In the northwest 
two Mythril golems will be standing guard next to the "Parelthon Gate Stone".  
Further south, Tychi Gate will be blocking your path to the exit for this area.

Move up the ramp to the left of the gate.  Plenty of Vivians will be lurking up 
ahead.  Run up the south set up of ramps.  Two Mythril Golem will be standing 
guard at the "Gate Tychi Stone".  Touch the stone to release the Gate Tychi 
barrier at the bottom.  Go back or climb further up the ramps to find a few 
treasure orbs.  The Paron gate will be blocking your way up above if you didn't 
deactivate it on the other side at the top.

Return to the northwest portion where the Tychi Gate was at earlier.  Gargoyle 
Barons will be flying around the area below the ramp and Mythril Golems will be 
standing guard on the sides of the last platform.  Step out into the area to 
the south of the last platform to make another glowing green path appear just 
like before.  Run along the path to trigger a cutscene in the next area.

~~ The Haalmikah Water-Steps ~~

Continue along the glowing green path and open the Bulwark Chronos ahead.  A 
refreshing site of a blue save crystal will be on the other side.  Open Bulwark 
Hemera.

~~ Gate of Fire ~~

This area is quiet for the moment and there are no treasure chests around the 
area if you're wondering.  There is a hidden pathway around here.  Go up either 
ramp to the left.  Stay on the current path at the top of the ramp and don't 
turn left again.  While running down the path, you will come upon an open view 
to the right, across from the next set of ramps to the left - look below to see 
several floating circular objects.  Step out toward them and a green glowing 
path will form.  This will take you to a boss fight.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 43      | Tyrant                                            |
|================================================================|
| HP: 180248 | Weak: Ice             | Absorb: Thunder           |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0     | Steal: N/A                                        |
| LP: 33     |                                                   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 45 - 48                                     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

For this battle, a magick field     +-----------------------------------------+
will fall over the party and will   | Recommended Gambits                     |
not allow the use of Tecknicks.     |=========================================|
Immediately Dispel the boss of his  | Ally: any                  (>) Raise    |
status enhancements.  He has one    | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaja   |
hell of a defense so whatever your  | Self                       (>) Haste    |
party does to attack him it is not  | Self                       (>) Protect  |
going to take off much HP from him. | Foe: party leader's target (>) Blizzaga |
He attacks much like other wyrms    | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack   |
you have faced, in that he will use +-----------------------------------------+
Sonic Fangs a bunch along with 
physical attacks and Fireballs.  His Piercing Graviga will drain 1/4 of any 
party member's HP if it hits.  For his other magick attacks, he will use all 
the -aga elemental attacks including his weak element.  Have some Raise gambits 
ready along with Curaja since his attacks are quite damaging and will most 
likely kill a few party members every now and then (especially Sonic Fangs).  
Equip some Quasimodo Boots to your party members or have some gambits to avoid 
or cure Sap when he spits Bile.  Have one person set up to cast nothing but 
Blizzaga on him and have one person who will constantly cure the party with 
Curaja.  Have everybody set to cast Haste and Protect on each other or 
themselves since you will need both!  You may actually want to arrive at the 
battle with both of these status enhancements.  I wouldn't worry too much about 
shell since you don't want to overload your caster with just status enhancement 
jobs.  This is going to be one long fight, but if you are fast enough and spam 
him with Blizzaga, he should fall in time.  The Martyr and Inquisitor augments 
from the license board will really help for this prolonged fight.  He does not 
do anything special when he reaches HP critical status unlike most other 
bosses, so you don't really need a Quickening finish.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Don't use the Way Stone just yet.  Make sure to backtrack and save your game 
after the boss fight since there is not another one for quite a while!  
Gargoyle Barons and Vivians will populate the Gate of Fire area on your way 
back from the save crystal.  Touch the Way Stone on the glowing platform where 
the boss was to be transported to the next area.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              The Great Crystal                    | [PVII5] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mom Bomb      / Weak: Water
Mythril Golem / Weak: Water
Necrophobe    / Weak: Light
Ose           / Weak: Light
Reaper        / Weak: Light

                                                   Dha Vikaari Bhrum
                                                       /
                                                      /
                                     Kabonii Jilaam Avaa
                                             \
                                              \
Sthaana Scorpio ----- A Prama Viakaari ----- Kabonii Jilaam Pratii'vaa
                        /    
                       /
                      ?

~~ A Prama Vikaari ~~

Facing away from Gate Scorpio, there is no need to enter the path on the left 
side to unlock Gate Scorpio.  Gate Scorpio will lead you to a hidden Esper that 
is probably more powerful than you are now.  Walk down the path on the right.

~~ Kabonii Jilaam Pratii'vaa ~~

Watch out for the dangerous Ose enemies.  Two hits from a Hell Blaster is 
instand death!  You'll have to use Float to get the Treasure (Elixir or Black 
Mask).

~~ Kabonii Jilaam Avaa ~~

The Ose will likely try to lead you toward the pack of three.  Try to lure one 
of them out so you don't have to fight all three at once.

~~ Dha Vikaari Bhrum ~~

Use Way Stone VII to teleport to the next area.


                                Trahk
                                  |
                                  |
        Cancer ----- Avaa      Pratii
             \         |         /
              \        |        /
               A Vikaari Kabonii


Paths       Areas                 Contents

(current) - A Bikaari Kabonii --> Way Stone VI
(right)   - Bhrum Pis Pratii  --> Gate Cancer
(middle)  - Bhrum Pis Avaa    --> Treasure (Knot of Rust or White Robes)
(left)    - Sthaana Cancer    --> Gate Cancer Stone

~~ A Vikaari Kabonii ~~

Take the left path and touch the "Gate Cancer Stone" to open Gate Cancer.  
Mythril Golems will be guarding the area.  Collect the treasure from the middle 
path or head straight for Dha Vikaari Trahk.

~~ Dha Vikaari Trahk ~~

Touch Way Stone V to be transported to Way Stone IV.


         Aries
           |
           |
       Praa'dii               Praa ----- Pisces
            \                 /  \         |
             \               /    \        |
              A Bikaari Bhrum ----- Dha Vikaari Jula
                                    

(right)  - Trahk Pis Praa - Sthaana Pisces                --> Gate Pisces Stone
(left)   - Trahk J. Praa'dii --> Treasure - Sthaana Aries --> Gate Aries Stone
(sealed) - Dha Vikaari Jula

~~ A Bikaari Bhrum ~~

The first thing to do here is to enter the area up the left path.  Get the 
treasure in the sphere and defeat the Mom Bombs quickly.  Travel to Sthaana 
Aries by going up the path ahead and deactivate the "Gate Aries Stone".  Go 
back to A Bikaari Bhrum and run down the right path then make another right 
(heading down again) and activate the "Gate Pisces Stone".  Gate Aries was once 
standing to the right, but it's now gone, so go up the path.  You will arrive a 
Dha Vikaari Jula and will see Way Stone III in the middle.  Use Way Stone III 
to teleport to a new area and trigger a cutscene.

~~ Crystal Core ~~

Move down the path ahead after the cutscene.  A save crystal will be off to the 
right on the bottom platform along with Way Stone I.  Use Way Stone I to 
teleport out of the Great Crystal.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                       The Ancient City of Giruvegan               | [PVII6] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Gate of Wind ~~

Open the Bulwark Minas up ahead for a cutscene that will introduce the next 
boss.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 45     | Shemhazai                                         |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 91136 | Weak: Random element  | Absorb: Random Element    |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Hi-Ether, High Arcana, Sagittarius Gem     |
| LP: 47    |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 45 - 48                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

Dispel her Haste at the beginning of the battle.  Have some Rose Corsages 
equipped to your magick users or a Vox or Esuna gambit ready to cure Silence 
since she will cast Silence quite a bit.  In addition to Silence, her normal 
attacks can cause Disease, which should be cured immediately with an item 
(Vaccine or Remedy [w/Remedy Lore 3]) or magick (Cleanse), preferably an item. 
Disease will cause a party member's maximum HP to drop as their life falls, 
therefore, a revived party member with disease will have 1 HP when brought back 
to life with the Disease status.  It of the utmost importance to cure Disease 
immediately!

She will cast both Shock and +------------------------------------------------+
Flare.  Each spell will take | Recommended Gambits                            |
off quite a bit from a party |================================================|
member without a shell.  She | Ally: any                  (>) Raise           |
is only weak against a       | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaja          |
certain type of element that | Ally: any                  (>) Cleanse/Vaccine |
will randomly change         | Self                       (>) Shell           |
throughout the course of the | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack          |
battle.  She will absorb all +------------------------------------------------+
other elements except for 
the one that she is weak against.  When she uses Mana Spring that means that 
she is changing her current elemental weakness.  The best way to approach this 
battle is to use non-elemental physical attacks since it is too much of a 
tossup to use elemental weapons or magick.  Haste may help your party to defeat 
her quicker, but you need to have a Shell up at all times while healing and 
attacking physically.  She will Syphon the party of their magick - about enough 
for one mist charge.  When she reaches HP critical status she will Enrage 
herself and start to take off more with her physical and magick attacks.  
Finish her off with a Quickening or keep nailing her with physical attacks.  
After the battle, the party will gain ++SHEMHAZAI, THE WHISPERER++.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Open Bulwark Aeon and run toward the Way Stone up ahead.  Get to the middle 
area by moving down one of the ramps on the right or left side.  Read the 
inscription then touch the "Empyrean Way Stone" for a cutscene.  When the 
cutscene ends, your party will receive the ++TREATY-BLADE++.  Another cutscene 
will commence.

Destination Quote: Better go back to Balfonheim and see if Reddas knows 
anything.

Read the inscription then touch the "Tellurian Way Stone" afterwards to 
teleport back to the beginning of Giruvegan.

~~ Gate of Earth ~~

Use the orange save crystal to teleport   +-----------------------------------+
back to Balfonheim.  At this time, your   | A new optional Espers is now      |
party can now go back and collect the     | available in Giruvegan:           |
++MAP OF GIRUVEGAN++ in The Trimahla      | Ultima, the High Seraph  [SE07-1] |
Water-Steps.  Go back to that portion of  +-----------------------------------+
the walkthrough above to find the exact 
location.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              Balfonheim Port                      | [PVII7] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Make your way over to the far west portion to meet with Reddas.  Stop by the 
Magick shop on the way there and pick up all the new magicks, especially Arise 
and Esunaga.  All the rest of the gambits that you've been lacking are now 
available at the gambit shops.  Remember all of those useless merchants in some 
of the oddest of areas?  Well, many of them have now restocked some powerful 
items and accessories.  Go to Barheim Passage, Bhujerba (Skygrounds Merchant), 
Old Archades, Rabanastre (Lowtown Merchant), Westersand, and South Bank Village 
to find some new items.  It would be good to pick up the Diamond Armlet (find 
more rare items from all chests) from the South Bank Village merchant, the 
Sage's Ring (Absorb Holy; reduces MP cost by half) from the Old Archades 
merchant, Hermes Sandles (Equip: Haste) from the Barheim Passage merchant.  
Some of them have some more powerful weapons and armor as well.  Check the item 
list (the main list) to see all of them.  If you can buy enough Hermes Sandles 
for each person of your main party, you will not have many problems with the 
hard dungeon that is coming up.

When you're ready to continue, go to Saccio Lane and speak with the Manse Watch 
in order to talk to Reddas.  A cutscene will trigger upon entering the Manse.  
Reddas will join your party as a guest after the cutscene.

Destination Quote: The Strahl should be able to reach the tower of Ridorana.

As you will learn in the         +--------------------------------------------+
conversation that follows you    | Reddas' Gambits                            |
must go to the Aerodrome and fly |============================================|
to Jagd to get to the Pharos.  A | Foe: flying                (>) Telekinesis |
message will appear that will    | Foe: highest level         (>) Attack      |
inform you that your party can   +--------------------------------------------+
now fly through Jagd.  Your next 
destination is the Ridorana Cataract in Jagd.  Head to the Aerodrome in 
Balfonheim and talk to the person behind the desk with the "Private Airships" 
talk icon on the left to get aboard the 
Strahl.  The Strahl will take you just    +-----------------------------------+
about anywhere you want to go in Ivalice  | Now that the Strahl can be used,  |
with a few exceptions, so you don't have  | the party may now finish the Hunt |
to use as many Teleport Stones now.       | Club side quest back at the Phon  |
Select The Ridorana Cataract to continue  | Coast.  Talk to the Huntmaster    |
with the main story.  In order to reenter | at the Phon Coast if you haven't  |
the Strahl, you need to press X near the  | yet to start this side quest.     |
anchor in the field or talk to a "Private |             [SQ16-2]              |
Airships" correspondent in a city.  Your  +-----------------------------------+
map will show an anchor icon in the field 
for where the Strahl is located if there is one nearby.

Since you have a new guest along with your party I would suggest performing 
some of the hunts that are available to your now or maybe fight some hidden 
Espers.  Reddas will help out a bunch for either one.  Use Berserk on him 
often.  Since you can't control him anyway, why not give him a little extra 
power.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                            The Ridorana Cataract                  | [PVII8] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cassie    / Weak: Wind
Deathclaw / Weak: Ice

~~ Footfalls of the Past ~~

A cutscene will play as the party descends upon the first portion of the 
Ridorana Cataract.  Use the blue save crystal up ahead then go east.

~~ Echoes from Time's Garden ~~

The Deathclaws here are weak against ice and the Cassies fall fast to wind so 
cast Blizzaga and Aeroga on them respectively to lay the smackdown.  The 
Deathclaws can Cannibalize on each other when one if weak making them level up 
about 5+ levels, so try to fight them alone.  Your new party member Reddas may 
not have any items or special abilities, but he can chain attacks very well.  
Berserk him often to bring out his true potential!  The path to the northeast 
will be the shortest way to your destination, but you may want to enter the 
Colliseum to the southeast to pick up the map for this area.

~~ Colliseum ~~

There are many traps around this area so use Float to avoid them.  Enter the 
path to the left as you enter then make another quick left to find an urn with 
the ++MAP OF THE RIDORANA CATARACT++ inside.  The other paths will lead to 
treasure chests.

~~ City of Other Days ~~

Many more Deathclaws and Cassies roam around in this area.  Enter the path to 
the east.

~~ Path of Hidden Blessing ~~

You do have Libra set up right?  Good.  There is a whole row of six traps to 
the left of the blue save crystal up ahead, so proceed with caution.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                          The Pharos at Ridorana                   | [PVII9] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ They Who Thirst Not ~~

Continue up the stairs to the east.  The whole area up ahead is covered in 
mist, almost as if...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 47      | Hydro                                             |
|================================================================|
| HP: 203800 | Weak: Light           | Absorb: Dark              |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0     | Steal: Corpse Fly, Maggoty Flesh, Wyrm Bone       |
| LP: 35     |                                                   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 47 - 50                                     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

Arrive at this battle with tons of status enhancements on every member of the 
party (Haste, Protect, Regen, Bravery, etc.) - there's a save crystal outside 
this battle area so cast them all, save, then enter the battleground.  Dispel 
him of any status enhancements.  Use Slow on him at the beginning after 
dispeling him.  It's a good idea to equip your party members with some Bowline 
Sashes to avoid Confuse from his castings of Curse.  Curse will place Disease, 
Poison, Sap, and Confuse on any party member that it manages to hit.  He will 
attack with Bile and cast Bio, Countdown, and Immobilizega as well, but that 
shouldn't be too much of a problem; just use Regen, Remedy, and Esuna 
accordingly.  The main attack to look out for his is his Fearga spell that will 
drain a targeted party member (and any surrounding party member) of their MP.  
The main problem with this battle is that he likes to pressure your party with 
status effects then drain them of MP, so it is a good idea to bring along some 
Remedies (with all Remedy Lores bought on the License board) and have Charge 
gambits in place.  He's also really bad at chaining physical attacks so an 
Arise gambit will be needed.

One trick that I have found that works extremely well against him is to equip a 
character with a gun or long distance weapon and take control of that 
character.  Hydro likes to pick on one character at a time and stay with that 
character, but he is very slow, so just run from him the whole time while 
shooting.  The rest of your party can be attacking him the whole time he chases 
the bait.  This also works well for his Fearga spell.  Take control of the 
character that he is currently targeting and run away from him to make Fearga 
only hit that one character.  His slowness can really be his main downfall if 
you take advantage of it.

Here's another method for defeating Hydro:

"If you go into the battle with everyone buffed up with everything including 
reflect, you can cast curaja on yourself with everyone and Hydro will only get 
out around 10 or so attacks before he's dead again.  I found he did drain my 
characters of all there MP at some point but a character: MP < 10% --> charge 
gambit did the trick.  With the MP gaining augments, each round of curaja after 
the first charge should give you enough to perform the next after your MP is 
drained."

(thanks to Ryan)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

There's really no need to run back and save your game since there is an orange 
save crystal through the door ahead.  Walk up to the door for a cutscene that 
will lead the party inside the building.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|              Pharos / First Ascent - Horizon of First Light      | [PVII10] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aeronite      / Weak: Thunder
Brainpan      / Weak: Light
Chimera Brain / Weak: Light
Deidar        / Weak: Light
Mimeo         / Weak: Light
Mistmare      / Weak: Fire

~~ The Wellspring ~~

The Way Stone in the middle of the floor can't be used just yet.  Save your 
game at the orange save crystal up ahead and use this time to teleport back to 
any towns if you need to.  Make sure that you have about 20 - 30 Vaccines or 
Remedies (if you have all the Remedy Augments) since you will need them to cure 
Disease in a fight near the top!  You need the Float spell as well for traps 
and for that same aforementioned fight.

Examine the "Carven Pillars" in the middle for some clues as to what you need 
to do here.  You will need to collect Black Orbs from defeated enemies and 
place them in the each of the three Altars of Night spread around this area.  
The first Altar of Night can be reached by moving to the southwest of the 
current area, but the others will require your party to go through the paths on 
the north and south side near the Way Stone.  I will start with the north side.

~~ Wellspring Labyrinth ~~

Many of the enemies come equipped with Bravery and Faith on this floor.  Kill 
them quick and don't worry about dispeling them.  Any one of the enemies here 
can give your party a ++BLACK ORB++, so be sure to look for a glowing orb when 
after defeating each enemy.  Approach it for an action command that will allow 
the party leader to take it.  They seem to disappear very quickly at times so 
grab them fast.  The paths that lead to the Altars of Night are on the east 
side of the labyrinth.  Place a Black Orb on each of the two Altars of Night 
that you must reach via the east pathways then return to where the save point 
is and place the last Black Orb in the third Altar of Night.  The Seal of Night 
will break and the Threshold of Night door will open once all Altars of Night 
have been activated with a Black Orb.  The Threshold of Night door is in the 
eastern middle part of the labyrinth.  This will lead you to a boss fight so be 
sure to save your game before going inside.  The urn containing the ++MAP OF 
THE PHAROS: FIRST ASCENT++ is in the far south of the labyrinth.  Once you get 
to the path that leads to the Altar of Night on the southeast side go up the 
stairs in the room to the southwest, move one room to the east, go south one 
room, west one room, south one room, and it will be at the end of the hall to 
the west.

~~ Dunes of Profaning Wind ~~

If you go the wrong way here, your party will get teleported back to the 
beginning of this area.  Walk toward the open path to the right of the starting 
point.  Take the right path again and walk toward the large rock in the back.  
It's not really a rock though, it's...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 45      | Pandaemonium                                      |
|================================================================|
| HP: 116678 | Weak: Wind             | Absorb: Earth            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0     | Steal: Ancient Turtle Shell, Aries Gem,           |
| LP: 36     |        Scarletite                                 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 46 - 49                                     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

Which status effect do you hate       +---------------------------------------+
worse?  Petrify or Blind?  Equip      | Recommended Gambits                   |
either a Fuzzy Miter or an Argyle     |=======================================|
Armlet depending on your answer to    | Ally: any                  (>) Arise  |
that question and set up a gambit to  | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaja |
cure the other since this boss will   | Ally: any                  (>) Esuna  |
use both Flash and Stone Gaze.        | Ally: status = Slow        (>) Haste  |
Reddas will have to put up with both  | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack |
unfortunately. Dispel Pandaemonium at +---------------------------------------+
the beginning of the battle of whatever status enhancements he may have.  He is 
weak against wind, so either spam him with Aeroga or attack physically.  
Whichever you do, be sure to Berserk Reddas.  You can also use Expose on him to 
lower his defense.  Pandaemonium will use the usual tortoise Power Spin (which 
can cause Slow) and Flatten to attack physically.  Keep you weakest character 
in the background with a long distance weapon and they won't get hit. It's a 
good idea to have up a Protect shield by casting Protectga for this fight.  
Pandaemonium will set up a Perfect Defense when he nears half life that will 
make him immune to both physical and magick attacks, so you can't hit him until 
it wears off.  Either run (with R2) or turn off all gambits until the Perfect 
Defense shield wears off then continue your assault on him.  If you run, your 
party can stay ahead of him, but he will eventually corner you.  There is no 
way to hit him while his shield is up so you just have to wait it out.  It 
seems to take quite a while, but it will eventually fade.  Other than the 
Perfect Defense, he has no tricks up his sleeves for the remainder of the 
battle.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~~ Blackrock Vault ~~

Upon the defeat of Pandemonium, the magicks binding the Way Stone at the 
beginning of the Labyrinth will fade.  Run back to the beginning and activate 
the Way Stone after saving your game at the orange save crystal.

~~ Wellspring Ravel - 1st Flight ~~

Both Ancient Doors lead the same way so pick one and open it.  The Carven 
Pillar to the side will give some hints about the situation ahead.  Proceed 
down the steps and fight off the Brain Chimeras.  You'll have a choice of two 
paths.  The north path will lead to a dead end, but it is actually a 
destroyable wall known as a "Fool's Facade".  Approach it and press X to 
destroy it.  This area will not lead you anywhere at the moment however.  Go up 
the steps to the east. Fight of the Brainpan enemies up the stairs.  Notice how 
whenever one is defeated, a sound will be heard and a glowing segment of the 
bridge up ahead will appear.  For this area, you must track down all the green 
Brainpans and defeat them in order to make a bridge appear in each new area.  
Notice how I said green Brainpans?  Red Brainpans will appear later and must 
not be destroyed.

