Red Mage Solo Guide by Flamefury, Copyright 2014 Navigation - The Table of Contents ////////////////////////////////// Revision History..................................................[UPDT] Flamefury's Intro.................................................[LOLZ] Rules of the Challenge............................................[RULE] Spell Selection...................................................[MGCK] Using this Guide..................................................[HOWT] Walkthrough.......................................................[WLKT] Prologue......................................................[PRLG] Cornelia, A Renowned Nation That Sells Crap...............[CRN1] Chaos Shrine to Get Knocked DOWN..........................[CHSS] The Excuse to Build a Bridge..............................[CRN2] Chapter One...................................................[CHP1] Provoking Pirates in Pravoka..............................[PRVK] When Elf Princes Nap, Kingdoms Go Nuts....................[ELF1] Marsh Cave, a Hole in the Ground..........................[MSH1] Western Keep, because Dark Elf Castle was Taken...........[WST1] Getting Drugs from Matoya.................................[MTYA] Trafficking in Elfheim....................................[ELF2] Robbing the Keep of the West..............................[WST2] Back in Marsh April May......................... .........[MSH2] Bombs for Terrorism.......................................[CRN3] You Wish You Had Magic Swords.............................[CHS2] Controlling Nature with Duergar Dwarves...................[MDRG] Chapter Two...................................................[CHP2] Not so Mellow Melmond.....................................[MELM] Vampires Live Underground.................................[ETH1] Giants Only Eat the Most Expensive Jewellery..............[GNTC] Rodded by a Sage in his Cave..............................[SRDA] A Shield I Can Use, At Last!..............................[CLK1] Skeletons in my Closet....................................[ETH2] Chapter Three.................................................[CHP3] Fabled Canoe of the Crescent..............................[CLK2] EYE'm Watching You........................................[ICEC] I've Got Sand in My Turbines!.............................[RYUD] A Fitting Item of Courage?................................[RATT] Powerful Dragons that Let Others Die Fighting.............[DRGC] Why do Rings Protect More than Gloves?....................[GAI1] Chapter Four..................................................[CHP4] Six-Armed Naga Queen of Fire..............................[MGLG] Chapter Five..................................................[CHP5] Smuggling Faeries Next to Onrac...........................[CRVN] Breathing Beer of Gaia....................................[GAI2] Cube? I Demand a Datasphere...............................[WTRC] Onrac, Where Legs are Treasures...........................[ONRC] Sea Monsters Always Wear Purple Capes.....................[SNKS] Chapter Six...................................................[CHP6] Learning Psycho Talk......................................[MLM2] Lufenia and The Fortress of Doom..........................[LFNA] Everyone's Seen the Mirage Tower..........................[MRGT] Careful, She Bites!.......................................[FLYF] Chapter Seven.................................................[CHP7] Prepping Up...............................................[RDY?] Go Back to The Beginning..................................[CHS3] I'm STILL Not in the Loop.................................[FNSH] Extra Dungeons....................................................[EXTR] Earthgift Shrine..............................................[EGSH] Hellfire Chasm................................................[HFCH] Lifespring Grotto.............................................[LSGR] Whisperwind Cove..............................................[WWCO] Labyrinth of Time.............................................[TIME] Equipment.........................................................[EQUP] Weapons.......................................................[WPNS] Armour........................................................[ARMR] Shields.......................................................[SHLD] Helmets.......................................................[HELM] Armwear.......................................................[ARMS] Ship Minigame.....................................................[15PZ] Conclusion........................................................[CNCL] \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Revision History [UPDT] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ August 3rd, 2010 - Initial release, contains full walkthrough for base game. August 21st, 2014 - Updated levels because I managed to beat Piscodemons at level 6. And the entire game with the bare minimum EXP. Fixed the search keys for the table of contents. Miscellaneous errors corrected throughout the guide. Added elements rundown. Added equipment listings. Added ship minigame prize list and tips. Changed boss format to include bestiary information. Included description of layouts in a new "How to use this guide" section Moved equipment set ups to each boss fight, where it would make more sense. Expecting to get Souls of Chaos and the Labyrinth of Time guides some time in the future before I die. October 1st, 2014 - Removed elements section because not really relevant to this challenge. Boss details for Souls of Chaos and the Labyrinth of Time. No treasures to note yet. Whisperwind Cove incomplete. A fix here and there. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Flamefury's Intro [LOLZ] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ What's up, my fellow Final Fantasy lovers. If you haven't figured it out, this guide is made to help people complete 'Final Fantasy I: Dawn of Souls' or 'Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Edition' using nothing but a single Red Mage. Truth be told, it isn't actually that difficult. However, it's still a fun little challenge for those looking for a new twist in the game. Why the Red Mage for a solo challenge? Because why not. If anyone's most suited to fighting by themselves, it's the gal or guy who's the jack of all trades. The Red Mage gets access to both White and Black Magic. Although more limited than the Black and White Mages, his spell selection has most of the useful ones, so it's all good. The Red Mage also gets good weaponry, perhaps not to the level of the Knight, but enough to keep on par with the Ninja. The Red Mage is not without his weaknesses. The main problems lie in defence; you wouldn't expect it, but his armour selection is as good as Black Mage! His HP growth is also close to the same. Nevertheless, with so many battle options, a Red Mage solo sure beats out a Black Belt solo in fun factor. Notable is that the Red Mage may very well be the ONLY character class capable of beating the game alone fighting only the absolutely mandatory battles (Garland stomps almost all Lv1s. White Mage may be another exception). Note that this guide may work for any player, regardless of whether they're actually playing the game with a lone Red Mage, solely due to the fact I enjoy being thorough. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The Rules [RULE] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The entire game, from Cornelia to the final battle, must be completed with a single Red Mage. The other three party members must be dead, NEVER gain experience and NEVER be revived AT ALL. That means you can't revive them during battle, kill them off before you win and continue on your way. However, Dawn of Souls is ridiculously easy, partially because the level cap has been raised from 50 to 99. So, as an added bonus, you can try to complete the game at the lowest level possible. This guide will be written assuming you're doing this, but the choice is solely yours if you wish to add this restriction. I'll be referring to this a lot as LLG (Low Level Game). Another reason Dawn of Souls is easy is because you can save anywhere (since it is a portable game and it'd suck to only be able to save in towns or just outside a huge dungeon). While people may decide to restrict their save point locations, I personally don't see the gain in achievement of running through the same dungeon fifty times just because of one battle at the end that keeps killing you. If you're doing this at a low level, you do REQUIRE a certain passage of turns in order to pass some points in the game. But it's still up to the challenge taker. Class change is optional, and honestly doesn't affect the challenge too much. If you're doing a low level game, the class change doesn't even help you. And of course, no cheat codes, no save states, etc (BUT WHAT DOES ETC. INCLUDE, LOL). If you're using the PSP no equipment glitch exploitation either. As far as the Souls of Chaos and Labyrinth of Time, you can complete those as well with your lone Red Mage. If you're keeping the lowest level, you should skip these dungeons until you've beaten the final boss at least once. If you want to hit the Souls of Chaos at the absolute lowest level, make a new save after beating the Lich and a new save after getting the Airship. Then from the Airship save, beat only the one mandatory fiend and make a new save there, reset to the Airship save, beat another one mandatory fiend and make a new save file there, etc. That ensures the absolute minimum for entering each Soul of Chaos. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Spell Selection [MGCK] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The Red Mage has quite a few spells to learn, but only three slots are available per level. These are my opinions of each one, but you're free to choose your own magic setup. * Can only be used by the Red Wizard (after class change) Level 1 Black Magic ------------------- Fire - Soon outdone by your normal attack. Lacks any sort of longevity. Thunder - See Fire. Sleep - Handy for running from random encounters, later becomes useless when enemies resist. I get it anyway, since it works for a decent amount of time. Focus - Enemy evasion is never really a problem, Haste outdoes any advantage this provides. If you really want though, you can keep it and increase the number of hits you do a round. Level 1 White Magic ------------------- Cure - While weak, a small HP restore is handy when you don't want to throw your bigger spells. Protect - Best used against the first boss, the small increase is slowly diminished as time goes on. However, it IS stackable. *Blink - Very, very useful, you'll use this survive against most bosses. Two casts will give you enough breathing room for some buffs. You do get the Defender later though, which casts this spell, so you could just keep another Lv1 spell. Level 2 Black Magic ------------------- Blizzard - See Fire. Alternatively, see Thunder. Dark - A below average staller. I never pick it up, the things you want to blind are always resistant, and the actual effect on their accuracy is pretty small. Temper - An awesome buffer until you get the Giant's Glove. Slow - It's considered a status spell instead of time, so, a lot of enemies you meet will resist it. Still, it's not bad for the occasional random encounter that includes enemies who hit more than once. Level 2 White Magic ------------------- Blindna - Saves you Eye Drop money. But to be honest, will you even get blinded more than 5 times in the game? Plus Blind is healed at the end of every battle anyway. Healing blindness during a fight typically means you're setting yourself up to be blinded again, essentially wasting a turn. Silence - Very, very useful (almost necessary) for one boss. Later on it gets resisted a lot, but you could always try it on spellcasters that're annoying you. NulShock - You'll meet a lot of lightning attacks from bosses. If you don't want to minigame for Blue Curtains, you might as well get this. Once you get the Ribbon, all Nul- spells become useless. Invis - I use this early on to hold out until I get access to Blink. A good 4 or 5 casts makes you survive a whole lot better. Once you class change or get the Defender, you can swap this one out. Level 3 Black Magic ------------------- Fira - More viable than Fire, since it hits all targets and your normal attack will never be able to do that. I like this one the best, since there are so many fire-weak enemies. Take note; if you minigame enough, you can just rely on Red Fangs until you get the Mage Staff, which casts this spell for free. Hold - One target status spell. Not good for encounters, since they normally have more than a single enemy. Bosses would be okay, if the high magic resistance let up once in a while. One boss does happen to be weak to status, so this can be kept for that fight. Thundara - See Fira. Good for one of the earlier bosses, as well as sea-faring enemies. However, like Fira, you can rely on Blue Fangs if you need to use this spell. Eventually you'll get access to Thor's Hammer and the Gauntlet, which both cast this spell for free. Focara - Area-wide Focus. The only you'd use this is because you let certain enemies cast Invisra or Blink repeatedly on themselves. No random encounter is hard enough to require you using a turn to do more hits on everything. Still, if you're not getting the elemental attack spells or swapping them out, you may as well give this a whirl. Level 3 White Magic ------------------- Cura - A stronger cure for when your HP gets higher. NulBlaze - If you don't want to hunt for Red Curtains, this is a good spell. Once you get the Ribbon, all Nul- spells become useless. Level 4 Black Magic ------------------- Sleepra - After browsing game mechanics, I noticed a quirk: Sleepra is non-elemental, unlike Sleep. This means no boss resists it, which makes it more viable than Hold. However, low level games should note that it will be hard to bypass a boss's ordinarily high magic defence. Haste - Uhm, CHECK PLEASE! You're crazy if you pass this (Unless you've always got a ton of Hermes Shoes around...). Confuse - More stalling spells that are resisted too much to be useful! Hip hip, hooray~! Although it is fun to use on random encounters. You do get the Wizard's Staff which casts this spell for free. Blizzara - I can only think of one dungeon it'd be useful in. There aren't enough ice-weak opponents. It does hit harder than Fira and Thundara in general, though. But then there's always White Fangs and eventually the Black Robe which casts this spell for free. Level 4 White Magic ------------------- Poisona - More useful than Blindna, since many enemies have a poisonous effect on their regular attacks. You'll need to get poisoned 50 times before it starts saving you dough. NulFrost - This time, you don't hunt for White Curtains. Once you get the Ribbon, all Nul- spells become useless. *Vox - Useless in a solo game. You can't cast this spell on yourself if you're silenced. Level 5 Black Magic ------------------- Firaga - Your ultimate fire magic, and strongest spell if you don't class change. Pick it up for blazing mayhem. Truth be told, it's rather weak in the end, but fire-weak enemies are plentiful to the point where it's nice to hit all of them with something decently strong. *Scourge - Ehhh. Instant