The next bridge requires four. (1) On 12F you'll run across another Green 
Brainpan (2) followed another on 14F. (3) You'll need to go up the stairs to 
15F and defeat one around the corner of the doorway and (4) in the room off to 
the left after you go throught he door.  The bridge on 14F will now be 
available for crossing.  Keep climbing the stairs to reach the next area.

~~ Wellspring Ravel - 2nd Flight ~~

Plenty more Chimera Brains will attack as you walk up the stairs ahead.  (1) On 
20F, you'll run across a green Brainpan to the right of the doorway (2) 
followed by another to the left as you proceed through the door.  The wall to 
the right of the second Brainpan is actually a Fool's Facade.  Blast through 
the Fool's Facade to find a treasure chest...maybe.  Remember they're random!  
(3) Another Brainpan will be off to the left on 21F.  On 23F another Fool's 
Facade wall will be off to the left, and this may lead you to another treasure 
chest (look behind the railing of 24F) and eventually the next floor.  You can 
always just go the normal way.  (4)(5)(6) On 25F a whopping three green 
Brainpans will lie in wait for your party.  Try to stay away from the others as 
you take on each of them.  Reddas might split from the group since you can't 
control him.  That very aspect will become a real nuisance later.  Notice the 
treasure chest in the far away space to the right as you venture futher along 
25F?  Well, you can't get that just yet.  That requires you to defeat red 
Deidars in the next area.  The chest holds the ++HOLY ROD++ (if the chest 
appears).  Keep running up the stairs to reach the next area.

~~ Wellspring Ravel - 3rd Flight ~~

(1)(2) The first two green Brainpans will be agains the far wall on 29F.  The 
party will have a choice of three paths once you reach 30F.  The north path 
will only lead to a Fool's Facade with an area where nothing can be 
accomplished at the moment.  Take the south path and make an immediate right to 
find an Ancient Door. (3) In the far back of the room behind the door you will 
spot another green Brainpan.  The Carven Pillar will give you a hint that your 
party will run into red Brainpans (Deidars) soon.  (4) Continue up the stairs 
along the south path and another green Brainpan will be against the back wall.  
Go back to the intersection and climb the stairs to east to reach 30F.  When 
you reach the doorway, there will be a red Deidar off to the side, but you must 
avoid him.  Flee!  If a red Deidar is destroyed, that will destroy one of the 
green blocks on the bridge and cause you to have to track down another green 
Brainpan that you have already defeated once again.  Reddas will likely cause 
you problems with the red Deidar since you can't set his gambits.  He will 
always attack them, so you just have to hold R2 and run by them.  Equip some 
Black Belts to avoid their Lv. 3 Disable if a party member just happens to fall 
within a level divisible by 3. (5)(6) Run to the other side of the entrance and 
defeat the green Brainpans.  If Reddas starts to attack the red one then hold 
R2 to make him stop.

(1) On 32F a green Brainpan will be on the left and a red Deidar will be 
against the back wall.  Stay away from the Deidar and use R2 if Reddas starts 
to attack it.  Climb the stairs and (2)(3) on 34F, two green Brainpans will be 
along the side of the walls behind the columns.  Run up either staircase to the 
north or west - it really doesn't matter. (4) At the top of the north stairs 
another green Brainpan is near the railing and (5) another is beside the 
column.  (6) The final green Brainpan is down the hall to the west.  But wait, 
that is still not enough!  Exactly.  (7)(8) Two more green Brainpans have 
spawned where the second and third one were on 34F. (8)(9) Climb back up the 
stairs to 35F on the north side and another two green Brainpains will have 
spawned at the top.  When you go across the bridge, you will notice a path up 
ahead that lacks a bridge.  Go back to the previous areas and find 3 red 
Deidars and destroy them to make a path to the other side.  Destroy the Fool's 
Facade on the wall and you'll find a treasure chest containing a ++DUELING 
MASK++ and an area where you'll have to make another bridge across by defeating 
red Deidars on the 4th Flight to reach the chest on the other side.  It 
contains the ++ZEUS MACE++ or ++MURAMASA++ (with the Diamond Armlet equipped). 
Now that the first two bridges are made, you can start making the bridge to the 
treasure on the 2nd Flight by exiting and reentering this area and defeating 
all the red Deidars in this area.

~~ Wellspring Ravel - 4th Flight ~~

(1)(2) At the top of the stairs on 36F, two green Brainpans will attack.  Run 
by the red Deidar up ahead and run up the next set of stairs.  (3) Stay away 
from the red Deidar on 38F and defeat the green Brainpan.  Keep moving to the 
north and enter the set of rooms in the far north. (4)(5) Defeat the two green 
Brainpans in the large room and keep away from the red Deidar.  Leave the set 
of rooms and climb the stair to the west.  Ignore the red Deidar on 41F, (6) 
defeat the green Brainpan on 42F then (7) defeat the next green Brainpan on 43F 
while keeping away from the red Deidar. (8) The set of rooms on 46F will hide 
another green Brainpan and there is a Fool's Facade on the right wall of the 
south room leading to a possible treasure chest.  Continue along the outside 
path heading west then south. (9) Another green Brainpan will be waiting beside 
the green glowing bridge (should be).  The bridge only takes three glowing 
stones to cross but there is another up ahead.  Now that the bridge is 
complete, you can go back and defeat all the red Deidars to make a path to the 
treasure chest on the 3rd Flight containing the Zeus Mace.  Climb up the stairs 
and open the Ancient Door.

NOTE: All the treasure chests listed above will randomly appear, so you might 
have to save your game and reload it to make them appear.  They WILL contain 
the items listed however, unless you have the Diamond Armlet equipped.  The 
Zeus Mace chest will contain the Muramasa if that is the case.

~~ Horizon's Break ~~

There is a blue save crystal through the doorway off to the right.  Go through 
the doorway in the southwest corner.  Turn to the left upon entering the door 
and run up the stairs on to reach the next Ancient Door.

~~ Horizon's Cusp ~~

Run up the stairs and open the next Ancient Door.

~~ Marsh of Profaning Wind ~~

Run to the right side to trigger a cutscene.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 47     | Slyt                                              |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 92661 | Weak: Fire             | Absorb: Water            |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Pisces Gem, Yensa Fin, Yensa Scale         |
| LP: 36    |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 46 - 49                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

Dispel him of his status enhancements +---------------------------------------+
as usual.  He'll use Enrage on        | Recommended Gambits                   |
himself to boost his attack at the    |=======================================|
beginning, which is kind of bad       | Ally: any                  (>) Arise  |
considering he is very fast!  He'll   | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaja |
likely kill off a party member or two | Foe: status = Oil          (>) Firaga |
since he will always pick on one      | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack |
character at a time, so you will need +---------------------------------------+
an Arise gambit set up.  This boss is 
weak against Fire, so let's try to use Oil on him.  Well, that works.  Now, 
let's cast Firaga and see how much it takes while he is inflicted with Oil.  
Booyah!  Over 5,000+ HP damage per casting on his Oiled ass!  Set up a gambit 
so that all magick users will cast Fire on him while he has Oil inflicted on 
him.  The only hard part about this boss is his intense rate of attack combined 
with his Enraging - set up a Protect shield on everybody at the beginning of 
the battle along with Haste on your magick users then Oil him and heat him up. 
He may recast Regen, but just keep flaming him and don't worry about it.  His 
defense will increase at HP Critical status, but he still falls prey to Firaga 
while Oiled so don't worry about Quickenings.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~~ Horizon's Cusp ~~

Open the Ancient Door and continue straight ahead.  Use the Way Stone in the 
circular room up ahead to teleport to the next ascent.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|               Pharos / Second Ascent - Reach of Diamond Law      | [PVII11] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Abaddon        / Weak: Light
Bune           / Weak: Water
Crusader       / Weak: Light
Dragon Lich    / Weak: Light
Necrofiend     / Weak: Light
Reaver         / Weak: Earth
Zombie Warlock / Weak: Light

~~ The Reach ~~

There's a blue save crystal in the northwest next to the Altar of Steel.  The 
doors all around this area are sealed.  In order to open the doors, approach 
one of the altars and touch it.  Your party must give up one of the following 
depending on which altar is touched.

[ ] Altar of Wealth    - Cannot Use ITEMS    - Yellow
[ ] Altar of Steel     - Cannot Use ATTACK   - Clear
[ ] Altar of Magicks   - Cannot Use MAGICK   - Purple
[ ] Altar of Knowledge - Cannot Use MINI-MAP - Pink

Remember which one you choose!  Checkmark it since you'll need to remember 
later!  It doesn't matter which door is entered.  I would recommend giving up 
your Items or the Mini-map.  Keep in mind that you can still look at the main 
map by pressing Select if you choose the Altar of Knowledge - the mini-map is 
the only map that is taken away.  Whichever door is enter, turn to left and 
walk up the steps around the corner after opening the door.

~~ Station of Banishment ~~

Your party will start in the southwest, southeast, northwest, or northeast, 
depending on which door was chosen in The Reach.  Crusaders roam the maze-like 
rooms and they will keep your healers busy.  Syphon the Abaddons on the outside 
circular area if your magick users start to run low on MP.  Don't let the 
Crusaders pile up on your party too often or they will wipe them out quickly. 
Keep Reddas Berserked and he will help out quite a bit in this area.  Cast 
Curaja on a whole group of them for some big damage.  I would suggest running 
if you ever feel overwhelmed.  The exit for this floor is in the southwest 
corner and there is another in the northeast corner.

~~ Station of Suffering ~~

Bunes will join the Crusaders as normal enemies on this floor.  Watch out for 
the Bunes with Bravery on them.  Reavers occupy many of the room in the south. 
Be sure to keep Reddas Berserked at all times.  The urn with the ++MAP OF THE 
PHAROS: SECOND ASCENT++ is in the northwest room.  You will have to travel down 
a long hall in the far north that leads west to get to it.  Open the Ancient 
Door from the other side after collecting the map.  The exit for this level is 
in the southeast and this is the only exit this time.  Go through either hall 
in the south (heading east) to reach the stairway to the exit door.

~~ Station of Ascension ~~

This is the final area of the nightmarish maze and the Reavers and Bunes can 
really pile up here fast.  The exit to this area is in the northwest corner.  
There is a Fool's Facade against the left wall as you run up the steps in the 
first room of the northwest entrance (look for the action icon).  The only 
other way is to enter from the northeast corner.  Take the long hall in the far 
north and that path will take you to an Ancient Door that will lead you to some 
stairs and finally the exit door.  You'll get an extra treause chest for taking 
the path without using the Fool's Facade, but it only contains either a Phoenix 
Down, Hi-Potion, or gil.

~~ Reach of the Damned ~~

Your party is home free for the moment!  Save your game at the blue save 
crystal down the stairs to the right.  Make your way to the southwest portion 
of this area and open the Ancient Door up the stairs to the left as you enter.

~~ The Bounds of Truth ~~

Run ahead and open the Ancient Door to trigger a cutscene.

~~ Cleft of Profaning Wind ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 49      | Fenrir                                            |
|================================================================|
| HP: 189992 | Weak: Earth            | Absorb: Wind             |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0     | Steal: Beastlord Hide, Beastlord Horn, Behemoth   |
| LP: 36     |        Steak                                      |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 47 - 50                                     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

Whichever feature you chose to give up back in The Reach will be in affect for 
this boss fight as well.  Dispel him of his status enhancements!  Set up a 
gambit to dispel Bravery for when he tries to recast it later in the battle or 
you could cast Reflect on him and it will be reflected on one of your party 
members - your choice.  Equip some Argyle Armlets or Rose Corsages to avoid his 
Blinding and Silencing Wail attack or set up some Blindna and Vox (or Eye Drop 
and Echo Herbs) gambits to compensate.  He mainly attacks physically, so equip 
your strongest member with a good shield and cast Decoy on him to draw Fenrir's 
attention away from your weaker party members.  His attacks cause around 1,000+ 
HP damage per hit and his Wail can take off around 1500+ from multiple party 
members as well as cause Blind and Silence.  His ram will take off around 2500+ 
damage and his Ice Break will hit for about 1500+ damage.  Use a Protect 
shield!  He can also chain his physical attacks sometimes so you may need Arise 
active.  Keep Reddas Berserked and make sure to cure often and this battle 
shouldn't be too bad.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~~ The Bounds of Truth ~~

Continue through the Ancient Door up ahead then open the Threshold of 
Sacrifice.  Walk over to whichever altar your party leader touched before and 
touch it to release the binding on whatever command the party gave up.  The 
lift (Dais of Ascendance) is now active in the west corner of the area.  Walk 
over to the lift and select your destination as "67F" to continue.

~~ Reach of the Occult ~~

A save crystal is off to the right and a Way Stone is up ahead.  Touch the Way 
Stone to be transported to the next ascent.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                  Pharos / Third Ascent - Mete of Dynasty         | [PVII12] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aeronite       / Weak: Thunder
Cataract Aevis / Weak: Thunder
Dead Bones     / Weak: Light
Necrofiends    / Weak: Light
Purobolos      / Weak: Light
Tower          / Weak: Dark (rare)
Zombie Warlock / Weak: Light

~~ Spire Ravel - 1st Flight ~~

Walk up ahead to see some new enemies that you will be faced with throughout 
this area.  Kill the Purobolos fast before they have a chance to Self Destruct. 
They will aggressively attack once they spot your party.  Attack aggressively 
or run.  Read the Carven Pillar and it will end with the phrase "To seal of 
night look first" and will mention a punishment for choosing the wrong sigil 
twice.  You must touch the correct sigil to be transported to a different area. 
Touch the Black Sigil on the northwest side to begin.

Touch the wrong sigil once and the party will be teleported back to the middle 
of the room, but touch the wrong sigil twice in a row, and your party will be 
transported to an area with sealed Ancient Doors.  You will have to deal with a 
whole legion of undead enemies in order to escape from the room.  Dead Bones, 
Necrofiends, and Zombie Warlocks will attack.  They are all weak to cure spell 
so use Curaja for some massive damage.  An urn containing the ++MAP OF THE 
PHAROS: THIRD ASCENT++ will be near the southern door.  The Carven Pillars in 
this room will tell your party what order to touch the Sigils in (only the 
first four).

Sigil 1 - To seal of night look first       - Black Sigil
Sigil 2 - Next turn you to living flame     - Green Sigil
          Which to your earthbound form
          gave wing
Sigil 3 - The third, too, is of the flame   - Red Sigil
          Hungering, consuming, denying 
          wings
Sigil 4 - The fourth is that you sacrificed - Sacrificed Color Sigil
                                              (see walkthrough)
Sigil 5 - Untainted by glyph and color      - Clear Sigil

Upon touching the Black Sigil the party will be transported to an area across 
from the platform you were just on.  Walk up the stairs and fight off the 
Purobolos.  Beward the Cataract Aevis in the lone room up ahead since his 
normal attacks will cause Disease!  There is a Fool's Facade to the right of 
the room with the Cataract Aevis.  This is the small little dead end on the 
southeast portion of the map.  Attack the Fool's Facade and use Float to move 
over the traps.  The chest inside will either contain a ++RUBBER SUIT++ or a 
++DRAGON WHISKER++ spear.  There is another chest inside of a trap down the 
hall to the left of the Green Sigil that will contain the same items (50% 
chance once again).  Touch the Green Sigil to be teleported to the next area.

~~ Spire Ravel - 2nd Flight ~~

Open the chest inside of the trap for an ++ELIXIR++.  Move down either hall and 
attack the next two Fool's Facade at either end - they both lead the same way.  
Defeat the Aeronite outside with a blast of thunder then walk up the steps.  
Touch the Red Sigil to teleport to the next area.

Two Aeronites will attack right off the bat.  Zap them with Thundaga.  Open the 
chest up ahead for a ++CIRCLET++ or possibly a Ring of Renewal if you have the 
Diamond Armlet.  Now comes the reason why you should remember the command that 
you gave up ealier in The Reach of the Second Ascent.  Touch the Purple Sigil 
(Magick), the Yellow Sigil (Items), the Clear Sigil (Attack), or the Pink Sigil 
(Mini-Map) to advance further depending on which command you gave up on the 
Second Ascent.

Many Porobolos will be be lurking about up the steps ahead and two Cataract 
Aevis's will be walking around next to the sigils at the top of the area to the 
right.  You do not need to go to that area though!  Read the Carven Pillar in 
the back to learn that the final sigil is "untainted by glyph or color".  
Touching any of the four sigils near the Cataract Aevis's will transport the 
party back to the beginning of this area.  Turn to the right of where your 
party starts and find the Fool's Facade on the northwest wall.  A Way Stone 
with a clear crystal will be visible in the distance.  Touch the Way Stone to 
continue.

There is a possibility that there will be a rare fiend known as Tower in this 
area.  You should run to the lift if he is there - if you don't want to deal 
with a really long battle right before a boss battle.  If you touch the Way 
Stone to the side, the party will be teleported all the way back near the 
beginning of this area.  Be sure to pick up the map in the urn through the door 
if you haven't yet.  The undead enemies will not attack.  Touch the Way Stone 
again in the north area to teleport back to the lift area - this is a good way 
to get the rare fiend Tower to appear.  Take the lift (Dais of Ascendance) to 
90F to trigger a cutscene.

~~ Heavan's Challenge ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 50      | Hashmal                                           |
|================================================================|
| HP: 209060 | Weak: Wind             | Absorb: Earth            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0     | Steal: Hi-Ether, High Arcana, Leo Gem             |
| LP: 52     |                                                   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 49 - 51                                     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

Start out by Dispeling Hashmal of whatever status enhancements he may have then 
cast Float on your entire party.  It is really good to have some Winged Boots 
equipped to your main party but Float will do just fine - you'll need to cast 
it on Reddas anyway.  You can actually wait until he nears half of his life to 
cast Float, but wait no longer!  Hashmal's normal attacks will inflict Disease, 
so you need a gambit that will cure Disease IMMEDIATELY.  Don't use Cleanse; it 
takes too long and that is when people start dying fast!  Set up an item gambit 
to cure Disease.  If a person dies with Disease inflicted then that person will 
be brought back to life with a maximum HP of 1 and will stay like that until 
Disease is cured.  Death does not cure Disease.  Have Vaccine item gambits set 
up on at least two people to counter Disease.

Hashmal chains together his physical +----------------------------------------+
attacks very often and each hit is   | Recommended Gambits                    |
capable of causing Disease on his    |========================================|
target as well as taking nearly      | Ally: any                  (>) Arise   |
1,000+ HP per hit.  He will also use | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaja  |
an earth-based attack reminiscent of | Ally: status = Disease     (>) Vaccine |
an internet slang term known as      | Ally: status = Slow        (>) Haste   |
Roxxor to take off slightly over     | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack  |
1,000 HP damage.  He's weak against  +----------------------------------------+
Wind, but you'll probably be too 
busy curing to cast another spell.  I would recommend using physical attacks 
for most of the battle.  Keep Reddas Berserked as usual.  At around half life, 
he will perform his Battle Cry move to boost his attack power then he will 
start to perform his Quakeja attack.  This move can be totally avoided by 
simply casting Float on your entire party before Hashmal performs the move.  
Quakeja will usually cause 1500+ HP damage as well as inflict Slow if a party 
member is not floating.  His physical attacks are very brutal after his use of 
War Cry since they can kill a party member quickly and Disease him or her at 
the same time.  The main aspect that can make this battle hard is if you fail 
to cure Disease with gambits.  Do not perform the cure manually!  Set up 
gambits properly and your party will overcome his Roxxor with their 
/PWNED...that was a joke.  When the battle is over, ++HASHMAL, BRINGER OF 
ORDER++ will be added to the License board.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~~ Empyrean Ravel ~~

Follow the path up ahead and run each set of steps until a cutscene begins.  
The path will lead the party past a blue save crystal and another Way Stone 
will be waiting at the end.  Make sure to save your game then touch the Way 
Stone.

~~ Womb of the Sun-cryst ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 47     | Judge Gabranth                                    |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 64049 | Weak: N/A              | Absorb: N/A              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Potion, Hi-Potion, X-Potion                |
| LP: 18    |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 49 - 51                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

Judge Gabranth will start the battle with a status enhancement and will quickly 
cast Protect on himself.  Wait until he cast Protect then Dispel all of his 
status enhancements.  Attack him physically.  He has a high tendency to block 
and dodge most physical attack, but this boss is rather weak.  His main attacks 
are Sentence, Guilt, and Circle of Judgement.  Sentence and Guilt will take 
around 1,000+ HP damage from a single ally and Circle of Judgement will hit all 
party members around him and take about 700+ damage.  Other than those few 
moves he will attack physically and chain together many of his attack.  Use a 
Protect shield on any weak party members.

A cutscene will start once half of life has been taken.  The cutscene will 
differ depending on if you have Basch in your party or not.  Basch will respond 
directly to Gabranth if Basch is present in the party.  It should be noted that 
you can steal from Judge Gabranth twice during the battle: once before the mid-
battle cutscene and once after the mid-battle cutscene.  He will have the same 
set of items both times.

After the cutscene, Gabranth will set up a Magick Shield that will make him 
immune to all magick.  You can't Dispel his Haste at this point, though it's 
not that big of a deal.  Pound on him with physical attacks and Berserk Reddas 
and you should defeat him rather easily.  Once Judge Gabranth reaches his last 
25% of life, the battle will cease and more cutscenes will play.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 50     | Doctor Cid                                        |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 92093 | Weak: Light            | Absorb: Dark             |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Hi-Potion, Ketu Board, Magepower Shishak   |
| LP: 18    |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 49 - 51                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

Dispel Doctor Cid of his status enhancements right from the beginning.  Cid 
will mainly attack with both of his guns at the beginning of the battle.  His 
Gatling Gun attack may have a big startup animation and look really over-the-
top, but it only takes off around 700+ damage and may even miss.  Attack 
physically and Berserk Reddas.  The battle will stop and a cutscene will play 
once Cid reaches half of his HP.  What does he have up his sleeve?