kill all enemies non-resistant to poison. Not bad, but since the item incarnate arrives just before you most want this spell, it can pass. *Teleport - For when you miss a treasure chest. Otherwise, not much utility. Slowra - If you can land this on enemy, their attacks becomes helpless. It's also considered non-elemental, so nothing can have resistance to it. A shame bosses normally have high magic resistance. Level 5 White Magic ------------------- Curaga - Since potions're too weak, Curaga can save the day in a tight spot. *Life - Useless in a solo game. You can't revive your team at all. Level 6 Black Magic ------------------- *Thundaga - Water-enemies beware. The strongest lightning attack you'll have. Also, you can't learn any more Black Magic here any way. Level 6 White Magic ------------------- *Exit - Good utility, it sucks to walk out of a place. *Protera - Stronger than Protect, but this status doesn't compete well with Blink. You do have spell slots to spare, though. *Invisra - Since it's a solo game, it loses against Invis, which in turn, loses against Blink. Not to mention there's an item incarnate. Level 7 Black Magic ------------------- *Blizzaga - The strongest attack spell the Red Wizard learns. But much like Firaga, the damage is hampered by every bosses' high magic defence. Level 7 White Magic ------------------- *NulDeath - Contrary to only containing death in its name, this protection includes status and earth elements as well (to be fair, the only earth elemental attacks in this game cause instant death anyway). Thus, it's better than just the Protect Ring alone, which only blocks death. Even still, the Ribbon is in your possession before this is available, which covers everything. Post-game, in the bonus dungeons, you may want this spell since enemies exist that know Dispel, which break your Ribbon's coverage if it hits. For reference, here are the spell-casting equipment you get in the main game: Weapon Name | Spell | Location -------------------------------------------- Healing Staff | Heal | Citadel of Trials Thor's Hammer | Thundara | Citadel of Trials Defender | Blink | Waterfall Cavern Wizard Staff | Confuse | Waterfall Cavern Light Axe | Diara | Sunken Shrine Mage's Staff | Fira | Sunken Shrine Razer | Scourge | Flying Fortress Armour Name | Spell | Location --------------------------------------------- Gauntlet | Thundara | Citadel of Trials Giant's Glove | Saber | Sunken Shrine White Robe | Invisra | Flying Fortress Black Robe | Blizzara | Flying Fortress Healing Helmet | Heal | Mirage Tower With all this in mind, this is the set-up I use: Lv1: Cure Sleep Protect->Focus (after getting Protera) Lv2: Temper Silence Invis ->Slow (after getting Defender) Lv3: Cura Hold Fira/Focara Lv4: Haste Sleepra Blizzara/Poisona Lv5: Curaga Firaga Slowra Lv6: Thundaga Protera Exit Lv7: Blizzaga NulDeath ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Using this Guide [HOWT] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ================== Travelling ================== Travelling and getting from place to place will not be very in-depth. I'll normally only give the general compass direction, trusting you to use the World Map to figure it out (GBA only, they apparently took this out in PSP?). At the beginning of most town sections I'll include a list of items to buy and their costs. ================== Treasure Notations ================== Every dungeon has its treasures, and they'll be shown in a formatted list at the start of the section. ALL CAPS means a key item. * means it is a duplicate item. That means there are different locations of the item, but it can only be obtained once in the DUNGEON (not floor). ! means there is one spiked floor adjacent or otherwise very close to the treasure chest in question. Multiple ! means there are more than one. > means I don't think you should skip it. Likely because you can equip it or it casts a spell when used as an item. I won't do this for any one use items or gold. Dungeon navigation will also typically just be general compass directions. I won't be explicit in leading you through every chest and then the stairs to the next floor, as I include the location of each chest in the treasure list. ================== Boss Battles ================== Bosses and other forced encounters are going to be shown like this: /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Name of Boss | | HP : ?? Agility : ?? Gil : ?? | | Attack : ?? Intelligence : ?? EXP : ?? | | Accuracy : ?? Evasion : ?? Treasure: ???? (?%) | | Defence : ?? Magic Defence : ?? | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | List of weaknesses as given in bestiary | | Resistances | | List of resistances as given in bestiary | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (percentage chance of boss using a spell each turn) | | Spells used by boss in the order they are cast | | Skill Cycle (percentage chance of boss using a skill each turn) | | Skills used by boss in the order they are used | |============================================================================| | My level: The level which I defeated the boss | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Weapon I used Shield: Shield I used | | Helmet: Helmet I used Armour: Armour I used | | Arms : Ring or gloves I used | | | | Strategy: | | If the boss's standard attack applies a status, I'll mention it first. | | Afterwards, I describe the strategy I used to defeat the boss, which | | ordinarily will be setting up defences, buffing yourself and then | | attacking with either your strongest or most effective weapon. | \============================================================================/ The stats will match what is given in the bestiary. The spell and skill cycles deserve a bit of explanation. FF1 enemy AI is extremely simple: if a monster has spells or skills (or both), to decide what it does in the next round it makes a random roll to decide whether to attack, cast a spell or use a skill. If it chooses to cast a spell, then it checks to see which spell to use by looking at where it is in its spell cycle. The process is identical for the skill cycle. For example, take a hypothetical enemy: Spell Cycle (50%) Fire -> Thunder -> Blizzard Skill Cycle (25%) Blaze -> Thunderbolt -> Icestorm This means half the time the enemy will use a spell, a quarter of the time it will use a skill and the last quarter it will attack normally. If it chooses to cast a spell, it will use Fire first. The next time it chooses to cast a spell, it will use Thunder, and then Blizzard on the next time. After Blizzard, the cycle simply repeats to Fire. The spell and skill cycles move forward independantly of one another, so this enemy could be on Blizzard for its next spell but on Thunderbolt for its next skill. You should use these cycles to determine when the best time is to buff, heal or attack. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Walkthrough [WLKT] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Before we begin, tips to follow: - Save like a madman. Unless you're deep in a dungeon with no restoratives, no MP, at critical health and have no Emergency Exit. For Low Level Games, many dungeons have random encounters you cannot escape from. For that reason, you should be saving every bunch of steps you take in case you run into any encounter like this. You should also do this to conserve both health and items, so you can reset if you take too much damage in one encounter. - When you level up, reset until you get strong HP level ups (normally 20+). Trust me, it sucks to be level 16 and have 168 HP. Get as many strong HP ups as your reset patience allows. Generally speaking, you'll want those more than boosts to your actual stats. It should be noted that if you're a perfectionist, you should NOT skip agility in your level-ups. If you're going for a full 99 build on your Red Mage, the Speed Plus item is bugged and only gives 1 evasion per 1 agility, instead of 2 evasion like a natural level-up agility boost. Since the Red Mage has base 10 agility, you must get 89 level-ups with agility, missing at most 9 levels. LLG should note that it is IMMENSELY hard to get both consistent strong HP level ups AND agility in every level. If you're not a perfectionist, prioritize getting HP over agility. To demonstrate how important HP is in an LLG, note the following: Assuming an average of 25HP per level, at the first hard boss of the game (the Lich), Lv12 should have ~305HP, enough to survive one of Lich's spells without buffs. Not aiming for consistent HP level ups will put you on average under 160HP, not enough to even survive one spell. Up to the final boss, at Lv22 you'll get ~555, which provides a fair bit more breathing room as you can survive up to two turns from the start, as opposed to a more average HP Red Mage which would be at high 300s, low 400s; enough to barely scrape by one of the Chaos' skills, but has a good chance of dying in one round. - Beat the shipgame third place record by bare minimums. The way it works, if you beat first place record, you'll have a heckuvalot harder time getting anything worthwhile from it. Make the most out of the shipgame's offerings. - Phoenix Downs and Gold Needles are useless. Skip them or get them and sell them. - If it doesn't cast anything and you can't wear it, skip it or sell it. And a reminder, I'm writing assuming you're trying to win at the lowest level possible. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() Introducing...the Red Mage! [PRLG] ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Cornelia [CRN1] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Buying List: Chain Mail - 65g Rapier - 8g Lv1 Spells x3 - 150g Potions x? - ??g Make your party. One Red Mage, 3 more soon-to-be-forever-dead Red Mages/Black Mages/White Mages/Monks/Thieves/Fighters. Get into Cornelia. Buy Chain Mail and Rapier for your solo Red Mage. Also buy Protect in White Magic. Get Cure or some potions too. Don't sell your stuff just yet. Talk to the soldier blocking the exit, have a chat with the king, get out into the field. Place your solo Red Mage in the last position. Get into a battle. Solo Red Mage should defend, everyone else use their knives. When everyone but your solo Red Mage is dead, run from the battle. Go to the Chaos Temple to the north. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Chaos Shrine [CHSS] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: >Leather Cap - Bottom left corner, inside room. Potion - Upper left corner, inside room. Tent - Next to Potion. Pick up the treasures and return to the center of the temple. Inside the main room is your first boss fight. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Garland | | HP : 212 Agility : 6 Gil : 250 | | Attack : 15 Intelligence : 12 EXP : 130 | | Accuracy : 27 Evasion : 12 Treasure: Longsword (2%) | | Defence : 8 Magic Defence : 64 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | None | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 1 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Rapier Shield: Nothing | | Helmet: Leather Cap Armour: Chain Mail | | Ring : Nothing | | | | Strategy: | | Cast Protect twice. Garland should only be able to do 1 damage after | | that. Heal with Potion or Cure if you hit 2 HP. Attack with your Rapier. | | Garland can hit pretty hard with a critical, but those are rare. | \============================================================================/ Automatically transferred back to Cornelia. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Cornelia [CRN2] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Chat with King, exit castle. Buy Sleep, potions or nothing in town. Cross bridge to north. Listen to pretty music and get ready for the actual challenge. Head far east when scene is done. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() Pirates, Elves and Dwarves [CHP1] ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Pravoka [PRVK] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Buying List: Broadsword - 450g Leather Gloves - 50g 3 Lv2 Spells - 750g Buy stuff (possibly hold on the Broadsword, since you'll find one later), then challenge Bikke's crew. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Pirates x9 | | HP : 24 Agility : 6 Gil : 40 | | Attack : 10 Intelligence : 3 EXP : 40 | | Accuracy : 2 Evasion : 12 Treasure: Leather Shield | | Defence : 0 Magic Defence : 35 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | None | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 4 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Rapier / Longsword Shield: Nothing | | Helmet: Leather Cap Armour: Chain Mail | | Arms : Leather Gloves | | | | Strategy: | | Sleep to stop the majority and attack with your weapon. You shouldn't | | need to heal. | \============================================================================/ Receive the ship. Get on it and use the minigame (hold A and tap B repeatedly for GBA, or hold X and tap O repeatedly for PSP) to gain Gil and items. Try and get two or three Blue Fangs (low level games will need this in an upcoming fight), and one of each curtain (red, blue, white). Hermes Shoes and Emergency Exits are good too, but be sure to snag those AFTER you got your fangs and curtains. Check the Ship minigame section if you want some help. After that, sail southwest for Elfheim. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Elfheim [ELF1] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Buying List: Lv3 Spells x3 - 3000g Antidotes x? - ??g If your level is high enough, indulge in some magic. Prepare for a LOT of ship minigame. Buy Antidotes. Rest if needed and leave town. Make sure you have at least 2 Blue Fangs. Head west for Marsh Cave. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Marsh Cave [MSH1] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Basement 2 - Coming from the upper entrance *680g - Upper left room. Dagger - Upper right room. *Broadsword - Lowest room. 620g - Lowest room, next to the Broadsword Basement 2 - Coming from the lower entrance *680g - Bottom leftmost room. *Broadsword - Room right of 680g room. *Broadsword - Left of bottom rightmost room. Basement 3 *Phoenix Down - First row, leftmost room. 295g - First row, rightmost room. Copper Armlet - Second row, leftmost room. Cottage - Second row, second to leftmost room. *Phoenix Down - Next to above chest. !CROWN - Third row, second to leftmost room. 385g - Third row, second to rightmost room. *Phoenix Down - Third row, rightmost room. B1 = Path north gets you some Gil, path south to progress. B2 = Go all the way south, head east. Go in the room, exit the room and head down the stairs. B3 = Grab everything but the Crown. Once you have the other treasures, go to the room with the Crown but do not walk up to it. Prepare yourself (heal, save, etc.) and then step forward. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Piscodemon x2 | | HP : 84 Agility : 33 Gil : 300 | | Attack : 30 Intelligence : 18 EXP : 276 | | Accuracy : 21 Evasion : 66 Treasure: None | | Defence : 16 Magic Defence : 98 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Fire - Ice - Stone - Paralysis - Poison - Darkness - Sleep - Silence | | Confusion - Mind | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 6 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Broadsword / Longsword Shield: Nothing | | Helmet: Leather Cap Armour: Chain Mail | | Arms : Leather Gloves | | | | Strategy: | | You'll need to reset to only meet 2 if you're going for an LLG. Someone | | once long ago gave me the advice to go into battle without armour so | | that your evasion will be maxed and you can dodge their hits. However, | | after personally testing with maxed agility at Lv6, I've found I could | | not dodge until after I got lucky with Invis and even after 2 casts I | | could still get hit and die. You're free to try this and report success | | if it worked for you. | | | | For me at least, what worked was to armour up, throw two Blue Fangs and | | pray that I went first. For the PSP edition, it appears the Blue Fang | | does not rely on the user's intelligence or it bypasses enemy magic def | | or SOMETHING that makes it deal a lot higher damage, so I was able to | | win with just one Blue Fang. Just hope the Piscodemons miss or don't | | deal high damage, as you can't last 3 hits at Lv6. Don't heal or buff. | | Just attack with those Blue Fangs. | \============================================================================/ Leave the cave. When you're out, head north for Western Keep. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Western Keep [WST1] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Go up to the main room to meet the king. Save and get ready. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Astos | | HP : 420 Agility : 39 Gil : 2000 | | Attack : 30 Intelligence : 24 EXP : 2250 | | Accuracy : 42 Evasion : 78 Treasure: Mythril Sword (4%) | | Defence : 18 Magic Defence : 170 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | None | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (75%) | | Death -> Slowra -> Haste -> Fira -> Thundara -> Slow -> Blind | | -> Sleep | | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 8 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Broadsword / Longsword Shield: Nothing | | Helmet: Leather Cap Armour: Chain Mail | | Arms : Leather Gloves | | | | Strategy: | | If you have one, throw a Cockatrice Claw. | | | | If not, cast Silence until it works. Invis 3-4 times so all of Astos's | | physical attacks miss. Then attack. Cast Temper if you want more damage, | | and keep your HP near max in case Astos gets lucky. | \============================================================================/ Leave, and get to Matoya's Cave, NW of Pravoka. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Matoya's Cave [MTYA] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Potion - Left side of cave. Potion - Left side of cave. Antidote - Left side of cave. Talk to Matoya. Leave, and go to Elfheim Castle. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Elfheim [ELF2] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Buying List: Lv4 Spells x3 - 7500g Treasure: Mythril Hammer - Storage room in detached northeast corner of castle. 650g - Storage room in detached northeast corner of castle. 850g - Storage room in detached northeast corner of castle. Bronze Gloves - Storage room in detached northeast corner of castle. In the castle, find the prince in bed with his doctor next to him. Talk to the doctor. With the Mystic Key, open the chests in the storage room. You can't use any of the equipment. Hrmm. If you want some extra cash, you gotta backtrack to places. Western Keep first. Alternatively, you can go straight to Cornelia Castle and forget the items, since most of it you can't wear any way (although having lots of money helps). +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Western Keep [WST2] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: !Falchion - Middle chest of storage room. !Power Staff - Left chest of storage room. !Steel Gloves - Right chest of storage room. Circle around to find the storage room with the goodies inside. The front of the chests are spiked with Mummies and Wraiths (easily skipped by opening from the sides). +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Marsh Cave [MSH2] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: 3rd Basement >!!Silver Armlet - Fourth row, first room from the left. !!Antidote - Fourth row, second room from the left. !1020g - Fourth row, fourth room from the left. The Silver Armlet has two spiked tiles, two tiles west of the left statue (Piscodemons) and one above the chest (Anacondas, you can run from them, with effort). The first thing you can actually wear! The Antidote has two spiked tiles, one to the left of the chest (Piscodemons) and one below the chest (Anacondas). The 1020g has one spiked tile (Piscodemons), and the battle must be fought to get the contents of the chest. When all's done, leave for Cornelia Castle. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Cornelia [CRN3] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Mythril Knife - Right storage room. Saber - Right storage room. Cottage - Right storage room. Iron Armour - Left storage room. Tent - Left storage room. NITRO POWDER - Left storage room. Get all the stuff and go. Head for Chaos Temple if you want some special swords (recommended if you don't have a Mythril Sword), otherwise, go for Mount Duergar. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Chaos Shrine [CHS2] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: >!Rune Blade - Room in the lower right corner. !Werebuster - Room in the upper right corner. Gold Needle - Next to Werebuster. Rune Blade has a spiked tile south of it (Gargoyles). You can't avoid the tile to get the chest, but it's possible to flee from the encounter. Werebuster has the exact same situation. If you want the Gold Needle (only use is vendor trash in solo game), you'll need to hit the spiked tile again. After this, get to your ship, sail west for the docking site closest to the Mount Duergar. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Mount Duergar [MDRG] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: 575g - Room north of entrance. 450g - Room north of entrance. Tent - Room west of Nerrick. Great Helm - Room west of Nerrick. >Wyrmkiller - Room west of Nerrick. Ether - Room west of Nerrick. Potion - Room west of Nerrick. >Mythril Mail - Room west of Nerrick. 575g - Room west of Nerrick. Cottage - Room west of Nerrick. Grab the loot, then talk to Nerrick at the south tunnel. Get out, get back to your ship and sail west through the canal. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() Rockin' out with the Undead [CHP2] ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Melmond [MELM] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Buying List: Lv5 Spells x3 - 12000g Dock by the town and enter. Actually, there's no reason to stop by Melmond at all, unless you're actually high enough levelled to use the Lv5 spells. Go southwest from here to reach the Cavern of Earth. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Cavern of Earth [ETH1] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Basement 1 !1975g - Room on the north path from entrance. !Potion - Room on the southwest path from entrance 880g - Room on the southwest path from entrance !795g - Room on the southeast path from entrance !Antidote - Room on the southeast path from entrance Basement 2 Leather Shield - Room at the south wall of the floor. 575g - Room at the south wall of the floor. 5000g - Room at the south wall of the floor. Coral Sword - Room at the northeast corner. Tent - Room at the northeast corner. 330g - Room at the northeast corner. Basement 3 Sleeping Bag - Room east of entrance. !Gold Needle - Room at west->south turn of first interesection. !3400g - Room just east of the first intersection. !1020g - Third room after first intersection STAR RUBY - To the left of the boss. B1 = The 1975g has an Earth Elemental (cannot escape from) guarding the right tile. The SW room has an Earth Elemental south of the right chest. The SE room has an Earth Elemental north of the right chest. Get to B2 by going east from the entrance. B2 = The room at the south wall has an Earth Elemental tile at the entrance, which is impossible to avoid when going in or out of the room. The stairway to B3 is at the southeast corner. B3 = Gold Needle has an Earth Elemental the tile below it. 3400g has an Earth Elemental the tile below it. 1020g has an Earth Elemental the tile below it. Do you see a trend? Turn east and follow the path to the boss. When you see a blue bat between two pillar things, you know it means business. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Vampire | | HP : 280 Agility : 36 Gil : 2000 | | Attack : 76 Intelligence : 26 EXP : 1200 | | Accuracy : 39 Evasion : 72 Treasure: None | | Defence : 26 Magic Defence : 75 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Fire - Dia | | Resistances | | Quake - Ice - Stone - Paralysis - Poison - Darkness - Sleep | | Silence - Confusion - Mind - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle (25%) | | Gaze | |============================================================================| | My level: 11 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Rune Blade / Mythril Sword Shield: Nothing | | Helmet: Leather Cap Armour: Mythril Mail | | Arms : Leather Gloves | | | | Strategy: | | Vampire's regular attack can paralyze you. | | | | Invis 5 times, Temper once or twice, then attack. The Rune Blade is | | about as powerful as the Mythril Sword. Don't let the battle last too | | long, as Gaze can still paralyze and lead to your demise. | \============================================================================/ Nab the Star Ruby and have fun walking out. When you get out, head northeast. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Giant's Cave [GNTC] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Great Axe - Room at the end of south intersection. 620g - Room at the end of south intersection. 450g - Room at the end of south intersection. Mythril Helm - Room at the end of south intersection. Talk to giant, pick up goodies, exit to the north. Head south for the next wonderful cave. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Sage's Cave [SRDA] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Talk to Sarda (Why did they rename him to Sadda?). Now, you'll want some Hi-Potions for the next battle. Make a quick stop at Crescent Lake (SE corner of the world map) and buy some before returning to the Cavern of Earth. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Crescent Lake [CLK1] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Buying list: Mythril Sword - 3200g Buckler - 2000g Hi-Potion x?? - ??g Pick up a dozen or so Hi-Potions and a Buckler, as well as a Mythril Sword if you don't have one. Make SURE you have at least 1 White, Blue and Red Curtain or the NulFrost, NulShock and NulBlaze spells before going back to the Earth Cave. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Cavern of Earth [ETH2] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Basment Four !3400g - Room at north wall. !Staff - Room at north wall. 1520g - Room at north wall. !1455g - Room at north wall. !5450g - Room at north wall. !Tent - Room in the southwest corner. !Mythril Shield - Room in the southwest corner. !1250g - Room in the southwest corner. Return to where you fought the Vampire, then follow the path to the plate of evil. Lift it with the rod and continue. B4 = In the first treasure room, the two right-most chests have Ogres and Hyenadons below them (can flee). The bottom left-most chest has Sphinxes on the tile to the right of it and above it (can flee). In the second treasure room, the south-most chest has a spiked tile on its right. The other two chests both have one below them. All of the traps are Ogres and Hyenadons. Stairs to fifth basement is at the northwest corner. B5 = Stay close left and follow the path. You'll meet your opponent at the end. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Lich | | HP : 1200 Agility : 12 Gil : 3000 | | Attack : 40 Intelligence : 30 EXP : 2200 | | Accuracy : 49 Evasion : 24 Treasure: Dry Ether | | Defence : 40 Magic Defence : 120 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Fire - Dia | | Resistances | | Ice - Stone - Paralysis - Poison - Darkness - Sleep - Silence | | Confusion - Mind - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (75%) | | Blizzara -> Sleepra -> Haste -> Thundara -> Hold -> Fira -> Slow | | -> Sleep | | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 12 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Rune Blade / Mythril Sword Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Leather Cap Armour: Silver Armlet | | Arms : Leather Gloves | | | | Strategy: | | Lich's regular attack can paralyze you. This is the main reason for the | | Silver Armlet over the Mythril Mail, as one connected paralysis from his | | normal attack can easily lead to getting wiped. Higher evasion is more | | preferable than soaking damage. | | | | Throw a White Curtain first turn or Blizzara will kill you. You'll need | | to simultaneously get your evasion up while throwing up the other two | | Curtains. Rotate between throwing a Blue Curtain, Invis, healing with | | Hi-Potions and a Red Curtain, being sure to do so before he reaches | | Thundara and Fira in his spell cycle. After 5 Invis, Temper four or five | | times and use a Hermes Shoes if you have one to spare (use this AFTER he | | casts Slow) and if you want to risk it you can add in some Protects so | | if you do get paralyzed or put to sleep, the damage won't be as bad. | | Proceed to attack with your Mythril Sword or Rune Blade. Keep calm and | | prepare to reset a lot of times. Lich can definitely be beaten even at | | this level with some luck. Whatever you do, don't stall with killing | | him, as his disabling spells can always connect and you'll find yourself | | locked in a chain of sleep and paralysis. | \============================================================================/ Lich is my pick for the toughest battle in this challenge before the final boss. If you beat him, pat yourself on the back; the challenge gets a lot easier from here on out due to access to spellcasting equipment. Use the teleport pad north of the crystal to get out. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() Tails of Courage [CHP3] ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Crescent Lake [CLK2] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Get your canoe from the guy to the right of Lukahn. Note that the game actually becomes non-linear at this point (sequence-breaking in my old RPG NES game? Who knew). With the canoe, you can either get your airship, thereby opening up the rest of the game or face the Fiend of Fire at Mount Gulg. Personally, I like getting the airship, then getting better equipment at Gaia and the Waterfall Cavern. You may opt to take on the Fiend of Water first as the Sunken Shrine dungeon also contains good equipment. The following order is just one way of doing things. Get back to your ship, dock at the port north of Crescent Lake's port, then go through the river maze west to reach the cave. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Cavern of Ice [ICEC] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Basement Two - Coming back up from B3. !Clothes - Right chest inside the main room. >Flame Sword - Left chest inside the main room. Basement Three - Coming from weak floors in B2. !Ice Armour - End of west path at first intersection. Mythril Gloves - End of west path at first intersection. 