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 52      | Famfrit                                           |
|================================================================|
| HP: 149060 | Weak: Fire             | Absorb: Water            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0     | Steal: Aquarius Gem, Elixir, High Arcana          |
| LP: 52     |                                                   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 49 - 51                                     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

Cid uses his Manufactured Nethicite to summon Famfrit!  You will battle both 
Famfrit and Doctor Cid during this battle.  The HP bar at the top of the screen 
still represents Cid, Famfrit's displays below himself.  You cannot harm Cid at 
the moment since he will set up a shield that will make him immune to physical 
and magick attacks right from the start.  This also means that you can't Dispel 
his status enhancements.  He will spend the whole battle shooting at your party 
while you fight Famfrit.  Doctor Cid will also recast Shell, Protect, and Haste 
on Famfrit if your party happens to Dispel it.  Don't set up a gambit to Dispel 
any of them though, since your party members will try to Dispel Cid in vain.

Equip Rose Corsages to all your      +----------------------------------------+
magick users since Famfrit will      | Recommended Gambits                    |
inflict Silence later in the battle. |========================================|
Dispel Famfrit of his status         | Ally: any                  (>) Arise   |
enhancements and turn all of your    | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaja  |
party's attention on him.  Set up a  | Foe: status = Oil          (>) Firaga  |
"Foe: highest level (>) Attack"      | Foe: highest level         (>) Attack  |
gambit to make sure that the party   +----------------------------------------+
focuses on Famfrit.  Famfrit is weak 
against Fire, so Oil him and burn his ass with Firaga for 9999 HP damage!  
Famfrit will mainly attack physically and may perform a water attack (Briny 
Cannonade).

When Famfrit nears half of his HP bar, Cid will unleash his S-85 Cyclotrone 
attack and Famfrit will start to cast Waterja.  Cid's attack will hit all party 
members for about 1000+ HP damage and Famfrit's Waterja will take around 1500+ 
as well as cause Silence (use Rose Corsages to avoid the Silence).  As you 
might notice, this can be one hell of a combination if both bosses do their big 
attacks one right after the other, and oh, how they will!  This is why you 
should set up a Protect or Shell shield on all party members toward the end of 
the battle with Famfrit.  Famfrit's defense will increase at HP critical 
status, though you may not even notice since his weakness to Oil and Fire is 
too much of a downfall for him.  A cutscene will play as Famfrit is defeated 
that will show his demise.

Cid's magick and physical shield will fall shortly after Famfrit is defeated, 
so go back to wailing on him with constant physical attacks and Dispel him of 
any status enhancements he may have.  Be sure to steal from him again as well -
he still carries the same items.  He will continue with the same attacks 
(Gatling Gun and S-85 Cyclotrone) for the remainder of the battle.  Cid's 
defense will increase at HP critical like most bosses.  ++FAMFRIT, THE 
DARKENING CLOUD++ will be added to the License Board after the battle.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Many cutscenes will take place after the battle and you will have the option to 
save.

                           ____  __________ ______
    /\                     \   \/   /__  __|__  __|                     /\
   /  \                     \      /  |  |   |  |                      /  \
  |    |    Part VIII - A Princess as Herself, No More or No Less     |    |
   \  /                     /      \ _|  |_ _|  |_                     \  /
    \/                     /___/\___\______|______|                     \/
[WT08]

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                               Balfonheim Port                    | [PVIII1] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The party will gain the option to travel  +-----------------------------------+
to the Imperial Sky Fortress Bahamut      | Once 10 or more Espers have been  |
after the cutscenes.  The Bahamut         | defeated and after "The Mine      |
Fortress is the final stage of the game   | Flayer" hunt, return to Jahara    |
so prepare well!  Stop by all the shops   | and speak with Geomancer Yugelu   |
in Balfonheim to pick up some new         | to have him open a secret area in |
supplies.  All the shops now carry some   | the Henne Mines that leads to the |
very valuable items including the         | most powerful Esper in the game.  |
Deathbringer Sword (Instant KO [Death]),  | Beware the Darkja!                |
Black Mask (Absorb Dark), White Mask      |    Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts    |
(Absorb Holy), Rubber Suit (Immune to     |             [SE08-1]              |
Thunder), Holy (Light Magick), Flare      +-----------------------------------+
(Good Non-elemental Magick).  You can also buy the following powerful magicks 
if you visit the merchants in the locations provided: Ardor (Barheim Passage), 
Renew (Dalamasca Westersand), Scathe (Necrohol of Nabudis), Hastega (Dalamasca 
Estersand).  Get in the Strahl by going to the Aerodrome or the anchor 
(depending on where you are) and choose to fly to the Bahamut by Rabanastre to 
enter the final area of the game.  Like the game will explain to you, once you 
leave for the Bahamut, you can't return.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                            Sky Fortress Bahamut                  | [PVIII2] |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Antechamber ~~

Your party will start in the Antechamber of the Bahamut after a series of 
cutscenes and you'll have the option of choosing between two doors.  Choose 
either one since they will both lead the same way basically.

~~ Periphery ~~

Whichever way is chosen, your party will wind up in the Periphery.  Many 
Imperials of various types will rush your party.  Either fight them or run.  
The Imperials should basically drop like flies once each character attacks them 
by now.  Make your way to the stairs that lead up in the middle of the 
Periphery and go through that doorway.

~~ Catwalk ~~

A group of cutscenes will play as your party enters this area.  It is 
meaningless to get in a battle in this area since your party will likely get 
overwhelmed by the Rooks and Imperials.  The Helm-Rooks will cast mainly -ara 
spells and the Sphere-Rook will lend support magick to the others (Reflect, 
Shell, etc.) while the Spinner-Rooks will use status effecting spells such as 
Immobilize, Bio, and Toxify and they will also use Gravity.  Fighting them will 
only drain your valuable MP, so flee and make your way to the elevator in the 
middle portion.  The elevator is actually counted as a separate area, so it 
will have the line of the blue lights across it.

~~ Central Lift ~~

Use this chance to cure and administer any appropriate items as you see fit.  
Walk over to the lift controls on the left side and engage the lift.  A 
cutscene will play when your group attempts to start the elevator.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 49     | Judge Gabranth                                    |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 70719 | Weak: N/A              | Absorb: N/A              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Elixir, Hi-Potion, X-Potion                |
| LP: 25    |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 50+                                        |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

Start off by dispeling him as usual.  Judge Gabranth is really no differerent 
that he was in the last battle.  He still uses the same moves minus Guilt 
(Circle of Judgement and Sentence).  They all still take around the same HP 
amount. He can be Blinded and Silenced if you feel the need.  When his HP 
reaches the halfway point, a cutscene will begin.  The cutscene will differ 
depending on if Basch is in your party or not.  He will be free of any status 
effects that you had on him after the cutscene and will have his Haste up once 
again.  Be sure to Silence and Blind him at this point if you are at a low 
level since things will get ugly in just a bit.  He can cast Renew on himself 
at this point to get his full health bar back so try to cast Silence as soon as 
you can or put a Reflect shield on him.  Go ahead and steal from him again as 
well even if you already have.  Gabranth will gain a new attack attack at this 
point - Innocence, which will take around 1500+ damage.  He will also Enrage 
himself when his life bar gets low this is when you should either use a 
Quickening on him or Blind him.  While Enraged, he will frantically chain 
attacks on one character up to about 5 hits and go on a rampage with chains 
while using the occasional Innocence attack.  His defense will grow greatly at 
HP Critical status much like all bosses.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gabranth will remain kneeling to the side.  Take this time to replenish 
everybody.  You might as well pass out any Elixirs or Ethers if you have a 
collection of them since there is little reason to save them now.  Approach the 
life controls once again attempt to engage the lift again.  The elevator will 
begin to rise and another cutscene will begin.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 50     | Vayne Solidor                                     |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 76755 | Weak: N/A              | Absorb: N/A              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: N/A                                        |
| LP: 0     |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 50+                                        |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

The party will have an unofficial guest for this party.  Larsa will once again 
step in and help the party out.  Vayne will only attack physically.  Who knew 
he could throw out such powerful moves?  He will chain together many physical 
attacks at times, taking around 500+ damage per hit.  Other than chaining 
physical attacks, he will throw in a Pummel every now and then that will hit 
for about 1000+ damage and add an occasional Lunge or Kick for about 500+ HP 
damage.  Blind him and he will be pretty much helpless as your party hammers 
away on him.  Larsa will rarely attack Vayne and he will take off very little 
when he actually does.  He seems to be around the same level as he was when he 
was a Guest in your party.  Most of the time he will stay in the back of your 
party and hand over an X-Potion when a party member only has about 30% HP 
remaining.  Don't rely on Larsa to cure your party however.  He does not have a 
gambit set to react every time a party member's HP gets low.  His curing is 
random.  Larsa will also use a Protect shield on all party members eventually 
if the battle last that long.

Like the Gabranth battles, a cutscene will play when Vayne reaches half life. 
He will begin to use Mach Wave during his last half, which will take around 
500+ damage from all in it's path.  Dispel his new status enhancements and 
recast Blind.  Toward the end, Vayne will use Force of Will that will take 
around 1000+ on each character and looks rather impressive.  You're party will 
probably kill him before he gets to use it through.  His defense will kick up 
knotch when he is at HP critical status.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A cutscene will play once again then a new battle will begin.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+------------------------------------+---+------------------------------------+
| Lv 53      | Vayne Novus           |   | Lv 50     | Sephira A              |
|====================================|   |====================================|
| HP: 104210 | Weak: N/A             |   | HP: 12121 | Weak: Water | Abs: Fire|
|------------------------------------|   |------------------------------------|
| Steal: N/A                         |   | Steal: Hi-Ether                    |
+------------------------------------+   +------------------------------------+
| Lv 50      | Sephira B             |   | Lv 50     | Sephira C              |
|====================================|   |====================================|
| HP: 12121  | Weak: Wind| Abs: Earth|   | HP: 12121 | Weak: Thunder| Abs: Ice|
|------------------------------------|   |------------------------------------|
| Steal: Hi-Ether                    |   | Steal: Hi-Ether                    |
+------------------------------------+   +------------------------------------+
| Lv 50      | Sephira D             |   | Lv 50     | Sephira E              |
|====================================|   |====================================|
| HP: 12121  | Weak: Dark| Abs: Light|   | HP: 12121 | Weak: Light | Abs: Dark|
|------------------------------------|   |------------------------------------|
| Steal: Hi-Ether                    |   | Steal: Hi-Ether                    |
+------------------------------------+---+------------------------------------+
|                            Recommended Level: 50+                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

A brand new unofficial guest will help out in this battle - Judge Gabranth!  He 
will attack randomly between Vayne and the Sephiras.  Dispel Vayne of his 
status enhancements first off then try to match up the elemental weakness of 
each of the Sephiras with a magick to defeat them quickly.  They will 
constantly cast -aga magick on your party depening on their element.  You'll 
have to run around the area to keep up with some of them.  A Holy spell will 
take major damage from Sephira E, so begin casting starting with E.  You can 
also steal a Hi-Ether from each one.

As for Vayne, he will still chain together hits just like before and use an 
-aga magick every now and then.  A cutscene will activate when Vayne is near 
half life and he will shoot out some babble then the fight will continue.  He 
will start to use his Invoilable Will attack that will hit for 1500+ damage.  
Vayne eventually set up a magick shield, though it doesn't really help him out 
that much since you should keep attacking him physically anyway.  Set up a 
shell on all characters for this fight so his magick won't take as much off 
since that will be his main attack toward the end.  If Gabranth starts to get 
low in HP he will sometimes throw out an X-Potion to himself, but you should 
really try to keep him cured by casting Curaja on a party member near him.  
It's possible to cast Regen and Haste on Gabranth to help him out a bit also. 
Vayne will use Tree of Sephira toward the end of the battle to to take off 
around 2500+ damage from each party member - this can be a very devastating 
attack so you may want to set up some Protect shields and be ready to cast 
Curaja after this attack.  Keep hammering away with physical attacks and Vayne 
should fall before too long.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

More cutscenes will play then the final battle will begin!

++++++++++++++++++++++ F I N A L  B O S S  B A T T L E ++++++++++++++++++++++++

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 55      | The Undying                                       |
|================================================================|
| HP: 228299 | Weak: N/A              | Absorb: N/A              |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0     | Steal: N/A                                        |
| LP: 0      |                                                   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 50+                                         |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

I'm suddenly reminded of how awesome Vagrant Story was thanks to how The 
Undying moves around the Bahamut much like the setup of the final boss of 
Vagrant Story.  Oh, how this game pleases me!

I would recommend that you perform    +---------------------------------------+
most of your attacks on him manually  | Recommended Gambits                   |
(mainly for spells) since the queue   |=======================================|
will not allow you to cure or Arise   | Ally: any                  (>) Arise  |
while a powerful spell is being       | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaja |
casted.  Dispel him of his status     | Foe: status = Faith        (>) Dispel |
enhancements at the start.  Set up a  | Foe: status = Bravery      (>) Dispel |
Protect shield via Protectga right    | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack |
now and this will save your party a   +---------------------------------------+
bunch.  Run up to the boss and start 
to hammer away with physical attacks, Flares, and Scathes.  No Holy!  He takes 
very minimal damage from elemental attacks, which means that he will be strong 
versus any elemental weapon so keep that in mind.  The Undying will start the 
battle most likely with Divine Sword, which will do around 3000+ damage on the 
target.  Be sure to set up a Curaja gambit since he can hit you from a distance 
with a physical attack that will take between 2000 - 3000 damage per hit; this 
is why I also recommend the Protect shield.  His long distance attack is very 
sneaky since there is little animation for it - this is his primary attack.  
Piercing -aga is another of his attacks that will hit for 2000+ damage - this 
is a more powerful version of all the -aga elemental attacks, hence the name.  
Megaflare will hit all party members for around 2000+ damage.  He will mainly 
use Megaflare only at the beginning of this battle.  If at any time he starts 
to get the best of you within any of the below phases, use a Megalixir or 
Elixir. You are at the final battle and there is no reason to save anything.

He will use Chain Magick to allow him himself to cast magick even faster then 
set up Faith afterwards.  Dispel Faith immediately if you can!  He will set up 
a Magick Shield making him vulnerable to all magicks right after the casting of 
Faith.  Cast Shellga immediately after dispelling Faith.  He will start to use 
Ascension around this time to take off 2500+ damage from all party members.  
The Undying will use Dispelga to take away any status enhancements the party 
may have then use constant Piercing -aga magick.  He will likely use Dispel 
again, but be sure to keep shell up!

For his next trick he will cast Enrage on himself to chain attacks greatly then 
will cast Bravery on himself followed by a Physical Shield that will make him 
immune to physical damage.  Set up a Protect shield immediately and cast Haste 
or Hastega!  Turn off all attacks gambits or simply turn off all gambits and 
cure manually.  He will use Gigaflare Sword that will hit for around a whopping 
3000+ damage to all party members.  His attacks are extremely rapid at this 
stage, so a Protect shield is mandatory!  Hit him with a Flare attack ONLY if 
all party members are healed and they have a Protect shield since you will not 
be able to heal while Flare is being casted - the queue will not allow it.  
Even though Shock takes off less, it is really the best spell to use around 
this time since it doesn't have a long attack animation like Flare.  He will 
likely mix in another Ascension attack before his physical shield wears off.

Pound on him with more physical attacks and spells while you can once the 
shield wears off.  He will attack with his usual long distance physical attacks 
and use Gigaflare Sword eventually.  The Undying will soon set up a Perfect 
Defense Shield that will make him immune to all types of attacks both magick 
and physical.  Like the battle with Pandemonium from earlier, you must simply 
wait this out while trying to survive.  During this stage, he will perform his 
physical attacks, big attacks, and will use Teraflare to cause around 3500+ 
damage.  The good thing about Teraflare is that it means that he is almost 
dead!  When his Perfect Defense fades, pummel him with magick and physical 
attacks until he dies.  His defense will increase greatly like most bosses.  He 
will use Dispelga constantly at this point if you set up Protect and Shell 
shields, but I would advise you to keep casting them.

If this boss manages to beat your party badly because of low maximum HP, try 
setting up a "Self (>) Bubble" gambit on each character and it will make your 
party stand up to his attacks better.  Bubble can be bought from the Clan 
Provisioner after the "Ward of Justice" rank is achieved.  You can also try 
equipping Bubble Belts.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Once the finishing blow has been dealt to Vayney, sit back and enjoy the ending 
to this wonderful game!  Not since Final Fantasy VI have I enjoyed a Final 
Fantasy so much.

__  _____ ___                                                   __  _____ ___
\ \/ /_ _|_ _| /==============================================\ \ \/ /_ _|_ _|
 \  / | | | | |                   SIDE QUESTS                  | \  / | | | |
 /  \ | | | | |                     [SQ00]                     | /  \ | | | |
/_/\_\___|___| \==============================================/ /_/\_\___|___|

IMPORTANT: Please note that the last three hunts are out of order when compared 
to the rest.  I didn't want to go back and renumber everything to put them all 
in order.  #21 is actually the first side quest and should be looked at if you 
plan on performing it (since it can be missed).  Forgive me!  #20 and #19 are 
both discussed in the walkthrough and can always be done later.

Side quests that can be skipped over, without another chance to perform them 
are as follows:

#21 Mysterious Package
# 1 The Zodiac Spear
# 2 Ktjn, the Viera
# 8 July, the Archades Spy

-- The Zodiac Spear

              ____          ___            ____                   [SQ01-1]
    /------\ /_  / ___  ___/ (_)__ _____  / __/__  ___ ___ _____  /------\
    \------/  / /_/ _ \/ _  / / _ `/ __/ _\ \/ _ \/ -_) _ `/ __/  \------/
     [SQ01]  /___/\___/\_,_/_/\_,_/\__/ /___/ .__/\__/\_,_/_/     [SQ01-0]
                                            /_/                  

In order for the Zodiac Spear to be available in the chest later in the game a 
few treasure chests must NOT be opened as you journey through the main story of 
the game.

[ ] Do not open the treasure chest directly across from Old Dalan's front door 
    in the South Sprawl part of Lowtown. [SQ01-1]

Pic: http://tinyurl.com/3bshnu

[ ] Do not open either of the two chests in the Cellars area of the Royal 
    Palace of Rabanastre.  This is the area where the red Seeq distracts the 
    guard while Vaan sneaks by. [SQ01-2]

Pic: http://tinyurl.com/3ds66o

[ ] Do not open any of the chests in The Confiscatory of the Nalbina Dungeons. 
    This is the room where the party gets their weapons back after being 
    captured. [SQ01-3]

Pic: http://tinyurl.com/2mag9l

[ ] Do not open any of the 16 chest on the Phon Coast that are lined up along 
    the beach of the Vaddu Strand area.  All of them contain gil, but you want 
    that spear more than a one-time helping of gil right? [SQ01-4]

Pic: http://tinyurl.com/2uezoo

The Zodiac spear can be found inside of a treasure chest in the Necrohol of 
Nabudis/Cloister of the Highborn if you do not open any of the above chests. 
See Necrohol of Nabudis/Nabreus Deadlands section under this section for more 
info.  The spear has a whopping AP of 150 and is the most powerful weapon in 
the game.  Enjoy!

IMPORTANT: Be sure to NOT equip the Diamond Armlet when attempting to collect 
the spear from the chest or your party will receive a Dark Matter instead!

-- Ktjn the Viera

            __ ____    _        __  __         _   ___             
 /------\  / //_/ /_  (_)__    / /_/ /  ___   | | / (_)__ _______ _ /------\
 \------/ / ,< / __/ / / _ \  / __/ _ \/ -_)  | |/ / / -_) __/ _ `/ \------/
  [SQ02] /_/|_|\__/_/ /_//_/  \__/_//_/\__/   |___/_/\__/_/  \_,_/  [SQ02-1]
                 |___/                                             

Availability: She will appear after the party escapes from Barheim Passage.  
Once your party enters Rabanastre again, she will be in Muthruu Bazaar.
Location: Muthruu Bazaar (Rabanastre); look for a Viera (bunny ears) named Ktjn

Ktjn can actually be found at many other places throughout Rabanastre 
sometimes.  She will ask the party a series of four questions.  The reward will 
differ depending on how many questions you get "right".  She will be labeled as 
"Viera" until you talk with her the first time.  Keep talking to her until she 
starts to ask a question.  She will only ask a question after each major event 
in the game, so she should have a new question for you after each major boss 
fight.  If she doesn't have a question for you, she will keep repeating the 
same phrase.  You should be negative with all answers except for the fourth 
question.  Here is a list of questions:

1. Is the city not wonderful?  I still lose my way on occasion, but I have come 
to know some of her walks and alleyways.  But the land, I cannot hear it... 
Should this not trouble me as a Viera?

(Correct) Yes, you should be ashamed.
(Wrong)   No, don't be silly.

2. I knew my choice would bring hardship, yet...

(Correct) You should've thought it through.
(Wrong)   Things will get better.

3. I would be as she is.  Do you think it possible?

(Wrong)   Sure, if you put your mind to it.
(Neutral) I don't know your sister.
(Correct) It'll never happen.

4. Perhaps it would be better if I too became a warrior like my sister.  What 
do you think?

(Correct) I think it's a good idea.
(Wrong)   I'm not so sure.

The next time you meet Ktjn, after question 4, she will tell you that she has 
made up her mind and she walks away from her current sitting place in the 
Muthru Bazzar.  If you answered all the questions correctly, go to the Clan 
Hall to find her fighting with a Bangaa on the first floor.  Talk to her and 
she will give you a ++PLATINUM SWORD++.  Her location for this final meeting 
will differ depending on how many questions you answered correctly.  The prize 
will also differ depending on the questions answered as well.

If one question is answered wrong, in this case, the first question, she will 
appear in the far west portion of Rabanastre's East End, and will hand over an 
++ETHER and 3 HI-POTIONS++.  I have also been told that she can appear on the 
right side of the North End, in Migello's Sundries shop, and in the Aerodrome.

(thanks to "the captain" and nirvana_psp for the extra reward info and many 
other readers for their emails on this side quest.)

* Supposedly, if you talk to the Viera in the Clan Hall, she will give you a 
hint as to Ktjn's location.