9900g - Room straight south from entrance. 5000g - Room straight south from entrance. 12350g - Room straight south from entrance. 7900g - Room straight south from entrance. 5454g - Room straight south from entrance. !180g - Room straight south from entrance. Basement One - Coming up from B3 Ether - First chest you see after entering the room. 10000g - Below the Ether in its own little room. 9500g - Left chest in room with crack. Sleeping Bag - Middle chest in room with crack. Ice Shield - Right chest in room with crack. Basement Two - Coming from crack in B1. !LEVISTONE - Right in front of you. B1 = Head southeast, curve into the stair way. B2 = Make for the southwest corner. B3 = It's right there. B2 = The right chest in the main room are guarded by Dark Wizards (can flee). Not really worth the risk. Follow the path inside the room, pick up whatever you want, then stand on any crack. B3 = Tile below you is spiked with random undead enemies (can flee). The room with the Ice Armour and Mythril Gloves has White Dragons (can flee, but very dangerous) blocking the entrance, so you must trigger the encounter. In the south room, the chest at top right corner has Winter Wolves below it. Get back up to B1 by going southeast. B1 = Get all the chests, go into the east room and drop down the crack. B2 = Prepare yourself, and step in front of the diamond figure. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Evil Eye | | HP : 162 Agility : 6 Gil : 3225 | | Attack : 30 Intelligence : 20 EXP : 3225 | | Accuracy : 42 Evasion : 12 Treasure: None | | Defence : 30 Magic Defence : 92 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (62.5%) | | Thundara -> Hold -> Silence -> Kill -> Slow -> Break -> Sleep | | -> Death | | Skill Cycle (23.4375%) | | Gaze (damage) -> Gaze (paralyze) -> Gaze (stone) -> Gaze (death) | |============================================================================| | My level: 13 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Flame Sword / Rune Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Leather Cap Armour: Mythril Mail | | Arms : Leather Gloves | | | | Strategy: | | Temper once, Haste if you have it and attack. Pretty damn easy. Do note | | that it possesses Kill, which is guaranteed instant death if your HP is | | below 300 and you have no way to resist it. You also can't resist stone | | and these happen mid-cycle. So you need to be sure to win before the | | Evil Eye hits those moves. You should be able to win in 2 or 3 turns. | | | | (Also, seriously Square? You give 4 different attacks the same name AND | | give all of them to one opponent? What was wrong with calling it Squint, | | Glare, Gaze and Stare? Jeez.) | \============================================================================/ Pick up the Levistone and get out of here (walk out or use Emergency Exit). If you're walking out: B2 = Fall through any crack. B3 = Take SW corner's stairs up to B1. B1 = Get to stairs at NW corner, just outside the room with the crack. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Ryukahn Desert [RYUD] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The desert is directly south of Crescent Lake. Dock your ship at the mouth of the river near the right. Low level games should nab an Emergency Exit from the ship minigame before you proceed. Walk into the sand. Grab your Airship and soar. Find the Citadel of Trials, east of the Cardian Islands (a lot of islands in the northern hemisphere). Alternatively, you can use your ship to dock at the mouth of the river just north of the citadel. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Citadel of Trials [RATT] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Second Floor *!Gauntlets - Room at northeast corner of floor. Third Floor >Healing Staff - First chest after Nightmares tile. Steel Gloves - Northwest corner. >Ice Brand - Northwest corner. >Ruby Armlet - Northwest corner. >*Gauntlets - Southwest corner. Cottage - Southwest corner. 1455g - Southwest corner. 7340g - Southwest corner. RAT TAIL - Before the throne. 1F = Second floor stairs is at the northwest corner. 2F = Clay Golems guard the Gauntlets. You must trigger the battle, but you can escape from them. The teleport maze isn't too difficult to get by. 3F = Nightmares block the entrance into the room, but you can run from the battle. Pick up all the goodies, and prepare yourself before stepping in front of the throne. Alternatively, use an Emergency Exit to skip the battle entirely (which is what you should do for a low level game). /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Dragon Zombie | | HP : 268 Agility : 12 Gil : 999 | | Attack : 56 Intelligence : 26 EXP : 2331 | | Accuracy : 67 Evasion : 24 Treasure: Megalixir | | Defence : 30 Magic Defence : 135 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Fire - Dia | | Resistances | | Quake - Ice - Stone - Paralysis - Poison - Darkness - Sleep | | - Silence - Confusion - Mind - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 15 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Flame Sword / Wyrmkiller Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Leather Cap Armour: Ruby Armlet | | Arms : Leather Gloves | | | | Strategy: | | Dragon Zombies can paralyze with their normal attack. | | | | Invis 5 times, Temper 3 times and then attack. You can use the Ice Brand | | too, which, while not as effective in types, can still hold its own. You | | may get unlucky with their paralysis, but it shouldn't take too much | | effort to win. | \============================================================================/ Step on the throne, get out of here. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Dragon Caves [DRGC] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: West Island: Tent - North room. Dry Ether - South room. Gold Needle - South room. Middle-South Island: Elixir - Left side of the room. Cottage - Right side of the room. 500g - Right side of the room. East Island: 2750g - Inside right room. 2000g - Inside right room. 1455g - Inside right room. 1520g - Inside left room. 2750g - Inside left room. 9500g - Inside left room. X-Potion - Inside left room. In the middle-north island, find and speak to Bahamut for your class change (unless you're restricting yourself). Pick up the goodies and that's all we need to do here. Go back to previous towns and change up your spells if you wish. Take a quick stop at Gaia, northeast corner of the world map. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Gaia [GAI1] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Buying List: Protect Ring - 16000g Buy a Protect Ring, it really helps. With that done, head all the way back to Crescent Lake area to deal with the next Fiend. Find the volcano and land next to it. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() Burn Baby, Burn! [CHP4] ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Mount Gulg [MGLG] (So awesome a chapter, it only has one sub-section) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Basement Two !Mythril Helm - First chest reachable. !1520g - Below the Mythril Helm. !Great Sword - Above Mythril Helm, left path. 4150g - Above Mythril Helm, right path. !750g - Left of Great Sword, part of a pair. 795g - Left of Great Sword, with 750g. Mythril Gloves - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. 1760g - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. Mythril Helm - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. 1520g - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. Mythril Shield - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. !1455g - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. Mythril Axe - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. Hi-Potion - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. Tent - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. 1975g - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. !Antidote - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. Phoenix Down - South of the 750g, 795g pair of chests. Basement Four !2750g - First room next to stairs. *!Gold Needle - First room next to stairs. 1760g - Second room along path. Antidote - Room at left turn of first intersection. !7340g - Room at left turn of first intersection. *Ice Brand - Room at left turn of first intersection. 880g - Room at left turn of first intersection. !Flame Shield - Room at left turn of first intersection. 155g - Room at second intersection (south turn). 10g - Room at second intersection (south turn). 2000g - Room at right turn of second intersection. Cottage - Room at right turn of second intersection. *Ice Brand - Room at right turn of second intersection. !1250g - Room at south turn of second intersection. !Staff - Room at south turn of second intersection. Basement Five *Gold Needle - Room at NE path from entrance. *Gold Needle - Room at east path from entrance. *Gold Needle - Room at SE path from entrance. !!Flame Mail - Room at west path from entrance. B1 = Stairway at northwest corner. B2 = The first chest you can reach has a spiked tile below it (Fire Elementals, cannot escape). The chest below has a Fire Elemental on its left, which you must face to open it. The Great Sword also has an unavoidable Fire Elemental above it. The 750g has a Fire Elemental below it. In the wild amount of chests below the 750,795 pair, a Fire Elemental lies on the right side of the entrance (stick to the left wall to avoid). To the left of the first chest in the third row is a spiked tile (Lava Worm, can flee). The entrance to B3 is at the southwest corner of the floor. B3 = Get to B4 by going right. B4 = Get back to B3 by heading for the southeast corner. B3 = Stairs at southwest corner. Go. B4 = In the first room, the left chest has a Fire Lizard below it. The right chest has a Lava Worm to the left of it. In the north-most room, a Lava Worm sits between the two chests of the top row. In the room at the second intersection, a Lava Worm lies two squares to the left of the front most chest. In the room SE of above room, both chests have a Fire Lizard to the left of them. The next set of stairs is at the southeast corner. B5 = The Flame Mail has two guards, both encounters unavoidable; Fire Lizard then Red Dragon (can flee). Your opponent is in the SW room from the entrance. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Marilith | | HP : 1440 Agility : 24 Gil : 3000 | | Attack : 40 Intelligence : 32 EXP : 2331 | | Accuracy : 63 Evasion : 48 Treasure: Golden Apple | | Defence : 50 Magic Defence : 183 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Paralysis - Darkness - Sleep - Silence - Confusion - Mind | | Resistances | | Fire - Lightning - Stone - Poison | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (37.5%) | | Fira -> Dark -> Fira -> Dark -> Fira -> Hold -> Fira -> Hold | | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 17 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Ice Brand / Rune Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Leather Cap Armour: Ruby Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Compared to Lich, Marilith is a cakewalk. If you've class changed or | | went to Waterfall Cavern to pick up the Defender, use Blink 3 times. | | Otherwise, Invis 5 times. Use NulBlaze or throw a Red Curtain if you | | want to be safe against her Fira. You can also use Slow to reduce her | | damage output. Buff yourself with Haste and Temper twice and attack with | | the Ice Brand or Rune Blade equipped. If you have a few status spells, | | go ahead and inflict Sleep, Confusion, Darkness or Paralysis for a small | | laugh. Chances are, if she doesn't kill you in the first four or five | | turns, she won't kill you at all. | \============================================================================/ Get out through the teleport behind the altar. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() Ocean of Madness [CHP5] ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Caravan [CRVN] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Buying List: Bottled Faerie - 40000g Giant's Tonic x3 - 4500g Northwest continent on map. Land close to desert, head north to solo desert patch. Buy Faerie. Exit, re-enter. Buy 3-4 Giant's Tonic for later use. Fly to Gaia. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Gaia [GAI2] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Enter, find the spring, grab your key item, get out. Fly to the NW continent. Land where you landed to reach the caravan, head up the river and into the waterfall. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Waterfall Cavern [WTRC] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Wizard's Staff - Inside room at the end. >Ribbon - Inside room at the end. 13450g - Inside room at the end. 6400g - Inside room at the end. 5000g - Inside room at the end. >Defender - Inside room at the end. Stick to the left wall and follow it around. When you get to the room, prepare yourself before entering, as Cockatrices, Pyrolisks and possibly King Mummies are waiting (can escape). Get all the chests, talk to the robot, exit. Head to Onrac (south) when you're done here. (NOTE: With the Ribbon equipped, you no longer gain anything from the Nul- spells. Discard/Replace them as you please) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Onrac [ONRC] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Get to the SE corner of town, where a lady and a submarine wait. Talk to her, get ready for the next dungeon. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Sunken Shrine [SNKS] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Third Floor - From entrance 2000g - Lower right room. 9900g - Lower left room. Fourth Floor - From third floor entrance area 20g - Crescent shaped room in the center of the floor. Diamond Armor - Inside north room. >Light Axe - Inside SW room. >Mage's Staff - Inside room south of crescent room. 12350g - Inside SE room, next to stairs to 5F. Fifth Floor 9000g - Room above entrance (3rd row, 2nd column). 1760g - Room above entrance (3rd row, 2nd column). >Diamond Armlet - Room above entrance (3rd row, 2nd column). Diamond Helm - 1st row, 4th column (wrap around from top). Diamond Gloves - 1st row, 4th column (wrap around from top). ROSETTA STONE - 1st row, 4th column (wrap around from top). 2750g - 1st row, 2nd column. 4150g - 2nd row, 3rd column. 10000g - 1st row, 3rd column. 10g - 1st row, 3rd column. 5000g - 2nd row, 4th column. Antidote - 4th row, 3rd column. Diamond Shield - 4th row, 4th column. Third Floor - From 4F's second stairway down 110g - First chest inside room. 450g - Second chest a little south from the first. Second Floor - From 3F's second stairway down 8135g - In SE room. !7690g - In SE room. 5450g - In SW room. !385g - In SW room. >!!Giant's Glove - In SW room. !!Light Axe - In NW room. 2750g - In NE room. Ribbon - In NE room. 9900g - In NE room. 7340g - In NE room. 3F = Stairway up around NE part of map. 4F = Stairway up is at SE corner of map. 5F = Pick up all the goodies and the key item. Make your back to 3F the way you came. 3F = Stairway down around NW part of map. 2F = Stairway back up at NE part of map. 3F = Staiway up in front of you. 4F = Stairway down across from you. 3F = Stairway down far south. 