-- Pilika's Diary

              ___  _ ___ __        __       ___  _              
   /------\  / _ \(_) (_) /_____ _/_/___   / _ \(_)__ _______ __ /------\
   \------/ / ___/ / / /  '_/ _ `/  (_-<  / // / / _ `/ __/ // / \------/
    [SQ03] /_/  /_/_/_/_/\_\\_,_/  /___/ /____/_/\_,_/_/  \_, /  [SQ03-1]
                                                         /___/  

Availability: After the party is attacked by Ba'Gamnan in the Lhusu mines, but 
you must complete the "The Cry of Its Power" Elite Mark Hunt.
Location: Khus Skygrounds (Bhujerba)

Talk to the moogle, Pilika, in the Khus Skygrounds area of Bhujerba after 
performing the "The Cry of Its Power" Hunt and she will ask your party to 
retrieve her diary from the second floor of Clio's Technicks.  She will give 
your party the ++MERCHANT'S ARMBAND++, which must be worn to enter the second 
floor of Clio's Technicks.  Clio's Technicks is in the Miner's End of Bhujerba. 
Go up the steps to the left and search the bookshelf with the ladder to get the 
icon for ++PILIKA'S DIARY++.  It doesn't matter whether you read it or not 
right now.  What matters is how you answer the question Pilika will ask when 
you go back to her and give her the diary.  You will receive a different item 
for each answer:

You...didn't read it, did you, kupo?

(++KILIMWEAVE SHIRT++)  Read it.
(++SHEPHERD'S BOLERO++) I've done nothing.

-- Sunstone Help

                    ____              __                  
         /------\  / __/_ _____  ___ / /____  ___  ___ ___ /------\
         \------/ _\ \/ // / _ \(_-</ __/ _ \/ _ \/ -_|_-< \------/
          [SQ04] /___/\_,_/_//_/___/\__/\___/_//_/\__/___/ [SQ04-1]

Availability: When the party escapes from the Leviathan, this will be available 
after talking with Marquis Ondore again (aka. when the party starts out in the 
Dalmasca Westersand after the cutscenes).  This side quest cannot be performed 
while it is raining in the Giza Plains (after escaping from Shiva).
Location: Nomad Village (Giza Plains)

Return to the Nomad Village in Giza Plains and talk to Masyua beside the Dark 
Stone.  Choose "Can you tell me about the Sunstones?"  He will ask if you are 
interested in making some Sunstones.  Agree to make the Sunstone and Masyua 
will hand over a ++SHADESTONE++.  You need to travel around to all the lit up 
darkstones as shown on your map and hold the Shadestone up to them to charge it 
like before.  There are altogether four, but the map will only show two at a 
time.  They are in Starfall Field, Gizas North Bank, Gizas South Bank, and 
Warrior's Wash.  You must go to the ones that light up on your map, only they 
will be lit up - the others will stay dark.  Return the Sunstone to Masyua and 
sell the sunstone to her.  She will hand over ++200 GIL, 2 POTIONS, and a HOLY 
STONE++ if you were quick.  Please note that you can repeat this side quest and 
the reward will vary depending on how much time was taken to make the sunstone.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| TIME                              | QUALITY            | REWARD       |
|=======================================================================|
| Less than 7 minutes               | Highest grade      | - 2 Potions  |
|                                   |                    | - Holy Stone |
|                                   |                    | - 200 gil    |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Between 7 minutes and 15 minutes  | Nice stone         | - Holy Stone |
|                                   |                    | - 150 gil    |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Between 15 minutes and 35 minutes | Acceptable quality | - 100 gil    |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Over 35 minutes                   | Bit poor           | - 50 gil     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------|

(thanks to Froglet (aka. froglet42) for the list of rewards)

-- The Lost Cactoid

               __            __    _____         __       _    __
    /------\  / /  ___  ___ / /_  / ___/__ _____/ /____  (_)__/ / /------\
    \------/ / /__/ _ \(_-</ __/ / /__/ _ `/ __/ __/ _ \/ / _  /  \------/
     [SQ05] /____/\___/___/\__/  \___/\_,_/\__/\__/\___/_/\_,_/   [SQ05-1]

Availability:  You must complete "Dalmasca's Desert Bloom".  This event will be 
available after collecting the Dusk Shard from Raithwall's Tomb.

Talk to Dantro at the Outpost of the Esterland and he will ask you to deliver 
the Cactus Flower, that you got from the Flowering Cactoid, to his wife in the 
South Bank Village.  South Bank Village is far to the north of the Outpost.  
His wife is the woman standing at the entrance of the house across from the 
campfire.  Talk to her and she will give you a ++BUNDLE OF NEEDLES++ for 
bringing her the Desert Flower.

Exit and reenter the village to find the Village Elder standing next to the boy 
at the dock out in the water.  Talk to the boy (Tchigri).  He will mention that 
his father has not come back yet and that he will go to the North Bank to find 
him.  Accept the Village Elder's request when she asks Vaan to go with Tchigri. 
Speak with Ruksel after the cutscene with the Catoids.  The Cactoids son, Dran, 
is missing.  Ruksel will want you to search the South Bank Village for Dran.  
Vaan will automatically return to the South Village after the cutscene.  Talk 
to Dantro's wife and then search the back of the house she is standing in front 
of. Approach the flower in the back and wait for the "Dran?" icon then examine 
the flower.  Allow Dran to follow you back to the dock then speak with Tchigri. 
Walk over to the Cactoids after crossing the river.  Dran will come back after 
the other Cactoids walk away and award Vaan with ++1000 GIL and WYRMFIRE 
SHOT++.  You can now use the boat to cross the river between North and South 
Bank Village any time you want by talking to Tchigri!

-- Bottles of Spirits

               ____     _     _ __    ___       __  __  __      
    /------\  / __/__  (_)___(_) /_  / _ )___  / /_/ /_/ /__ ___ /------\
    \------/ _\ \/ _ \/ / __/ / __/ / _  / _ \/ __/ __/ / -_|_-< \------/
     [SQ06] /___/ .__/_/_/ /_/\__/ /____/\___/\__/\__/_/\__/___/ [SQ06-1]
               /_/                                              
 
Availability: After retrieving the Dawn Shard from Raithwall's Tomb.
Location: Bhujerba

Several bottles of Bhujerban Madhu are lying in different locations throughout 
Bhujerba.  These bottles can be sold to individuals for 1000 gil each.  There 
is one bottle in each area and one buyer in each area.  The bottles will be 
labeled as "Bottles of Spirits" as you approach each one.  Only 14 bottles can 
be sold.  You can actually enter an area, find the bottle, sell that bottle in 
that area, then reenter and sell the same bottle again until you get 14.

01 - Aerodrome

Bottle: On top of a pile of luggage.  Look to the left of the standing Seeq and 
to the left of the man sitting on the bench.
Buyer: The man sitting on the railing talking to an Imperial.

02 - Rithil's Protectives

Bottle: Inside of the cabinet next to the counter.
Buyer: Shop clerk, right next to the counter.

03 - Targe's Arms

Bottle: Walk up the stairs to the right upon entering and it is in between the 
two weapon cases past the rack of spears.
Buyer: The woman talking to the sitting man.

04 - Mait's Magicks

Bottle: Run up the stairs to the left and go straight to the back to find it 
lying among some bottles and vases.
Buyer: The Bhujerban Guru leaning against the wall right next to where you 
found the bottle.

05 - Travica Way

Bottle: To the left of the squatting man who is talking to the street kid on 
the southeast end.
Buyer: Man leaning against the wall across from Mait's Magicks.

06 - Khus Skygrounds

Bottle: To the left of the item vendor on a box behind a moogle.
Buyer: The woman leaning against the raised platform across the item vendor.

07 - Cloudborne Row

Bottle: On a box off to the left at the south dead end.
Buyer: The Cloudborne Patron next to his fallen friend.  This is outside the 
Cloudborne.

08 - The Cloudborne

Bottle: Lying on the table with a drunken woman closest to the bar.
Buyer: Magu, the Seeq directly across from the bar.

09 - The Staras Residence

Bottle: Turn to the right as you come in and look to the right of the dresser 
facing you to find it on a box
Buyer: Niray, but you must first complete the "Antlion Infestation" hunt for 
her to buy it.  Sell it to someone else if you haven't - no big deal.

10 - Miner's End

Bottle: To the right of the entrance to Bashketi's Gambits on a box.
Buyer: The Lhusu Miner in the south who is staring up and talking to a moogle 
on a building.

11 - Clio's Technicks

Bottle: To the left of the counter on a box near a desk.
Buyer: Front shop clerk moogle on the red carpet.

12 - Bashketi's Gambits

Bottle: Walk up the steps to the right and head toward the bookshelf on the 
back wall directly ahead to find it.
Buyer: The red shop clerk Seeq on the north end of the raised area.

13 - Kaff Terrace

Bottle: Behind the blue Seeq who is leaning against the railing on the right as 
you walk down the street.
Buyer: The woman staring off the north end of the terrace.

14 - Lhusu Square

Bottle: Directly in front of the entrance to the Lhusu Mines, lying on the 
railing around the fountain.
Buyer: The Lhusu Miner sitting on the box to the right of the red item vendor 
Seeq.

-- Patient in the Estersand

                ___           __       _         __ __        
     /------\  / _ )___ _____/ /  ___ (_)_ _    / //_/__ __ __ /------\
     \------/ / _  / _ `/ __/ _ \/ -_) /  ' \  / ,< / -_) // / \------/
      [SQ07] /____/\_,_/_/ /_//_/\__/_/_/_/_/ /_/|_|\__/\_, /  [SQ07-1]
                                                       /___/  

Availability: After retrieving the Dawn Shard from Raithwall's Tomb.  You must 
have finished the "The Lost Cactoid" side quest and the "Marauder in the Mines" 
Hunt to fully complete this side quest.
Location: Dalmasca Estersand

Talk to Dantro's wife in the South Bank Village.  She will mention that she 
needs some Semclam shells to ease her patient's pain.  Check around the banks 
of the river for two "Mysterious Glints" shining in the water - these are ++2 
SEMCLAM SHELLS++.  Leave the village and head to the south Bank of Nebra area 
and check the banks to the west for ++3 SEMCLAM SHELLS++.  One is all that is 
needed but you will get a better reward for more.

Give the Semclam Shells to Dantro's Wife and she will ask for some Nebralim.  
She mentions that Dantro has some, so go all the way back to the Outpost and 
speak with him.  He will tell you to look by the crates to the side.  Check the 
large canisters to find a "Small Phial" that is actually the ++NEBRALIM++.  
There is also another ++NEBRALIM++ around the northeast corner of this area.  
Make sure to grab them both if you want the best bonus reward.  Go all the way 
back to the South Bank Village and give the Nebralim to Dantro's Wife.

Now she will want you to bring back some Valeblossom Dew to neutralize the 
patient's poison.  Use the boat to the side to cross the river and head for the 
Broken Sands area of the Estersand.  The Broken Sands area is to the North of 
the area to the west of the North Bank Village.  This area has some level 25 
enemies and an aggressive Wild Saurian, so run if you must.  Check the branches 
with the pink leaves extending out of the side of the cliffs in the Broken 
Sands are to find the Valeblossom Dew (labeled as "Mysterious Glint").  There 
are altogether ++3 VALEBLOSSOM DEWS++.  The first two are right near the 
beginning, but the last one will require you to move to the other side of the 
cliff in the middle to get one last drop of dew.

She will ask for a Great Serpentskin next.  The ++GREAT SERPENTSKIN++ is the 
reward for completing the "Marauder in the Mines" Hunt.  If you accidentally 
sold the Great Serpentskin, then she will not ask for it, but your bonus reward 
will be lowered.  She will tell you that she respects a full recover from the 
traveler soon.  Come back to this area after the next major event of the game, 
whatever that may be for you, and the traveler will give you something special. 
Talk to Dantro's wife upon returning and she will tell you to talk to the 
patient behind the house.  Talk to the recovering patient and she will give you 
the ++BARHEIM KEY++.  She will also hand over a ++GOLDEN AMULET++ as a bonus if 
you brought every item to Dantro's Wife for her recovery.  The bonus prize will 
differ based on what your party retrieved for her.  Some of the other prizes 
include ++MAGICK GLOVES++ and a ++BALANCE MOTE++.

-- July, the Archades Spy

                                   __     __    
                     /------\  __ / /_ __/ /_ __ /------\
                     \------/ / // / // / / // / \------/
                      [SQ08]  \___/\_,_/_/\_, /  [SQ08-1]
                                         /___/  

Availability: After retrieving the Dawn Shard.  This can't be finished until 
your party reaches Archades, BUT the first half MUST be done before you venture 
off to Nalbina in the main story or the first event will never trigger.
Location: Nalbina Fortress

Use the Aerodrome airship to fly over to Nalbina BEFORE the main story causes 
your party to head for Nalbina.  Run over the portion of the city in the west 
(West Barbian) and walk over to the right path that leads out of the city to 
trigger a conversation between two Imperials as your party approaches them.  A 
woman named July will be spying on them from the side.  Deweg has sand in 
places sand has no right to be and he has had it with the smell of chocobos.  
Let's be an ass shall we?  Walk over to Gurdy and rent a chocobo then ride it 
in between Gibbs and Deweg.  Gibbs will run off from the fear of smelling like 
a chocobo.  July will thank you since she now has the information that she 
needs.  She will tell you that perhaps the two of you will meet in Archades 
someday.  Perhaps indeed.  Meet up with July in Charlotte's Magicks once you 
have gained access to Archades and speak with her.  She will be squatting near 
a table by the chopmaster and will hand over a ++SALAMAND HALCYON++.

Notice that the Imperial Soldiers' names are Gibbs and Deweg.  Their names are 
basically anagrams of both Biggs and Wedge from the past Final Fantasy games - 
the two reoccurring troublesome soldiers.

(Thanks to Lucifer from the Arctic Nightfall boards for the Biggs and Wedge 
reference)

-- Terror in the Westersand
             ____         __  __     ______                   __ 
  /------\  / __/__ _____/ /_/ /    /_  __/_ _________ ____  / /_ /------\
  \------/ / _// _ `/ __/ __/ _ \    / / / // / __/ _ `/ _ \/ __/ \------/
   [SQ09] /___/\_,_/_/  \__/_//_/   /_/  \_, /_/  \_,_/_//_/\__/  [SQ09-1]
                                        /___/                    

Availability: After retrieving the Dawn Shard from the Tomb of Raithwall.

This event starts in Rabanastre.  Talk to Rimzat, the Green Bangaa near the 
exit to the Dalmasca Westersand of the West Gate.  Agree to help him.  He will 
ask you to meet with the man in Southern Plaza that is sitting inside the 
fountain.  Go to Southern Plaza and speak with Cotze in the middle of the area 
on the inside railing of the fountain.  He will ask you to go talk to his 
friend Northon, over by Storehouse 5 in Lowtown.  He's referring to the area 
near the Garamsythe Waterway.  Facing away from the entrance to Storehouse 
five, walk to the left, then make a right and you will find Northom squatting 
next to a red Bangaa.  Talk to him to learn of the Windvane.  The Windvane was 
split up into two pieces.  Northom's pice is in the west portion of the 
Westersand under one of the giant dynast-cactuses.  Go back to Cotze and he 
will tell you that the piece is hidden in the northwest of the Shimmering 
Horizons.

Head out to the Westersand and go west in the Galtea Downs then turn left and 
head south immediately when you enter The Midfault.  This will take you to the 
Shimmering Horizons.  Now you need to stay along the north side and find a path 
that will lead you to a small section of the Windtrace Dunes in the northwest.  
This area only contains a few enemies - some Alraunes and a Wolf.  Check the 
Dynast-cactoid against the rock wall in the west portion of this area to 
unearth the ++WIND GLOBE++.  Take the Wind Globe back to Rabanastre.

Note about the Wind Globe location:

You must access the Windtrace Dunes from the Shimmering Horizons to find the 
correct Dynast-cactoid.  The Windtrace Dunes on the north side (accessible from 
The Midfault) has nothing and every time you check the Dynast-cactoids in the 
Shimmering Horizons south of the Galtea Downs and south of the Midfault you 
will find nothing.

Northon and Cotze will now be standing at the Westgate along with Rimzat.  
Speak with either of them to start a conversation.  They will speak of a 
mysterious egg then hand over a ++WINDVANE++ after Vann gives them the Wind 
Globe.  The Wyrm's Nest is in the northeast section of the Dalmasca Westersand. 
Head north in the Galtea Downs portion then the Wyrm's Nest will be in the 
northeast of the Corridor of Sand.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 30     | Earth Tyrant                                      |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 70982 | Weak: Wind           | Absorb: Earth              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Hi-Potion, Tyrant Hide, Tyrant Bone        |
| LP: 21    |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 27 - 30                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

This is a very tough battle at  +---------------------------------------------+
low levels mainly because       | Recommended Gambits                         |
Blind and Slow will miss the    |=============================================|
Earth Tyrant almost every time. | Ally: any                  (>) Phoenix Down |
This boss is just like a Wild   | Self                       (>) Haste        |
Saurian and will mainly attack  | Ally: strong character     (>) Decoy        |
physically and will take off    | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack       |
around 500 HP per hit.  The     +---------------------------------------------+
main savior of this battle is 
to have a tough party member with good evasion and a good shield along with 
Decoy cast on them.  Decoy will help out tremendously.  Have the Decoyed party 
member with a Tourmaline Ring to avoid the Earth Tyrant's poison attacks.  He 
doesn't afflict poison that often, but this is much better than setting up an 
extra gambit just to cure a rare status effect.  The only other problem is the 
Earth Tyrant's Screwtail attack.  This is an extremely damaging move that will 
hit all close party members.  Be sure to have a Protect shield set up on 
everybody in the party - equip Shielded Armor from Mount Bur-Omisace.  Larsa 
will help out a bunch for this battle - in fact, cast Haste on Larsa at the 
beginning of this battle or before entering and keep it on him at all times 
along with Protect.  If you don't have Larsa, then I suggest you make your own 
Larsa out of a party member by placing Hi-Potion cure gambits on one person 
because you will need a quick healer - magic takes too long and you'll be too 
busy casting other spells.  Instead of having one person to cast Decoy, have 
two people (counting the Lured person) to cast Decoy on that one person.  This 
is going to be a long battle because of his tremendous HP, but if you have 
everything set properly and keep your magick up then you should be able to beat 
him.  Once he nears a little lower than half life, his defense will increase a 
bunch and the battle will get even longer.  If you have a good trigger finger 
then I would suggest performing a Quickening when he is at 75% life.  Have a 
person with a Quickening in your reserve party. No matter how much you plan for 
this battle, it can all go to hell very quickly because of his Screwtail 
attack.

One more note about this boss that I'd like to make is that he can indeed be 
Blinded then Berserked to make the battle a whole lot easier.  While Berserked 
he will not do his Screwtail attack.  For an easy Blind, have the Nihopalaoa 
equipped and use a Remedy on him to hit all of his status weak points.  The 
Nihopalaoa is sold by the Clan Provisioner once the Headhunter rank is reached 
(ten marks defeated).  This is an extremely useful item when combined with 
items.  I'll probably list this in another section at a later date.

(thanks to Lucifer from the Arctic Nightfall boards)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-- Dating Service

             ___       __  _             ____             _        
  /------\  / _ \___ _/ /_(_)__  ___ _  / __/__ _____  __(_)______  /------\
  \------/ / // / _ `/ __/ / _ \/ _ `/ _\ \/ -_) __/ |/ / / __/ -_) \------/
   [SQ10] /____/\_,_/\__/_/_//_/\_, / /___/\__/_/  |___/_/\__/\__/  [SQ10-1]
                               /___/                               

Availability: After talking with the Garif High-chief in Jahara.
Location: Rabanastre

In the Southgate section of Rabanastre, approach the Viera standing by the 
chocobo stables and speak with her.  She will mention that she came to 
Rabanastre to search for a soul mater.  She will walk off after talking.  Enter 
the Southern Plaza and talk with the "Lovestruck Man" by the fountain in the 
middle.  He will mention that he just saw a Viera head toward the East End of 
the city and that he wants to score with her.  Run through the East End and 
enter the North End.  Enter Yamoora's Gambits to find the Viera leaning against 
a column.  Speak with her again and she will mention that she needs a drink 
then leave.  Enter the Sandsea in East End to find her sitting on the second 
floor railing.  Spear with her once more.  She will ask if you know of a person 
that feels strongly for her.  Well, it just so happens we do!  Rush back to the 
East end and talk to the Lovestruck Man.  Agree to talk to the Viera for the 
Lovestruck Man then go back to the Sandsea.  Tell the Viera that "There's this 
man in the Southern Plaza..." and she will hurriedly rush off to meet him.  
Talk to them in the Southern Plaza (by the fountain) and the Viera will give 
over a ++LOXLEY BOW and 2 HI-POTIONS++.

-- Necrohol of Nabudis & Nabreus Deadlands 

                         _  __     __           ___    [SQ11-1]
              /------\  / |/ /__ _/ /  __ _____/ (_)__ /------\
              \------/ /    / _ `/ _ \/ // / _  / (_-< \------/
               [SQ11] /_/|_/\_,_/_.__/\_,_/\_,_/_/___/ [SQ11-2]

Availability: When the party enters the Salikawood/after "Waterway Haunting" 
and "Lost in Pudding" hunts are complete.

The Necrohol of Nabudis is the home of the Zodiac Spear (if you didn't open 
those treasure chests that I listed throughout the walkthrough) and many extra 
bosses.  It is located in northwestern portion of The Salikawood.  Along the 
way, in the Grand Bower, your party will have to defeat an extra boss known as 
the King Bomb.

~~ Grand Bower ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
| Lv 34    | King Bomb              |   | Lv 33    | Bomb                   |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 37596| Weak: Water | Ab: Fire |   | HP: 3233 | Weak: Water            |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 0   | Steal: Bomb Shell, Bomb|   | Exp: 137 | Steal: See enemy list  |
| LP: 22   | Fragment, Fire Crystal |   | LP: 1    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------+   +-----------------------------------+
| Lv 32    | Bomb                   |   | Lv 32    | Bomb                   |
|===================================|   |===================================|
| HP: 3233 | Weak: Water            |   | HP: 3233 | Weak: Water            |
|-----------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------|
| Exp: 137 | Steal: See enemy list  |   | Exp: 137 | Steal: See enemy list  |
| LP: 1    |                        |   | LP: 1    |                        |
+-----------------------------------+---+-----------------------------------+
|                        Recommended Level: 33 - 36                         |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

** Before entering the area of the King Bomb, stand near the save point and 
cast Haste, Regen, Protect, Shell, and Vanish on all party members then touch 
the save point to recharge your MP.  You can also save your game with the 
status enhancements.  This will help you start the battle with a bang - pardon 
the pun.