2F = SE room has a Water Elemental to the right of the left chest. SW room has Cockatrices, Pyrolisks and Mummies above middle chest (effectively to the left of the right chest). The right chest additionally has Water Elementals (cannot flee) below it. NW room has White Sharks and Prince Sahagins to the left of the chest. It also has Sea Trolls, Sea Snakes and Sea Scorpions below it. NE room has White Sharks and Prince Sahagins up-left from the front most chest. The stairs are at the NW corner of the map. 1F = The Fiend waits at the NW corner. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Kraken | | HP : 1800 Agility : 42 Gil : 5000 | | Attack : 50 Intelligence : 32 EXP : 4245 | | Accuracy : 90 Evasion : 84 Treasure: Kikuichimonji (2%) | | Defence : 60 Magic Defence : 160 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Lightning | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle (25%) | | Ink | |============================================================================| | My level: 15 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Defender / Coral Sword Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | As always, you'll need to get lucky the first few rounds. Spike your | | evasion with Blink three times. Buff yourself with Haste and the Giant's | | Glove three times and then start attacking. Kraken's normal attack is | | the most fierce one yet, and you'll likely get Darkness inflicted due to | | his constant use of Ink (which increases his hit accuracy on you). This | | makes Blink your priority over everything. Once your evasion is up, the | | battle is pretty much yours. | \============================================================================/ Hunt for Kraken's Kikuichimonji (2% chance to drop) if you feel up to it. Get out of here by the teleporter. When you're out, get back to your Airship and fly to Melmond. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() Death from Above [CHP6] ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Melmond [MLM2] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Talk to Unne, near the cemetary. Fly to the NW continent, land around the lake. Head a long way south to reach Lufenia. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Lufenia [LFNA] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Talk to the guy on the right platform, standing at the southwest corner. Get back to your ship. Go to the edge of the desert, land where you can and walk to the Mirage Tower near the middle. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Mirage Tower [MRGT] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: First Floor Tent - Left most chest inside room. 800g - Upper most chest. Healing Helm - Directly below the 800g. 3400g - Just left of the Healing Helm, in a group of 3 chests. 18010g - Just left of the Healing Helm, in a group of 3 chests. Vorpal Sword - Just left of the Healing Helm, in a group of 3 chests. Aegis Shield - Left of the triad chests. 2750g - Left of the triad chests. Second Floor 8135g - Inside room as a circle of chests. 7900g - Inside room as a circle of chests. >Thor's Hammer - Inside room as a circle of chests. (3rd row) 12350g - Inside room as a circle of chests. 13000g - Inside room as a circle of chests. Cottage - Inside room as a circle of chests. 7600g - Inside room as a circle of chests. >Sun Blade - Inside room as a circle of chests. (3rd row) 10000g - Inside room as a circle of chests. Dragon Mail - Inside room as a circle of chests. 1F = You can run into Black Knights which drop the Deathbringer (1% chance). Gives handy stat boosts, but only for the extremely patient / perfectionists. Stairs to 2F are just to the left of the entrance. 2F = You'll need to loop around completely to get to the stairs. Be sure to get the Sun Blade if don't have the Deathbringer or Kikuichimonji. 3F = The entrance to the next section is in the middle of the room. Before entering, prepare yourself. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | MINIBOSS: Blue Dragon | | HP : 454 Agility : 48 Gil : 2000 | | Attack : 92 Intelligence : 28 EXP : 3274 | | Accuracy : 86 Evasion : 96 Treasure: None | | Defence : 20 Magic Defence : 200 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Lightning | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle (50%) | | Thunderbolt | |============================================================================| | My level: 18 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade / Wyrmkiller Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | You can do whatever. Heck, you can even attack regularly, no buffs, and | | it SHOULD go down before you do. | \============================================================================/ Step into the teleporter straight ahead. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Flying Fortress [FLYF] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: First Floor >Razer - South room from entrance. 7900g - West room from entrance. 4150g - West room from entrance. Potion - West room from entrance. 9900g - West room from entrance. 180g - East room from entrance. 5000g - East room from entrance. Protect Ring - East room from entrance. 6720g - East room from entrance. Healing Helm - East room from entrance. Second Floor Cottage - NW room. Mythril Helm - NW room. 880g - West room. 13000g - West room. ADAMANTITE - SW room. Diamond Gloves - NE room. Diamond Shield - East room. Ribbon - East room. >Black Robe - SE room. >White Robe - SE room. Third Floor >Protect Cloak - East room from entrance. 8135g - East room from entrance. Clothes - East room from entrance. 9500g - East room from entrance. 6400g - East room from entrance. Gold Needle - East room from entrance. Potion - North room from entrance. 5450g - North room from entrance. 9000g - North room from entrance. Protect Ring - North room from entrance. Gold Needle - West room from entrance. 4150g - West room from entrance. 3400g - West room from entrance. Sasuke's Blade - West room from entrance. 1F = Get to 2F by going north from the entrance. 2F = Get to 3F by going straight south from the entrance. 3F = Get to 4F by going on the lower west path from the entrance. 4F = Get to the third column going right, then the third row going down. You'll find the teleporter. 5F = Straight forward. Be careful of the Death Machine. Prepare yourself before the orb. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Tiamat | | HP : 2400 Agility : 36 Gil : 6000 | | Attack : 53 Intelligence : 45 EXP : 5496 | | Accuracy : 80 Evasion : 72 Treasure: None | | Defence : 80 Magic Defence : 200 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Stone - Poison | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire - Lightning - Ice | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle (50%) | | Thunderbolt -> Poison Gas -> Icestorm -> Blaze | |============================================================================| | My level: 19 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade / Wyrmkiller Shield: Protect Cloak | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Cast Scourge on her with the Razer. | | Or, if you have one, throw a Cockatrice Claw at her. | | Alternatively, Blink 4 times, Haste, Saber 5 times and attack with the | | strongest weapon you have. Heal with Curaga and don't let your HP fall | | below 150. Otherwise, she can kill you with two breath attacks in a row. | \============================================================================/ Leave through the teleporter behind the altar. Fly to the Chaos Shrine. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() The Cycle of Wrath [CHP7] ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Inventory Check [RDY?] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Before entering, make sure you have at least the following: Haste Spell / 5+ Hermes' Shoes Curaga Spell Defender / Blink Spell Giant's Glove 10+ Full Heals (X-Potions, Elixirs, Megalixirs), at least 3 of which heals MP. 35+ Hi-Potions (if you have the money, just go for the full 99) 8+ Ethers / Dry Ethers 3+ Giant's Tonics (depends how much HP you have, get more for less) 1+ Emergency Exit Always get more items (that is, full heals) if you can. The best place is of course the ship minigame. If you have no luck with the ship game, you'll need some extreme luck, either in the fight or with the drop rate of a certain enemy discussed later. Take note: If you're doing an LLG, your level should be 20. The Red Mage gets access to Lv5 Magic at 22. You can't go back out of the Chaos Shrine after hitting Lv22, due to the fact you'll need to fight the four fiends again, which will definitely cause another level-up. In other words, no Curaga spell. You'll need more Elixirs to compensate. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Chaos Shrine [CHS3] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Destroy the Black Crystal in the centre and jump in. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 2000 Years Ago...[FNSH] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Treasure: Third Floor Dry Ether - Left chest inside main room. Elixir - Right chest inside main room. Basement Two Protect Ring - In room SW of the exit. Sasuke's Blade - Along path far beyond the Protect Ring. Protect Cloak - In room SE of the exit. Megalixir - Along path far beyond the Protect Cloak. Basement Four >Masamune - Beyond path of SE section. 1F = Get to 2F by going to the SE corner. 2F = To 3F, straight right. 3F = Get to the center room. Before you walk inside, get ready. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Death Eye | | HP : 360 Agility : 12 Gil : 1 | | Attack : 120 Intelligence : 35 EXP : 1 | | Accuracy : 150 Evasion : 24 Treasure: Elixir (1%) | | Defence : 60 Magic Defence : 160 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Fire - Dia | | Resistances | | Quake - Ice - Stone - Paralysis - Poison - Darkness - Sleep | | - Silence - Confusion - Mind - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (50%) | | Stop -> Warp -> Dispel -> Break -> Death -> Hold -> Silence -> Slow | | Skill Cycle (25%) | | Gaze (death) | |============================================================================| | My level: 20 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Protect Cloak | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | The Death Eye causes paralysis with its normal attack. The Ribbon | | protects from being afflicted, unless dispelled. | | Saber twice and attack. Kill it ASAP, if Dispel connects you lose your | | protection against status and instant death. | \============================================================================/ (NOTE: Lacking full heals? Farm the Death Eye, who drops an Elixir 1% of the time. Have fun. Note that low level games may do this too, as the Death Eye provides only 1 EXP. Just save before and reset if it doesn't drop) Go up to the plate, play the lute, go down the stairs. 2F = Go down the stairs at the NW corner. 1F = Go down the stairs at the NW corner. B1 = Curve around to the SE corner. Prepare yourself two steps back from the stairs. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Lich | | HP : 2800 Agility : 24 Gil : 1 | | Attack : 50 Intelligence : 34 EXP : 2000 | | Accuracy : 64 Evasion : 48 Treasure: None | | Defence : 80 Magic Defence : 140 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Dia | | Resistances | | Ice - Stone - Paralysis - Poison - Darkness - Sleep - Silence | | Confusion - Mind - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (75%) | | Flare -> Stop -> Warp -> Kill | | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 20 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Protect Cloak | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | As before, Lich causes paralysis with his normal attack. The Ribbon will | | let you resist this. | | | | If it isn't our good pal the Lich. Far easier this time around, so long | | as your max HP exceeds 320. If it somehow doesn't, use a Giant's Tonic | | immediately and heal above that point as soon as you can. Flare is his | | most deadly attack, while the Ribbon should protect you from everything | | else. Blink 4 times, Saber 5 times and attack with the Sun Blade. Do not | | heal immediately after a Flare, instead, wait for him to cast Warp in | | his cycle. Just make sure your HP stays above 320 before every Flare. | \============================================================================/ B2 = Circle around the top to get to the stairs. Again, prepare yourself before stepping in front of them. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Marilith | | HP : 3200 Agility : 30 Gil : 1 | | Attack : 60 Intelligence : 41 EXP : 2000 | | Accuracy : 63 Evasion : 60 Treasure: None | | Defence : 80 Magic Defence : 183 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Fire - Lightning - Stone - Poison - Ice | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (37.5%) | | Firaga -> Death -> Firaga -> Death -> Firaga -> Stun -> Firaga | | -> Stun | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 21 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade / Rune Blade Shield: Protect Cloak | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | As always, Blink is priority. Blink 4 times, Haste, Saber 5 times, | | attack. Keep your HP above 120 to survive Firaga. | \============================================================================/ B3 = Make your way through the rooms and hallways to the SE corner. At the corridor, prepare yourself before the second pillar. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Kraken | | HP : 3600 Agility : 49 Gil : 1 | | Attack : 60 Intelligence : 41 EXP : 2000 | | Accuracy : 114 Evasion : 98 Treasure: Eye Drops | | Defence : 80 Magic Defence : 200 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (37.5%) | | Thundara | | Skill Cycle (15.625%) | | Ink | |============================================================================| | My level: 21 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade / Coral Sword Shield: Protect Cloak | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | His physical attack is off the charts, even stronger than before. He | | added Thundara to his arsenal, which is actually a blessing in disguise. | | Pray he only uses this move or Ink the first few turns. That being said, | | it's the same strategy. Blink 4 times, Haste, Saber 5 times, attack. | | Stay above 80 HP to survive Thundara. | \============================================================================/ B4 = Be sure to pick up Masamune, unless you're restricting yourself. Stairs down is east of the entrance. From the entrance, the spiked square lies in the middle of the second horizontal corridor. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Tiamat | | HP : 5500 Agility : 45 Gil : 1 | | Attack : 75 Intelligence : 38 EXP : 2000 | | Accuracy : 85 Evasion : 90 Treasure: Rune Staff | | Defence : 90 Magic Defence : 200 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire - Lightning - Ice | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (50%) | | Scourge -> Blizzara -> Thundara -> Fira | | Skill Cycle (25%) | | Thunderbolt -> Poison Gas -> Icestorm -> Blaze | |============================================================================| | My level: 21 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Masamune Shield: Protect Cloak | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Same old battle plan. Blink 4 times, Haste, Saber 5 times, attack. Stay | | above 150 HP to survive her breath attacks. | \============================================================================/ B5 = The ultimate opponent (okay, not anymore) lies in wait inside the center room... /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Chaos | | HP : 20000 Agility : 50 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 170 Intelligence : 40 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 200 Evasion : 100 Treasure: None | | Defence : 100 Magic Defence : 200 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire - Lightning - Ice - Time - Paralysis - Darkness | | - Silence - Mind - Stone - Poison - Sleep - Confusion - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (50%) | | Blizzaga -> Slowra -> Thundaga -> Curaja -> Haste -> Firaga | | -> Blizzara -> Flare | | Skill Cycle (25%) | | Blaze -> Tsunami -> Cyclone -> Earthquake | |============================================================================| | My level: 22 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Masamune Shield: Protect Cloak | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Chaos can inflict paralysis with his attacks. While the Ribbon helps you | | resist, due note that because the battle lasts so long with Chaos' HP | | and healing capability, he may get extremely lucky and break through. | | | | Chaos is well beyond anything you've ever faced before. His three damage | | skills can cause ~300 damage each. His spells are weaker and do instead | | ~200 damage. But the most fearsome aspect of all is his sky-high attack | | power, capable of striking upwards to the mid-500s. This gets much more | | severe after Chaos casts Haste on himself. | | | | For you to survive, you must get your HP to the max of 999 ASAP. Use | | Giant's Tonics (you shouldn't need more than 3), and heal with Curaga or | | full HP restores when necessary. Once HP is maxed, rotate accordingly | | between healing and casting Blink (4 times), Haste, and Saber (5 times). | | Note that Chaos' enormous accuracy can breakthrough even maxed out | | evasion, but if he misses you get a completely free turn. You may opt to | | use Protect/Protera as an additional buffer between Chaos' attack and | | your precious, limited HP. Once you're buffed, rotate accordingly | | between attacking and healing yourself. Make sure to stay above 300HP at | | all times and 400 (or fully healed) before he casts Flare in his cycle. | \============================================================================/ If you beat him, congratulations! You just saved the world all by yourself! You've done the Red Mages and Wizards justice. For those curious, I beat my old level record by a far-cry. My first run I was Lv26 when I beat Chaos with 467 HP and 6 full heals. For my second run, I won at the absolute minimum EXP (33408, Lv22), at 404 HP, using 12 full restores. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() Extra Dungeons [EXTR] ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() The Souls of Chaos (Earthgift Shrine, Hellfire Chasm, Lifespring Grotto and Whisperwind Cove) are all Eldritch Locations that make no coherent sense. Dungeons are randomized, floors are different, starting points in the same floor are different and they can be quite huge. If you plan to do an LLG, note that you need a huge amount of Elixirs before tackling any of these dungeons. I'll always err on the side of caution and say you need more Elixirs than you probably will end up using, as you need to be immensely liberal with your Elixir usage if you want to win. I'd recommend TFergusson's excellent Soul of Chaos guide for item locations and System Error, Pikachu 025 and Mikaga's maps for navigation. They'll do much better than I could ever do in text. Please note that for bosses in these sections, the chance to use spells and skills are ESTIMATES ONLY. I did not hack the ISO or ROM to determine what the exact rates are, they are strictly estimates I made from recording down what each boss did and how often. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Earthgift Shrine [EGSH] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Lowest EXP when entering: 6692, for PSP this is Lv.13 For LLGs, I would recommend 25+ Elixirs for this section. The Dark Forest forces encounters on you, unfortunately. When you talk to a dark soldier, a random encounter triggers. For minimum EXP you need to reset or flee every time you meet an enemy group that isn't one single Gloom Willow. Skuldiers are worth less EXP, but they don't ever appear alone. 13 dark soldiers block your path to the exit, so you'll get a total of 1820 EXP. When you get to B5, you'll get an option of which boss to face. Lower left is Cerberus, lower right is Echidna, upper left is Two-Headed Dragon and upper right is Ahriman. Take your pick, but if you're doing this at Lv14, be warned that Cerberus is the only one you have a real chance against. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Cerberus | | HP : 4000 Agility : 50 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 40 Intelligence : 40 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 60 Evasion : 50 Treasure: Kotetsu | | Defence : 50 Magic Defence : 60 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire - Lightning - Ice - Time - Paralysis - Darkness | | - Silence - Mind - Stone - Poison - Sleep - Confusion - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle (50%) | | Thunderbolt | |============================================================================| | My level: 14 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Mythril Sword Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Leather Cap Armour: Silver Armlet | | Arms : Leather Gloves | | | | Strategy: | | Thunderbolt can cause up to 340, which at this point would be near fatal | | in most circumstances. Your priority is to get a Blue Curtain up to | | halve that damage. Your max HP should be 341 or higher if you want a | | chance at winning. You will also need 20 or so Elixirs. | | | | After the Blue Curtain, cycle between Elixir and Invis. If you ever get | | hit by anything, use an Elixir the next turn. Invis 6 times should | | provide enough evasion to dodge his physicals. Then Temper 8-10 times | | and use a Hermes' Shoes or cast Haste. Then attack. Just remember not to | | take any chances and always use an Elixir after a Thunderbolt or a lucky | | hit. | \============================================================================/ /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Echidna | | HP : 4800 Agility : 40 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 50 Intelligence : 40 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 50 Evasion : 1 Treasure: X-Potion | | Defence : 50 Magic Defence : 70 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire - Lightning - Ice - Time - Paralysis - Darkness | | - Silence - Mind - Stone - Poison - Sleep - Confusion - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (42.2%) | | Death -> Flare | | Skill Cycle (42.2%) | | Earthquake | |============================================================================| | My level: 16 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Echidna cannot be beat at the minimum level without unrealistic luck. | | The reason for this is because she uses both Earth and Death elements to | | deliver instant kills, which you have no means of resisting early in the | | game. Your only means of resisting those two elements is NulDeath, which | | you can't cast without being high levelled and a Red Wizard, Light or | | Lunar Curtain that casts NulAll or NulDeath, neither of which you can | | get until later bonus dungeons, or most conventionally, the Ribbon, | | which you need the Airship for. | | | | With about 7 Elixirs (and aforementioned resistance), this fight is | | easily won. Flare deals ~300 damage, but it's her only real way of | | hurting you as her physicals are not threatening. Even still, get 4-5 | | Invis/Blink up, healing every time you go below 320 HP, then use Temper | | 8-10 times / Giant's Glove 5 times and Haste / Hermes' Shoes and attack | | her. If she lands a physical, you can restore yourself with a Hi-Potion | | and not waste any more Elixirs than you need. Thankfully she never casts | | Flare twice in a row. | \============================================================================/ /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Two-Headed Dragon | | HP : 4500 Agility : 30 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 60 Intelligence : 10 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 50 Evasion : 30 Treasure: Bard's Tunic | | Defence : 50 Magic Defence : 50 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire - Lightning - Ice - Time - Paralysis - Darkness | | - Silence - Mind - Stone - Poison - Sleep - Confusion - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 16 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | You cannot win at the minimum level, unless you class change. The | | reason? Blink. If you class change, make sure to pick up Blink. For | | those avoiding the class change, you need to wait until you get the | | Defender before challenging this guy. | | | | With Blink, this battle is a joke. Blink 4 times, Haste / Hermes' Shoes, | | Temper 8-10 times or Giant's Glove 5 times and then rush him down. | | You've nothing to fear, as the Two-Headed Dragon doesn't have any spells | | or skills. Blocking his physicals is the only thing necessary. | \============================================================================/ /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Ahriman | | HP : 5000 Agility : 30 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 60 Intelligence : 50 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 65 Evasion : 25 Treasure: Dry Ether | | Defence : 50 Magic Defence : 100 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire - Lightning - Ice - Time - Paralysis - Darkness | | - Silence - Mind - Stone - Poison - Sleep - Confusion - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | Cura | | Skill Cycle | | Earthquake -> Blaze -> Icestorm -> Thunderbolt | |============================================================================| | My level: 16 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | I suppose theoretically you can win at minimum level, but it would | | require a lot of luck. Probably not nearly as much as it would with | | Echidna or Two-Headed Dragon, but a lot all the same. Ahriman uses | | Earthquake as his first skill, which is instant death unless you get | | lucky and it misses or you resist Earth using NulDeath/NulAll/Ribbon. | | | | If you're not wearing a Ribbon or using a Light Curtain, then set up the | | other resistances to fire, ice and lightning with the proper Nul- spells | | or Curtains. Unlike the Lich, you have no reliable breathing room | | between each spell, so do it as fast as you can, being sure to heal with | | Elixirs as you need. Ahriman can waste turns casting Cura that heals a | | neglible amount of HP (100-200), so hope he uses it a lot. Afterwards, | | Invis 8 times / Blink 4 times, Haste / Hermes' Shoes, Temper 8-10 times | | / use Giant's Glove 5 times and attack, healing with an Elixir after | | every damage skill. | \============================================================================/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Hellfire Chasm [HFCH] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Lowest EXP when entering: 12392 EXP, for PSP this is Lv.16 No forced encounters here, so whoopee. For LLGs, I'd recommend about 25+ Elixirs for this section. If you're fighting Scarmiglione instead of Cagnazzo, that goes up to 35+. At B5, you'll have a pick between two bosses. Scarmiglione is on the top, Cagnazzo is on the bottom. For going through the dungeon, I'd recommend Cagnazzo, as since you have to fight Scarmiglione twice, you use up more Elixirs. Also, for a solo game, the Light Curtain is better than the Lunar Curtain. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Scarmiglione | | HP : 4000 Agility : 10 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 19 Intelligence : 160 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 50 Evasion : 10 Treasure: None | | Defence : 10 Magic Defence : 140 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Time - Stone - Poison - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (100%) | | Thunder | | Skill Cycle | | None | |============================================================================| | My level: 16 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | He only casts Thunder. No physical attacks or any skills. In a normal | | game, this'd be a joke, as with resistance you should reduce it to about | | ~150 damage. Unfortunately, for LLG, this is super critical, as it could | | be half your health gone that you can't outpace with Hi-Potions alone. | | | | Unfortunate as it is, you'll need to use Giant's Tonics and Elixirs to | | be able to give yourself a big enough window to start buffing up with | | the Giant's Glove. Don't bother with Blink / Defender at all, since he | | doesn't use any physicals. Just focus on getting 5 Sabers in with a | | a Haste, never letting your health fall below 300. Afterwards, attack | | and heal as needed. | \============================================================================/ /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Scarmiglione (2) | | HP : 7046 Agility : 10 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 46 Intelligence : 100 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 40 Evasion : 10 Treasure: Lunar Curtain | | Defence : 20 Magic Defence : 140 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Fire - Dia | | Resistances | | Quake - Ice - Time - Stone - Poison - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle (50%) | | Poison Gas | |============================================================================| | My level: 16 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | His regular attack can cause Poison. It also doesn't appear to have an | | element, as he managed to break through my Ribbon on more than one | | occasion, so watch out. | | | | First, get your HP up to at least 600, to avoid getting killed by Poison | | Gas in two hits (deals ~280). Then get your evasion up with the Defender | | as you do not want to be poisoned any longer than you have to be. If you | | do get poisoned, throw an Antidote when you're as close to max HP as you | | can, as Poison Gas + Poison damage can be fatal if you didn't get your | | HP high enough yet. After that, however, it's an easy battle. Heal with | | Elixirs and never let your HP fall below 300. You may want to heal if | | you're at 560 HP or so, in case he moves first and uses Poison Gas twice | | in a row. Boost yourself with Haste and Saber (5 times) as always and | | let him have it. | \============================================================================/ /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Cagnazzo | | HP : 7968 Agility : 20 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 44 Intelligence : 55 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 