After a very aggressively natured   +-----------------------------------------+
entrance, the King Bomb and his     | Recommended Gambits                     |
trio of Bombs will challenge your   |=========================================|
party.  First of all, Dispel the    | Ally: any                  (>) Raise    |
King Bomb of his Haste status right | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaga   |
at the beginning.  Have Aqua Shot   | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack   |
ready with your gunner if you have  +-----------------------------------------+
it, equip Gillie Boots to each 
member of your party to avoid Oil and have some Adamant Hats, Adamant Vest, or 
Flame Shields equipped to reduce the Fire damage your party will sustain.  All 
attacks from the King Bomb are fire-based - even his normal attacks!  The most 
important equipment to have is the Gillie Boots; the Bombs will cast Oil on all 
your party members as the battle starts and any explosions from the Bombs are a 
date with death when Oiled.  What you want to do immediately after Dispeling 
him is to Silence him.  Either use Silent Shot with a gun or Silence him 
normally with magick.  Silencing him will keep him from performing his Cry for 
Help move to summon more bombs.  Quickly defeat the three bombs after silencing 
the King Bomb.

The King Bomb is at a major disadvantage when he is the only enemy left.  He 
will only attack physically.  The King Bomb will start to run from your party 
once he reaches half of his HP and will perform his Renew move that will boost 
him back to full health.  It is possible to use a Quickening to immediately 
stop the move, but make sure to kill him with that Quickening chain!  He will 
run and renew twice during the battle.  The second time he will start the move 
at 75% health.  Believe it or not, Belias will work very well for this battle 
if the enemies do not all gang up on the summoner.  Cast Decoy on Belias to 
help out the summoner.  Belias will only attack the enemies with his weapon and 
they will all heal him with their fire attacks.  The only thing that can go 
wrong is if Belias does his Hellfire attack he will cure the Bombs - make sure 
to dismiss him before he does his Hellfire move.  If all else fails, try 
equipping a single character with nothing but flame armor (adamant hat, adamant 
vest, fire shield) and cast Decoy on that person. The attacks should take off 
very minimal damage.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

------
**EXTRA CUTSCENES in Necrohol of Nabudis**

The same cutscene will play whether you enter the Necrohol of Nabudis or the 
Nabreus Deadlands (once you reach the hill), but there is an extra cutscene 
involving Ashe that will play if you have not journeyed to Archades yet.
------

The Necrohol of Nabudis is to the west beyond the area where you fight the King 
Bomb.  It is the home of many extra bosses, but first you need to gain three 
medallions in order to open the doors to each of the boss rooms.

To start seaching for the three medallions, you will need to head back to 
Lowtown and go back to the residence in Lowtown where Deeg was hiding out 
during the "Waterway Haunting" Hunt.  Enter the residence and talk to Deeg.  He 
will mention a letter on the table next to him that someone left behind.  
Examine the ++DUSTY LETTER++ to find out about an item that was split into four 
pieces.

"Stop the water's flow, then loose it once more.  East Southeast East Southwest 
Southeast I pray that it rest there undisturbed."

Talk to Deeg again to find out that a moogle carries the key mentioned in the 
letter.  The key is actually the Sluice Gate Key that you will receive from the 
moogle Sorbet after performing the "Lost in the Pudding" hunt.

To start things off, go to the Garamsythe Waterway.  Enter the Central Waterway 
Control from the Overflow Cloaca area that you start out in.  Open all the 
gates by making sure that the light is off on all the controls.  Follow the 
directions below (or to the left):

Close Gate #11  (Light on)  [East on map]
Close Gate #4   (Light on)  [Southeast on map]
Open Gate  #11  (Light off) [East on map]
Close Gate #3   (Light on)  [Southwest on map]
Open Gate  #4   (Light off) [Southeast on map]

The far right column is to show you how this refers to the Dusty Letter.  After 
opening and closing the gates listed above a small noise will be heard as if 
something fell and a Shiny Object will appear in front of the middle southern 
gate.  Examine the Shiny Object to obtain the ++DULL FRAGEMENT++.

The ++BLACKENED FRAGMENT++ is received from Samal during the "Crime and 
Punishment" Hunt.

You also need to head to the Nabreus Deadlands.  The entrance is in the 
northwest portion of the Salikawood, past the Grand Bower where you fought the 
King Bomb.  Speak with Ma'kleou (Quiet Nu Mou) at the top of the hill in the 
Muted Scarp.  Ask him "Who he is" and "Why is he there".  Travel back to 
Lowtown and enter Old Dalan's Place.  Roh'kenmou will be inside talking with 
Old Dalan.  Speak with Roh'kenmou.  He will mention the four objects that you 
read about in the Dusty Letter and he will tell Vaan that he is in possession 
of one.  You already have two so there is only one more left.  He will tell you 
that he is looking for a piece that went on a medallion.  

1) Speak with Filo in the southeast corner of Lowtown.  She mentions that her 
group has checked everywhere but the city streets.

2) Go to the Southern Plaza of Rabanastre and speak with the Curious Woman by 
the fountain.  Listen to what she has to say.  She will mention a necklace that 
was given to her, but she can't remember where she got it from.

3) Enter Muthru Bazaar and speak the Bangaa Merchant (labeled as "Merchant").  
Ask about the necklace.  He will tell you that he sold a necklace to an 
Imperial.  The Imperial is supposedly hanging out at one of the shops around 
town.

4) Enter Yugri's Magicks.  Speak with the Sotted Imperial kneeling to the left. 
Ask about the necklace.  Tell him about the womand near the fountain.

5) The woman will not be near the fountain when you go back to Southern Plaza, 
so go back to the North Sprawl of Lowtown and talk to Kytes near Warehouse #5 
(Garamsythe Waterway entrance).  Hear both sets of news, doesn't matter which 
is first.

6) Speak with Filo again in the southeast corner of Lowtown.  Tell her you need 
to see the woman.  Agree to go with her and you will be taken straight to 
Yugri's Magicks.

7) Talk with the Sotted Imperial.  A conversation will commence then the girl 
(Curious Woman) will hand over the ++GRIMY FRAGMENT++.

8) Give all three fragement pieces to Roh'kenmou back in Old Dalan's Place.  He 
asks Vaan to visit Nabudis later.

9) Go to Archades and enter Charlotte's Magickery.  Speak with Roh'kenmu at the 
top of the stairs.  Inquire about the Moonsilver Medallion when he asks.  It 
turns out that he sold the Moonsilver Medallion to a person named Otto.

10) Enter Old Archades and talk to Otto (Proper Gent) in the northeast portion 
of the Alley of Muted Sighs.  After a brief conversation, Otto will hand over 
the ++MOONSILVER MEDALLION++.

11) Return to Charlotte's Magickery and hand over the Moonsilver Medallion to 
Roh'kenmu.

12) Return to the Nabreus Deadlands and speak with Ma'kleou once again at the 
top of the Muted Scarp.

All three of the Acolytes will now be grouped at the Muted Scarp.  He will 
mention three beasts: Humbaba, Fury, and Chaos.  He says that they were sealed 
away after a great battle.  He mentions that the final medallion, the Medallion 
of Might rest in a small shrine in the Overlooking Eternity portion of the 
Nabreus Deadlands.  They will then travel to the Overlooking Eternity and await 
your party's entry.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                              Nabreus Deadlands                              |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Vale of Lingering Sorrow ~~

The urn with the ++MAP OF THE NABREUS DEADLANDS++ is in the northwest portion 
of this area (to the left as you enter).  The Crusaders here can be deadly with 
their high amount of HP.  They will cast Slowga on the party so be ready to 
counter with Haste or Hastega.  You need to go northeast.

~~ The Slumbermead ~~

There is a hidden path in the northwest portion of this area that will lead you 
to the secret area on the northwest portion of your map.  You will need to find 
a path around the side of the mountain wall beyond the tall grass in the 
northwest.  Plenty of Dead Bones and other enemies will spawn from the ground. 
The Dead Bones are not as strong as Crusades, but they have more powerful 
magick.

~~ The Fog Mutters ~~

Follow the path to the northwest.

~~ Overlooking Eternity ~~

DO NOT run up the path too fast or the Dead Bones will easily overwhelm your 
party.  This can be a very dangerous area since the Dead Bones will rise from 
the ground constantly.  It may be a good idea to equip the party with Argyle 
Armlets to avoid their Flash (Blind).  Ma'kleou and the rest of the Acolyte's 
will meet your party at the top of this mountain once your party steps up to 
the engraved stone. Ma'kleou will hand over the ++MEDALLION OF BRAVERY, the 
++MEDALLION OF LOVE, and once he walk off your party will gain the ++LUSTERLESS 
MEDALLION++.  When you get the Field of Fallen the Fallen Lord in the northeast 
portion of the Nabreus Deadlands, you can enter the Necrohol of Nabudis from 
the area, or you can go back and enter the Necrohol from the Salikawood.  Both 
ways will lead you close to one of the doors that can be open using the first 
two medallions.  The Nabreus Deadlands entrance will start you close to the 
door that can be opened with the Medallion of Love (Door of Loathing), while 
the entrance from the Salikawood will lead you to the door that can be opened 
with the Medallion of Bravery (Door of Horrors).  In order to use the 
Lusterless Medallion you must first defeat the two bosses that lie behind the 
doors that the Medallion of Bravery and Love unlock.  Head to the northeast if 
you want to enter the Necrohol from the Nabreus Deadlands.

~~ Succor Midst Sorrow ~~

A Crystalbug is off to the left.  This one has uses some very damaging spells 
so have Curaja handy.  It will turn into an orange save crystal once you defeat 
it.

~~ Lifeless Stand ~~

The extra portions of this area will contain many chests and there are quite a 
few areas that stray off from the main path so you want to do a little 
exploring.  The Leynire should be no problem.  Make sure the Baknamys don't 
gang up too much.

~~ Field of the Fallen Lord ~~

This area doesn't contain too many enemies.  The east path will lead you to the 
Necrohol of Nabudis.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|                             Necrohol of Nabudis                             |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~ Hall of Slumbering Might ~~

Be on your guard while moving through these dangerous halls.  The enemies here 
can get very aggressive and they all of them on are higher levels then they 
were in the Nabreus Deadlands.  The Baknamys are some of the most dangerous 
enemies you will encounter for the moment.  They can gang up on you in a matter 
of seconds while wandering around this areas, so make sure to have an Arise 
gambit set and use Curaja often.  Use Blizzaga on the Baknamys to quickly drain 
their life gauges.  You'll need to go to the northwest portion of this area to 
go downstairs.  There are many twist and turns in this area, but they mainly 
lead to just more enemy fights.

~~ Hall of the Ivory Covenant ~~

In the middle part of this area to the south, you will find the Door of 
Loathing.  Examine the impression in the door and the option to place the 
Medallion of Love will appear.  Place the Medallion on the door to open the 
room with the first boss of the Necrohol.

~~ Cloister of Reason ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 46     | Fury                                              |
|===============================================================|
| HP: 69710 | Weak: Water           | Absorb: Fire              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0    | Steal: Aries Gem, Blood Wool, Moondust            |
| LP: 35    |                                                   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 50 - 53                                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

What the hell!?  Alright...?  Dispel  +---------------------------------------+
him of his status enhancements right  | Recommended Gambits                   |
away.  As you might expect, this boss |=======================================|
is much tougher than he looks.  If he | Ally: any                  (>) Arise  |
ever uses Hero's March, dispel him of | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaja |
everything that he casts on himself.  | Ally: status = Berserk     (>) Dispel |
He will use a variety of status       | Foe: status = Berserk      (>) Dispel |
enhancements the whole battle.  His   | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack |
normal hits will Berserk your party   +---------------------------------------+
at times, so if there is a certain person that you do not want Berserked, set 
up a gambit for "Ally: status = Berserk (>) Dispel" to quickly get rid of the 
Berserk status.  It is a good idea to have Protectga casted at the beginning of 
the battle.  Fury takes off quite a bit per physical attack so have a gambit 
set up to Arise any fallen party member.  Your party should take off quite a 
bit from him while attacking.  Since it is so hard to reach him here in the 
Necrohol, your party will be a little overleveled for the fight most likely, 
but that doesn't mean that it can't get hard.

When he uses a Bacchu's Wine, quickly dispel him of his Berserk.  He will 
constantly use another Bacchu's Wine once his life is at HP critical so it 
would be best to set up a gambit to dispel Berserk.  You will find that he is 
extremely intent on keeping up his Berserk but do not let him keep Berserk on 
himself or he will tear your party up quickly.  Dispeling his Berserk will 
actually cause him to waste a turn with his Bacchu's wine, so it actually works 
out in your favor.  Have one party member curing, one attacking, and one 
dispeling him and you will defeat him soon.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Lusterless Medallion will "keen" after the battle.  I would go back outside 
of the Necrohol and save my game in the Nabreus Wastelands if I were you.

~~ Cloister of the Highborn ~~

In the middle of this area is a room that contains 16 treasure chest and one of 
them contains the Zodiac Spear if you have performed the requirements of not 
opening certain chests throughout the game (see Side Quest).  As you walk 
through the entrance to the room and face the treasure chests here is a diagram 
showing you the one that should contain the ++ZODIAC SPEAR++.

+---------+
| * * * * |
| * * * * 
| * * * * <-- Zodiac Spear
| * * * * |
+---------+

The Door of Despair in the south portion must be opened with the Medallion of 
Might that you get from defeating the two other bosses in the Necrohol.  The 
door will lead to the fight with the hidden Esper known as Chaos.

~~ Cloister of Distant Song ~~

Three Babils will be guarding the hall leading to the Door of Horrors.  The 
hall in question is in the middle of this area on the west side.  Place the 
Medallion of Bravery on the impression in the door.

~~ Cloister of Solace ~~

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 46      | Humbaba Mistant                                   |
|================================================================|
| HP: 314086 | Weak: Holy             | Absorb: N/A              |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0     | Steal: Beastlord Hide, Beastlord Horn, Behemoth   |
| LP: 35     |        Steak                                      |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 50 - 53                                     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

Use Dispel to get rid of the          +---------------------------------------+
Humbaba's status enhancements right   | Recommended Gambits                   |
from beginning.  He will mainly       |=======================================|
attack physically and use his         | Ally: any                  (>) Arise  |
Darkness attack that will take around | Ally: HP < 50%             (>) Curaja |
1500+ HP damage.  The Darkness is     | Ally: any                  (>) Esuna  |
just like a dark version of           | Foe: status = Protect      (>) Dispel |
Pyromania.  You may want to equip     | Foe: HP >= 50%             (>) Expose |
some Demon Shields to absorb or block | Self                       (>) Shell  |
the attack.  His normal physical      | Foe: party leader's target (>) Attack |
attacks can be chained for some       +---------------------------------------+
tremendous damage so it is adviseable to cast Protect on the whole party 
through Protectga.  He will also use Smite of Rage to take off around 1000 HP. 
His Temblor attack will likely inflict Disable and Immobilize on a target.  
Cast Float to avoid the entire attack or use Black Belts to avoid the Disabling 
part.  This is one battle where Expose will help out tremendously since it will 
hit him almost every time and bring his defense down to nothing if you spam him 
with it.  Set up a gambit to dispel his Protect since he will recast it the 
entire battle.  He has no real tricks up his sleeve at HP Critical status.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After defeating both the Humbaba Mistant and The Fury, the party will obtain 
the ++MAP OF THE NECROHOL OF NABUDIS++ along with the ++MEDALLION OF MIGHT++.  
Don't go using that medallion on the Door of Despair in the Cloister of the 
Highborn just yet - you'd best save your game outside of the Necrohol!

~~ Hall of Enffulgent Light ~~

Baknamys can really gang up on your party quick in this so proceed with caution 
if you are still at a low level.  There is a hidden merchant in this portion of 
the Necrohol.  Run all the way down the hall in the northwest and enter the 
doorm off to the right.  The room that it leads to will not be on the map and 
there will be a red treasue chest inside - this is actually a Pandora.  Walk to 
the southeast corner of the room to reveal a "???" action icon as you approach 
the column.  Examine the column and a Baknamy Merchant will appear.  He sells 
some rare merchandise including the Telekinesis technick.

-- Ann's Letter

               ___            __       __       __  __         
    /------\  / _ | ___  ___ /_/___   / /  ___ / /_/ /____ ____ /------\
    \------/ / __ |/ _ \/ _ \  (_-<  / /__/ -_) __/ __/ -_) __/ \------/
     [SQ12] /_/ |_/_//_/_//_/ /___/ /____/\__/\__/\__/\__/_/    [SQ12-1]

When available: After escaping from Barheim Passage, but this cannot be 
complete until after finishing up the Draklor Laboratory.

While riding on an airship to a different location by the way of a Leisure 
Craft, an optional event will occur while speaking with the Chief Steward when 
"Who's this...Rande?" is chosen.  Rande, who will suggest that she collect 
flowers for her mother's name day.  Ann will give Vaan ++ANN'S LETTER++ if he 
agrees to show the letter to her sisters on the other airship flights.  Rande 
promises that he and his brothers will leave Ann and her sisters alone if Vaan 
can accomplish this task.

The flights are:

[ ] Archades   <--> Nalbina
[ ] Archades   <--> Rabanastre
[ ] Balfonheim <--> Archades
[ ] Balfonheim <--> Nalbina
[ ] Bhujerba   <--> Balfonheim
[ ] Bhujerba   <--> Rabanastre
[ ] Nalbina    <--> Rabanastre

The order does not matter and the sisters will always be in the same order no 
matter which route is taken.  The Chief steward is located through the door in 
front of the stairs that your party will always start next to each time 
"Leisure Craft is chosen.  The area is called the Sky Saloon.  The party will 
receive a ++RING OF RENEWAL++ from the final sister for this task.

UPDATE: If your party speaks with one of the brothers during this side quest 
then that brother will mention how many more sisters are left.  Speaking with 
the sisters may let the party in on how many more sisters are left as well.

-- Cockatrice Quest

                  _____         __        __      _        
       /------\  / ___/__  ____/ /_____ _/ /_____(_)______  /------\
       \------/ / /__/ _ \/ __/  '_/ _ `/ __/ __/ / __/ -_) \------/
        [SQ13]  \___/\___/\__/_/\_\\_,_/\__/_/ /_/\__/\__/  [SQ13-1]

Availability: After finishing Draklor Laboratory.

Visit the Giza Plains Village during The Dry to find out the all the 
cockatrices have disappeared.  Speak with the boy Terra to find out about a 
feather that will allow one to communicate with these birds.

To start this off you need to go to Giza Plains (The Raining).  There are six 
small withered trees around many of the areas of the Giza Plains now that will 
help you get to a new area if you happen to knock down all of them.  Approach 
each of the six trees and shoot them to make them float down the river.  They 
will all meet at the Gizas South Bank and form a bridge to an optional area.  
Here's a list of their locations:

Throne Road: Check near the path along the south that leads to the Nomad 
Village.

Nomad Village: In the southeast portion, to the right of the fenced area.

Toam Hills: In the southeast corner.  Some Ichthons should be near it.

Starfall Field: In the northeast corner.  Ichthons will be near this one too.

Gizas North Bank:  To the north, look along the east banks.

Crystal Glade: Directly across from the dark stone.

Once all six withered trees have been knocked down, they will form a bridge 
leading to the area on the east side of the Gizas South Bank.  The tree bridge 
will be on the east side right before you cross the middle bridge heading 
north.  There are no enemies here accept for Lv. 35 Silicon Tortoises.  Check 
the urn in the southeast portion to find a ++FEATHER OF THE FLOCK++.  This will 
be used for a side quest.

> Chit

Go to Eruyt Village and speak with Mjrn and Chit (the cockatrice) in the east 
portion of the Fane of the Path section.  Look around the ground right next to 
Mjrn and Chit to notice a "Sparkling Light".  Examine the object to receive a 
++DEWDROP PEBBLE++.  Talk to Mjrn again after collecting the pebble and offer 
it to her.  Talk to her again and she will ask Vaan to bring her some more if 
he finds any.  Well, it just so happens that eight more Dewdrop Pebbles have 
now appeared around the Eruyt Village.  

Fane of the Path

1) In the circular area to the west of where Mjrn is, check the north loop to 
find this a Dewdrop Pebble in the leaves along the wall.

2) Still in the same circular area of the first Dewdrop Pebble, check in the 
southern loop to find one in some herbs across from the Viera talking with 
Alja.

The Spiritwood

3) Check the tree off to the right as you come down the stairs of the 
Spiritwood after exiting the Fane of the Path.

4) Near one of the rope hangers as you come down the steps from leaving the 
Fane of the Path.

5) In the northwest, check the weapon rack next to Rael.

6) In the large circular courtyard area.  The viera on the northeast side is 
nearly starting straight at it.  Ask the Viera to get it for you.

7) On the edge of the ramp to the south of the circular courtyard.

8) In the dead end to the south of the ramp described above, it will be lying 
on the right side of the walkway right before you get to the screen.

Take all eight Dewdrop Pebbles back to Mjrn and give them to her.  Speak with 
Chit afterwards and he will shake and drop another Dewdrop Pebble.  Pick up the 
final ++DEWDROP PEBBLE++ to the right of him and give it Mjrn.  Chit will hand 
over a ++YOICHI BOW++ for helping him and run back to Giza Plains.

> Renn

Enter Rabanastre to find a cockatrice by the name of Renn in an alcove in the 
north portion of North End.  He will run from Vaan the first time you try to 
talk to it and each time you approach him from then on.  He will not leave the 
area and will run around the bridge and the main shopping area.  In order to 
catch him, hide behind a pillar and WALK (don't run) out from behind a column 
as he walks by.  As long as you walk toward him, he will not run.  Press the X 
button as soon as the talk icon appears and choose "Erm...no?"  He will mention 
that he is waiting for Chit to return then he will walk back to the North 
section of North End.  Talk to him (he won't run) and tell him that Chit has 
returned if you helped out Chit in Eruyt Village.  He will give the party a 
++DIAMOND SWORD++ and be off to Giza Plains once again.

> Shurry

All of the Garifs will be grouped up and staring at the cockatrice in the 
western portion of the Lull of the Land.  Speak with the Garif Herder next to 
Shurry, then speak with Shurry.  Talk to the Garif Herder again and tell him 
that "It came from Giza Plains."  He will ask that you tell the Great-chief 
about this visitor.  In the Elderknoll, tell Great-chief Uball-Ka about the 
cockatrice.  He will give you a ++GIFT OF THE GREAT-CHIEF++ and ask that you 
deliver it to the visitor.  Give the gift to Shurry then speak with the Garif 
Herder.  Shurry will run back to Giza Plains and the Garif Herder will hand 
over a ++PLATINUM DAGGER++.

> Sassan

The Lost Cactaur side quest must have been performed in order to cross the 
river for this part.  Go to South Bank Village in the Dalmasca Estersand and 
speak to the cockatrice (Sassan) near the orange save crystal.  He will tell 
you that he wants to go see Torrie but he isn't getting near Nathyl.  Walk over 
and talk to Tchigri at the dock.  Choose to cross the river then choose 
"Nathyl" for the person to put on the ferry.  Cross back over to the South Bank 
Village by talking to Tchigri again and select "No one" when asked.  Cross the 
river again, only this time, place Arryl on the boat.  Travel back to the other 
side, choosing "No one" just like before.  Talk to Tchigri once again and cross 
the river with Sassan this time.  Speak with Sassan and Torrie will give you 
the ++KOGA BLADE++ as payment when the conversation ends.

> Agytha

Make your way to Archades.  Make sure to talk with the cockatrice in the 
northeast corner of the Alley of Low Whispers in Old Archades so you don't have 
to backtrack to there after speaking with Agytha.  Your party must be in 
possession of a Sandalwood Chop (see walkthrough in Archades) in order to enter 
Grand Arcade via the northwest entrance of Tsenobile.  As you approach Agytha, 
she will run much Renn, but she is much easier to catch up.  She will mention 
that she is looking for a mate.  Tell her about the cockatrice in the northeast 
corner of the Alley of Low Whispers in Old Archades if you have spoken with it. 
She will be overjoyed and start to run off then run back and hand over a 
++TUMULUS++

> Moomer

The final cockatrice is in Balfonheim.  Walk over to Sea Breeze Lane and talk 
with the Chocobo Wrangler by the fence.  Show her the Feather of the Flock.  
She will overhear the Moomer while she holds the feather.  Speak with Miffled 
Moogles as it runs over to the fence.  Walk over to Gurdy after speaking with 
the Miffled Moogle to start a conversation about the cockatrice.  The Miffled 
Moogle will give Vaan the ++DEFENDER++.  The Miffled Moogle will then walk off 
with his trusty "Chocobo".

After returning all the cockatrices to their home in Giza Plains, return to 
Giza Plains during The Dry and talk with Terra to receive ++TWO HI-ETHERS++. 
Speak with each individual cockatrice after receiving your reward to find out 
about their adventures on their way back home.

-- To Hell and Back Again

                    __ __    ____  _      __             
         /------\  / // /__ / / / | | /| / /_ ________ _  /------\
         \------/ / _  / -_) / /  | |/ |/ / // / __/  ' \ \------/
          [SQ14] /_//_/\__/_/_/   |__/|__/\_, /_/ /_/_/_/ [SQ14-1]
                                         /___/           

When Available: After finishing Draklor Laboratory.

Find Windmill #10 in the Northsward Area of the Cerobi Steppe.  The Northsward 
is in the northeast in the same place where you fought the Vyraal.  Speaking of 
which, you must have completed the "Get My Stuff Back Hunt!" and have received 
the Dragon Scale from the Viera after completing it.  Beware the Bellwyverns on 
the way to the windmill!  Approach the side of Windmill #10 in the east and 
press X when the action icon pops up when you get near the front of it.  The 
party will speak to a moogle at first then a man will walk out into view above 
him.  The Wyrm Philosopher will mention that he is there to see the Vyraal.  
The Wyrm Philosopher will wander down and talk to the party and notice the 
Dragon Scale given to them by the Viara.  Give the Philosopher the Dragon Scale 
when he asks for it.  He will hand over an ++AGEWORN KEY++ that is said to open 
the door to a most terrble wyrm.

The Wyrm in question is actually the Hell Wyrm, and he is located in the Sochen 
Cave Palace, though you must solve a little puzzle in order to open the door 
that will lead your party to the locked door that can be unlocked with the 
Ageworn Key.  Go to the Sochen Cave Palace and enter the Falls of Time area.  
Take the east most path to the Destiny's March area.  Enter the middle area 
through the Ancient Door on the east side.  Start in the area with the Wendigo 
and Striker.

Look at the map below and read the following paragraph:

Door of Hours Puzzle - http://tinyurl.com/tn7tw

All of the Door of Hours must be opened in a clockwise order starting from the 
east.  You must open the southeast Door of Hours and then continue opening them 
until you travel in a clockwise path so that you wind up back where you started 
and all the Door of Hours open.  It doesn't matter whether you open the Ancient 
Doors on the sides of the area or not, but you MUST open the Doors of Hours in 
a clockwise order starting from the east side.  Opening all of the Doors of 
Hours in this order will release the lock on the Ascetic's Door in the west 
portion of this area.  Like with the Waterfall Puzzle from earlier, when the 
last Door of Hours is opened, "You hear a door open in the distance" will 
appear on the screen.  Head to the west and the Ascetic's Door will now be 
unlocked.

You'll face a few new enemies along the way that will only be a glimpse of what 
waits ahead.  Unlock the "Hall of the Ascetic" door with the Ageworn Key at the 
end of the path to fight the secret boss.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B O S S  B A T T L E +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lv 60       | Hell Wyrm                                         |
|=================================================================|
| HP: 8930711 | Weak: Light            | Absorb: Dark             |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Exp: 0      | Steal: Dark Crystal, Dark Magicite, Dark Crystal  |
| LP: 150     |                                                   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Recommended Level: 60+ or 80+ (see 35 bars gone)                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+

Here's a few things that you need to know while going into this battle:

1) Hell Wyrm will have a different attack sequence depening on how many bars of 
   his life gauge have been taken.
2) Hell Wyrm will use his Judgement attack for every five bars of his life 
   gauge that is gone.
3) Have a White Mask equipped for every character to absorb the holy elemental 
   Judgement attack.  Have a Black Mask and a Rubber Suit for his Darkga and 
   Thundaga attacks (optional).
4) Have a Genji Gauntlet and a Cat Ear Hood for your most powerful characters. 
   Have a Bubble Belt and at least one Fuzzy Miter.
5) Have a Power Armlet for each character and equip it right before each 
   casting of Judgement.  It's good to keep at least one character with a Power 
   Armlet at all times since Judgement can be a very fast attack and you will 
   have to react fast to equip Power Armlets before it sometimes.  Watch for 
   "Hell Wyrm reades Judgement" in the combat log then tap /\ quickly to equip 
   them.
6) He's going to be all up in your camera so use the menus to find your party 
   members.
7) It's much easier if everybody in your party can cast some of the higher 
   level spells such as Arise and Curaja.

Here's a break down of the way he attacks for each of his fifty bars of life:

+ Full life - Five bars gone

Hell Wyrm will only hit your party with normal physical attacks with constant 
chaining so you will NEED to have an Arise gambit setup with some cure gambits. 
Simply staying alive can be a big deal here.  Try to set up a Protect shield 
through Protectga if your magick casters get a chance and try to Berserk your 
strongest character.  Only have one person Berserked at a time however.  Equip 
your Berserked character with a Cat Ear Hood and have another equipped with the 
Genji Gloves.  You may want to cat Holy on him every now and then with your 
magick users, but this will cause any other spells on the queue to get delayed. 
Make sure that everbody is equipped with a Power Armlet and a White Mask 
whenever he readies his Judgement attack.

+ Ten bars gone

Hell Wyrm will start to use Stone Breath along with many -aga spells: Firaga, 
Waterga, Darkga, Blizzaga, Aeroga, Thundaga.  Set up a Shell on all party 
members via Shellga when your caster has some spare time.  You can also equp a 
Rubber Suit and Black Mask to avoid his Thundaga attack and drain his Darkga 
attack.  Set up an Esuna gambit to heal the Petrify that his Stone Breath will 
cause and try to keep at least one party member away from the group.  He'll use 
Rake and physical attacks every now and then but he will mainly attack with 
magick.  Keep your most powerful party member under Berserk the whole time 
during this phase - it shouldn't be that much of a problem this time and it 
will help him to build his magick up quickly if you have the Martyr and 
Inquisitor augments on the License Board.  Have your magick users Syphon the 
Berserked character to gain MP.  

+ Fifteen bars gone - twenty bars gone

He's basically the same as he was at ten bars, but he will now start to use 
Invert sometimes.  Make sure to have curing gambits ready to quickly heal the 
inverted party member and his Invert will actually help out quite a lot since 
it will give that character all of his or her MP back usually.  If it hits a 
character that doesn't use MP that much then Syphon it from that party member.

+ Twenty-five bars gone - thirty bars gone

He will mainly stick with Stone Breath, magick, and Invert during this phase 
and will hardly ever attack physically, though he will use Rake quite a bit.  
He will sometimes go crazy with Invert and Rakes during this phase.

+ Thirty-five bars gone

Rake, rake, rake, rake, RAKE!  Oh, and did I say rake!  He is a complete 
monster during this phase and that means you have to be too.  Don't Berserk 
anybody - you will need every party member casting magick for this.  There two 
ways that I have found to handle this phase (or survive it) at around level 60:

a) Equip one of your strongest party member with a Bubble Belt then cast 
Protect on him/her followed by Decoy.  Run around the area with the Decoyed 
character and the Hell Wyrm will turn his attention on that one person.  Don't 
run too far from your party though, since you will want them to help out in 
curing the decoyed character.

b) Equip your strongest party member with a Bubble Belt then cast Decoy and 
Reverse on him.  Take control of that character and run to the opposite end of 
the room away from your other party members.  Make sure to turn off Esuna 
gambits and any curing gambits for the decoyed character.  Esuna will get rid 
of Reverse and any type of cure is deadly.  Reverse will make it to where the 
Hell Wyrm's attack will heal the decoyed character, but you must make sure to 
keep the Reverse effect up since it will only stay for about 10 seconds.  The 
decoyed character will have to constantly cast it again.  This will help your 
other two party members Charge, Cure each other, and attack the Hell Wyrm.

Your party members will probably die a bunch and you will have to go through a 
few Ethers when you simply don't have time to Charge.  This is a very hard 
phase, and just simply surviving until he uses Judgement again is an 
accomplishment.  Don't get too wrapped up in the battle and forget to look out 
for Judgement; it can happen easily!

+ Fourty bars gone

He will use a constant Stone Breath during this phase.  Try to keep the party 
spread out at much as you can even if you have to take control of them and move 
them yourself.  Use Decoy and Protect on your most powerful character and be 
sure to have that person equipped with a Fuzzy Miter and this part won't be too 
bad.  This can be a hard phase, but you just went through the worst part.

+ Fourty-five bars gone (five bars left)

Now he will spam your party with constant -aga spells and Invert.  Just like 
with the last phase, keep your party spread out and cast Decoy on one person 
followed by Shell.  Equip the decoyed party member with a Bubble Belt just in 
case.  Have him equipped with a Black Mask and a Rubber Suit to drain Darkga 
and be immune to Thundaga - there are no more Judgement attacks coming from the 
Hell Wyrm.  Use Syphon to drain the decoyed party member of his or her MP since 
he or she will be inverted constantly and this will help share the MP with the 
other characters.  Think of the decoy as your personal Ether pool.  He goes 
overboard with casting Invert every other turn so have Haste on your healer(s) 
so you can cast Curaja shortly after the Invert.  You'll have plenty of MP to 
go around so you can afford it.  Keep in mind that his spells cannot be 
reflected with Reflect.  Reequip the Cat Ear Hood and Genji Gauntlets because 
it is almost over and he is going down!

HP Critical

The Hell Wyrm's defense will increase greatly like all bosses.  Just die 
already!  So what do you get for beating him?  Well, you get a bunch of LP and 
some extra gil from Montblanc (the next time you visit him).  The Yiazmat hunt 
will also be available after you finish all the other hunts.  Defeating the 
Hell Wyrm is one of the requirements.

Here's another strategy for Hell Wyrm:

Before entering the room where Hell Wyrm resides, set up your gambits and 
equipment as follows:

(Note: "Main party" refers to your 3 most powerful characters)

Gambits:
 
Choose your least favorite character in your main party (I chose Vaan), but I 
will refer to this character as "Character X".

Set up Character X's gambit to this:

1. ally -> arise                   6. ally: status = stone ->stona
2. self -> reverse                 7. ally: status = petrify -> stona
3. self -> decoy                   8. self mp < 10 -> charge
4. self -> bubble                  9. self -> haste
5. self hp < 50 -> shock or flare  10. foe: nearest -> attack

For your other two main party members:

1. ally -> arise                   6. ally: status = petrify -> stona
2. Character X -> reverse          7. self hp < 60 -> curaga
3. Character X -> decoy            8. self mp < 10 -> charge
4. self -> bubble                  9. self -> haste
5. ally: status = stone ->stona    10. foe: nearest -> attack

Equipment for Character X:

Golden Skullcap
Power Armlet (do not equip character X with a ribbon or reverse wont work)
Excalibur
Maximilian

Equipment for your other two main party members:

Demon Shield
White Mask
Stoneblade/deathbringer/any powerful 1 handed weapon
Power Armlet or Ribbon
Maximillian

Battle Strategy:

With your gambits set up like this, your attention is pretty much unnecessary. 
The battle lasts about an hour, of which I was paying attention for only the 
last five minutes (Hell Wyrm's HP Critical Status). Hell Wyrm cannot kill you 
with judgment or darkga, in fact, these attacks will heal your entire party. 
His physical attacks, although powerful, have a hard time getting around the 
decoy + reversed character X, so don't worry about them. Change your party 
leader to someone other than character X and start multitasking (read a book, 
play a computer game, check email, read more of Kevin "Berserker" Hall's 
strategy guide, or whatever you feel like doing). Look up every five or so 
minutes just to make sure that the battle is running smoothly. This will slowly 
send Hell Wyrm into HP Critical Status. Now, I am not sure if this was my 
imagination, but some of Hell Wyrm's attacks seemed to cause death when Hell 
Wyrm is reduced to HP Critical Status. If you experience the same thing, then 
turn off the haste gambit, this extra gambit is simply too time consuming at 
this point in the battle. Pay attention, for the battle is ending. With luck 
(well, not luck but high level characters) the day is yours and Hell Wyrm is no 
more.

(thanks to John "Lukien" R)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-- Jovy's Story
                                   __             
                     /------\  __ / /__ _  ____ __ /------\
                     \------/ / // / _ \ |/ / // / \------/
                      [SQ15]  \___/\___/___/\_, /  [SQ15-1]
                                           /___/  

Availibility: In order to get this event to take place, the party must first 
finish the following hunts with petitioners in Nalbina.

17 - Trouble in the Hills
18 - Adding Insult to Injury
24 - The Creature Collector
25 - Dead City Watch
39 - A Carrot Stalk

After all five hunts are completed catch up to Jovy in the West Ward of Nalbina 
and talk to him.  Vaan and Jovy will sit and speak on some nearby stairs.  Jovy 
will speak of the reason why he is in Nalbina and why Vaan is his hero.  He 
will hand over an ++ELIXER++ and a ++KNOT OF RUST++.

-- The Hunt Club/Rare Monster List

                    __ __          __    _______     __  [SQ16-1]
         /------\  / // /_ _____  / /_  / ___/ /_ __/ /  /------\
         \------/ / _  / // / _ \/ __/ / /__/ / // / _ \ \------/
          [SQ16] /_//_/\_,_/_//_/\__/  \___/_/\_,_/_.__/ [SQ16-2]

Availability: Complete the Archades portion of the main storyline.  Your party 
must have the Strahl (after Giruvegan) to complete this sidequest.

First of all, here is a list of ALL rare monsters along with their respective 
numbers shown in the Bestiary:

01. Aspidochelon               41. Aerieel
02. Thalassinon                42. Anubys
03. Greeden                    43. Barmuu
04. Bull Croc                  44. Vishno
05. Gavial                     45. Etherian
06. Wary Wolf                  46. Melt
07. Kaiser Wolf                47. Cubus
08. Lindbur Wolf               48. Pineapple
09. Dreadguard                 49. Bombshell
10. Crypt Bunny                50. Megabomb
11. Spee                       51. Matriarch Bomb
12. Rain Dancer                52. Ripe Rampager
13. Razorfin                   53. Killbug
14. Apsara                     54. Minibug
15. Rageclaw                   55. Ithuno
16. Biding Mantis              56. Kris
17. Wood Toad                  57. Dheed
18. Tarasque                   58. Aeros
19. Grimalkin                  59. Terror Tyrant
20. Nekhbet                    60. Abelisk
21. Glaring Eye                61. Dustia
22. Cultsworn Lich             62. Ishteen
23. Evil Spirit                63. Vorres
24. Juggernaut                 64. Negalmuur
25. Molen                      65. Larva Eater
26. Tower                      66. Arioch
27. Grey Molter                67. Fideliant
28. Midgardsormr               68. Crystal Knight
29. Nazarnir                   69. Grave Lord
30. Victanir                   70. Zombie Lord
31. Gemhorn                    71. Drowned
32. Luxollid                   72. Velelu
33. Vagrant Soul               73. Disma
34. Imdugud                    74. Ancbolder
35. Bull Chocobo               75. Wendice
36. Skullash                   76. Anchag
37. Myath                      77. Bluesang
38. Helvinek                   78. Avenger
39. Pallicant                  79. Alteci
40. Phyllo                     80. Urutan Exile

Talk to the Huntmaster in the southern middle portion of the Hunter's Camp.  
Tell him "You're a bird of prey" to begin the hunter sidequest.  The Huntmaster 
will ask that your party hunt down the Thalassinon.  He will mention that the 
monster can be found on the Vaddu Strand of the Phon Coast.  Do not expect such 
a helpful location description for the rest however.  The Huntmaster will 
mention that rare game monsters such as this will only come out when a certain 
condition is fulfilled.  It turns out that the Thalassinon will only appear 
when your party waits on the high hill located in that area.  He will also 
mention that the Thalassinon will drop a Shelled Trophy once defeated.  Go to 
the Vaddu Strand of the Phon Coast and hunt down the mark.  Retrieve the 
++SHELLED TROPHY++ and bring it back to the Huntmaster.

The Huntmaster will welcome your party to the Hunt Club after returning the 
Shelled Trophy.  Talk to one of the 3 Bangaa brother in the back (Atak, Blok, 
Stok).  The brother chosen will explain that your party must venture around 
Ivalice and find hidden rare game monsters.  He will mention that your party 
needs to bring each trophy collected from a rare game hunt back to one of the 
three Bangaa brothers.  They will reward you with items to purchase from the 
Outfitters (Shifty-Eyed Man) to the right of the Hunt Club building.   The 
first trophy that your party collects from the Thalassinon does not count 
toward this - it is given to the Huntmaster.  There are a total of 30 of the 80 
rare monsters that can be killed for trophies and you must bring back all 30 
trophies to the Huntmaster.

+-------------------------------------+ +-------------------------------------+
|           Atak (Weapons)            | |         Blok (Protectives)          |
|-------------------------------------| |-------------------------------------|
| Trophies | Item         | Cost      | | Trophies | Item         | Cost      |
|=====================================| |=====================================|
| 1        | Kogarasumaru |  5040 gil | | 1        | Demon Mail   |  4410 gil |
| 5        | Obelisk      |  6750 gil | | 5        | Diamond Armor|  6300 gil |
| 10       | Murasame     |  7650 gil | | 10       | Mirror Mail  |  7290 gil |
| 15       | Diamond      | 11250 gil | | 15       | Gaia Gear    |  8370 gil |
|          | Sword        |           | | 20       | Dragon Mail  | 11250 gil |
| 20       | Deathbringer | 14400 gil | | 25       | Magepower    | 13500 gil |
| 25       | Gastrophetes | 18900 gil | |          | Shishak      |           |
| 30       | Gungnir      | 25500 gil | | 30       | Maximillian  | 25500 gil |
+-------------------------------------+ +-------------------------------------+
                    +--------------------------------------+
                    |           Stok (Sundries)            |
                    |--------------------------------------|
                    | Trophies | Item          | Cost      |
                    |======================================|
                    | 1        | Thief's Cuffs |  2700 gil |
                    | 5        | Steel Poleyns |   900 gil |
                    | 10       | Winged Boots  |   450 gil |
                    | 15       | Indigo Pendant|  4500 gil |
                    | 20       | Diamond Armlet| 18000 gil |
                    | 25       | Reflectga Mote|   270 gil |
                    | 30       | Holy Mote     |   150 gil |
                    +--------------------------------------+

The items will not actually be labeled.  Weapons will be referred to as 
"Weapons of sort...", Protectives will be referred to as "Protective of 
sorts...", and Sundries will be listed as "Sundry item..."  All of the above 
items can only be bought one time.  They will remain on sale even after the 
Hunt Club contest has ended until they are bought.

Approach the Huntmaster after giving up all 30 trophies and he will announce 
the winner of the Hunt Club contest.  Your party will receive a different 
reward depending on which Bangaa brother wins: ++GREATAXE++ (Atak wins), 
++RENEWING MORION++ (Blok wins), ++SAGE'S RING++ (Stok wins).

After killing a certain amount of rare monsters that carry trophies, visit the 
Grand Arcade area of Archades then walk out to the Highgarden Terrace and speak 
with the Hunt Club Owner (labeled Archadian Gentry the first time).  He is 
talking to the group of three people.  Tell him that "We've been through" the 
Phon Coast.  You can earn the following rewards based off how many trophy-
carrying rare monsters your party has defeated.