80 Evasion : 5 Treasure: Lunar Curtain | | Defence : 20 Magic Defence : 180 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Lightning | | Resistances | | Quake - Ice - Time - Stone - Poison - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (15%) | | Haste -> Curaga | | Skill Cycle (30%) | | Tsunami | |============================================================================| | My level: 16 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | He can be a real pain if you're unlucky and he spams Tsunami over and | | over. His physicals and spells aren't really anything to worry about, | | though Haste can make his physicals hurt quite a bit. Curaga heals him | | too little to matter. The biggest problem is Tsunami which can hit for | | 330+. | | | | For that reason you'll need 660+ HP, though I typically just go for the | | full 999 since Giant's Tonics are buyable and it gives you more | | breathing room which is always appreciated. Blink 4 times to dodge his | | regular attacks, Saber 5 times, Haste and then attack, healing with | | Elixirs if you fall below 660. I'd recommend not waiting until you're | | below 330, since he may get the first turn and strike you down before | | can heal. | \============================================================================/ Once you get to B10, follow the path until you hit a north/south intersection. Barbariccia is on the south path, while Rubicante is the north. I would recommend taking on Rubicante. Slightly easier than Barbariccia, and he gives out a weapon that you can actually use (whether you've class changed or not). /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Barbariccia | | HP : 12954 Agility : 60 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 88 Intelligence : 60 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 100 Evasion : 60 Treasure: Braveheart | | Defence : 10 Magic Defence : 190 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Lightning - Time - Stone - Poison - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle (50%) | | Ray -> Cyclone | |============================================================================| | My level: 16 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Where's a Dragoon when you need one? Barbariccia's Ray is Stone- | | elemental and inflicts petrification if it hits. So don't take that | | Ribbon off. Cyclone is heavy non-elemental damage that is stronger than | | Cagnazzo's Tsunami since Barbariccia's intellect is higher. | | | | Even still, it's the same old strategy. Get your HP up to 999 with | | Giant's Tonics, then Blink 4-5 times, then Haste, then Saber 5-6 times | | and attack. Heal with Elixirs when you get below 350. Barbariccia won't | | ever use Cyclone twice since Ray will always be in between, so you can | | afford more leniency and reserve your Elixirs. Her physical is FAR | | stronger than the other two fiends however, so you may want to rotate | | between Giant's Tonics and Blink when you're buffing at the start. | \============================================================================/ /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Rubicante | | HP : 15000 Agility : 50 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 88 Intelligence : 65 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 150 Evasion : 30 Treasure: Kikuichimonji | | Defence : 40 Magic Defence : 220 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire - Ice - Time - Stone - Poison - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (33%) | | Firaga -> Fira | | Skill Cycle (33%) | | Scorch | |============================================================================| | My level: 16 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Firaga and Fira are a joke thanks to your Ribbon, but Rubicante's | | physicals are powerful. Coupled with sky-high accuracy, even Blink may | | not be enough. But you have other things to worry about, like Scorch, | | which hits for ~230 AFTER resistance to fire. | | | | Like it or not, you'll need to take a lot of risks in this fight and | | potentially use up a ton of Elixirs. Interchange between Blink (5-6 | | times), Giant's Tonics and healing until you get to 999 HP and have all | | your Blinks up. Rubicante may still hit you once through them, for about | | 140 on hit, so beware. Then buff up with Haste and Saber (6-8 times) and | | attack. Never let your HP fall below 460. | \============================================================================/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Lifespring Grotto [LSGR] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Minimum EXP when entering: 14162, Lv.17 Get ready. This is probably going to be the hardest thing to do in this challenge, save for MAYBE the Labyrinth of Time. The first two bosses won't be too difficult, but the last two... If you're lucky, Kraken may have dropped the Kikuichimonji for you, which does much better than the Sun Blade. Be sure to equip it in the following fights. Unfortunately, we have forced encounters in here. Dark Bahamut will tell you to slay a bunch of dragons of random types. The odds of manipulating this to your whim to only get the lowest EXP-yielding dragons and the minimum number is way too difficult to do realistically, so unfortunately the lowest level thing gets muddled here. Just save before talking to each dragon and then starting the fight. If it's one you need to kill, kill it and save after. If not, reset and find another dragon to talk to. At B5, prepare yourself before either opening the single chest or stepping any where close to the exit warp zone. Also get some headphones and turn up the volume. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Gilgamesh | | HP : 8888 Agility : 20 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 70 Intelligence : 20 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 110 Evasion : 10 Treasure: Genji Gloves | | Defence : 50 Magic Defence : 220 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Time - Stone - Poison - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (??%) | | Protect -> NulAll | | Skill Cycle (??%) | | Excalipur -> Wind Slash | |============================================================================| | My level: 17 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Funny guy. Gilgamesh's physical is his biggest threat, followed by Wind | | Slash, which does a little bit over 150. Excalipur is a joke and gives a | | free turn, essentially. Protect isn't strong enough to be a threat, and | | with his enormous magic defence, you're not going to be trying anything | | elemental for NulAll to matter at all. | | | | So what you get is a boss with 3 out of 5 useless actions to take. | | Thankfully, that means you don't need any Giant's Tonics, nor will you | | have to use up any of your hard-earned Elixirs, as healing with Potions | | and Hi-Potions after a Wind Slash will be enough. You will need to get a | | bit lucky at the start when you get your Blinks up (5 times). | | After that, Haste, Saber 6-8 times and then attack. His physical hits 8 | | times at the start likely for fatal damage, so just reset until he | | decides that Protect, NulAll and Excalipur are better opening moves. | \============================================================================/ At B10, get ready before talking to the flame. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Atomos | | HP : 13000 Agility : 10 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 50 Intelligence : 130 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 80 Evasion : 10 Treasure: Judgement Staff | | Defence : 70 Magic Defence : 200 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Time - Stone - Poison - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (??%) | | Firaga | | Skill Cycle (??%) | | Wormhole -> Comet | |============================================================================| | My level: 17 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Atomos' monstrous intellect will have his Firaga AND Coment skill do | | upwards of 580 damage. You can halve the Firaga at least with your | | Ribbon, but you'll just have to tank the Comets. Wormhole is an instant | | death spell. Not sure the element (probably Time), but it doesn't matter | | so long as you keep that Ribbon on. His physical is nothing to worry | | about. | | Still, get a few Blinks in anyway (4-5 times). Giant's Tonics up to 999 | | HP should be your priority, followed by Blinks, then Haste, Saber (6-7 | | times) and rush it down as fast as you can. It doesn't ever use Comet | | twice in a row thanks to Wormhole being there, but Comet + Firaga can be | | fatal. Make sure you're at full HP before every Comet and heal up right | | after one as well. It took me 12 Elixirs to win. | \============================================================================/ You get a Judgement Staff for your troubles, which allows you to cast Flare. Woo. When you finally get to B20, prepare yourself (AND I MEAN PREPARE YOURSELF). You'll have two options. Omega is on the left and Shinryu is on the right. Omega is easier in this challenge, but Shinryu has one more treasure chest beside it (though you can't use what's inside any way). Get ready either way before talking to the flame. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Omega | | HP : 35000 Agility : 76 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 115 Intelligence : 40 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 200 Evasion : 95 Treasure: Murasame | | Defence : 190 Magic Defence : 220 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | Lightning | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire - Ice - Time - Stone - Paralysis - Poison - Darkness | | - Sleep - Silence - Confusion - Mind - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle | | None | | Skill Cycle (50%) | | Earthquake -> Wave Cannon -> Wave Cannon | |============================================================================| | My level: 20 | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Before you go nuts wondering how I did this at Lv20, let me tell you: | | insane perseverance and Elixir spamming. I used like, 30. THIRTY | | ELIXIRS. FOR ONE FIGHT. GOD. First, its physical. You may notice that it | | has 200 accuracy. Blinks appear to cap out once the boost hits 255 (4-5 | | uses, generally). It can still hit you through your boosted Evasion. | | Most often just one time. But some times twice. And sometimes it will | | even miss! A standard attack of 6 hits can do 600-990+. Once you bring | | it to 1 hit, it will be from 90-140. Wave Cannon does ~400. Wear your | | Ribbon to block Earthquake and get a free turn. | | In fact, Earthquake is the ONLY reason you have a chance at your current | | level. Here is how you'll fight. Turn 1, use a Giant's Tonic. Then, spam | | Elixirs until it uses Wave Cannon twice. Pray that it uses Earthquake | | again and use another Giant's Tonic. If you survived, spam Elixirs again | | until it uses Wave Cannon twice. Then use the last Giant's Tonic to max | | out your health. | | Catching on? That's right, you're praying that it uses Earthquake every | | time you want to buff, which is why you wait until it hits Earthquake in | | its skill cycle to attempt to do so. This is the ONLY way you'll have a | | shot at buffing with your pathetic magic defence and starting max HP. | | Repeat this process for Blink (4-5). If it chooses to use its physical | | instead of Earthquake on your buffing turn, you will most likely die. | | Even still, this is the best strategy at minimum EXP. | | With 999HP and max evasion, you can let up ever so slightly. Use Haste | | and the Giant's Glove 10+ times, then start your assault. It has a lot | | of health, so be prepared to spend a lot more Elixirs even at this | | point. Heal whenever your HP goes under 800. Understandably, this isn't | | much more breathing room than before, but it's still bigger than at the | | start of the battle since you don't hope for a specific action every | | time. | | Just don't give up! | \============================================================================/ /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Shinryu | | HP : 35000 Agility : 87 Gil : 0 | | Attack : 220 Intelligence : 70 EXP : 0 | | Accuracy : 200 Evasion : 20 Treasure: Ragnarok | | Defence : 60 Magic Defence : 220 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Time - Stone - Poison - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (??%) | | Flare | | Skill Cycle (??%) | | Thunderbolt -> Tidal Wave -> Icestorm -> Tidal Wave | |============================================================================| | My level: N/A | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Sun Blade Shield: Buckler | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | So unlike Omega, I could not defeat Shinryu at Lv20. The reason for this | | is because Shinryu has no non-damaging actions. While it has higher | | strength than Omega, it doesn't do as many hits ("only" 4), for a total | | around ~400. Its Thunderbolt and Icestorm hit for ~250 when resisted. | | Non-elemental Tidal Wave hits for 450-550 and Flare, the only spell it | | casts, hits for ~600. So, as you can see, to survive two turns without | | healing is impossible as you'd need 600+ starting max HP. At Lv20, even | | with EVERY level being a strong HP level up, I only have 486, which is | | already far higher than the average Red Mage, and I still can't even | | come close to throwing a Giant's Tonic and surviving long enough to get | | an Elixir off. | | | | I'll need to come back to this boss fight, but the strategy is always | | the same. If my estimate is right, you'll need a little over 600 | | starting HP, which gives a minimum of about Lv23. Throw Giant's Tonics | | up to 999HP, Blink 4-5 times, Haste, Saber 10+ times and then attack. | | Heal with Elixirs if you're ever below 700 HP. | | | | (PS. If anyone has a strategy that works for someone at Lv20 or under, | | do shoot me an e-mail. My contact is at the bottom of this guide!) | \============================================================================/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Whisperwind Cove [WWCO] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Minimum EXP when entering: 18687, Lv.18 Unfortunately, this is next to impossible to do at Lv.18 solo. Once you get to B10, you'll face Typhon whose signature attack Snort is a non-elemental instant kill. Non-elemental means the only resistance you have is your magic defence, which is directly tied to your level. Without heavily unrealistic luck, you cannot possibly defeat him. Really sucks to have come this far and reach a conclusion like this, huh? I don't even have an estimate as to the lowest level this is realistically doable. Snort is Typhon's only special and he seems to do it about a quarter of the time. You would need A LOT of magic defence to reliably survive it long enough for you to get your attacks off. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Labyrinth of Time [TIME] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ PSP-only! Minimum EXP when entering: 25407, Lv.20 This...is a very unusual place. I will point you to Necrolesian's Labyrinth of Time guide instead of outlining it here, because I get messed up and it's odd and things. We're only interested if we can kick the tail of the boss at the end. For all solo players, do not use the pots in either the Inner Sanctum or the Space in Time, as it will revive your 3 dead party members and you have to kill them all again in the next battle you have. Especially don't use it in the Space in Time because the only fight left is the boss and that means you'll be breaking the rules with the start of that battle (since she can hit your other members instead of your one solo person, thereby making the fight tons easier). Keep in mind: Never sacrifice Flee. There are random encounters before and after the floor challenge. And you want to run away if you're trying to be low level. You are forced to fight Red Dragons in Slay or Be Slain, and what's worse is that the number to kill is random and difficult to control. The only option would be to use save states just before talking to the Master of Time each time before getting your assignment and resetting if he ever says more than one dragon. You can face anywhere between 6 and 36 (!!) Red Dragons, each worth a whopping 2904 EXP. Your total gain can be anywhere from 17424 to 104544 EXP. So LLG can pretty much get ruined here. If you really want to do a low level win, then you'll need to reset the ENTIRE labyrinth if you run into this challenge. Maybe moot though because when you reach Space in Time, there may be no way to win whatsoever at such a low level. /----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | BOSS: Chronodia (#203) | | HP : 42000 Agility : 120 Gil : 1 | | Attack : 120 Intelligence : 70 EXP : 1 | | Accuracy : 200 Evasion : 140 Treasure: Barbarian's Sword | | Defence : 190 Magic Defence : 200 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Weaknesses | | None | | Resistances | | Quake - Fire - Lightning - Ice - Time - Paralysis - Darkness | | - Silence - Mind - Stone - Poison - Sleep - Confusion - Death | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Spell Cycle (50%) | | Blizzaga -> Flare -> Firaga -> Thundaga -> Stop -> Haste -> Warp | | -> Slow | | Skill Cycle (25%) | | Ink -> Thunderbolt -> Poison Gas -> Icestorm | | Every 5th turn: Seal | |============================================================================| | My level: NA | | | | Equipment | | Weapon: Kikuichimonji Shield: Protect Cloak | | Helmet: Ribbon Armour: Diamond Armlet | | Arms : Protect Ring | | | | Strategy: | | Couldn't win. I was at (probably not the minimum) level 24 and I | | couldn't last a second against her. Her physicals, at max accuracy, with | | 120 attack power and able to hit EIGHT times can score up to 1100 damage | | from what I've seen. I shudder to think just how powerful it would've | | been to if she managed to get Haste off. Like other fights though, this | | is theoretically possible if she does nothing but use her skills which | | do resistable damage for ~250 each, plus wasting a turn using Ink. Flare | | is the only spell to fear, being just as strong as Shinryu's and hitting | | for ~600. All her other spells you can resist under a Ribbon or Light | | Curtain and can even hit for less than 200 in the case of the 3rd tier | | elemental magic. | | | | Unique to Chronodia is the Seal ability, which is independant of the | | spell and skill cycles. Guaranteed, every fifth turn, Chronodia will | | Seal one of your abilities, either Attack, Magic or Item for 4-5 turns. | | If Item is sealed early on, you are probably screwed. What's nice about | | Seal though is that it's a non-damaging move which gives you a chance to | | do anything you want without fear. By counting the number of turns, you | | can take whatever normally risky move you want (buffing) and then not | | worrying that she'll punish you since she's going to use Seal next turn. | | | | As always, Blink/Defender (4-5 times), throw Giant's Tonics up to 999HP, | | Haste and Giant's Glove/Temper (10+ times, her defence is enormous). | | Throw Elixirs whenever you need a pick-me-up. If you can get your Blinks | | off, this fight is easy though do note she can still hit once or twice | | due to her accuracy rating. After your Blinks and Tonics, you may want | | use Protect/Protera to reduce the damage any time she breaks through | | evasion. | \============================================================================/ If you beat the Goddess of Time, congratulations! Should have been one hell of a fight. Hope you enjoyed this challenge! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Equipment [EQUP] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ This is an appendix of all the equipment the Red Mage can use. Includes their earliest and/or most accessible locations. For things only the Red Wizard can equip, the name will start with a *. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Weapons [WPNS] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Listed in ascending attack power, grouped by their item class and grouped again by items that existed in the original NES version and the new additions in the remakes. The Red Mage can equip her/his own selection of daggers, swords, katanas and staves. Name Atk Acc Crit Acquired Knife 5 10 2 Initial Equipment Dagger 7 10 10 Buy 140g (Elfheim) Mythril Knife 10 15 16 Find Mount Duergar *Cat Claws 22 35 35 Buy 52000g (Gaia) Mage Masher 20 30 25 Find Whisperwind Cove Special: Casts Mute, +5 Int Gladius 23 30 26 Find Whisperwind Cove Special: +10 Evasion Orichalcum 28 35 31 Find Lifespring Grotto Special: Drains HP Assassin Dagger 30 40 35 Find Whisperwind Cove Special: Casts Kill, +10 Eva, +3 Agi, +2 Int Rapier 9 5 4 Buy 8g (Cornelia) Saber 13 5 12 Buy 360g (Elfheim) Broadsword 15 10 6 Find Marsh Cave Werebuster 18 15 26 Find Chaos Shrine w/ Mystic Key Special: Good vs. were-beasts (literally two enemies) Rune Blade 18 15 27 Find Chaos Shrine w/ Mystic Key Special: Good vs. spellcasters Wyrmkiller 19 15 22 Find Mount Duergar Special: Good vs. dragons Coral Sword 19 15 25 Find Cavern of Earth Special: Good vs. aquatic foes Longsword 20 10 13 Win Garland (2%), Buy 1200g (Melmond) Great Sword 21 20 23 Find Mount Gulg Special: Good vs. humanoids *Razer 22 20 37 Find Flying Fortress Special: Casts Scourge Mythril Sword 23 15 17 Buy 3200g (Crescent Lake) *Vorpal Sword 24 25 34 Find Mirage Tower Flame Sword 26 20 20 Find Cavern of Ice Special: Fire-elemental, good vs. undead and regenerative Ice Brand 29 25 21 Find Mount Gulg, Citadel of Trials Special: Ice-elemental *Defender 30 35 32 Find Waterfall Cavern Special: Casts Blink Sun Blade 32 30 24 Find Mirage Tower Special: Good vs. Undead Duel Rapier 27 30 26 Find Whisperwind Cove Special: +80 Evasion Enhancer 28 25 18 Find Whisperwind Cove Special: +7 Int *Deathbringer 33 20 29 Win Black Knight (1%), Find Lifespring Grotto Special: Casts Death, +5 Str, Agi, Int, Sta *Lightbringer 48 40 37 Win Death Gaze Special: Casts Holy, +50 Eva, +7 Str, Agi, Int, Sta *Ultima Weapon ** 100 50 Find Whisperwind Cove Special: Attack = current HP / 10 Barbarian Sword 125 20 6? Win Chronodia (final) Special: +18 Str, +13 Sta Scimitar 10 10 8 Buy 160g (Pravoka) Falchion 15 10 15 Find Western Keep w/ Mystic Key Masamune 46 50 40 Find 2000 years ago Kotetsu 22 20 21 Win Cerberus Ashura 25 25 25 Win Pharaoh Kikuichimonji 35 25 30 Win Kraken (2%), Rubicante Special: +5 Str Staff 6 0 3 Buy 4g (Cornelia) Sage's Staff 20 10 15 Win Squidraken (1%) Special: Casts Life, +15 Int +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Armour [ARMR] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Listed in ascending defence, grouped by type and old/new as before. The Red Mage has access to early heavy armour, but like the other mages, end up relying on the armlets. Name Def Wgt Acquired Clothes 1 2 Initial equipment Leather Armour 4 8 Buy 40g (Cornelia) Chain Mail 15 15 Buy 65g (Cornelia) Mythril Mail 18 8 Find Mount Duergar Copper Armlet 4 1 Find Marsh Cave Silver Armlet 15 1 Find Marsh Cave (MysticKey) Ruby Armlet 24 1 Find Citadel of Trials Diamond Armlet 34 1 Find Sunken Shrine Bard's Tunic 20 3 Find Hellfire Chasm Special: Resists Silence Red Jacket 24 2 Find Whisperwind Cove Special: Resists Fire, +5 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Int, +4 Sta Sage's Surplice 25 2 Find Hellfire Chasm Special: +5 Int Maximillian 55 10 Win Chronodia (Base) Special: +5 Str, +10 Sta +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Shields [SHLD] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Barring bonus equipment, the Red Mage can only access shields available to everyone. Name Def Wgt Acquired Buckler 2 0 Buy 2000g (Crescent Lake) Protect Cloak 8 2 Find Flying Fortress Zephyr Cape 4 1 Find Whisperwind Cove Special: +10 Eva Elven Cloak 9 1 Find Earthgift Shrine Special: +1 Agi, Int Master Shield 19 0 Win Chronodia (Kraken) Special: +30 Eva, +1 Agi, Int +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Helmet [HELM] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ As with shields, the Red Mage can only use helmets that most other classes can. Name Def Wgt Acquired Leather Cap 1 1 Find Chaos Shrine Ribbon 1 1 Find Waterfall Cavern Special: Resist ALL status and elements Feathered Cap 4 1 Find Lifespring Grotto Special: +10 Eva Wizard's Hat 4 1 Find Whisperwind Cove Special: +5 Int Red Cap 8 1 Find Lifespring Grotto Special: +4 Str, +3 Agi, +2 Sta, +25% HP +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Armgear [ARMS] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Once again, the Red Mage has limited armwear. The Red Wizard gets access to a handful of heavy gloves, but by then the Protect Ring is available and better. Name Def Wgt Acquired Leather Gloves 1 1 Buy 50g (Pravoka) *Mythril Gloves 6 3 Find Cavern of Ice *Gauntlets 6 3 Find Citadel of Trials Special: Casts Thundara *Giant's Gloves 6 3 Find Sunken Shrine Special: Casts Saber Protect Ring 8 1 Buy 16000g (Gaia) Special: Resists Death Angel's Ring 8 1 Unobtainable Special: Regenerate HP in battle ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Ship Minigame [15PZ] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ An extra section to talk some about the ship minigame. For any low level game, the ship minigame is absolutely vital as it provides you with important items for battle. First, to access the ship minigame, ride your ship and hold down A, then repeatedly tap B. For the PSP version, hold X and tap O. Eventually it will start. The ship minigame is known more commonly as the 15 puzzle, a puzzle with 15 sliding blocks that you need to order correctly. If you do, you'll get a prize depending on where you placed on the rankings list. The rewards include (From what I've been able to find): Finishing: 100 Gil, Potion, Antidote, Phoenix Down, Gold Needle, Eye Drop, Echo Grass, Ether 3rd Place: Red Fang, Blue Fang, White Fang, Red Curtain, Blue Curtain, White Curtain, Cockatrice Claw, Vampire Fang, Spider Silk 2nd Place: Remedy, Elixir, Hermes Shoe, Emergency Exit, Dry Ether, Turbo Ether 1st Place: X-Potion, Megalixir The initial rankings: 1st Place: 00:30.00 2nd Place: 01:00.00 3rd Place: 02.00.00 Now, take care to note that the prize bracket you fall under is based not on your time but if you broke an existing record. This means if you get 28 seconds on your first try, 2nd place becomes 30 seconds and third will be 1 minute. Thus, you should break the third place record by bare minimum until you have all that you need from that prize bracket, as it only gets harder and harder if you don't. In my guide, I mention you'll want one of each curtain and two or three Blue Fangs. Make sure to have at least this much before trying for Elixirs and Emergency Exits. So, on with a strategy. Let's the get the easiest one out of the way first. If you're playing on an emulator, you can make a save state before starting the puzzle. Then start the puzzle, use an online solver to give you the optimal solution, load your state and follow that path. Alternatively, you can use it to freeze the frame right after you start and have your solver figure it out. For people playing on an actual device, get your fingers ready. This is the strategy I employ. You'll want to be solving two pieces at a time. The idea is to solve the outer borders and work your way to the bottom right. Once you complete a step, you don't have to touch the numbers at solved locations ever again. Step 1) Get the 1 and 2 in place, without caring about where everything else ends up. This is always the easiest part. 1 2 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Step 2) Get the 3 and 4 in place. 1 2 3 4 X X X X X X X X X X X X Step 3) Get the 5, 9 and 13 in place. 1 2 3 4 5 X X X 9 X X X 13 X X X Step 4) Get the 6, 7, 8 in place. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 X X X 13 X X X Step 5) Get the 10 and 14 in place. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X X 13 14 X X Step 6) Get 11, 12 and 15 in place. Alternatively, for steps 3 and 4, you can instead opt to get 5 and 6 in place, then 7 and 8, then 9 and 13. Following this line of thought you should be able to reliably be better than 2 minutes. With enough practice you can bring your average times down below 1 minute, which is all you'll need since Megalixir is overkill and Elixir > X-Potion. Just keep at it, and you'll be able to be pretty quick at this game. You can also look at online solvers and try to understand how they got to their algorithms. Do note that optimal solvers may do some things that only omniscient beings would be able to figure out on a whim. And as a fun fact: All solvable configurations can be solved in 80 moves or less. And since Final Fantasy's puzzle lets you move multiple tiles at once, you can actually solve any configuration in 43 moves or less. Assuming you can manage 1 second a move, that's 43 seconds for the "hardest" configurations. Of course, that's all hypothetical optimal assumption speak. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ So It's Over - Conclusion [CNCL] ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Next version: Whisperwind Cove bosses Treasures to note in Souls of Chaos Other versions of Chronodia Maaaybe changes to Shinryu and Chronodia write-up if I manage to actually beat them, though really, it's the same strategy as what I've already got down After that, no idea. Should be done and complete and there's no need for any further updates. Credits: Final Fantasy Wikia contributors, which help me double-check a few things. Also for acquisiton data on equipment. AstralEsper, for his Game Mechanics FAQ for the NES version, in which most of it still holds true even for the latest remakes of this game. Red Scarlet, for her Monster Book guide that contained the drop rates of items from monsters. Necrolesian, for making his own Red Mage solo guide and indirectly reminding me that mine had errors and things. Also for his Labyrinth of Time guide which has the stats for the equipment found inside (though only a guessed at critical rate for the Barbarian Sword). Square-Enix, for never ever stopping remaking this game, but god why did they not include the Souls of Chaos and the Labyrinth of Time in the Android version? Seriously, iOS, but not Android? Buncha jerks. Also for their inclusion of an in-game bestiary, which lets me display boss stats in a convenient manner. If you have relevant questions, drop me a message at some_guy_unknown2u(at)hotmail(dot)com.