                         +----------------------------+
                         |  Hunt Club Owner Rewards   |
                         |----------------------------|
                         | Trophies | Rewards         |
                         |============================|
                         | 5        | Aries Gem       |
                         |          | Libra Gem       |
                         | 10       | Taurus Gem      |
                         |          | Scorpio Gem     |
                         | 15       | Gemini Gem      |
                         |          | Sagittarius Gem |
                         | 20       | Cancer Gem      |
                         |          | Capricorn Gem   |
                         | 25       | Leo Gem         |
                         |          | Aquarius Gem    |
                         | 30       | Virgo Gem       |
                         |          | Pisces Gem      |
                         +----------------------------+

Note: You can visit him after all 30 marks have been defeated and he will give 
your party everything all at once.  There is no need to visit him for every 5 
rare monsters.

-- Trophy Rare Monsters

All of these monsters will appear after your party has joined the Hunt Club.  
They will never appear again once defeated so make sure to steal from them.  I 
would recommend turning off all gambits or setting up a stealing gambit in the 
top slot (Foe: any (>) Steal) just to make sure.
 _
|_| Thalassinon (this mark is required to start the side quest)

Lv. 39                LP: 10
HP: 59868             Steal: Adamantite
Weak: Wind            Poach: N/A
Exp: 1775             Drop: Shelled Trophy

Rarity:    ****
Location:  Phon Coast/The Vaddu Strand
Condition: Wait on the very top of the hill in the east and it will eventually 
           appear near the shore on the beach below.  It takes about 10 seconds 
           for him to appear.

Dispel his status enhancements then cast Slow, Silence, and Blind.  He will 
attack physically and with Power Spin (inflicts Slow), perform Stone Gaze, and 
cast Reflect on himself.  Cast Aeroga and hit him with Wind elemental weapons. 
Don't forget to steal!
 _
|_| Abelisk

Lv. 49                LP: 13
HP: 104744            Steal: Eight-fluted Pole
Weak: Ice             Poach: N/A
Exp: 4579             Drop: Reptilian Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Ridorana Cataract/Echoes from Time's Garden
Condition: The Abelisk will appear randomly among the other enemies in the 
           Echoes from Time's Garden area right outside the airship anchor 
           Section of the Ridorana Cataract.

Dispel him.  He is immune to Blind and Slow.  Screwtail and physical attacks 
will be his main focus along with an occasional Crushing Fangs attack.  Equip a 
person with a Main Gauche and Demon Shield then cast Decoy on that person in 
order to block many of his physical attacks.
 _
|_| Alteci

Lv. 42                LP: 11
HP: 52701             Steal: Behemoth Steak
Weak: Ice             Poach: N/A
Exp: 1842             Drop: Fell Trophy

Rarity:    ***
Location:  Zertinan Caverns/The Undershore
Condition: Get a 12-hit chain on the Mallicants in any of the areas near the 
           entrance to the Zertinan Caverns closest to Ozmone Plain then enter 
           The Undershore and he should be walking around with the Mallicants 
           in the middle.  As mentioned, this section of the Zertinan Caverns 
           is closest to the Ozmone Plain entrance, so teleport to Jahara then 
           walk over to The Switchback in the northern middle area of the map 
           and enter the Zertinan Caverns from there.

Dispel him, Blind him, and cast Slow.  He is basically just an ordinary 
Behemoth that like to chain together physical attacks.  His only real major 
attacks are Smite of Rage, Tail Swipe, and Darkness.  Equip Black Masks or 
Demon Shields to absorb Darkness.  Dispel him again or cast Slow on him when he 
uses Hast on himself.
 _
|_| Ancbolder

Lv. 29                LP: 7
HP: 14022             Steal: Forbidden Flesh
Weak: Wind            Poach: N/A
Exp: 728              Drop: Mind Trophy

Rarity:    **
Location:  Paramina Rift/Karydine Glacier
Condition: Defeat all the enemies in the Karydine Glacier section of the 
           Paramina Rift then exit and reenter.  The Ancbolder will be walking 
           around in the middle section with the Anchag, a trophyless rare 
           monster.

Dispel him of his Protect at the start.  This rare monster is actually easier 
than the trophyless rare monster.  He will use Tremor and physical attacks.  
He's basically a standard Striker much like the ones in the Sochen Cave Palace. 
Use Aeroga or Wind-based weapons (Windslicer Shot) to put a quick end to him.
 _
|_| Anubys

Lv. 38                LP: 11
HP: 19194             Steal: Vampyr Fang
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 1790             Drop: Ensanguined Trophy

Rarity:    *
Location:  Sochen Cave Palace/Mirror of the Soul
Condition: The Anubys appears in the secret room behind the Pilgrim's Door 
           after the party enters the room from the north side.  He will fly up 
           from the middle floor of the room.  Solve the Waterfall Puzzle as 
           explained in the walkthrough under the Sochen Cave Palace portion to 
           open the door.

Dispel him of his status enhancements and Blind him.  He is basically just an 
ordinary Abysteel bat that likes to use Leech and attack physically.  Use Light 
elemental weapons or magick to pulverize him.
 _
|_| Arioch

Lv. 47                LP: 13
HP: 43380             Steal: Sage's Ring
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 1815             Drop: Vengeful Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Nabreus Deadlands/The Slumbermead
Condition: Appears randomly along the southeast section of The Slumbermead.

Dispel him of all his status enhancements then cast Blind and Slow.  He will 
mainly stick with attacking physically, but will sometimes perform his Dark 
Shock move that may cause Blind and Sap along with Pulsar Wave that can cause 
Disable.  He also uses Leech to absorb life from party members.  Equip Light 
elemental weapons and use Holy on him to defeat him quickly.
 _
|_| Aspidochelon

Lv. 43                LP: 11
HP: 63546             Steal: Scarletite
Weak: Wind            Poach: N/A
Exp: 1846             Drop:  Adamantine Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Cerobi Steppe/Feddik River (in the middle section)
Condition: He will appear randomly in the middle section of the Feddik River. 
           The Aspidochelon looks exactly like an Adamantitan so use your 
           command menu and target him to tell the difference.

Dispel him then cast Slow, Silence, and Blind.  He is much like your standard 
Adamantitan only with a bit more life.  He will attack physically (inflicts 
Slow) and use Flatten, perform Stone Gaze, cast -aga magick, and cast Protect 
on himself.  His defense will increase quite a bit at HP Critical so start 
casting Aeroga to finish him off.
 _
|_| Avenger

Lv. 61                LP: 16
HP: 105618            Steal: Muramasa
Weak: Water           Poach: N/A
Exp: 3627             Drop: Vile Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  The Pharos at Ridorana (Second Ascent)/Station of Ascendance
Condition: He will appear in the first room below the staircase on the 
           northwest end of the Station of Ascendance.  This is the last room 
           of the Second Ascent so use the Way Stone at The Wellspring (1F) to 
           go to 10F then use the Dais of Ascendance at the First Ascent  
           (behind the Fool's Facade on the north side) to ride up to 50F.  
           Touch the Way Stone on 50F to teleport up to 60F.  Use the Dais of 
           Ascendance on 60F to go to 64F then open the Ancient Door to the 
           northwest to start at the staircase before him.  Use the Way Stone 
           back on 60F when you're ready to leave.

Dispel him then cast Slow.  He's immune to Blind.  He can take off quite a bit 
thanks to his high chain attack rate (1000+ per attack).  He'll also use Smite 
of Rage and Rage.  When he has reached HP critical status, he will attack with 
constant Ardor and may set up an physical shield then cast Renew on himself.  
Use Aqua Shot and any other water-based weapons you may have.  It's really good 
to have a "Self (>) Bubble" gambit set up for this fight since his attack 
chaining can kill party members quick.
 _
|_| Biding Mantis

Lv. 47                LP: 13
HP: 68170             Steal: Tattered Garment
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 1776             Drop: Scythe Trophy

Rarity:    ****
Location:  Golmore Jungle/The Needlebrake
Condition: Appears along the southern circular paths between the minutes of 30 
           and 59 on the game clock.  Teleport to Eruyt Village then walk 
           outside to enter this area quickly.

He's immune to Blind but not Slow.  He will pick on one person the entire 
battle until that one character falls so set up a Protect shield or Bubble on 
his person of choice.  Use Light elemental weapons or the Holy spell to damage 
him greatly.  At HP critical his defense will increase.
 _
|_| Bluesang

Lv. 42                LP: 11
HP: 30395             Steal: Damascus Steel
Weak: Water           Poach: N/A
Exp: 1262             Drop: Cruel Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Cerobi Steppe/The Crossing
Condition: Appears randomly in between windmills #6 and #7.  Look for the area 
           with all the traps in between the windmills.

Cast Float on all party members then lure him away from in between the 
windmills so your party doesn't have to worry about the traps.  Dispel him and 
cast Blind and Slow.  He will recast Protect often so be ready to Dispel it.  
His Rage attacks that takes off about 1,000 damage is the only real big attack 
that he has.  Use Aqua shot if you have it.  His defense will kick up a notch 
at HP Critical but that shouldn't be too much of a worry if your party is 
leveled up enough.
 _
|_| Bull Chocobo

Lv. 48                LP: 13
HP: 43383             Steal: Hi-Ether
Weak: Random element  Poach: N/A
Exp: 1659             Drop: Beaked Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Ogir-Yensa Sandsea/South Tank Approach
Condition: He will appear randomly in the southern portion of the South Tank 
           Approach - not on the tanks.  The Bull Chocobo is a neutral enemy.

Wait, you mean you're fighting him?  Dispel him then Blind him.  He's immune to 
Slow and Silence.  He will only attack physically and use Choco-Comet.  Choco-
Comet takes off around 1000+ damage so keep an active healer.  As mentioned in 
his description, the Bull Chocobo is weak to a random elemental and he will use 
Shift to change that element once his weakness is found.  He has a high chance 
of evading your party's physical attacks as well.  The Bull Chocobo will haul 
ass at HP critical status so you might have to chase him down.
 _
|_| Crystal Knight

Lv. 62                LP: 17
HP: 101570            Steal: Glimmering Robes
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 3377             Drop: Skull Trophy

Rarity:    *
Location:  The Great Crystal/A Vikaari Kanbhru Ra
Condition: Start at A Vikaari Kanbhru Ra (Way Stone XX), then make a circle by 
           passing through Dhebon Jilaam Pratii'dii, then Sthaana Sagittarius, 
           then Dhebon Hilaam Praa'dii, and return to A Vikaari Kanbhru Ra and 
           this rare monster will be waiting for your party near Way Stone XX.  
           The circular route will take your party by three platforms loaded 
           with Mom Bombs.  You'll need to open Gate Scorpio (see Ultima Esper 
           section) in order to do this.

                             (Way Stone XX)    ====>
Dha Vikaari Kabonii ----- A Vikaari Kanbhru Ra ----- Dhebon Jilaam Pratii'dii
                           |          \ ^                       \ |
                           |           \|            <====       \v
       A Vikaari Sirhru Praa  Dhebon Hilaam Praa'dii ----- Sthaana Sagittarius

Dispel him as your party races toward him.  He is not that bad of a rare 
monster, but you will have to fight two Forbiddens with him.  Make sure you 
take out the Forbiddens as quick as possible so they don't start using status 
effects.  This is a very dangerous enemy.  He will take off around 1200+ damage 
per hit with hits that will possibly inflict Slow and will spam your party with 
Shining Ray that will damage them at about 1500+ HP each.  He may use 
Immobilizega a bit also.  Equip Demon Shields or Black Masks if he starts to 
use Darkga since it will damage for 2000+.  Hit him with Light elemental 
weapons and magicks to defeat him quickly but be sure to have active curing 
member and one that will cast Haste on a Slow party member.
 _
|_| Dheed

Lv. 49                LP: 13
HP: 77420             Steal: Mirage Vest
Weak: Water           Poach: N/A
Exp: 2931             Drop:  Leathern Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Mosphoran Highwaste/Skyreach Ridge
Condition: Appears randomly in the Skyreach Ridge leading up to the Empyrean 
           Seat of the Mosphoran Highwaste.  The floatweed puzzle in the Exodus 
           Esper side quest must be solved enough so that the rock in the 
           Babbling Vale is moved to allow access to the Skyreach Ridge.

Dispel him.  He is immune to most status effects so there is no need to cast 
Blind, Slow, or Silence.  Dheed will use Crushing Fangs which has the potential 
of instant death, Gale, and plenty of -aga spells.  Use Aqua Shot with a gun 
and Telekinesis to quickly defeat him.
 _
|_| Disma

Lv. ?? (around 70)    LP: 18
HP: ??????            Steal: Mirage Vest
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 3716             Drop: Accursed Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Lhusu Mines/ Site 5 or Site 6 North
Condition: This zombie will randomly spawn among Dark Lords in Site 5 or Site 
           6 North.  Hunt #38 "Antlion Infestation" must be completed and you 
           must have gained the Site 11 key after that hunt in order to explore 
           the deep part of the Lhusu Mines where this rare monster is located.

Dispel him of his many status enhancements immediately.  This rare monster will 
use -aga magick, Shining Ray, Darkness, Darkra, and a few physical attacks that 
can inflict Stop.  Equip a Sage's Ring or White Masks to absorb his Shining Ray 
and Black Mask or Demon Shields to absorb his Darkness attack.  It actually 
hurts your party members in order to attack him in any way.  Use Light 
elemental weapons and magick.  He is very tough for a zombie.  You may want to 
equip Power Armlets to all members to avoid his infliction of Stop through 
physical attacks.  At HP Critical, he will only use physical attacks and will 
start to chain them together often.  He will also have an increased defense 
like most bosses.  Defeat him quickly since he can get extremely dangerous at 
that time.  Keep in mind that I speak from a level 76 party standpoint while 
saying that he is dangerous.  This is not a rare monster to be taken for 
granted.
 _
|_| Dreadguard

Lv. 47                LP: 12
HP: 35394             Steal: Mirror Scale
Weak: Earth           Poach: N/A
Exp: 1466             Drop: Feathered Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  The Feywood/Walk of Dancing Shadow
Condition: Chain kill Mirrorknights in the Walk of Dancing Shadow area and he 
           will appear eventually in a group of them.  Exit and reenter the 
           area to make him spawn.  He will be only slightly bigger than the 
           standard Mirrorknight so target the Mirrorknights and check their 
           description to know for sure.

Dispel him of his status enhancements then cast Slow.  He can get quite 
aggressive with his Gale attack that causes 1000+ damage per character so keep 
a healing gambit set or use Protect shields.  His physical attacks can be 
chained in great numbers though they can be blocked with a Main Gauche and 
Demon Shield combination equipped.  Cast Decoy on the character equipped with 
that equipment and that should help to keep the party safe from his constant 
physical attack chains.
 _
|_| Gavial

Lv. 46                LP: 13
HP: 80551             Steal: Antarctic Wind
Weak: Earth           Poach: N/A
Exp: 2615             Drop: Fur-scaled Trophy

Rarity:    ****
Location:  Garamsythe Waterway/No. 10 Channel
Condition: Close the #10 Sluice Gate (light on).  Walk down into the waterway 
           and head for the far west section of the No. 10 Channel (in the 
           standing water).  Stand and wait a little while and the Gavial 
           should come barreling down the waterway.  You may be able to wait in 
           any portion of the waterway for him.  He has a tendancy to startle 
           players with his aggressive approach.

Dispel him of his status enhancements then cast Slow on him.  He's immune to 
Blind.  He'll use Crushing Fangs quite a bit which has the tendency to cause 
instant Death, so have an Arise gambit handy.  He will attack physically and 
use Flatten and Ram.  When he is at HP critical status, he will use Screwtail 
which will hit for around 1000+ damage on each party member.
 _
|_| Grimalkin

Lv. 38                LP: 11
HP: 23101             Steal: Coeurl Whisker
Weak: Water           Poach: N/A
Exp: 810              Drop:  Whiskered Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Tchita Uplands/Uazcuff Hills
Condition: He will appear randomly in the Uazcuff Hills section of the Tchita 
           Uplands.  This is the area next in the far southeast (next to the 
           area with the blue save crystal).  He looks much like a standard 
           Coeurl, only slightly bigger so check the Coeurls by targeting them 
           when enter the area.

Dispel him of his Shell and Faith.  He will attack with the usual Blaster to 
cause Sleep, Silence, and Blind, use Hawk Glare to possibly Disable a party 
member and perform Stone Gaze.  His Hell Blaster which will cause a multitude 
of status effects and take off quite a bit of damage is his main threat - 
everything except Disease will be inflicted.  Be ready to heal with Esuna.
 _
|_| Ishteen

Lv. 43                LP: 11
HP: 34042             Steal: Soul of Thamasa
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 1367             Drop: Bony Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Barheim Passage/The Zeviah Span or East-West Bypass
Condition: He will appear randomly in one of the above areas of Barheim 
           Passage.  He should appear right near the beginning of the bridge of 
           The Zeviah Span with the neutral Bombs (just so you don't have to 
           look all over the entire bridge).  He is not visible and will simply 
           teleport into the area unexpectedly.

This can be a very dangerous rare monster.  Start out by Dispeling him of his 
status enhancements then Blind him and cast Slow.  His normal attacks can cause 
Stop so have some Chronos Tears at hand.  He will use both Doom and Death, like 
an Etém, along with -aga magick.  He uses Necromancy to summon Dead Bones into 
the battle.  Ishteen can be taken down quick with Light elemental weapons and 
magick but he can get the upperhand if you're not careful.
 _
|_| Kaiser Wolf

Lv. 41                LP: 11
HP: 19455             Steal: Throat Wolf Blood
Weak: Earth           Poach: N/A
Exp: 736              Drop: Fanged Trophy

Rarity:    ***
Location:  Dalmasca Westersand/Corridor of Sand
Condition: The Kaiser Wolf will appear randomly in the southeast of Corridor of 
           Sand, but he will ONLY appear after the Lindbur Wolf in the 
           Shimmering Horizons area has been defeated.  You should be able to 
           see him off the side of the cliff while entering from the Galtea 
           Downs if he show up.

Dispel him of his status enhancements then cast Slow and Blind.  This 
particular wolf will use Screech a bunch, which will cause Confuse so equip 
Bowline Sashes to all party members on the field.
 _
|_| Killbug

Lv. 45                LP: 12
HP: 29216             Steal: Knot of Rust
Weak: Wind            Poach: N/A
Exp: 1044             Drop: Metallic Trophy

Rarity:    ****
Location:  Ozmone Plain/The Switchback
Condition: He appears in the northern central portion of The Switchback area. 
           Look for an unusually large treasure chest (not a pot, a chest).

He's immune to Blind, but not Slow.  He's basically you're standard mimic that 
uses Leech, Lunge, and constant physical attacks.  He does have a cool-looking 
eye too.
 _
|_| Kris

Lv. 39                LP: 13
HP: 47755             Steal: Putrid Liquid
Weak: Wind            Poach: N/A
Exp: 1876             Drop: Odiferous Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Tchita Uplands/The Highlands
Condition: Appears randomly with other Malboros on the sides of either of the 
           ruins with the other Malboros in The Highlands area.  He is slightly 
           darker green than the Malboro Overkings and has no crown.

Blind and Slow him immediately.  This can be a very dangerous rare monster 
thanks to his Putrid Breath that causes all status effects on the whole party. 
He also has Bad Breath and a very nasty habit of chaining hits that take about 
800+ damage.  Make sure to cure the status effects quickly and kill him quickly 
with Wind elemental weapons and magick.  He will use Purify to remove his 
status effects eventually.
 _
|_| Melt

Lv. 48                LP: 13
HP: 61481             Steal: Hastega Mote
Weak: Ice             Poach: N/A
Exp: 2198             Drop: Slimy Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Henne Mines/Pithead Junction B
Condition: This junction is to the southeast of the orange save crystal.  Press 
           the Gate Switchboard and the Melt will randomly drop instead of the 
           Jellies.

Dispel him and use Blind.  Equip Rubber Suits for his constant Thundaga use and 
Bowline Sashes so his Phantasmal Gaze will not Confuse the party.  He uses all 
the attacks of the standard Hecteyes enemy (Mythril Bubbles, Silence, Bleed, 
Slap, and the previously mentioned).  Strike him with Blizzaga to kill him 
quickly.  The lv. 60+ Hecteyes deeper inside the Henne Mines would own this 
rare one.
 _
|_| Myath

Lv. 42                LP: 11
HP: 51065             Steal: Leo Gem
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 2209             Drop: Eternal Trophy

Rarity:    *
Location:  Stilshrine of Miriam/Ward of Velitation
Condition: Defeat all three of the Dragon Aevis's in the Ward of Velitation, 
           exit, then reeneter to find the Myath.  Use the Way Stone and go up 
           either staircase in the room with the blue save crystal to reach the 
           Ward of Velitation.  If Zeromus has been defeated, use the Way Stone 
           twice to teleport to the area outside the blue save crystal.

Dispel him of his status enhancements then cast Slow, Blind, and Silence.  He 
will try to cast Berserk on your party members along with -aga spells.  The 
Myath mainly attacks physically and with Fireballs.  He's basically a lower-
leveled Dragon Lich.  Use Light elemental weapons and Holy to defeat him 
quickly.
 _
|_| Nazarnir

Lv. 45                LP: 12
HP: 39652             Steal: Destrier Mane
Weak: Ice             Poach: N/A
Exp: 1469             Drop: Maned Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Giza Plains (The Dry)/Starfall Field
Condition: Randomly appears in place of the lone Sleipnir in the southeast 
           corner of the Starfall Field.  He looks identical to a Sleipner.

Dispel him and cast Slow.  He fights the exact same as a Sleipner but will take 
off more.  His only real threat is Flatten that hits the whole party for 1000+ 
damage.  Cast Blizzaga or attack physically to defeat him.
 _
|_| Rageclaw

Lv. 36                LP: 11
HP: 39586             Steal: Sickle-Blade
Weak: Water           Poach: N/A
Exp: 1421             Drop: Sickle Trophy

Rarity:    ***
Location:  The Salikawood/Piebald Path
Condition: Enter Piebald Path then stand at the entrance for about a minute. 
           This will make the Rageclaw appear at the end opposite from where 
           where your party came in from.  Enter from the west and he will 
           appear in the south, enter from the south and he will appear in the 
           west.

Dispel him.  Cast Blind and Slow.  His Pulsar Wave will cause Disable so have 
at least one Black Belts equipped.  He fights much like any other type of 
Mantis enemy with his physical attacks and rams.
 _
|_| Skullash

Lv. 38                LP: 11
HP: 51745             Steal: Charger Barding
Weak: Thunder         Poach: N/A
Exp: 2277             Drop: Clawed Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Phon Coast/Cape Tialan
Condition: He will appear randomly on the small hill in the southeast section 
           of Cape Tialan along with the Pyrolisk enemies.

Dispel him then cast Blind, Slow, and Silence.  He will attack with physical 
attacks, Sonic Fangs, Lunges, Fireballs, and -aga magick.  His weakness to the 
most handicapping of status effects is really his downfall.  Cast Thundaga and 
attack him physically to bring him down quick.
 _
|_| Terror Tyrant

Lv. 50                LP: 14
HP: 125704            Steal: Scathe Mote
Weak: Wind            Poach: N/A
Exp: 4809             Drop: Hide-covered Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Dalmasca Estersand/Broken Sands
Condition: The Terror Tyrant will randomly replace the Wild Saurian in the 
           middle portion of the Broken Sands.  He almost looks just like a 
           Wild Saurain from a distance so check his target info.  You must be 
           able to use the boat to cross the river by performing The Lost 
           Cactoid side quest or enter from the Summit Path of the Mosphoran 
           Highwaste.

Dispel him of his many status enhancements.  He is immune to Blind and Slow.  
He's much like your average Saurian-type monster with many physical attacks 
along with Crushing Fangs.  He can get quite bad with Crushing Fangs, so be 
sure to have some Arise gambits set up to counter its possible instant Death.  
Equip a character with a Main Gauche and Demon Shield then cast Decoy on them 
to avoid most of his attacks if they become too bad and this will keep him from 
picking on one weak character all the time.  Use Aeroga and Winslicer Shot to 
damage him badly.
 _
|_| Victanir

Lv. 46                LP: 13
HP: 55114             Steal: Wargod's Band
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 1765             Drop: Maverick Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Nam-Yensa Sandsea/Yellow Sands
Condition: The Victanir will appear randomly in the Yellow Sands area (not on 
           the tanks) in one of the sections near the Zertinan Caverns 
           entrance.  He will remain transparent until the party walks up to 
           him.

Dispel him of his status enhancements then cast Slow.  His Flatten and Rage 
attacks will take about 1000+ damage, but other than that, he fights like a 
Shadonir, though he doesn't take off near as much.  Attack physically with 
light elemental weapons and cast Holy.
 _
|_| Vorres

Lv. 50                LP: 13
HP: 63938             Steal: Soul Powder
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 2435             Drop: Gravesoil Trophy

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Necrohol of Nabudis/Hall of the Ivory Covenant
Condition: In order for this rare monster to appear, the Dark Elemental in the 
           Hall of the Ivory Covenant must be chasing your party.  The Dark 
           Elemental will show up randomly in the middle of the area outside 
           the door of the room where The Fury is fought.  Exit and reenter the 
           Cloister of Reason (where The Fury was) in order to make the Dark 
           Elemental appear.  The Dark Elemental is a neutral enemy so attack 
           or use magick around it to make it attack and follow your party.  
           Turn off all gambits and lure the Dark Elemental to either the 
           square room to the north or the square room to the south right 
           outside the Cloister of Reason door to have Vorres teleport into the 
           area.  He may not appear instantly, but keep moving between the 
           walls in front of the door to the Cloister of Reason and the two 
           rooms on the sides of it.

Dispel him then use Slow on him at the start of the battle.  Silencega, Doom, 
Death, Blindga, Annul, Darkra, -aga magick, his physical attacks may cause 
Disable - yes, he is rather dangerous, but he still falls fast to Light 
elemental magick and weapons.
 _
|_| Wendice

Lv. 38                LP: 11
HP: 29988             Steal: Gemini Gem
Weak: Thunder         Poach: N/A
Exp: 1364             Drop: Frigid Trophy

Rarity:    ***
Location:  Sochen Cave Palace/Destiny's March
Condition: Defeat all the Wendigos around the Destiny's March top circular 
           portion and he will appear in the center room.  This is the same 
           circular area with the Doors of Hours that you must use to open the 
           door leading to the Hell Wyrm.  Look for him to appear on the map in 
           the center.

Dispel him as usual.  He is a fairly low level enemy that will not take off 
much more than a standard Wendigo, but his Tri-Attacks that inflict Slow can 
take off around 3000+ damage per hit at times.  Cast Blind and Slow.  You can 
cast Silence, but his magick attacks are merely -ara spells that don't take off 
much so it's really not needed.  Use Thundaga if your weapons don't take enough 
off already.
 _
|_| Zombie Lord

Lv. 38                LP: 11
HP: 21593             Steal: Close Helmet
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 835              Drop: Soulless Trophy

Rarity:    ****
Location:  The Tomb of Raithwall/Northwall Passage
Condition: Appears in North Passage between the minutes of 0 and 29 on the game 
           clock.  He will rise up from the ground like the other zombies, but 
           he is transparent and glows.

This enemy shouldn't be a threat at all considering how low leveled he is.  The 
only attack that you need to watch out for is his Cloying Breath, which you 
should be all too familiar with from previous higher leveled zombies (tons of 
status effects).  Otherwise, he attacks with physical attacks and Water Spouts. 
Blind and Slow him then attack with Light elemental weapons.  He uses high 
level magick such as Pyromania, Tremor, and Tempest, when near death but it 
doesn't take off much because of his low level.

-- Non-Trophy Rare Monsters

This is a list of normal rare monsters (50 total) that are not part of the Hunt 
Club side quest.  All of these rare monsters will keep appearing as long as you 
move two areas away even if your party kills them.  The rare monsters in the 
enemy list will be listed here as well once I get around to it.

For the rare monsters that appear randomly, please note that you only need to 
enter and exit from one zone away from the area of appearance for that rare 
monster to have a chance to appear.  Once the rare monster appears and has been 
defeated then your party will need to move two zones away then reenter the area 
for the rare monster to have another chance to appear again.  When the rare 
monster appears the second time and has been defeated then exit two zones away 
and come back.  Rinse and repeat while looking for rare drops.

Aerieel

Lv. 12                LP: 3
HP: 3017              Steal: Bat Wing
Weak: Light           Poach: Pebble, Taurus Gem
Exp: 93 - 124         Drop: Bat Fang, Golden Armor

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Lhusu Mines/Oltam Span
Condition: Aerieel will fly down from the ceiling randomly on the Oltam Span. 
           He will not appear in the area until you move underneath his 
           spawning point, which is usually near one of the ends on the bridge.

Aeros

Lv. 23                LP: 5
HP: 12497             Steal: Wyvern Wing
Weak: Thunder         Poach: Ashura, Pebble
Exp: 692              Drop: Crooked Fang, Wyvern Fang

Rarity:    **
Location:  Ozmone Plain/The Shred
Condition: Defeat all the Wus then exit and reenter.  He will sometimes appear 
           randomly in this area without the need of defeating the Wus.  This 
           rare monster will almost always appear along with the Bull Croc rare 
           monster.  It's appearance seems to depend heavily on the Bull Croc 
           being in the area.  Aeros will fly in from the southeast.

Anchag

Lv. 30                LP: 11
HP: 30515             Steal: Damascus Steel
Weak: Water           Poach: Forbidden Flesh, Pebble
Exp: 1296             Drop: Festering Flesh, Obelisk

Rarity:    **
Location:  Paramina Rift/Karydine Glacier
Condition: Defeat all the enemies in the Karydine Glacier section of the 
           Paramina Rift then exit and reenter.  The Anchag will be walking 
           around in the middle section when your party reenters.

Apsara

Lv. 37                LP: 9
HP: 23381             Steal: Empyrean Rod
Weak: Ice             Poach: Dorsal Fin, Pebble
Exp: 1023             Drop: Fish Scale, Pisces Gem

Rarity:    **
Location:  Phon Coast/The Mauleia Strand
Condition: Chain 5+ Pirahna kills in The Reseta Strand or The Vaddu Strand and 
           this rare monster will randomly appear along the shoreline next to 
           the Iguions when your party enter The Mauleia Strand.  He is a 
           neutral enemy.  The Mauleia Strand is in the northwest portion of 
           the Phon Coast.

Barmuu

Lv. 19                LP: 4
HP: 9158              Steal: Lamia's Tiara
Weak: Wind            Poach: Pebble, Quality Stone
Exp: 399              Drop: Betelgeuse, Solid Stone

Rarity:    ***
Location:  Tomb of Raithwall/Royal Passage
Condition: This monster will appear in between the three Way Stones in the 
           Royal Passage area after the bridge where you fought the second 
           Demon Wall.  Get a 10+ chain from defeating Seeker bats.  Turn off 
           gambits and attack them manually to avoid the Tallows.

Bombshell

Lv. 60 - 61           LP: 16
HP: 76042 - 76202     Steal: Mallet
Weak: Water           Poach: N/A
Exp: 2417 - 2476      Drop: Bomb Ashes, Yagyu Darkblade

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Lhusu Mines/Lasche Span
Condition: The Bombshell will appear randomly on the Lasche Span bridge.  This 
           is the bridge with the Aeronites in the Lhusu Mines.

Bull Croc

Lv. 23                LP: 5
HP: 13968             Steal: Blood Wool
Weak: Earth           Poach: Broken Sword, Pebble
Exp: 691              Drop: Braid Wool, Demon Mail

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Ozmone Plain/The Shred
Condition: Defeat all the Wus then exit and reenter.  He will sometimes appear 
           randomly in this area without the need of defeating the Wus.

Crypt Bunny

Lv. 45 - 46           LP: 12
HP: 21348 - 21668     Steal: Holy Mote
Weak: Fire            Poach: N/A
Exp: 588 - 646        Drop: Drab Wool, Muramasa

Rarity:    ***
Location:  The Feywood/Walk of Stolen Truths
Condition: Run around the area defeating Tartarus' and Cerberus' and the Crypt 
           Bunny will eventually jump out of the ground while your party moves 
           by.  There is no need to chain kills.  It can take quite a while 
           since more Tartarus' keep appearing but keep killing them and the 
           Crypt Bunny will appear.  He is a neutral enemy and is very fast 
           with his constant hopping.

Cubus

Lv. 38                LP: 11
HP: 32616             Steal: Silver Liquid
Weak: Water           Poach: N/A
Exp: 1421             Drop: Green Liquid, Holy Mote

Rarity:    **
Location:  Sochen Cave Palace/Temptation Eluded
Condition: In order for Cubus to appear, your party must kill off all enemies 
           in this area, but the enemies must be of a certain type.  Normally 
           Strikers and Imps will wander this area.  Exit two zones away and 
           reenter if Strikers and Imps are in the area.  If Wendigos are in 
           place of the Strikers and Pit Fiends are in place of the Imps then 
           Cubus will randomly fall from the ceiling of the western dead end 
           once the last enemy is killed.  The last enemy must be in that 
           western corridor - usually two Wendigos will appear there.  If the 
           enemies are still Strikers and Imps then exit two zones then reenter 
           once again.  The enemy types must be Wendigos and Pit Fiends for him 
           to appear once all the enemies are defeated.  Please note that Cubus 
           is not guaranteed to fall every time, so this might take quite a few 
           tries.  The Temptation Eluded area is right before the lift that 
           takes your party to the door leading to Old Archades.

Cultsworn Lich

Lv. 20                LP: 4
HP: 7578              Steal: Loxley Bow
Weak: Light           Poach: Death Powder, Pebble
Exp: 442              Drop: Glass Jewel, Sky Jewel

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Tomb of Raithwall/Southfall Passage
Condition: This monster spawns from a Lich when it Divides.  Find some Liches 
           near the green Way Stone in the middle of the Southfall Passage 
           area.  The Liches teleport in front of the party and are found 
           throughout this area.  Get them to HP Critical status or extremely 
           low to make them Divide and they might spawn the Cultsworn Lich.  
           Equip low level daggers if you must to wear them down without 
           killing them.  Keep in mind that a spawned Lich will not Divide, 
           only the original will, and he will only perform a Divide once.  The 
           Cultsworn Lich looks identical to the others so be sure to check its 
           data in the combat log by selecting it.

Drowned

Lv. 40                LP: 11
HP: 21886             Steal: Forbidden Flesh
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 773              Drop: Foul Flesh, Scathe Mote

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Garamsythe Waterway/No. 4 Cloaca Spur
Condition: Close Sluicegates No. 4 and No. 11 (light on for each).  The No. 4 
           Cloaca Spur is in the southeast, but you'll need to enter from the 
           east to get to it.  Look at the map.  There are plenty of Gespensts 
           in the area.

           Drowned will appear in the South portion randomly while your party 
           is in the No. 4 Cloaca Spur.  He actually frightened me with how 
           aggressively he ran up and attacked my party within about a minute 
           of entering the area.  The longer you stay, the better his chances 
           will be to spawn.  Watch for a violent zombie.  He will rise up from 
           the shallow water in the middle.

Dustia

Lv. 18                LP: 3
HP: 7272              Steal: Book of Orgain-Mille
Weak: Light           Poach: Capricorn Gem, Pebble
Exp: 367              Drop: Book of Orgain, Flame Staff

Rarity:    ***
Location:  Dalmasca Westersand/Corridor of Sand
Condition: Dustia will appear when a party member is in HP Critical status in 
           the Corridor of Sand.

Etherian

Lv. 49                LP: 11
HP: 33056             Steal: Ame-no-Murakumo
Weak: Fire            Poach: Pebble, Unpurified Ether
Exp: 1319             Drop: Green Liquid, Silver Liquid

Rarity:    **
Location:  Cerobi Steppe/The Northsward
Condition: Kill all enemies (Silver Lobos and Bellwyverns) and this monster 
           will appear.  No need to exit and reenter.  The Northward is in the 
           far northeast of the Cerobi Steppe.

Evil Spirit

Lv. 62                LP: 17
HP: 121852            Steal: Lifewick, Remedy
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 3831             Drop: Glass Jewel, Gungnir

Rarity:    *****
Location:  The Great Crystal/Sthaana Aquarius OR Dha Vikaari Uldobi OR Dha 
           Vikaari Dhebon Ra
Condition: He will appear randomly with the Forbiddens on either the platform 
           with the Gate Aquarius Stone, the platform with Way Stone XVIII, or 
           the platform with Way Stone XIX.  These sections are surrounding the 
           platform with the blue save crystal right before the Ultima boss 
           fight area.  He has also appeared around Way Stone XXI, which is one 
           of the Way Stones that you use to teleport to Omega Mark XII.

Fideliant

Lv. 18                LP: 3
HP: 5189              Steal: Capricorn Gem
Weak: Light           Poach: Broken Spear, Pebble
Exp: 310              Drop: Bone Fragement, Heavy Lance

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Dalmasca Westersand/The Midfault
Condition: Appears randomly around the southern center portion of The Midfault.

Gemhorn

Lv. 46                LP: 12
HP: 43121             Steal: Slaven Harness
Weak: Wind            Poach: N/A
Exp: 1463             Drop: Great Axe, Tanned Hide

Rarity:    **
Location:  The Lhusu Mines/Site 11
Condition: Kill off all enemies in the area: Marlboros, Vampyrs, Killer 
           Mantis', and Bugs (black chests).  Exit then reenter the area.  
           Gemhorn should appear in the cave area where the Malboros were.  He 
           is a large neutral Slaven.

Glaring Eye

Lv. 65                LP: 18
HP: 175375            Steal: Ambrosia
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 4477             Drop: Glass Jewel, Sweep

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Henne Mines/Crossover C or Phase 2 Shaft
Condition: Defeat 3 Hecteyes and he will appear near the party in one of the 
           two areas.  If he doesn't appear in one area then try the other.

Grave Lord

Lv. 24                LP: 13
HP: 41316             Steal: Death's-Head
Weak: Light           Poach: Blood-darkened Bone, Pebble
Exp: 1563             Drop: Bone Fragment, Diamond Helm

Rarity:    ***
Location:  Golmore Jungle/The Rustling Chapel
Condition: Defeat all the enemies at The Rustling Chapel.  Dark Skeletons will 
           appear once all enemies are defeated.  Kill the Dark Skeletons then 
           keep checking the center area.  The Grave Lord should eventually 
           appear in the center area.  Exit and reenter the area if he doesn't. 
           Keep killing Dark Skeletons to make him appear in the center.

Greeden

Lv. 31                LP: 3
HP: 7171              Steal: Wind Crystal, Wind Magicite
Weak: Earth           Poach: Blood Wool, Pebble 
Exp: 379              Drop: Blood Wool, Braid Wool

Rarity:    ***
Location:  Dalmasca Estersand/Banks of the Nebra
Condition: Kill off many of the hostile enemies in the area but leave the 
           neutral enemies alone.  After a while the Greeden will appear near 
           the shore. Not every hostile enemy needs to be killed, just keep 
           killing until he appears.

Grey Molter

Lv. 34                LP: 8
HP: 21342             Steal: Aries Gem
Weak: Light           Poach: Pebble, Serpent Eye
Exp: 1060             Drop: Prime Tanned Hide, Snake Skin

Rarity:    ****
Location:  Mosphoran Highwaste/Empyrean Path
Condition: First of all, the Shrine of South Wind in the Babbling Vale must be 
           activated.  Walk up the floatweed in the northern portion of the 
           Empyrean Path and this snake will rise up from the ground right next 
           to a rock on the northwest side of the Empyrean Path.  The rock is 
           to the right after your party walks up the floatweed and has a plant 
           with four branches sticking straight up to the side of it - one 
           branch is shorter than the rest.  The snake will only appear between 
           the minutes of 10 and 20 on the game clock.  You need to enter the 
           area between those minutes for him to appear by the rock.

Helvinek

Lv. 48                LP: 13
HP: 99999             Steal: Magick Lamp
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 1648 - 2256      Drop: Grand Armor, Grimoire Togail, Magick Lamp

Rarity:    **
Location:  Necrohol of Nabudis/Cloister of the Highborn
Condition: Kill off about 5+ Oversouls throughout the Necrohol of Nabudis and 
           this rare monster will automatically teleport near your party in the 
           Cloister of the Highborn.  Strangely, this rare monster is not 
           immune to Libra, so his stats display on the combat log.

Imdugud

Lv. 17                LP: 3
HP: 8302              Steal: Shielded Armor
Weak: Earth           Poach: Pebble, White Incense
Exp: 2766             Drop: Large Feather, Windslicer Pinion

Rarity:    ****
Location:  Nam-Yensa Sandsea/Withering Shores
Condition: If you haven't yet, enter the Zertinan Caverns from the Central 
           Junciton of the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea and push the rock into the sand 
           on the west side of the tunnel.  Walk out to the Withering Shores of 
           the Nam-Yensa Sandsea via the other exit.  This is the same area 
           where the Belito hunt ("A Dark Rumor") was at.  Defeat all the 
           Bagolies in the area then stand on the circular platform with the 
           metal containers and wait for the Imdugud to fly toward it.  If he 
           doesn't appear after a while, make sure that more Bagolies haven't 
           respawned around the area.

Ithuno

Lv. 41                LP: 11
HP: 23101             Steal: Deathbringer
Weak: Light           Poach: N/A
Exp: 852              Drop: Iron Ore, Iron Scaps

Rarity:    *****
Location:  Barheim Passage/Special Op Sector 5
Condition: This mimic will randomly replace one of the treasure chest found 
           around the area.  Look for one of the treasure chest to have a 
           reddish glow underneath the circular middle portion.

Juggernaut

Lv. 46                LP: 12
HP: 76251             Steal: Mystletainn
Weak: Wind            Poach: N/A
Exp: 1715             Drop: Lumber, White Mask

Rarity:    *****
Location:  The Feywood/White Magick's Embrace
Condition: Juggernaut will randomly appear in the Feywood between the minutes 
           of 0 and 10 on the game clock.  He appeared in the north creek for 
           me.

Larva Eater

Lv. 62                LP: 17
HP: 148646            Steal: Scorpio Gem
Weak: Ice             Poach: N/A
Exp: 3533             Drop: Danjuro, Demon Eyeball

Rarity:    *
Location:  The Great Crystal/around Way Stone XIII or Way Stone XIV (or 
           possibly any Way Stone)
Condition: What level are you on?  I would suggest you be around level 80 
           before trying this.  Larva Eater will appear either around Way Stone 
           XIII or Way Stone XIV after about 200 monsters have been killed in 
           The Great Crystal - 256 monsters is believed to be the required 
           amount.  These monsters must be killed during that entry into The 
           Great Crystal - this is not a total amount for the numbers of time 
           you have been there.  Chain Necrophobes on the platforms near Way 
           Stone XIII or Way Stone XIV and check back at the Way Stone once you 
           start to get 200+ chains.  Chaining is not required but it is an 
           easy way to keep up with the kill amount that your party currently 
           has and also you can use this to your advantage to have a better 
           chance to get the Danjuro (the most powerful dagger) as a rare drop 
           from him when he finally appears.  

           Supposedly, he will appear around other Way Stones as well, so try 
           another if he never spawns at the current one after 256 kills.  I'm 
           not sure if teleporting will reset the kill amount, but it does not 
           reset the chain amount.  Teleporting anywhere in the vicinity of 
           where you fought Ultima WILL reset the  chain amount so that might 
           reset the kill amount as well.  This rare monster will appear by 
           himself without any Reapers.  Be careful once he has spawned since 
           this is a very dangerous enemy.  He takes around 2000+ per physical 
           attack and his sandstorm takes 3000+ per hit on all characters.  He 
           also starts to use Invert at HP critcal status.

Lindbur Wolf

Lv. 16                LP: 3
HP: 4153              Steal: Gladius
Weak: Water           Poach: Libra Gem, Pebble
Exp: 197              Drop: Prime Pelt, Wolf Pelt

Rarity:    **
Location:  Dalmasca Westers